Review: Twin Cities Trumpet Ensemble celebrates anniversary at Como pavilion

posted in: All news | 0

A tempest of trumpets took over the Como Lakeside Pavilion on Monday, sharing a repertory ranging from tunes written to be performed in a cathedral during the Renaissance to Wagner as well as Disney favorites. The Twin Cities Trumpet Ensemble is celebrating its 10-year anniversary, having started with just a handful of musicians—including conductor and trumpet player James Olcott, a retired professor who spent 35 years teaching at Miami University in Ohio. The group has since grown to around two dozen players and has featured more than 60 trumpeters over the years.

The evening opened with a striking work written for the group by Paul Murtha, “Signature Fanfare.” The swelling sound, produced by trumpets of all sizes plus timpani, chimes, and other percussion, made for a rather magnificent start.

The group then performed a Sacrae Symphoniae, titled “Canzon per sonar septimi & octavi toni a 12,” by Italian composer and organist Giovanni Gabrieli. The music was originally written to be performed at the San Marco Cathedral, with sound coming from both choir lofts and from a third grouping of musicians in front of the altar. While Como Lakeside Pavilion may have markedly different acoustics from a cathedral, its architecture does create some echo. In addition, the sound of wind, the occasional airplane and a bird or two flying nearby made for a lively aural landscape accompanying the trumpet music. Olcott’s light and airy transposition of the work captured Gabrieli’s multi-voice structure.

There’s something beautiful about so many musicians who love the trumpet instrument gathering together to play as one ensemble. There may have been a stray note here or there, but the breezy setting and joyful sound made by so many trumpets made any wobbles float by with the breeze.

After the Gabrieli, the group performed Gabriel Fauré’s “Pavane,” also arranged by Olcott. A slinky trumpet solo wove through the piece, gradually joined by glowing harmonies that lifted the ensemble’s sound.

The group gave an impressive performance of its adaptation of a March taken from Richard Wagner’s “Lohengrin,” also transposed by Olcott. With its military beat and rhythm that began slow and moved into a quicker pace, it was a grand and festive number.

The group featured several works from films, beginning with John Williams’ iconic “Star Wars” theme. Williams’ fanfare highlights a variety of brass instruments with trumpets featured prominently, so to have it performed by only trumpets plus percussion made it seem like it was always written that way.

They also performed a medley of Disney films, with music arranged by Michael Serber, and performed two works by 20th-century composer Leroy Anderson, known for his light orchestral works written for the Boston Pops orchestra. Anderson’s “A Trumpeter’s Lullaby” boasted wonderfully mellow solo work, while later in the show the composer’s “Bugler’s Holiday” offered a fast and furious explosion of energy.

One of the evening’s most ambitious selections was “The Great Gate of Kiev” from “Pictures at an Exhibition,” originally a piano suite by Modest Mussorgsky. The ensemble performed Bradley Ulrich’s arrangement, based on Maurice Ravel’s famous orchestration. They handled the piece’s grand cascading melodies handily, even as a gust of wind blew some of their sheet music off their stands.

As an encore, Olcott picked up his own trumpet to play “Hava Nagila,” the well-known Jewish folk tune, with the musicians joining with their instruments and by stamping their feet.

TCTE’s performance at the pavilion was a somewhat shortened version of concerts they performed throughout the year. At the show, they entreated the audience to follow them on social media to learn about upcoming concerts, including their annual performances for the holiday season.

Related Articles


Review: Bassoonist Fei Xie shines in Minnesota Orchestra program also featuring Wynton Marsalis pieces


Review: Opera star + Minnesota Orchestra = mesmerizing


Review: Flute player’s range and skill make for impressive concert with SPCO

Trump’s Labor Department proposes more than 60 rule changes in a push to deregulate workplaces

posted in: All news | 0

By CATHY BUSSEWITZ, Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. Department of Labor is aiming to rewrite or repeal more than 60 “obsolete” workplace regulations, ranging from minimum wage requirements for home health care workers and people with disabilities to standards governing exposure to harmful substances.

If approved, the wide-ranging changes unveiled this month also would affect working conditions at constructions sites and in mines, and limit the government’s ability to penalize employers if workers are injured or killed while engaging in inherently risky activities such as movie stunts or animal training.

The Labor Department says the goal is to reduce costly, burdensome rules imposed under previous administrations, and to deliver on President Donald Trump’s commitment to restore American prosperity through deregulation.

“The Department of Labor is proud to lead the way by eliminating unnecessary regulations that stifle growth and limit opportunity,” Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer said in a statement, which boasted the “most ambitious proposal to slash red tape of any department across the federal government.”

FILE – Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer listens as President Donald Trump speaks with reporters while signing executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House, April 23, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

Critics say the proposals would put workers at greater risk of harm, with women and members of minority groups bearing a disproportionate impact.

“People are at very great risk of dying on the job already,” Rebecca Reindel, the AFL-CIO union’s occupational safety and health director, said. “This is something that is only going to make the problem worse.”

The proposed changes have several stages to get through before they can take effect, including a public comment period for each one.

Here’s a look at some of the rollbacks under consideration:

No minimum wage for home health care workers

Home health care workers help elderly or medically fragile people by preparing meals, administering medications, assisting with toilet use, accompanying clients to doctor appointments and performing other tasks. Under one of the Labor Department’s proposals, an estimated 3.7 million workers employed by home care agencies could be paid below the federal minimum wage — currently $7.25 per hour — and made ineligible for overtime pay if they aren’t covered by corresponding state laws.

The proposed rule would reverse changes made in 2013 under former President Barack Obama and revert to a regulatory framework from 1975. The Labor Department says that by lowering labor and compliance costs, its revisions might expand the home care market and help keep frail individuals in their homes for longer.

FILE – Caregiver Warren Manchess helping Paul Gregoline with his shoes and socks, in Noblesville, Ind., Nov. 27, 2013. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings, File)

Judy Conti, director of government affairs at the National Employment Law Project, said her organization plans to work hard to defeat the proposal. Home health workers are subject to injuries from lifting clients, and “before those (2013) regulations, it was very common for home care workers to work 50, 60 and maybe even more hours a week, without getting any overtime pay,” Conti said.

Others endorse the proposal, including the Independent Women’s Forum, a conservative nonprofit based in Virginia. Women often bear the brunt of family caregiving responsibilities, so making home care more affordable would help women balance work and personal responsibilities, the group’s president, Carrie Lukas, said.

“We’re pleased to see the Trump administration moving forward on rolling back some of what we saw as counterproductive micromanaging of relationships that were making it hard for people to get the care they need,” Lukas said.

Samantha Sanders, director of government affairs and advocacy at the nonprofit Economic Policy Institute, said the repeal would not constitute a win for women.

“Saying we actually don’t think they need those protections would be pretty devastating to a workforce that performs really essential work and is very heavily dominated by women, and women of color in particular,” Sanders said.

Protections for migrant farm workers

Last year, the Labor Department finalized rules that provided protections to migrant farmworkers who held H-2A visas. The current administration says most of those rules placed unnecessary and costly requirements on employers.

Under the new proposal, the Labor Department would rescind a requirement for most employer-provided transportation to have seat belts for those agriculture workers.

The department is also proposing to reverse a 2024 rule that protected migrant farmworkers from retaliation for activities such as filing a complaint, testifying or participating in an investigation, hearing or proceeding.

“There’s a long history of retaliation against workers who speak up against abuses in farm work. And with H-2A it’s even worse because the employer can just not renew your visa,” said Lori Johnson, senior attorney at Farmworker Justice.

Michael Marsh, president and CEO of the National Council of Agricultural Employers, applauded the deregulation efforts, saying farmers were hit with thousands of pages of regulations pertaining to migrant farmworkers in recent years.

“Can you imagine a farmer and his or her spouse trying to navigate 3,000 new pages of regulation in 18 months and then be liable for every one of them?” he asked.

Adequate lighting for construction spaces

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration, part of the Labor Department, wants to rescind a requirement for employers to provide adequate lighting at construction sites, saying the regulation doesn’t substantially reduce a significant risk.

FILE – Construction workers frame up a roof of wood lumber at a new home build, April 1, 2025, in Laveen, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)

OSHA said if employers fail to correct lighting deficiencies at construction worksites, the agency can issue citations under its “general duty clause.” The clause requires employers to provide a place of employment free from recognized hazards which are likely to cause death or serious physical harm.

Worker advocates think getting rid of a specific construction site requirement is a bad idea. “There have been many fatalities where workers fall through a hole in the floor, where there’s not adequate lighting,” Reindel said. “It’s a very obvious thing that employers should address, but unfortunately it’s one of those things where we need a standard, and it’s violated all the time.”

Mine safety

Several proposals could impact safety procedures for mines. For example, employers have to submit plans for ventilation and preventing roof collapses in coal mines for review by the Labor Department’s Mine Safety and Health Administration. Currently, MSHA district managers can require mine operators to take additional steps to improve those plans.

FILE – A miner gathers his thought before taking part in a rescue mission, Jan. 3, 2006, in Tallmansville, W.Va.. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari, Pool, File)

The Labor Department wants to end that authority, saying the current regulations give the district manager the ability to draft and create laws without soliciting comments or action by Congress.

Similarly, the department is proposing to strip district managers of their ability to require changes to mine health and safety training programs.

Limiting OSHA’s reach

The general duty clause allows OSHA to punish employers for unsafe working conditions when there’s no specific standard in place to cover a situation.

Related Articles


The government was once a steady partner for nonprofits. That’s changing


Trump and Philippine leader plan to talk tariffs and China at the White House


US says it’s leaving UN cultural agency UNESCO again, only 2 years after rejoining


Banishing a reporter: Trump escalates battle with Wall Street Journal over Epstein story


Budget office says Trump’s tax law will add $3.4 trillion to deficits, leave 10 million uninsured

An OSHA proposal would exclude the agency from applying the clause to prohibit, restrict or penalize employers for “inherently risky professional activities that are intrinsic to professional, athletic, or entertainment occupations.”

A preliminary analysis identified athletes, actors, dancers, musicians, other entertainers and journalists as among the types of workers the limitation would apply to.

“It is simply not plausible to assert that Congress, when passing the Occupational Safety and Health Act, silently intended to authorize the Department of Labor to eliminate familiar sports and entertainment practices, such as punt returns in the NFL, speeding in NASCAR, or the whale show at SeaWorld,” the proposed rule reads.

Debbie Berkowitz, who served as OSHA chief of staff during the Obama administration, said she thinks limiting the agency’s enforcement authority would be a mistake.

“Once you start taking that threat away, you could return to where they’ll throw safety to the wind, because there are other production pressures they have,” Berkowitz said.

US stocks hang around their records as GM and others show how tariffs are impacting them

posted in: All news | 0

By STAN CHOE, Associated Press Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street is hanging around its records on Tuesday following some mixed profit reports, as General Motors and other big U.S. companies give updates on how much President Donald Trump’s tariffs are hurting or helping them.

The S&P 500 was virtually unchanged in early trading, a day after inching to its latest all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 27 points, or 0.1%, as of 9:35 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was slipping 0.1% after setting its own record.

Related Articles


Justice Department wants to interview Jeffrey Epstein’s former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell


Can you ever expect privacy in public? Coldplay kiss camera saga tells us a lot about the answer


San Francisco to ban homeless people from living in RVs with new parking limit


Today in History: July 22, First solo around-the-world flight


Mountain lion bites 4-year-old on popular national park trail, injuring child

General Motors dropped 5.2% despite reporting a stronger profit for the spring than analysts expected. The automaker said it’s still expecting a $4 billion to $5 billion hit to its results over 2025 because of tariffs and that it hopes to mitigate 30% of that. GM also said it will feel more pain because of tariffs in the current quarter than it did during the spring.

That helped to offset big gains for some homebuilders after they reported stronger profits for the spring than Wall Street had forecast. D.R. Horton rallied 10.2%, and PulteGroup rose 7.7%. That was even as both companies said customers are continuing to deal with challenging conditions, including higher mortgage rates and an uncertain economy.

So far, the U.S. economy seems to be powering through all the uncertainty created by Trump’s on-and-off tariffs. Many of Trump’s stiff proposed taxes on imports are currently on pause, and the next big deadline is Aug. 1. Talks are underway with other countries on possible trade deals that could lower the proposed tariffs before they kick in.

But companies are already feeling effects. Genuine Parts, the Atlanta-based company that sells auto and industrial replacement parts around the world, trimmed its profit forecast for the full year in order to incorporate “all U.S. tariffs currently in effect,” along with its updated expectations for business conditions in the second half of the year.

Its stock rose 2.5% after it reported a stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected.

Coca-Cola fell 1.6% even though it likewise delivered a stronger profit than forecast. Its revenue for the quarter only edged past analysts’ expectations, and it said that higher prices that it charged helped offset sales of fewer cases during the spring.

In the bond market, Treasury yields held relatively steady as traders continue to expect the Federal Reserve to wait until September at the earliest to resume cutting interest rates.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell has been insisting he wants to see more data about how Trump’s tariffs are affecting inflation and the economy before the Fed makes its next move. That’s despite often angry criticism from Trump, who has been lobbying for more cuts to rates to happen sooner.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury eased to 4.36% from 4.38% late Monday.

In stock markets abroad, Japan’s Nikkei 225 initially jumped after reopening from a holiday on Monday but then fell back to a modest loss of 0.1%.

In Asian trading, Japan’s benchmark surged and then fell back as it reopened from a holiday Monday following the ruling coalition’s loss of its upper house majority in Sunday’s election. The Nikkei 225 shed 0.1%.

Analysts said the market initially climbed on relief that Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba vowed to stay in office despite a loss for his ruling coalition in an upper-house election Sunday. But the results have only added to political uncertainty and left his government without the heft needed to push through legislation.

A breakthrough in trade talks with the U.S. might win Ishiba a reprieve, but so far there’s been scant sign of progress in negotiating away the threat of higher tariffs on Japan’s exports to the U.S. beginning Aug. 1.

Indexes were mixed elsewhere in Asia and dipped across much of Europe.

AP Business Writers Matt Ott and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed.

Coca-Cola confirms a cane-sugar version of its trademark cola is coming to the US this fall

posted in: All news | 0

By DEE-ANN DURBIN, Associated Press Business Writer

Coca-Cola said Tuesday it will add a cane-sugar version of its trademark cola to its U.S. lineup this fall, confirming a recent announcement by President Donald Trump.

Trump said in a social media post last week that Coca-Cola had agreed to use real cane sugar in its flagship product in the U.S. instead of high-fructose corn syrup. Coke didn’t immediately confirm the change, but promised new offerings soon.

On Tuesday, Coca-Cola Chairman and CEO James Quincey said Coke will expand its product range “to reflect consumer interest in differentiated experiences.” Coke currently sells Mexican Coke, which is made with cane sugar, in the U.S.

Bottles of Mexican Coca-Cola are displayed at a grocery store in Mount Prospect, Ill., Thursday, July 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

“We appreciate the president’s enthusiasm for our Coca-Cola brand,” Quincey said in a conference call with investors Tuesday. “This addition is designed to complement our strong core portfolio and offer more choice across occasions and preferences.”

Coca-Cola reported better-than-expected earnings in the second quarter as higher prices offset weaker sales volumes.

Case volumes fell 1% globally and 1% in North America, but Coke said Tuesday that pricing rose 6% for the April-June period.

Global case volumes of Coca-Cola fell 1%, mostly due to weaker sales in Latin America. One bright spot was Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, which saw volumes grow 14%.

Related Articles


Justice Department wants to interview Jeffrey Epstein’s former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell


Can you ever expect privacy in public? Coldplay kiss camera saga tells us a lot about the answer


San Francisco to ban homeless people from living in RVs with new parking limit


Today in History: July 22, First solo around-the-world flight


Mountain lion bites 4-year-old on popular national park trail, injuring child

Traditional Coca-Cola still far outsells the zero-sugar variety, but consumer demand for zero-sugar versions is growing much more quickly.

Global case volumes of juice, dairy and plant-based beverages fell 4%, Coke said. Sports drink case volumes were down 3%, as higher demand in North America was offset by declines in Latin America.

Revenue for the Atlanta company rose 1% to $12.5 billion. Adjusted for one-time items, quarterly revenue was $12.6 billion. That was in line with Wall Street’s forecast, according to analysts polled by FactSet.

Net income jumped 58% to $3.8 billion. Its adjusted net income was 87 cents, which was higher than the 83 cents Wall Street forecast.

Coke said Tuesday it now expects full-year adjusted earnings to grow 8%. At the start of the year, Coke had expected earnings to grow 8% to 10%, but in April it lowered that range to 7% to 9%. Coke earned $2.88 per share in 2024.

Shares of Coca-Cola Co. were down slightly early Tuesday as were all major U.S. markets.