The Minnesota Orchestra performs its first full-Orchestra Sensory-Friendly Family concert on Saturday, July 14, at Orchestra Hall. Assistant Conductor Akiko Fujimoto leads the Minnesota Orchestra in this performance, which is designed for patrons of all ages and abilities, including those on the autism spectrum and those with sensory sensitivities. The concert, titled Courage and Triumph, is hosted by local music therapist Lyndie Walker and features cellist Nygel Witherspoon. The 60-minute program, which follows the format of a standard Family concert, includes music from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, West Side Story, Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony and Stravinsky’s Firebird. This concert is performed at Orchestra Hall in downtown Minneapolis on Saturday, July 14, at 2 p.m., with tickets priced at $12 each.

The Orchestra’s 2018-19 season will continue to expand the Sensory-Friendly Concert series, featuring five Family Concerts (comprising three distinct programs) which will all be Sensory-Friendly experiences. These concerts will be held on March 10, May 12 and July 28, 2019. In addition, three small-ensemble Sensory-Friendly concerts, which take place in the Target Atrium at Orchestra Hall, will complete the Orchestra’s 2018-19 Sensory-Friendly Family season. See a complete calendar at the conclusion of this press release.


More information about ticketing and accessibility at each of the Orchestra’s Sensory-Friendly concerts is available at minnesotaorchestra.org/sensoryfriendly.


About Minnesota Orchestra Sensory-Friendly Concerts

Sensory-Friendly Concerts give community members more freedom to choose how they engage in live-music experiences, and provide a judgment-free space where individuals of all abilities can enjoy classical music together. Concerts take place in a relaxed environment where audience members are welcome to be who they are and move, vocalize, clap or otherwise respond to the music freely at any time.

The Minnesota Orchestra’s Sensory-Friendly Concerts were originally conceived and designed in 2013 by Orchestra musicians in partnership with local music therapist Lyndie Walker of ToneWorks Music Therapy. The Minnesota Orchestra’s full-Orchestra Sensory-Friendly Concert in July is the first of its kind at Orchestra Hall, and has been designed with support from an Accessibility Team composed of Orchestra staff members, local music therapists and educators, self-advocates and other community members.

Akiko Fujimoto, conductor

Akiko Fujimoto joined the Minnesota Orchestra in September 2017 as assistant conductor, after serving for five and a half seasons as the associate conductor of the San Antonio Symphony. There she conducted classical, pops, education and baroque concerts, as well as ballet. Prior to her position in Texas, she served as the conducting associate for the Virginia Symphony Orchestra. She has extensive experience working with young musicians, starting at Harvard University where she directed the Mozart Society Orchestra, and at Stanford University, with her leadership of the Stanford Symphony Orchestra. In Virginia, she held the positions of Director of Orchestras at the College of William & Mary and Music Director of the Williamsburg Youth Orchestras. More: minnesotaorchestra.org.

Minnesota Orchestra Sensory-Friendly Concert
COURAGE AND TRIUMPH

Saturday, July 14, 2018, 2 p.m. / Orchestra Hall
Minnesota Orchestra
Akiko Fujimoto, conductor
Lyndie Walker, host
Nygel Witherspoon, cello

COPLAND Fanfare for the Common Man
TOWER Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman, No. 1
WILLIAMS Harry’s Wondrous World, from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone™
BERNSTEIN Overture to West Side Story
FAURÉ Elégie for Cello and Orchestra
J. STRAUSS, Sr. Radetzky March
BEETHOVEN Allegro con brio, from Symphony No. 7
STRAVINSKY Finale from The Firebird

Tickets: $12

Audience members are invited to arrive early to enjoy a variety of pre-concert activities in the lobby, including opportunities to try instruments, engage in creative movement, participate in collaborative art-making and meet Orchestra musicians.

2018-19 Sensory-Friendly Family Season Calendar

Minnesota Orchestra Sensory-Friendly Family Concerts
SMALL ENSEMBLE CONCERTS

Tuesday, November 20, 2018, 11 a.m. / Target Atrium, Orchestra Hall

Saturday, December 15, 2018, 11 a.m. / Target Atrium, Orchestra Hall

Saturday, February 2, 2019, 11 a.m. / Target Atrium, Orchestra Hall
*Programs and artists for small ensemble concerts will be announced at a later date.

Minnesota Orchestra Sensory-Friendly Family Concerts
CARNIVAL OF THE ANIMALS

Sunday, March 10, 2019, 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. / Orchestra Hall
Minnesota Orchestra
Akiko Fujimoto, conductor

ROSSINI Finale from William Tell Overture
GERSHWIN Promenade, from Shall We Dance?
MUSSORGSKY Selections from Pictures at an Exhibition
TCHAIKOVSKY Selections from Swan Lake
SAINT-SAËNS Carnival of the Animals

Minnesota Orchestra Sensory-Friendly Family Concerts
THE TIN FOREST

Sunday, May 12, 2019, 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. / Orchestra Hall
Minnesota Orchestra
Akiko Fujimoto, conductor

DVOŘÁK Slavonic Dance, Opus 46, No. 1
GRIEG Piano Concerto
HEITZEG The Tin Forest
SMETANA Selections from The Moldau

Minnesota Orchestra Sensory-Friendly Family Concerts
JOYFUL RHYTHMS, JOYFUL SOUNDS

Sunday, July 28, 2019, 2 p.m. / Orchestra Hall

Minnesota Orchestra
Akiko Fujimoto, conductor

BARROSO Brasil
TCHAIKOVSKY Selections from The Nutcracker Suite
SIBELIUS Tanz-Intermezzo
COPLAND Hoedown, from Rodeo
COPLAND Simple Gifts, from Appalachian Spring
MENKEN Under the Sea, from Disney’s The Little Mermaid

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.

PNC Financial Services is an official sponsor of the Minnesota Orchestra’s 2018-19 Sensory-Friendly Family Concerts.

The Star Tribune is the Minnesota Orchestra’s media partner for the 2017-18 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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PRESS CONTACT:
Gwen Pappas, Director of Communications, Minnesota Orchestra (612) 371-5628 • gpappas@mnorch.org

Emma Plehal, Communications Manager and Assistant Editor, Minnesota Orchestra (612) 371-5625 • eplehal@mnorch.org