Concert first performed on August 10, 2025.
A prince’s love breaks a sorcerer’s curse. A Vietnamese son writes letters to his mother, who cannot read, exploring their fraught family history and unfolding the relationship with his first love. A Finnish composer protests censorship of the press through what would become a second national anthem for his liberated nation. The MPO’s Pride concert shares stories about courageous love for person and country.
- Tchaikovsky: Valse from Swan Lake
- Holmes: “La nuit et l’amour” from Ludus pro patria
- Bologne/St. Georges: Symphony No. 2 “L’amant anonyme”
- Coleridge-Taylor: “Un sonnet d’amour” from Petite Suite de Concert
- Yee: Briefly Gorgeous
- Sibelius: Finlandia
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Concert first performed on May 24, 2025.
Saturday, May 24, 2025 – 7:30pm
All music is created in a specific time and place. Aaron Copland’s emergence from a dance hall in 1930s Mexico were the first steps toward his place as an iconic composer of American music. Margaret Bonds’ symphonic variations on the spiritual, “I Want Jesus to Walk with Me,” center on events in which black Alabamians pushed back against the Jim Crow policies of the American South. And a new work by Liza Sobel Crane is premiered right here in the Twin Cities.
- Aaron Copland: El Salon México
- Liza Sobel Crane: Liza’s Tenth For Walter [World Premiere]
- Margaret Bonds: Montgomery Variations
Concert first performed on March 9, 2025.
Sunday, March 9, 2025 – 2:00pm
In the face of fear and the wake of the unimaginable, music offers the courage to rise up and shout out truths to which words cannot speak. Nkeiru Okoye responds to the events of September 11, 2001 with “a march to acknowledge those fighting on behalf of our safety, and yet a sparkling celebration of life for those of us who continue living.” Shostakovich’s monumental fifth symphony journeys from torment to rebirth under the oppressive watch of the Soviet state.
- Nkeiru Okoye: Voices Shouting Out
- Dmitri Shostakovich: Symphony No. 5
Conducted by Brian Dowdy
Concert first performed on March 2, 2025.
Sunday, March 2nd, 2025
Activities at 2pm
Music at 3pm
Nokomis Keewaydin Elementary
5209 30th Ave S
Minneapolis, MN 55417
Children’s Concert:The Courage to Dance 
Have you ever felt afraid to dance? To sing? Music can give us just the courage we need, especially when we share it with friends. Join the MPO for a concert that celebrates brave musicians and music lovers across the globe.
Repertoire
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor: Danse nègre
Nkeiru Okoye: Voices Shouting Out
Aaron Copland: Variations on a Shaker Melody
Dmitri Shostakovich: Symphony No. 5
II. Allegretto
Sahba Aminikia: House of Circus
I. Mahmoud
II. Refik
III. Fehet
Conducted by Brian Dowdy
Conducted by
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Concert first performed on November 9, 2024.
To fantasize is to imagine the impossible. In Bernstein’s iconic West Side Story, two lovers reach across the uncrossable boundaries of race and culture. Ulysses Kay conjures variations on a theme that does not yet exist. And Alice Mary Smith breaks through 19th century gender norms to become England’s first female symphonist.
- Leonard Bernstein: Overture to West Side Story (arr. Maurice Peress)
- Ulysses Kay: Fantasy Variations
- Alice Mary Smith: Symphony in C Minor
Conducted by Brian Dowdy
Concert first performed on June 28, 2024.
Friday, June 28 | 7:30 p.m.
519 Oak Grove St | Minneapolis, MN 55403
Aaron Copland: Variations on a Shaker Melody (from Appalachian Spring)
Alexander Borodin: In the Steppes of Central Asia
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor: Danse Nègre
Andrew Yee: Briefly Gorgeous (MPO commission)
Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony No. 7, fourth movement
Diane Benjamin: Overture for the MPO (MPO commission)
Start Twin Cities Pride off on the right note with the Minnesota Philharmonic Orchestra, in partnership with St. Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral! On Friday, June 28, take the rainbow staircase across from Loring Park up to the cathedral for an evening of music.
MPO’s Pride concert evokes the unbound freedom of wide open spaces — from the homesteaders’ clearing of Aaron Copland’s ballet to the vast deserts of Alexander Borodin’s symphonic poem, from Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s jubilant dance to the flight of monarchs in Andrew Yee’s Briefly Gorgeous, and from the heartfelt melodies of Diane Benjamin’s overture to the romping celebration of Beethoven’s symphonic finale.
Conducted by Brian Dowdy
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Concert first performed on May 11, 2024.
Saturday, May 11th, 2024
Musical ideas, like memories, evolve over time. In both Borodin’s symphonic poem and Mayer’s symphony, melodies and rhythms return over and over, transforming in subtle ways with each iteration until they have become something wholly new and triumphant. While Yaz Lancaster’s prismatic new work explores when, how, and why we return to childhood memories in our adult lives.
- Alexander Borodin – In The Steppes Of Central Asia
- Yaz Lancaster – Solace (world premiere)
- Emilie Mayer – Symphony No. 7 in F minor
Conducted by Brian Dowdy
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Concert first performed on March 17, 2024.
Sunday, March 17th
Activities at 2pm
Music at 3pm
Justice Page Middle School
1 W 49th St
Minneapolis, MN
55419
Join the Minnesota Philharmonic Orchestra for an unforgettable afternoon of music and creativity at our Children’s Concert, featuring a lively “Dance Party” theme.
Artistic Adventures: Let Creativity Soar!
Before the musical journey begins, let your little ones unleash their creativity with dance-inspired art activities. Our Art Corner promises a burst of imagination before the concert experience begins.
A Symphony of Dance: Unmissable Performances
Our orchestra presents a stellar lineup:
Beethoven Symphony #7: Feel the pulse of this timeless masterpiece.
Souvenirs by Samuel Barber: Dive into Barber’s vibrant compositions.
Danzon #2 by Arturo Marquez: Experience the sultry allure of a Latin dance party.
Let’s Dance Together: A Symphony for All Ages!
Whether you’re a seasoned concertgoer or a first-timer, our Dance Party Children’s Concert guarantees joy, laughter, and artistic expression. Bring the family for an enchanting experience.
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Concert first performed on March 16, 2024.
Saturday, March 16th, 2024
Dance party! The elegance and vigor of Arturo Márquez’s Danzon No. 2 invite us into a turn of the century Veracruzian ballroom, while Barber’s Souvenirs is a tour of six charming, provocative, playful, and rollicking dances. Finally, from the drama and storytelling of Beethoven’s “heroic” period springs the unfettered joy of his 7th symphony, the so-called “apotheosis of the dance.”
Arturo Márquez: Danzón No. 2
Samuel Barber: Souvenirs (Ballet Suite)
Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony No. 7 in A Major
Conducted by Brian Dowdy
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Concert first performed on November 4, 2023.
Saturday, November 4th, 2023
Jean Sibelius, Manuel de Falla and Adolphus Hailstork all spoke through their music to the landscapes, peoples, and histories of their respective nations. Sibelius’s overture evokes the Karelian region of Finland with marching strings, horn fanfares, and soaring brass. Manuel de Falla’s fantasy paints vivid gardens with the myriad colors of the orchestra and piano. Finally, Adolphus Hailstork’s symphony bursts forth with a defiant rhythmic energy and pastoral sensibility that is both born of and unlimited by the traditions of 20th century American music.
Jean Sibelius: Karelia Overture
Manuel de Falla: Noches en los jardines de España (Nights in the Gardens of Spain), with Jared Miller, piano
Adolphus Hailstork: Symphony No. 1
Conducted by Brian Dowdy
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