Pre-Concert Talk at 2:15 PM

The Mississippi Valley Orchestra launches its 2026-2027 season with a vibrant, dance-themed program that brings an irresistible groove to the concert hall. The concert opens with Arturo Márquez’ Danzon No.2, written in 1994 and blasted into the music world’s consciousness during the 2007 North American tour by Gustavo Dudamel and the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra. Then, two sets of lively Afro-Caribbean-influenced dances composed in 1953 by this season’s Foreground Composer Florence Price (Dances in the Canebrakes and Suite of Dances) will evoke the lively rhythms and familiar genres of early music and dance culture in the Deep South. After intermission, we are absolutely thrilled to join with superstar multi-international-award-winning mezzo-soprano Clara Osowski for selections from George Bizet’s unforgettable Carmen. You’ll go home light on your feet, with a song in your heart!

Pre-Concert Talk at 2:15 PM

Bring your dancing shoes — let MVO whisk you away in a whirlwind of winter cheer in our second concert of the season! With distinctly American melodies and rhythms, Colonial Dance by Florence Price — the orchestral version of which was rediscovered in Price’s Chicago summer home in 2009 — is a lively celebration of African American heritage blended with western European form. Next, buckle up for our annual romp with Leroy Anderson’s Sleigh Ride which annually features a surprise guest conductor every year (it could be you!). Before intermission, we’re joined by high school strings for Grammy-award-winning (and Minnesota Composers Forum co-founder) Libby Larsen’s Six or Seven Dances, which features a collection of various dance and musical styles that are sure to intrigue and delight. Finally, let your imagination run wild in wonderland with all the zest and folksy charm of Tchaikovsky’s Winter Dreams.

The MVO Chamber Players return this season with a journey into the chamber music of Florence Price, beginning with her String Quartet No. 2. Paired with Antonín Dvořák’s Piano Quintet No. 2, this program explores how composers weave the traditions, stories, and voices of their heritage into enduring works of art.

Pre-Concert Talk at 2:15 PM

This captivating program has it all when it comes to love, romance, and…betrayal. We open with Fauré’s Pelleas et Melisande Suite, which tells the story of a doomed love triangle. Next, Goldmark’s Sakuntala brings to life a heroine from an ancient Indian epic. Sibelius’ tone poem Spring Song offers a gentle reminder of the approaching season. And don’t miss MVO favorite Fanya Lin as she joins the stage to perform a brilliant piano concerto by our foreground composer, Florence Price!

Pre-Concert Talk at 2:15 PM

Join us in some Renaissance-like beauty, creativity and humanity! This program opens with baritone Andrew Kane and Chorus Polaris on stage with MVO for Five Mystical Songs, a gorgeous 1911 setting by Ralph Vaughan Williams - at times thrilling or haunting or tender - of introspective poems by Welsh Renaissance poet and priest George Herbert. Following intermission, we present Foreground Composer Florence Price’s energetic and optimistic first symphony which draws inspiration from Western classical music of the 19th century as well as from African-American Juba dance (and includes some beautiful chorales for our impressive brass and woodwind sections). Finally, MVO presents the winner of the Saint Paul Piano Teachers Association Concerto Competition to perform their winning piece.

Chamber music is, at its heart, the art of conversation. This program brings together an ever-changing cast of voices across strings, winds, and piano, with each work revealing intimate dialogue.

Pre-Concert Talk at 2:15 PM

We close our 51st season with three works that honor the human spirit. Two of them will likely be new to many audience members. Florence Price’s Ethiopia’s Shadow in America, a depiction of the historic experience of enslaved Black Americans, was discovered in 2009 in an abandoned house more than 50 years after her death.  Concertmaster Sarah Grimes performs the Third Violin Concerto of Polish composer, violinist, pianist, and author Grażyna Bacewicz, a work notable for its difficulty and lyricism combined with the influence of Béla Bartók.  The program concludes with Death and Transfiguration, Richard Strauss’ monumental portrayal of the journey from earthly toil to heavenly bliss.

This double-cello program explores the remarkable world-building possible within a chamber ensemble. Gian Carlo Menotti’s Suite for Two Cellos and Piano opens the evening with an expansive musical landscape filled with dramatic interplay, rich sonorities, and lyrical intensity. Luigi Boccherini’s La musica notturna delle strade di Madrid captures the atmosphere and character of a city after dark through inventive string writing and vivid musical detail. The program concludes with Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Souvenir de Florence, a work of soaring melodies, fiery virtuosity, and symphonic scale that reveals the extraordinary power a small ensemble can command.