Hosts
Delta David Gier
Delta David Gier is the Music Director of the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra, described by Alex Ross in The New Yorker as “one of America’s boldest symphonies.” He has been called a dynamic voice on the American music scene, recognized widely for his penetrating interpretations of the standard symphonic repertoire, passionate commitment to new music, and significant community engagement.
To learn more about David, please visit deltadavidgier.com.
J. Mark Bertrand
J. Mark Bertrand is "a major crime fiction talent" (The Weekly Standard) in the vein of Michael Connelly, Ian Rankin, and Jo Nesbø. Mark is the author of Back on Murder (2010), Pattern of Wounds (2011), and Nothing to Hide (2012). He is also the pastor of Grace Presbyterian Church in Sioux Falls, and the author of Bible Design Blog, an influential blog on "the physical form of the Good Book.”
To learn more about Mark, please visit graceforsiouxfalls.org .
Special Guests
Dr. James Johnson
Dr. James R. Johnson, chorus master of the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra, has been rehearsing and conducting choral ensembles for over four decades. Choirs under his direction have performed all across the United States and the world, from the Cathedrals of Notre Dame and Chartres in France, to St. Peter’s in Rome; from Monreale in Sicily, to St. Paul’s and St. James’ in London; from St. Stephen’s in Vienna, to St. Patrick’s in Dublin, and the Nidarosdomen in Norway, and many others. His conducting has taken him from the Sultanate of Oman to the villages of Tanzania; from the small frame churches of the Great Plains to Carnegie Hall.
To learn more about Dr. Johnson, please visit sdsymphony.org
Dr. Marcel Zwitser
Dr. Marcel S. Zwitser studied music theory and musicology and finished his studies with a post-doctoral teacher’s diploma. As an independent teacher of music theory and music history, he taught at the Schumann Academy (Zwolle, Netherlands, 1999-2014) and currently teaches at the Seniorenacademie Groningen (since 2000), HOVO Amsterdam (since 2007) and the University College Roosevelt (the international Honor’s College of Utrecht University; since 2012). Since 2010, he has been on the faculty of the Crescendo Summer Institute (Tokaj, Hungary), an annual international summer school for conservatory students. As a scholar, he is mainly interested in the influence of Jewish-Christian spirituality and theology on the Western art music. In 2012, he got his PhD with interdisciplinary research in musicology and historic theology examining the influence of 16th to 18th century Lutheran pneumatology on Johann Sebastian Bach. His current research focusses on the role of the Holy Spirit in the German Lutheran Baroque theology of music, on the Christian appreciation of music and dance and on the phenomenon of the romantic religion of art.
To learn more about Marcel, please visit marcelswitzer.nl