Your Orchestra, Your Impact

Donor support fueled…

Great collaborations and artistry with stellar artists and community partners that brought Orchestra Hall to life—showcasing a roster of internationally renowned guest artists and the Orchestra’s own reputation as a world-class ensemble. Throughout this unique period of transition between music directors, Orchestra musicians’ collaborative ethos and show-stopping talents—on full display whether getting into the groove with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, premiering major commissions like brea(d)th or electrifying the stage with Thomas Søndergård—brought to life another landmark season that showed how music brings us together. 

All season long, your support showed us that whenever we gather to celebrate a holiday, music is always at the center of the festivities. This year saw the return of our popular Lunar New Year concert and introduced a new tradition: a program commemorating Juneteenth, the holiday that celebrates the emancipation in 1865 of the last enslaved African Americans in Texas. Through these dynamic and diverse programs, Orchestra Hall became a community space where new and returning audiences alike gathered to hear music inspired by these traditions.

Any Minnesotan will tell you that summer in our state is one of the year’s best seasons—and along with those warm, shimmery nights comes the Orchestra’s annual festival, Summer at Orchestra Hall, curated by virtuoso pianist and Creative Partner Jon Kimura Parker. The theme for this year’s festival was “Music in Motion,” with Artist in Residence BRKFST Dance Company helping us find all the right moves for the month-long season. Your gifts helped kick it all off with the International Day of Music, our free 12-hour celebration of music for all ages, showcasing more than 25 acts across four stages in and around Orchestra Hall and programmed in coordination with The Cedar Cultural Center. To end our festival on a high note, audience darling Dessa returned in August for genre-blending concerts conducted by Sarah Hicks.

Dozens of yellow school buses carrying excited young learners to Orchestra Hall is an iconic sight in Minneapolis and a unique rite of passage for many Minnesota students. This season, with the generous help of our committed supporters, those buses once again descended on Orchestra Hall as our long-running Young People’s Concerts returned in full force. Nearly 30,000 students got to experience the thrill of live music, many for the first time. “This is the best day of my life!” one attendee exclaimed. Reaching the youngest generation of learners has been a core aspect of the Minnesota Orchestra’s mission since our Young People’s Concerts began in 1911.

With your support, the Orchestra is also creating welcoming concert experiences for all to enjoy music in their own ways with friends and family. Thousands turned out for our three Relaxed Family Concerts of the season, and we expanded our Sensory-Friendly Concerts in the Target Atrium to include programming geared towards supporting teens and adults with autism, sensory sensitivities or other types of neurodivergence, in partnership with Minneapolis-based Toneworks Music Therapy, LLC, and the Autism Society of Minnesota.

Through donor support, the Orchestra was able to extend its reach well beyond the walls of Orchestra Hall throughout the 2022–23 season. For a week in early May, the Orchestra hit the road for Austin, Minnesota, and the return of the Common Chords residency program, funded by The Hormel Foundation and Mayo Clinic. Small ensembles “spammed” the Austin community with more than 18 events—attended by some 5,000 Austin residents—specially curated by the Orchestra in partnership with Austin community leaders. The celebratory week was capped off by an Orchestra performance led by Sarah Hicks at Austin High School.

Your support drives free, live access for viewers across our state (and beyond!) to the Orchestra through the television and digital series, This Is Minnesota Orchestra, which provides listeners a best-seat-in-the-house experience from the comfort of home, in partnership with Twin Cities Public Television and YourClassical MPR. Total reported viewership for the season reached 235,000 individuals. In recognition of the artistry and innovation of this series, the Orchestra was awarded an Upper Midwest Emmy in 2022 for its broadcast with indie rock band Cloud Cult.

Thanks to generous donor gifts, the Minnesota Orchestra was able to bring awe-inspiring musical moments to our community throughout last season. Whether Orchestra musicians were gathered in St. Paul to celebrate Las Posadas, joining our neighbors for a festive celebration at Open Streets West Broadway or commemorating the life of George Floyd at the annual Rise and Remember vigil, the music kept bringing us together all year long.

As we look back at another landmark season, it’s also important to look ahead. In July, famed music presenter First Avenue announced that the Minnesota Orchestra would become a strategic partner in the development and operation of a new 8,000-seat amphitheater. Located alongside the Mississippi on the city’s Northside as part of the Upper Harbor Terminal project, the new venue will offer outdoor concerts for thousands, community programming managed by the African American Community Development Corporation and an expanded footprint for music in Minneapolis. With the Orchestra helping to bring the amphitheater to reality, a new era in Minneapolis music-making begins in 2025.