The season will be the first led by Music Director Thomas Søndergård, who officially begins his tenure with his inaugural concerts, September 21-23 and 28-30
Classical season guest artists include pianists Yuja Wang, Yefim Bronfman and Kirill Gerstein; trumpeter Pacho Flores and trombonist Jörgen van Rijen; violinists Benjamin Beilman, Augustin Hadelich and Valeriy Sokolov; The Sphinx Virtuosi ensemble with violinist Njioma Chinyere Grevious and bass players Xavier Foley and Kebra-Seyoun Charles; Orchestra musicians Erin Keefe, Nathan Hughes and Anthony Ross appear as soloists
The Orchestra continues its commitment to spotlighting and recording works by underrepresented composers, offering its third annual Listening Project initiative; throughout the season, a multitude of new works by contemporary composers will be added to the Orchestra’s repertoire
Live at Orchestra Hall offerings include the return of Kristin Chenoweth, Ben Folds and Audra McDonald, and the Orchestra debut of Minneapolis-based hip-hop artist Nur-D; films to be performed live-in-concert include Get Out and Frozen
Holiday concerts include a full slate of December concerts, and programs that commemorate Lunar New Year, Juneteenth and Pride
Also returning: Chamber Music concert series, Symphony in 60, Young People’s Concerts, Relaxed Family Concerts, Sensory-Friendly Concerts,
Yoga and Music & Mindfulness
New this year: Earlier start times and Choose Your Price tickets for most Saturday Classical concerts, and matinee concerts with
Thomas Søndergård on select Saturdays
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA (April 18, 2023) — The Minnesota Orchestra and Thomas Søndergård today announced plans for Søndergård’s inaugural season as the Orchestra’s music director. The season opens with two festive weeks of programming in September 2023—the first of which spotlights Principal Oboe Nathan Hughes as soloist—and culminates in June 2024 with a Celebrating Pride program that features works by composers from the LGBTQ+ community, ranging from Dame Ethel Smyth to Benjamin Britten.
Regarding his anticipation in assuming his music director role, Søndergård said, “It is an enormous luxury for me to take over an ensemble that is in such great shape and in such great spirit. It actually feels to me as if it is just about finding the right way to place my arm around the shoulders of this Orchestra, and we will continue the journey that is already so well on its way.”
The season encompasses programming designed for concertgoers of all ages and interests, including Classical, Live at Orchestra Hall, Holiday, Chamber Music, Symphony in 60, Wellness, Young People’s Concerts, Relaxed Family Concerts and Sensory-Friendly Concert offerings. New to audiences this year are “Choose Your Price” tickets for select seating sections during most Saturday Classical concerts, with concertgoers invited to choose a ticket price that reflects what the Orchestra means to them. Additionally, all Saturday evening concerts will have an earlier start time at 7 p.m.; a Saturday matinee series will present select concerts at 2 p.m. and feature post-concert conversations with Thomas Søndergård.
“My colleagues and I on the Artistic Advisory Committee look forward to presenting an upcoming season of engaging and diversified programming,” said Valerie Little, chair of the Minnesota Orchestra’s Artistic Advisory Committee and assistant principal librarian. “This new season brings both old favorites and new pieces to our audiences, with long-cherished pieces like George Frideric Handel’s Messiah and Edward Elgar’s Enigma Variations sharing our stage with seldom-heard pieces like Arnold Schoenberg’s Erwartung and John Adams’ Doctor Atomic Symphony.”
CLASSICAL CONCERTS
Søndergård’s Inaugural Season
Thomas Søndergård was appointed as the Minnesota Orchestra’s 11th music director in July 2022. The Danish conductor is initially serving as the Orchestra’s music director designate during the 2022-23 season; he will officially begin his tenure during season-opening concerts, taking place across two weeks in September, with a special open-to-the-community Open House taking place on Saturday, September 30.
In his first set of concerts September 21 to 23, Søndergård will lead two epic works by Richard Strauss, Don Juan and An Alpine Symphony, and Wolfgang Amadè Mozart’s Oboe Concerto featuring the Orchestra’s newest section leader, Principal Oboe Nathan Hughes. “The first time I conducted the Minnesota Orchestra we played Strauss’ Ein Heldenleben together, and it was an unforgettable connection. I want to pay tribute to that moment in this first concert,” says Søndergård. “This program is also my tribute to the star musicians of this Orchestra. I really value the talent I’m hearing throughout the Orchestra, and I am so happy Nathan will be our soloist for this occasion. This feels to me like the right way to begin.”
Søndergård’s second set of concerts, September 28 to 30, will be an exploration of mythology, romance and imagination. Opening with a 2006 symphonic poem called Icarus by Lera Auerbach, the program also presents Samuel Barber’s riveting Medea’s Dance of Vengeance, and two seminal French works of the 20th century: Claude Debussy’s Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun and Maurice Ravel’s intricate ballet Daphnis and Chloe, the latter of which will feature the Minnesota Chorale—Søndergård’s first collaboration with the Orchestra’s principal chorus. “There is a wonderful quality to French music that I am really excited to explore with the Minnesota Orchestra,” he says.
Celebrated by musicians and critics alike for his collaborative approach to music-making, Søndergård will display his chemistry with the Orchestra throughout the season. Concertmaster Erin Keefe will perform Max Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1 in concerts that Søndergård conducts in April 2024. Additionally, in November 2023, Keefe will lead a conductorless Orchestra Spotlight program from her concertmaster chair; though not featuring Søndergård, the performances signify his trust in the talents of the Orchestra’s musicians. “Musicians have long educations and loads of ideas about how music-making can be done,” he says. “This concert will present them in a new light.”
Søndergård’s discography covers a broad range of contemporary and mainstream repertoire—expansive interests encapsulated in his musical selections for the 2023-24 season. In April 2024, he will conduct the U.S. premiere of Eleanor Alberga’s Rise up, O Sun!, a piece the Minnesota Orchestra co-commissioned. Exemplifying composers that have long been in Søndergård’s repertoire, a January 2024 concert centered around Edward Elgar’s Enigma Variations will feature Grammy Award-winner Augustin Hadelich performing Britten’s Violin Concerto; in May 2024, Kirill Gerstein will return to Orchestra Hall to play Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 1 under Søndergård’s baton.
The Orchestra’s youngest concertgoers will also have a chance to meet the new music director when Søndergård leads his first Relaxed Family Concert, Classics with Thomas Søndergård, on the afternoon of January 7. The one-hour program will feature a curated collection of music that Søndergård wants to share with young listeners, including selections from The Nutcracker. Fun and educational activities will take place in the lobby before the concert.
In the final program of the 2023-24 season, Søndergård will bring Pride Month festivities to Orchestra Hall in concerts with music by composers from the LGBTQ+ community. A longtime collaborator of Søndergård, pianist Francesco Piemontesi will perform both Britten’s Young Apollo and Karol Szymanowski’s Symphonie concertante for Piano and Orchestra. The program will also feature Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony and On the Cliffs of Cornwall by Dame Ethel Smyth, the British composer and early leader of the English suffragette movement (June 2024).
Guest Artists and Conductors
The 2023-24 season includes much-anticipated returns and debut performances from many leading artists in classical music. Continuing an emphasis on star pianists, concerts in March 2024 will feature Musical America’s 2017 Artist of the Year Yuja Wang in performances of Béla Bartók’s Piano Concerto No. 2; in June 2024, Yefim Bronfman—who last played with the Minnesota Orchestra in 2005—will again take the stage for a performance of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Fourth Piano Concerto. Beginning the slate of star pianists will be Bertrand Chamayou, presenting Camille Saint-Saëns’ Fifth Piano Concerto under the baton of fellow Frenchman Fabien Gabel in November 2023.
An assortment of string soloists will punctuate the season: Ukrainian violinist Valeriy Sokolov will make his Orchestra Hall debut as he performs Samuel Barber’s lyrical Violin Concerto (October 2023); Minnesota audiences will again hear from Benjamin Beilman who will interpret Erich Wolfgang Korngold’s cinematic Violin Concerto (May 2024); Christian Tetzlaff, a frequent presence at Orchestra Hall since his debut in 1996, will return to offer Brahms’ immensely challenging yet deeply expressive Violin Concerto (May 2024). Cellist Sterling Elliott, recipient of the 2021 Avery Fisher Career Grant, is among the fastest-rising stars in classical music, arriving in Minneapolis for colorful concerts conducted by Kristiina Poska (April 2024); at the start of 2024, the Minnesota Orchestra’s own Principal Cello Anthony Ross will portray Antonín Dvořák’s passionate Cello Concerto.
Three instruments that are less frequently featured in concertos will also figure prominently in the Orchestra’s upcoming programming, with accomplished guest artists introducing works that have never before been shared with Minnesota audiences. First, Jörgen van Rijen, principal trombone of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, will deliver the Minnesota Orchestra’s first performance of James MacMillan’s Trombone Concerto (October 2023). Then, together with guest conductor Ruth Reinhardt and saxophonist Steven Banks—a 2022 Avery Fisher Career Grant recipient—the Orchestra will showcase composer Billy Childs’ recently premiered Saxophone Concerto; Child’s concerto was co-commissioned by the Minnesota Orchestra, and explores Black experiences in America (February 2024). Finally, trumpeter Pacho Flores will perform Pablo de Sarasate’s Gypsy Airs and Arturo Márquez’s Concierto de Otoño, a work Flores premiered in 2018 (March 2024).
Numerous esteemed conductors will return to Orchestra Hall’s podium over the course of the season, including Juraj Valčuha, Thomas Wilkins, Christopher Warren-Green, Jun Märkl, Hannu Lintu, David Afkham and David Robertson. Among the conductors making their debuts with the ensemble are Eun Sun Kim—named a 2021 Breakout Star in Classical Music by The New York Times—chief conductor of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra Domingo Hindoyan and Elim Chan, chief conductor of the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra.
Artistic pillars of the Minnesota Orchestra for decades, the Minnesota Chorale and Osmo Vänskä will both headline concerts during the 2023-24 season. In addition to its season-opening performances with Thomas Søndergård, the Chorale will present George Frideric Handel’s Messiah alongside a host of vocal soloists in December 2023. And, in February 2024, Vänskä—who became the Orchestra’s conductor laureate in September 2022 after a 19-year tenure as music director—will again take the podium for concerts that include Orchestra commissions by Anders Hillborg and Kevin Puts.
Adding Works by Underrepresented Composers to the Repertoire
As part of its organization-wide efforts around confronting systemic racism, the Minnesota Orchestra’s artistic leadership and musicians are committed to intentionally building concert programs that promote works by historically underrepresented composers. Now in its third year, the Listening Project is a concert program with the dual intention of expanding the ensemble’s knowledge of such orchestral works, while performing and recording these scores so that they may become more familiar to audiences and other orchestras. On November 3, Kensho Watanabe will return to lead the ensemble through a new selection of music in concerts hosted by Dr. Louise Toppin, a vocalist, scholar and the founder of the African Diaspora Music Project. Specific repertoire will be announced at a later date.
The 2023-24 season will also see the return of The Sphinx Virtuosi, the flagship ensemble of the Sphinx Organization, dedicated to transforming lives through the power of diversity in the arts. In February 2024, the ensemble will share the stage with the Minnesota Orchestra in a program conducted by Tito Muñoz that includes works by a number of Black and Latin composers. Violinist Njioma Chinyere Grevious—winner of both the Robert F. Smith First Prize and the Audience Choice awards in the Senior Division of the 2023 Sphinx Competition—will perform as soloist in selections from Astor Piazzola’s The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires, while bass players Xavier Foley and Kebra-Seyoun Charles present an original composition by Foley, the Concerto for Two Basses.
A global mix of 21st-century compositional voices will be featured throughout the season, with each bringing unique perspectives to bear in their work. French American composer Betsy Jolas describes her A Little Summer Suite (October 2023) as “wandering music”; it was premiered by Sir Simon Rattle and the Berlin Philharmonic in 2016. Based on the Kauyumari, a blue deer that serves as a spiritual guide to Mexico’s Huichol people, Gabriela Ortiz composed Kauyumari (October 2023) on a 2021 commission from the Los Angeles Philharmonic to reflect on a return to the stage following the COVID-19 pandemic. Inspired by “the different meanings of the English word ‘flounce,’” Finnish composer Lotta Wennäkoski’s Flounce (February 2024) premiered on the Last Night of the BBC Proms in 2017. Texu Kim, a 2015 alumnus of the Minnesota Orchestra Composer Institute, wrote Dub-Sanjo (March 2024) in 2017—a work that reinterprets traditional Korean music with fresh harmonies and textures.
Symphony in 60
Symphony in 60 concerts are one hour in duration, and include earlier start times, a pre-concert happy hour and post-concert onstage reception with musicians. The 2023-24 season includes three such programs. The first, on October 4, will include a live-in-concert presentation of Marvel Studios’ Werewolf by Night, a film that was released in 2022 on Disney+ and features a score composed by Michael Giacchino, who also directed the film. A concert on April 20 will include conductor Kristiina Poska and cellist Sterling Elliott, presenting the music of Tchaikovsky and Beethoven. Led by Elim Chan, a final performance on May 11 will feature Unsuk Chin’s subito con forzo and Tchaikvosky’s Second Symphony—a work inspired by Ukrainian folk songs.
LIVE AT ORCHESTRA HALL
Live at Orchestra Hall presents performances and collaborations with great artists from Minnesota and across the world, as well as live performances of film scores while the major motion pictures are screened in high definition above the stage. Most concerts are conducted by Sarah Hicks, the Orchestra’s principal conductor of Live at Orchestra Hall.
Groundbreaking Performers
The list of innovative artistic guests collaborating with the Orchestra during the 2023-24 is headlined by Minneapolis-based hip-hop artist Nur-D, who will partner with the Orchestra for a set of energetic debut concerts on April 5 and 6. Singer-songwriter Ben Folds will again offer intimate performances with Orchestra Hall audiences (October 2023); six-time Tony Award-winner Audra McDonald joins the Orchestra to perform her signature mix of pop tunes and Broadway classics (November 2023); a week later, the Midshipmen of the United States Naval Academy Glee Club will present patriotic favorites as well as choral and operatic classics, in addition to special arrangements with the Orchestra’s own trumpeter Charles Lazarus (November 2023); and the Los-Angeles based circus-dance-theater group Troupe Vertigo will make their Orchestra Hall debut in visually- and musically-powerful performances (March 2024).
U.S. Bank Movies & Music Series
In addition to the October live-in-concert production of Werewolf by Night, a collection of pioneering and fan-favorite films will be shown throughout the new season. The week before Halloween, the Orchestra will perform Michael Abels’ original score to writer-director Jordan Peele’s Get Out; on Thanksgiving weekend, the Orchestra will perform Home Alone; and, in four consecutive concerts in December, Frozen In Concert will be presented live at Orchestra Hall for the first time. The next installments of the ever-popular Harry Potter Film Concert Series and Star Wars Film Concert Series will take place in 2024, as both programs feature the penultimate films in the series, with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows™ Part 1 set for January and Star Wars: The Last Jedi for May.
HOLIDAY
The Minnesota Orchestra’s holiday offerings in December 2023 feature the Minnesota Chorale’s presentation of Messiah with a cast of vocal soloists, including Grammy-nominated American countertenor Reginald Mobley; trumpeter Charles Lazarus and special guests will mark the holiday season with their annual Merry & Bright program; the Emmy and Tony Award-winning Kristin Chenoweth will make her much-anticipated Minnesota Orchestra return on December 18; a guest of Orchestra Hall for more than four decades, pianist George Winston will perform the following day. The slate of December concerts culminates in a New Year’s Celebration with Thomas Søndergård and pianist Sir Stephen Hough that features selections from Sergei Prokofiev, Rachmaninoff and a suite from Tchaikovsky’s beloved The Nutcracker.
In addition to Holiday concerts in December, moments of celebration will welcome community to Orchestra Hall throughout the spring. Now in its third year, the Minnesota Orchestra will celebrate Lunar New Year with another program conducted by Junping Qian (February 2024). And in its second iteration, a concert commemorating Juneteenth will primarily feature music by African American composers (June 2024).
CHAMBER MUSIC
The Orchestra’s Chamber Music series features smaller ensembles of musicians performing in the Target Atrium, an intimate performance space within Orchestra Hall. The 2023-24 season encompasses three Sunday afternoon concerts on January 14, February 25 and April 14. The music selected for these programs include chamber works by well-known classical composers such as Zoltán Kodály’s Serenade, Gioacchino Rossini’s Duo for Cello and Bass and Samuel Barber’s Summer Music, as well as new repertoire by contemporary composers such as Paul Wiancko’s Lift, Wynton Marsalis’ 4 Bassoons Talking and To Mary by Hanna Havrylets, a Ukrainian composer who lost her life in 2022 three days into the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
EDUCATION AND FAMILY CONCERTS
A tradition since 1911, the Minnesota Orchestra’s Young People’s Concerts are designed for students in grades 1-6; scheduled during the school day, they provide educational field trips for student groups and home school students across Minnesota. Over the course of the 2023-24 season, the Orchestra will present five distinct programs encompassing 23 total performances. These concerts include programs such as Philharmonia Fantastique: The Making of the Orchestra (October 2023), Sounds of the Harvest (November 2023), Students Center Stage (January 2024), Music for a Better World (February 2024) and Here, There, Everywhere (April 2024).
In addition to Classics with Thomas Søndergård (January 2024), Philharmonia Fantastique: The Making of the Orchestra (October 2023) and Here, There, Everywhere (April 2024) will be presented as Relaxed Family Concerts, programs designed for audiences of all ages, including individuals with autism or sensory sensitivities. Relaxed Family Concerts take place within the main auditorium and include the entire ensemble, while the Orchestra’s Sensory-Friendly Concerts occur in the smaller and more intimate Target Atrium, and feature solo musicians or select ensembles. Sensory-Friendly Concerts are hosted by Lyndie Walker, MT-BC, from Toneworks Music Therapy Services, and invite concertgoers of all ages, including those who are neurodivergent, to be who they are while enjoying music (October 2023, February 2024 and May 2024).
WELLNESS
The Orchestra’s Wellness offerings include a series of three yoga classes and three Music & Mindfulness sessions. Initiated in 2018, Yoga Classes are one-hour Sunday morning sessions in the lobby of Orchestra Hall, each led by a certified yoga instructor and featuring live music performed by a Minnesota Orchestra musician or duo (February 2024, March 2024 and June 2024). Created in coordination with the University of Minnesota’s Earl E. Bakken Center for Spirituality & Healing, each hour-long Music & Mindfulness session features a musician or small ensemble from the Orchestra, and is led by University of Minnesota mindfulness and wellbeing instructor Mariann Johnson (February 2024, April 2024, May 2024).
THIS IS MINNESOTA ORCHESTRA
The Orchestra will continue to offer livestreamed concerts as part of its Emmy Award-winning This Is Minnesota Orchestra series on its website and social media channels. Most livestreamed concerts will be available to audiences at no cost as they debut live; subsequent on-demand access will be available for purchase through the Orchestra’s Digital Concert Hall. This Is Minnesota Orchestra digital programs will include Daphnis and Chloe with the Minnesota Chorale (September 29, 2023), Wilkins, Sokolov and Barber (October 23, 2023), The Sphinx Virtuosi (February 2, 2024), Dvořák Symphony No. 8 (March 22, 2024) and Celebrating Pride with Thomas Søndergård (June 21, 2024), with more dates to be announced this summer.
Minnesota Orchestra 2023-24 Season Calendar
Inaugural Concerts: Welcoming Music Director Thomas Søndergård
SØNDERGÅRD CONDUCTS STRAUSS AND MOZART
Thursday, September 21, 2023, 11 a.m. / Orchestra Hall
Friday, September 22, 2023, 8 p.m. / Orchestra Hall
Saturday, September 23, 2023, 2 p.m. / Orchestra Hall
Minnesota Orchestra
Thomas Søndergård, conductor
Nathan Hughes, oboe
STRAUSS Don Juan
MOZART Oboe Concerto
STRAUSS An Alpine Symphony
In his first set of concerts as music director, Thomas Søndergård will lead two epic works by Richard Strauss, Don Juan and An Alpine Symphony, and Wolfgang Amadè Mozart’s Oboe Concerto featuring the Orchestra’s newest section leader, Principal Oboe Nathan Hughes.
Inaugural Concerts: Welcoming Music Director Thomas Søndergård
DAPHNIS AND CHLOE WITH THE MINNESOTA CHORALE
Thursday, September 28, 2023, 11 a.m. / Orchestra Hall
Friday, September 29, 2023, 8 p.m. / Orchestra Hall*
Saturday, September 30, 2023, 7 p.m. / Orchestra Hall
Minnesota Orchestra
Thomas Søndergård, conductor
Minnesota Chorale
AUERBACH Icarus
DEBUSSY Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun
BARBER Medea’s Dance of Vengeance
RAVEL Daphnis and Chloe
Thomas Søndergård’s second set of inaugural concerts will explore mythology, romance and imagination. Opening with Lera Auerbach’s symphonic poem Icarus, written in 2006, the program also presents two seminal French works of the 20th century: Claude Debussy’s Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun and Maurice Ravel’s Daphnis and Chloe, which will feature the Minnesota Chorale—Søndergård’s first collaboration with the Orchestra’s principal chorus.
* The performance on Friday, September 29, will be streamed live for free through the Orchestra’s website and social media channels. The concert will subsequently be released for on-demand viewing with a digital subscription through the Minnesota Orchestra’s Digital Concert Hall.
Symphony in 60
WEREWOLF BY NIGHT: FILM IN CONCERT
with the Minnesota Orchestra
Wednesday, October 4, 2023, 7 p.m. / Orchestra Hall
Minnesota Orchestra
Sarah Hicks, conductor
Symphony in 60 concerts are one hour in duration, and include earlier start times, a pre-concert happy hour and post-concert onstage reception with musicians. The Minnesota Orchestra will present Marvel Studios’ Werewolf by Night, a film released in 2022 on Disney+ that features a score composed by Michael Giacchino, who also directed the film.
[Please note: This film is rated PG-13. Parents strongly cautioned as some material may be inappropriate for children under the age of 13.]
Live at Orchestra Hall
BEN FOLDS WHAT MATTERS MOST TOUR
with the Minnesota Orchestra
Friday, October 6, 2023, 8 p.m. / Orchestra Hall
Saturday, October 7, 2023, 8 p.m. / Orchestra Hall
Minnesota Orchestra
Ben Folds, singer-songwriter
Enrico Lopez-Yañez, conductor
Singer-songwriter Ben Folds makes his return to Orchestra Hall, a much-anticipated stop on the tour of his sixth studio album, What Matters Most, which will be released in June 2023.
Minnesota Orchestra Classical Concerts
VALČUHA CONDUCTS SHOSTAKOVICH SYMPHONY NO. 5
Friday, October 13, 2023, 8 p.m. / Orchestra Hall
Saturday, October 14, 2023, 7 p.m. / Orchestra Hall
Minnesota Orchestra
Juraj Valčuha, conductor
Jörgen van Rijen, trombone
JOLAS A Little Summer Suite
MACMILLAN Trombone Concerto
SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No. 5
Juraj Valčuha returns to Orchestra Hall to lead Dmitri Shostakovich’s monumental Fifth Symphony, which was composed as a deceptive response to Joseph Stalin’s authoritarian regime. He brings with him Jörgen van Rijen, principal trombone of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, for the Minnesota Orchestra’s first performance of James MacMillan’s Trombone Concerto.
FALL SENSORY-FRIENDLY CONCERT
Saturday, October 14, 2023, 11 a.m. / Target Atrium at Orchestra Hall
Musicians of the Minnesota Orchestra
This interactive concert series features small ensembles from the Minnesota Orchestra (specific musicians to be announced at a later date) presenting inclusive experiences for patrons of all ages, including individuals with autism or sensory sensitivities. Hosted in the intimate Target Atrium at Orchestra Hall, the program will be hosted by Lyndie Walker of Toneworks Music Therapy Services.
Minnesota Orchestra Classical Concerts
WILKINS, SOKOLOV AND BARBER
Friday, October 20, 2023, 8 p.m. / Orchestra Hall*
Saturday, October 21, 2023, 7 p.m. / Orchestra Hall
Minnesota Orchestra
Thomas Wilkins, conductor
Valeriy Sokolov, violin
HARRIS Symphony No. 3
BARBER Violin Concerto
ORTIZ Kauyumari
HANSON Symphony No. 2, Romantic
Thomas Wilkins, principal conductor of the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, will lead a program that seeks to uncover the quintessential American sound. The program features the music of four 20th-century American composers, including Samuel Barber’s lyrical Violin Concerto, presented in this program by Ukrainian violinist Valeriy Sokolov, who will make his Minnesota Orchestra debut.
* The performance on Friday, October 20, will be streamed live for free through the Orchestra’s website and social media channels. The concert will subsequently be released for on-demand viewing with a digital subscription through the Minnesota Orchestra’s Digital Concert Hall.
U.S. Bank Movies & Music
GET OUT IN CONCERT
with the Minnesota Orchestra
Friday, October 27, 2023, 7 p.m. / Orchestra Hall
Saturday, October 28, 2023, 7 p.m. / Orchestra Hall
Minnesota Orchestra
Sarah Hicks, conductor
The Steeles, vocalists
The week before Halloween, the Orchestra will perform Michael Abels’ original score to writer-director Jordan Peele’s Get Out, the 2017 horror film won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. Led by Sarah Hicks, principal conductor of Live at Orchestra Hall, the Orchestra will be accompanied by the Minnesota-based sibling vocalist group The Steeles as the film plays in high definition on a screen above the stage.
[Please note: This film is rated R. Parents strongly cautioned as some material may be inappropriate for children under the age of 17.]
Relaxed Family Concert
PHILHARMONIA FANTASTIQUE: THE MAKING OF THE ORCHESTRA
Sunday, October 29, 2023, 2 p.m. / Orchestra Hall
Minnesota Orchestra
Sarah Hicks, conductor
Music by Mason Bates
Written by Mason Bates and Gary Rydstrom
Directed by Gary Rydstrom
Animation direction by Jim Capobianco
Featuring a Grammy Award-winning soundtrack played by the Orchestra, Philharmonia Fantastique: The Making of the Orchestra is a multimedia concert that explores the connections between music, sound, performance, creativity and technology. This one-hour concert is designed for audiences of all ages, including individuals with autism or sensory sensitivities.
Minnesota Orchestra Classical Concerts
MORE TO HEAR: THE LISTENING PROJECT
Friday, November 3, 2023, 8 p.m. / Orchestra Hall
Minnesota Orchestra
Kensho Watanabe, conductor
Dr. Louise Toppin, host
Now in its third year, the Listening Project has grown out of an initiative to spotlight the music of historically underrepresented composers and to collaborate with a broader group of composers living today. Conducted by Kensho Watanabe and hosted by renowned performer, scholar and professor Dr. Louise Toppin, this concert will be recorded to aid and encourage future programming of this music by other orchestras. Following the concert, ticketholders will receive a complimentary digital download of each piece from the performance. Specific repertoire will be announced at a later date.
Live at Orchestra Hall
AUDRA MCDONALD
with the Minnesota Orchestra
Saturday, November 4, 2023, 7 p.m. / Orchestra Hall
Minnesota Orchestra
Audra McDonald, vocals
The winner of a record-breaking six Tony Awards, two Grammy Awards and an Emmy, Audra McDonald was named one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people and received a National Medal of Arts—America’s highest honor for achievement in the field—from President Barack Obama. She returns to Orchestra Hall with her signature mix of art songs, pop tunes and Broadway classics.
Minnesota Orchestra Classical Concerts
ORCHESTRA SPOTLIGHT
Thursday, November 9, 2023, 11 a.m. / Orchestra Hall
Friday, November 10, 2023, 8 p.m. / Orchestra Hall
Minnesota Orchestra
STRAUSS Feierlicher Einzug
BARFIELD Invictus
BARTÓK Divertimento for String Orchestra
RAVEL Pavane for a Dead Princess
FAURÉ Sicilienne from Pelléas and Mélisande
FAURÉ Pavane
BIZET/Shchedrin Carmen Suite for Percussion and Strings
Showcasing the talents of the Minnesota Orchestra’s musicians, Erin Keefe will lead a conductor-less program from her concertmaster chair. Spotlighting each section of the Orchestra, the program ranges from Anthony Barfield’s Invictus, a new composition written for a 15-piece brass ensemble, to Béla Bartók’s lively Divertimento for String Orchestra, which showcases the Orchestra’s strings.
Live at Orchestra Hall
U.S. NAVAL ACADEMY GLEE CLUB
with the Minnesota Orchestra
Saturday, November 11, 2023, 7 p.m. / Orchestra Hall
Sunday, November 12, 2023, 2 p.m. / Orchestra Hall
Minnesota Orchestra
Sarah Hicks, conductor
U.S. Naval Academy Glee Club
Charles Lazarus, trumpet
The Midshipmen of the United States Naval Academy Men’s and Women’s Glee Clubs will again join forces with the Minnesota Orchestra. Together, they will present patriotic favorites as well as choral and operatic classics, in addition to special arrangements with the Orchestra’s own trumpeter Charles Lazarus.
Minnesota Orchestra Classical Concerts
GABEL, SAINT-SAËNS AND TCHAIKOVSKY
Thursday, November 16, 2023, 11 a.m. / Orchestra Hall
Friday, November 17, 2023, 8 p.m. / Orchestra Hall
Saturday, November 18, 2023, 7 p.m. / Orchestra Hall
Minnesota Orchestra
Fabien Gabel, conductor
Bertrand Chamayou, piano
LYADOV The Enchanted Lake
SAINT-SAËNS Piano Concerto No. 5, Egyptian
KORNGOLD The Sea Hawk Suite
TCHAIKOVSKY The Tempest, Fantasy-Overture
Guest pianist Bertrand Chamayou, a leading interpreter of French classical repertoire, will present Camille Saint-Saëns’ Fifth Piano Concerto under the baton of fellow Frenchman Fabien Gabel. The concert also features captivating selections from Anatol Lyadov, Erich Wolfgang Korngold and Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky.
U.S. Bank Movies & Music
HOME ALONE IN CONCERT
with the Minnesota Orchestra
Saturday, November 25, 2023, 7 p.m. / Orchestra Hall
Sunday, November 26, 2023, 2 p.m. / Orchestra Hall
Minnesota Orchestra
Jason Seber, conductor
Minnesota Boychoir
In a Thanksgiving weekend production led by guest conductor Jason Seber, the Minnesota Orchestra will perform John Williams’ score to Home Alone as the beloved 1990 comedy classic plays in high definition on a screen above the stage. The Orchestra will be accompanied by the Minnesota Boychoir, the region’s oldest boy choir.
[Please note: This film is rated PG. Parental guidance suggested as some material may be inappropriate for children under the age of 8.]
Minnesota Orchestra Holiday Concerts
HANDEL’S MESSIAH
Friday, December 8, 2023, 8 p.m. / Orchestra Hall
Saturday, December 9, 2023, 7 p.m. / Orchestra Hall
Minnesota Orchestra
Christopher Warren-Green, conductor
Georgia Jarman, soprano
Reginald Mobley, countertenor
Toby Spence, tenor
Jordan Bisch, bass
Minnesota Chorale
HANDEL Messiah
For the sixth time since 2002, guest conductor Christopher Warren-Green will lead the Minnesota Orchestra and Minnesota Chorale in a memorable holiday tradition, presenting George Frideric Handel’s Messiah. The ensembles will be joined by a host of vocal soloists, including Grammy-nominated American countertenor Reginald Mobley.
Minnesota Orchestra Holiday Concerts
MERRY & BRIGHT with Charles Lazarus
Sunday, December 10, 2023, 2 p.m. / Orchestra Hall
Charles Lazarus, trumpet
Tonia Hughes Kendrick, vocals
Bruce A. Henry, vocals
Tommy Barbarella, piano and keyboards
Jeff Bailey, bass
Daryl Boudreaux, percussion
David Schmalenberger, drums
The Lazarus Brass
Angelica Cantanti Youth Choirs
Minnesota Orchestra trumpeter Charles Lazarus and his all-star band will again host their annual celebration at Orchestra Hall. The band—which includes Grammy Award-winners, former collaborators of Prince and other Minnesota- and world-renowned performers from various genres—will offer their unique twists on holiday classics.
[Please note: The Minnesota Orchestra does not perform on this program.]
U.S. Bank Movies & Music
FROZEN IN CONCERT
with the Minnesota Orchestra
Friday, December 15, 2023, 7 p.m. / Orchestra Hall
Saturday, December 16, 2023, 2 p.m. & 7 p.m. / Orchestra Hall
Sunday, December 17, 2023, 2 p.m. / Orchestra Hall
Minnesota Orchestra
Sarah Hicks, conductor
In four consecutive December concerts, Disney’s 2013 musical fantasy film Frozen will be presented live at Orchestra Hall for the first time. The Minnesota Orchestra will perform Christophe Beck’s original score—which features songs written by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez—as the film plays in high definition on a screen above the stage.
[Please note: This film is rated PG. Parental guidance suggested as some material may be inappropriate for children under the age of 8.]
Minnesota Orchestra Holiday Concerts
A HOLIDAY EVENING WITH KRISTIN CHENOWETH
and the Minnesota Orchestra
Monday, December 18, 2023, 7:30 p.m. / Orchestra Hall
Minnesota Orchestra
Kristin Chenoweth, vocals
Mary-Mitchell Campbell, conductor and piano
Emmy and Tony Award-winning actress and singer Kristin Chenoweth returns to Minneapolis for a one-night performance with the Minnesota Orchestra. Her appearance at Orchestra Hall will feature new arrangements of holiday favorites. Chenoweth’s frequent collaborator Mary-Mitchell Campbell—the music director for many Broadway shows including Mean Girls, The Addams Family and Company—will guest conduct the Orchestra and join the ensemble on piano.
[Please note: This concert has been rescheduled from December 2022; a limited number of tickets remain.]
Minnesota Orchestra Holiday Concerts
GEORGE WINSTON
Tuesday, December 19, 2023, 7 p.m. / Orchestra Hall
George Winston, piano
Over the course of George Winston’s five-decade career in music, nine of his 16 solo albums have peaked at number one on Billboard charts; his newest bestselling album, Night, was released in May 2022. His improvisational style and full spectrum of musical influences will be on display at Orchestra Hall during this winter performance.
[Please note: The Minnesota Orchestra does not perform on this program.]
Minnesota Orchestra Holiday Concerts
NEW YEAR’S CELEBRATION
with Thomas Søndergård and Stephen Hough
Sunday, December 31, 2023, 8:30 p.m. / Orchestra Hall
Monday, January 1, 2024, 2 p.m. / Orchestra Hall
Minnesota Orchestra
Thomas Søndergård, conductor
Sir Stephen Hough, piano
Angelica Cantanti Youth Choirs
PROKOFIEV Selections from Winter Bonfire
RACHMANINOFF Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini
TCHAIKOVSKY Suite from The Nutcracker
The Minnesota Orchestra will ring in the new year with Thomas Søndergård at the podium alongside pianist Sir Stephen Hough, who will perform Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. Seasonally themed musical selections include Sergei Prokofiev’s Winter Bonfire and a suite from Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker. Following the December 31 concert, ticketholders will be invited to enjoy vintage jazz from the Minnesota-based group Belle Amour before a Champagne toast at midnight.
Minnesota Orchestra Classical Concerts
SØNDERGÅRD CONDUCTS ENIGMA VARIATIONS
Friday, January 5, 2024, 8 p.m. / Orchestra Hall
Saturday, January 6, 2024, 2 p.m. / Orchestra Hall
Minnesota Orchestra
Thomas Søndergård, conductor
Augustin Hadelich, violin
WALTON Scapino
BRITTEN Violin Concerto
COLERIDGE-TAYLOR Idyll
ELGAR Enigma Variations
Grammy Award-winner Augustin Hadelich—a frequent collaborator of Thomas Søndergård—will perform Benjamin Britten’s Violin Concerto in a program that also features Edward Elgar’s Enigma Variations and William Walton’s Scapino. The concerts include Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s Idyll, continuing the Orchestra’s championing of music recorded for its Listening Project initiative.
Relaxed Family Concert
CLASSICS WITH THOMAS SØNDERGÅRD
Sunday January 7, 2024, 2 p.m. / Orchestra Hall
Minnesota Orchestra
Thomas Søndergård, conductor
The Orchestra’s youngest concertgoers will also have a chance to meet the new music director when Thomas Søndergård leads his first Relaxed Family Concert. The one-hour program will feature a curated collection of music that Søndergård wants to share with young listeners, including selections from The Nutcracker. Fun and educational activities will take place in the lobby before the concert.
Minnesota Orchestra Classical Concerts
ANTHONY ROSS PLAYS DVOŘÁK’S CELLO CONCERTO
Friday, January 12, 2024, 8 p.m. / Orchestra Hall
Saturday, January 13, 2024, 7 p.m. / Orchestra Hall
Minnesota Orchestra
Jun Märkl, conductor
Anthony Ross, cello
DVOŘÁK Cello Concerto
BRAHMS Symphony No. 3
Jun Märkl, who was recently announced as the new music director of the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra, will lead concerts where the Minnesota Orchestra’s own Principal Cello Anthony Ross will perform Antonín Dvořák’s passionate Cello Concerto. Dvořák wrote his famous concerto while staying for a summer in northern Iowa and near the time he visited Minnehaha Falls in Minneapolis. The program also includes a remarkable Third Symphony by Dvořák’s own friend and mentor, Johannes Brahms.
Chamber Music in the Target Atrium
BARBER, GOLIJOV AND MARSALIS
Sunday, January 14, 2024, 4 p.m. / Target Atrium at Orchestra Hall
KODÁLY Serenade
WIANCKO Lift
BARBER Summer Music
GOLIJOV Last Round
MARSALIS 4 Bassoons Talking
The Orchestra’s Chamber Music series features smaller ensembles of musicians performing in the Target Atrium, an intimate performance space within Orchestra Hall. The mid-January offering—the first of the season’s three Chamber Music concerts—will spotlight the ensemble’s string and woodwind musicians, presenting chamber works by well-known classical composers as well as new repertoire by contemporary composers such as Paul Wiancko’s Lift and Wynton Marsalis’ 4 Bassoons Talking.
U.S. Bank Movies & Music
HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS™ PART 1 IN CONCERT
with the Minnesota Orchestra
Thursday, January 25, 2024, 7 p.m. / Orchestra Hall
Friday, January 26, 2024, 7 p.m. / Orchestra Hall
Saturday, January 27, 2024, 7 p.m. / Orchestra Hall
Minnesota Orchestra
Sarah Hicks, conductor
Conducted by Sarah Hicks, the Minnesota Orchestra’s principal conductor of Live at Orchestra Hall, the Orchestra presents the seventh installment in the beloved Harry Potter Film Concert Series with Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows™ Part 1 In Concert. The ensemble will perform Alexandre Desplat’s epic score while the movie plays in high definition on an overhead screen.
[Please note: This film is rated PG-13. Parents strongly cautioned as some material may be inappropriate for children under the age of 13.]
Minnesota Orchestra Classical Concerts
THE SPHINX VIRTUOSI
with conductor Tito Muñoz and the Minnesota Orchestra
Thursday, February 1, 2024, 11 a.m. / Orchestra Hall
Friday, February 2, 2024, 8 p.m. / Orchestra Hall*
Saturday, February 3, 2024, 7 p.m. / Orchestra Hall
Minnesota Orchestra
Tito Muñoz, conductor
Njioma Chinyere Grevious, violin
Xavier Foley, bass
Kebra-Seyoun Charles, bass
Sphinx Virtuosi
ABELS Global Warming
NEGRÓN Marejada for String Orchestra
PIAZZOLLA/Desyatnikov Winter and Summer, from The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires SIMON Breathe
FOLEY Concerto for Two Basses
COLERIDGE-TAYLOR Symphonic Variations on an African Air
REVUELTAS Sensemayá
Presented as part of The Great Northern Festival, the Sphinx Virtuosi—the flagship ensemble of the Sphinx Organization, dedicated to transforming lives through the power of diversity in the arts—will share the stage with the Minnesota Orchestra in a program conducted by Tito Muñoz that includes works by a number of Black and Latin composers. Violinist Njioma Chinyere Grevious will perform as soloist in selections from Astor Piazzola’s The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires, while bass players Xavier Foley and Kebra-Seyoun Charles present Foley’s original composition, the Concerto for Two Basses.
* The performance on Friday, February 2, will be streamed live for free through the Orchestra’s website and social media channels. The concert will subsequently be released for on-demand viewing with a digital subscription through the Minnesota Orchestra’s Digital Concert Hall.
Minnesota Orchestra Classical Concerts
PROKOFIEV’S ROMEO AND JULIET
Friday, February 9, 2024, 8 p.m. / Orchestra Hall
Saturday, February 10, 2024, 7 p.m. / Orchestra Hall
Minnesota Orchestra
Ruth Reinhardt, conductor
Steven Banks, saxophone
SMETANA Šárka, from Má vlast (My Homeland)
CHILDS Saxophone Concerto
PROKOFIEV Romeo and Juliet Suite
Conductor Ruth Reinhardt and saxophonist Steven Banks, a 2022 Avery Fisher Career Grant recipient, will make their debuts with the Minnesota Orchestra to showcase Billy Childs’ recently premiered Saxophone Concerto. Co-commissioned by the Orchestra, the work highlights Black experiences in America, with inspiration from poets including Langston Hughes and Maya Angelou. The evening concerts conclude with a suite from Sergei Prokofiev’s gripping ballet score.
Wellness
YOGA
Sunday, February 11, 2024, 9 a.m. / Orchestra Hall
Musicians of the Minnesota Orchestra
Initiated in 2018, “Musical Flow” Yoga Classes are one-hour Sunday morning sessions in the lobby of Orchestra Hall, each led by a certified yoga instructor and featuring live music performed by a Minnesota Orchestra musician or duo.
WINTER SENSORY-FRIENDLY CONCERT
Tuesday, February 13, 2024, 11 a.m. / Target Atrium at Orchestra Hall
Musicians of the Minnesota Orchestra
Minnesota Orchestra Holiday Concerts
LUNAR NEW YEAR
with the Minnesota Orchestra
Saturday, February 17, 2024, 7 p.m. / Orchestra Hall
Minnesota Orchestra
Junping Qian, conductor
Fei Xie, artistic consultant
Soloists to be announced
Welcoming the Year of the Dragon, this performance marks the Minnesota Orchestra’s third annual concert celebrating Lunar New Year; conceived by the Orchestra’s Principal Bassoon Fei Xie, the concert features music that honors unity, family traditions and community well-being. Chinese-born, Berlin-based conductor Junping Qian, assistant conductor of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, will again return to the podium. Repertoire and guest soloists will be announced at a later date.
Minnesota Orchestra Classical Concerts
OSMO VÄNSKÄ RETURNS
Thursday, February 22, 2024, 11 a.m. / Orchestra Hall
Friday, February 23, 2024, 8 p.m. / Orchestra Hall
Saturday, February 24, 2024, 7 p.m. / Orchestra Hall
Minnesota Orchestra
Osmo Vänskä, conductor
Nina Bernat, bass
WENNÄKOSKI Flounce
ROSSINI Overture to The Barber of Seville
BOTTESINI Bass Concerto No. 2
HILLBORG Through Lost Landscapes
TUBIN Bass Concerto
PUTS Concerto for Orchestra
Conductor Laureate Osmo Vänskä, a champion of both new music and rising stars, will revisit the ensemble he led for 19 years. Through Minnesota Orchestra commissions by Anders Hillborg and Kevin Puts—plus two bass concertos performed by Nina Bernat, the 2022 FRIENDS of the Minnesota Orchestra Young Artist Competition winner—the concert reflects Vänskä’s wide-ranging and compelling vision for the future of orchestral music.
Wellness
MUSIC & MINDFULNESS
Thursday, February 22, 2024, 7 p.m. / Orchestra Hall
Musicians of the Minnesota Orchestra
Created in coordination with the University of Minnesota’s Earl E. Bakken Center for Spirituality & Healing, each hour-long session explores music and mindfulness through performances and engaging dialogue. Programs feature a musician or small ensemble from the Orchestra, and are led by University of Minnesota mindfulness and wellbeing instructor Mariann Johnson.
Chamber Music in the Target Atrium
KORNGOLD, PUTS AND JANÁČEK
Sunday, January 25, 2024, 4 p.m. / Target Atrium at Orchestra Hall
VILLA-LOBOS Bachianas Brasilieras No. 6
KORNGOLD Suite from Much Ado About Nothing
PUTS Credo
HAVRYLETS To Mary
ANDRÉS Chants d’arrière saison
JANÁČEK String Quartet No. 1
The Sunday afternoon concert presents moving selections from a wide breadth of composers, from a piece by Hanna Havrylets—a Ukrainian composer who lost her life in 2022 three days into the Russian invasion of Ukraine—to a musical statement on belief and hope from American composer Kevin Puts.
Live at Orchestra Hall
TROUPE VERTIGO: CIRQUE FAIRYTALES
with the Minnesota Orchestra
Saturday, March 2, 2024, 7 p.m. / Orchestra Hall
Sunday, March 3, 2024, 2 p.m. / Orchestra Hall
Minnesota Orchestra
Sarah Hicks, conductor
Troupe Vertigo
The Los-Angeles based circus-dance-theater group Troupe Vertigo will make their Orchestra Hall debut, sharing the stage with the Orchestra in visually- and musically-powerful performances that combine choreographed acrobatics with vivid music.
Minnesota Orchestra Classical Concerts
TCHAIKOVSKY SYMPHONY NO. 5
Friday, March 8, 2024, 8 p.m. / Orchestra Hall
Saturday, March 9, 2024, 7 p.m. / Orchestra Hall
Minnesota Orchestra
Eun Sun Kim, conductor
Heidi Melton, soprano
T. KIM Dub-Sanjo
SCHOENBERG Erwartung
TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 5
Named a 2021 Breakout Star in Classical Music by The New York Times, guest conductor Eun Sun Kim will make her debut with the ensemble. Headlined by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony, the concerts open with a work by Minnesota Orchestra Composer Institute alumnus Texu Kim.
Wellness
YOGA
Sunday, March 10, 2024, 9 a.m. / Orchestra Hall
Musicians of the Minnesota Orchestra
Minnesota Orchestra Classical Concerts
DVOŘÁK SYMPHONY NO. 8
Thursday, March 21, 2024, 11 a.m. / Orchestra Hall
Friday, March 22, 2024, 8 p.m. / Orchestra Hall*
Minnesota Orchestra
Domingo Hindoyan, conductor
Pacho Flores, trumpet
SIERRA Fandangos
SARASATE Gypsy Airs
MÁRQUEZ Concierto de Otoño for Trumpet and Orchestra
DVOŘÁK Symphony No. 8
Trumpeter Pacho Flores will visit Orchestra Hall for the first time, performing Pablo de Sarasate’s Gypsy Airs and Arturo Márquez’s Concierto de Otoño, a work Flores premiered in 2018; Márquez’s composition celebrates the music of Latin American dance bands, and calls on Flores to play a standard trumpet and three other variants of the instrument. Domingo Hindoyan, chief conductor of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, will also make his Minnesota Orchestra debut in these concerts, which conclude with Antonín Dvořák’s Eight Symphony—a work interwoven with folksongs and dance melodies.
* The performance on Friday, March 22, will be streamed live for free through the Orchestra’s website and social media channels. The concert will subsequently be released for on-demand viewing with a digital subscription through the Minnesota Orchestra’s Digital Concert Hall.
Minnesota Orchestra Classical Concerts
YUJA WANG PLAYS BARTÓK
Friday, March 29, 2024, 8 p.m. / Orchestra Hall
Saturday, March 30, 2024, 7 p.m. / Orchestra Hall
Minnesota Orchestra
Hanna Lintu, conductor
Yuja Wang, piano
SAARIAHO Ciel d’hiver
BARTÓK Piano Concerto No. 2
RACHMANINOFF Symphony No. 2
Named Musical America’s 2017 Artist of the Year, piano star Yuja Wang will make her Minnesota Orchestra debut in performances of Béla Bartók’s Piano Concerto No. 2. With returning guest conductor Hanna Lintu at the helm, the Orchestra also performs Kaija Saariaho’s Ciel d’hiver and Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Second Symphony.
Live at Orchestra Hall
NUR-D
with the Minnesota Orchestra
Friday, April 5, 2024, 8 p.m. / Orchestra Hall
Saturday, April 6, 2024, 8 p.m. / Orchestra Hall
Minnesota Orchestra
Sarah Hicks, conductor
Nur-D, your 7th favorite hip-hop person
One of the fastest risers in hip-hop in the Midwest, Nur-D is known for his infectious energy and his passion for engaging with audiences. The Minneapolis-based hip-hop artist will partner with arranger Andy Thompson for a set of electric debut concerts with the Orchestra.
Relaxed Family Concert
HERE, THERE, EVERYWHERE
Sunday, April 7, 2024, 2 p.m. / Orchestra Hall
Minnesota Orchestra
The Orchestra’s Relaxed Family Concerts are designed for audiences of all ages, including individuals with autism or sensory sensitivities. This wide-ranging program will feature music by composers from many different corners of the Earth, starting with movements from James Price Johnson’s atmospheric Harlem Symphony and Gabriela Lena Frank’s Leyendas: An Andean Walkabout.
Minnesota Orchestra Classical Concerts
SØNDERGÅRD, KEEFE AND BRAHMS
Thursday, April 11, 2024, 11 a.m. / Orchestra Hall
Friday, April 12, 2024, 8 p.m. / Orchestra Hall
Saturday, April 13, 2024, 2 p.m. / Orchestra Hall
Minnesota Orchestra
Thomas Søndergård, conductor
Erin Keefe, violin
Minnesota Chorale
ALBERGA Rise Up, O Sun!
BRUCH Violin Concerto No. 1
BRAHMS Schicksalslied
R. SCHUMANN Symphony No. 1, Spring
Thomas Søndergård conducts Robert Schumann’s joyful Spring Symphony and collaborates with Concertmaster Erin Keefe for a performance of Max Bruch’s elegant First Violin Concerto. Søndergård will again team up with the Minnesota Chorale, as the choral ensemble will perform Johannes Brahms’ Schicksalslied and help deliver the U.S. premiere of Eleanor Alberga’s Rise Up, O Sun!, a piece that the Minnesota Orchestra co-commissioned.
Chamber Music in the Target Atrium
BRAHMS SERENADE
Sunday, April 14, 2024, 4 p.m. / Target Atrium at Orchestra Hall
HOGAN/Stark Spirituals for Five Cellos
ROSSINI Duo for Cello and Bass
FILIPPENKO String Quartet
BRAHMS Serenade No. 1
The final Chamber Music concert of the 2023-24 season opens with a sonorous blend of five cellos; composed by Moses Hogan, Spirituals for Five Cellos reinterprets traditional African American spirituals for the instruments. The concert closes with Johannes Brahms’ Serenade No. 1, a work known for the use of its horn section.
Wellness
MUSIC & MINDFULNESS
Thursday, April 18, 2024, 7 p.m. / Orchestra Hall
Musicians of the Minnesota Orchestra
Minnesota Orchestra Classical Concerts
BEETHOVEN AND TCHAIKOVSKY
Thursday, April 18, 2024, 11 a.m. / Orchestra Hall
Friday, April 19, 2024, 8 p.m. / Orchestra Hall
Minnesota Orchestra
Kristiina Poska, conductor
Sterling Elliott, cello
COPLAND Appalachian Spring
TCHAIKOVSKY Variations on a Rococo Theme
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 8
Estonian conductor Kristiina Poska makes a long-awaited debut with the Minnesota Orchestra. Joining her for this program is American cellist Sterling Elliott, a fast-rising star who has been winning concerto competitions since he was 7 years old. Together, Poska, Elliott and the Orchestra will share bright and sunny music from Aaron Copland, Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky and Ludwig van Beethoven.
Symphony in 60
BEETHOVEN SYMPHONY NO. 8
Saturday, April 20, 2024, 6 p.m. / Orchestra Hall
Minnesota Orchestra
Kristiina Poska, conductor
Sterling Elliott, cello
TCHAIKOVSKY Variations on a Rococo Theme
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 8
Part of the Symphony in 60 series, this concert will include conductor Kristiina Poska and cellist Sterling Elliott, presenting the music of Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky and Ludwig van Beethoven.
Minnesota Orchestra Classical Concerts
SØNDERGÅRD, GERSTEIN AND RACHMANINOFF
Thursday, May 2, 2024, 11 a.m. / Orchestra Hall
Friday, May 3, 2024, 8 p.m. / Orchestra Hall
Minnesota Orchestra
Thomas Søndergård, conductor
Kirill Gerstein, piano
CHEN The Five Elements
RACHMANINOFF Piano Concerto No. 1
STRAUSS Also sprach Zarathustra
In a program conducted by Thomas Søndergård, Kirill Gerstein will return to Orchestra Hall to perform another of Sergei Rachmaninoff’s piano concertos, this time interpreting his expansive First Piano Concerto. The program opens with Qigang Chen’s richly symbolic The Five Elements and closes with Richard Strauss’ immersive Also sprach Zarathustra.
SYMPHONY BALL 2024
Saturday, May 4, 2024 / Orchestra Hall
Symphony Ball is the Minnesota Orchestra’s largest fundraising event of the year, attracting nearly 1,000 guests and raising critical funds to support artistic and educational initiatives. Ticketholders may attend a concert and after-party or arrive early for a plated dinner and auction.
[Please note: Tickets will be available in February 2024.]
Minnesota Orchestra Classical Concerts
TCHAIKOVSKY, KORNGOLD AND CHIN
Thursday, May 9, 2024, 11 a.m. / Orchestra Hall
Friday, May 10, 2024, 8 p.m. / Orchestra Hall
Minnesota Orchestra
Elim Chan, conductor
Benjamin Beilman, violin
CHIN subito con forza
KORNGOLD Violin Concerto
TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 2
Elim Chan, chief conductor of the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra, will make her Orchestra Hall debut as the Orchestra performs Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Second Symphony—a work inspired by Ukrainian folk songs. Soloist Benjamin Beilman will share Erich Wolfgang Korngold’s cinematic Violin Concerto in concerts that open with Unsuk Chin’s swirling subito con forza.
Wellness
MUSIC & MINDFULNESS
Thursday, May 9, 2024, 7 p.m. / Orchestra Hall
Musicians of the Minnesota Orchestra
SPRING SENSORY-FRIENDLY CONCERT
Saturday, May 11, 2024, 11 a.m. / Target Atrium at Orchestra Hall
Musicians of the Minnesota Orchestra
Symphony in 60
TCHAIKOVSKY SYMPHONY NO. 2
Saturday, May 11, 2024, 6 p.m. / Orchestra Hall
Minnesota Orchestra
Elim Chan, conductor
CHIN subito con forza
TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 2
In the season’s final iteration of the Symphony in 60 concert series, Elim Chan will lead the Orchestra in Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 2 and Unsuk Chin’s subito con forza.
U.S. Bank Movies & Music
STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI
with the Minnesota Orchestra
Thursday, May 16, 2024, 7 p.m. / Orchestra Hall
Friday, May 17, 2024, 7 p.m. / Orchestra Hall
Saturday, May 18, 2024, 7 p.m. / Orchestra Hall
Minnesota Orchestra
Sarah Hicks, conductor
Conducted by Sarah Hicks, the Minnesota Orchestra’s principal conductor of Live at Orchestra Hall, the Orchestra presents Star Wars: The Last Jedi, the penultimate installment in the ever-popular Star Wars Film Concert Series. The ensemble will perform John Williams’ iconic score while the movie plays in high definition on an overhead screen.
[Please note: This film is rated PG-13. Parents strongly cautioned as some material may be inappropriate for children under the age of 13.]
Minnesota Orchestra Classical Concerts
TETZLAFF PLAYS BRAHMS VIOLIN CONCERTO
Thursday, May 30, 2024, 11 a.m. / Orchestra Hall
Friday, May 31, 2024, 8 p.m. / Orchestra Hall
Saturday, June 1, 2024, 7 p.m. / Orchestra Hall
Minnesota Orchestra
David Afkham, conductor
Christian Tetzlaff, violin
BRAHMS Violin Concerto
DUTILLEUX Cinq Métaboles
BARTÓK Suite from The Miraculous Mandarin
A trio of German musical stars arrives at Orchestra Hall for these concerts, as violinist Christian Tetzlaff a frequent presence at Orchestra Hall since his debut in 1996, will return to offer Johannes Brahms’ immensely challenging yet deeply expressive Violin Concerto under the baton of conductor David Afkham. The concerts also present colorful works by Henri Dutilleux and Béla Bartók.
Minnesota Orchestra Classical Concerts
BRONFMAN PLAYS BEETHOVEN PIANO CONCERTO NO. 4
Friday, June 7, 2024, 8 p.m. / Orchestra Hall
Saturday, June 8, 2024, 7 p.m. / Orchestra Hall
Minnesota Orchestra
David Robertson, conductor
Yefim Bronfman, piano
HAILSTORK Symphony No. 1
BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 4
ADAMS Doctor Atomic Symphony
Musical powerhouse Yefim Bronfman, who last played with the Minnesota Orchestra in 2005, will again take the stage for a performance of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Fourth Piano Concerto. David Robertson, the chief conductor of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, will lead these concerts, which feature symphonic works by two contemporary American composers: Adolphus Hailstork and John Adams.
Wellness
YOGA
Sunday, June 9, 2024, 9 a.m. / Orchestra Hall
Musicians of the Minnesota Orchestra
Minnesota Orchestra Holiday Concerts
JUNETEENTH
with the Minnesota Orchestra
Friday, June 14, 2024, 8 p.m. / Orchestra Hall
For the second year, the Minnesota Orchestra will present a concert in celebration and remembrance of Juneteenth, the holiday commemorating the emancipation of the last African Americans still enslaved in Texas. The Orchestra, alongside special musical guests to be announced at a later date, will perform a program primarily featuring music by African American composers.
Minnesota Orchestra Holiday Concerts
SEASON FINALE: CELEBRATING PRIDE WITH THOMAS SØNDERGÅRD
Thursday, June 20, 2024, 11 a.m. / Orchestra Hall
Friday, June 21, 2024, 8 p.m. / Orchestra Hall*
Saturday, June 22, 2024, 7 p.m. / Orchestra Hall
Minnesota Orchestra
Thomas Søndergård, conductor
Francesco Piemontesi, piano
SMYTH On the Cliffs of Cornwall
BRITTEN Young Apollo
SZYMANOWSKI Symphonie concertante for Piano and Orchestra
TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 4
In the final program of the 2023-24 season, Thomas Søndergård will bring Pride Month festivities to Orchestra Hall in concerts with music by composers from the LGBTQ+ community. A longtime collaborator of Søndergård, pianist Francesco Piemontesi will perform both Britten’s Young Apollo and Karol Szymanowski’s Symphonie concertante for Piano and Orchestra. The program will also feature Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony and On the Cliffs of Cornwall by Dame Ethel Smyth, the British composer and early leader of the English suffragette movement.
* The performance on Friday, June 21, will be streamed live for free through the Orchestra’s website and social media channels. The concert will subsequently be released for on-demand viewing with a digital subscription through the Minnesota Orchestra’s Digital Concert Hall.
TICKET PURCHASING INFORMATION
Ticket packages of three or more concerts are on sale now, and can be purchased at minnesotaorchestra.org or by calling 612-371-5642. Single tickets for the Minnesota Orchestra’s 2023-24 programs will be made available on August 4, 2023. For groups of 10 or more, call 612-371-5662.
The Hall Pass program makes free tickets available for young listeners ages 6 to 18 for select Classical and Symphony in 60 concerts, and all kids under 18 for Family concerts. This program is sponsored by Cynthia and Jay Ihlenfeld. For more information, visit minnesotaorchestra.org/hallpass.
The This Is Minnesota Orchestra digital concert series is made possible in part by a generous lead gift from Kathryn and Charles Cunningham. Digital subscriptions are available for purchase; the $60 annual household subscription can be purchased at minnesotaorchestra.org/digital-concerts.
The Movies & Music series is presented by U.S. Bank.
The Chamber Music Series is sponsored by Dr. Jennine and John Speier.
Young People’s Concerts are presented by the Mary Ann Feldman Music Education Fund, the Angela S. Pennington and W. Anders Folk Student Ticket Fund, 3M, Ameriprise Financial, Midwest Radiology, RBC Wealth Management and YPSCA.
The Relaxed Family Concert series is sponsored by PNC. Co-sponsored by Eric and Celita Levinson.
The Guest Conductor Fund is supported by Roma Calatayud-Stocks and Thomas Stocks, M.D.
This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a Minnesota State Arts Board Operating Support grant, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.
MOVIE LICENSING: Werewolf by Night: Marvel Studios; Get Out: © 2017 Universal Studios; Home Alone: © 1990 Twentieth Century Fox; Frozen: © Disney; Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows™ Part 1 In Concert: WIZARDING WORLD and all related trademarks, characters, names and indicia are © & ™ Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. Publishing Rights © JKR. (s23); Star Wars: The Last Jedi: © Disney.
All programs, artists, dates, times and prices subject to change.