Sara Zanussi is a world traveler, a musician, and an entrepreneur. She's the founder and executive director of ComMUSICation. The mission of ComMUSICation is to empower urban youth with skills for success through music, service and community. Sara shares stories of ComMUSICation's success and service, and a personal playlist too.

Ken Leopold has chops, piano chops. But the piano is only an avocation for Leopold. His day job is professor of chemistry at the University of Minnesota. While his twin passions are science and teaching, Ken's piano is never far away. Ken Leopold shares stories about the joys of research and teaching, and plays a few of his own piano piece on this week's Music with Minnesotans.

Dr. LeeAnn Rock grew up in Anoka, attended Augsburg University and medical school at the University of Minnesota. While she lives in Mount Airy, Md., she's a Minnesotan through and through. In fact, she and her husband often return to their "northern homeland" whenever they need to get their "uff-da" back on. She joins Steve Staruch to share a personal playlist on this week's Music with Minnesotans.

Amanda Weber was working for a nonprofit agency in Washington, D.C., several years ago. She was charged with learning all she could about homelessness in the city. Too young and naive to be afraid of the challenge, she decided to start a choir for homeless women. That experience changed everything. Now living in the Twin Cities, she is the director of Voices of Hope, a choir at the Minnesota Correctional Facility, a women's prison in Shakopee. She shares insights on the arts and social justice, and a personal playlist, too.

You can take the teacher out of the classroom, but it's difficult to take the classroom out of the teacher. Byron Schwab began his career in classrooms and rehearsal rooms preparing his music students to give their best performances. Moving from the classroom to the principal's office, he encouraged all students and staff to maintain those same high standards. Now retired, he is a member of his local school board. He'll tell you that helping students "get it," creating opportunities for their personal growth and success, is a thrill. His personal playlist is equally as thrilling. Schwab is Steve Staruch's guest on Music with Minnesotans.

School librarian Lauri Nelson loves to tell stories. She loves to see the wide eyes of her grade schoolers and to hear them interact with the printed word. Stories touch the hearts of the incarcerated men with whom she also works. She is Steve Staruch's guest on Music with Minnesotans.

If you were stuck on a desert island and only had access to one piece of music, what would you choose? Jim Baxter knows what he'd choose. He teaches music at Princeton High School and is Commander of the 34th Infantry Division "Red Bull" Band. A proud tuba player, Jim tells stories of army adventure and shares a gorgeous playlist, too. He is Steve Staruch's guest for Music with Minnesotans.

Kordula Coleman is an artist — a sculptor. Looking back at her childhood in Germany with artist parents, she says, "No mess was ever too big!" Classical music was also a part of Kordula's childhood. After corresponding online for a year, she made her way to St. Paul to meet the man who is now her husband. Art and music are their passions. Kordula shares stories of how classical music has defined key moments in her life on this week's Music with Minnesotans.

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To the students at Academia Cesar Chavez in St. Paul, he is Mr. Nyembwe. To almost everyone else, he is simply Bondo. Bondo Nyembwe is the executive director of the school. It's a job he loves. His ideas about the power of education were formed in part from personal experiences living in a refugee camp. He shares stories of success and a brilliant personal playlist, too. Bondo joins Steve Staruch on Music with Minnesotans.

At the Monsen house, you'll find a piano, a violin, a viola, trumpets, a french horn, a cello, a ukulele and a 2-year-old who likes to conduct. Beth and Noah Monsen didn't plan on having a musical family. It just turned out that way. The Monsens and their four kids are Steve Staruch's guests on Music with Minnesotans.

A flutist by training, Arlys Whitaker earned an MBA and worked for Xerox for many years before becoming the assistant marketing director of the Utah Symphony Orchestra and then teaching elementary school music. She has musical stories to tell and a remarkable playlist, too.

Mozart: Flute Quartet, with Carol Wincenc and members of the Emerson Quartet

Debussy: Claire de Lune, with pianist Alexis Weissenberg

Vaughan Williams: Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis, with ASMF led by Neville Marriner

A number of years ago, Laura Hampton was an art student in Philadelphia. Could she make a career as an artist? Did she have the courage to proceed? These are the questions she asked herself as she rode the train one day. When she stepped out of the car, she was an artist!

Find out more about Laura Hampton's art.

Rachmaninoff: Vocalise, with violinist Joshua Bell

Faure: Apres un Reve (After a Dream), with cellist Yo-Yo Ma

Ole Bull: A Mountain Vision, with violinist Arve Tellefsen

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What is the relationship between beauty and justice? Kristina Boerger is the new professor of choral leadership and conducting at Augsburg University. Her appointment allows her to explore her three great passions: teaching, singing and conducting. For her, music making is "an act of love!" And aiding the struggle for social and racial justice through music making is one of her goals. She shares her story and personal playlist with Steve Staruch on this week's Music with Minnesotans.

Mike Orsted is a retired Presbyterian minister. He served several small-town congregations in the Midwest, where his gift of compassion and empathy were his calling card. Retirement has opened up a whole new world for him and his wife. He tutors young grade-school kids and loves it. His personal playlist includes several intimate and playful works.

Gershwin: "Summertime" from Porgy and Bess, sung by Kathleen Battle

Bach: "Little Fugue in G," performed by E Power Biggs

Faure: "Pie Jesu," from Requiem, sung by Cecilia Bartoli

Lonnie Dupre is a Minnesota legend who loves classical music. When I shared with him 'Spiegel im Spiegel,' he was so deeply moved by its meditative force, he said that the piece is joining his collection on his next expedition. Why does Dupre listen to classical music? Because it keeps him focused, calm, centered, brave and empowered — and you need every single one of those feelings if you're planning to travel across the North Pole in summer, or circumnavigate Greenland by kayak, or climb Denali all alone in the darkest time of year. Dupre shares a bit from his latest book, Alone at the Top.

Marco Real-d'Arbelles is a violinist and conductor. He has performed with the Miami Symphony Orchestra, the Chicago Summer Opera, and has just been named the associate artistic director of the Bach Society of Minnesota. His story is inspiring. And his personal playlist is, too.

Playlist:

Bach: Prelude to Partita No 3 in E with violinist Henryk Szeryng

Gustave Charpentier: "Depuis le jour" from Louise with soprano Ilena Cotrubas

Beethoven: Violin Sonata No. 5 "Spring" (Rondo) with pianist Martha Argerich and violinist Gidon Kremer

John Noltner's photographic work has appeared in National Geographic Traveler, Forbes Magazine and the New York Daily News. Since 2009, though, he's been traveling the country asking people from all walks of life, "What does peace mean to you?" His multimedia project, A Peace of My Mind, is a masterpiece of storytelling. The collection is still growing. John Noltner shares some artistic insights, and a storytellers personal playlist, too.

Norton Stillman is the brains and the passion behind Nodin Press. He has been the head of the publishing company since 1967. Nodin specializes in Minnesota authors. Stillman's writers include poets such as Michael Dennis Browne; essayists like John Toren; and nature writers such as Connie Goldman. With an ear for authentic writing and an ear for great music, Norton Stillman joins Steve Staruch to share stories from a lifetime of publishing, and an exciting personal playlist, too.

In the early 1970s, Margie Simon was one of the first female band directors in the state. When that career came to an end, she used all her experience and storytelling talents to start a new career in public relations. She runs her own business. A percussionist by training, she shares her passion for music by playing timpani and other percussion instruments in her community band.

Lucas Meachem is a Grammy-winning singer and actor. Irina Meachem is a pianist and vocal coach. They met in Minneapolis a few years ago when she was the rehearsal accompanist for the Mill City Opera. He was late to rehearsal because of a fishing trip. Still, they hit it off. While their careers take them all over the world, they call Minnesota home. The Meachems share a couples playlist on this week's Music with Minnesotans

Susanna di Palma thrives on flamenco. She's both a dancer and a choreographer, and directs her own company, Zorongo Flamenco Dance Theater. Her personal playlist is filled with color and rhythm, the essence of flamenco. She's Steve Staruch's guest on Music with Minnesotans.

Christina Baldwin enjoys the thrill of "riding two career horses." Baldwin is both a wonderful concert singer and a successful stage actor. She couldn't be happier. And her many fans love cheering her on. She is Steve Staruch's guest on Music with Minnesotans

Kristen Bruya's path to principal bass of the Minnesota Orchestra meandered a bit. At one point, she considered being a park ranger. But the power of the double bass and the satisfaction of laying down a bass line that has a "funky "groove" was overwhelming.

Playlist

Bach: Violin Concerto No 1 with Anna-Sophie Mutter and the Trondheim Soloists (DG 12054)

James Brown: You Got Soul!

Shostakovich: Symphony No. 10, with Mariss Jansons conducting the Philadelphia Orchestra (EMI 55232)

Ethan Larson is the Program Director of the MOD Squad at Great River Rescue in Bemidji. The MOD Squad is a volunteer-based, behavior modification and training program for shelter dogs. It has been successful in finding good homes for good animals. To do this work, you have to have a big heart. On this week's Music with Minnesotans, Ethan Larson shares a playlist as big as his heart.

Playlist

Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 5 (finale) with the Gewandhaus Orchestra of Leipzig conducted by Kurt Masur [Teldec 44933]

Rogers: "You'll Never Walk Alone" with the Three Tenors [London 466 999]

Arturo Marquez: Danzon No. 2 with Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra conducted by Keri-Lynn Wilson [Dorian 90254]

Music permeates every aspect of writer and director Freya Richman's life. Her musical adventures took a delightful turn a number of years ago when her four-year-old daughter, Emma, said to her, "I have music in me, and I need a violin!" Richman, a self-professed tiger-mom, talks about her joyful musical path, and shares a personal playlist rich in chamber music.

Freya Richman's Playlist

Beethoven: Piano Sonata No 13 (excerpt) with pianist Glenn Gould [Sony 45821]

Handel: Violin Sonata Op 1 # 12 (excerpt) with Vintage Ensemble Cologne [Naxos 572245]

Haydn: String Quartet Op 77 No. 1 (excerpt) with Jerusalem Quartet [HMU 901823]

Milhaud: Le Boeuf sur la Toit (excerpt) with Leonard Bernstein conducting the National Orchestra of France [EMI 47845]

How do you get to the conductor's podium? You go through the kitchen. Matthew Abernathy was training to be chef and working as a sous chef when he turned his career around. Abernathy is now the director of Project Opera and loving every minute of it. He can still make a great omelet, but he can also "whip up" an ensemble of young people, inspiring them to opera greatness.

Matthew Abernathy is Steve Staruch's guest on this week's Music with Minnesotans.

Matthew Abernathy's playlist

Fauré: L'hiver a cessé with soprano Anne Sofie von Otter (DG 447 752)

Britten: War Requiem (excerpt from Dies Irae) Simon Rattle conducting City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and CBSO Chorus with baritone, Thomas Allen (EMI 47033)

Verdi: Tosca (excerpt) Daniel Oren conducting the Chorus and Orchestra of the Rome Opera with baritone, Ingvar Wixel (RCA 61807)

She's a lawyer by day, a viola player by night. Christina Ogata is on the legal team for Education Minnesota. Her commitment to fairness and accountability is deeply ingrained. She's also a proud member of the St Paul Civic Symphony Orchestra. Her personal playlist is filled with the chamber music she loves.

Playlist

Mendelssohn: Octet (finale) Onyx 4060
Scriabin: Preludes (various) with pianist Marta Deyanova Nimbus 5026
Brahms: Sonata for Viola and Piano Opus 120 No. 2 with violist, Nobuko Imai and pianist, Roger Vignoles Chandos 8550

Actor, director, fight choreographer and artistic director of the Great River Shakespeare Festival in Winona, Minn., Doug Scholz-Carlson lives in the volatile world of the theater. He thinks in dialogue and Shakespearean verse. And his personal playlist is all about the deep meaning of words and an actor's expert timing.

The music included in this week's Music with Minnesotans is:

Britten: "Dies Irae" from War Requiem (excerpt) with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Chorus and soloists conducted by Simon Rattle EMI 74035

Richard Strauss: "Flower Duet" from Der Rosenkavalier with Christa Ludwig and Teresa Stich-Randall, the Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Herbert von Karajan EMI 56113

Becca Chapin was not selected for the school play. Disappointed, she agreed to work backstage. Constructing costumes, and hats, and wigs, and sets, and moving actors on and off stage felt right. It felt like the budding of a new and multi-faceted career. Becca Chapin has worked backstage at the Guthrie Theater and at the Park Square Theatre. She joins Steve Staruch for Music with Minnesotans.

You can call Terry Blain many things: music journalist, reviewer, promoter, teacher … but don't call him a critic!

Terry Blain is a new Minnesotan. Born and raised in Northern Ireland and educated at Cambridge University, Terry writes for BBC Music Magazine, Opera Magazine (U.K.) and the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Terry shares a few pieces on his personal playlist and tells Steve Staruch why the word "critic" doesn't at all describe what he does or tries to be.