Pre-Concert Activities at Orchestra Hall

Prior to many Minnesota Orchestra performances, pre-concert activities at Orchestra Hall provide enriching and entertaining experiences. Come early to hear music, attend a concert preview or just hang out before the show!

Søndergård Conducts Brahms Requiem: November 21-22, 2025

On Friday, November 21, at 7:15 p.m. on the N. Bud Grossman Mezzanine, and Saturday, November 22, at 6:15 p.m. in the Target Atrium, Shekela Wanyama will be joined by Kathy Saltzman Romey to preview the evening’s program. Wanyama is a conductor, educator and collaborator who serves as the Schubert Club’s Education, Community Partnerships and Museum Director. She also directs choirs at several local colleges and the Minnesota Chorale’s Youth Choirs, and is on the music staff at Unity Church-Unitarian. Romey, who serves as the Minnesota Orchestra’s choral advisor, is artistic director of the 250-voice Minnesota Chorale, which serves as the Orchestra’s principal chorus. Romey is also professor emerita of music and former director of choral activities at the University of Minnesota, where she oversaw the graduate program in choral conducting and conducted choirs for 30 years.

Dvořák New World Symphony: December 4-5, 2025

On Thursday, December 4, at 10:15 a.m. in the Target Atrium, host Phillip Gainsley will interview the Minnesota Orchestra new President and CEO, Isaac Thompson. Gainsley, who has hosted Minnesota Orchestra pre-concert discussions since 2004, was a regular panelist on the “Opera Quiz” heard during the intermissions of the Metropolitan Opera radio broadcasts. He currently writes performance reviews for Opera News magazine, and he is a speaker for the Metropolitan Opera Guild. His podcast Let's Talk Music features conversations with composers, conductors, directors, performers and other creative forces.

On Friday, December 5, at 7:15 p.m. in the Target Atrium, host Phillip Gainsley will preview the evening’s program, including Dvořák’s New World Symphony and Haydn’s Sinfonia concertante, and will be joined by Minnesota Orchestra bassoonist J. Christopher Marshall, one of four soloists in the Haydn work.

Disney's The Muppet Christmas Carol in Concert: December 12-13, 2025

On Friday, December 12, at 6:15 p.m., and Saturday, December 13, at 1:15 p.m. in the Target Atrium, the Minnesota Chorale Holiday Heralds will give a pre-concert performance. The Holiday Heralds are members of the larger Minnesota Chorale, performing seasonal hits during the holiday season. The full Minnesota Chorale collaborates with the Minnesota Orchestra twice during the 2025-26 season, performing Brahms’ German Requiem and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony.

Merry & Bright: December 14, 2025

On Sunday, December 14, at 1:15 p.m. in the Target Atrium, the Twin Cities Bronze handbell ensemble will give a pre-concert performance. Based in Eagan, Minnesota, Twin Cities Bronze specializes in the music and art of handbells. Selected by annual audition, this ensemble of advanced ringers hails from the metropolitan area of Minneapolis and St. Paul. Twin Cities Bronze has performed with the Minnesota Orchestra on numerous occasions, most often at “Jingle Bell Doc” performances led by Pops Conductor Laureate Doc Severinsen.