About

Education and Outreach

inspiring our youngest audiences:

Young Peoples Concerts

WAMSO Kinder Konzerts
Four- and five-year-olds meet Minnesota Orchestra musicians and their music.

Young People’s Concerts
School-age children’s concerts also include free curriculum for educators.

UPbeat
Subsidized or free tickets to Young People’s concerts for local students.

Free Family Concerts
Free concerts for young families, offered several times per year.

 

engaging young musicians:

engaging young musicians

Playlist
Hands-on, onstage experiences for middle school - college-age students.

YPSCA
Young People's Symphony Concert Association supports the Young People's Concerts and produces the annual School Music Auditions and more. Help ensure the availability of these opportunities. Click here to learn more about YPSCA and become a member! 

Discount Tickets and Ticket Packages
Discount ticket packages for students and their families.

 

lifelong learning opportunities:

Fantasy Camp

Music Up Close
Free pre- and post-concert discussions led by musicians, composers and music director Osmo Vänskä.

Inside the Classics
Concert series, blog, and more -- a fun and fresh guide to understanding the music.

Composer Institute
National award-winning program to premiere works by new composers.

Crescendo Project
Young patrons group of the Minnesota Orchestra.

Fantasy Camp
Two-day immersive experience for adult amateur musicians.

 

broadening our reach:

Common Chords

Symphony for the Cities
Free outdoor concerts around the Twin Cities Metro area every summer.

Common Chords
Partnerships between the Orchestra and Greater Minnesota communities.

Broadcasts
Weekly live broadcasts on Minnesota Public Radio and other stations.

Ticket Donation Program
Free tickets for non-profit organizations to use as part of fundraising efforts.

Student and Educator Discounts

Discounted Tickets

Student Rush
$15 - high school and college students, purchase at the box office starting one hour prior to most performances.

Advance Student Rush Tickets
$12 - high school and college students, purchase online in advance

Student Group Rate
$12 - grade six through college, groups of 10 or more

Target Free Family Concerts
FREE concerts for families with children of all ages

Discounted Ticket Packages

College Student Subscriptions
Starting at $36, available on most subscriptions. Choose a series, then select "Student Seats" in step 1.

Young Listener Series Offerings
Ages 6-17, $12 per concert with purchase of an adult subscription. Choose a series, then select "Young Listener Seats" in step 1.

Young People's Concerts

Courtney Lewis

Minnesota Orchestra Young People’s Concerts are for schools, homeschools and families looking for an outstanding arts experience that is both educational and engaging. Each Young People’s Concert focuses on a specific musical element, composer, time period or theme, that is supported by free online preparation materials and multi-disciplinary performance elements.


2012-13 Young People's Concerts


Young People's Concerts
Ferdinand the Bull
Thu Feb 7, 2013 10AM
Thu Feb 7, 2013 11:35AM
Tue Feb 19, 2013 10AM
Tue Feb 19, 2013 11:35AM
  • Minnesota Orchestra
  • Courtney Lewis, conductor
  • Teatro del Pueblo
  • Narrator, TBA
MOZART Symphony No. 41, Jupiter, Allegretto (III) and Molto allegro (IV)
FISH Ferdinand the Bull
BIZET Carmen Suite No. 1

Here’s both drama and music—as The Story of Ferdinand is brought to life by Teatro del Pueblo. This beloved children’s book by Munro Leaf tells the story of a bull who would rather smell flowers than fight in bullfights. Also on the program: the Orchestra will perform selections from Bizet’s lively Carmen suite as well as Mozart’s famous Jupiter symphony.

Curriculum & Recordings
(This information will be posted approximately 8 weeks before the concert.)

Homeschool Family workshop:  Thursday, January 17, 10-11:30AM at Ferguson Hall, on the U of M West Bank campus.  (There will be one workshop this season for all three concerts.)

Illustration from The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf, illustrated by Robert Lawson, © 1936 by Munro Leaf and Robert Lawson, renewed © 1964 by Munro Leaf and John W. Boyd. Used by permission of Viking Children's Books, a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.


Young People's Concerts
Supersonic Sounds
Thu Mar 7, 2013 10AM
Thu Mar 7, 2013 11:35AM
Fri Mar 8, 2013 10AM
Fri Mar 8, 2013 11:35AM
  • Minnesota Orchestra
  • Courtney Lewis, conductor
  • Sedra Bistodeau, violin
R. STRAUSS Also sprach Zarathustra, selection
WAGNER The Ride of the Valkyries
SIBELIUS Violin Concerto, Allegro, ma non tanto (III)
R. STRAUSS Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks
RESPIGHI The Pines of Rome, The Pines of the Appian Way (IV)

Big sounds rule!  All the works on this concert are powerful and intense, starting with the theme from the classic film, 2001: A Space Odyssey, from Strauss’ Also sprach Zarathustra. Talented young Sedra Bistodeau of Princeton, Minnesota, who won YPSCA’s 2012 School Music Auditions, will play the high-energy finale of Sibelius’ great Violin Concerto. Rounding out the program will be Wagner’s extraordinary Ride of the Valkyries and Respighi’s Pines of Rome.

Curriculum & Recordings
(This information will be posted approximately 8 weeks before the concert.)

Homeschool Family workshop:  Thursday, January 17, 10-11:30AM at Ferguson Hall, on the U of M West Bank campus.  (There will be one workshop this season for all three concerts.)


Young People's Concerts
Appalachian Spring
Wed Apr 17, 2013 10AM
Wed Apr 17, 2013 11:35AM
Thu Apr 18, 2013 10AM
Thu Apr 18, 2013 11:35AM
Thu May 9, 2013 10AM
Thu May 9, 2013 11:35AM
COPLAND Appalachian Spring
SIBELIUS Finlandia
MÁRQUEZ Danzon No. 2
WALTON Crown Imperial March

Appalachian Spring is an iconic American masterpiece that glows with the “American sound” created by its composer Aaron Copland.  Mexican composer Arturo Márquez’ Danzon, inspired by a Cuban-style dance, and Sibelius’ Finlandia are both viewed as national treasures in their homelands. A musical symbol of yet another nation brings the concert to a grand close: Walton’s Crown Imperial March, a magnificent work played at every British coronation. 

Curriculum & Recordings 
(This information will be posted approximately 8 weeks before the concert.)

Homeschool Family workshop:  Thursday, January 17, 10-11:30AM at Ferguson Hall, on the U of M West Bank campus. (There will be one workshop this season for all three concerts.)


 


The Minnesota Orchestra gratefully acknowledges generous support from

UnitedHealth Group

UPbeat

Buses arriving at Orchestra Hall

The UPbeat program cultivates in-depth partnerships between the Orchestra and public school districts, providing students with additional opportunities to learn about symphonic music. The Minnesota Orchestra brings an entire grade level from a number of metro area school districts to Orchestra Hall for a Young People’s Concert each year, providing subsidized or free tickets and transportation. More than 18,000 students from eleven districts, including Minneapolis and Saint Paul, currently participate in UPbeat.

UPbeat partner districts for the 2011-12 season include:
    •    Anoka-Hennepin
    •    Columbia Heights
    •    Forest Lake
    •    Hudson (Wisconsin)
    •    Minneapolis—seventh season
    •    Richfield
    •    River Falls (Wisconsin)
    •    Robbinsdale
    •    Saint Cloud
    •    Saint Paul—sixth season
    •    White Bear Lake
    •    Zumbrota-Mazeppa

Interested in becoming an UPbeat district? Contact Jim Bartsch, Director of Education, at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , or Chris Johnson, Young People's ticket coordinator, at (612) 371-5671 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Curriculum

2012-13 Curriculum

Curriculum for the 2012-13 season will be posted in late summer 2012.

Curriculum archive

2011-12 Season

The Tin Forest

The Tin Forest
NOV 9&10, 2011
Download curriculum (pdf)

 

Hansel and Gretel

Hansel and Gretel
NOV 30-DEC 2, 2011
Download curriculum (pdf)

 

World Music

World Music
JAN 25&26, 2012
Download curriculum (pdf)

 

Pictures at an Exhibition

Pictures at an Exhibition
FEB 1&2, 2012
Download curriculum (pdf)

 

Peter and the Wolf

Peter and the Wolf
FEB 28-MAR 1, 2012
Download curriculum (pdf)

 

At The Ballet

At The Ballet
MAR 28&29, 2012
Download curriculum (pdf)