Minnesota - Music and Performing Arts

The Twin Cities is one of the most vibrant performing arts communities outside of New York City.

Ordway Center for the Performing Arts (St. Paul)
Recognized as one of the leading nonprofit performing arts centers in the nation, Ordway Center for the Performing Arts opened its doors January 1, 1985. Home to a wide variety of arts performances, each year Ordway Center presents and produces Tony Award-winning productions in its Theater Season and comprehensive, multicultural performing arts programs in its planet Ordway Target season. It serves approximately 40,000 children and adults in its Education at Ordway Center programs. In addition, each year Ordway Center hosts and presents the Flint Hills International Children's Festival, with exceptional international performing arts geared towards the Midwest's youngest audience members and their families. Ordway Center provides a home for four Resident Arts Organizations: the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Minnesota Opera, the Schubert Club and the Saint Paul series of the Minnesota Orchestra.

The Minnesota Opera
The Minnesota Opera, care of the Ordway Center for Performing Arts, has built an international reputation for its innovative and thought-provoking approach to traditional and contemporary opera repertoire.

University Film Society/MN Film Arts (Minneapolis)
The U Film Society is an independent, non-profit organization dedicated to bringing the best in non-commercial and foreign films to the Twin Cities. With venues in both Minneapolis and St. Paul showing films 360-plus days a year, the U Film Society is constantly striving to provide quality programming in an overcrowded film market.

Illusion Theater
The Illusion Theater, care of the Hennepin Center for the Arts, presents original drama, comedy, dance and music throughout the year. On the Light Rail route, it's conveniently located just a block from the stop at 5th St. & Hennepin Ave. in downtown Minneapolis. The beautiful lobby is also available for pre-show and post-show receptions, as well as meetings and special events.

Greater Twin Cities Youth Symphonies
The Greater Twin Cities Youth Symphonies, care of the Hennepin Center for the Arts, features eight full orchestras (from September to May) and two summer orchestras (June to July) annually, involving 700 young musicians elementary through high school. Thirty performances are held yearly in formal concert, public service and workshop settings.

The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra (St. Paul)
Known for its unique sound, exciting programming and artistic excellence, the orchestra features the world's greatest music and musicians, including Music Director Hugh Wolff and Creative Chair Bobby McFerrin. In collaboration with six Artistic Partners, the 35 virtuoso musicians present more than 150 concerts and educational programs each year.

From fall to spring, the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra (SPCO) performs a varied repertoire at the Ordway Music Theatre and eight other Twin Cities locations. SPCO is a prime attraction for travelers, providing either a destination in itself for groups seeking the finest in cultural events, or a delightful change of pace for visitors looking for events that are relaxing, uplifting and fun. The only full-time professional chamber orchestra in the country, SPCO remains committed to devoting "the major portion of its programs to the wonderful literature, both classical and contemporary, that is not ordinarily played by large symphonies" (quote taken from original mission statement in 1959). Renowned all over the world, we invite you to experience a cultural gem of Minnesota.

Tyrone Guthrie Theater (Minneapolis)
An eager invitation from community leaders brought internationally acclaimed stage director Sir Tyrone Guthrie to Minneapolis in 1960 as he searched for the ideal home for his new theater. On May 7, 1963, the Guthrie Theater opened with a modern dress production of William Shakespeare's Hamlet. The one-of-a-kind Thrust Stage features seating on three sides, creating an intimate setting for world-class theater at its best. Under the watchful eyes of Sir Tyrone Guthrie and legendary designer Tanya Moiseiwitsch, this unique space has emerged as the standard by which all other regional theaters are judged. With only 15 rows and no seat further than 52 feet from the stage, audience members are always at the center of the action.

From the very beginning, Guthrie audience members have been much more than mere observers of our work. Audience members play an essential role in bringing the written word to life—we couldn't do it without you! Over the years, the Guthrie's work has been strongly shaped by celebrating Sir Tyrone's legacy of producing the classics, both ancient and modern. As each new phase of our history unfolds, we continue to embrace timeless classics as well as new plays by emerging playwrights. From timeless classics to triumphs of the modern stage-experience, this is world-class theater at its best.

Old Log Theater (Excelsior)
Recognized as one of the most popular theaters in the country, the Old Log has entertained over six million patrons since opening its doors 65 years ago.

Fitzgerald Theater (St. Paul)
St. Paul's oldest surviving theater space, dating from 1910, and now restored to elegance. Classical, jazz, folk, country, and rock concerts, literary events, experimental radio, Garrison Keillor's A Prairie Home Companion and more.