Join the Dance!, this year's Bridges program, focuses on Minnesotans with physical disabilities. Clients of the Courage Center--Minnesota's largest provider of rehabilitation services to people with disabilities--will be paired with Chorale singers in the creation and performance of choreographed works, set to music sung by the Chorale.

Under the direction of Chorale artistic director Kathy Saltzman Romey, these sure-to-be memorable performances will feature the premiere of a new work by composer Mary Ellen Childs, commissioned for this program.

Two public performances are scheduled:

• Saturday, Nov. 19 at 7:30 p.m.
  Music Room, SPCO Center
  Hamm Building, Third Floor
  408 St. Peter Street
  St. Paul, MN 55102


• Sunday, Nov. 20 at 4:00 p.m.
  St. Richard's Catholic Church
  7540 Penn Ave. S.
  Richfield, MN 55423

After a busy summer that included performances of Beethoven's 9th and Richard Strauss's "Der Rosenkavalier," the singers of the Minnesota Chorale are back in rehearsal, preparing for our 39th concert season.

Following the annual Bridges concert (see above), we're back in action with the Minnesota Orchestra for a full slate of holiday season favorites, including Handel's "Messiah" and our annual outing with the irrepressible Doc Severinsen. Then in the new year, it's Brahms, Ravel, and more. For an overview of the full season, click here.

More than 50 young singers are rehearsing weekly as enthusiastic members of the Chorale's Minneapolis Youth Chorus. Led by founding conductor Patrice Arasim and assisted by Walter Tambor, these 4th through 9th graders are enrolled in more than 20 different Minneapolis public schools.

MYC began the new season by participating in a 9/11 commemoration concert at the Basilica of St. Mary. Next up for the ensemble: singing in the Honors Choirs of Southeast Minnesota's Children's Choral Festival in Rochester on November 6.