Hello everybody, and welcome to Know the Score, the Minnesota Orchestra quiz show, where our contestants get to show off their knowledge of music and composers.

I'm Michael Sutton, your host and second violin class clown.

Speaking of class clowns and second violins.

Hey, Doug, how many of us does it take to screw in a light bulb?

I have no idea.

None.

We don't go that high.

[Sad Trombone] The worst rimshot ever.

Let's go to our contestants.

First, we have Kyle Sanborn.

Kyle is a native of Portland, Oregon.

He joined the Minnesota Orchestra bass section in 2022.

He enjoys post concert bowling with fellow musicians.

When he's not on epic hikes or snowboarding in the mountains.

Tell me, what have you been listening to lately, Kyle?

Well, I like to listen to Prokofiev a lot, but I've been singing, listening to the Brahms lullaby for my newborn son a bunch.

Sweet.

Are you getting any sleep?

No, I know I'm I'm dead tired right now.

Well, we'll try to keep you awake.

Up next is Sarah Grimes.

Sarah was born and raised in the Twin Cities and joined our first violin section in 2016.

I can attest that she is a marvelous cook and loves hosting friends and fellow musicians.

Sarah was a model as a baby and appeared in TV commercials.

I too started my modeling career at a very young age.

That picture was taken when I was 5 or 6 at Summer Suzuki Institute.

I call it, "In Training."

Thank you.

Sarah, which classical piece or composer have you been listening to lately?

I just recently had the chance to perform Verklärte Nacht for the first time in my career, which I've always loved the piece and the obsession doesn't end.

I'm still listening to it a couple of months later.

Very cool.

Andy Chappell, bass trombone from San Francisco, joined the orchestra in 2014.

He is an outdoorsman, He loves hiking, camping and is really into heat resistant latex gloves.

Tell me more.

Well, recently I've been doing a lot of barbecue and I just bought a new set of latex gloves that have heat resistant liners, and it's a game changer.

It's fantastic.

Cool.

All right.

Tell me a composer score you've been listening to.

Well, periodically, I like to listen to Terry Riley's A Rainbow in Curved Air.

I don't know that one.

What's it about?

It's an organ piece with tape and looped solo organ.

Very cool.

And finally, we have Doug Wright, principal trombone here since 1995.

Also a member of the Uptown Brass Ensemble with fellow Minnesota Orchestra musicians.

So you also seem to love hiking.

Tell me about that.

Any time I get a chance to go hiking, go out in nature with my family.

It's cherished time.

Which composer are you enjoying right now?

I kind of have a tie.

I love Shostakovich.

I love Mahler.

They both write great stuff for the trombone, but they also write beautiful melodies for Sarah and Kyle over there.

Not so much for Andy.

That's not my thing.

So, you know, when Andy and I are not busy playing, we can sit back and enjoy some wonderful music as well.

Anything other than classical you like to hear.

You know, I'm a I'm a sucker for for bands of the 70s with horn lines, you know, Chicago; Earth, Wind and Fire; Blood, Sweat and Tears.

You know, I like it all.

Fun fact Doug appeared in MTV's Aerosmith video Dream On.

I do not recall there being a trombone in that song.

So it was a it was a special video that was made to celebrate MTV's 10th anniversary.

So it's been a minute.

Okay everybody.

Here's how this works.

I will ask a series of questions after each question.

The first contestant to buzz in with the correct answer wins one point.

If an answer is incorrect, the other contestants will have a chance to answer.

Doug and his trombone may have something to say as well.

[Sad Trombone] A speed round may determine the winner.

Let's play, Know the Score!

[Charge Fanfare] Which 1924 piece was the first orchestral work to use a prerecorded element?

The sound of a bird singing under a full moon.

Was it Rhapsody in Blue?

Sebelius 7?

Or Respighi's Pines of Rome?

Sarah.

Is it Pines of Rome?

It is Pines of Rome.

[Charge Fanfare] Follow up bonus.

What type of bird was it?

Nightingale.

Bingo!

[Charge Fanfare] Next question.

Two of which instrument were custom made and donated to the Minnesota Orchestra during the pandemic.

And first used in performances of Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique.

Sarah really wants it.

But I'm going to say, Kyle.

The church bells?

Absolutely.

[Charge Fanfare] Two large bells, a G bell and C bell, were gifted to the orchestra in 2021 because of a conversation in this lobby.

Brian Mount, our principal percussion, was talking to Gary Cohen and bemoaning the fact that they didn't have these bells and had to rent them from Dallas.

So Gary Cohen got these made for us, and I believe that they have actually expanded to all seven notes.

Moving along.

Okay.

Composer Libby Larsen and singer rapper writer philosopher Dessa both attended which Minneapolis high school.

A hint we visited there in 2023.

Southwest?

Yes.

[Charge Fanfare] Fun fact Libby Larsen was one of Minnesota Orchestra's first two composers in residence.

She shared the position with Stephen Paulus from 1983 to 1987.

Next question.

The viola is the only standard orchestral instrument that plays primarily in alto clef.

Name an instrument that occasionally plays in tenor clef.

Andy.

Trombone.

That's almost cheating.

But you're right.

[Charge Fanfare] The correct answers would have been trombone, cello and bassoon.

So how often do you guys see tenor clef?

I see it all the time.

I would absolutely freak out.

Just one clef for me.

Thank you very much.

In the Minnesota Orchestra's early years, when it was called the Minneapolis Symphony, what nickname did it earn in reference to its extensive touring schedule?

Sarah.

The Orchestra on Wheels.

Correct.

[Charge fanfare] Fun fact The Minneapolis Symphony was involved in a train accident in 1918 on its trip to Utah.

14 musicians were actually injured, but the orchestra still performed that evening's concert five hours late.

The orchestra off the rails.

Next question.

Film composer John Williams has earned more Oscar nominations than anyone else alive.

How many has he received?

Each of you will give me your guess, and the person closest gets the point.

Kyle?

27.

Sarah?

35.

Andy?

24.

The actual number is 54.

Sarah wins another point.

[Charge fanfare] Bonus point.

Who is the only non-living person to receive more Oscar nominations than John Williams?

Andy.

Walt Disney?

Absolutely, at 59.

[Charge Fanfare] Last question of this round.

Why didn't Gustav Holst write a movement for Pluto when he composed The Planets?

It wasn't discovered yet.

Correct.

[Charge Fanfare] It was detected in 1930 and Holst wrote that in 1917.

That brings us to the end of round one.

We now have Kyle with three points.

Sarah with three points and Andy with three points.

A three way tie.

Round two is the speed round.

[Trombone racecar sound] Wow, a manual transmission.

Cool.

The speed round has two points for each question.

Here we go.

Which composer of over 100 symphonies is known as the father of the symphony, Andy.

Haydn?

Bingo.

How many completed movements are there in Schubert's unfinished.

Andy?

Two.

Very good.

Which Gustav Mahler Symphony takes the longest to perform?

Three.

Right.

Which instrument plays the solo at the beginning of Rite of Spring?

Sarah.

Bassoon.

Yes.

True or false?

Harpists use all ten of their fingers.

Kyle.

False.

Correct.

They do not use their pinkies.

And that brings us to the end of the speed round.

Let's have the judges tally up the scores.

Kyle has seven points.

Sarah has five points, and Andy also has seven points.

We are in a tie.

I suggest that we have a final question that is worth three points.

Winner takes all.

Who is considered the inventor of the string quartet?

Sarah.

Haydn.

Absolutely right.

Sarah wins it all.

[Trombone fanfare] Here's your bragging rights.

Thank you.

Special thanks to our trivia writers, Emma Plehal and Carl Schroeder And to Doug for bringing that trombone.

Thanks, contestants, for being here.

And thank you for watching.

How well do you know the score?

And now we converse 231 01:09:44,138 --> 01:09:45,097 Yes.

Keep laughing.

Thanks for that.