MINOT – The Minot Symphony Orchestra will open their 98th season, “Our Town” on
Saturday, September 23rd with Musicology at 6 pm and music at 7pm in MSU’s Ann Nicole
Nelson Hall.
“It’s All About That Bass” is the first of the symphony’s 6 concert series for the 2023-2024 season. Other
performance dates include October 28, December 9, February 3 (3pm), March 16, and April 27. Programs for the 2023-2024 season include works by Bizet, Ravel, Liszt, Shostakovich, Sibelius, Copland, and more. The season will also feature two world premieres, a ND premiere, works by 3 local composers including the winner of the annual Young Composer Competition, ND High School Soloist competition winner, and the MSU Division of Performing Arts Honors Competition winner. Featured soloists include 2 MSU professors of music David Rolandson and Dianna Anderson.
Also sharing the stage with the symphony this season will be the voices of the MSU Concert Choir, Minot High School Choir, and the Minot Chamber Chorale. The symphony will also feature 3 short films with music played by the local musicians. More information and tickets are available at www.minotsymphony.com.
“We are pleased to present this season themed “Our Town” that highlights phenomenal musicians who
call Minot, North Dakota home. We hope that concertgoers enjoy the varied musical selections and take
advantage of all of the offerings presented this season,” said Christine Baumann, Minot Symphony
Association Board President and violist.
The season opener on September 23rd will feature music from one of the most familiar operas, Carmen, Suite No. 1 by George Bizet. The music of Carmen has been widely acclaimed for brilliance of melody, harmony, atmosphere, and orchestration, and for the skill with which Bizet musically represented the emotions and suffering of his characters. A piece that any concertgoer is sure to recognize from numerous movies and commercials.
The program continues with Ralph Vaughn Williams Tuba Concerto in F Minor. The featured soloist is
Tubist and MSU Professor of Music, Dr. David Rolandson. Rolandson is Chair of the Division of Performing
Arts, Associate Professor of Music, and Director of Bands at Minot State University where he conducts the
Concert Band and leads the MSU Marching Band. In addition, Dr. Rolandson teaches trombone,
euphonium, tuba, conducting, and music education courses. He earned a PhD in Music Education from the University of Minnesota, a Master of Music in Wind Band Conducting from Central Washington University, and a Bachelor of Music Education from the University of Minnesota Duluth.
Darius Milhaud’s Suite Provençal is a four-movement suite is based on authentic folk tunes from the
beautiful southern province in France, the "Provence". The composer used a harmonic language respecting the popular characteristics, but that on the other hand also contains some "spicy" notes (just like the wellknown "Provençal sauce"! …). The instrumentation is very colorful, paying a lot of attention to the different timbres of both brass and woodwinds as well as to the percussion section. And the season
opener finishes with Alexander Borodin Symphony No. 2.
Tickets start at $30 for adults with active military, senior, and student discounts available. Season tickets,
individual tickets and Pick 6 Flex Passes are available. The Pick 6 Flex Pass includes 6 concert tickets for the price of 5, can be used for multiple tickets to the same performance or spread out between performances. All tickets are available at www.minotsymphony.com or through the box office at 701-858-4228. Patrons are encouraged
to purchase tickets in advance.
Musicology, the study of music, will begin 1 hour before the concert starts. Concertgoers are encouraged to
attend this 30-minute engaging overview of the works being performed, the story behind the music, the
composer, and historical context. It will not be held for the Dec. 9th performance.
The Minot Symphony Orchestra is a unique blend of student, community, and professional musicians from the
Minot area. The symphony is directed by Maestro Efraín Amaya, Associate Professor of Performing Arts at
Minot State University.
This project is supported in part by grants from Arts Midwest and the North Dakota Council on the Arts, which
receives funding from the state legislature and the National Endowment for the Arts.
