Those audiences will be smaller — 400 in a room built for 2,000. They'll be masked, distanced, staggered. But they'll be back.
"Even to have a small audience in the beginning, it's a big step for us," music director Osmo Vänskä said by phone.
The orchestra also announced another round of livestreamed concerts for at-home audiences watching on TPT, listening on Classical MPR and viewing on the orchestra's website. The orchestra will continue broadcasting Friday-night shows this summer, even after audiences are back.
The musicians picture audience members as they perform for microphones and cameras, said Vänskä, 68, who got his second dose of the vaccine this month. "But of course it's going to be very emotional to see real people to play for."