Minnesota Symphony Orchestra
| Minnesota Orchestra | |
|---|---|
| Orchestra | |
 |
|
| Former name | Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra |
| Founded | 1903 |
| Location | Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States |
| Concert hall | Orchestra Hall |
| Music director | Osmo Vänskä |
| Website | www |
The Minnesota Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Founded in 1903, the Minnesota Orchestra plays most of its concerts at Minneapolis's Orchestra Hall.
Osmo Vänskä has been the orchestra's music director since 2003. Sarah Hicks is the principal conductor of the Live at Orchestra Hall series, and Andrew Litton is the artistic director of the annual Sommerfest concert series.
Emil Oberhoffer founded the orchestra as the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra in 1903, and it gave its first performance on November 5 of that year in Minneapolis's Exposition Building. In 1968, the orchestra changed its name to the Minnesota Orchestra. It makes its home in downtown Minneapolis at Orchestra Hall, which was built for the ensemble in 1974. The orchestra's previous hall, starting in 1929, was Northrop Memorial Auditorium on the University of Minnesota's Minneapolis campus. The first players' strike occurred in 1979.[1]
In 2007 the Minnesota Orchestra's assets began declining, a trend exacerbated by the financial crisis of 2007–2008. In August 2008, the Minnesota Orchestra Association's invested assets totaled $168.5 million, 13% less than the $192.4 million the Association had projected in its 2007 Strategic Plan. In fiscal year 2009, the Minnesota Orchestra's board "sold $28.7 million in securities at a nearly $14 million loss".
During 2009 and 2010, the orchestra's board reported a balanced budget and drew on its endowment to cover operational deficits. At the time, it was trying to secure $16 million in state bonding for renovations of Orchestra Hall and Peavey Plaza. The orchestra posted operational deficits of $2.9 million in 2011 and $6 million in 2012.
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Wikipedia