Bloomington Symphony Orchestra (Minnesota)
Encyclopedia
The Bloomington Symphony Orchestra (BSO) was founded in 1963 by the City of Bloomington, Minnesota
. The orchestra was created to provide Bloomington's citizens with classical orchestral music and to create an outlet where area instrumentalists could develop their musical abilities.
The founders of the Orchestra were Gene Kelly, City of Bloomington's Parks & Recreation Director, and renowned jazz musician Paul W. Doc Evans
, who served as music director until 1977. Directors since then have included Steven Amundson of St. Olaf College; William LaRue Jones of the Greater Twin Cities Youth Symphonies, and the University of Iowa; Akira Mori of the University of Minnesota; and current Music Director, Joseph Schlefke.
The orchestra is made up of nonprofessional and freelance professional musicians who are selected by competitive audition. The Orchestra presents four to five classical programs each season, featuring instrumental soloists, which includes students, area college/university faculty and members of the Minnesota Orchestra
and St. Paul Chamber Orchestra.
The BSO performs an annual summer concert at the Lake Normandale Bandshell, as part of Bloomington's "SummerFete" or its "Arts in the Park" series, featuring motion picture scores, show tunes, and light classical music.
The Orchestra collaborates extensively with other Bloomington-area arts groups. Choral collaborations with Angelica Cantanti (Bloomington's children's choir), the Normandale Choral Society and others have involved major works including: Orff
's Carmina Burana
, Honegger's King David Oratorio, Brahms's A German Requiem, Holst
's The Planets
, Shostakovich's Songs of the Forest, Duruflé
's Requiem, and Mahler's Symphony#2 "Resurrection". Bloomington Kennedy High School's women's choir "Viva Voce" has joined with the BSO to perform Debussy's Nocturnes. Bloomington's Continental Ballet Company collaborated with the BSO on a fully staged production of Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker
. Chamber ensembles made up of players from the orchestra also play music for Bloomington events and organizations.
Outreach efforts are ongoing in other Minnesota suburbs and rural communities in an effort to expose residents to high-quality classical music.
The BSO is funded by corporate and private donors, fundraisers, dues from member-musicians, and an Arts Grant from the City of Bloomington. The BSO is a Minnesota nonprofit corporation with the Section 501(C)(3) designation from the Internal Revenue Service
(IRS).
The orchestra is administered by a Board of Directors that includes both musician members and community members. The BSO is currently led by President John Bulger, Music Director/Conductor Joseph Schlefke, Executive Director Greg Granum, Concertmaster Milana Reiche and Personnel Managers John Metcalfe and Julie Guerber.
Bloomington, Minnesota
Bloomington is the fifth largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota in Hennepin County. Located on the north bank of the Minnesota River above its confluence with the Mississippi River, Bloomington lies at the heart of the southern...
. The orchestra was created to provide Bloomington's citizens with classical orchestral music and to create an outlet where area instrumentalists could develop their musical abilities.
The founders of the Orchestra were Gene Kelly, City of Bloomington's Parks & Recreation Director, and renowned jazz musician Paul W. Doc Evans
Doc Evans
Paul Wesley "Doc" Evans was an American jazz cornetist.Evans was the son of a Methodist minister. He learned piano and drums as a child, and played saxophone in high school. He graduated from Carleton College with a B.A. in English, and played with the Carleton Collegians dance band there...
, who served as music director until 1977. Directors since then have included Steven Amundson of St. Olaf College; William LaRue Jones of the Greater Twin Cities Youth Symphonies, and the University of Iowa; Akira Mori of the University of Minnesota; and current Music Director, Joseph Schlefke.
The orchestra is made up of nonprofessional and freelance professional musicians who are selected by competitive audition. The Orchestra presents four to five classical programs each season, featuring instrumental soloists, which includes students, area college/university faculty and members of the Minnesota Orchestra
Minnesota Orchestra
The Minnesota Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Minneapolis, Minnesota.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 1968 the orchestra changed to its name to the Minnesota Orchestra...
and St. Paul Chamber Orchestra.
The BSO performs an annual summer concert at the Lake Normandale Bandshell, as part of Bloomington's "SummerFete" or its "Arts in the Park" series, featuring motion picture scores, show tunes, and light classical music.
The Orchestra collaborates extensively with other Bloomington-area arts groups. Choral collaborations with Angelica Cantanti (Bloomington's children's choir), the Normandale Choral Society and others have involved major works including: Orff
Orff
Orff can refer to:*Carl Orff, a German composer, known for his teaching method, the Orff Schulwerk.**Orff Schulwerk encompasses the Orff instruments and teaching methods for children....
's Carmina Burana
Carmina Burana (Orff)
Carmina Burana is a scenic cantata composed by Carl Orff in 1935 and 1936. It is based on 24 of the poems found in the medieval collection Carmina Burana...
, Honegger's King David Oratorio, Brahms's A German Requiem, Holst
Gustav Holst
Gustav Theodore Holst was an English composer. He is most famous for his orchestral suite The Planets....
's The Planets
The Planets
The Planets, Op. 32, is a seven-movement orchestral suite by the English composer Gustav Holst, written between 1914 and 1916. Each movement of the suite is named after a planet of the Solar System and its corresponding astrological character as defined by Holst...
, Shostakovich's Songs of the Forest, Duruflé
Maurice Duruflé
Maurice Duruflé was a French composer, organist, and pedagogue.Duruflé was born in Louviers, Eure. In 1912, he became chorister at the Rouen Cathedral Choir School, where he studied piano and organ with Jules Haelling...
's Requiem, and Mahler's Symphony#2 "Resurrection". Bloomington Kennedy High School's women's choir "Viva Voce" has joined with the BSO to perform Debussy's Nocturnes. Bloomington's Continental Ballet Company collaborated with the BSO on a fully staged production of Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker
The Nutcracker
The Nutcracker is a two-act ballet, originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The libretto is adapted from E.T.A. Hoffmann's story "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King". It was given its première at the Mariinsky Theatre in St...
. Chamber ensembles made up of players from the orchestra also play music for Bloomington events and organizations.
Outreach efforts are ongoing in other Minnesota suburbs and rural communities in an effort to expose residents to high-quality classical music.
The BSO is funded by corporate and private donors, fundraisers, dues from member-musicians, and an Arts Grant from the City of Bloomington. The BSO is a Minnesota nonprofit corporation with the Section 501(C)(3) designation from the Internal Revenue Service
Internal Revenue Service
The Internal Revenue Service is the revenue service of the United States federal government. The agency is a bureau of the Department of the Treasury, and is under the immediate direction of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue...
(IRS).
The orchestra is administered by a Board of Directors that includes both musician members and community members. The BSO is currently led by President John Bulger, Music Director/Conductor Joseph Schlefke, Executive Director Greg Granum, Concertmaster Milana Reiche and Personnel Managers John Metcalfe and Julie Guerber.