VICTOR MINKE HULS
Victor Minke Huls: Cellist | Conductor | Pianist
Victor is an eclectic and avid musician who was raised into music by his parents, Max Huls and Linda Minke. Victor earned dual-Masters degrees in cello performance and orchestral conducting from the University of Michigan (2017), and has nearly completed his doctoral studies (DMA) in orchestral conducting at Northwestern University with Victor Yampolsky. At Northwestern he was assistant conductor for the Symphony and Chamber Orchestras, Bienen String Ensemble, Alice Millar Chapel Choir, Baroque Music Ensemble, and Contemporary Music Ensemble. Some of his major projects included conducting the opera Dog Days by David T. Little (assisting Alan Pierson), and working on Bienen’s virtual opera production of Monteverdi’s Orfeo (with Dr. Stephen Alltop). Victor is passionate about and well-versed in “very new music,” and has premiered and recorded many pieces by his friends and colleagues.
Victor is also a multi-instrumentalist by hobby, playing flute, recorders, penny whistle, mandolin, guitar, and harpsichord. He has enjoyed playing a variety of genres outside of his classical training, including Irish and Celtic, Old Time, Folk Rock, and Jazz. In his spare time he listens to Funk, Jazz, Soul, and the music of the great outdoors.
Before moving to Chicago, Victor was music director of a chamber orchestra known as the Ann Arbor Camerata (2014-18), and recorded an album with Dr. Nancy King titled, “IllumiNation: New American Concertos for Oboe,” released by Equilibrium Records. In 2015, Victor was featured cello soloist in the NAXOS recording project led by David Alan Miller at the National Orchestral Institute, playing Corigliano's First Symphony. Native to the Bold City, Victor participated in the Jacksonville Symphony Youth Orchestras for years, winning the concerto competition in 2008 and the honor to play a concerto with the Symphony with both of his parents on stage. More recently, Victor has performed as cellist with the Aspen Chamber Symphony, New World Symphony, Peninsula Music Festival, NuDeco Ensemble, Lincoln Center Stage, and Chicago Civic Orchestra, and is newly principal cellist of the Amarillo Symphony.