Under the continued leadership of Music Director Thomas Søndergård, now in his third season, the Minnesota Orchestra has announced its highly anticipated 2025-26 season. The upcoming lineup features a stellar roster of guest artists, including renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma, multi-Grammy Award-winning singer Joyce DiDonato, and Minnesota’s own Dessa.
One of the season’s highlights is Søndergård conducting Edward Elgar’s Cello Concerto with Yo-Yo Ma on March 3, 2026. According to Søndergård, Yo-Yo Ma personally selected the piece, and the orchestra’s programming has been designed around it. Dessa will also return for performances on November 7 and 8, led by conductor Sarah Hicks.
The season aligns with national celebrations of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, emphasizing American composers such as Béla Bartók, Leonard Bernstein, Joan Tower, Jennifer Higdon, Charles Ives, and Gabriela Lena Frank. The orchestra will also present a world premiere by St. Paul composer Steve Heitzeg.
Another exciting milestone is the release of the first recording under Søndergård’s direction, capturing the September 2024 performance with 2008 MacArthur “Genius” Fellow Leila Josefowicz. Additionally, Josefowicz will return on April 9 and 10, 2026, to perform American composer John Adams’ Violin Concerto, originally premiered by the Minnesota Orchestra in 1994.
The Listening Project initiative, launched in 2021 to showcase historically underrepresented composers, will return on May 1, 2026. This special program will feature soprano Janai Brugger performing The Heart of a Woman by Florence Price. The concert will be filmed and made available on the orchestra’s YouTube channel.
Søndergård emphasized his commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion in programming. “I just pray that we will start to think more inclusively of each other and embrace the differences because, after all, isn’t that what makes life so much more interesting?” he said. The orchestra will also continue its Composer Institute, nurturing emerging composers, with alumni Anna Clyne, Henry Dorn, and Missy Mazzoli featured in the upcoming season.
Speaking from Berlin, where he was rehearsing Richard Strauss’ Electra with the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Søndergård noted that he has developed a deep understanding of the orchestra. “I’m really starting to get to know the different sections,” he said. “And really knowing what works for them and where we should explore something new.”
Despite facing a $3.8 million deficit in the last fiscal year, the Minnesota Orchestra remains ambitious. “We have nearly 6,000 subscribers, and many of them enjoy being surprised,” said Søndergård. He believes that playing it safe could deter audiences, adding, “Honestly, I think you lose some audiences that way because they can’t keep coming back just for that.”
The season will open on September 18 and 19 with Søndergård conducting Grammy Award-winning mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato in Hector Berlioz’s Les Nuits d’été and Leonard Bernstein’s Candide overture. The weekend will also include works by Guillaume Connesson, inspired by H.P. Lovecraft’s Dream Cycle stories, as well as Richard Strauss’ Der Rosenkavalier suite.
Bernstein’s influence continues on September 26 and 27, as principal cellist Anthony Ross performs Three Meditations from Mass alongside a world premiere of Steve Heitzeg’s EcoSaga (Concerto in Three Landscapes). The concert, conducted by Søndergård, will also feature Joan Tower’s Made in America and Béla Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra.
Following the success of the Nordic Soundscape Festival, the orchestra will present a new edition in January 2026. “This has become something we all love—gathering in Orchestra Hall in January for a cozy musical experience,” Søndergård said. The festival will open on January 8 and 9 with James Ehnes performing Jean Sibelius’ Violin Concerto, along with Finnish composer Esa-Pekka Salonen’s Nyx and Danish composer Carl Nielsen’s First Symphony.
The festival’s second weekend will feature soprano Lauren Snouffer performing Hans Abrahamsen’s Let Me Tell You, based on Ophelia’s 481 words from Hamlet. Other performances will include Wilhelm Stenhammar’s Excelsior! and Sibelius’ First Symphony, accompanied by chamber music concerts and pre-concert events.
The orchestra will also stage an opera-in-concert performance of Béla Bartók’s Bluebeard’s Castle on May 8 and 9, 2026, featuring mezzo-soprano Michelle DeYoung and baritone John Lundgren. This follows this season’s large-scale production of Puccini’s Turandot. “I’ve always loved this opera,” Søndergård said. “It doesn’t come up that often, actually.”
Another standout vocal event occurs June 4-6, 2026, when mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton performs Peter Lieberson’s Neruda Songs. Søndergård recalled first hearing about Barton’s extraordinary voice when she won a major competition in Cardiff. The decision to feature her in Neruda Songs was inspired by her long-standing desire to perform the work. “It’s easy to program familiar repertoire, but rediscovering pieces like this makes the experience truly exciting,” he said.
On November 21 and 22, the Minnesota Chorale and vocal soloists will join the orchestra for Johannes Brahms’ A German Requiem under Søndergård’s baton.
Guest conductors for the season include Anna Sułkowska-Migoń, winner of the 2022 La Maestra competition, making her Minnesota Orchestra debut in March 2026. Eun Sun Kim will lead a performance of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the Minnesota Chorale and vocal soloists in March. Additionally, Conductor Laureate Osmo Vänskä will return to conduct Sinfonia (for “Orbiting Spheres”) by Missy Mazzoli, Stravinsky’s Petrushka, and Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No. 2 featuring concertmaster Erin Keefe.
Other highlights include the orchestra’s tour to the University of Iowa’s Hancher Auditorium on November 15, the U.S. premiere of South Korean-born composer Donghoon Shin’s Viola Concerto, “Threadsuns”, and a co-commission with the Houston Symphony by New York-based composer Andy Akiho. The season will also feature a Pink Floyd tribute, holiday concerts, and more.
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