The 26/27 Concert Season
Upcoming Events
Supper & Songs 2026 (October 2026)
**Rescheduled Event**
Please note: all reservations must be made directly with La Grande Bande for these performances. Any reservations made by calling the restaurants will not be honored.
**Please note that this event was rescheduled from May 2026**
7:00 | Thursday, October 15 | Arlington Haus Too, Arlington
7:00 | Friday, October 16 | Black Forest Inn, Minneapolis
7:00 | Saturday, October 17 | Black Forest Inn, Minneapolis
A night full of laughs, good food, and great music
La Grande Bande’s much beloved “Dine Out” series of casual concert performances enters its seventh year with a great selection of music that is sure to have you falling out of your chair. The evening will begin with an English cantata, written by “an eminent master” in the 1750s, that tells of the greatness of English Roast Beef (inspired by the song we performed last season). Closing the evening is Pergolesi’s hilarious set of intermezzi, La serva padrona, which tells the tale of a grumpy, impatient, and not-so-bright bachelor who is wittily tricked by his maidservant into marrying her.
Pre-concert talk begins at approximately 6:30 each night. Translations of sung texts available.
Event Schedule (all nights)
6:15 PM | DOORS Open for Seating
6:30 PM | PRE-CONCERT talk/dinner service begins
7:00 PM | CONCERT performance begins
Music from New France (November 2026)
Regular Season Concert 2
7:30 | Thursday, November 12 | Immanuel Lutheran Church, Gaylord
7:30 | Saturday, November 14 | Holy Cross Catholic Church, Minneapolis
From Battlefields to Bourbon Street: Music of the French Alliance during the American Revolution
Programmed in honor of the 250th anniversary of America’s Founding, Music from New France explores the lost music found in New France (Louisiana Territory), once owned by America’s greatest ally during the Revolution, the Kingdom of France. This program will highlight sacred texts set to secular tunes by Jean-Baptiste Lully, Andre Campra, and more, that were compiled into a 1754 manuscript found in New Orleans and sung by Ursuline Nuns.
We hope you join us for a delightful trip through musical history as we present sacred motets, secular songs, dance music, and so much more as we celebrate the French Alliance.
Pre-concert talk begins at approximately 6:45 both nights. Translations of sung texts available.
A French Baroque Christmas (December 2026)
with The Norseland Youth Choir
Holiday Concert
7:30 | Thursday, December 10 | Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, New Ulm
7:30 | Saturday, December 12 | Transfiguration Catholic Church, Oakdale
A Christmas tradition centuries in the making
Experience the beauty and joy of the Christmas season with a selection of works written for Christmas by Marc-Antoine Charpentier. The concert centers on Charpentier’s Pastorale sur la Naissance (“Pastoral on the birth of Christ”), one of the most captivating and imaginative examples of sacred French-language Baroque drama. Charpentier’s In nativitatem explores the experience the shepherds might have had that fateful day.
From shepherds and recorders to famous French noëls you can sing with us, you’ll be part of the newest Christmas tradition in the region.
Organ prelude begins at approximately 7:10 each night. Translations of sung texts available.
Byrds of a Feather (January 2027)
with The Mirandola Ensemble
Regular Season Concert 3
7:30 | Thursday, January 28 | Church of the Holy Communion, St Peter
7:30 | Saturday, January 30 | Holy Cross Catholic Church, Minneapolis
Music of the church and home from Renaissance England
Some of the most beautiful music from the English Renaissance period was written by William Byrd and his teacher, and business partner, Thomas Tallis. Both composers gained notoriety and prominent positions at Elizabeth I’s English court, including positions as organists at the Chapel Royal.
Join La Grande Bande, and special guest The Mirandola Ensemble, as we explore secular and sacred music by Byrd, Tallis, and their contemporaries in this delightful program featuring voices, recorders, dulcians, and organ performing Catholic and Anglican polyphony, secular madrigals, and dance music from Renaissance England.
Pre-concert talk begins at approximately 6:45 both nights.
The Art of the Violin (March 2027)
Regular Season Concert 4
7:30 | Thursday, March 18 | First Lutheran Church, Winthrop
7:30 | Saturday, March 20 | Olivet Congregational Church, St Paul
Fiddle tunes and art music from Europe and America
Star violinist Jimmy Drancsak returns with an intimate program for solo violin and harpsichord. The musical selections were inspired by the collection of music owned by Thomas Jefferson, one of many founding fathers who had both musical talent (as an accomplished violinist) and a musical appetite. This program blends the art music of Europe with the folk music of Colonial New England to demonstrate the versatility of the violin.
Selections written by Arcangelo Corelli and Johann Christian Bach, taken from Jefferson’s music collection, are paired with works by Bach’s father, Johann Sebastian, and traditional fiddle tunes from New England.
Pre-concert talk begins at approximately 6:45 both nights.
Supper & Songs 2027 (May 2027)
Regular Season Concert 5
Please note: all reservations must be made directly with La Grande Bande for these performances. Any reservations made by calling the restaurants will not be honored.
7:00 | Thursday, May 6 | Arlington Haus Too, Arlington
7:00 | Friday, May 7 | Black Forest Inn, Minneapolis
7:00 | Saturday, May 8 | Black Forest Inn, Minneapolis
Dinner theater with a Baroque twist
La Grande Bande’s much beloved “Dine Out” series of casual concert performances concludes the Eighth Complete Season with a great selection of music that is sure to have you falling out of your chair with laughter. The evening will begin with Bach’s sprightly Harpsichord concerto in A that is sure to start the lighthearted evening on the right foot. Following that are selections for horn and soprano by the lesser-performed Graun brothers. A cantata by Handel for bass brings us nearer to the showstopper of the evening, Bach’s hilarious and folksy Peasant Cantata, written to celebrate the arrival of a new tax official in 18th century Germany.
Pre-concert talk begins at approximately 6:30 each night. Translations of sung texts available.
Event Schedule (all nights)
6:15 PM | DOORS Open for Seating
6:30 PM | PRE-CONCERT talk/dinner service begins
7:00 PM | CONCERT performance begins
Past Events
ConcertoFest (September 2026)
Regular Season Concert 1
7:30 | Thursday, September 17 | Immanuel Lutheran Church, Gaylord
7:30 | Saturday, September 19 | Westminster Hall, Westminster Presbyterian, Mpls
A festival of concertos for one, two, and three
Opening the 26/27 Season is a Festival of Baroque Concertos for violin, bassoon, two oboes, and three harpsichords. These concertos feature some of the most well-known pieces from the Baroque era, like Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, and the leaser known gems, like Bach’s concerto for three harpsichords (Yes, 3!).
La Grande Bande is joined by a dynamic group of artists who are both making their debuts and making their return on this program. We’re delighted to welcome back violinist Rafa Prendergast, oboist Curtis Foster, bassoonist Allen Hamrick, harpsichordist Paul Boehnke as soloists, and eager to debut violinist Francis Liu and harpsichordist Kimberly Kang as soloists on this program. They will all be joined by La Grande Bande’s rockstar cast of players.
Pre-concert talk begins at approximately 6:45 both nights.