Our Mission
Minnesota Sinfonia’s mission is to serve the musical and educational needs of Minnesotans, with special emphasis given to families with young children, inner-city youth, seniors, and those with limited financial means.
To further this end, all concerts are offered FREE of admission charges, and children’s attendance is welcome and encouraged at all performances.
In keeping with the goal of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Minnesota Sinfonia is committed to ensuring our programs and services are accessible to people of all abilities.
Music for Everyone
More than 32 years ago, conductor Jay Fishman had a remarkable idea: he envisioned a professional orchestra dedicated to ensuring that underserved and low-income people of Minnesota are able to experience top-quality live classical music. In 1989, he created the Minnesota Sinfonia.
As one of the three major professional orchestras in the Twin Cities, the Sinfonia is the only one to offer all concerts free of admission charges, to perform in accessible neighborhood locations year-round, and to welcome children to every performance.
Sinfonia consistently attracts hundreds of first-time concertgoers, families with young children and people from all backgrounds at every concert.
The Sinfonia is dedicated to community service and education and each year performs more free, in-school concerts than any professional orchestra in the state.
Quality, accessibility, and education are our guiding values.
Exceptional Quality
The Sinfonia orchestra’s professional freelance musicians come from all over the world. Most have graduate degrees from major universities or conservatories, many have prestigious private teaching studios, several have performed with major orchestras, and more than half have been with the Sinfonia for ten to twenty years or more.
Every year, the Sinfonia plays up to 80 free-admission concerts and features award-winning national and international guest soloists. According to the Star Tribune, “the Sinfonia’s performances are easily on par with that of any major Minnesota ensemble.”
Open to All
The Sinfonia is committed to reaching underserved populations, and to removing barriers to attending orchestra concerts. Offering free tickets removes the most obvious barrier, the cost of tickets. To ensure families feel welcome, the Sinfonia creates a family-friendly atmosphere at every concert, and always encourages parents to bring their children.
To reach people unable to commute, the entire orchestra travels to accessible community locations, allowing citizens to enjoy quality orchestral music in their own neighborhoods. All concerts are held in fully ADA-accessible locations, most with free parking.
Concert sites include beautiful venues such as the Basilica of Saint Mary in downtown Minneapolis, scenic outdoor settings like the Lake Harriet Bandstand, and even school gymnasiums in Minneapolis and St. Paul’s inner-city public schools.
And for those who suspect orchestral music is stuffy, the Sinfonia offers a variety of concert formats, some classical, some “pops” and some especially for young children all performed with enthusiastic energy from the musicians and conductor.
Commitment to Education
The Sinfonia commits half its performances and over 30 percent of its annual budget to education programs.
The Sinfonia is best known for our Music in the Schools (MIS) program. Every year, the orchestra serves up to 9,500 K-12 students, introducing a new way for them to learn math, history, science, social studies and reading in exciting new ways–through music! Based on MN state educational standards, MIS serves inner-city students in Minneapolis and St. Paul — a diverse population with limited in-school arts opportunities. MIS uses classical music to excite these students about learning core subjects while providing a much-needed part of their arts education.
The Sinfonia gives this program to the Minneapolis and St. Paul Public Schools and their students free of charge—like all Sinfonia programs, MIS is funded through the generosity of corporate, foundation and individual supporters. To date, over 175,000 students have participated in this unique and innovative program Click here for more information about Music in the Schools.
Every spring, the orchestra holds its Young Artist Competition — an opportunity for young musicians to win solo appearances with the Sinfonia. During the summer, 25 talented local student musicians participate in the orchestra’s Youth Outreach Week to experience “a week in the life” of a professional musician, participating in a series of intensive orchestra rehearsals, culminating in a joint public performance with the Sinfonia.
How You Can Help
Whether performing free-admission concerts, inspiring inner-city students, or fostering a young musician’s talent, the Minnesota Sinfonia relies on your support. A fiscally conservative organization, the Sinfonia allocates 80% of expenditures in support of our programs and every dollar is carefully spent.
Please visit our Give page to learn how you can help us continue sharing music with people from all walks of life, all over the Twin Cities.