SOMMERFEST
TWO MINNESOTA ORCHESTRA SOMMERFEST CONCERTS

CELEBRATE DOC SEVERINSEN,
July 21 and 22

Sommerfest 2017 opens with concerts celebrating trumpeter-conductor Doc Severinsen’s 90th birthday
Music Director Osmo Vänskä conducts Doc’s Classical Playlist Concert on Friday, July 21; Sarah Hicks conducts a Big Band Birthday Bash on Saturday, July 22

The Minnesota Orchestra’s 2017 Sommerfest season features two concerts in recognition of Pops Conductor Laureate Doc Severinsen, who celebrates his 90th birthday in July. On July 21, Music Director Osmo Vänskä conducts Doc’s Classical Playlist: A Severinsen Celebration, a concert hosted by Doc himself, during which the Orchestra will perform Doc’s Symphony, a unique combination of movements from Doc’s all-time favorite classical works. Minnesota native Andrew Staupe also appears on this program as soloist in the first movement of Tchaikovsky’s First Piano Concerto.

Then on July 22, Sarah Hicks, principal conductor of Live at Orchestra Hall, conducts Swing On! Doc’s Big Band Birthday Bash, celebrating Doc’s 90th birthday. The program will feature music ranging from Bach and Puccini to Mancini and Gershwin. Joining the Minnesota Orchestra and Severinsen himself are guest performers including legendary musicians such as trumpet players Jeff Tyzik, Byron Stripling and Allen Vizzutti, plus star vocalists and a rhythm section.

Both concerts are held at Orchestra Hall in downtown Minneapolis. Doc’s Classical Playlist: A Severinsen Celebration occurs on Friday, July 21, at 8 p.m., with tickets priced from $30 to $70. Swing On! Doc’s Big Band Birthday Bash occurs on Saturday, July 22, at 8 p.m., with tickets priced from $50 to $125. Tickets are available at minnesotaorchestra.org and by phone at 612-371-5656. For further purchasing details, refer to the information section at the conclusion of this press release.

Doc Severinsen

Doc Severinsen is renowned worldwide for his career of more than seven decades as conductor, trumpet soloist and bandleader, well-known as the flamboyant former music director of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, a position he held for more than 25 years. He is beloved in Minnesota for his 14 seasons as the Minnesota Orchestra’s principal pops conductor from 1993 to 2007, and for his subsequent tenure as pops conductor laureate. His “Jingle Bell Doc” concerts have long been holiday fixtures, while recent years have also brought his Big Band and his San Miguel Five to Orchestra Hall. He made his Minnesota Orchestra debut in 1965, and a highlight of his five-decade partnership was the 2003 premiere of Stephen Paulus’ Concerto for Two Trumpets and Orchestra, written for Severinsen and Principal Trumpet Manny Laureano.

Doc has recorded more than 30 albums featuring everything from big band, jazz-fusion and Latin music to classical works. He received a 1987 Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Performance—Big Band for his recording Doc Severinsen and the Tonight Show Band—Volume I. In recent years, he also served as principal pops conductor of the Milwaukee and Phoenix Symphony Orchestras. He has continued to perform with both symphony orchestras and his Big Band across the country, including a September 2015 Doc Severinsen Big Band performance at the Hollywood Bowl with Pink Martini. For more information, visit minnesotaorchestra.org and docseverinsen.com.

Sommerfest Entertainment

At all Minnesota Orchestra concerts from July 13 through August 5, audiences are invited to enjoy live music pre- and post-concert, and an array of food and beverage items, available for purchase both inside and outside Orchestra Hall. Featured food vendors include Blue Moon, Cavalcade Creamery, Curds & Cakes, Kramarczuk’s, Ten 01 Social and T-Rex Cookie, plus $5 Happy Hour specials. See concert details below for more information or visit minnesotaorchestra.org for a full event schedule.

SOMMERFEST CONCERTS JULY 21 and 22

DOC’S CLASSICAL PLAYLIST: A SEVERINSEN CELEBRATION

Friday, July 21, 2017, 8 p.m. / Orchestra Hall

Minnesota Orchestra
Osmo Vänskä, conductor
Doc Severinsen, host
Andrew Staupe, piano

COPLAND Fanfare for the Common Man
TCHAIKOVSKY Allegro non troppo, from Piano Concerto No. 1

DOC’S SYMPHONY, created from the following works:

VERDI Overture to La forza del destino
RIMSKY-KORSAKOV The Young Prince and the Young Princess, from Scheherazade
MAHLER Adagietto, from Symphony No. 5
RAVEL La Valse

Tickets: $30 to $70

OH+ Events
Pre-concert entertainment provided by the Mary Louise Knutson Trio, 6 p.m. to 7:45 p.m., in the Target Atrium; Post-concert entertainment provided by Peter Kogan’s Monsterful Wonderband, in the Target Atrium.

SWING ON! DOC’S BIG BAND BIRTHDAY BASH

Saturday, July 22, 2017, 8 p.m. / Orchestra Hall

Minnesota Orchestra
Sarah Hicks, conductor
Doc Severinsen, trumpet, conductor and guest of honor
Jeff Tyzik, trumpet and conductor
Byron Stripling, trumpet
Allen Vizzutti, trumpet
Vanessa Thomas, vocalist
Joseph Wolverton, vocalist
Kevin Thomas, bass
Mary Louise Knutson, piano
Stockton Helbing, drums

The program for this concert will be announced from the stage.

Tickets: $50 to $125

OH+ Events
Pre-concert entertainment provided by Ruckus Hip Hop Jazz, 6 p.m. to 7:45 p.m., in the Target Atrium; Post-concert entertainment provided by King Baron Hot Several, in the Target Atrium.

Audience members are invited to join us in the lobby after this performance for coffee and birthday cake!

Vinyl Listening Stations curated by Hymie’s Vintage Records will be available in the Orchestra Hall lobby throughout all Sommerfest concerts.

TICKET PURCHASING INFORMATION

Individual tickets can be purchased online at minnesotaorchestra.org or by calling 612-371-5656 or 800-292-4141. Tickets can be purchased in person at the Orchestra Hall Stage Door, 1111 Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis (open Monday to Friday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.); at the Minnesota Orchestra Administrative Office, International Centre, 5th floor, 920 Second Avenue South, Minneapolis (open Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.); and at the Orchestra Hall Box Office, two hours before all ticketed performances. For more information, call 612-371-5656 or visit minnesotaorchestra.org. For groups of 10 or more, call 612-371-5662.

All programs, artists, dates, times and prices subject to change.

Sommerfest is presented by TCF.

The Star Tribune is the Minnesota Orchestra’s media partner for the 2016-17 season.

This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a Minnesota State Arts Board Operating Support grant,
thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.

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