Holder of the Margaret Hawkins Chorus Director Chair, Lee Erickson’s passion for choral music shines through every performance by the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra Chorus. He was appointed associate director of the Chorus in 1978, and assumed the position of director in 1994 after founder Margaret Hawkins’ death the previous year. Known for his tireless pursuit of excellence, the standards he sets for tone, precision, diction and artistry of the ensemble have garnered respect among the conductors, soloists and composers who have worked with the Chorus.

A graduate of South Milwaukee High School, Erickson attended UWM where he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. After graduation, he taught vocal music at Washington Junior High School in Kenosha for a year, and then took the position of organist and choir director at St. Anthony’s Church in Milwaukee where 32 years later he remains their music director. He also earned a Master of Music degree from the Wisconsin College Conservatory of Music, where Margaret Hawkins was his principal instructor. During his graduate studies, he sang in the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra Chorus and served as Hawkins’ assistant/associate conductor. In the early 1980s, he was also the chorus director at Alverno College for two years.

Erickson has also served on the Choral Panel of the National Endowment for the Arts, and is a past dean of the Milwaukee Chapter of the American Guild of Organists. He has been playing organ in church since the seventh grade, and he loves to design and do tonal work on pipe organs. In recognition of his musical contribution to the greater Milwaukee community, the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music honored him in January 2008. He was also named by the City of Milwaukee Arts Board as one of the 2007 Artists of the Year.

Mario and Catherine Costantini have lived both as entrepreneurs and philanthropists in the spirit of the Jesuit mission – as “men and women” for others. Since 1977 they have used their talents to launch and nurture multiple non-profit organizations and causes in our city, extending their success as entrepreneurs beyond the world of business.

The Costantinis became entrepreneurs at an early age when, after graduating from Marquette University, they began a successful interior design firm named Mario Costantini Ltd. in downtown Milwaukee. Soon after in 1978, they launched La Lune Collection, a rustic furniture manufacturing company. In 1986 when manufacturing was beginning to move abroad, the Costantinis decided instead to locate their business in an abandoned, turn-of-the-century factory in the Riverwest neighborhood. At the time this was a neglected urban area. The Costantinis’ three principal goals were to restore the building, to help restore the Riverwest neighborhood by bringing sorely needed jobs to the area and driving out area gangs, and to make the very best and most eco-friendly rustic furniture in the world. Today La Lune Collection is sold nationally through interior designers and architects via showrooms in major cities; their clientele includes Disney, Ralph Lauren, Oprah Winfrey and John McCain. La Lune, which is widely considered by those in the design trade to be the consummate rustic furniture in the industry, is also a favorite of environmentalists. The Riverwest neighborhood, where La Lune is still located, has undergone tremendous urban renewal and now features new condominium developments, coffee shops, parks and the new Florentine Opera Center.

In addition to co-managing La Lune, the Costantinis have worked tirelessly as community arts advocates in the Greater Milwaukee area. In 1989, Mario co-founded the Holton Youth Center a few blocks from the La Lune factory where he still serves as their board president. In 2005, he co-founded the Milwaukee Youth Arts Center (MYAC) on 3rd and Walnut, and in 2006 after viewing the NYC documentary named Mad Hot Ballroom, he started a ballroom and tap dance program in Milwaukee through his board involvement with Danceworks. This program now enjoys tremendous success and is currently operating in 46 Milwaukee schools.

Catherine has been involved as a board member in many organizations including First Stage Children’s Theater, Pearls for Teen Girls, Next Act Theatre, Milwaukee Chamber Theatre, Saint Joan Antida High School and the Florentine Opera Company. In 2009 the Costantinis brought the Florentine to their building in Riverwest, where they built the new Florentine Opera Center.

Mario, a native of Argentina, met Catherine, a native of Janesville, during their last semester at Marquette University in a philosophy of language class. They have three children – Nick, Alex and Cristina.