Minnesota Orchestra nixes June tour to Vietnam, South Korea

Osmo Vänskä led the Minnesota Orchestra in Soweto in 2018. Photo by Leila Navidi.

The Minnesota Orchestra has cancelled its tour to Vietnam and South Korea, set for late June, due to coronavirus.

The orchestra's tour had included stops in Seoul, where music director Osmo Vänskä also leads the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, and three cities in Vietnam. The U.S. Embassy had invited the orchestra to perform in Hanoi to celebrate the 25th anniversary of restored diplomatic relations.

"We wish to be exceedingly cautious about the possibility of spreading the virus through our own international travel," said Michelle Miller Burns, the orchestra's president and CEO, in a press release, "while being mindful of the health and safety of South Korean and Vietnamese audiences and the well-being of our musicians and touring staff."

Earlier this month, the orchestra had cancelled or postponed its concerts and all events at Orchestra Hall through April.

"We need to focus all our efforts now on re-establishing performances in Minnesota," Burns said.

Other orchestras across the world have halted touring plans as coronavirus has spread. The Boston Symphony Orchestra, for example, cancelled its four-city Asia tour in February.