Minnesota Orchestra announces 2012-13 U.S. Bank Pops Season
Headliners to include Tiempo Libre, Bill Cosby, Max Raabe and Palast Orchester, Bobby McFerrin, Natalie Merchant and Ann Hampton Callaway
Clarinet Festival features special guests Anat Cohen, Evan Christopher, The Klezmatics and Duke Ellington Orchestra
Other concerts include Broadway’s Wicked Divas, a tribute to the music of the Gershwins, and three classic films accompanied by the Minnesota Orchestra
Click here for a complete 2012-13 classical and pops calendar
Click here for information on 2012-13 season subscriptions
(February 3, 2012) Principal Conductor of Pops and Presentations Sarah Hicks announced today the line-up for the Minnesota Orchestra’s 2012-13 U.S. Bank Pops Season, a season which will be held at the Auditorium at the Minneapolis Convention Center while the Orchestra’s home venue, Orchestra Hall, closes temporarily for a major renovation due for completion in summer 2013. Opening with a Clarinet Festival showcasing an array of classical and jazz soloists, the season features artists of many genres, from rock singer Natalie Merchant and comedian Bill Cosby to Cuban music ensemble Tiempo Libre and baritone Max Raabe and his 12-piece Palast Orchester, evoking the sounds of 1920s Germany.
“We’re thrilled to present quality, creativity and variety in our Pops season,” said Hicks, who was appointed to the Orchestra’s pops leadership post in 2009. “And this is such an incredibly wide-ranging season, running the gamut from Natalie Merchant’s symphonic show to Anat Cohen debuting with our Orchestra in our first-ever Clarinet Festival.”
“We’re looking forward to taking advantage of the overhead movie screen available to us at the Auditorium at the Convention Center,” she continued, “and so we’ll offer showings of West Side Story, Casablanca and The Matrix, three classic movies with fantastic scores that we’ll play live.”
The season opens in November, with the launch of a Clarinet Festival that will be presented over two weeks on both the Orchestra’s Classical and Pops concert seasons. Hicks conducts the first concert on Friday, November 9, featuring Evan Christopher, known for his interpretations of New Orleans jazz, in collaboration with Israeli-born clarinetist and composer Anat Cohen, whom The Washington Post called “one of the brightest, most original young instrumentalists in jazz.” On Saturday, November 10, The Klezmatics, an internationally renowned, Grammy-winning klezmer ensemble, join Hicks, Cohen and the Orchestra, and on Sunday, the Duke Ellington Orchestra and Evan Christopher join forces to present standards from “Take the A-Train” to “Satin Doll.” (The second week of the festival is presented on the Orchestra’s Classical season and features, among other works, the Copland Clarinet Concerto, performed by clarinetist Martin Fröst.)
The U.S. Bank Pops Season also features a historic salute to the works of George and Ira Gershwin, in a March orchestral program that features pianist Kevin Cole and vocalist Sylvia McNair. Singers Nicole Parker and Alli Mauzey, stars of the musical Wicked, will join the Orchestra in April for a “Wicked Divas of Broadway” concert, entertaining audiences with showstoppers from a variety of Broadway musicals that feature strong leading ladies. The season closes in May with the incomparable singer and pianist Ann Hampton Callaway offering her interpretations of “The Streisand Songbook.”
“The U.S. Bank Pops Season celebrates the joy of sharing outstanding entertainment with broad audiences,” says U.S. Bank Chairman, President and CEO Richard Davis, who is immediate past chair of the Minnesota Orchestra’s Board. “As the largest bank headquartered in Minnesota, U.S. Bank is proud to partner with the Orchestra in offering these events to a widespread group of music lovers right here in our home state.”
About the Auditorium of the Minneapolis Convention Center
The Minneapolis Convention Center is notable for much more than boat and home-and-garden shows: it is also home to a beautiful performance space, the Auditorium, which is about the same size as Orchestra Hall and has excellent amenities. For the Orchestra’s classical concerts, a shell will be used to modify acoustics as appropriate for a symphonic experience. The Convention Center is located in downtown Minneapolis, just a few blocks from Orchestra Hall, so it is accessible to all the same parking options and skyway connections already familiar to Orchestra Hall visitors.
Click here to view more information about the Auditorium at the Minneapolis Convention Center.
A complete description of the U.S. Bank Pops Season follows:
Clarinet Festival
ANAT COHEN AND EVAN CHRISTOPHER
with the Minnesota Orchestra
Friday, November 9, 2012, 8 p.m. / Auditorium at the Convention Center
Minnesota Orchestra
Sarah Hicks, conductor
Anat Cohen, clarinet
Evan Christopher, clarinet
Renowned clarinetists Anat Cohen and Evan Christopher collaborate with the Orchestra to launch a two-week series of spectacular concerts celebrating all things clarinet. Led by Sarah Hicks, this concert will feature a mix of jazz standards, original music, Creole clarinet and French chanson.
Clarinet Festival
THE KLEZMATICS
with the Minnesota Orchestra
and special guest Anat Cohen
Saturday, November 10, 2012, 8 p.m. / Auditorium at the Convention Center
Minnesota Orchestra
Sarah Hicks conductor
The Klezmatics
Anat Cohen, clarinet
The second concert of the Orchestra’s first-ever Clarinet Festival features Grammy-winning ensemble The Klezmatics—a five-member ensemble recognized for celebrating eastern European Jewish music—and Israeli clarinetist Anat Cohen performing both with the Orchestra and in solo works.
Clarinet Festival
DUKE ELLINGTON ORCHESTRA
with special guest Evan Christopher, clarinet
Sunday, November 11, 2012, 2 p.m. / Auditorium at the Convention Center
The world-famous Duke Ellington Orchestra, joined by clarinetist Evan Christopher, offers an afternoon of legendary jazz standards celebrating the role of the clarinet with such timeless hits as “Take the A-Train,” “Satin Doll” and “Lush Life.” [Please note: the Minnesota Orchestra does not perform on this program.]
THE MATRIX LIVE
with the Minnesota Orchestra
Friday, November 23, 2012, 8 p.m. / Auditorium at the Convention Center
Saturday, November 24, 2012, 8 p.m. / Auditorium at the Convention Center
Minnesota Orchestra
Donald R. Davis, conductor
The Minnesota Orchestra performs the inventive orchestral soundtrack to The Matrix live as the full-length theatrical version of the Oscar-winning film is screened, with the score’s composer, Donald R. Davis, conducting.
TIEMPO LIBRE: A NIGHT IN HAVANA
with the Minnesota Orchestra
Saturday, January 19, 2013, 8 p.m. / Auditorium at the Convention Center
Minnesota Orchestra
Sarah Hicks, conductor
Tiempo Libre
Cuban music group Tiempo Libre and the Minnesota Orchestra reunite—following a 2007 performance— for a dance-inducing symphonic concert celebrating Cuba’s musical heritage. Equally at home in concert halls, jazz clubs and dance venues, Tiempo Libre’s Miami-based members have been classically trained at Cuba’s premiere conservatories and perform a wide range of high-voltage Latin jazz.
BILL COSBY
Saturday, February 2, 2013, 2 p.m. / Auditorium at the Convention Center
The one-of-a-kind comedian, author and television star returns to the Twin Cities, offering hilarious commentary on life and the human condition. [Please note: the Minnesota Orchestra does not perform on this program.]
MGM HD PRESENTS
WEST SIDE STORY
with the Minnesota Orchestra
Saturday, February 9, 2013, 8 p.m. / Auditorium at the Convention Center
Minnesota Orchestra
Sarah Hicks, conductor
The Minnesota Orchestra plays Leonard Bernstein’s electrifying score to West Side Story—with the full drama of a live performance—while the newly-remastered film is shown on the big screen.
CASABLANCA
with the Minnesota Orchestra
Saturday, February 16, 2013, 8 p.m. / Auditorium at the Convention Center
Minnesota Orchestra
Sarah Hicks, conductor
The 1942 film noir classic Casablanca with a luminous score by Max Steiner is screened overhead as the Minnesota Orchestra performs live musical accompaniment.
THE GERSHWINS’ HERE TO STAY
with pianist Kevin Cole, vocalist Sylvia McNair and
the Minnesota Orchestra
Saturday, March 9, 2013, 8 p.m. / Auditorium at the Convention Center
Sunday, March 10, 2013, 2 p.m. / Auditorium at the Convention Center
Minnesota Orchestra
Sarah Hicks, conductor
Kevin Cole, piano
Sylvia McNair, vocals
The lives and works of brothers George and Ira Gershwin are celebrated through their unforgettable music and lyrics in this retrospective performed by pianist Kevin Cole and vocalist Sylvia McNair. Led by Sarah Hicks, the concert interweaves music with a visual narrative of photos, artwork and manuscripts.
MAX RAABE AND PALAST ORCHESTER
Sunday, April 7, 2013, 2 p.m. / Auditorium at the Convention Center
Baritone Max Raabe and his 12-member band make their Minnesota debut performing German and American standards that embody the style of the 1920s and ‘30s. [Please note: the Minnesota Orchestra does not perform on this program.]
WICKED DIVAS OF BROADWAY
with the Minnesota Orchestra
Saturday, April 20, 2013, 8 p.m. / Auditorium at the Convention Center
Minnesota Orchestra
Sarah Hicks, conductor
Nicole Parker, vocals
Alli Mauzey, vocals
Nicole Parker and Alli Mauzey, stars of the hit musical Wicked, join the Orchestra for a concert of showstoppers celebrating great divas. In this lighthearted show, Parker and Mauzey sing favorites from Wicked, Ragtime, My Fair Lady, Chicago, Bizet’s opera Carmen and more.
BOBBY McFERRIN
SPIRITS, YOU ALL
Saturday, April 27, 2013, 8 p.m. / Auditorium at the Convention Center
Bobby, McFerrin, winner of ten Grammy Awards is a natural wonder with a four-octave voice and the ability to command the stage in each and every concert. With his new project, SpiritsYouAll (and performing with his own band), McFerrin pays homage to his father (the opera singer Robert McFerrin, Sr.) and the generations of Americans who sang of shared joy and pain through the songs commonly known as the Negro Spirituals. [Please note: the Minnesota Orchestra does not perform on this program.]
NATALIE MERCHANT
with the Minnesota Orchestra
Minnesota Orchestra
Sarah Hicks, conductor
Natalie Merchant, vocals
Friday, May 10, 2013, 8 p.m. / Auditorium at the Convention Center
Singer-songwriter Natalie Merchant joins the Minnesota Orchestra for a performance featuring classic standards and selections from her most recent recording, Leave Your Sleep, which has been described as “Gentle, lush and magnificent …” Daily Telegraph (London, 2010)
THE STREISAND SONGBOOK
WITH ANN HAMPTON CALLAWAY
and the Minnesota Orchestra
Sunday, May 12, 2013, 2 p.m. / Auditorium at the Convention Center
Minnesota Orchestra
Sarah Hicks, conductor
Ann Hampton Callaway, piano and vocals
Channeling the legendary Barbra Streisand, pianist and singer Ann Hampton Callaway joins the Minnesota Orchestra to deliver an afternoon of songs from Funny Girl, A Star is Born, The Way We Were and more.
Subscription packages for the 2012-13 season are available beginning February 7, 2012, to renewing and new subscribers. Individual tickets are available on July 27, 2012 (fall/holiday concerts), and September 7, 2012 (winter/spring concerts). Tickets can be purchased online, by phone or in person at the Minnesota Orchestra Box Office at 11th and Marquette in Minneapolis. For more information, call (612) 371-5656 or (800) 292-4141, or visit minnesotaorchestra.org/subscribe.
All programs, artists, dates, times and prices subject to change.
U.S. Bank is the official sponsor of the 2012-13 pops season.
Delta Air Lines is the official airline of the Minnesota Orchestra’s 2012-13 season.
The Star Tribune and 830 WCCO-AM are the Minnesota Orchestra’s media partners for the 2012-13 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.