Updated Sep 8, 2020
Re-imagined 2020-21 Season
Throughout the pandemic, our philosophy has been to focus on ways the Minnesota Orchestra can ‘let there be music,’ despite the obstacles and challenges presented by the pandemic. We’ve reimagined the 2020-21 season with new formats and programming that are suited for this time.
Here is an overview of the revised season plan. A listing of all rescheduled and cancelled performances follows the summary.
SEPTEMBER - DECEMBER 2020
The Orchestra will perform six Friday night concerts live onstage at Orchestra Hall without audiences this fall, beginning on Friday, October 2. These performances will be available as live TV broadcasts on TPT, live radio broadcasts on Classical MPR, and livestreamed concerts at minnesotaorchestra.org, affording wide and easy access for all.
Subscribers and donors will always receive free on-demand access to these fall concerts at minnesotaorchestra.org.
The initial concerts will showcase repertoire featuring up to 25 musicians, who will be physically distanced onstage. Musical selections and artists will be announced approximately one month prior to performances.
JANUARY - AUGUST 2021
We’ve shifted as many fall performances as possible into our 2021-22 concert calendar, and concerts that are currently slated for January 8, 2021, and beyond will remain as scheduled. In the new year, we hope to be able to open Orchestra Hall for subscribers to attend concerts in person with physical distancing and safety measures in place. We’ll announce updated plans as we get closer to this time period.
Subscribers will receive separate communication about how these changes will impact their 2020-21 season ticket package as well as information about digital access to performances.
Re-imagined Schedule At-A-Glance
Live Broadcasts and Streaming
THIS IS MINNESOTA ORCHESTRA
The Minnesota Orchestra will return to the Orchestra Hall stage this fall with a revised concert season designed for television, radio and streaming audiences. Beginning on October 2, six 60-minute Friday night classical concerts—including a special holiday performance—will simultaneously be shared live on Twin Cities PBS (TPT), Classical Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) and minnesotaorchestra.org, affording wide and easy access for audiences across the state, and beyond, to experience a Minnesota Orchestra performance.
Specific programs and artists will be announced later this month.
- Fri Oct 2, 2020 8PM
- Fri Oct 23, 2020 8PM
- Fri Nov 6, 2020 8PM
- Fri Nov 20, 2020 8PM
- Fri Dec 4, 2020 8PM
- Fri Dec 18, 2020 8PM (Holiday Concert)*
*TPT & Streaming only
Rescheduled Concerts
All ticketholders will be notified by mail of these changes and offered a variety of options around their tickets.
Season Opening: Vänskä and Thibaudet
Sep 24, 2020
Rescheduled Date: Jul 29, 2021 (Grand Piano Spectacular)
Sep 25, 2020
Rescheduled Date: Jul 23, 2021 (Beethoven’s Fifth)
Sep 26, 2020
Rescheduled Date: Jul 17, 2021 (Beethoven’s Birthday Bash)
Star Wars In Concert: Return of the Jedi with the Minnesota Orchestra
Oct 8-11, 2020
Rescheduled Dates: Apr 22-25, 2021
Vänskä, Kavakos and Paulus
Oct 16, 2020
Rescheduled Date: Aug 6, 2021 (Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony)
Oct 17, 2020
Rescheduled Date: Apr 10, 2021 (Brahms Symphony No. 3)
Runnicles Conducts Haydn and Bruckner
Oct 29, 2020
Rescheduled Date: Apr 15, 2021 (Mozart, Prokofiev and Strauss)
Oct 30, 2020
Rescheduled Date: Jul 30, 2021 (Beethoven’s Emperor Concerto)
Valčuha Conducts Beethoven’s Ninth
Nov 5-7, 2020
Rescheduled Dates: Nov 2021 (Dates TBD)
Brahms, Mozart and Stravinsky’s Firebird
Nov 21, 2020
Rescheduled Date: May 29, 2021 (Manze, Gomyo and Tchaikovsky)
Chamber Music: Inspirations
Nov 22, 2020
Rescheduled Date: Apr 18, 2021 (Mozart, Prokofiev and Strauss)
Beethoven and Debussy
Dec 3, 2020
Rescheduled Date: Jul 22, 2021 (Beethoven’s Fifth)
Russian Masters: Rachmaninoff and Tchaikovsky
Dec 11, 2020
Rescheduled Date: Jul 16, 2021 (Beethoven Festival Concert)
Dec 12, 2020
Rescheduled Date: Feb 27, 2021 (Tchaikovsky’s Pathétique)
Cancelled Concerts
All ticketholders will be notified by mail of these changes and offered a variety of options around their tickets.
- Gerstein Plays Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 4 (Oct 2-3, 2020)
- Sensory-Friendly Concert in the Target Atrium (Oct 3, 2020)
- Vänskä, Kavakos and Paulus (Oct 18, 2020)
- Disney In Concert: Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas with the Minnesota Orchestra (Oct 23-24, 2020)
- Relaxed Family Concert: Symphony Spooktacular (Oct 25, 2020)
- Yoga Class (Nov 8, 2020)
- Sensory-Friendly Concert in the Target Atrium (Nov 14, 2020)
- U.S. Naval Academy Glee Club with the Minnesota Orchestra (Nov 14, 2020)
- Brahms, Mozart and Stravinsky’s Firebird (Nov 20, 2020)
- Disney In Concert: Toy Story with the Minnesota Orchestra (Nov 28-29, 2020)
- Beethoven and Debussy (Dec 4, 2020)
- Merry and Bright with Charles Lazarus (Dec 5, 2020)
- Home for the Holidays with the Minnesota Orchestra (Dec 18-20, 2020)
- George Winston (Dec 21, 2020)
- Audra McDonald with the Minnesota Orchestra (Dec 22, 2020)
- A New Year’s Celebration: Ross Plays the Cello Concerto (Dec 31, 2020-Jan 1, 2021)
- Words and Music by Dan Wilson with the Minnesota Orchestra (Apr 23-24, 2021)