About


OUR
MISSION

Minnehaha Repertory Orchestra’s mission is to cultivate a passion for classical music by providing high quality and profound experiences, engaging both musicians and audiences.

A repertory orchestra differs from a more typical ‘classical’ music orchestra, as the primary goal is not to prepare a concert, but rather to play the music right away, without stopping often to fix trouble spots. The format allows and at times compels the player to sight read new material, to play music one doesn’t know, and to adjust to tempo, speed and dynamic changes all at once. This is what the Minnehaha Repertory Orchestra musicians do on a regular basis. Unique in the Twin Cities, this format affords musicians the opportunity to hone their skills and acquaint themselves with important music. Through the season, from September through April, the orchestra will play approximately 20 works, several of them quite lengthy and complex.

The orchestra does play one concert each season, showing the community what our orchestra the MRO is like.  The recent concert held on January 19, 2020, at Normandale Lutheran Church in Edina, featured the prodigious cellist Daniel Keeler, who also plays cello with the MRO as his time allows.

Our annual Spring Gathering celebrates the musicians of our group and features chamber music played by orchestra members. Our most recent MRO Gathering in May 2019, featured a string quartet as well as food and beverages, and a video presentation from the January 20, 2019 concert.

Founded in 2013, the Minnehaha Repertory Orchestra has performed over one hundred works of music while serving over 150 Minnesotan musicians. The orchestra is free to participate in, and is inclusive of all ages and ability. Meeting bi-weekly, the orchestra reads September through April in the orchestra room at Edina High School.

“The repertory orchestra is really a golden opportunity to play the best of the orchestral literature with a wonderful group of talented musicians who are there simply for the pleasure of playing great music with other like-minded musicians. Craig’s vision for having the group be a repertory-reading orchestra makes it a unique ensemble, and because we aren’t rehearsing every piece for a public performance, it allows us to play even more of the orchestral repertoire.”

Trudi Anderson, Flute
Accessibility

Minnehaha Repertory Orchestra make its performances accessible to all patrons. For questions or if you need assistance, please contact Craig Randal Johnson at crjmhahamusic@gmail.com