Juneteenth has long been celebrated in Black communities to remember June 19, 1865, the day that enslaved African Americans in Texas learned they were free. 

After becoming a federal holiday in 2021, broader community celebrations began in cities around the country, including the Minnesota Orchestra’s annual Juneteenth concert tonight at Orchestra Hall in downtown Minneapolis.

MPR News host Angela Davis talked with the guest conductor of the Juneteenth concert and one of its organizers about the contributions of Black American composers and how classical music is being shaped by Black American music traditions, including gospel, jazz and the blues.

Tickets to the 7 p.m. concert were still available as of Thursday morning. The concert will also stream live on YourClassical MPR with host Melissa Ousley.

Guests:   

• Jonathan Taylor Rush returns to guest conduct this year’s Juneteenth concert with the Minnesota Orchestra after conducting the concert in 2024. Now based in North Carolina, Taylor Rush was associate conductor of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra from 2020 to 2023 and is in demand as a guest conductor around the world.  

• Grant Meachum is director of the Minnesota Orchestra’s Live at Orchestra Hall season, which includes the Juneteenth concert and more than twenty other special programs every year featuring film presentations, holiday celebrations and collaborations with popular artists.

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