MINNESOTA ORCHESTRA ANNOUNCES FALL THIS IS MINNESOTA ORCHESTRA BROADCAST LINE-UP
Audiences will be able to view four Minnesota Orchestra concerts live on Twin Cities PBS (TPT-2) this fall, as well as on minnesotaorchestra.org and social media, as part of the This Is Minnesota Orchestra co-production with Twin Cities PBS
Concerts will be broadcast live on October 1, November 3, December 3 and December 31, 2021
Friday night Classical concerts will continue to be available as live radio broadcasts on YourClassical Minnesota Public Radio
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA (SEPTEMBER 24, 2021) — Minnesota Orchestra concerts will continue to be available for television, radio and streaming audiences this fall, even as the Orchestra returns to a regular weekly schedule of performances for in-person audiences at Orchestra Hall. Audiences will be able to access four live Minnesota Orchestra concerts between October 1 and December 31, 2021, on Twin Cities PBS (TPT-2), as well as on the Orchestra’s website and social media channels, as part of the This Is Minnesota Orchestra series. The Orchestra’s Friday night Classical concerts will continue to be broadcast live on the radio, as part of a longstanding partnership with YourClassical Minnesota Public Radio (MPR).
The concerts designated for television broadcast and livestreaming, a co-production with TPT, will feature Music Director Osmo Vänskä leading Sergei Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet Suite (Friday, October 1, 8 p.m.); conductor Sarah Hicks leading a Young People’s Concert collaboration with the Science Museum of Minnesota (Wednesday, November 3, 4 p.m.); conductor Thomas Søndergård leading Richard Strauss’ Ein Heldenleben (Friday, December 3, 8 p.m.); and New Year’s Eve celebration of Jean Sibelius’ music, conducted by Vänskä (December 31, 8:30 p.m.).
The broadcasts will be available to audiences at no cost as they debut live and for up to a week afterward; subsequent on-demand access to This Is Minnesota Orchestra is currently available as a benefit to 2021-22 concert subscribers and later this season will be available for purchase as part of a standalone digital membership. The November 3 Young People’s Concert will remain free for all audiences as both a live and on-demand experience.
“We developed these television and livestreamed performances last season as a way to keep the music playing during the pandemic, and now the series is blossoming into something new,” said Mr. Vänskä. “It is a way for us to keep connected to people who can’t come to Orchestra Hall or who want to watch an encore broadcast—and it offers more opportunities to bring people closer to the music and musicians.”
The Orchestra offered 19 TV broadcasts/livestreams last season, and the series has received nearly 800,000 views to date, with two episodes recently receiving 2021 Upper Midwest Regional Emmy Award nominations.
A NEW SEASON
Sarah Hicks, the Orchestra’s principal conductor for Live at Orchestra Hall concerts, will reprise her role as host of This Is Minnesota Orchestra. Led by TPT producer Ashleigh Rowe, the series will continue to feature high-definition video and a high-quality audio mix from YourClassical MPR. The broadcasts will now expand to encompass a two-hour concert including a full intermission feature that will showcase artist interviews and segments that bring audiences behind the scenes. (Concerts in the previous season were primarily filmed without an in-person audience, running about 90 minutes in length with no intermission.)
Audiences will be able to access concerts in the following ways:
- For TV viewing live on Twin Cities PBS (TPT-2) on designated concert days (audiences can check local listings for rebroadcast times);
- For livestream viewing at minnesotaorchestra.org and on the Orchestra’s social media channels live on designated concert days;
- For radio listening on stations of YourClassical Minnesota Public Radio live for Friday night Classical concert, available at 99.5 FM in the Twin Cities and online at yourclassical.org, hosted by Melissa Ousley. (Note: the Friday, December 31 program will not be offered as a live radio broadcast.)
On-demand access for This Is Minnesota Orchestra concerts is currently available only to concert subscribers who have received a free Digital Concert Hall membership as a benefit of subscribing; later this season access to the Digital Concert Hall will be available for purchase as part of a stand-alone digital membership. The Digital Concert Hall will offer easy, anytime-you-want-to-watch access to This Is Minnesota Orchestra performances from both the upcoming and previous seasons, as well as additional premium interviews and content.
Concert dates for the winter season of This Is Minnesota Orchestra will be announced later this fall.
THIS IS MINNESOTA ORCHESTRA TV/LIVESTREAM BROADCASTS
OCTOBER-DECEMBER 2021
VÄNSKÄ CONDUCTS ROMEO AND JULIET
Friday, October 1, 2021, 8 p.m. Central/ Orchestra Hall
Minnesota Orchestra
Osmo Vänskä, conductor
Lorna McGhee, flute
Program to include:
COLEMAN Umoja
SAARIAHO Aile du songe Concerto for Flute and Orchestra
PROKOFIEV Suite from Romeo and Juliet
YOUNG PEOPLE’S CONCERT
Wednesday, November 3, 2021, 4 p.m. Central / Orchestra Hall
Minnesota Orchestra
Sarah Hicks, conductor
Catherine Carson, violin
This one-hour concert—performed without an in-person audience—is designed especially for students. Offered in partnership with the Science Museum of Minnesota, the concert will explore the physics behind sound production and how our brains translate this into music.
INGRID FLITER PLAYS MOZART
Friday, December 3, 2021, 8 p.m. Central / Orchestra Hall
Minnesota Orchestra
Thomas Søndergård, conductor
Ingrid Fliter, piano
COLERIDGE-TAYLOR Ballade for Orchestra
MOZART Piano Concerto No. 23
R. STRAUSS Ein Heldenleben (A Hero’s Life)
A NEW YEAR’S CELEBRATION – VÄNSKÄ CONDUCTS SIBELIUS
Friday, December 31, 2021, 8:30 p.m. Central / Orchestra Hall
Minnesota Orchestra
Osmo Vänskä, conductor
Helena Juntunen, soprano
SIBELIUS Symphony No. 7; Autumn Evening No. 1; Hertig Magnus; Luonnotar; Symphony No. 1
This program series is made possible in part by generous lead gifts from Kathryn and Charles Cunningham & Nancy and John Lindahl
