Area Attractions: Minnesota Sinfonia

Website: Minnesota Sinfonia
Location: varies
Hours: dates according to schedule
Admission: free (donations welcome)

Background: "To remove the largest single audience barrier, the cost of tickets, the Sinfonia plays all of its concerts free of admission charges. To reach audiences unable or reluctant to travel to a downtown concert hall, the Sinfonia travels to them, playing in neighborhood churches, school auditoriums, colleges, and parks. Concert times accommodate the concerns of families and the elderly. To reach those people who suspect orchestral music is stuffy, the Sinfonia programs a variety of concert formats, some classical, some “pops,” all of them targeted to the particular audience. All concerts are characterized by informality and an infectious enthusiasm from the musicians and the conductor. To attract a younger audience, the Sinfonia explicitly invites parents to bring their children." The Sinfonia does make a plug at each concert for donations, but we've taken our toddler there and have had no problem - plenty of other kids were in the audience as well!