Arts Writing, and Thoughts for my Blog’s Future

As I hope my readers are now aware, the long-running labor dispute that has devastated the Minnesota Orchestra for nearly two years has now drawn to an official end.

It’s Finally “Finnished!”

Well, there it is. It is with great happiness—and honestly, a fair amount of disbelief—I am happy to proclaim that Osmo Vänskä is returning as Music Director to the Minnesota Orchestra.

This is an astonishing turn of events.

Something to Celebrate

Long-time readers know my penchant for writing about Minnesota Orchestra concerts—not exactly reviews, but commentaries that discuss on the entire concert experience, along with a few larger points about what the concerts mean. I had planned to do so again for the Eric Whitacre concerts, but my plans were almost derailed this week by a news story that broke just a few hours before concert time on Friday night… this year’s Symphony Ball was going to be cancelled.

Performing Eric Whitacre

Over the last few weeks I’ve written my own version of program notes for the upcoming concerts at Orchestra Hall. I wanted to do so again, but with a special twist—as a singer in the Minnesota Chorale, I’ll be joining my colleagues of the Minnesota Orchestra onstage for the concert this week.