The Marquette Symphony Orchestra has added three new members to its Board of Trustees: Reed Benton, Katherine Larson, and Matthew Ludwig, all of Marquette.

Benton, a Marquette native, earned a degree in Hotel Restaurant Management from Eastern Michigan University in 2008, then worked in various management positions within the Marriott and Hilton chains. In 2012 he returned to Marquette to open and operate the Hampton Inn Marquette Waterfront. He is a member of the boards of the Marquette County Convention and Visitors Bureau and Marquette Breakfast Rotary.

After careers in law and teaching, Larson is now a freelance writer and editor, including a regular contributor to the Marquette Monthly. Formerly a partner in a Cleveland law firm and adjunct professor of law, she taught mathematics in Cleveland, San Diego, and Columbus before moving to Marquette to focus on writing. She sings with the Marquette Choral Society.

Ludwig is Chair of the Department of Fine Arts at Marquette Senior High School, where he is Director of Bands, and also teaches music at Northern Michigan University. He is a charter member of the MSO, for which he plays trumpet and has served as guest conductor. As a teacher, Dr. Ludwig has received numerous awards, including recognition as a Milken National Educator in 2001, as MSBOA District 14 Teacher of the Year in 2002, and honorable mention as a Northwestern University Influential Secondary Educator in 2013. He has served as an adjudicator and as a clinician throughout the United States.

The MSO’s spring concert, its last of the season, begins at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 7, at Kaufman Auditorium in Marquette. It will feature works by Johann Sebastian Bach, Carl Maria von Weber, and Franz Schubert.

The idea of a regional symphony orchestra took shape in the fall of 1996 with a group of musicians, music lovers, and interested citizens. The Marquette Symphony Orchestra began playing in 1997. The mission of the symphony is to create, provide and promote professional performances of orchestral music through collaboration with residents and music educators of the region. Serving Marquette as well as its surrounding region. Its musicians dedicate their time and talent to providing the highest quality performances. Of the orchestra’s 72 players, about 60 are from Marquette County, including some public school students. Other key players travel from the Lower Peninsula and northeast Wisconsin. For more information about MSO events, visit www.marquettesymphony.org.