The Grammy Award-winning Minnesota Orchestra, founded in 1903 and led since its centennial by Music Director Osmo Vänskä, is recognized for distinguished performances around the world, award-winning recordings, radio broadcasts, educational engagement programs, and commitment to building the orchestral repertoire of the future. The Orchestra tours regularly throughout Minnesota and nationally, and has toured abroad in Australia, Canada, East Asia, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and South Africa. Recording has been an important part of the organization’s mission since the 1920s. During Vänskä’s tenure, the Orchestra has undertaken acclaimed recordings, including complete cycles of symphonies by Ludwig van Beethoven, Jean Sibelius and—now underway—Mahler.

The Minnesota Chorale has served as the Minnesota Orchestra’s principal chorus since 2004 and is now in its 28th season under the leadership of Kathy Saltzman Romey. Founded in 1972, the Chorale is Minnesota’s preeminent symphonic chorus, with a roster of over 200 singers. Best known for its work with the two major orchestras of the Twin Cities, the ensemble is equally dedicated to programs that build and enrich community. A seasoned artistic partner, the Chorale continues to explore new artistic directions and collaborative opportunities, while earning the highest critical acclaim for its work on the concert stage. In 2018, members of the Chorale traveled to South Africa to perform alongside the Minnesota Orchestra in its historic concerts in Soweto and Johannesburg.

The Minnesota Chorale first appeared with the Minnesota Orchestra in a 1972 performance of Gian Carlo Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitors, conducted by Henry Charles Smith. Since then, the Chorale has collaborated regularly with the Orchestra in such masterworks as Ludwig van Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, George Frideric Handel’s Messiah and Giuseppe Verdi’s Requiem, and in presenting great modern works including Michael Tippett’s A Child of our Time, Aaron Jay Kernis’ Garden of Light and Leonard Bernstein’s Mass.