Jon Kimura Parker returns for final summer as Creative Partner

Minnesota Orchestra Summer at Orchestra Hall opens Thursday, July 10 

Celebrating Romantic-era music, Summer at Orchestra Hall runs through Friday, August 1

Virtuoso pianist and Creative Partner Jon Kimura Parker returns for his final summer
at the helm of the festival, playing concertos by Schumann and Grieg 

Jon Kimura Parker, the Minnesota Orchestra’s Creative Partner for Summer at Orchestra Hall, will return this July for his final summer at the helm of the festival that he helped to launch. Extending from Thursday, July 10, through Friday, August 1, the 2025 Summer at Orchestra Hall centers around large-scale Romantic-era music and features Parker as soloist in highly expressive piano concertos by Robert Schumann and Edvard Grieg. The season also encompasses film music (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone™), a weekend of Beethoven Romances, a Relaxed Family Concert centering on Rhythm in Motion, chamber music and the one-of-a-kind Grand Piano Spectacular. 
 
“Jon Kimura Parker has served as Creative Partner for Summer at Orchestra Hall since its inception,” said Minnesota Orchestra Vice President of Artistic Planning Erik Finley. “In fact, he was one of the architects of Summer at Orchestra Hall, and his artistry, musical curiosity and joy in connecting with audiences have come to define the spirit of the festival. His creative flexibility was also critical in helping us to adapt this festival through a couple of pandemic summers. We are grateful to count him as one of the Minnesota Orchestra’s great musical friends—and pleased that he’ll be back as a soloist on our subscription season beginning in fall 2026.”

Parker was appointed in September 2019 to an initial three-year role as the first-ever Creative Partner for Summer at Orchestra Hall, with the Orchestra subsequently extending his contract through 2025. The planned launch of Summer at Orchestra in July 2020 was delayed for a year by the pandemic, but in July 2021, Parker and the Orchestra were able to roll out a limited set of summer concerts in keeping with pandemic restrictions at the time. Parker returned in July 2022 to launch a full-throttle Summer at Orchestra Hall experience, featuring multiple weeks of music illuminating “The Beethoven Influence” and showcasing partnerships with BRKFST Dance Company, In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre and The Moving Company. Embracing roles as a curator, host, soloist and chamber musician, Parker steered subsequent festivals to explore “Music in Motion” (2023) and the transformative music of the Roaring Twenties (2024). A hallmark of his tenure has been the Grand Piano Spectacular, an annual high-energy performance involving four pianists on four grand pianos in wide-ranging repertoire. 

“The collective esprit de corps in the Minnesota Orchestra and in the larger community has always been the force animating Summer at Orchestra Hall,” said Jon “Jackie” Kimura Parker. “It has been a great experience to engage with Minnesota audiences each summer and an absolute joy to collaborate with Minnesota Orchestra musicians, so many of whom I know from Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music. Playing with old friends in the Orchestra who I’ve known for decades and new colleagues who are recent Rice graduates has added a wonderful resonance to our music-making. I look forward to our time together this summer and then to exploring the new ways in which we will collaborate going forward.”

The Orchestra will announce plans for its next Summer at Orchestra Hall in spring 2026. 

2025 SUMMER AT ORCHESTRA HALL

Summer at Orchestra Hall opens with Cecilia Belcher, the Orchestra’s assistant principal second violin, stepping into the solo spotlight (July 10-12) performing Beethoven’s Romances No. 1 and 2, under the baton of conductor Kensho Watanabe. Fresh from Metropolitan Opera performances of La Bohème, Watanabe also leads Weber’s dark and thrilling Overture to Der Freischütz and Brahms’ sublime Second Symphony.

In the festival’s second week (July 17-20), Norman Huynh leads the Orchestra in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone™ in Concert, relaunching the popular Harry Potter Film Concert series with the first film and bringing to life an unforgettable score by John Williams.  

Pianist Jon Kimura Parker is showcased in the final two weeks of the festival, first playing Robert Schumann’s only Piano Concerto on a program (Friday, July 25) that also features Mendelssohn’s Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage Overture and a Suite from Tchaikovsky’s exquisite ballet Swan Lake, all led by rising conductor Samuel Lee. Parker subsequently interprets Edvard Grieg’s richly melodic Piano Concerto (Friday, August 1) in a concert led by Akiko Fujimoto, former Minnesota Orchestra associate conductor, that also features Brahms’ Variations on a Theme of Haydn and Dvořák’s sunny Eighth Symphony.

Additional festival highlights include “Rhythm in Motion,” a Relaxed Family Concert conducted by Samuel Lee, hosted by actor Christina Baldwin and featuring the dancers of Los Alegres Bailadores (Saturday, July 26, 2 p.m.); an evening of Chamber Music featuring Minnesota Orchestra musicians, alongside Jon Kimura Parker in the Brahms Quintet in F minor for Piano and Strings, among other works (Saturday, July 26, 7 p.m.); and the Grand Piano Spectacular, with this year’s keyboard extravaganza featuring Parker joined by pianists Chelsea de Souza, Artem Kuznetsov and Ayane Nakajima (Thursday, July 31, 7 p.m.). Principal Trumpet Manny Laureano will be a special guest at the Spectacular, making his final solo turn before retiring from the Orchestra after 44 years following the concert on August 1.

About Summer at Orchestra Hall 

Summer at Orchestra Hall celebrates the Orchestra’s home in the city. Curated by Creative Partner and pianist Jon Kimura Parker, the 2025 festival explores lush orchestral music and piano concertos of the Romantic era. Audiences are invited to come early to enjoy pre-concert entertainment from a variety of local performers in the Target Atrium, including Ginger Bones (July 25), Peter Kogan’s ’Tarbone Quintet (July 31) and Heyarlo (August 1). Dining options inside Orchestra Hall include local favorites Bao Bao Buns, The Bougee Waffle, La La Ice Cream and Manny’s Tortas, as well as special cocktail options and complimentary coffee and donuts at the July 10 Coffee Concert.

About Jon Kimura Parker 

Known for his passionate artistry and engaging stage presence, pianist Jon Kimura Parker has performed regularly at the Berlin Philharmonie, Carnegie Hall, London’s South Bank, the Sydney Opera House and the Beijing Concert Hall. Parker serves as professor of piano at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University—an interesting connection point to the Minnesota Orchestra, which is home to 15 Shepherd School graduates. Parker performed his first concert with the Minnesota Orchestra in 1988 at Northrop Auditorium and played his first Sommerfest concert in 1990. He has made regular appearances in Minnesota in the ensuing decades, and in 2019 he was appointed the Minnesota Orchestra’s first-ever creative partner for Summer at Orchestra Hall. This summer he curates his fifth festival with the Orchestra, appearing as host, soloist and chamber musician.
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TICKET PURCHASING INFORMATION

Tickets for Summer at Orchestra Hall can be purchased at minnesotaorchestra.org or by calling 612-371-5656. 
For groups of 10 or more, call 612-371-5662. 

Hall Pass tickets are available for all Classical, Chamber and Family concerts. A 25% discount for kids’ tickets to Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone™ in Concert is available for most seats. 

The 2024-25 Classical Season is presented by Ameriprise Financial.

The Movies & Music series is presented by U.S. Bank.  

The Family Concert series is sponsored by PNC.

The Chamber Music Series is sponsored by Dr. Jennine and John* Speier (* in remembrance)

This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a Minnesota State Arts Board Operating Support grant, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.

All programs, artists, dates, times and prices subject to change.

PRESS CONTACTS

Gwen Pappas, Vice President of Communications and Public Relations
gpappas@mnorch.org

Alexandra Robinson, Content and Communications Manager
arobinson@mnorch.org