Music Director Osmo Vänskä conducts three newly-scheduled performances, October 13-19, 2019
“Hear into the Future” Concerts include a Relaxed Family Concert, four Young People’s Concerts, a special performance at North Community High School; and a performance with the MMEA All-State Orchestra and University of Minnesota Symphony Orchestra, preceded by a community meal at Orchestra Hall
The October 16 Young People’s Concert will be live-streamed, and available for all audiences on Facebook, YouTube and at minnesotaorchestra.org
October 18 and 19 concerts will feature Aaron Dworkin’s The American Rhapsody, a new work for orchestra and spoken word that weaves together the music of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, speeches by George Washington and Dworkin’s own text interludes
All public performances are “pay what you can”
The Minnesota Orchestra’s October performance calendar now features a week of “Hear into the Future” concerts—including three newly-scheduled concerts and four Young People’s Concerts—October 13-19, 2019, celebrating musical connections with youth, students and community. Led by Music Director Osmo Vänskä, the week opens with a Relaxed Family Concert (Sunday, October 13) for audiences of all abilities; continues with four Young People’s Concerts for student groups (Tuesday, October 15, and Wednesday, October 16); and brings the Orchestra to North Community High School (Friday, October 18) for a special performance featuring North High’s dance troupe, spoken word artists and other Northside artists. The week concludes at Orchestra Hall (Saturday, October 19) with a community meal and concert collaboration showcasing the next generation of orchestral musicians, featuring the Minnesota Music Educators Association All-State Orchestra and University of Minnesota Symphony Orchestra.
All public performances are offered on a “pay what you can” basis. More information is available at minnesotaorchestra.org and by phone at 612-371-5656. For further reservation details, refer to the information section at the conclusion of this press release.
A highlight of the October 18 and 19 concerts will be the world premiere performance of Aaron Dworkin’s The American Rhapsody, a multi-media work combining orchestral music and spoken word that weaves Afro-British composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s Symphonic Variations on an African Air with the writings and speeches of George Washington, and Dworkin’s own poetic and prosaic interludes. Dworkin writes, “As a multi-racial American…I could find no better setting in which to tell our American story. This work brings together the words of a white Founding Father, the music composed by a Black man of the nation from which Washington fought to free us, based on a song sung by the slaves who Washington ultimately freed. I humbly pay tribute to our past and offer a sentiment towards our future with The American Rhapsody.” Dworkin is a 2005 MacArthur Fellow and founder of The Sphinx Organization who currently serves as a professor of arts leadership at the University of Michigan. He will perform as the spoken word artist in these concerts.
Relaxed Family Concert
MOZART THE ADVENTURER
Sunday, October 13, 2019, 2 p.m. / Orchestra Hall
Minnesota Orchestra
Osmo Vänskä, conductor
H. Adam Harris, actor
Susie Park, violin
Rebecca Albers, viola
Justin Staebell, baritone
Program to include selections from:
HAYDN Symphony No. 82, The Bear
MOZART Symphony No. 25
SAINT-GEORGES Violin Concerto
MOZART Sinfonia concertante
ANGERER Toy Symphony
MOZART The Magic Flute
MOZART Symphony No. 41, Jupiter
Music Director Osmo Vänskä leads a one-hour Relaxed Family Concert that explores Mozart’s pioneering musical works, as well as music from composers who were his greatest influences. H. Adam Harris will host the concert as composer Joseph Haydn, First Associate Concertmaster Susie Park will solo in a movement from Saint-Georges’ Violin Concerto and perform with Principal Viola Rebecca Albers in an excerpt from Mozart’s exquisite Sinfonia concertante. Audiences will hear music from Mozart’s Jupiter Symphony and The Magic Flute, featuring baritone Justin Staebell, among other works.
The Minnesota Orchestra's Relaxed Family Concerts are inclusive experiences for audiences of all abilities, including individuals on the autism spectrum and those with sensory sensitivities.
Tickets: Pay what you can, suggested price $5
Young People’s Concerts
VÄNSKÄ CONDUCTS MOZART THE ADVENTURER
Tuesday, October 15, 2019, 10 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. / Orchestra Hall
Wednesday, October 16, 2019, 10 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. / Orchestra Hall
Minnesota Orchestra
Osmo Vänskä, conductor
Adam Harris, actor
Susie Park, violin
Rebecca Albers, viola
Justin Staebell, baritone
Program to include selections from:
HAYDN Symphony No. 82, The Bear
MOZART Symphony No. 25
SAINT-GEORGES Violin Concerto
MOZART Sinfonia concertante
ANGERER Toy Symphony
MOZART The Magic Flute
MOZART Symphony No. 41, Jupiter
Young People’s Concerts are the Minnesota Orchestra’s flagship education program, bringing students from across the metro and state to Orchestra Hall to experience live symphonic music—in many cases for the first time. The October 16 “Mozart the Adventurer” program will be livestreamed on Facebook and YouTube during its 11:30 a.m. performance, offering an opportunity for students and audiences anywhere to experience the concert. The program will remain available for free viewing through the end of November on Facebook, YouTube and at minnesotaorchestra.org.
Tickets: For information on attending a Young People’s Concert, visit minnesotaorchestra.org/yp or contact the Minnesota Orchestra’s Group Sales Department at (612) 371-5671.
Special Concert
MINNESOTA ORCHESTRA AT NORTH COMMUNITY HIGH SCHOOL
Friday, October 18, 2019, 7 p.m. / North Community High School
Minnesota Orchestra
Osmo Vänskä, conductor
Aaron Dworkin, spoken word artist
North Community High School Dance Students, Tamiko French, dance teacher
Program to include:
ABREU Tico Tico
MONTGOMERY Starburst
ELGAR Selections from Enigma Variations
COLERIDGE-TAYLOR/DWORKIN The American Rhapsody
Music Director Osmo Vänskä and the Minnesota Orchestra return to the North Community High School auditorium for a multi-generational concert that features Northside artists and performers. The North High School Dance Troupe will perform original choreography to composer Jessie Montgomery’s Starburst and spoken word artist Aaron Dworkin will join the Minnesota Orchestra for the first performances of The American Rhapsody, featuring Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s evocative Symphonic Variations on an African Air, writings by George Washington, and Dworkin’s own poetic and prosaic interludes.
Tickets: Pay what you can, suggested price $10
Special Concert and Community Meal with Musicians
THE AMERICAN RHAPSODY: A CONCERT FOR MINNESOTA
Saturday, October 19, 2019, 7 p.m. / Orchestra Hall
Minnesota Orchestra
Osmo Vänskä, conductor
Melissa Ousley, host
North Community High School Dance Students, Tamiko French, dance teacher
MMEA All-State Orchestra
University of Minnesota Symphony Orchestra
Program to include:
ABREU Tico Tico
MONTGOMERY Starburst
COLERIDGE-TAYLOR/DWORKIN The American Rhapsody
STILL Selections from The American Scene (The South)
BRAHMS Allegro con spirito, from Symphony No. 2
SHOSTAKOVICH Moderato, from Symphony No. 7, Leningrad
The “Hear Into the Future” week culminates in a vibrant program that brings together performances by student dancers, musicians and the Minnesota Orchestra, led by Osmo Vänskä. The North High School Dance Troupe will reprise their original work set to Jessie Montgomery’s high-energy Starburst, and Vänskä will lead the Orchestra Hall premiere of Aaron Dworkin’s The American Rhapsody. The Minnesota Music Educators Association All-State Orchestra—featuring talented high school music students from around the state—will perform alongside the Minnesota Orchestra in movements from Brahms’ Second Symphony and William Grant Still’s The American Scene. The University of Minnesota Symphony Orchestra will also perform alongside the Minnesota Orchestra, showcasing their interpretation of the second movement of Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 7, Leningrad.
The concert is preceded by a community meal, beginning at 5 p.m., with Minnesota Orchestra musicians in the Orchestra Hall lobby. Seating for the community meal is limited and advance purchase is recommended; additionally, a concert ticket for that evening’s performance is required.
Concert Tickets: Pay what you can, suggested price $10
Community Meal: $15 per ticket
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.
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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