Remembering the Schubert Club's director Bruce Carlson

by Cathy Wurzer, Minnesota Public Radio

Twin Cities area artists are remembering Bruce Carlson, the longtime director of the Schubert Club, who has died afte a battle with leukemia. Carlson was the Schubert's first full-time executive director, and he led the relatively modest chamber music group to a position of prominence.

The Schubert Club is Minnesota's oldest arts organization, and for the last 38 years it has been run by Carlson. Under his leadership, the Schubert Club attracted established and rising stars for concert recitals.

The Schubert Club will mark its 125th anniversary next season. It draws crowds to St. Paul's Ordway Center for the Performing Arts. In addition, the club operates a museum and provides educational programs, including a music competition for young people.

The Schubert Club also commissioned music, including "From the Diary of Virginia Woolf" by Minneapolis composer Dominick Argento. Argento won a Pulitzer Prize for that work, and dedicated his memoir to Bruce Carlson.

MPR's Cathy Wurzer spoke with Argento about Bruce Carlson's influence on the fine arts scene in the Twin Cities.