Conductor Sarah Hicks has agreed to extend her contract with the Minnesota Orchestra through 2016-17. Hired as principal conductor for pops and presentations in 2009, Hicks will lead the orchestra's "Live at Orchestra Hall" series.

The program includes popular music, jazz, Broadway tunes, movie socres and world music. This weekend, for example, Hicks conducts the orchestra in two programs – Midtown Men and Pixar in Concert.

Hicks joined the orchestra as assistant conductor in 2006 as the first woman to hold a titled conducting post with the Minnesota Orchestra. She succeeded Doc Severinsen in the pops role.