MO TShirts!!
Minnesota Orchestra T-shirts: Limited edition Minnesota Orchestra T-shirts are available for purchase online. Order yours today! Select style and size below:
Men's $20 each Small 
Women's $20 each Small Menuhin Competition
You can view the amazing performances of contestants in each division...very inspiring!!
Here's the performance that first caught my attention, thanks to a friend's FB post.
Previous winners are profiled here
Exploring Music: public radio Chicago
Here is a great radio show; "Exploring Music" produced in Chicago by one of my dear friends and colleagues at the Colorado Suzuki Institute, Jesse McQuarters.
This radio show provides amazing in-depth exploration of composers, works, performances, and collected perspectives into our classical music world.
Imagine research into a program taking you to St. Petersburg to interview Shostakovitch's wife!!
Jesse also produces another show on wfmt, focused on contemporary music. It's called RELEVANT TONES. You can explore it too, here!!
One show Jesse particularly recommends is Esa-Pekka Salonen's visit to the studio.
Esa-Pekka Salonen is on the front edge of merging classical music with everyday technology, and has a comprehensive and beautiful iPad app produced by TouchPress called Orchestra. Here's a demo of this amazing app.
BTW, TouchPress has a wide array of absolutely amazing apps on a wide variety of subjects.
Minnesota Orchestra !!!
Sensory-Friendly Concerts
Inclusive experiences for patrons of all ages and abilities. Details »
Read stories from the orchestra here: 
Minnesota Orchestra at Carnege 3.3.16
Osmo conducting the MO @ Carnegie 3.3.16
Hilary Hahn playing the Sibelius Violin Concerto w/MO @ Carnegie 3.3.16
MO Rehearsal at Carnegie 3.3.16
Inside the Classics
Intrigued by classical music? Join violist-host Sam Bergman and conductor Sarah Hicks as they explore classical favorites during the first half of the concert. After intermission, experience a complete performance of the featured work.
Symphony in 60
Feel the electricity of a classical concert in only 60 minutes! Come early for happy hour, enjoy the performance and stay late for a post-concert onstage gathering with Minnesota Orchestra musicians.
Minnesota Orchestra's Family Concerts
Minnesota Orchestra Family Concerts encourage children and families to come explore the magical world of music at Orchestra Hall. Children’s tickets to these performances are FREE and adult prices are just $15!! All concerts feature the Minnesota Orchestra and are approximately one hour with no intermission.
Please note: there is a limit of two free children's tickets for each paid adult.
Just for Fun!
Michael does studio gigs on the side, recording many commercials you've seen.
Here's one of the recent ones, for Wings Financial!
You'll love the little girl playing violin in the kitchen!! (You'll probably have posture pointers for her...)
Art That I Love!
Patrick Pryor patrickpryor.com
"I Could Be Prouder"
J. A. Geiger jageigerstudio.com
“Windswept Oak”
Jim Dryden kolmanpryorgallery.com
"Song for Georg" (Georg Cantor)
Fiddling Around the Globe
A group class parent told me that their son was a finalist in this fiddling contest in Sligo, Ireland!!! How cool is that?! Check out the artists and details here!!
I am excited to know of the event, as
I've visited Sligo and loved that part of Ireland...Yeats Country, the area is called.
The innkeeper we befriended in 2010
also told me about another event:
A former student let me know that this group Väsen played the Cedar Cultural Center here in Minneapolis!
One of the instruments being played is called "...a "nyckelharpa" (keyed harp). It was quite popular all over Europe in the later medieval period, but the tradition more or less died out apart from some places in eastern Sweden, especially the region of Uppland." --YouTube commenter
WINNER:
BEST ORCHESTRAL PERFORMANCE
Sibelius;
Symphonies Nos. 1 & 4
Minnesota Orchestra