Minnesota Orchestra

Thomas Wilkins made his Minnesota Orchestra conducting debut last week in a performance that featured Joel Thompson’s ‘Seven Last Words of the Unarmed,’ a multimovement choral work that presents the final spoken words of seven Black men who were each killed by the police or authority figures. Listen to the concert now.

The prestigious U.K. classical music magazine Gramophone has selected the Minnesota Orchestra as its 2021 orchestra of the year. This win comes as part of the final season of music director Osmo Vänskä's 19-year tenure with the orchestra.

Two of Minnesota's biggest brands teamed up Sunday for an unlikely partnership. Just before kickoff of the Seattle Seahawks-Minnesota Vikings game at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, the Vikings unveiled a new video mashup featuring their players and the Minnesota Orchestra.

The Minnesota Orchestra is the latest organization to require proof of full vaccination or a recent negative COVID-19 test to attend events.

Conductor Karina Canellakis leads the Minnesota Orchestra in a concert featuring Peter Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4, along with selections from William Grant Still’s Symphony No. 1 and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 21, with pianist Jon Kimura Parker. Listen now, with host Steve Seel.

Only a limited number will be allowed in Orchestra Hall. The orchestra will continue presenting live concerts on radio, TV and livestream through at least August.

From Mahler to Berlioz, bells are an important part of orchestral repertoire. But, for the longest time, the Minnesota Orchestra relied on computer-based bell samplings and chimes to bring out those booming sounds. Thanks to a generous gift, however, two new bells will be added to the ensemble.

COVID-19 cancellations of concerts and the orchestra's biggest fundraiser of the year, the Symphony Ball, punched a hole in the organizations finances.

Gathering with our community, our family, and our people to celebrate this holiday season will likely be different than in years past. Listen to 'A Midwinter Gathering' with the Minnesota Orchestra and Kevin Kling.

To celebrate National Radio Day (Aug. 20), Classical MPR offers a special presentation of our live March 13 broadcast of the Minnesota Orchestra, with remastered audio and new commentary from host Melissa Ousley, as a gift to listeners. On that historic night, the orchestra performed to an audience-less hall amid concerns surrounding the coronavirus.