Minnesota Orchestra member since: 1999
Position: Associate Principal Trumpet 
Hometown: Blair, Nebraska
Education: Arizona State University

As the MMEA All-State Orchestra and Bands prepare for the culminating concerts of their season on Saturday, February 15, at Orchestra Hall, bass player Meghan Weiss reflects on her experience rehearsing and performing side-by-side with the Minnesota Orchestra last October as part of the Orchestra’s “Hear Into The Future Week.”

Russian musical masterworks richly wind their way through the Minnesota Orchestra season this year. Arts writer Emily Hogstad explores some of these creations, their composers, and the sound that lends them a uniquely Russian flair.

Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra is not your typical concerto and it’s unlike any standard symphony, too. It upends traditional orchestral forms by treating each section of instruments across the entire ensemble as the star, with a variety of featured moments and virtuosic opportunities. And if you are someone who likes word searches or I Spy games, you might find this incredible piece of music to be a search-and-find puzzle of its own kind.

Mark your calendars for an unforgettable evening of music, dining, dancing and good company: the Minnesota Orchestra’s 2020 Symphony Ball, “A Night at the Moulin Rouge,” will be held Saturday, June 6, at Orchestra Hall and the adjacent Hilton Hotel. The Orchestra’s largest annual fundraiser is chaired this year by Bill and Katie Miller, Anders Folk and Angela Pennington, who collectively shared their thoughts on the Ball, its theme and more.

The Minnesota Orchestra is on a Midwestern U.S. tour that features an immersive residency at Indiana University, as well as the Orchestra's first performance at the University of Michigan since 1972. Follow along for updates including masterclasses, side-by-side rehearsals and other highlights in this blog from the road. 

Which Minnesota Orchestra musicians are originally from the Land of 10,000 Lakes? And what is it like to make a musical career in the place where you grew up? Hear from six Orchestra musicians who were born and raised in Minnesota in this roundtable conversation, hosted by The Current's Andrea Swensson and Classical MPR's Melissa Ousley.

Minnesota Orchestra member since: January 2019
Section: Cello
Hometown: Houston, TX
Education: Rice University; The Juilliard School

By guest blogger Mandy Meisner

How Orchestra Hall became the first performing arts center in the country to achieve LEED v4 O+M certification

We want to make your visit to downtown Minneapolis easy and enjoyable. That's why we created this Know Before You Go guide to parking, restaurants and hotels. Take a look and plan your next visit to Orchestra Hall.

Minnesota Orchestra member since: 2009
Position/section: Associate Principal Flute
Hometown: Delafield, WI
Education: The University of Minnesota, University of Southern California

By Ellen Dinwiddie Smith

Minnesota Orchestra musician since: September 2019
Section: Associate Principal Viola
Hometown: Sioux Falls, S.D.
Education: University of Minnesota, Eastman School of Music, The Juilliard School

Music-lover Bill Halverson reflects on a lifetime of listening, how each concert holds the promise of magic, and one of the most memorable displays of “piano wizardry” he ever encountered.

Principal Conductor of Live at Orchestra Hall Sarah Hicks has become a master of Movies and Music concerts.  Watch how she brings it all together and find out why she says "it's like playing a demented video game."

by Wendy Williams

Minnesota Orchestra member since: September 2018   
Position: Assistant Principal Viola       
Hometown: Seoul, Korea     
Education: The Juilliard School 

Minnesota Orchestra member since: September 2017
Position/section: First Violin
Hometown: Chicago 
Education: New England Conservatory; The Juilliard School

A new voice has taken over the airwaves for the Minnesota Orchestra live broadcasts on Classical Minnesota Public Radio. Melissa Ousley stepped into her new role for the Season Opening concerts and will return to the broadcast booth on October 11 to bring you the Orchestra's performance with pianist Inon Barnatan.

Principal Cello Anthony Ross has made quite an impact on the Minnesota Orchestra and the Twin Cities arts scene for more than thirty years. Take a look at a recent Star Tribune feature about Ross.

Over four decades, Kinder Konzerts have introduced thousands of children to classical music and given many their first experience at Orchestra Hall.

We know what you're thinking. An orchestra concert. Audiences formally clad in tuxes and gowns. A light smattering of polite applause. An uncomfortable seat with lots of shushing. Not an ideal way to spend your Saturday night, right?

Forget about it.

We get this question a lot, so we put together a few outfit suggestions for inspiration. 

Musical selections performed during The Prodigious Life of Clara S. on July 27, 2019.

Choral conductor Ahmed Anzaldua—who is preparing the Minnesota Chorale and the Border CrosSing choir for their August 2-3 performances of La Pasión with the Minnesota Orchestra—offers the following guide to this extraordinary work, which he describes as encapsulating truths about “human nature, emotion and history.”

OH+ (Orchestra Hall Plus) is the avenue through which we collaborate with partners to curate pre- and post-concert experiences that create and deepen connections between the Minnesota Orchestra and the community.

This summer’s OH+ lineup includes a variety of free opportunities for people of all ages to engage with the music and the Música Juntos theme in fun, surprising, and even whimsical ways! Read about the Tour Displays, Art Exhibits and Activities below, and then check out the Complete schedule of events to see which activities are happening on the day of your visit to Orchestra Hall. 

Seven emerging composers have been selected as participants for the Minnesota Orchestra’s 17th annual Composer Institute, Institute Director Kevin Puts and the Orchestra announced today. The selected composers, whose works encompass a variety of musical styles, were chosen from a pool of 156 applicants through a highly competitive process.

As the Minnesota Orchestra prepares to perform composer Osvaldo Golijov’s astonishing La Pasión según San Marcos (The Passion According to St. Mark), conductor Ahmed Anzaldúa writes about the power and genius of this work that he considers “one of humanity’s greatest musical achievements.” Anzaldúa, who is founder and conductor of the choir Border CrosSing, will prepare the choruses for the Orchestra’s August 2 and 3 performances of the epic work. 

On Friday, June 14, Brian Newhouse signs off for the last time as the regular host of Classical Minnesota Public Radio’s live broadcasts of the Minnesota Orchestra’s Friday night classical concerts. Newhouse, who hosted Orchestra broadcasts from 1986-1992 and from 1998 to the present, answered a few questions about his work and most treasured memories.

On Friday, June 14, Classical MPR announcer Brian Newhouse will give voice to his final Minnesota Orchestra broadcast. For more than 25 years (1986 to 1992, and 1998 until now), Newhouse has hosted the Orchestra’s live Friday night concerts from a tiny backstage broadcast booth at Orchestra Hall, masterfully interviewing artists, describing the intensity of a Beethoven passage and filling with ad-libs when onstage surprises occur.

On a Friday evening in March, a gentleman from Brainerd decided on a whim to pop into Orchestra Hall. He was in town for the weekend, staying down the street at the DoubleTree hotel, and looking for something to do. The Orchestra’s evening concert had already begun, but our Box Office manager provided him with a discounted ticket to see the remaining pieces – Schumann’s Violin Concerto and Schubert’s “Unfinished Symphony.”

Since 1996, 141 emerging composers have participated in the Minnesota Orchestra Composer Institute and its predecessor, Perfect Pitch. Many have since gone on to impressive careers, earning prestigious commissions and high honors. A growing number of them are also nurturing ties to the Twin Cities music community.

Symphony Ball is the Minnesota Orchestra’s biggest fundraising event of the year. But it’s also an opportunity to get all our favorite people in one place, enjoy good food, drink, and company, and celebrate together our shared love of music and this wonderful, vibrant arts community.

But what IS Symphony Ball? What’s it like? Who’s going to be there? Here’s a snapshot of what you can expect when you get dressed to the nines and head out to the best party in town.

Minnesota Orchestra musician since: September 2017
Section: Second Violin
Hometown: Bryn Athyn, Pa.
Education: Cleveland Institute of Music, Rice University 

By Sam Bergman, viola and host of Inside the Classics

The Minnesota Orchestra performs Jennifer Higdon's blue cathedral on June 1, as part of an Inside the Classics concert titled Love That Dare Not Speak. Read about the story behind the music and learn all about Jennifer in this Meet the Composer Q&A. 

Composer Victoria Borisova-Ollas' music has been performed all around the world but is brand new to the Minnesota Orchestra. Where does her inspiration come from, and what should we listen for as we experience The Kingdom of Silence at Orchestra Hall on May 30 and 31? 

Join Principal and Assistant Principal Librarians Maureen Conroy and Valerie Little for "5 Things You Didn't Know About the MN Orch Library!"

Are you curious about how the Baroque era differs from the Romantic one? And which composers wrote during the Classical time period? Writer Matthew Philion offers this brief history of how classical music has evolved through the ages—alongside some Minnesota Orchestra recording suggestions to bring these soundscapes to life.

Geoffrey Gordon's Prometheus had its world premiere performance in London just three months ago. Gordon tells us a little bit about himself, his music and what has happened since the premiere, as he prepares to visit Minneapolis to hear the piece performed by the Minnesota Orchestra on April 24, 25 and 26.

Minnesota Orchestra to embark on first-ever tour by a U.S. orchestra to Antarctica

Complete silence. A couch to nap on. A window with a view. What are other key elements for crafting a new piece of music? And what is it like to hear your music performed by the Minnesota Orchestra for the first time?

By Emily Hogstad

By Kevin Kling

If you’re lucky enough to know Mark Carlson, you know he’s a great volunteer lead usher: personable, dependable, thoughtful and kind.

Minnesota Orchestra member since: December 2018
Position: Principal Timpani
Hometown: born in Minneapolis; raised in Marshall, Minnesota
Education: Indiana University

At orchestra concerts, percussionists can usually be found in the back of the ensemble. But on March 14, 15 and 16, guest percussionist Colin Currie will be front and center on the Orchestra Hall stage for the U.S. premiere of Martland Memorial by English composer Mark-Anthony Turnage. You may have a few questions about this work, so let’s dive in.

Missy Mazzoli's first big break as an orchestral composer took place right here with the Minnesota Orchestra with the same piece that the Orchestra plays in concerts on March 14 to 16. We asked Missy to tell us about that moment, what she is working on now and her thoughts on being a female composer in the classical music industry today.

Who writes the Minnesota Orchestra’s program notes in our monthly Showcase magazine—and what goes into writing them? One of our favorite collaborators is Montreal-based writer Robert Markow, who answered a few questions for our “Meet the Annotator” Q&A series.

"American classical music is not an old-growth forest," says University of Minnesota Musicology Professor Peter Mercer-Taylor, who shares his thoughts on the many voices that comprise our country's unique classical music tradition.

On March 24, we welcome The Swingles to Orchestra Hall for one afternoon of incredible vocal music. Preview some of our favorite Swingles tunes, hear from two of the group's vocalists and then get your tickets!

Plans are coming together for a spectacular 2019 Symphony Ball, “Northern Lights,” to be held on Saturday, June 8, at Orchestra Hall and the Hilton Hotel—and you can be among the first to get your tickets when they go on sale at the end of this month! This gala evening of music, dining, dancing and good company is for a great cause: your Minnesota Orchestra. The Orchestra’s largest annual fundraiser is chaired this year by Betsy Frost and Charlie Anderson, who share their thoughts on the Ball, its theme and their longtime love of music.

Minnesota Orchestra member since: 2014
Position: Assistant Principal Second Violin
Hometown: St. Louis, Missouri
Education: University of Michigan; Cleveland Institute of Music; Rice University 

The Minnesota Orchestra performs Garages of the Valley by American composer Mason Bates in concerts on February 22 and 23. It is the first time the Orchestra has performed the piece. We asked the composer to tell us more about it and to share his thoughts on new music, his current projects and a little bit about himself.

By Sam Bergman, viola and host of Inside the Classics

From January 21 through 27, 2019, Minnesota Orchestra musicians participated in approximately 25 events throughout North Minneapolis in the Orchestra’s first-ever Twin Cities-area Common Chords residency week.

Free ticket offer is good for two tickets to select Minnesota Orchestra Classical concerts through June 2019

A Generous Policy, Now Even Easier for You

From January 21 through 27, 2019, Minnesota Orchestra musicians will participate in approximately 25 events throughout North Minneapolis in the Orchestra’s first-ever Twin Cities-area Common Chords residency week.

As part of the American Expressions festival, we are celebrating how our Orchestra and community have been enriched by people with roots all over the world.

Minnesota Orchestra member since: 2018
Position: Associate Principal Oboe
Hometown: Quincy, IL
Education: Curtis institute of Music 

by Dan Chouinard

We’ve all heard the term, “evergreen,” but Barb Holmes’ life inspires another term: “ever-young.” That’s because Barb, despite retiring in 2001 from a 35-year career in education, is always taking on new tasks and challenges to learn and grow.

From all of us at the Minnesota Orchestra, we wish you a wonderful, musical holiday season!

This season, six Minnesota Orchestra musicians take center stage as featured soloists! Take a moment to get to know each of them (including their favorite superheroes), then mark your calendar to hear their magnificent music at Orchestra Hall!

At the 2017-18 annual meeting, major news was shared on two fronts. We highlighted the artistic and financial milestones of the Orchestra’s 2017-18 season and Osmo Vänskä announced plans to conclude his tenure as Music Director of the Minnesota Orchestra in August 2022.

By Kevin Kling

We are excited to welcome two new musicians to the Minnesota Orchestra this winter. Felicity James has been appointed associate concertmaster and Erich Rieppel has been appointed principal timpani. We look forward to seeing them onstage at Orchestra Hall soon!