Melissa Slachetka

Orchestra Hall was packed for the February 13 Valentine's Day celebration performed by jazz vocalist/guitarist John Pizzarelli and his trio in collaboration with the Minnesota Orchestra. There was a lot of red in the audience and a few smooches between elegantly dressed dates. The Valentine's show featured pop and jazz songs with full orchestra accompaniment. Conductor Courtney Lewis kept pace with the upbeat stylings of Pizzarelli and provided a perfect instrumental backdrop to the performance.

Spending time with family and remembering loved ones is what the holidays are all about, but for some it's a little harder than for others. Beloved on the Earth is an anthology of poems that can ease this seasonal distress.

The Ordway is a classically beautiful place to see a show and Yasmin Levy is a passionate beauty with a classically trained voice: the two are a perfect fit. Levy is an Israeli singer who enchants the audience with songs in Spanish, Arabic, and the dying language Ladino. Her mission is to spread this language through her songs to aid in its survival. The artist explained at the concert that fewer than 150,000 people speak Ladino worldwide. With the help of Levy's poignant singing, this language may be around a lot longer.