A NEW SEASON OF THIS IS MINNESOTA ORCHESTRA BROADCASTS WILL AIR ON TWIN CITIES PBS BEGINNING FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 14

Public broadcaster will share four concerts across the state in upcoming season featuring timpani player Erich Rieppel, violist Rebecca Albers, and violinists Benjamin Beilman and Leila Josefowicz 

Concerts are also livestreamed on Facebook and YouTube and available on-demand on the Orchestra’s YouTube channel

For the fifth consecutive year, audiences will be able to watch highlighted performances from the Minnesota Orchestra’s concert season live on Twin Cities PBS’ main service, TPT 2. This Is Minnesota Orchestra will launch an all-new season on Friday, November 14, 8 p.m., spotlighting Music Director Thomas Søndergård leading the Orchestra in Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique and Benjamin Beilman in Szymanowski’s Violin Concerto No. 1. The latest season of the Upper Midwest Emmy Award-winning series will feature four live concert broadcasts.

The other programs in the new season are “Gabel, Debussy and Dukas” featuring Principal Viola Rebecca Albers (Jan 30), “Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 6” with violinist Leila Josefowicz (April 10) and “Hindoyan and Rieppel” featuring Principal Timpani Erich Rieppel (May 29). Each broadcast from Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis includes a high-quality audio mix from YourClassical MPR, as well as artist interviews and behind-the-scenes segments that bring audiences closer to the music and music-makers. Each of the concerts, emceed by a rotating cast of hosts, will also be streamed live on the Orchestra’s Facebook and YouTube channels.

“There is something thrilling about the live concert experience, where anything can happen,” says Minnesota Orchestra Director of Broadcasts and Digital Initiatives Ashleigh Rowe. “In each This Is Minnesota Orchestra show we aim to capture that electricity for home audiences, so that they really can feel that we are all watching this concert unfold together, in the moment. We hear regularly from people who can’t get to Orchestra Hall, and they appreciate being able to participate in Orchestra concerts in this way. We are thankful for our good partnership with TPT that allows us to open up access so broadly.” Through TPT’s network of stations, concerts are broadcast all around the state.

This Is Minnesota Orchestra debuted on Twin Cities PBS in 2020 as a way for the Orchestra to offer performances during the pandemic. In the years since, the series has become a staple of the organization’s offerings, bringing the Orchestra to audiences in every corner of the state and featuring performances from artists as disparate as violinist Johan Dalene, pianist Ingrid Fliter, saxophone player Steven Banks, trumpeter Pacho Flores, vocalist Jevetta Steele, singer/rapper Dessa and Cloud Cult. 

ON DEMAND, ON YOUTUBE

Several weeks after each live television broadcast, This Is Minnesota Orchestra performances become available for on-demand access on YouTube. Without contending with paywalls or passwords, audiences can find the Orchestra’s current season of This Is Minnesota Orchestra concerts on the Orchestra’s YouTube channel, as well as an archived collection of full-length concerts from previous years, performance and interview excerpts, and special made-for-digital content. It’s part of an ongoing initiative to make access to the Orchestra’s digital offerings free and easy.

The Orchestra’s YouTube channel is also home to:

The Composer Institute 2025 – A collection of videos spotlighting four new works and the rising composers who wrote them

Listening Project – A playlist of performances featuring compositions from historically underrepresented composers

Musician Portraits – Behind-the-curtain portraits of Minnesota Orchestra players

Taken by the Sound – A short documentary on Music Director Thomas Søndergård with YourClassical MPR’s Melissa Ousley

 How To Watch This Is Minnesota Orchestra

·     View live on Twin Cities PBS (TPT 2) on designated concert days (see below)

·     View live on Minnesota Orchestra’s YouTube or Facebook channels on designated concert days (see below)

·     View archived concerts on demand at the Minnesota Orchestra’s YouTube Channel or on TPT.org – always free  

2025-26 This Is Minnesota Orchestra Broadcasts/ Livestreams

 SØNDERGÅRD CONDUCTS SYMPHONIE FANTASTIQUE  

Friday, November 14, 2025, 8 p.m.  

 Minnesota Orchestra 

Thomas Søndergård, conductor  

Benjamin Beilman, violin  

Ariana Kim, broadcast host

GABEL, DEBUSSY AND DUKAS  

Friday, January 30, 2026, 8 p.m. 

Minnesota Orchestra 

Fabien Gabel, conductor  

Rebecca Albers, viola

Brian Newhouse, broadcast host  

TCHAIKOVSKY SYMPHONY NO. 6  

Friday, April 10, 2026, 8 p.m.  

 Minnesota Orchestra 

John Storgårds, conductor  

Leila Josefowicz, violin 

Sarah Hicks, broadcast host 

HINDOYAN AND RIEPPEL  

Friday, May 29, 2026, 8 p.m.  

 Minnesota Orchestra 

Domingo Hindoyan, conductor  

Erich Rieppel, timpani

Ariana Kim, broadcast host  

PRESS CONTACTS 

Gwen Pappas, Vice President of Communications and Public Relations

gpappas@mnorch.org 

Alexandra Robinson, Content and Communications Manager

arobinson@mnorch.org