The Minnesota Orchestra will become the first U.S. orchestra to perform in Cuba since President Obama took steps to normalize relations between the two countries last December. The tour will include two performances in Havana (May 15 and 16), and several musical exchanges between Orchestra musicians and students.
“This initiative will demonstrate the power of music to offer extraordinary opportunities for cultural exchange,” said Marilyn Nelson, who serves as a Life Director on the Orchestra Board. “We are thrilled that our Orchestra will have the opportunity to make this connection in Cuba and represent our wonderful, inclusive community.”
The orchestra has been invited to take part in the International Cubadisco Festival, an annual music festival that encompasses one of the most important recording competitions in the Cuban music industry. The theme for the 19th annual festival, running from May 15 to 24, is symphonic and choral music.
“We are honored to have received this invitation from the Cuban Ministry of Culture,” said President and CEO Kevin Smith. “In the orchestral world, the logistics of scheduling frequently make it challenging to move quickly, but our musicians have embraced the possibility of giving these performances with great flexibility on a short time scale and offered to postpone a vacation week in order to take advantage of an incredible opportunity. It will be the Minnesota Orchestra’s privilege to perform for audiences in Havana.”
The Orchestra’s opening performance on Friday, May 15, at the Teatro Nacional will feature Music Director Osmo Vänskä conducting the Orchestra in an all-Beethoven program, including the Egmont Overture; Symphony No. 3, Eroica; and Choral Fantasy, the latter with Cuban pianist Frank Fernández and choruses Coro Vocal Leo and the Cuban National Choir.
The second performance, on Saturday, May 16, at the same location will feature Cuban composer Alejandro García Caturla’s Danzón, Bernstein’s Symphonic Dances from West Side Story and Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet Suite, conducted by Vänskä.
The Minnesota Orchestra’s touring history dates back to 1907, just four years after the Orchestra’s founding in 1903. The ensemble was soon nicknamed “the Orchestra on Wheels” because of its frequent and lengthy cross country train travel.
In 1929, the Orchestra extended its annual winter tour to accept an invitation to Cuba, and on January 29, the Orchestra boarded a steamship to Havana and for the first time left the continental U.S. Led by then-Music Director Henri Verbrugghen, the tour was a success—two Havana concerts were sold out within 24 hours, so a third concert was added—and a return visit was planned for the following year. The 1930 visit also encompassed three performances, each before 2,500 people.
“Eighty-five years ago, the Minnesota Orchestra, then called the Minneapolis Symphony, performed Beethoven’s music for Cuban audiences. It is a thrill and privilege for us to do the same so many decades later,” said Music Director Osmo Vänskä.
The Orchestra tour group comprises 100 musicians and other 65 people, including community members, stage crew and staff.
Cargo for the trip will include 65 tour trunks, collectively weighing more than four tons.
Musical Exchanges
At the Escuela Nacional de Música, a national high school for music study, Minnesota Orchestra brass, string, percussion and woodwind players will coach student chamber groups, hold master classes and exchange musical performances in a two-hour morning session.
The Escuela Nacional de Música includes more than 500 students from across Cuba who focus on both classical and popular music studies.
“We are humbled to be a part of the exciting process of reestablishing America’s cultural ties with the nation of Cuba,” said Concertmaster Erin Keefe. “This tour represents a unique chance to bring two cultures together through music, and we could not be more grateful for the opportunity.”
At the nearby Instituto Superior de Arte, a university that focuses on the arts, Minnesota Orchestra musicians representing all the instrument families will meet with university student musicians, offering group master classes as well as practical coaching advice for students who are preparing for annual competitions, again in a two-hour session.
Following the Minnesota Orchestra concert on Saturday, May 16, members of the Orchestra who also specialize in jazz performance will head to the Havana Café, where they will participate in a late night musical jam with Cuban musicians.
(Source: Minnesota Orchestra Press Release)
