Minnesota Sinfonia will close shop in January 2025
The Minnesota Sinfonia will end in January 2025, according to the Friends of Sinfonia board of directors.
Following the upcoming 2023-24 concert season and a set of farewell performances in fall 2024, all concert activity will cease. Music in the Schools performances and related materials will continue to be available to school districts free of charge into the winter of 2025.
The sinfonia was founded by conductor Jay Fishman in 1989, who has also spent the past 35 years as artistic director. His idea was to create a professional orchestra that would perform free concerts to ensure live classical music was available in underserved and low-income communities in Minnesota.
Professional freelance musicians from all over the world, most with graduate degrees from major universities or conservatories, perform up to 60 free concerts a year, many of which feature award-winning national and international guest soloists. They present classical and pops concerts in schools, churches and outdoor locations around the Twin Cities.
“The audiences have to look at us and say, ‘They’re first class, but we don’t have to feel intimidated by it,’ ” Fishman once told the Pioneer Press.
The sinfonia will currently continue to operate and accept donations. At the time of dissolution, any remaining assets will be distributed pursuant to the sinfonia’s articles and bylaws and any applicable nonprofit laws.
Sinfonia representatives couldn’t be immediately reached for more details about their decision to dissolve the organization.
