In 2022 Maestro Jere Lantz received a lifelong appointment as Music Director Emeritus after 42 years at the helm of Rochester Symphony. Throughout the hundreds of concerts he led in Rochester, Lantz showed his acumen for imaginative programming and his ability to deliver dynamic and stirring performances. Lantz also served as President and CEO from 2015 to 2020.

In addition to his artistic leadership in Rochester, Maestro Lantz served as Music Director of the Minneapolis Pops Orchestra, Minneapolis Chamber Symphony, Kenwood Chamber Orchestra, St. Cloud Symphony, and Minnetonka Choral Society. He was interim conductor of the Winona Symphony and Mankato Symphony, Assistant Music Director of the Minnesota Opera, and Founding Music Director of the Minnesota Opera Touring Company. He has guest conducted both the Minnesota Orchestra and the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra.

In addition to conducting in locales as far-flung as Europe, Asia and Latin America, Lantz has led ensembles from coast to coast, including the symphonies of St. Louis, Rochester (NY), Des Moines, Syracuse, Santa Cruz, Huntsville (AL), Chattanooga, Kansas City, Erie, Indianapolis, Shreveport and Tucson.

Jere Lantz's commitment to telling "the story behind the music" made him a sought-out expert for his understanding of music and its role in today's world, He served as an advisor to the Minnesota State Arts Board, American Composers Forum, Minnesota Public Radio and the Conductors Guild of the League of American Orchestras.

Lantz currently lives in the Twin Cities area with his wife Christina. Sounds of the Season 2026 is his first return to the Rochester Symphony podium since 2022.  

Born in Bucharest, Romania, Alexandra Bartoi studied violin in Hamburg, Germany and as a Fulbright Scholar at the Manhattan School of Music in New York. She performed with the renowned Gewandhaus Orchestra in Leipzig, Germany before becoming a permanent member of the MDR Symphony Orchestra in 2010.

A passionate chamber musician, Alexandra has appeared at leading venues including Carnegie Hall, Royal Albert Hall, Philharmonie de Paris, Suntory Hall, and the Mariinsky Theatre. In 2017, she founded The Enescu Project, a non-profit organization committed to making chamber music accessible to all people, regardless of their socio-economic background.

Since 2024, Alexandra has served as Concertmaster of the Rochester Symphony. That same year, she joined Mayo Clinic as Musician at the Bedside.