MINNESOTA ORCHESTRA UNVEILS 2014-15 “LIVE AT ORCHESTRA HALL,” HOLIDAY AND FAMILY CONCERTS

Live at Orchestra Hall and Holiday seasons feature popular singers and instrumentalists, film music, jazz groups, comedy and more; Sarah Hicks returns as principal conductor of Live at Orchestra Hall

Headliners include Grammy-winning trumpeters Chris Botti, Wynton Marsalis, Irvin Mayfield and Doc Severinsen; singers Kathy Mattea and Ann Hampton Callaway, the latter saluting Barbra Streisand; Minnesota Orchestra trumpet player Charles Lazarus in an all-American Veterans Day program; film actor Christopher Lloyd as host of “Out of this World” program of science fiction and space-themed music

Classic films Fantasia and Singin’ in the Rain screened with scores performed live; Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra and Preservation Hall Jazz Band return to Orchestra Hall; “That’s Amore” program features Italian music; Rodgers and Hammerstein’s beloved musical Carousel performed with cast, costumes and staging; Violin-piano duo Igudesman and Joo bring comedy and virtuosity to the stage in Minnesota Orchestra debut; New Year’s Eve concerts spotlight music of Gershwin; The Rose Ensemble debuts with Minnesota Orchestra; Scandinavian Christmas concerts, Handel’s Messiah and Canadian Brass round out holiday season

Family Concert series—offered with free children’s tickets—features Okee Dokee Brothers, winners of a 2013 Grammy; Christmas opera Amahl and the Night Visitors, with cast including James Sewell Ballet; The Composer Is Dead, with music by Nathaniel Stookey and text by Lemony Snicket; and children’s tale Ferdinand the Bull

MINNEAPOLIS, MN (July 11, 2014)—The Minnesota Orchestra today announced plans for the 2014-15 season of three widely varied series: Live at Orchestra Hall, Holiday and Family Concerts. Live at Orchestra Hall, a broad-spectrum series of popular music, jazz, Broadway classics, movie scores, comedy and other genres, is led by Sarah Hicks, Principal Conductor of Live at Orchestra Hall. She conducts many of the series’ 16 concerts, most of which feature the full Minnesota Orchestra. The 2014 Holiday season features 10 concerts in December that range from Baroque and Big Band to Classical and Country, with highlights including two New Year’s Eve concerts of Gershwin favorites led by Music Director Osmo Vänskä and, earlier that month, The Rose Ensemble’s first-ever performance with the Minnesota Orchestra. The Family Concert series features Minnesota’s own Okee Dokee Brothers, winners of a 2013 Grammy for their album Can You Canoe?; the classic Christmas opera Amahl and the Night Visitors; and two children’s books set to music: The Composer Is Dead and Ferdinand the Bull.

2014-15 Live at Orchestra Hall and Holiday Concerts

The Live at Orchestra Hall and Holiday series include concerts starring trumpet players Chris Botti, Wynton Marsalis, Artistic Director of Jazz Irvin Mayfield, Pops Conductor Laureate Doc Severinsen and Orchestra musician Charles Lazarus, the latter of whom introduces a new program of American favorites on Veterans Day; and another program for brass lovers, with the Canadian Brass. Featured vocalists include Grammy Award-winner Kathy Mattea in a holiday-themed program and Ann Hampton Callaway in a salute to the celebrated singer-actress Barbra Streisand. Hollywood legend Christopher Lloyd, known to many as Doc Brown in the Back to the Future trilogy, brings star power to Orchestra Hall on Halloween weekend, hosting “Out of this World” concerts of science fiction film music and other space-themed selections. The Orchestra presents two additional performances of familyfriendly Hollywood music: Disney FANTASIA – Live In Concert and Singin’ in the Rain, with both programs featuring film screenings along with musical scores performed live by the Orchestra.

Another classic of American entertainment, Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Broadway musical Carousel, comes to Orchestra Hall in semi-staged performances, with the Orchestra joined by a full cast of actors, complete with choreography and costumes. The great American art form of jazz is represented in concerts by two top-tier bands—the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Music Director and trumpeter Wynton Marsalis and guest vocalist Cécile McLorin Salvant, and Preservation Hall Jazz Band with special guest and soloist Irvin Mayfield on trumpet.

Additional offerings on the 2014 Holiday season include such popular concerts as Handel’s beloved oratorio Messiah and the Orchestra’s traditional Scandinavian Christmas featuring holiday music from Northern Europe; a pair of New Year’s Eve concerts, the Orchestra’s first since 1998, led by Music Director Osmo Vänskä and featuring soprano Sylvia McNair in a Gershwin-themed program; and The Rose Ensemble’s debut with the Minnesota Orchestra in a concert of sacred Christmas music from Cuba and the Mexican Baroque. Also new to Orchestra Hall are violinist Aleksey Igudesman and pianist Hyung-ki Joo, whose one-of-a-kind brand of classical music and comedy has garnered more than 35 million views on YouTube; their performance with the Orchestra in July 2015 caps the Live season.

“We’re thrilled to continue Live at Orchestra Hall with a season that offers something for everyone,” says Hicks. “I’m especially looking forward to our Great American Musical performances of Carousel, which might sound better than on Broadway with the music performed by our marvelous Minnesota Orchestra. Our Live audiences know to expect favorites from past and present—but this year we’re even going back to the future with Christopher Lloyd as our ‘Out of this World’ host.”

2014-15 Family Concerts

The 2014-15 Family Concert series includes four programs, all featuring the full Minnesota Orchestra, with tickets offered free for children (up to two children’s tickets for each paid adult). The series kicks off on December 6 with a staged performance of Menotti’s one-act opera Amahl and the Night Visitors—the story of the shepherd boy Amahl and his fateful encounter with the Three Kings during their voyage to Bethlehem. The cast includes Karin Wolverton, Brad Benoit and Jeffrey Madison, with the Orchestra also joined by James Sewell Ballet and the Minnesota Chorale. The next concert, Ferdinand the Bull, takes place on January 17, and features music by Mozart and Bizet as well as Mark Fish’s Ferdinand the Bull, a musical telling of the classic book The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf. On March 8 the Orchestra offers its first-ever performance of The Composer Is Dead, a musical “Whodunit” tale that introduces audiences to the orchestra’s instruments, with narration written by popular children’s author Lemony Snicket and music by Nathaniel Stookey. The season finale on April 18 brings The Okee Dokee Brothers to Orchestra Hall for the first time, as the Minneapolis-based duo of Justin Lansing and Joe Mailander and the Orchestra perform newly orchestrated versions of music from the Grammy-winning recording Can You Canoe? as well as the new release Through the Woods.

The Live at Orchestra Hall, Holiday and Family Concert series are part of a 2014-15 concert season that also includes the previously-announced Classical subscription series and Young People’s Concerts, as well as two additional series that will be detailed in announcements this fall: Inside the Classics and Symphony in 60. For purchasing details, see the section at the conclusion of this press release.

 2014-15 LIVE AT ORCHESTRA HALL, HOLIDAY AND FAMILY CONCERTS BY MONTH

• October and November 2014

  The 2014-15 Live at Orchestra Hall series kicks off October 31 and November 1 with an “Out of this World” concert of science fiction and space-themed music, hosted by Christopher Lloyd and including selections from Star Trek, Star Wars and Close Encounters of the Third Kind, plus “Mars,” “Mercury” and “Jupiter” from The Planets by Holst. A film featuring NASA images accompanies these concerts. Veterans Day brings American Riffs, a concert starring Orchestra trumpet player Charles Lazarus, featuring iconic American music from jazz to classical to Broadway, including Harry James’ Concerto for Trumpet, Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man and Gershwin’s “Summertime” from Porgy and Bess. Past and present members of the Armed Services, as well as their families, will be offered discounted tickets. On the weekend after Thanksgiving, the Orchestra plays two concerts of Disney FANTASIA – Live In Concert, with scenes from the animated films Fantasia and Fantasia 2000 shown on a big screen while the Minnesota Orchestra plays the score live.
   

• December 2014

  Holiday concerts in December include a Big Band Holidays concert with America’s preeminent jazz ensemble, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, led by Music Director and trumpeter Wynton Marsalis and featuring guest vocalist Cécile McLorin Salvant; Menotti’s heartwarming Christmastime opera Amahl and the Night Visitors; The Rose Ensemble’s debut with the Minnesota Orchestra, in an 18th-century Cuban Christmas Mass that includes music by Esteban Salas y Castro and Ignacio de Jerusalem; a concert by the acclaimed Canadian Brass, performing without the Minnesota Orchestra; Handel’s Messiah with Christopher Warren-Green conducting concerts at both Orchestra Hall and Central Lutheran Church; Jingle Bell Doc with beloved trumpeter-conductor Doc Severinsen; A Scandinavian Christmas, led by Sarah Hicks and featuring vocal soloists Christina Baldwin and Robb Asklof, accordion player Patrick Harison, Ethnic Dance Theatre, and two top local youth choirs, the Minnesota Boychoir and Twin Cities Girls Chorus; Grammywinning singer Kathy Mattea in a folk-country performance of music from her acclaimed CDs Joy for Christmas Day and Good News; and the Orchestra’s first New Year’s Eve concerts since 1998, led by Osmo Vänskä with vocalist Sylvia McNair in a program of favorites penned by George and Ira Gershwin.
   

• January and February 2015

  A Family concert in January features Mark Fish’s Ferdinand the Bull, two movements from Mozart’s final symphony (Jupiter) and Bizet’s Carmen Suite No. 1. The Live season resumes in February with a performance of That’s Amore!—featuring music from such Italian composers as Ennio Morricone, Nino Rota, and opera giants Puccini and Rossini.
   

• March 2015

  In March the Orchestra presents semi-staged performances of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Carousel—marking a rare opportunity to hear a beloved musical performed by a world-class symphony orchestra with staging, choreography and costumes. Sarah Hicks conducts, while Robert Neu serves as stage director; cast members will be announced at a later date. Other March concerts feature trumpeter Chris Botti, a popular guest in recent seasons, performing with the full Orchestra; and Preservation Hall Jazz Band, which brings a bit of New Orleans to Orchestra Hall along with special guest and soloist Irvin Mayfield, the Orchestra’s Artistic Director of Jazz and a New Orleans native himself. On the Family series, the Orchestra performs a concert that includes The Composer Is Dead, a musical mystery created by composer Nathaniel Stookey and children’s writer Lemony Snicket, the author of the Series of Unfortunate Events novels.
   

• April 2015

  Ann Hampton Callaway comes to Orchestra Hall in April, bringing for the first time a program that salutes the great singer-songwriter Barbra Streisand. Debuting on the Family concert series are the Grammy-winning, Minneapolis-based Okee Dokee Brothers, Justin Lansing and Joe Mailander.
   

• July 2015

  July brings the conclusion of the 2014-15 Live at Orchestra Hall series, with two concerts of the classic 1952 film Singin’ in the Rain, with the complete movie shown as the score is performed live; and the Minnesota Orchestra debut of an internet sensation—violinist Aleksey Igudesman and pianist Hyung-ki Joo delivering a comical concert in the tradition of PDQ Bach and Victor Borge.