Orchestra performs preview concerts at the Auditorium of the Minneapolis Convention Center

Associate Conductor Courtney Lewis leads Minnesota Orchestra concerts Feb. 18 and 22 at the Auditorium of the Minneapolis Convention Center, leading works of Strauss, Ravel, Barber and Elgar

Auditorium of the Convention Center will be Orchestra’s “home away from home” for 2012-13 season

(January 26, 2012) The Minnesota Orchestra presents two special concerts at the Auditorium of the Minneapolis Convention Center on February 18 and 22, offering audiences a glimpse of what will be the Orchestra’s “home away from home” during the 2012-13 season, when Orchestra Hall will close temporarily for a major one-year renovation beginning in summer 2012.  Associate Conductor Courtney Lewis leads the program, which includes Barber’s moving Adagio for Strings, Elgar’s Enigma Variations, Strauss’ tone poem Don Juan and Ravel’s fairy-tale suite Mother Goose.

The concert is performed at the Auditorium of the Minneapolis Convention Center, located on the first level at 1301 Second Avenue South in downtown Minneapolis, on Saturday, February 18, at 8 p.m., and Wednesday, February 22, at 7:30 p.m., with all tickets priced at $25.  For tickets, call (612) 371-5656 or visit minnesotaorchestra.org.

The Auditorium of the Minneapolis Convention Center
During the 2012-13 season, most of the Minnesota Orchestra’s performances will be held at the Auditorium of the Minneapolis Convention Center.  The Auditorium was selected as an ideal venue for its convenient, easily accessible location—a few blocks from Orchestra Hall and connected to the downtown skyway system—and for the many amenities it offers concertgoers. Comparable in size to the Orchestra Hall auditorium, it holds about 2,150 in its main seating area.  In recent months, it has been the site of concerts by such world-class entertainers as Paul Simon and Sheryl Crow. 

Courtney Lewis, conductor
Belfast native Courtney Lewis became the Minnesota Orchestra’s associate conductor in fall 2010 after a year as assistant conductor.  This season, in addition to leading all of the Orchestra’s Young People’s and family concerts, he debuted on the subscription series, leading fully staged performances of Hansel and Gretel in November.  He conducts additional subscription concerts on February 23 and 26, 2012, leading a program that includes Schumann’s Piano Concerto with soloist Ingrid Fliter.

Lewis is one of four conductors from around the world selected by the Los Angeles Philharmonic for its 2011-12 Dudamel Fellowship program.  He will lead that ensemble in multiple performances in March 2012 and will work with students in the orchestra’s education programs.  He also directs Boston’s acclaimed Discovery Ensemble, which he founded, and which introduces inner-city school children to classical music while bringing new and unusual repertoire to established concert audiences.

The music: Symphonic poem, fairy tale suite, emotional Adagio and musical portrait gallery
The program begins with Strauss’ Don Juan, the tale of a man’s eventful but ultimately futile search for the ideal woman, and concludes with Elgar’s Enigma Variations, a portrait gallery of 13 of Elgar’s closest friends, as well as the composer himself.  Also included is Ravel’s simple and beautiful Mother Goose suite, based on five well-known fairy tales, and Barber’s Adagio for Strings, a brief, heart-rending work that has become our nation’s first choice of music for times of mourning.

Minnesota Orchestra Classical Concerts
HOME AWAY FROM HOME: A Convention Center Preview

Saturday, February 18, 2012, 8 p.m. / The Auditorium of the Minneapolis Convention Center
Wednesday, February 22, 2012, 7:30 p.m. / The Auditorium of the Minneapolis Convention Center

Minnesota Orchestra
Courtney Lewis, conductor

STRAUSS                Don Juan
RAVEL                      Mother Goose Suite
BARBER                   Adagio for Strings
ELGAR                      Enigma Variations

Tickets: $25

Individual tickets are available for purchase at the Minnesota Orchestra Box Office at 11th and Marquette in Minneapolis, online at minnesotaorchestra.org or by calling (612) 371-5656 or (800) 292-4141. For groups of 10 or more, call (612) 371-5662 or (800) 292-4141, ext. 662. Prices listed do not include a $5.75 service charge per transaction for all phone or mail orders. Save $1 by purchasing tickets online or by having the Orchestra e-mail your tickets. There are no service charges for subscribers, group purchasers or in-person transactions at the Orchestra Hall Box Office. A non-discountable $3.50 facility fee is included in the price of each individual ticket. No refunds. Some fees and restrictions may apply to ticket exchanges. All sales are final. All programs, artists, dates, times and prices subject to change.

Delta Air Lines is the official airline of the Minnesota Orchestra’s 2011-12 season.

The Star Tribune and 830 WCCO-AM are the Minnesota Orchestra’s media partners for the 2011-12 season.

This activity is made possible in part by a grant provided by the Minnesota State Arts Board through an appropriation by the Minnesota State Legislature from the State’s general fund and its arts and cultural heritage fund with money from the vote of the people of Minnesota on November 4, 2008.

PRESS CONTACTS:
Gwen Pappas, Director of Public Relations
(612) 371-5628 • This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Sandi Brown, Public Relations Coordinator
(612) 371-5641 • This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.