Venezuelan conductor Maria Guinand leads the Orchestra and a cast of solo vocalists, instrumentalists and combined choirs in the Minnesota Orchestra premiere of Golijov’s La Pasión según San Marcos (The Passion According to St. Mark)
Akiko Fujimoto conducts the Orchestra on August 1, Principal Clarinet Gabriel Campos Zamora plays Artie Shaw’s Clarinet Concerto
In the final weekend of its Música Juntos (Music Together) summer festival, the Minnesota Orchestra presents a concert that showcases diverse music from across South, Central and North America, in addition to two performances of the Minnesota premiere of Argentine composer Osvaldo Golijov’s La Pasión según San Marcos (The Passion According to Saint Mark), a Latin American-infused choral-orchestral telling of the Biblical Passion story that has been hailed as “the first indisputably great composition of the 21st century.”
On Saturday, August 1, Associate Conductor Akiko Fujimoto leads the Orchestra in a program celebrating music by composers such as George Gershwin, Astor Piazzolla, Zequinha de Abreu and Arturo Márquez, plus a solo performance of Artie Shaw’s Clarinet Concerto played by Principal Clarinet Gabriel Campos Zamora. The Orchestra is joined by dancers from local Folklórico ensemble Los Alegres Bailadores.
The summer’s finale comes in the Orchestra’s performances of Osvaldo Golijov’s La Pasión según San Marcos, on Friday, August 2, and Saturday, August 3. These concerts, conducted by award-winning Venezuelan conductor María Guinand, will feature a remarkable cast of international soloists and instrumentalists, alumni of La Schola Cantorum de Venezuela who participated in the work’s world premiere in 2000, as well as Twin Cities performers from Border CrosSing and the Minnesota Chorale.
For more details about each of these concerts, see concert listing below. Biographies of conductors and performers for these concerts can be found at minnesotaorchestra.org.
The concerts are performed at the Orchestra’s home venue in downtown Minneapolis, Orchestra Hall. Celebrating the Americas: Gershwin, Márquez and More takes place on Thursday, August 1, at 7:30 p.m., with ticket prices ranging from $20 to $80. La Pasión según San Marcos is held on Friday, August 2, at 8 p.m., and Saturday, August 3, at 8 p.m., and with ticket prices ranging from $30 to $97. More information is available at minnesotaorchestra.org and by phone at 612-371-5656. For further purchasing details, refer to the information section at the conclusion of this press release.
OUTDOOR FOOD AND MUSIC
At all summer concerts from July 6 to August 3, audiences are invited to enjoy an array of food and beverage options—including a $5 happy hour—in the lobby, outside of Orchestra Hall and on the City of Minneapolis’ newly-revitalized Peavey Plaza, while listening to free live music by local artists. All Sommerfest outdoor and lobby entertainment pre- and post-concert is open to the public. A ticket is only required for entry to the full-Orchestra performances in the auditorium.
Sommerfest: Música Juntos
CELEBRATING THE AMERICAS: GERSHWIN, MÁRQUEZ AND MORE
Thursday, August 1, 2019, 7:30 p.m. / Orchestra Hall
Minnesota Orchestra
Akiko Fujimoto, conductor
Gabriel Campos Zamora, clarinet
Los Alegres Bailadores, Folklórico dance ensemble
GERSHWIN Cuban Overture
ORBÓN Conga (Xylofono), from Tres Versiones Sinfónicas
SHAW Clarinet Concerto
PONCE Estrellita (Little Star)
ABREU Tico Tico
MÁRQUEZ Conga del Fuego Nuevo (Conga of New Fire)
PIAZZOLLA/arr. Maturet Oblivion, from Henry IV
MONCAYO Huapango
GERSHWIN An American in Paris
Associate Conductor Akiko Fujimoto leads a program sampling music of the Americas. Bookended by Gershwin works, the concert features Principal Clarinet Gabriel Campos Zamora interpreting the Artie Shaw Clarinet Concerto and Folklórico dance ensemble Los Alegres Bailadores performing on José Pablo Moncayo’s Huapango, a work premiered in 1941 by the Mexico Symphony Orchestra that has become known as a second Mexican national anthem.
Tickets: $20 to $70
Sommerfest: Música Juntos
LA PASIÓN SEGÚN SAN MARCOS
Friday, August 2, 2019, 8 p.m. / Orchestra Hall
Saturday, August 3, 2019, 8 p.m. / Orchestra Hall
Minnesota Orchestra
María Guinand, conductor
Marcela Lorca, stage director
Jessica Rivera, soprano
Luciana Souza, mezzo
Reynaldo González-Fernández, vocalist and dancer
Gonzalo Grau, piano
Mikael Ringquist, percussion
Marcus Santos, percussion
Michael Ward-Bergeman, accordion
Aquiles Báez, guitar
Jeff Bailey, bass
Guerreiro, capoeira and berimbau
Ahmed Anzaldúa, choral preparation
Alumni of Schola Cantorum de Venezuela
Border CrosSing
Minnesota Chorale
GOLIJOV La Pasión según San Marcos (The Passion according to St. Mark)
Blending classical, Latin American folk and dance genres with Brazilian, Afro-Cuban, South American and European styles, Argentinian composer Osvaldo Golijov’s La Pasión según San Marcos (The Passion according to St. Mark) tells the Biblical story of the final days of Jesus Christ’s life on earth. Venezuelan conductor María Guinand, whose conducting has been described as “a combination of Pierre Boulez-like precision and the authority of a dancing Gustavo Dudamel” (Los Angeles Times), will conduct, and the Twin Cities-based artistic director of Ten Thousand Things Theater Marcela Lorca will provide stage direction.
Tickets: $30 to $97
TICKET PURCHASING INFORMATION
Tickets can be purchased online at minnesotaorchestra.org, or by calling 612-371-5656 or 800-292-4141. Tickets can be purchased in person at the Orchestra Hall Box Office, 1111 Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis (open Monday to Friday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and beginning two hours before all ticketed performances); and at the Minnesota Orchestra Administrative Office, International Centre, 5th floor, 920 Second Avenue South, Minneapolis (open Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.). For more information, call 612-371-5656, or visit minnesotaorchestra.org. For subscriptions, call 612-371-5642 or visit minnesotaorchestra.org/subscribe. For groups of 10 or more, call 612-371-5662.
All programs, artists, dates, times and prices subject to change.
The Star Tribune is the Minnesota Orchestra’s media partner for the 2018-19 season.
Música Juntos is sponsored by Target and TCF.
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.
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