American Riffs
Grades 3-6Tue Mar 7 — Thu Mar 9, 2023
Orchestra Hall
Multi-talented Minnesota Orchestra trumpet player Charles Lazarus is skilled at showing the many connections between classical music and that great American tradition, jazz. Here students will encounter jazz-infused works such as Duke Ellington’s It Don’t Mean a Thing if it Ain’t Got That Swing; Gershwin’s languid Summertime, from Porgy and Bess; and dynamic selections from Leonard Bernstein. What’s more, Lazarus, backed by a quartet of jazz stars, will perform a handful of dazzling trumpet solos.
Things to Know
- Prepare for the concert with a curriculum coming approximately six weeks before your trip to Orchestra Hall.
- Tickets can be reserved in advance with no payment due until a month before the concert.
- Does your school need financial assistance for an upcoming trip to a Young People’s Concert at Orchestra Hall? Request a bus subsidy.
Artists
Minnesota Orchestra
Sarah Hicks
conductor
T. Mychael Rambo
host
Charles Lazarus
trumpet and host
Tonia Hughes Kendrick
vocals
Tommy Barbarella
piano
Jeff Bailey
bass
David Schmalenberger
drums
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.
Sarah Hicks is the Minnesota Orchestra’s principal conductor of Live at Orchestra Hall, a broad-spectrum series of popular music, jazz, Broadway classics, movie scores and other genres. In this role, she oversees planning for the Live at Orchestra Hall season and conducts many performances on that series by the full Orchestra. She also conducted the Inside the Classics and Sam & Sarah series for ten seasons.
Hicks’ career has seen collaborations with a diverse range of artists, from Hilary Hahn and Dmitri Hvorostovsky to Rufus Wainwright, Jennifer Hudson and Smokey Robinson. She has been an artistic leader in concerts featuring artists from Minnesota’s internationally-renowned popular music scene—including shows with The New Standards, multiple sold-out performances with Dessa and collaborations with indie band Cloud Cult. A specialist in film music and the film in concert genre, she is passionate about creating concert experiences which combine sight and sound, and that welcome new audiences to the orchestral genre.
Trumpeter Charles Lazarus, a member of the Minnesota Orchestra since 2000, has charted a unique course during his tenure with the Orchestra. As a soloist, composer and bandleader, Lazarus has created and starred in four original orchestral shows featuring his jazz ensemble: “A Night in the Tropics,” “American Riffs,” “Fly Me to the Moon” and "Our Love is Here to Stay," a collaboration with The Steeles and Prince's former keyboardist Tommy Barbarella. "Merry & Bright,” his concert of fresh takes on holiday favorites, is the newest addition to the Orchestra's annual holiday fare.
In 2015, Lazarus premiered Steve Heitzeg's concerto American Nomad, commissioned by Paul Grangaard. Lazarus and the Orchestra recently reprised this work, and a live video recording of the performance was released online in 2019. His composition A Perfect Square, paired with Michael Hall's book of the same name, was recently made into a children's animated short film.
Accessibility Services
- ASL Interpretation
- Armless & Bariatric Chairs
- Assistive Listening Devices
- Large-Print Programs
- Open Captioning
- Noise-Cancelling Headphones
- Service Animals
- Wheelchair & Accessible Seating
Additional services are available upon request.
Sponsored By
Mary Ann Feldman Music Education Fund
Angela S. Pennington and W. Anders Folk Student Ticket Fund
