The Ordway Center for the Performing Arts has long been a cherished landmark of the Twin Cities, offering a welcoming space where our ever-dynamic community ... The post The Musical Heart of St. Paul: Looking back at 40 years of the Ordway   appeared first on The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra ..read more

New Years, to many, can feel like a sort of rebirth. For centuries, humans have used music to explore and process themes of renewal and ... The post Two Flautists, Inspiration, and a New Year appeared first on The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra ..read more

  Bob Lee (1956–2024) joined the SPCO Board in 2006 and served continuously for 18 years. Despite a heavy work schedule, he made time to ... The post Remembering Former SPCO Board Members Bob Lee & Fred Sewell appeared first on The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra ..read more

On Sunday, the famed Curtis Institute of Music celebrated its centennial. Founded by Mary Louise Curtis Bok, who believed in the transformative potential of individuals ... The post Curtis Institute of Music Celebrates its Centennial appeared first on The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra ..read more

This week, the SPCO performs a new expanded version of Chris Rogerson’s Samaa’ (Sky) for piano and orchestra. In this interview filmed for the Bravo! Vail Music Festival where Samaa’ first premiered, Rogerson shares more about his inspiration for the piece. Written for pianist Anne-Marie McDermott, this reflective piece is inspired by the lived experience of Kais Alkalisi, a Yemeni guide whom Rogerson met while in Yemen. Kais shared a story with Rogerson of a time, while traveling through Houthi territory on a public bus, in which he and the other riders saw missiles falling from the sky. In ..read more

By Kyu-Young Kim, Artistic Director Longtime SPCO violinist Daria Adams retires at the end of this concert season. Throughout her tenure, Daria made countless musical contributions as a violinist, as a valued member of the SPCO’s programming committee, and as a curator of some very memorable programs in recent seasons.  Our audiences also know Daria as one of the most eloquent and engaging speakers from the stage.  Though we’ll have more opportunities to celebrate Daria’s wonderful career before her final concert in June, this weekend is a great opportunity to see her featured as bo ..read more

Long-time Board member Art Kaemmer. Last week our long-time Board member Art Kaemmer passed away. Art served on the Board for many decades beginning in 1978. Over that time, he served on various committees and was a reliable and treasured source of wisdom and common sense. In the late 1990s Art Co-Chaired the SPCO’s first endowment campaign and helped lead it to a successful conclusion, surpassing the original ambitious goal. The success of this campaign is an important reason why the SPCO enjoys a strong endowment today. At the time of his passing Art was serving on the Cabinet of the All 4 ..read more

This holiday weekend, we welcome you to a program that explores themes of family, tradition and cultural roots centered around world-renowned father and son musicians, Jeffrey and Gabriel Kahane, as well as two works for piano and orchestra — an arrangement of George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue and Gabriel’s own concerto written for his father. As both a composer and singer-songwriter, Gabriel will open these concerts at the Ordway, performing selections from his own recent albums and the Great American Songbook — a collection regarded as some of the most influential American popular songs an ..read more

By Daniel Orsen Daniel Orsen is an SPCO violist and Wagner’s Nightmare co-creator. The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra’s concerts this week and next feature Richard Wagner’s lone work for chamber orchestra, Siegfried Idyll, which was written as a birthday present for his wife, Cosima Liszt von Bülow Wagner (an astonishing character — please do read about her). Siegfried Idyll draws upon music from his opera Siegfried, particularly the Act III love duet between Siegfried and Brünhilde. It is Wagner at his most tender and intimate. Wagner is of course at least as famous for the controversies surro ..read more

Today, we’re excited to release video of the June world premiere of PaviElle French’s Sands of Time in our free Concert Library. The work was commissioned for the SPCO by community supporters Bill and Susan Sands. The project built on our previous collaboration with PaviElle in 2018. It was also a part of PaviElle’s residency with six Saint Paul arts organizations, which culminated with the American Composers Forum’s Artist Equity Summit. You can read more about the summit below. The Creation of Sands of Time Writer Aaron Grad shares more of the story of the new work: Born into a musical fa ..read more