A Standing Ovation for Standing Up for What’s Right

This year is the Minnesota Philharmonic Orchestra’s 32nd season, and they’re celebrating by bringing music that focuses on courage and creation to the stage. As the country’s first and Minnesota’s only LGBTQ+ orchestra, MPO has lived and breathed positive change into the community for more than 3 decades, and this year is no different. This season, they’re calling us to face the future with hope and bravery and imagine a more just, inclusive, creative and beautiful world.

The Minnesota Philharmonic Orchestra was founded in 1993 and has since crafted a high-quality place for the community to enjoy music performances by typically underrepresented composers, especially LGBTQ+ artists, women and people of color. And one of their most shining achievements? MPO has made live music accessible to the whole community.

Catherine Himmerich, MPO’s concertmaster (which means she leads the violin section of the orchestra and serves as a musical liaison between the conductor and the rest of the musicians) says, “Classical music has a reputation for being elitist, but MPO has worked hard to be accessible to everyone. I love that we have people at our concerts who have never heard a live orchestra before, and nobody cares whether or not everyone in the audience follows the stuffy protocols of when to clap, when not to clap, and all that stuff.”

Himmerich even elaborates with an example, saying, “One of my favorite MPO memories is from after I soloed with the orchestra, and my friend let out a piercing whistle as soon as I finished, as though it were a sporting event.”

By creating such an encouraging environment for the whole community, the Minnesota Philharmonic Orchestra has become a haven for artists and art lovers alike to enjoy live performances. This is thanks, in large part, to the wonderful people who make up the board, staff and the orchestra itself at MPO.

Artistic director and conductor of MPO’s March show, “Rise,” Brian Dowdy, says, “Playing music, perhaps especially as an avocational musician, is a risky and vulnerable venture. Our musicians bring their full selves to every rehearsal and concert, not just in meeting the challenge that music-making offers to them as individuals but also in supporting each other. They are kind, courageous, tenacious and talented, and they really care about each other.”

Another massively important part of the Minnesota Philharmonic Orchestra is their history and mission as a queer orchestra. Having a specifically LGBTQ+ space with as much prestige and importance as MPO does is an integral part of the culture in the Twin Cities.

“LGBTQIA+ spaces are vitally important to our community,” Himmerich explains. “They always have been. Having somewhere to go where you are both supported and celebrated for being authentically yourself is essential to our well-being, and, I’d suggest, our survival.”

She continues, noting a harsh reality, “Not everyone can be out at work or to their families, and, especially when our human rights are put into question, having a space to create art with each other and then to share that creation with the wider community is both a joy and a vital part of sustaining our resilience.”

This focus on community and the production and performance of music by historically marginalized groups is a huge part of how the Minnesota Philharmonic Orchestra works to right the wrongs of history.

“[The annual commissioning] program funds new works by extraordinary composers who are also from historically marginalized communities,” Dowdy explains. “That’s how you truly transform the classical repertoire — by performing these new works alongside the music of underrepresented composers from decades and centuries past.”

On March 9, the Minnesota Philharmonic Orchestra will perform a breathtaking new show: “Rise.”

During this concert, Dowdy says, “We’ll be performing two pieces without intermission: Dmitri Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5 and Nkeiru Okoye’s ‘Voices Shouting Out.’ Thematically, both are demonstrative of the human capacity for courage, though the orchestral colors they use to get there are very different.”

Dowdy explains the essence of each piece, saying, “Okoye’s piece gets going right away with percussive grooves and orchestral colors that will energize you even if it’s still cold and icy out there. Woodblocks, snare drums and trumpet fanfares, oh my! Shostakovich’s symphony is an extraordinary emotional journey. It doesn’t tell a specific story per se, but it feels like it does. There’s fear, expectation, trepidation, defiance and joy. But perhaps above all, there is the tremendous sound Shostakovich gets from the orchestra — rumbling basses, mysterious woodwinds, explosive percussion, heroic trumpets … It’s quite the sensory experience.”

Both of these pieces will leave you feeling empowered and hopeful for a better future, one that we can build together, with courage.

You can get tickets for “Rise” on the Minnesota Philharmonic Orchestra’s website HERE.