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.