This summer, Ziwei Ma will join the Lakes Area Music Festival as our first-ever Conducting Fellow, working closely with Christian Reif on every program of our 2025 season! Ziwei Ma will join the New World Symphony as Conducting Fellow in 2025–2026, following a summer fellowship at LAMF. She previously held fellowships at EMF, Aspen, and NOI+F, and worked with conductors including Marin Alsop and Alan Gilbert. Ma also participated in workshops with the Buffalo and Fort Wayne Philharmonics receiving mentorship from JoAnn Falletta (2024) and Andrew Constantine (2025), respectively. Her European experience includes masterclasses with the Göttinger Symphonie Orchester in Germany (2023), the Silesian Philharmonic in Poland (2023), and conducting members of the Armenian National Philharmonic Orchestra (2024). Born in Beijing, China, Ma graduated from the Central Conservatory of Music before continuing her orchestral conducting studies at The Hartt School, earning her Master’s degree under the mentorship of Edward Cumming and where she now pursues her DMA. To read Ma's full bio, visit: www.lakesareamusic.org/people/ziwei-ma (fb)

“That was the most beautiful music I’ve ever heard.” — A fifth grader, after a classroom performance by the HUB New Music quartet. They presented music by the contemporary American composer Nico Muhly during one a weeklong school residency included in our education programming. Moments like this remind us: it only takes one spark to ignite a lifelong love of music. Our Spring Drive is underway as we prepare to welcome artists and audiences back to Brainerd for our 2025 Festival Season: Myths & Magic. It costs $1.25 million to bring these programs to life this year—and we still need to raise $814,000. We can’t do it without your generosity. Give by June 15 to be recognized in our Festival program book! Donate now and be part of the music: LakesAreaMusic.org/spring25 (fb)