THIS IS MINNESOTA ORCHESTRA Broadcast Line-Up Announced For Duration Of 2021-22 Season

Music lovers will be able to watch six additional live Minnesota Orchestra concerts on Twin Cities PBS (TPT-2), as well as on the Orchestra's website and social media channels, in the months ahead as part of the This Is Minnesota Orchestra series. The Orchestra had previously announced four fall concerts that would be televised and livestreamed for free, and now that calendar is extended to include additional programs from February to July 2022, including a Lunar New Year performance and a collaboration with indie band Cloud Cult. 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 evening concerts designated for livestreaming and television broadcast will feature: Junping Qian leading a Lunar New Year celebration (Saturday, February 5); Karina Canellakis conducting Rachmaninoff's Symphonic Dances (Friday, February 25); Sarah Hicks on the podium for a collaboration with Cloud Cult (Friday, April 1); Music Director Osmo Vänskä in a MusicMakers concert of music by emerging composers (Friday, May 6); Concertmaster Erin Keefe and pianist Juho Pohjonen performing Mendelssohn's Double Concerto, conducted by Mr. Vänskä (Friday, June 3); and pianist Jon Kimura Parker performing Beethoven's Third Piano Concerto, led by conductor Nicholas Collon (Friday, July 15). These concerts are all performed live for in-person audiences, as well as for TV/streaming audiences.

Sarah Hicks, the Orchestra's principal conductor for Live at Orchestra Hall concerts, will share hosting duties for the 2022 This Is Minnesota Orchestra broadcasts with conductor William Eddins and with Brian Newhouse, formerly of YourClassical MPR and now a member of the Orchestra's Development team. (See calendar listing below for a schedule.)

The newest addition to the Minnesota Orchestra staff is Ashleigh Rowe, who will join the organization in mid-January as its director of broadcasts and digital initiatives. Working for TPT since 2009, Ms. Rowe has managed a diverse portfolio of projects at the public broadcasting station, including serving as managing director of arts and culture; executive producer of the arts program Minnesota Original; and managing director of Moving Lives Minnesota. Over the last 16 months, she has been instrumental in creating and developing This Is Minnesota Orchestra as a collaborative project between TPT and the Minnesota Orchestra.

"It is outstanding to have a professional of Ashleigh Rowe's experience and caliber to join our team to lead the build-out of our digital capabilities," says Minnesota Orchestra President and CEO Michelle Miller Burns. "Live broadcasts, concert streams and made-for-digital programming are all initiatives that are growing in importance to the Orchestra as we identify ways to augment the live concert experience and to connect with new audiences."

Music Director Osmo Vänskä said:

"Ashleigh has just the right artistic sensibilities to lead these projects. We have felt a great connection to her and TPT following their work in producing the Music for Mandela: Minnesota Orchestra in South Africa documentary, and I am so happy she will be joining our staff and we will continue our partnership with TPT in a new way."

HOW TO WATCH

Audiences will be able to access concerts in the following ways in addition to attending in person at Orchestra Hall:

• 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 concerts, available at 99.5 FM in the Twin Cities and online at yourclassical.org, hosted by Melissa Ousley.

Most This Is Minnesota Orchestra broadcasts and livestreams will be available to audiences at no cost as they debut live and for up to a week afterward on the Orchestra's website; subsequent on-demand access will be available for purchase, and select subscribers and donors will receive a free Digital Concert Hall membership as a benefit. The Digital Concert Hall will offer easy, anytime-you-want-to-watch access to This Is Minnesota Orchestra performances from the current season, as well as additional premium content including interviews with artists such as violinist Joshua Bell and pianist Emanuel Ax.

The Cloud Cult broadcast/livestream will be structured slightly differently. It will be available to audiences at no cost as it premieres live on TPT-2 and via streaming. The concert will also be available for purchase as on-demand viewing on the Orchestra's website and available to TPT Passport members on the TPT website after the initial broadcast.

UPCOMING TV/LIVESTREAM BROADCASTS

A NEW YEAR'S CELEBRATION

(previously announced as part of the fall season line-up)

Friday, December 31, 2021, 8:30 p.m. Central / Orchestra Hall

Minnesota Orchestra
Osmo Vänskä, conductor
Helena Juntunen, soprano
William Eddins, broadcast host

SIBELIUS: Symphony No. 7; Hertig Magnus; Luonnotar; Autumn Evening No. 1; and Symphony No. 2.

LUNAR NEW YEAR WITH THE MINNESOTA ORCHESTRA

Saturday, February 5, 2022, 8 p.m. Central / Orchestra Hall
Note: This concert will air on TPT's Minnesota Channel 2.2

Minnesota Orchestra
Junping Qian, conductor
Gao Hong, pipa
Zhengang Xie, jing hu master
Mei Hu, yue qin master
Fei Xie, artistic consultant
Asian Media Access, artistic partner
William Eddins, broadcast host

TAN Internet Symphony Eroica
TRADITIONAL/Kim Shin Arirang
CHEN/HE The Butterfly Lovers Violin Concerto
SON/J. Kuusisto Circle of Unity
WU In the Dark Night
TANG Sketches of Singapore
GAO Reminiscences of My Hometown
LI Spring Festival Overture

CANELLAKIS CONDUCTS DON QUIXOTE

Friday, February 25, 2022, 8 p.m. Central / Orchestra Hall

Minnesota Orchestra
Karina Canellakis, conductor
Jean-Guihen Queyras, cello
William Eddins, broadcast host

PERRY A Short Piece for Orchestra
R. STRAUSS Don Quixote
RACHMANINOFF Symphonic Dances

CLOUD CULT WITH THE MINNESOTA ORCHESTRA

Friday, April 1, 2022, 8 p.m. Central / Orchestra Hall

Minnesota Orchestra
Sarah Hicks, conductor and broadcast host
Cloud Cult

Program to be announced.

Minnesota Orchestra Composer Institute

MUSICMAKERS

Friday, May 6, 2022, 8 p.m. Central / Orchestra Hall

Minnesota Orchestra
Osmo Vänskä, conductor
Kevin Puts, Composer Institute director
Brian Newhouse, broadcast host

HENRY L. DORN Transitions
ADELIIA FAIZULLINA Bolghar
BOBBY GE Remember to Have Fun
MOLLY JOYCE Over and Under
YAN LINDVEIT Close Up at a Distance
NINA SHEKHAR Lumina
SAM WU Wind Map

VÄNSKÄ AND KEEFE

Friday, June 3, 2022, 8 p.m. Central / Orchestra Hall

Minnesota Orchestra
Osmo Vänskä, conductor
Erin Keefe, violin
Juho Pohjonen, piano|
Sarah Hicks, broadcast host

MENDELSSOHN Concerto for Violin, Piano and Strings
J. KUUSISTO Symphony [world premiere]

BEETHOVEN'S THIRD PIANO CONCERTO

Friday, July 15, 2022, 8 p.m. Central / Orchestra Hall

Minnesota Orchestra
Nicholas Collon, conductor
Jon Kimura Parker, piano
Broadcast host to be announced

SIMON Fate now conquers
BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 3 and Symphony No. 2