Minneapolis Pops Orchestra

12/02/2025

A message on this Giving Tuesday from our Executive Director, Mark Springer:

The end of the year brings no greater joy than the chance to express my heartfelt gratitude for your support throughout our 2025 concert season. Your generosity truly makes our work and success possible. On behalf of all of us at the Pops, thank you!

As you know, the Minneapolis Pops Orchestra Association is committed to bringing the power and pleasure of live orchestral music, performed by professional musicians, to the Twin Cities community free of charge. In order to help us maintain our mission, please consider remembering the Minneapolis Pops Orchestra today on Giving Tuesday and in your end of year giving plans!

Looking back on this season, we are reminded of how your support made everything possible: concerts filled with marches, pop favorites, jazz standards, memorable themes from stage and screen, and a few new things along the way, too. We hope that more than once you found yourself tapping your toes or nudging the person next to you and whispering, “Oh, I know this one!”

This year also brought memorable collaborations, including our first with St. Paul’s own Irish rock band, the Wild Colonial Bhoys, and we were captivated by the virtuosity of tubist Eirik “The Viking” Gjerdevik and maestro Russell Gray’s cornet solo debut with the orchestra. We also admired Russell’s courage to perform with his cornet bell (and most of him) in Eirik’s tuba bell to achieve a wonderful echo/old phonograph sound effect. Let’s face it, you don’t see that every day! Perhaps most special of all, though, was celebrating our immensely talented and dedicated Pops musicians who make every concert unforgettable.

As we bid farewell to this year, we are already looking ahead with excitement to 2026 and our 77th Concert Season. We thank you again for your generosity, and we look forward to another year of success together!

With every good wish for a joyous holiday season and bright new year,

Mark Springer
Executive Director, Minneapolis Pops Orchestra Association

P.S. Your generous gifts make it possible for us to share music and memories year after year! To make an end-of-year, tax-deductible gift to support the Pops, please visit

We are excited to have music director, Russell Gray, back at the Lake for the upcoming season! Please stay tuned for announcements regarding the 2025 summer season’s programs, which begin on June 28, 2025.

11/20/2025

🎶 Help us hit all the right notes this giving season! 🎶

🎺 🎻❤️ Visit: https://secure.givelively.org/donate/minneapolis-pops-orchestra-association

When you donate through our website, more of your gift goes directly to the Pops instead of to processing fees. In other words… your generosity gets “Pops-timized!” 😉

Your gift through our site truly MAXimizes your impact as we prepare for our 77th season! Thank you for your consideration as you plan out your giving! Summer will be back before we know it! ❤️

07/31/2025

BREAKING: Minneapolis Pops Orchestra gets upstaged by toddler conductor!

https://youtube.com/shorts/E877Thv-faM?feature=share

From the comfort of their picnic blanket, goldfish at the ready, this pint-sized prodigy brought the drama. Tiny arms, big passion, impeccable timing (mostly). We are not ready for their rider request next season. 😅

THIS is why the multigenerational magic of the Pops matters. Babies waving baton-sized pencils today leads to full symphony conductors tomorrow or at least a deep love of live music.

Huge thanks to everyone who came out for our 76th season and to those who donated to keep the music (and adorable chaos) alive. Forgot to donate? No worries, donate at the link in comments and join the wild, wonderful ride that is free, professional concerts for all. 👶🎻🎺

07/29/2025

By popular demand: some footage from our concerts with Eirik Gjerdevik!

Season 76

07/28/2025

🎉 SEASON 76 = CONQUERED 🎉

What do you get when you mix a world-class orchestra, a Scottish conductor (who also happens to be an incredible cornet player!), a 7-foot Norwegian in a bumblebee suit, and a whole lot of brass? Answer: the most delightfully unhinged and magical summer ever with the Minneapolis Pops Orchestra.

From the refined beauty of Amy Beach’s symphony to the moment Eirik the Viking buzzed through Flight of the Bumblebee on tuba (yes, in full bee costume! 🐝), this season had elegance, chaos, and everything in between.

🧡 To our wildly supportive and wonderfully passionate fans: THANK YOU. You clapped, you cheered, you danced, you tolerated puns. You made Season 76 a blast.

Our hearts (and our tuning slides) are full. See you next season! Same bandstand, new surprises.

07/27/2025

Last night was a tuba triumph!

Eirik Gjerdevik the Tuba Viking stunned us all with his incredible rendition of Csárdás! Fast fingers, fast jokes, soaring melodies, and low brass brilliance that had the crowd on their feet and the tuba world reeling. 🔥

After the concert, Eirik was swarmed by adoring fans (see photo for proof that tubas do get the spotlight).

And the party’s not over yet! Season 76 of the Minneapolis Pops Orchestra concludes TODAY at 5:30pm at the Lake Harriet Bandshell! Eirik is joining us again for more mischief and music!

🎟️ It’s free. It’s fun. It’s scientifically proven to make your weekend 100% brassier.

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07/26/2025

☮️ Yeah baby, YEAH! 🌼

It’s the FINAL WEEKEND of Minneapolis Pops Orchestra concerts for our 76th season and we’re going out con mojo, baby. That’s how we do. 😎

📍Lake Harriet Bandshell
🕢 Saturday at 7:30pm
🕠 Sunday at 5:30pm

Yes, we’re playing the Austin Powers theme which is both shagadelic and classy. BUT that’s just one piece in a weekend full of musical magic: from cinematic showstoppers to orchestral masterpieces that’ll knock your Birkenstocks off.

AND HOLD ON TO YOUR HORNS…
Eirik the Viking (our tuba soloist, warrior of tone) is HERE and he’s bringing thunder, brass, and pure chaos with a jaw-dropping version of Flight of the Bumblebee. 🐝🎺
There may or may not be buzzing. There will be surprises. And yes… he sounds amazing.

07/25/2025

Who is this Eirik Gjerdevik the Viking solo tuba player extraordinaire anyway!? Check out his bio below! Make sure to come hear our performances with Eirik for our FINAL weekend of shows this summer at the Lake Harriet Bandshell, Saturday at 7:30pm and Sunday at 5:30pm!

Eirik Gjerdevik (born 1968) is originally from Fusa, but now resides in Bergen. As musician, soloist, and conductor, he has become a familiar figure in the world of Norwegian band music. After deciding to concentrate on music, Eirik studied tuba at Bergen Music Conservatory with Nils Eivind Nikolaisen (Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra). He also took lessons from John Fletcher’s old tuba teacher, Stuart Roebuck (formerly tubaist in The Hallé Orchestra). He then travelled to Manchester to continue his studies at Royal Northern College of Music. Among the tuba players with whom Eirik studied while in England were Brian Kingsley (Opera North) and Andy Duncan (Hallé Orchestra). Since 1996 Eirik Gjerdevik has been a permanent member of The Armed Forces’ Band West (FMKV). He is Yamaha’s tuba soloist in Scandinavia and is invited to perform in this capacity in Norway and abroad. He has performed as soloist in Norway, Denmark (Faroe Islands), Romania, Switzerland, England, Bulgaria, and Australia, and he has commissioned and premiered a number of compositions for tuba. In 2005 Eirik recorded his first solo CD, Eirik the Viking. In 2010 he was soloist with the Pleven Philharmonic Orchestra in Bulgaria.

07/24/2025

🎺🎶 FINAL CONCERT ALERT! 🎶🎺

This Sunday at 5:30pm marks the grand finale of our 76th Season! That’s right, it’s your LAST CHANCE to enjoy a magical, music-filled afternoon by the glorious shores of Lake Harriet with the Minneapolis Pops Orchestra.

🥳 Expect beautiful music, lakeside breezes, and yes… Eirik on tuba again. He’s back and ready to shake the very foundation of Minneapolis with some low-brass brilliance and probably a few jokes. It’s going to be impressive…hilarious…TUBULAR!

We’ve had such an amazing season, and it’s all thanks to YOU our wonderful audience, our devoted donors, and anyone who’s ever brought a lawn chair or a duck to a concert! There really have been a few ducks in attendance! (Post a pic in the comments if you caught those music loving 🦆🦆 on camera!)

🎩 As always, the concert is FREE (because we’re classy like that), but here’s the real talk: In the murky realm of arts grants (think Indiana Jones, but with paperwork), we truly rely on individual donations to keep these concerts free and open to all. Thank you for making that happen. You’re the real MVPs.

So come celebrate with us one last time this season! Bring friends, bring snacks, bring a canoe if you’re feeling bold (not recommended).

🎵 Sunday, 5:30pm @ Lake Harriet Bandshell

Free, fabulous, and full of feelings.

07/22/2025

Wow, Twin Cities! You really showed up for our Strings concerts this past weekend… and by “showed up,” we mean THOUSANDS of you! (We counted. Then stopped counting because we lost track. Then just said “thousands” and went with it.) 🙌💥

The music was incredible, the vibes were immaculate, and the string players have officially iced their wrists. 💪🎶

But don’t put away your lawn chairs just yet! The whole Pops Orchestra is coming back together for our FINAL weekend:
✴️Saturday at 7:30pm
✴️Sunday at 5:30pm
📍 Lake Harriet Bandshell

Bring your friends, bring your snacks, and bring your sense of humor! It’s going to be a wild final weekend! 💖🎼

07/20/2025

🎻 ALERT: The String section is back and dangerously in tune! 🎻

Join us TODAY at 5:30 PM at the Lake Harriet Bandshell for another round of epic bowing, dramatic page turns, and suspiciously intense eye contact.

Last night’s crowd was AMAZING! We felt like rock stars, but with more rosin and fewer brass solos. Thanks for the love! ❤️

So bring your friends, your lawn chairs, and your finest picnic snacks. Warning: excessive clapping and emotional goosebumps may occur. 🎶🧺🌅