Thirty-four virtuosos, no conductor’s ego, and some of the most alive classical music in America: The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, founded in 1959, is the nation’s only full-time professional chamber orchestra — and a two-time Grammy winner that plays like a string quartet scaled to symphonic thrill.
Musician-led by design, the SPCO’s artistic partners have included Joshua Bell and Pekka Kuusisto, and its home is the Ordway Concert Hall — praised as one of America’s most beautiful small halls, all warm wood and perfect sightlines. Its ticket philosophy is radical generosity: low prices, and free tickets for kids and students keep the hall gloriously mixed.
In a metro with two great orchestras, the SPCO is the jewel box — intimate, fearless and precise as a watch.
