Minnesota Sinfonia Disbands After 35 Years 

The orchestra has ceased operations after three decades as its founder and conductor Jay Fishman announced his retirement 

Founded by Jay Fishman in 1989, the Minnesota Sinfonia comprised 26 professional freelance musicians from around the world performing alongside numerous award-winning guest soloists.

Known for improving students’ and low-income people’s access to classical music, the orchestra recently performed its final concerts with a program of works by Prokofiev, Mozart, and Mendelssohn. 

Fishman, 77, told MinnPost that the ensemble’s disbanding was due to financial issues that had sprung up around 2023. Though he had been preparing another grant application to the National Endowment for the Arts, he decided against writing any more proposals, further citing that foundations’ support for the arts is diminishing amid other priorities.

Widely known as the “people’s orchestra,” the Minnesota Sinfonia had played 60 or 70 concerts a year on a budget of around $400,000 and $700,000; the ensemble did not charge admission for its concerts and its audience who, in part, were low-income earners. 

As Fishman explained, the free admission meant that “we can’t make it on ticket sales, and we’re not big enough to launch big fund drives, and so the money isn’t there.”

The Minnesota Sinfonia also made a significant impact through its Music in the Schools program, which saw more than 175,000 student participants since its inception.

A statement on the Sinfonia’s website explained that its Music in the Schools programs will continue to operate through the 2025/25 academic year — in part also to comply with its non-profit tax status, which requires that all contributed money be spent, writes MinnPost. 

“I wish it could go on, of course,” Fishman told MinnPost. “I wish the Sinfonia could go on beyond me because of the work we do in schools and the free admission and all the rest of it. Be that as it may, just what we’ve done over this time, it’s hard to find the words to say other than I’m just truly, truly grateful.”

“Thirty-five years ago, Sinfonia Conductor and Artistic Director Jay Fishman was inspired to create a professional orchestra with a mission to bring quality classical music to underserved members of our community,” Minnesota Sinfonia posted on Facebook. “Since then, quality, accessibility, and education have been the pillars of the Minnesota Sinfonia.

“Jay and the Board want to thank the thousands of individual contributors, businesses and foundations who have supported the Sinfonia, its mission and programs for these past many years. Without this support, the orchestra simply could not have succeeded in fulfilling its mission to work and perform for our community’s families and children … join us in a bittersweet celebration of all that Jay and the Sinfonia have accomplished over these 35 years!”