St. Paul Chamber Orchestra unveils its coming season
The St. Paul Chamber Orchestra has announced the details of its coming season, which begins in September.
The SPCO will premiere at least four new works, including three commissioned by the orchestra, and welcome two new artistic partners.
Artistic Director Kyu-Young Kim said the season will include a music festival on the theme of immigration and cultural identity.
"It makes the music that we play even more resonant with the times that we live in, makes it feel even more relevant," Kim said. "All the works that we play, we feel that they need to be heard. But sometimes the context that you set it up with makes all the difference."
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Kim said he's particularly excited to welcome the violinist Pekka Kuusisto as an artistic partner.
"He loves to think about connections between different repertoire," Kim said. "He's also someone who's really explored folk music in an authentic way, being a really great fiddler and improviser. And he knows the rock world really well."
In addition to Kuusisto, conductor Jonathan Cohen will also join the SPCO as artistic partner in the coming year.
The orchestra also announced it will offer free admission to children ages 6 to 17. Under the policy, for every paid adult admission, the orchestra will admit up to four children for free.