Lake Superior Chamber Orchestra

The Lake Superior Chamber Orchestra is a professional ensemble in the Twin Ports (Duluth-Superior) Minnesota with a summer concert season.

The LSCO's mission is to perform diverse music for chamber orchestra, in a summer concert series featuring both masterworks and new compositions.  We are committed to collaborating with local performers, composers, and artists from other disciplines.  The LSCO also nurtures young musicians though the Quartet Project, an intensive workshop for string students.

In March 2023, after over 35 years leading a successful, award-winning organization, founder and artistic director Mr. Friesen officially announced his retirement. The LSCO's board of directors elected to carry on the LSCO legacy and carried out the 2023 season with guest conductors leading the charge. During preparation of our 2024 season, Ho-Yin Kwok (one of those aforementioned 2023 guest conductors), enthusiastically accepted our offer to be the next conductor and Music Director of the LSCO.

In the summer of 2025, the Quartet Project (the Lake Superior Chamber Orchestra’s educational outreach program), under the direction of Byron Klimek, celebrated 25 years of fostering young musicians through it's two-week intensive summer chamber music program for advanced middle/high school string instrumentalists.

In the summer of 2026, the Lake Superior Chamber Orchestra celebrated 40 seasons of music, community, and creativity — and it marked this milestone in meaningful ways. We mixed things up with our youth programs, creating new opportunities for young musicians to learn, perform, and connect with professional artists. We welcomed Dr. Jennifer Fagre-Golya as the new Quartet Project Coordinator. We hopped across the pond, returning to Superior, WI for our season welcome concert. We also performed numerous world and state premiere pieces. Our 40th season was a celebration of where we’ve been — and an exciting step toward where we’re going. 

Conductor Ho-Yin Kwok, soloist Niloofar Sohi and members of the Lake Superior Chamber Orchestra, July 13, 2023.