The Minnesota Orchestra Presents Symphony Ball 2023: Experience the Magic

The annual fundraiser gala, held June 10 at Orchestra Hall, features a performance from the Minnesota Orchestra plus dining, auctions, dancing and an after-party with musical guest Chan Poling

Chaired by Roma Calatayud-Stocks and Thomas Stocks, M.D., this year’s Symphony Ball celebrates the magical power of music

The Minnesota Orchestra will host its annual Symphony Ball fundraiser at Orchestra Hall and the Hilton Minneapolis on June 10, 2023. Dedicated to the uplifting and unifying power of music as well as the Orchestra’s bright future, the theme of this year’s gala is “Experience the Magic.”

Tickets ($500) are now available for the full evening, which includes a cocktail reception, seated dinner and auctions beginning at 5 p.m. at the Hilton Minneapolis, located across Marquette Avenue from Orchestra Hall. Partier tickets ($99) are available to those who would like to arrive after the dinner hour when, at 9 p.m., the Minnesota Orchestra will take the stage at the Hall. Singer-songwriter Chan Poling, founder of alternative rock band The Suburbs and jazz trio The New Standards, will perform in the lobby of Orchestra Hall alongside other special musical guests in an after-party with live music and dancing.

The concert portion of the evening—available to all attendees, including those with a Partier ticket—will be led by Sarah Hicks, principal conductor of Live at Orchestra Hall. The eclectic program includes Wolfgang Amadè Mozart’s Overture to The Magic Flute, Manuel Ponce’s Estrellita, Johann Strauss’ Voices of Spring and a suite from ­­Igor Stravinsky’s ballet The Firebird. The Minnesota Orchestra’s own musicians will take center stage in this year’s Ball: Principal Trumpet Manny Laureano, who has been with the Orchestra since 1981, will serve as soloist in Estrellita; Acting Assistant Principal Violist Sam Bergman—who, since 2005, has produced, written and hosted more than 40 original shows with the Orchestra—will partner with Sarah Hicks to host the performance, offering colorful commentary for the audience.

Following the concert, the after-party featuring singer-songwriter Chan Poling and guests will fill the Hall’s lobby. Poling has been an active part of the greater Twin Cities’ music scene for more than four decades. His artistic credits include founding the pioneering alternative rock band The Suburbs in 1977—a group that he continues to lead today. In 2005, he co-founded The New Standa­­rds, which performed alongside the Orchestra in 2016.

Symphony Ball is chaired this year by Roma Calatayud-Stocks and Thomas Stocks, M.D., with Joseph Green and Trudi Anderson serving as Honorary Chairs. Since 1956, the annual gala has raised millions of dollars in support of the Minnesota Orchestra, its musicians and education programs. This year’s event will continue to raise critical funds to support the artistic excellence and award-winning education and community engagement programs of the Orchestra.

“Symphony Ball 2023 will be an evening filled with surprise, awe and wonder,” said Roma Calatayud-Stocks. “We hope to incorporate magical illusions throughout the evening, pointing to the magic that unites us: music. The Orchestra’s musicians and the magical power of music will center the gala celebration as we spotlight stories of how the Orchestra brings magic to our community.”

 

About Sarah Hicks

Sarah Hicks, the Minnesota Orchestra’s principal conductor of Live at Orchestra Hall, has led a broad range of programs since joining the Orchestra as assistant conductor in 2006. Notable projects have included co-creating the Inside the Classics series and Sam & Sarah series with Orchestra violist Sam Bergman, and leading original productions with collaborators such as PaviElle French, Kevin Kling, Peter Rothstein, Robert Elhai and The Moving Company. She has been an artistic leader in concerts featuring artists from Minnesota’s popular music scene—including shows with Chan Poling’s The New Standards, multiple sold-out performances with singer-rapper-writer Dessa and a live-in-concert recording with her on Doomtree Records, and collaborations with Cloud Cult. Later this season she conducts programs featuring Minnesota Orchestra trumpeter Charles Lazarus and Dessa. She also continues her role as an on-camera host and writer of the Emmy Award-winning broadcast and livestream series This Is Minnesota Orchestra. More: minnesotaorchestra.org.

About Chan Poling

Chan Poling is a songwriter, bandleader, composer of theatrical, television and film scores, and a seasoned performer. His alternative rock band, The Suburbs, became a touchstone of the “Minneapolis Sound” in the 1980s, recording albums for Polygram and A&M Records. His charismatic jazz trio, The New Standards, performs in theaters and clubs around the world. Poling has written musical scores and songs for a variety of award-winning theater productions, television shows, commercials and documentary and indie films. Among the honors for his work are an Ivey Award for the 2015 musical Glensheen, which was also voted “Best of the Decade” by the Star Tribune; two Emmys and a Cine Golden Eagle for documentaries featuring his musical scores; recognition of The Suburbs as one of the “Greatest Musical Entities of the 20th Century” by the Star Tribune; and the Minnesota Music Awards’ “POP” (Perpetually Outstanding Performer) Award. More: chanpolingmusic.com.

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SYMPHONY BALL

Experience the Magic

 

Saturday, June 10, 2023 / Orchestra Hall and Hilton Minneapolis (1001 S Marquette Avenue)

 

Minnesota Orchestra

Sarah Hicks, conductor and host

Sam Bergman, host

Manny Laureano, trumpet

 

MOZART	Overture to The Magic Flute
PONCE	Estrellita
STRAUSS	Voices of Spring Waltz
STRAVINSKY	Suite from The Firebird

 

Partier tickets: $99

- Party begins at 9 p.m. at Orchestra Hall

- Includes Minnesota Orchestra performance and an after-party with an interactive starlight gallery, dancing and music from Chan Poling and guests, concluding at midnight

Tickets with dinner: $500+

- Event begins at 5 p.m. at the Hilton Minneapolis

- Includes all activities listed under Partier tickets, plus a welcome cocktail reception and dinner, and silent and live auctions 

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TICKET PURCHASING INFORMATION

To purchase tickets, visit minnesotaorchestra.org/symphonyball

Special thanks to presenting sponsor: Huntington Bank

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

 

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