Saint Paul, Minnesota (April 30, 2024) — The four Arts Partnership organizations—Minnesota Opera, Ordway, The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, and Schubert Club—announced today that Ordway Inside Out, an initiative that utilizes digital technology to dramatically increase access to artistic programming in Saint Paul, will be returning for another year. This summer, audiences will be able to experience free programming from all four organizations, streamed onto a giant 23’ x 13’ video wall in Rice Park.
“We are excited to bring Ordway Inside Out back to our Twin Cities community and build upon the success of our pilot season,” said Chris Harrington, Secretary of the Arts Partnership and President and CEO of the Ordway. “Our goals when we launched this series were to increase access to the arts, bring people together in our beautiful parks, and to play our role in contributing to the vitality and vibrancy of Downtown Saint Paul.”
Last season, the lineup of Ordway Inside Out programming included a streamed recital by the Kanneh-Mason family, a simulcast of the SPCO in concert with conductor Gábor Takács-Nagy, a screening of the award-winning documentary Finding Her Beat, and a screening of MN Opera’s production of The Song Poet. The series drew close to a thousand attendees across the four events and the Arts Partnership hopes to build on that success in 2024.
Ordway Inside Out will be co-created and shared with our community in coordination with both the Saint Paul Downtown Alliance and Saint Paul Parks Conservancy.
The schedule for 2024 includes the following four concerts:
Víkingur Ólafsson plays Bach and Glass, presented by Schubert Club (Saturday, June 22 at 7:00 PM; rain date Sunday, June 23 at 7:00 PM)
Schubert’s The Great C Major Symphony with Richard Egarr, presented by The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra (Saturday, July 13 at 7:00 PM; rain date Sunday, July 14 at 7:00 PM)
Albert Herring, presented by MN Opera (Saturday, August 3 at 7:00 PM; rain date Saturday, August 4 at 7:00 PM)
Sphinx Virtuosi – Generations, presented by the Ordway (Saturday, August 17 at 7:00 PM; rain date Sunday, August 18 at 7:00 PM)
Pianist Víkingur Ólafsson’s remarkable originality and powerful musical conviction have seen him, in just a few years, take the music world by storm to become one of the most sought-after artists of today. Ólafsson’s program for Ordway Inside Out, celebrates the music of J.S. Bach and Phillip Glass, alternating works by Bach with Glass's Piano Etudes for a captivating and intimate performance.
The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra’s Artistic Partner Richard Egarr returns to escort audiences on a musical journey that contrasts darkness and light. The overture to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s beloved opera, The Magic Flute, calls upon the power of truth, love, and beauty to conquer the darkness while The Unanswered Question, Charles Ives’ riddle-like work, features a contemplative trumpet solo asking the “eternal question.” The Great Major C, Franz Schubert’s monumental symphony begins reverently before being enriched with many moments of ecstatic joy. Fans of brass will love this fanfare-filled program.
MN Opera’s production of Benjamin Britten and Eric Crozier’s Albert Herring features performances from tenor David Portillo in the title role, a boy who learns to break free of the societal expectations of small-town England, and Twin Cities-based soprano Ellie Dehn as Lady Billows, the organizer of the local May Day Festival. The production is stage directed by Doug Scholz-Carlson and conducted by Jane Glover.
The series will conclude with a streamed presentation of Sphinx Virtuosi program Generations, which they performed in the Ordway Concert Hall. The program showcased works by Black and Latinx composers including bassist Xavier Foley, who performed with group.