The Grammy Award-winning Minnesota Orchestra, now in its second century, ranks among America’s top symphonic ensembles, with a distinguished history of acclaimed performances in its home state and around the world; award-winning recordings, broadcasts and educational engagement programs; and a commitment to intentionally build concert programs to feature more works by composers of color, exploring music both contemporary and historic. This fall, Danish conductor Thomas Søndergård begins his tenure as music director.

John Beal, an internationally recognized film music conductor and award-winning film and television composer, is as at home on the concert stage as he is in the recording studio. Principal conductor of the Hollywood Symphony Orchestra, he is a highly sought-after conductor and has conducted a wide and diverse variety of shows and live-to-film scores with many of the world’s greatest musicians in venues stretching from London to Tokyo, including the Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg, National Orchestra of Belgium, City of Prague Philharmonic, National Symphony of Malaysia Kuala Lumpur and Evergreen Symphony of Taiwan, as well as major symphony orchestras throughout the U.S., including several decades in Los Angeles with the Hollywood Studio Symphony Orchestra. Throughout his career as a music director, Beal has arranged for and conducted orchestras on albums and in concerts and television with very diverse artists ranging from the world premiere of Rocketman: Live in Concert with Sir Elton John and Taron Egerton to the world premiere orchestral concert of Electronica DJ Deadmau5, the world premiere of Serengeti Live with Lola Lennox, the U.S. concert debut of Olivia Newton-John, and for singers Gladys Knight, Ella Fitzgerald and B.B. King.