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. In September 2024, Danish conductor Thomas Søndergård begins his second season as music director.

The Sphinx Virtuosi is a dynamic and inspiring professional self-conducted chamber orchestra that serves as the flagship performing entity of the Sphinx Organization—the leading social justice non-profit dedicated to transforming lives through the power of diversity in the arts. Comprising 18 accomplished Black and Latinx artists, the Sphinx Virtuosi evolves and transforms the face of classical music through artistic excellence, pioneering programming and impassioned community engagement.

Minnesota Orchestra Conductor Laureate Osmo Vänskä, whose 19-year tenure as the Orchestra’s music director concluded in 2022, is renowned internationally for his compelling interpretations of the standard, contemporary and Nordic repertoires. His multi-year project with the Orchestra to perform and record all ten Mahler symphonies concluded in November 2022 with the Third Symphony. Signature initiatives of his music director tenure included a Sibelius symphonies cycle that earned the Orchestra its first Grammy Award and major tours to Cuba, Europe and South Africa. As a guest conductor, he has received extraordinary praise for his work with many of the world’s leading orchestras.

American violinist Erin Keefe, who became concertmaster of the Minnesota Orchestra in September 2011, has established a reputation as an artist who combines exhilarating temperament and fierce integrity. At Sommerfest 2012 she made her concerto solo debut with the Orchestra, performing Beethoven’s Violin Concerto. She has since been featured as soloist in two concertos by Mendelssohn—the Violin Concerto and, in May 2022, the Double Concerto for Violin, Piano and Orchestra—as well as the violin concertos of Brahms and Kurt Weill, and Dvořák’s Romance for Violin and Orchestra. In February 2023, she performed Leonard Bernstein’s Serenade, after Plato's "Symposium," for Solo Violin, Strings, Harp and Percussion. Keefe joined the violin faculty at the Curtis Institute of Music in 2022.

Winner of an Avery Fisher Career Grant, the Pro Musicis International Award as well as numerous international competitions, she has appeared as soloist in recent seasons with the Minnesota Orchestra, New Mexico Symphony, New York City Ballet Orchestra, Korean Symphony Orchestra, Amadeus Chamber Orchestra, Turku Philharmonic, Sendai Philharmonic and the Gottingen Symphony and has given recitals throughout the United States, Austria, Italy, Germany, Korea, Poland, Finland, Japan and Denmark. 

Juho Pohjonen is regarded as one of today’s most exciting and unique instrumentalists. The Finnish pianist performs widely in Europe, Asia, and North America, collaborating with symphony orchestras and playing in recital and chamber settings.  An ardent exponent of Scandinavian music, Pohjonen’s growing discography offers a showcase of music by Finnish compatriots such as Esa-Pekka Salonen, Kaija Saariaho and Jean Sibelius.

In 2021-2022 Pohjonen performs Daniel Bjarnason’s concerto for piano Processions with the Helsinki Philharmonic with the composer at the podium. Additional orchestral highlights include performances of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 with Rune Bergmann and the Colorado Symphony as well as performances of Mendelssohn’s concerto for violin, piano and strings, beside Erin Keefe, Maestro Osmo Vänskä and the Minnesota Orchestra. Continuing his long-standing relationship with Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Pohjonen performs at Alice Tully Hall on two separate occasions this season in programs featuring works by Stravinksy, Debussy, Shostokovich and Mendelssohn. Additional chamber projects include a performance at Parlance Chamber Concerts with Danbi Um and Paul Huang and Cliburn Concerts with Danbi and Karim Sulayman. Juho will perform recitals in Helsinki and at Vancouver Recital Society.