Minnesota Orchestra to Present Second Annual Nordic Soundscape Festival

Minneapolis' Orchestra Hall will present the Minnesota Orchestra's second Nordic Soundscapes Festival, running from January 3-17. Led by Music Director Thomas Søndergård, the festival will explore the music of Nordic artists from Björk to Sibelius and Salonen to Nielsen, while audiences dive into an immersive sampling of lobby activities spotlighting Scandinavian culture, cuisine, cocktails and crafts.


The festival opens on Saturday, January 3 at 7 p.m. with an inventive program conducted by Steve Hackman that synthesizes Bartók's Concerto for Orchestra with music from Icelandic singer-songwriter Björk's first three albums, spotlighting three vocalists with the Orchestra.

The following weekend, January 8 at 11 a.m. and January 9 at 8 p.m., Søndergård takes the podium to conduct James Ehnes in the haunting Sibelius Violin Concerto, bookended by Esa-Pekka Salonen's silvery tone poem Nyx and Carl Nielsen's First Symphony. The weekend is capped by a chamber music program on Saturday, January 10, at 7 p.m., in which James Ehnes will join Minnesota Orchestra musicians in Sibelius' String Quartet in D minor. Musicians will also perform Laura Valborg Aulin's String Quartet No. 1 in F major and Otto Mortensen's Quintette for Winds.

In the final weekend of the festival, on Friday, January 16 at 8 p.m., and Saturday, January 17 at 7 p.m., American soprano Lauren Snouffer performs Hans Abrahamsen's song cycle Let me tell you, a retelling of Hamlet from Ophelia's perspective, while Thomas Søndergård conducts Wilhelm Stenhammar's Excelsior! and Sibelius' First Symphony.

Concertgoers are invited to arrive early to Orchestra Hall throughout the festival to enjoy a winter sanctuary of activities celebrating Nordic culture, cuisine, cocktails and crafts. The outdoor Cargill Commons will be outfitted with firepits and seating options. The indoor Target Atrium will transform into a Nordic Soundscapes lounge and Marketplace with food, beverages and wares from Krown Bakery, Ingebretsen's, Vikre Distillery and Danish Teak.

Throughout the lobby, Nordic partner organizations—including the American Swedish Institute, Danish American Center, FinnFest USA, Icelandic Hekla Club, Museum of Danish America and Norway House—will showcase their organizations and offer craft demonstrations and free performances of folk and choral music traditions. (See calendar listing for details.)

**Minnesota Orchestra Announces Nordic Soundscapes Festival

January 3–17, 2026**

The Minnesota Orchestra ushers in the new year with Nordic Soundscapes, a multi-concert festival celebrating the musical innovations of Scandinavia and beyond. Across three weeks, Music Director Thomas Søndergård, guest artists, and the Orchestra explore connections between Nordic traditions, contemporary voices, and bold cross-genre experimentation.

The festival includes:

Steve Hackman’s Bartók x Björk, an inventive fusion of orchestral and pop iconoclasts

Søndergård and Ehnes, featuring Grammy-winning violinist James Ehnes in Sibelius’ Violin Concerto

Chamber Music in the Hall with James Ehnes

Søndergård Conducts Sibelius, culminating in Sibelius’ First Symphony

All events take place at Orchestra Hall, Minneapolis.

STEVE HACKMAN’S BARTÓK X BJÖRK

Saturday, January 3, 2026, 7 p.m.

Minnesota Orchestra
Steve Hackman, conductor and creator
Erin Bentlage, vocalist
India Carney, vocalist
Malia Civetz, vocalist

Conductor, composer, and producer Steve Hackman leads an adventurous program synthesizing Béla Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra with songs from Björk’s first three albums, including Human Behaviour, Hyperballad, and Army of Me. Hackman—renowned for fusions such as Brahms x Radiohead and Mahler x Notorious B.I.G. + Tupac—guides audiences through a bold reimagining of two visionary artists.

Tickets: $15–$115

Pre-concert Activities – Jan 3, 6:30 p.m.

Danish folk music by Niels Billund and Rolf Krogstad

Nordic paper cutting with artist Sonja Peterson
Presented by the Danish American Center, Minneapolis

Food & Marketplace: Offerings from Krown Bakery, Vikre Distillery; Nordic Soundscapes Marketplace open.

SØNDERGÅRD AND EHNES

Thursday, January 8, 2026, 11 a.m.
Friday, January 9, 2026, 8 p.m.

Minnesota Orchestra
Thomas Søndergård, conductor
James Ehnes, violin

Program:
SALONEN – Nyx
SIBELIUS – Violin Concerto
NIELSEN – Symphony No. 1

Grammy Award-winning violinist James Ehnes returns to Orchestra Hall to perform Sibelius’ Violin Concerto, a work he recorded in 2024 to high acclaim—Gramophone praised his playing as “all poetry and refinement,” while The Guardian hailed it as “Ehnes at his sublime best.”

Music Director Thomas Søndergård complements the concerto with Salonen’s dynamic Nyx and Nielsen’s youthful yet explosive First Symphony.

Tickets: $15–$120
(Free tickets available for ages 6–18 with Hall Pass.)

Pre-concert Activities

Jan 8, 9:30 a.m.

Traditional Norwegian Hardanger fiddle by Sarah Pradt

Skinnfell craft demonstrations by Rebecca Utecht and Sue Flanders

Lego building with the Museum of Danish America, Elk Horn, IA

Jan 9, 6:30 p.m.

Finnish music with the SF100 Choir

Finnish culture presentations with the Finlandia Foundation and FinnFest

Food & Marketplace:
O&H Danish Bakery (Jan 8); Krown Bakery and Vikre Distillery (Jan 9); Nordic Soundscapes Marketplace open both dates.

CHAMBER MUSIC IN THE HALL WITH JAMES EHNES

Saturday, January 10, 2026, 7 p.m.

Musicians of the Minnesota Orchestra
James Ehnes, violin

Program:
AULIN – String Quartet in F major
MORTENSEN – Quintette for Winds
SIBELIUS – String Quartet in D minor, Voces intimae

Tickets: Choose Your Price (from $5)
(Free tickets available for ages 6–18 with Hall Pass.)

Pre-concert Activities – Jan 10, 6:15 p.m.

“Nordic Voices” with the Blake Chamber Orchestra

Nordic woodworking demonstration
Presented in partnership with Norway House, Minneapolis

Food & Marketplace: Krown Bakery and Vikre Distillery. Nordic Soundscapes Marketplace open.

SØNDERGÅRD CONDUCTS SIBELIUS

Friday, January 16, 2026, 8 p.m.
Saturday, January 17, 2026, 7 p.m.

Minnesota Orchestra
Thomas Søndergård, conductor
Lauren Snouffer, soprano

Program:
STENHAMMAR – Excelsior!
ABRAHAMSEN – Let me tell you
SIBELIUS – Symphony No. 1

The festival’s concluding concerts span three centuries of Nordic expression.

Stenhammar’s Excelsior! (1896), a rarely heard burst of late-Romantic brilliance

Hans Abrahamsen’s Let me tell you, a modern masterpiece in which Ophelia speaks only the 481 words Shakespeare gave her. Soprano Lauren Snouffer makes her Minnesota Orchestra debut performing this acclaimed song cycle.

Sibelius’ Symphony No. 1, marking Søndergård’s first Sibelius symphony with the Minnesota Orchestra.

Tickets: $15–$110
(Free tickets available for ages 6–18 with Hall Pass.)

Pre-concert Activities

Jan 16, 6:30 p.m.

Music by MacPhail Northside Youth Orchestra

Icelandic embroidery, knitted lace, and traditional costumes with the Icelandic Hekla Club of Minneapolis

Jan 17, 5:30 p.m.

Swedish folk music by Renee Vaughan (nyckelharpa) and Paul Sauey (guitar)

Viking Posament knotting & Norwegian filigree jewelry with Liz Bucheit
Presented in partnership with the American Swedish Institute

Post-concert – Jan 17:

Onstage musician mingle