Longfellow Community Summer Kick-off!
Doors open at 10 am at Squirrel Haus Arts, a unique gallery and gathering space in the Minneapolis Longfellow neighborhood. Browse Cuban art exhibit curated by local non-profit US Cuba Artist Exchange. Enjoy pop-up performances by the Havana Quartet as well as non-alcoholic beverages and tasty Cuban treats. Learn about host organization CAYO, a Longfellow-based non-profit organization that connects the people of the US and Cuba through music.
This event will also showcase our amazing local businesses! Cafes, restaurants and other businesses in Longfellow help our community to connect and thrive! Support them at our event and beyond.
More details available here!
This activity is made possible by neighborhood funding from the Longfellow Community Council.
Havana Quartet at the Commons!
Minneapolis Music in the Parks welcomes Havana Quartet to the Commons for a free concert!
String Week in Cuba
Travel to Havana, Cuba with a select group of your American peers and nationally-recognized CAYO teaching artists. Work side-by-side with Cuban students at one of the island’s acclaimed performing arts schools, such as Escuela Nacional de Música and Conservatorio Amadeo Roldán. Students under 18 travel with a parent.
Travel to the Havana Jazz Festival with the Uptown Brass!
The Uptown Brass are all musicians of the Minnesota Orchestra. They have played together for 17 years and have performed together and individually in every US state and throughout Europe, Asia, Australia, South America, and Africa. These 5 brass virtuosos have been members of the Empire Brass, Canadian Brass, Meridian Arts Ensemble, and Dallas Brass. They have performed in major concert venues worldwide and with all of the leading US orchestras including the New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, Boston Symphony, LA Philharmonic, and Chicago Symphony. They are all best friends and got their name from rehearsing and playing neighborhood educational fundraising concerts and parties in Mike's garage in Uptown Minneapolis.
The Uptown Brass presents an eclectic, entertaining, and virtuosic program featuring songs of joy from around the world inspired by dance rhythms of many cultures. Programs will include the music of Bernstein, Piazzolla, and Paquito D’ Rivera as well as African American spirituals.
Havana Quartet at the Capri Theater
Head over to the Capri Theater for a pre-concert performance by the Havana Quartet and stay for an evening of inspiring music by the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra! Friends of CAYO, contact us for a discount code!
Cuban Music Reading Party at MetroNOME!
Join CAYO, the Havana Quartet, and musical friends at MetroNOME Brewery in Lowertown Saint Paul for a Cuban music jam on Tuesday, April 30! Admission is free, but proceeds from beer sales will benefit music education programs in MSP and we'll be accepting donations for CAYO's scholarship fund. So grab a cold one and enjoy some hot Caribbean rhythms!
Música! the movie at the Main! (Copy)
Please join us for local screenings of the exciting new documentary, MÚSICA!, about US-Cuba musical exchange. Currently making the rounds at prestigious film festivals around the country, including our very own Minneapolis Saint Paul International Film Festival, this film touches on the stories of five young Cuban musicians with limited means but limitless talent. You'll see familiar faces on-screen and off including a special post-screening performance and Q&A by the Havana Quartet!
Música! the movie at the Main!
Please join us for local screenings of the exciting new documentary, MÚSICA!, about US-Cuba musical exchange. Currently making the rounds at prestigious film festivals around the country, including our very own Minneapolis Saint Paul International Film Festival, this film touches on the stories of five young Cuban musicians with limited means but limitless talent. You'll see familiar faces on-screen and off including a special post-screening performance and Q&A by the Havana Quartet!
Musical Showcase at MetroNOME Brewery!
Join Cayo for music, Cuban food, and brews in support of music education in the Twin Cities!
Mendelssohn Octet at Macalester College
Join students of the Macalester College Department of Music for an afternoon of chamber music where Cayo Ambassador Program participants will share Mendelssohn’s beloved Octet! This Macalester College event is free and open to the public, and will be live-streamed. Click here for more information.
Kaffe/Cafecito Hour at Danish American Center
If you love coffee, stop by the Danish American Center to learn about the coffee cultures of Denmark and Cuba on Sunday, April 23 between 11:30 am -12:30 pm. Enjoy Danish kringle, homemade Cuban pastelitos and, of course coffee! The ELXUS Quartet will share selections of Cuban music in this beautiful space on the river.
Travel to Cuba with CAYO
People-to-people exchanges bring US-based students, teachers and citizens to Cuba for small-group educational travel experiences. Travel alongside CAYO musicians and mentors and get to know your neighbors on the island!
Give to the Max Eve at MetroNOME Brewery!
It’s the night before Give to the Max Day, and we are raising money to bring supplies, teachers and educational opportunities to students in Havana in 2023! Join us at MetroNOME Brewery in St. Paul, where every pint benefits music education in the Twin Cities. Feel like letting loose? Bring your horn for an open mic/Latin jam session. Or come with your Q&A’s about CAYO’s next people-to-people exchange to Cuba, January 15-21, 2023. Sign-up closes November 21!
Fashion social at Evereve
Styling, sips and snacks at Evereve Roseville on Sunday, September 25 between noon and 4 pm! 15% of all purchases benefit CAYO!
Cuba Arts Delegation
Minnesota Orchestra musicians Julie Gramolini Williams, Milana Reiche, Dave Williamson, and Tim Zavadil, along with CAYO Executive Director Rena Kraut and Harlem Quartet violinist Ilmar Gavilán, will spend a week in Havana, bringing musical supplies, teaching in secondary schools, and collaborating with local Cuban professional musicians.
Cuban Music at MetroNOME!
Enjoy Cuban music and a selection of chamber music favorites from our combined ensemble made up of students from Minnesota and Havana! Help support a local brewery that works to bring quality music education to all across the Twin Cities. Suggested donation will support CAYO programming.
Chamber Residency
CAYO’s May 2022 chamber music residency brings Cuban and Minnesota-based students together in the Twin Cities for a week of outreach, education and performances!
Spring Happy Hour!
Celebrate the first day of spring! Join CAYO for our first post-pandemic gathering at Metronome Brewery, a social mission brewery committed to Nurturing Outstanding Music Education in the Twin Cities Metro!
Enjoy fantastic brews by horn player and brewmaster Kevin Welch in this new brewery across from the St. Paul Saints' CHS Field! Learn how you can join CAYO on our next delegation to Cuba and support our mission of bringing young musicians a wider perspective of the world through education, collaboration and performance.
@MetronomeBrewery