Symphony Spring Festival Concert Information

Dear Symphony,

The 2025–26 GTCYS season has flown by! Everyone on staff has enjoyed helping students develop musically, create new friendships, and grow as a community.

We’re so excited to hear your musical progress at your Spring Festival concerts at Orchestra Hall on SATURDAY, MAY 9 at 10:15am and 2:20pm and SUNDAY, MAY 10 at 3:30pm. Find ticketing information here.

DETAILED TIMELINE

SATURDAY, MAY 9 – SUNDAY, MAY 10

Orchestra Hall, 1111 Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis

SYMPHONY TIMELINE

Saturday, May 9 (Concert 1)

  • 9:10am: Arrive by this time and check in at the Stage Door entrance. Follow signs to the backstage locker rooms to warm up. Please do not check in before 8:55am.
  • 9:20–9:45am: Jupiter run-through on stage.
  • 9:50–10:30am: Rehearsal with Maestro Smith in Target Atrium. Bring music stands for this rehearsal.
  • 10:15am: Concert begins.
  • 11:00am: Symphony lines up backstage and prepares to perform. This performance will end at approximately 11:30am. Post-concert, Symphony students are dismissed until their afternoon call time.

Saturday, May 9 (Concert 2)

  • 1:45pm: Arrive by this time and check in at Stage Door entrance. Follow signs to the backstage locker rooms to retrieve instruments, music, and stands.
  • 2:10–2:35pm: Warm up in Target Atrium. Bring music stands for this rehearsal.
  • 2:20pm: Concert begins.
  • 2:50pm: Symphony lines up backstage and prepares to perform. This performance will end at approximately 3:30pm. There is no intermission.

Sunday, May 10 (Concert 3)

  • 2:30pm: Arrive by this time and check in at the Stage Door entrance. Follow signs to the backstage locker rooms to warm up. Please do not check in before 2:15pm.
  • 3:10–3:40pm: Warm up in Target Atrium. Bring music stands for this rehearsal.
  • 3:30pm: Concert begins.
  • 4:15pm: Symphony lines up backstage and prepares to perform. This performance will end at approximately 4:50pm. There is no intermission.

Attendance at the Spring Festival is mandatory for all GTCYS musicians. If you cannot attend due to illness or another emergency, complete an absence form.

Students should come dressed in formal concert attire. Do not wear any aerosol-based fragrances. Failure to follow the dress code may jeopardize students’ participation in the concert.

Proof of entry: Please note that Orchestra Hall requires proof of entry upon arrival. GTCYS families will need to show Orchestra Hall staff your ticket or this message to enter the building.

SPECIAL NOTE FOR SYMPHONY

Please be respectful and supportive of the other 10 orchestras’ performances while you are backstage at Orchestra Hall. They look to you as an example of how to behave at concerts. Do not play your instruments or talk above a whisper outside the Locker Rooms or Ante Room backstage. Thank you for your attention to these instructions!

DIRECTIONS

  • Students in Symphony must enter AND exit Orchestra Hall through the Stage Door entrance as shown:
  • Stage Door Entrance
  • Parents/guardians (except volunteers) are not allowed backstage and may not sit in the Hall during the dress rehearsals.
  • The lobby will be open for parents who want to wait.
  • After the concert, all students must go back to their warm-up rooms to pack their instruments before exiting.
  • Students must enter and exit Orchestra Hall through the same doors.
  • Please determine in advance where you will meet your family after the concert.

Orchestra Hall is located at 1111 Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis.

WHAT TO BRING AND WHAT TO LEAVE AT HOME

DO Bring:

  • Bring music folders and all music.
  • Bring music stands for rehearsal in the Atrium.
  • Bring instruments and accessories (rock stops, extra strings, reeds, etc.).
    • Percussionists: bring your own mallets.
    • Cellists and Bassists: You MUST bring rock stops
  • Water bottle.
  • Individually packaged nut-free snacks as desired. GTCYS does not provide any food for students for this event.
  • Be sure all personal belongings are marked with students’ first and last name.

DO NOT Bring:

  • Do not bring valuable personal items which could get lost.
  • Absolutely no cell phones on stage. Please keep your phones in your cases in your warm-up area and do not bring them into the audience while listening to the other orchestras perform. Parent chaperones and GTCYS staff will confiscate student cell phones if they observe students using them during the concert.

SENIORS AND MENTORS

GTCYS will recognize seniors at the Spring Festival with a corsage. Mentors will also receive an additional corsage. Upon arrival at Orchestra Hall, be sure to pick up your corsage from the volunteer in your warm-up space.

LIVESTREAM DETAILS

Thanks to donor support, all three concerts will be livestreamed for free on GTCYS’ YouTube channel!

The livestream will be posted on our YouTube channel after Spring Festival, though some pieces may be omitted due to copyright restrictions. Out of respect to your fellow audience members, please do not record the concert on your own device.

INSTRUMENT AND CLOTHING DRIVE

Donate your gently used string instruments and concert clothes to Harmony, GTCYS’ barrier-free string instruction program serving over 100 students at two St. Paul schools!

We are now accepting:

  • 1/4 and 1/2 size cellos and violins
  • 3/4 and full-size cellos and violins – suitable for intermediate to advanced players
  • Rosin and strings for all size violins and cellos
  • New or gently used metronomes
  • Black long-sleeved shirts in boys’ and girls’ sizes 6/8–14/16
  • Black pants in boys’ and girls’ sizes 6/8–14/16

You can drop off instruments or clothing in Orchestra Hall’s lobby before each Spring Festival concert at the donation table. If donating clothing, please press and fold clothes in advance. Thank you!

WHAT’S NEXT

We can’t wait to make music with you at the Spring Festival!

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