Michelle Miller News

Upcoming hip-hop artist and producer Kevin Robert Harris II was just 21 when he was gunned down outside of a music studio in Los Angeles on Sept. 20, 2009. The case remains unsolved.

The Minnesota Orchestral Association and its musicians have approved an extension of the musicians' collective bargaining agreement to run through August 31, 2022. The 2 year extension is accompanied by a side letter (an amendment to the contract) that outlines work rules and musician compensation reductions that apply during the pandemic.

The Minnesota Orchestra will return to the Orchestra Hall stage this fall with a revised concert season designed for television, radio and streaming audiences. Beginning on October 2, six Friday night concertsa?"including two led by Music Director Osmo Vänskäa?"will simultaneously be shared live on Twin Cities PBS (TPT)'s MN Channel and online at minnesotaorchestra.org.

The Great White Way remains dark, but a Boston College student group recently brought a bright light of Broadway to entertain the Heights community, as a special guest performer during a Black Lives Matter fundraiser.

Producers Brian Moreland and Arvind Ethan David have announced casting for #WhileWeBreathe: A Night of Creative Protest in benefit of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc and The Bail Project, Black Organizing for Leadership and Dignity (BOLD), BYP100 Education Fund, Forced Trajectory Project (FTP), The Justice Committee, and SONG.

The Minnesota Orchestra announced today the cancellation of all full-Orchestra concerts scheduled to take place inside Orchestra Hall in August and early September 2020, as they are not in compliance with the 'Stay Safe MN' current guidelines for large events in the effort to limit the spread of COVID-19.

Minnesota Orchestra CEO Michelle Miller Burns provided an update on what the orchestra is working on in terms of planning to resume performances.

To keep its cast including Broadway veterans engaged and to continue to build an audience during the pandemic, GRACE - a new musical exploring a family's long connection with African American culinary traditions - creator/composer Nolan Williams, Jr. and business partner Dale A. Mott (Edgewood) have teamed-up with celebrity chef Carla Hall.

Minnesota Orchestra Creative Partner for Summer at Orchestra Hall Jon Kimura Parker and President and CEO Michelle Miller Burns announced plans today for Summer at Orchestra Hall, a new take on the Orchestra's summer festival that will run from Friday, July 17, through Sunday, August 9, celebrating the Orchestra's home in the city and its proximity to the revitalized Peavey Plaza.

Join Emmy-winning actress Edie Falco and Michelle Miller (CBS This Morning: Saturday) for a conversation about her acclaimed career and her new role as the title character of CBS' new series, Tommy. Falco is already generating buzz for her nuanced portrayal of the first female chief of the LAPDa?"a character navigating between her job in a male-dominated field, a fractured relationship with her estranged adult daughter and her life in the LGBTQ community.

Minnesota Orchestra President and CEO Michelle Miller Burns announced today that Music Director Osmo Vänskä and the Minnesota Orchestra will embark on a tour to South Korea and Vietnam in June 2020, continuing its legacy of musical diplomacy and mounting one of the signature events of Vänskä's final three years as the Orchestra's music director. Vänskä and the Orchestra, at the invitation of the U.S. Embassy in Vietnam, will perform in Hanoi to celebrate the 25th anniversary of restored diplomatic relations between the United States and Vietnam. The Orchestra will additionally perform in Ho Chi Minh City (formerly known as Saigon) and participate in engagement activities with students in both cities. The tour, which will run from June 21 to July 3, will open with a performance on June 24 in South Korea at Seoul's Lotte Concert Hall, creating an opportunity to foster connections with the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, where Vänskä was recently appointed music director. Tours centered around cultural exchange have become a hallmark of the Minnesota Orchestra during Vänskä's tenure, with the ensemble traveling recently to South Africa and Cuba.

Today the Louis Armstrong Educational Foundation (LAEF) announced three days of celebration in honor of the organization's 50th Anniversary, includingthe Annual Louis Armstrong Continuum Symposium and Concert and the Annual SatchmoTMAward, with a special Lifetime Achievement Award to the LAEF board president.

Today the Louis Armstrong Educational Foundation (LAEF) announced three days of celebration in honor of the organization's 50th Anniversary, including the Annual Louis Armstrong Continuum Symposium and Concert and the Annual SatchmoTMAward, with a special Lifetime Achievement Award to the LAEF board president.

The Minnesota Orchestra outlined a new leadership model for its summer festival today, naming pianist Jon (a?oeJackiea??) Kimura Parker its first-ever Creative Partner for summer programming

Award-winning playwright Melinda Lopez has joined the Boston College Theatre Department as the Rev. J. Donald Monan, S.J. Professor in Theatre Arts for the 2019-2020 academic year.

Come to Lake Forest's respected Modjeska Playhouse on October 5 at 2:30pm for presentations of three one-act plays. These staged readings, part of the Orange County Playwrights Alliance's Discoveries series, range from gentle comedy to involving drama, and are written by Orange County playwrights with local and national credits.

The 23rd Annual Urbanworld Film Festival (www.urbanworld.org), along with founding partner HBO, announced its 2019 festival slate today. The slate of 78 official selections and 7 spotlight selections represent inclusion in the broadest sense, highlighting content from around the globe by creators of color and women. The annual showcase of diverse culture will take place in Manhattan, September 18-22, 2019 at AMC Empire 25 on 234 West 42nd Street.

Classical MPR's Melissa Ousley will become the host of the Friday evening live Minnesota Orchestra broadcasts at the start of the 2019/2020 season beginning Sept. 20.