Minnesota Orchestra Announces 2020-21 Young People's Concerts Will Be Available Online For All

The Minnesota Orchestra announced today that all Young People's Concerts during the 2020-21 season will be moved to an entirely online format, allowing families and students to experience the concerts for free from their homes. Continuing one of its longest-standing concert series, the Orchestra will present five new programs during the season, created especially for students in grades one through six. They will be recorded by the Minnesota Orchestra at Orchestra Hall-with health and safety protocols in place for all musicians and staff involved in each recording session-and made available for on-demand viewing. Each concert video will be released for viewing during the same month that the program was originally scheduled for performance and will be available for a limited time at minnesotaorchestra.org.

"In a school year in which there is a lot of uncertainty, we are pleased to make all of this season's Young People's Concerts freely available to youth, teachers and families across the state of Minnesota and beyond," said Director of Education and Community Engagement Jessi Ryan. "We hope that expanding digital access will give more students and families the consistent opportunity to connect through music and to be inspired in ways that fuel further artistic exploration and growth."

The five programs offered in the 2020-21 season are American Voices (October), Meet the Orchestra (November), Musical Menagerie (February), Taking a Stand Through Music (March) and Inside the Composer's Mind (April). Program details and repertoire will be announced in September.

The Minnesota Orchestra connects with more than 85,000 music lovers annually through family concerts and educational programs including Young People's Concerts, a series that marked its centennial in 2011. In the last decade nearly half a million students have experienced a Young People's Concert. Recent Minnesota Orchestra Young People's Concert webcasts reached students around the globe in hundreds of cities across more than 20 countries.

Curriculum and additional educational and family activities will be available online at minnesotaorchestra.org.