Mission Statement

The Minnesota Orchestra’s mission is to enrich, inspire and serve our community as an enduring symphony orchestra internationally recognized for its artistic excellence.

Our mission will be implemented by:

Enhancing the traditional core of concerts with innovative approaches to programming and format;

Providing the finest educational and outreach programs;

Representing and promoting the Minnesota Orchestra and the State of Minnesota to audiences across the state, across the country and around the world through tours and electronic media;

Maintaining an acoustically superior hall with a welcoming environment;

Delivering this within a financially sustainable structure.

History

The Grammy Award-winning Minnesota Orchestra, now in its second century and led by Music Director Osmo Vänskä, 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, radio broadcasts and educational engagement programs; and a visionary commitment to building the orchestral repertoire of tomorrow.

Founded as the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra, the ensemble gave its inaugural performance on November 5, 1903, shortly after baseball’s first World Series and six weeks before the Wright brothers made their unprecedented airplane flight. The Orchestra played its first regional tour in 1907 and made its New York City debut in 1912 at Carnegie Hall, where it has performed regularly ever since, most recently in March 2016. Outside the United States, the Orchestra has played concerts in Australia, Canada, Europe, the Far East, Latin America, the Middle East and South Africa. Since 1968 it has been known as the Minnesota Orchestra. The ensemble presents about 175 programs each year, primarily at Orchestra Hall in downtown Minneapolis, and its concerts are heard by live audiences of 300,000.