Live at Orchestra Hall
NAT “KING” COLE AND ME, STARRING GREGORY PORTER
with the Minnesota Orchestra
Saturday, December 1, 2018, 8 p.m. / Orchestra Hall
Minnesota Orchestra
Gregory Porter, vocals
Vincent Mendoza, conductor and arranger
Chip Crawford, piano
The Holiday season begins with an evening inspired by Nat “King” Cole and the songs he made famous, as two-time Grammy Award-winner Gregory Porter joins the Minnesota Orchestra to sing beautiful, nostalgic music arranged and conducted by another multi-Grammy Award-winner, Vincent Mendoza.
Tickets: $31 to $100
Minnesota Orchestra Classical Concerts
A CHRISTMAS ORATORIO
Saturday, December 8, 2018, 8 p.m. / Orchestra Hall
Sunday, December 9, 2018, 2 p.m. (Coffee Concert) / Orchestra Hall
Minnesota Orchestra
Nicholas Kraemer, conductor
Sherezade Panthaki, soprano
Robin Blaze, countertenor
Richard Croft, tenor
Christopher Edwards, baritone
Minnesota Chorale
BACH Orchestral Suite No. 3
BACH Christmas Oratorio, Cantatas 4, 5 and 6
British conductor and Baroque music specialist Nicholas Kraemer conducts the Minnesota Orchestra, plus guest soloists and the Minnesota Chorale, in Holiday concerts featuring the final three cantatas of Bach’s Christmas Oratorio. These concerts mark the continuation of the Minnesota Orchestra performances of the Christmas Oratorio that took place in December 2017, when the first three cantatas were performed.
Tickets: $26 to $97
Chamber Music in the Target Atrium
HARBISON AND STRAVINSKY
Sunday, December 9, 2018, 4:30 p.m. / Target Atrium, Orchestra Hall
Ben Odhner, violin
Kenneth Freed, viola
Silver Ainomäe, cello
Arek Tesarczyk, cello
William Schrickel, bass
Greg Milliren, flute
Wendy Williams, flute
Julie Gramolini Williams, oboe
Gregory Williams, clarinet
Fei Xie, bassoon
J. Christopher Marshall, bassoon
Douglas C. Carlsen, trumpet
Charles Lazarus, trumpet
R. Douglas Wright, trombone
Andrew Chappell, trombone
VIVALDI Chamber Concerto in G minor
HARBISON Six American Painters
GOLTERMANN Souvenirs de Bellini
STRAVINSKY Octet
The Minnesota Orchestra’s 2018-19 Chamber Music series opens with an afternoon of music by composers from four different eras and four different countries, including the season’s featured composer John Harbison. These Sunday afternoon chamber concerts are programmed and performed by Minnesota Orchestra musicians in the intimate setting of Orchestra Hall’s Target Atrium.
Tickets: $32
Holiday Concerts
HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS
with the Minnesota Orchestra
Friday, December 14, 2018, 8 p.m. / Orchestra Hall
Sunday, December 16, 2018, 2 p.m. (Coffee Concert) / Orchestra Hall
Thursday, December 20, 2018, 11 a.m. (Coffee Concert) / Orchestra Hall
Minnesota Orchestra
Sarah Hicks, conductor
Peter Rothstein, director
Kevin Kling, writer and narrator
Robert Elhai, composer and arranger
Christina Baldwin, ensemble
Robert Berdahl, ensemble
Thomasina Petrus, ensemble
Alejandro Vega, ensemble
ComMUSICation, choir
Eric McEnaney, musical preparation
Laurie DeMartino, projection designer
Nancy Carlson, original artwork
Alice Frederickson, costume designer
Kelli Foster Warder, choreographer
The Minnesota Orchestra’s newest holiday show, which debuted in December 2017, is back at Orchestra Hall for concerts that include highlights from last season, plus new stories, original arrangements, and guest artists from the Twin Cities music and theater communities. Sarah Hicks conducts this unique program that is conceived and directed by Peter Rothstein and written by Kevin Kling.
Tickets: $30 to $70
SENSORY-FRIENDLY FAMILY CONCERT
Saturday, December 15, 2018, 11 a.m. / Target Atrium, Orchestra Hall
Katja Linfield, cello
Minnesota Orchestra cellist Katja Linfield and talented guest musicians from the audience perform in the Target Atrium. This engaging and interactive concert is inclusive for patrons of all ages and abilities, including individuals on the autism spectrum and those with sensory sensitivities.
Tickets: $6.25
Visit minnesotaorchestra.org/sensoryfriendly for more information. Holiday Concert
MERRY AND BRIGHT
A Big, Brassy Christmas with Charles Lazarus
Saturday, December 15, 2018, 8 p.m.
Charles Lazarus, trumpet
The Lazarus Brass
Tommy Barbarella, keyboards
Jeff Bailey, bass
David Schmalenberger, drums
Daryl Boudreaux, percussion
Tonia Hughes, vocals
Bruce A. Henry, vocals
Minnesota Orchestra trumpeter Charles Lazarus brings his program of holiday hits back to Orchestra Hall for the fourth consecutive season, performing holiday favorites ranging from an intimate version of Christmas Time is Here to a New Orleans-style Frosty the Snowman. Joining him are singers, a rhythm section and the Lazarus Brass, an ensemble featuring several Minnesota Orchestra brass players.
Please note: the Minnesota Orchestra does not perform on this program.
Tickets: $26 to $61
Holiday Concerts
AN EVENING WITH GEORGE WINSTON
Friday, December 21, 2018, 8 p.m. / Orchestra Hall
George Winston, piano
Acclaimed pianist George Winston delivers a solo performance of his signature melodic folk, winter-themed, New Orleans R&B and stride piano music.
Please note: the Minnesota Orchestra does not perform on this program.
Tickets: $30 to $60
Live at Orchestra Hall
DISNEY BEAUTY AND THE BEAST IN CONCERT
Film with Live Orchestra
Saturday, December 22, 2018, 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. / Minneapolis Convention Center Auditorium
Minnesota Orchestra
Sarah Hicks, conductor
The Minnesota Orchestra, led by Principal Conductor of Live at Orchestra Hall Sarah Hicks, performs the complete score of Disney’s original 1991 animated film Beauty and the Beast, while the film is shown on the big screen.
Please note: this performance takes place at the Minneapolis Convention Center Auditorium.
Tickets: $35 to $85
Minnesota Orchestra Classical Concerts
AMERICAN EXPRESSIONS FESTIVAL:
VÄNSKÄ CONDUCTS BERNSTEIN, COPLAND AND GERSHWIN
Monday, December 31, 2018, 8:30 p.m. / Orchestra Hall
Osmo Vänskä, conductor
Aaron Diehl, piano
COPLAND Four Dance Episodes from Rodeo
GERSHWIN Rhapsody in Blue
BERNSTEIN Three Dance Episodes from On the Town
HARBISON Remembering Gatsby, Foxtrot for Orchestra
PAULUS Impassioned, from Symphony in Three Movements
GERSHWIN An American in Paris
The Minnesota Orchestra’s American Expressions Festival begins with a New Year’s Eve concert that showcases some of America’s master composers: Copland, Gershwin and Bernstein, plus the late Minnesota composer Stephen Paulus and this season’s Featured Composer, John Harbison. Music Director Osmo Vänskä leads the Orchestra in this concert that also includes the Minnesota Orchestra debut of jazz pianist Aaron Diehl, who performs Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue.
Tickets: $50 to $136
This performance includes a post-concert party and countdown to the New Year.
