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 commissioning and performing the music of our time.  In September 2025, Danish conductor Thomas Søndergård began his third season as music director.

Conductor Daniela Candillari brings her “confidence and apparently inexhaustible verve” (The New York Times) to opera houses and concert stages throughout North America and internationally. She is renowned for guiding groundbreaking world premieres to the stage “with a sure hand” (The New York Times) as well as her “incisive leadership” (Wall Street Journal) of classical music’s most frequently performed masterpieces. 

Acclaimed Grammy Award-winning mandolinist, singer, songwriter, composer and MacArthur Fellow recipient of the prestigious “Genius Grant,” Chris Thile is a multifaceted musical talent, described by The Guardian as "that rare being: an all-round musician,” and hailed by NPR as a “genre-defying musical genius.” Thile is a founding member of the highly influential string bands Punch Brothers and Nickel Creek, and has collaborated with countless luminaries from Yo-Yo Ma to Fiona Apple to Brad Mehldau.

Alex Sopp is a flutist, singer, composer and visual artist living in Brooklyn, New York. As a singer and a songwriter, her debut album of original songs, The Hem & The Haw, was released on New Amsterdam Records. She is the flutist and founding member of yMusic, The Knights, Between Worlds Ensemble and NOW Ensemble. She has played principal flute in the New York Philharmonic and Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, and has premiered solo works written for her by Allison Loggins-Hull, Judd Greenstein, Nico Muhly and Gabriel Kahane.

Australian-born Susie Park, the Minnesota Orchestra’s first associate concertmaster since 2015, will be featured as soloist with the ensemble in June 2023 in Brahms’ Double Concerto with Associate Principal Cello Silver Ainomäe. She has performed solos with numerous major orchestras in Europe, the U.S. and Australia, as well as Korea’s KBS Orchestra and Orchestra Wellington in New Zealand. She was the violinist of the Eroica Trio from 2006 to 2012, with which she recorded the ensemble’s Grammy-nominated CD of all-American repertoire, and toured internationally. Her interest in music of all genres has also led to collaborations with artists such as jazz trumpeter Chris Botti.

David Stevens is a percussionist and timpanist based in New York City. As an orchestral musician, he has performed with the New York Philharmonic; National, Detroit, Virginia, and New Jersey symphony orchestras; Kansas City Symphony; New York City Ballet Orchestra; Metropolitan Opera Orchestra; Orchestra of St. Luke’s and Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. On Broadway, Stevens has performed as a substitute percussionist in Chess; The Great Gatsby; Sweeney Todd; Parade; The Phantom of the Opera; Beetlejuice; Into the Woods; Hello, Dolly!; An American in Paris and Pippin.

The Minnesota Chorale has served as the Minnesota Orchestra’s principal chorus since 2004 and is now in its 29th 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.