 offers recommendations for Minnesota concerts, events and more. 

Minnesota Legacy Amendment’s Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund

Our Picks

YourClassical MPR host John Birge offers recommendations for Minnesota concerts, events and more.

John Birge has been hosting, producing and performing classical music for more than 25 years. Since 1997, he has been hosting on Minnesota Public Radio's Classical Music Service. He played French horn for the Cincinnati Symphony and Pops Orchestra and performed with them on their centennial tour of Europe in 1995. He was trained at the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, Eastman School of Music and Interlochen Arts Academy.


John Birge

This week on Birge’s Picks, watch films with dark themes at the 16th Twin Cities Film Noir Festival, as well as movies based on the works of Richard Strauss and William Shakespeare. Find out more!


Birge's Picks

Marty Sohl/Metropolitan Opera

Is this a 'film noir' I see before me?

This week on Birge’s Picks, watch recent films and documentaries about some of the figures who have defied the odds in classical music, both at home and in the cinema. Find out more!


Provided

Defying gravity and defying the odds

John Birge encourages us to find beauty in the smaller classical ensembles with exciting concerts across the state by chamber groups, including members of the Winona Symphony, Artaria Quartet and ProMusica Minnesota.  Find out more!


Vicki Blazing photography

Small is beautiful

Looking to learn more about this year’s Grammy nominees? Look no further as Leonidas Kavakos performs Bach in St. Paul, Michelle Cann performs Price and Gershwin in Lacrosse, and Víkingur Ólafsson performs Bach in a video highlight for YourClassical. Find out more!


Grammy triple-whammy

This week on Birge’s Picks, Duluth’s Matinee Musicale brings cellist Ifetayo Ali-Landing, former Performance Today Young Artist in Residence, to northern Minnesota, and the Vienna Boys Choir brings exciting performances to cities across the state. Find out more!


Judy Griesedieck for Classical MPR

Young and younger

This week on Birge’s Picks, the LOON (Lyric Opera of the North) and the Minnesota Opera prepare exciting operas by Mozart, Hilliard and Gounod, featuring stories that range from comedies to tragedies. Find out more!


Anything you can sing

This week on Birge’s Picks, two excellent Minnesotan choral groups celebrate season openers. VocalEssence opens its 56th season in Arden Hills, and Choral Arts Ensemble celebrates its 40th anniversary in Rochester. Find out more!


A time to sing

This week on Birge’s Picks, ensembles across Minnesota and beyond begin exciting new seasons featuring music from Italy, the United States and elsewhere. Find out more!


Thomas Sondergard and the Minnesota Orchestra

Travis Anderson Photography

New season, new perspectives

This week on Birge’s Picks, old friends return to the Twin Cities for exciting performances, including violist Tabea Zimmermann and soprano Frederica von Stade. Find out more!


Old friends and new seasons

This week on Birge’s Picks, concerts featuring string quartets take place around Minnesota. Listen to performances from the Stringwood Chamber Music Festival, the Lakes Area Music Festival and the Duluth Chamber Music Festival. Find out more!
