Classical Minnesota Stories

Watch as the Minnesota-based ensemble 29:11 International Exchange, many of whose singers and instrumentalists hail from South Africa and the Democratic Republic of Congo, tap into their African roots to, as co-founder Brendon Adams says, “spread love and reconciliation through our music.” Enjoy the results of their recent recording session with YourClassical MPR.

On Saturday, May 20, a storied concert venue on the Iron Range, Goodman Auditorium in Virginia, will host a final celebratory concert before it is decommissioned and razed. Celebrated American composer Rene Clausen has written a new concert-length choral and orchestral work, ‘Mesabi: The Sleeping Giant,’ to celebrate the historic hall. Find out more!

The Paper Clips trombone quartet took a break from its Class Notes tour of Minnesota schools recently to play for a big crowd at Harold’s on Main in Moorhead as part of an MPR event. We asked the ensemble’s Ben Bussey to write about the experience of going from the educational circuit to a bar gig.

YourClassical MPR recently hosted the Voces8 Scholars in our flagship recording studio — and what an endeavor it turned out to be. Among the highlights of the three-day session by the U.S.-based training ensemble for the U.K.’s esteemed Voces8 was a recording of Paul Smith’s ‘Nunc Dimittis’ performed with the Minneapolis-based Augsburg/Mirandola Chamber Collective. Watch now!

The Minneapolis youth choir Known MPLS is making an impact in song and in community. ‘Known MPLS first and foremost exists to consistently provide a safe space for youth to thrive,’ director Courtland Pickens says. Find out more about these remarkable singers, and watch their performance of ‘Up Above My Head.’

During the Voces8 Scholars’ recent recording residency with YourClassical MPR, the young singers enjoyed the privilege of working with Minnesota composer Shruthi Rajasekar. Watch and listen now as they perform the Midwestern premiere of her vibrant new piece ‘Sat on the Shore,’ which urges listeners to ‘put away your mobile devices’ and enjoy the beauty of the world around you.

For the first time since 2015, the North Dakota State University Challey School of Music performed its annual holiday tradition ‘Messiah’ at St. Mark's Episcopal Cathedral in downtown Minneapolis in late 2022. Listen now to that performance for Easter.

On Thursday, March 30, YourClassical MPR presented a broadcast of Minnesota Opera’s production of 'Edward Tulane,' based on a novel by Kate DiCamillo. Find out more about the making of this incredible opera from the people behind it, and listen to the on-demand audio now!

MNspin is a digital streaming platform based in Minnesota that contains more than 500 albums in its collection, showcasing music in 18 diverse genres, including classical. Sponsored by the Friends of the Hennepin County Library, that system’s cardholders can download the music for free, and any Minnesota-based performer can submit music to be considered for inclusion. Find out more!

Minnesota music explorers are in for a treat when world-renowned tabla percussionist Zakir Hussain and fifth-generation sitar player Niladri Kumar perform Saturday at the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul as part of the 40th-anniversary celebration of the Indian Music Society of Minnesota.