Community Partnership Neighborhoods

The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra firmly believes that building authentic, long-term relationships is vital to the work of serving the community and connecting more people to the transformational music we perform. While the SPCO proudly performs in many Twin Cities neighborhoods, we are grateful for the deeper partnerships we are working toward in two of these communities.

NORTHSIDE, Minneapolis

Located on West Broadway in North Minneapolis, the Capri Theater is part of the continuing economic development and artistic revitalization of the Northside community. The SPCO is proud to have partnered with the Capri in this work for the past thirteen seasons.

Currently, the 250-seat theater is filled, three to four times a year, with an enthusiastic audience for an SPCO Northside series. Tickets are free for Northside residents and people from outside the neighborhood are encouraged to come experience all that the Capri has to offer. Community input has driven the programming offered at the Capri and will continue to guide our work in the 2022.23 season and beyond. This partnership also produces the Northside Celebration, a collaborative concert experience celebrating the Northside. Hear a bit of the 2020 Celebration in the Concert Library.

The partnership on the Northside includes a Start the Music! free concert event geared towards 3-6 year olds and their families, as well as an xplOrchestra! free concert event geared toward 5-9 year olds and their families. In addition, Loring Community School on the Northside is one of 10 partner schools in the SPCO’s free supplementary music education program, CONNECT.

For more information about our activities on the Northside and our partnership with The Capri, visit www.thespco.org/northside

WEST SIDE, Saint Paul

In the 2017.18 season, the SPCO announced the addition of a new community partnership neighborhood on Saint Paul’s West Side. The SPCO was thrilled to be welcomed to the neighborhood and to Humboldt High School for a three-concert series. The concerts in this series are free for West Side residents, one-hour in length and include Spanish/English concert programs. A hallmark of these concerts has quickly become the performance of beginning violin students from Riverview Elementary who participate in the Harmony program – an El Sistema-inspired afterschool music program that was started by the Greater Twin Cities Youth Symphonies (GTCYS).

The partnership on the West Side includes a Start the Music! free concert event geared towards 3-6 year olds and their families, as well as an xplOrchestra! free concert event geared toward 5-9 year olds and their families. In addition, Riverview Elementary on the West Side is one of 10 partner schools in the SPCO’s free supplementary music education program, CONNECT.

We are thrilled to resume our series on Saint Paul’s West Side at the newly-renovated Humboldt High School Auditorium! First started in our 2017.18 season, the concerts in this series are free for West Side residents and the 75-minute performances include Spanish/English concert programs. Once per year, this series features performances by beginning string students from Riverview Elementary who participate in the Harmony program — an El Sistema-inspired afterschool music program of the Greater Twin Cities Youth Symphonies (GTCYS).

The West Side partnership is being developed and guided with community input.

For more information about our activities on the West Side, visit www.thespco.org/west-side