St. Paul Chamber Orchestra musicians, including principal violinist Kyu-Young Kim, at right, perform in June 2021 at Bravo! Vail in Colorado. Instead of employing a conductor, as is traditional at many other orchestras, SPCO is led by playing musicians. (Photo courtesy Tomas Cohen / SPCO)

Kyu-Young Kim, the well-respected artistic director and principal violin of the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, is stepping down as the group’s musical leader, effective when the current season ends in early June. He’ll remain principal violinist.

Kim had held the role since 2016.

“We appreciate his remarkable contributions over the years as Artistic Director and we are grateful he has chosen to remain with the Orchestra,” an SPCO spokesperson said via email. During Kim’s tenure, the SPCO has hired 16 new musicians and nine artistic partners, earned a Grammy Award, performed around the country and commissioned many original orchestral works through its Sandbox Residency.

The musicians’ union, however, painted the decision as less-than-mutual, saying in a statement that Kim’s resignation as artistic director was “the culmination of years of harmful and non-collaborative decisions” by SPCO management.

Specifically, the musicians criticized a move earlier this year to reduce the orchestra’s number of overall concerts performed and eliminate three venues — in Arden Hills, Stillwater and Wayzata — from its Neighborhood Series around the Twin Cities metro area. This will bring the orchestra’s 2024-25 schedule down from over 130 concerts per season to 82.

These decisions “have damaged the legacy and promise of a world-class chamber orchestra,” the musicians’ group wrote.

Kyu-Young Kim holds his violin. Kim took over as artistic director in 2016. (Photo: Courtesy of the SPCO)

Kim could not be reached for comment Saturday. An SPCO spokesperson declined to address the musicians’ specific criticisms as relating to Kim’s departure.

When orchestra leaders announced the schedule reduction in February, the goal was “ensure that the SPCO remains financially healthy and able to provide our community with a world-class orchestra for years to come,” leaders wrote on the orchestra’s website at the time.

As of last year, SPCO ticket revenue was about 30 percent lower than it had been before the pandemic, but the organization continues to be financially viable: The SPCO ended its 2022-23 fiscal year with an operating surplus of about $77,000 and $4.54 million in its “rainy day fund,” making it the 28th out of the past 30 years with a balanced budget.

As for what comes next: “The SPCO will work across the organization to determine the next steps for artistic leadership while remaining committed to the SPCO’s distinctive musician-led artistic model,” the orchestra’s leaders said in a statement.

SPCO musicians’ collective bargaining contract is set to expire this summer.

Whereas many other orchestras are led by a conductor, the SPCO is fairly unique in being creatively driven by a playing member of the orchestra. The group frequently performs with either a guest conductor or none at all.

Kim, who took over as artistic director in January 2016, has been affiliated with the SPCO for several decades. From 2000 to 2005, he served as associate concertmaster; an early review in the Pioneer Press praised him as a “secure and elegant player.”

Then, after several years in New York City with the Daedalus Quartet, which he helped found, he returned to St. Paul as principal second violin in 2011. And in 2013, following the SPCO’s highly publicized six-month contract lockout, he ultimately reversed his acceptance of a role with the New York Philharmonic to stay in St. Paul.

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DENVER — Not only was Timberwolves coach Chris Finch in Denver for Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals on Saturday, but he even did his first media availability of the week ahead of the contest.

Denver’s media setup includes a risen up table that requires two stairs to climb to get to.

So Finch — armed with his straight-leg brace stemming from the surgery Wednesday to repair his torn patellar tendon — climbed on up and sat down.

“That was easy,” he joked.

He said he feels good, all things considered. The coach also said his goal was to be in Denver for the start of the series all along. But he knew that wasn’t a guarantee.

“I was wide open on everything. They told me that they really wanted me to just rest. I’ve been trying to do that,” Finch said. “But I also wanted to be here, and if I could be here in any capacity, that was the most important thing for me. Just was literally going to take it day by day and see how I felt.”

He will start the series on the bench, though he noted the “game interaction” will largely fall on the shoulders of assistant coach Micah Nori.

“I’m not in a position to be able to get up, call timeouts, interact with the players and all that stuff,” Finch said. “But being right there with the coaches and with the players in the huddles, all that stuff will be the same.”

And it’s not unusual for Finch and Nori to be in constant communication throughout a contest, anyway.

“He has the pleasure of sitting next to me for the whole game now,” Finch quipped.

Royce Lewis has torn his anterior cruciate ligament twice. He has endured multiple lengthy rehab processes that have kept him off the field for a year at a time.

This time around, as he works his way back from a severe quadriceps strain, he says it’s his hardest rehab yet. It’s not because he’s in more pain, but rather it’s a much bigger mental challenge for him without a clearly laid out timeline.

“It’s a lot easier on you when you have a carrot dangling over your head like, ‘Hey, OK, I’m at nine months, I’ve only got three more months,’ or something,” Lewis said. “When you have no idea and you feel so good, it’s the most challenging rehab I’ve ever had.”

Lewis, who suffered the injury on Opening Day, has gotten to the point where he isn’t feeling pain. He’s taking 80 swings a day. He’s taking balls at third base.

He has started running, as well, doing so on the warning track. He has been told to go at 70 percent and constantly has to be reminded to slow down.

Last week, he had an ultrasound to see how he was healing. President of baseball operations Derek Falvey said the results of that revealed that Lewis is exactly where they expected him to be at this stage — no faster, no slower.

“I think they say it went just how they expected,” Lewis said. “But for me, I took it like I can’t play (so) it’s bad. You know what I mean? Unless they say I can play, it’s all bad news. So that’s where I’m at.”

Initially, the thought was that Lewis might miss around two months of the season. That timeline seems as if it might be accurate.

Lewis said he feels as if he could go play now, like he could go perform at a high level. And yet, he’s still a ways off from a return.

“I feel like they’re taking the best care of me. But from what I feel, that’s hard for me to understand,” Lewis said. “And that’s where the mental challenge comes in for the rehab. … It’s just a fact of like how I feel and emotionally, that hurts. I love this game. I want to play. I just miss the game.”

Stewart gets MRI

Brock Stewart first felt a pain in his shoulder on April 25, in the second day of back-to-back outings. He noted it and then advised the training staff when the team went to Anaheim, Calif.

At that point, they decided they would take it day by day and see how he was recovering. Stewart pitched two innings after that first initial pain and said he didn’t think about his shoulder at all on the mound.

But finally, on Friday, when he was playing catch before the game, it got to be too much.

The Twins placed him on the injured list with right shoulder tendinitis and sent him for magnetic resonance imaging on Saturday morning. Once they get the results, they will know more about how to proceed with one of their top relievers.

“Just got to think big picture and take care of now, if we can, and not let it get worse to a point where I just basically screw myself for the rest of the season,” Stewart said. “Just as much as my shoulder’s hurting, my brain and heart is hurting, too, just cause I’ve dealt with injuries before and having success that I have had last year and this year, I want to be that guy.”

Topa progressing

Justin Topa is well aware of the fact that his former team, the Seattle Mariners, is coming to town on Monday. It’s starting to seem possible that the first time Topa pitches in a Twins uniform, it will be against his old teammates.

Topa, on the injured list with patellar tendinitis, could be ready to return early next week. He has thrown in three rehab games for the Triple-A Saints, with another outing scheduled for Sunday.

His stuff, he said, is close to where he wants it to be. His velo is down a tick, but he chalked that up to something that comes along with building back up.

In the meantime, he has been enjoying watching his new bullpen mates show they’re among the best bunch in the league.

“Just to be able to, for myself, not really feel rushed back is, there’s guys doing their job and then some,” Topa said. “I was joking I might not even have a job based on how everybody is throwing. It’s been really fun to watch.”

With the way the Twins have been playing, it’s starting to feel like they will inevitably find a way to win.

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA – MAY 04: Members of the Minnesota Twins celebrate their victory against the Boston Red Sox with a group photo for their 12th win in a row after the game at Target Field on May 04, 2024 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Twins defeated the Red Sox 3-1. (Photo by David Berding/Getty Images)

It’s only a question of how.

Saturday, it was with some small ball and solid defense in support of six strong innings from ace Pablo López. Their combined efforts led the Twins to a 3-1 win over the Red Sox on Saturday afternoon at Target Field. It was their 12th straight victory, tying the second-longest winning streak in club history, which was set in 1980.

While much of the winning streak has been supercharged by the Twins’ offense, the last couple days have been marked by strong performances by their starting pitchers.

Though certainly not as dominant as Chris Paddack the night before, López did more than enough on Saturday to hold up his part of the bargain.

A laborious first inning resulted in one run for the Red Sox, but they were unable to get to López again. He went six innings, striking out eight and giving up five hits — but just three in the final five innings of his start.

The Twins trailed just briefly, as Jose Miranda, who was hit by a pitch, came around to score on a Carlos Correa ground ball to third in the bottom of the first inning.

Max Kepler’s second home run of the year sailed out to right-center field in the fourth inning and in the sixth, Willi Castro, who is on a 10-game hitting streak, singled to lead off the inning, advanced on a pair of wild pitches and came around to score on a Correa sacrifice fly to deep center field.

The game got tense in the seventh inning upon Jorge Alcala’s entrance. Alcala was bailed out when the first batter of the inning hit a ball off the wall in right field that Kepler played perfectly, throwing out the running trying to reach second.

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA – MAY 04: Willi Castro #50 of the Minnesota Twins steals third base on a wild pitch against the Boston Red Sox in the sixth inning at Target Field on May 04, 2024 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Twins defeated the Red Sox 3-1. (Photo by David Berding/Getty Images)

But he got into some trouble later in the inning and after Steven Okert entered to finish off the inning, he walked the first batter he faced before getting Red Sox star Rafael Devers to swing at strike three.

After that, Jhoan Duran entered to face the heart of the order in the eighth and Cole Sands tossed a 1-2-3 inning in the ninth, sending the Twins into another celebration.

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