On July 12 and 13, Music Director Osmo Vänskä leads the Minnesota Orchestra in two different programs as part of the Orchestra’s 2019 Sommerfest season, Música Juntos (Music Together). The first of these concerts explores repertoire from Latin America and features soprano Goitsemang Lehobye, who joined the Orchestra at Sommerfest 2018 and on its South Africa tour. Lehobye will perform the Aria movement from Heitor Villa-Lobos’ exquisite Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5, the best-known of the nine Bachianas suites. The program also includes George Enescu’s Romanian Rhapsody, Arturo Marquez’s Danzón No. 2, Alberto Ginastera’s Variaciones concertantes and the Minnesota Orchestra’s first performance of Jimmy López’s Perú Negro, a work he describes as “an homage” to his Afro-Peruvian heritage.

On July 13, Osmo Vänskä conducts the Orchestra and guest choirs in a vocal extravaganza that draws on musical inspirations from across the globe and revisits seminal works from the Orchestra’s January 2019 Common Chords North Minneapolis residency and August 2018 South Africa tour. Among many works, the program includes Michael Abels’ Dance for Martin’s Dream, featuring a performance by Saint Paul-based hip hop dancer Cecil Neal; Stompie Mavi’s Usilethela Uxolo (Nelson Mandela; and the traditional South African song Shosholoza. The Orchestra is joined by the Minnesota Chorale, the Minnesota State Baptist Convention Choir and other community singers, as well as the Heart & Soul Drum Academy. Soprano Goitsemang Lehoybe is also featured in this program, performing Osvaldo Golijov’s Three Songs for Soprano and Orchestra, a work premiered at Orchestra Hall in 2002.

The concerts are performed at the Orchestra’s home venue in downtown Minneapolis, Orchestra Hall. Vänskä Conducts Ginastera and Villa-Lobos takes place on Friday, July 12, at 8 p.m., and Vänskä Conducts a Vocal Extravaganza is on Saturday, July 13, at 8 p.m., with ticket prices for each concert ranging from $25 to $80. More information is 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.

OUTDOOR FOOD AND MUSIC
At all summer concerts from July 6 to August 3, audiences are invited to enjoy an array of food and beverage options—including a $5 happy hour—in the lobby, outside of Orchestra Hall and on the City of Minneapolis’ newly-renovated Peavey Plaza, while listening to free live music by local artists. All Sommerfest outdoor and lobby entertainment pre- and post-concert is open to the public. A ticket is only required for entry to the full-Orchestra performances in the auditorium.

SPECIAL EVENTS
International Day of Music, July 13
The Minnesota Orchestra hosts and International Day of Music celebration on Saturday, July 13, from noon to midnight. Part of the Orchestra’s Música Juntos (Music Together) Sommerfest 2019, the International Day of Music showcases free performances by 15 different ensembles on four stages in and around Orchestra Hall—with The Cedar Cultural Center collaborating as a programming partner.

Star Tribune screening: Orchestra engagement takes center stage in South Africa
Join the Star Tribune for a screening of a newly-produced short film (and other works) about the Orchestra’s 2018 South Africa tour, including a discussion with its creators. An exhibit of Star Tribune photographer Leila Navidi's tour images will be shared in the lobby, along with other exhibits and displays. The screening begins at 7 p.m. on July 12 and 13, in the Target Atrium at Orchestra Hall.

Osmo Vänskä, conductor
Finnish conductor Osmo Vänskä, the Minnesota Orchestra’s tenth music director, is renowned internationally for his compelling interpretations of the standard, contemporary and Nordic repertoires. He has led the Orchestra on five European tours, as well as an August 2018 visit to London’s BBC Proms, and on historic tours to Cuba in 2015 and South Africa in 2018. The Cuba tour was the first by an American orchestra since the thaw in Cuban-American diplomatic relations, while the five-city South Africa tour—the culmination of a Music for Mandela celebration of Nelson Mandela’s centennial—was the first-ever visit to the country by a professional U.S. orchestra. More: minnesotaorchestra.org.

Goitsemang Lehobye, soprano
Goitsemang Lehobye, a native of Ga-Rankuwa, South Africa, joined the Black Tie Ensemble’s “Incubator” Scheme to train for a career as an opera singer. She subsequently won a scholarship to study singing at the University of Cape Town’s College of Music. She often performs as soloist with the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra, and in 2015 she premiered a new song cycle by South African composer Bongani Ndodana-Breen. In 2018 she performed the world premiere of Ndodana-Breen’s Harmonia Ubuntu with the Minnesota Orchestra, then joined the ensemble for its historic South Africa tour. More: minnesotaorchestra.org.

Sommerfest: Música Juntos
VÄNSKÄ CONDUCTS GINASTERA AND VILLA-LOBOS

Friday, July 12, 2019, 8 p.m. / Orchestra Hall

Minnesota Orchestra
Osmo Vänskä, conductor
Goitsemang Lehobye, soprano

ENESCU Romanian Rhapsody No. 1
LÓPEZ Perú Negro
VILLA-LOBOS Aria from Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5
MÁRQUEZ Danzón No. 2
GINASTERA Variaciones concertantes

Tickets: $25 to $80

Sommerfest: Música Juntos
VÄNSKÄ CONDUCTS A VOCAL EXTRAVAGANZA

Saturday, July 13, 2019, 8 p.m. / Orchestra Hall

Minnesota Orchestra
Osmo Vänskä, conductor
Goitsemang Lehobye, soprano
Cecil Neal, dancer
Minnesota Chorale
Minnesota State Baptist Convention Choir
Additional Community Choirs
Heart & Soul Drum Academy

TRADITIONAL/arr. Sorenson/Buckner We Shall Overcome
SMALLWOOD Total Praise
ABELS Dance for Martin’s Dream
MATYILA/arr. Khumalo Bawo Thixo Somandla
GOLIJOV Three Songs for Soprano and Orchestra
MAVI/arr. Mxadana/Kuusisto Usilethela Uxolo (Nelson Mandela)
COPLAND El Salón México
TRADITIONAL/arr. Kuusisto Shosholoza

Tickets: $25 to $80