Common Chords is a Minnesota Orchestra initiative to create one-of-a-kind collaborations between the Orchestra and communities around the state. Each partnership will feature a celebratory festival week of performances and activities that reflect the interests, diversity and aspirations of the community.
Our upcoming Common Chords partnership is with the city of Willmar, Minnesota. As we plan this collaboration, with the majority of events slated for May 2012, we invite you to follow our progress through this site as we explore the many ways in which music can bring a community together.
Learn more about our debut project in Grand Rapids in October 2011.
Common Chords is supported by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, McKnight Foundation and Mardag Foundation. It is also funded in part by a grant provided by the Minnesota State Arts Board through an appropriation by the Minnesota State Legislature from the State’s arts and cultural heritage fund with money from the vote of the people of Minnesota on November 4, 2008.
The Minnesota Orchestra performed its first full-ensemble performance in Grand Rapids to a capacity audience of Middle and High School students at the 
In studio for a live interview at KAXE Radio, conductors Courtney Lewis and Sarah Hicks previewed the 
Courtney Lewis arrived in Grand Rapids Thursday afternoon to lead the 38-member Itasca Youth Chamber Orchestra in a side-by-side rehearsal with Minnesota Orchestra musicians focusing on Holst’s St. Paul’s Suite. 
