ABOUT THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY ORCHESTRA The Mississippi Valley Orchestra is a civic orchestra whose star is rising. Founded as a chamber group in 1976 by Edward Schlueter in West St. Paul/Mendota Heights, MVO is now a polished symphony orchestra that performs in venues throughout the Twin Cities. The amateur and professional musicians of MVO, along with artistic director Ho-Yin Kwok, prepare four invigorating concerts each year, performing a wide variety of classical music and partnering with soloists and groups from the Minnesota Orchestra, the University of Minnesota, and other local arts and educational organizations. Also, every spring MVO plays one movement of a piano concerto with the winner of the St. Paul Piano Teachers Association concerto competition - often the student’s first experience playing with an orchestra. MVO has achieved a reputation among its partners and supportive, growing audiences for serious music making, and also for sincere collegiality within the orchestra and its all-volunteer yet professional board of directors. We are proud to be the only community orchestra in the area that charges no dues and whose concerts are all free MISSION Our mission is to infuse the lives of dedicated musicians, and their neighbors in the Twin Cities, with the creative insights, emotional energy, and camaraderie that come from experiencing classical music together.