Classical Roots Commemorative Program 2018 by Detroit Symphony Orchestra

P R E S E N T E D

B Y

STANLEY & JUDY FRANKEL

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f e a rs o g 4 0 y ce r t s n i t a r Co n emo Comm sical Roots s a Cl

We appreciate and applaud the Classical Roots Steering Committee’s commitment to the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.

CCongratulations ongratulations on this year’s

successful celebration! ••• JUDY & STANLEY FRANKEL

welcome

It’s our great pleasure to welcome you to the 40th annual Classical Roots Concert. Tonight, we celebrate our aspirations, progress, and vision for a bright future as we focus on supporting our mission to champion African-American classical musicians, composers, and music.

We thank the Classical Roots Committee and Co-Chairs Therese Peace Agboh and Janice Cosby for their leadership, commitment, and engagement. The Classical Roots story is not a DSO story, but rather a story of a community connecting with its orchestra around critical priorities of equity and representation in Detroit. We thank all—including remembering those we’ve lost—who have embraced and supported Classical Roots over four decades: from the visionaries who came together to present the first concert at Bethel AME Church in 1978, to anyone who has ever dedicated passion and purpose to sustain and grow this program, through strong times and lean, in our proud, resilient, and steadfast city. Tonight, we are so pleased to honor the pioneering tenor George Shirley and the visionary academic leader Earl Lewis, both extraordinary educators who have impacted society in countless ways. George Shirley’s artistic accomplishments are unparalleled, from his Metropolitan Opera debut as the company’s first African-American tenor in a leading role to his storied performance career. He made his DSO debut in 1963 at an Emancipation Centennial benefit concert in support of the African Gallery Fund and the United Negro College Fund, and he also notably performed with the DSO at the Kennedy Center in Washington in 1972. Professor Shirley—who importantly received music education in Detroit public schools—has had immeasurable impact as an educator, giving back and inspiring so many young people. Last season, he shared his remarkable story on our Educational Concert Series in a special program entitled “Musical Heroes” for tens of thousands of schoolchildren both here in Orchestra Hall and online through our free Classroom Edition webcasts, including 20,000 Detroit students. As the outgoing President of The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Earl Lewis has reaffirmed that organization’s commitment to the humanities, the arts, and higher education by emphasizing the importance of continuity and change. Under his leadership, the Foundation was a major partner in Detroit’s “Grand Bargain,” helping to heal our city and convey the crucial role that the arts play in a community. Longtime contributors to the DSO, the Foundation announced a new $2.75 million gift last year to support the work of our Social Progress Initiative, which specifically enables us to expand our African-American Fellowship to welcome two fellows performing in the orchestra simultaneously. Though he departs the Foundation this month, we were thrilled to learn that Dr. Lewis will continue to be active in our community as Director of the new Center for Social Solutions at the University of Michigan. Thank you for joining our celebration of these two highly esteemed leaders tonight. We hope you take inspiration from this evening’s program, from the next generation of performers as represented in our soloist Joshua Williams, from our 150-voice choir, and from getting to know this incredible work by a trailblazing African-American woman composer that celebrates the life of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. Respectfully and with gratitude,

ANNE PARSONS President and CEO

MARK DAVIDOFF Board Chairman

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ART IS ENERGY The arts enrich and energize lives and communities unlike any other experience. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s why the DTE Energy Foundation is proud to support this event, which celebrates the role that the arts play in making our community more inviting, interesting and connected. The DTE Energy Foundation is proud to sponsor the Classical Roots Celebration.

from the MAYOR

Dear Friends: Welcome to the 40th Annual Classical Roots concerts honoring tenor George Shirley and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation President Earl Lewis. Tonight we honor the contributions of African-American composers and musicians to the arts and classical music. The Detroit Symphony Orchestra has remained committed to creating opportunities for Black musicians and composers. Through Classical Roots, the African-American Composer Residency, and the African-American Fellowship, Black American artists have had their talents nurtured and celebrated by one of the world’s preeminent symphonies. I’m pleased the Detroit Symphony Orchestra continues to be one of our city’s prized institutions. And though we have much work to do, my hope is that you experience the benefits of our fiscal recovery in your daily life. Whether you’re one of our regional neighbors, a former ex-pat in Midtown, raising a family at 7 Mile and Livernois, or buying your first home in Southwest Detroit, your city services have improved, your recreational options have expanded, and you’ve seen evidence that Detroit continues to strengthen its economic foundation. On behalf of the City of Detroit, congratulations on another successful year. Your commitment to our city is what makes us great. Sincerely,

CLASSICAL ROOTS CELEBRATION

We are honored to support

Classical Roots and the contribution it makes to artistic excellence with the DSOâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s inclusive culture.

Thank you for contributing to the richness of our community. With love,

Lauren and Phillip Fisher

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The annual Classical Roots Celebration increases awareness of the contributions that African-American composers and musicians have made to classical music. Funds raised by the Classical Roots Celebration provide increased opportunities for African-Americans in classical music and support the DSO’s music development programs, including the African-American Orchestra Fellowship and African-American Composer Residency.

A Special Thank You...

In the spirit of the founding of the Classical Roots Celebration, the Detroit Symphony would like to extend its profound thanks to the Global Automotive Alliance, William Pickard, and Chacona W. Baugh for establishing the Arthur L. Johnson Fund for African-American Artists. As its namesake sought during his decades of proud service on the DSO’s Board of Directors, the purpose of the Fund is to generate annual support for the DSO’s efforts to seasonally perform, commission, document, and/or record works by African-American composers and to hire African-American guest artists.

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evening

SCHEDULE

Seated Dinner

PETER D. & JULIE F. CUMMINGS CUBE

Classical Roots Concert ORCHESTRA HALL

Detroit Symphony Orchestra Joseph Young, conductor Joshua Williams, horn Janice Chandler-Eteme, soprano Olivia Johnson, mezzo soprano Issachah Savage, tenor George Shirley, narrator 40th Anniversary Celebration Choir Brazeal Dennard Chorale

Dessert & Dancing Afterglow THE WILLIAM DAVIDSON ATRIUM AND THE PETER D. & JULIE F. CUMMINGS CUBE

DETROIT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

JOHN ROSAMOND JOHNSON (1873 - 1954) LYRICS BY JAMES WELDON JOHNSON (1871 - 1938) Arr. ALVIN PARRIS III

SPIRITUAL Arr. DAMON DANDRIDGE

JOHANN STRAUSS, JR.

Lift Every Voice and Sing

40th Anniversary Celebration Choir

“I Know I've Been Changed”

Brazeal Dennard Chorale Alice McAllister Tillman, soprano Michele Cotton Stanfield, conductor

Overture to Die Fledermaus

(1825 - 1899) WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART (1756 - 1791)

Horn Concerto No. 4 in E-flat major, K. 495 I. Allegro moderato II. Romanza: Andante III. Rondo: Allegro vivace Joshua Williams, horn

INTERMISSION UNDINE SMITH MOORE (1904-1989)

Scenes from the Life of a Martyr

Prologue 1: What is Precious is Never to Forget Prologue 2: O Stay in the Field, Children Prologue 3: Lay Dis Body Down 1. Whenever a People Is Oppressed They Wait in Hope 2. His mother Rocked Him Gently with Love and Freedom on Her Mind 3. Songs at the Cradle, No.1 4. Songs at the Cradle, No.2 5. Songs at the Cradle, No.3 6. Ring Game 7. The Voice of My Beloved 8. Arise My Love, My Fair One 9. Set Me As a Seal on Thy Heart 10. He Hath Anointed Me to Preach the Gospel 11. I Never Felt Such Love in My Soul Before 12. Martin's Song (Lord, Thou Knowest) 13. Martin's Lament 14. Oh God, How Many Are Them That Hate Me! 15. They Tell Me Martin Is Dead 16. Tell All My Father's People Don’t You Grieve for Me (Alleluia) Janice Chandler-Eteme, soprano Olivia Johnson, mezzo soprano Issachah Savage, tenor George Shirley, narrator 40th Anniversary Celebration Choir Please turn to pg. 15 to read complete text for Scenes from the Life of a Martyr

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COMMUNITY ISN’T A SOLO ACT

By supporting the arts, we can all help increase opportunities within our community. We’re proud to support the DSO’s Classical Roots Celebration.

LIFT EVERY VOICE AND SING JOHN ROSAMOND JOHNSON (music) JAMES WELDON JOHNSON (lyrics)

Lift ev’ry voice and sing, ‘Til earth and heaven ring, Ring with the harmonies of Liberty; Let our rejoicing rise High as the listening skies, Let it resound loud as the rolling sea. Sing a song full of the faith that the dark past has taught us, Sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us; Facing the rising sun of our new day begun, Let us march on ‘til victory is won. Stony the road we trod, Bitter the chastening rod, Felt in the days when hope unborn had died; Yet with a steady beat, Have not our weary feet Come to the place for which our fathers sighed? We have come over a way that with tears has been watered, We have come, treading our path through the blood of the slaughtered, Out from the gloomy past, ‘Til now we stand at last Where the white gleam of our bright star is cast. God of our weary years, God of our silent tears, Thou who has brought us thus far on the way; Thou who has by Thy might Led us into the light, Keep us forever in the path, we pray. Lest our feet stray from the places, our God, where we met Thee, Lest, our hearts drunk with the wine of the world, we forget Thee; Shadowed beneath Thy hand, May we forever stand, True to our God, True to our native land.

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PROGRAM NOTES Lift Every Voice and Sing

JOHN ROSAMOND JOHNSON (music) B. August 11, 1873, Jacksonville, FL D. November 11, 1954, New York, NY

JAMES WELDON JOHNSON (lyrics) B. June 17, 1871, Jacksonville, FL D. June 26, 1936, Wiscasset, ME

arr. ALVIN PARRIS III

Voicing the cry for liberation and affirmation for African-American people, Lift Every Voice and Sing was declared “The Negro National Anthem” by the NAACP in 1919.

Scored for mixed choir, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion, and strings. (Approx. 3 minutes)

Lift Every Voice and Sing was first performed, in poetry form, in commemoration of President Lincoln’s birthday on February 12, 1900, by a choir of 500 schoolchildren from the segregated Stanton School in Jacksonville, Florida—hometown of sibling creators John Rosamond and James Weldon Johnson. The poem was set to music five years later. Voicing the cry for liberation and affirmation for African-American people, the song was declared “The Negro National Anthem” by the NAACP in 1919. It gained new popularity as a protest song during the Civil Rights Movement and was entered into the Congressional Record in the 1990s as the official African-American National Hymn. In his second autobiography Along This Way, James Weldon Johnson describes the emotion in writing Lift Every Voice and Sing: “I could not keep back the tears, and made no effort to do so.” He later reported that creating the song’s lyrics was the greatest satisfaction of his life. Lift Every Voice and Sing has been sung at the beginning of every 12

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Classical Roots concert since the event’s inauguration in 1978. Please see the included lyrics and join the 40th Anniversary Celebration Choir in singing this historic work. ——————————

I Know I’ve Been Changed SPIRITUAL

arr. DAMON DANDRIDGE B. April 2, 1977, Detroit, MI

Scored for solo soprano and mixed choir. (Approx. 3 minutes)

A characteristic of AfricanAmerican spirituals is their use of allegory. Using Biblical stories and texts based on Christian themes, enslaved Africans created ciphers to express the cruelty of their treatment, plan attempts of escape, and express hope for freedom and a new life. The Christian themes in “I Know I’ve Been Changed” are baptism and the divine transformation— “newness”—that is believed to occur after being baptized. The soloist first speaks of praying all night and all day for this transformation. Once baptized, while the water makes their body cold, it also makes their soul warm, possibly a reference to the Holy Spirit. And for those friends who did not believe that a new spirit had been obtained, they are invited to go to the Jordan River and experience this transformation for themselves. “Angels in heaven done signed my name” is a metaphor of a person’s name being added to the “Book of Life” by angels, thus reserving a place for the person in Heaven (John 10:20).

This song would have been sung during a church service to promote not only the song’s Biblical themes, but to encourage the enslaved people that, despite their oppressors’ propaganda, there is a heavenly freedom awaiting them. ——————————

Overture to Die Fledermaus JOHANN STRAUSS, JR.

B. October 25, 1825, Neubau, Vienna, Austria D. June 3, 1899, Vienna, Austria Scored for 2 flutes (1 doubling on piccolo), 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, timpani, percussion, and strings. (Approx. 9 minutes)

In the second half of the 18th century, under the reform-minded rule of Emperor Joseph II, many central European composers experimented with adapting the opera form—grand, complex, expensive, and exclusive—to a genre more accessible to middleand working-class audiences. The result was the Singspiel, championed by Mozart, which found a spiritual successor in the French operetta form about a century later. And when this new French style— somewhat analogous to the modern stage musical—became popular, it swung back to Austria and Germany, catching the attention of many composers looking to expand their repertoire. Chief among these was Johann Strauss, Jr., already famous for his waltzes, marches, and polkas. Strauss’s Fledermaus, his second operetta, came in 1874, and it has stood as a classic ever since. The Overture distills some of the sharpest melodies from the operetta, which takes place during a whirlwind evening of deception, partying, and mixed identities. Eisenstein, a wealthy Viennese socialite, sets out to serve a short jail term for a minor offense; not wanting to miss the merriment at a party thrown by Prince Orlovsky, he

takes a detour there before reporting to jail. A chaotic series of farces, mishaps, and miscommunications follow—most notable is Eisenstein’s mistaken flirting with his own wife, who wears a mask and identifies herself as a Hungarian princess to catch her husband cheating. The decades following Strauss have been called the Silver Age of Viennese operetta. Historically, this time coincides with the final years of the Hapsburg Empire, a society on the brink of dissolution. In both plot and music, these works recycle the glories of the past but never quite reach them. The DSO most recently performed the Overture to Strauss’s Die Fledermaus in June 2013, conducted by Thomas Wilkins. The DSO first performed the piece in February 1922, conducted by Victor Kolar. The DSO is proud to perform the Overture to Die Fledermaus at these Classical Roots concerts, as the operetta was the first that Classical Roots Honoree George Shirley sang professionally. ——————————

Horn Concerto No. 4 in E-flat major, K. 495 WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART B. January 27, 1756, Salzburg, Austria D. December 5, 1791, Vienna, Austria

Scored for solo horn, 2 oboes, 2 horns, and strings. (Approx. 16 minutes)

Music for the horn began in the Middle Ages, when different calls would signal various aspects of the hunt. After returning home, aristocrats would have their hornplaying huntsmen play the day’s calls to supper guests as a way of recreating the action. Leopold Mozart wrote a horn concerto and a piece for hunting horns, but it was his gifted son Wolfgang who created the ﬁrst

CLASSICAL ROOTS CELEBRATION

important body of works for this most aristocratic of brass instruments. His four horn concertos are at the core of the solo horn literature and remain hugely popular. Ignaz Joseph Leutgeb was the Austrian horn player for whom Mozart wrote all his four horn concertos and (probably) the Horn Quintet of 1782. By all accounts he was the most prominent horn player in Vienna, and one of the most popular players on any solo instrument. Mozart and Leutgeb had a strange relationship,

Music for the horn began in the Middle Ages, when aristocrats would [return home and] have their horn-playing huntsmen play the day’s calls to supper guests as a way of recreating the action. the horn player becoming the butt of some of the composer’s most insulting humor. Moreover, Leutgeb borrowed money from Mozart on more than one occasion, and these concertos and the quintet may have been written as an act of kindness. Whatever the case, letters from the end of Mozart’s life strongly suggest that Leutgeb didn’t mind the teasing and that the two men had a very good and solid friendship. Mozart’s manuscripts reveal both a mischievous humor and a deep respect for his childhood companion,

PROGRAM NOTES CONT'D whom he described as “unswervingly loyal.” Despite its name, the Horn Concerto No. 4 was likely the third that Mozart wrote. It was composed in 1786, and the score is notated in four different colors of ink, a detail that many interpret as one of Mozart’s jokes—though some more enthusiastic scholars believe that the varying colors represent nuanced notes on dynamics and tone. The concerto is, as one contemporary critic notes, “deliciously operatic.” The instrument becomes a dramatic character, changing moods and energies as the piece unfolds. The first movement contains ear-perking chromatic lines and a cadenza, firing up the piece on a merry note. The second movement is, like its counterparts in the other horn concertos, highly lyrical. And the finale, one of the best-loved passages in the horn repertoire, picks up where the jaunty first movement left off, springing with the excitement and liveliness of the hunt. The DSO most recently performed Mozart’s Horn Concerto No. 4 during the January/February 2017 Mozart Festival, conducted by Music Director Leonard Slatkin and featuring Assistant Principal Horn David Everson. The DSO first performed the piece in February 1982, conducted by Raymond Leppard and featuring horn player Eugene Wade. ——————————

Scenes from the Life of a Martyr UNDINE SMITH MOORE

B. August 25, 1904, Jarratt, VA D. February 6, 1989, Petersberg, VA Scored for soprano, mezzo-soprano, tenor, bass, mixed choir, narrator, 3 flutes (1 doubling on piccolo), 2 oboes, English horn, 2 clarinets, bass clarinet, 2 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion, harp, and strings. (Approx. 40 minutes)

In addition to becoming a prominent African-American woman composer whose catalog numbers some 75 works, Undine Smith Moore led a 45-year teaching career at the

University of Virginia, co-founded the Black Music Center at Virginia State University, and served as senior advisor to the Afro-American Arts Institute at Indiana University. She was honored with several honorary degrees and awards, including the National Association of Negro Musicians Distinguished Achievement Award and the Virginia Governor’s Award in the Arts; in 1977 she was named Music Laureate of Virginia.

“The lives of all martyrs have much in common. This work, written speciﬁcally in memory of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., is therefore intended to evoke memories of others who have been valiant for truth.” UNDINE SMITH MOORE

In her preface to Scenes from the Life of a Martyr, her great oratorio, Moore writes: “The lives of all martyrs have much in common. This work, written speciﬁcally in memory of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., is therefore intended to evoke memories of others who have been valiant for truth.” Moore wrote the texts for 12 of the piece’s 16 movements, and all are rich with Biblical references, nodding to both her Christian upbringing and the connections between martyrs she describes—here, they are Dr. King and Jesus Christ.

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The texts are alternately narrated and sung by the chorus and/or soloists. They trace typical episodes in the life of a prophet, leader, and martyr: birth, childhood, love and marriage, the mission to preach, confrontations of hatred and evil, and death and mourning. The music is emotional, dramatic, and even ﬁlmic, inspiring vivid mental pictures of Dr. King and the struggles of Civil Rights warriors in the 1960s. There is also a diverse palette of styles on display: for example, Nos. 3 – 5 feature a series of bluesy cradle songs for the alto and soprano soloists, while Nos. 7 – 9 highlight soprano and tenor duets on the theme of love and courtship. All of these give way to a powerful conclusion not adequately described by the word “climactic”—the choral commentaries here are nothing short of awesome and sublime. The DSO most recently performed Undine Smith Moore’s Scenes from the Life of a Martyr at the March 2002 Classical Roots Celebration and concert, conducted by Thomas Wilkins and featuring Faye Robinson (soprano), Marietta Simpson (mezzo-soprano), Ray Wade, Jr. (tenor), Theodore Jones (bass), narrator Bronson James, and the Brazeal Dennard Chorale. The DSO ﬁrst performed the work at Classical Roots in February 1983.

SCENES FROM THE LIFE OF A MARTYR (To the memory of Martin Luther King, Jr.) UNDINE SMITH MOORE orch. Donald Rauscher

COMPOSER’S NOTE: The lives of all martyrs have much in common. This work, written speciﬁcally in memory of Martin Luther King, Jr., is, therefore, intended to evoke memories of others who have been Valiant-for-Truth. Portions of the text not written by the composer are chosen from the Bible and a few other poets of different times, races, places. The composer conceives the variety in text and variety in musical styles to be appropriate to the memory of a man of all the people; who had dreams for all men, of all times, everywhere. - Undine Smith Moore

Prologue 1. “What is Precious is Never to Forget” Narrator What is precious is never to forget The names of those who in their lives fought for life, Who wore at their hearts the fire's center. Born of the sun they travelled a short while toward the sun, And left the vivid air signed with their honor. ————— Prologue 2. “O Stay in the Field, Children” Narrator O stay in the field, children Stay in the field. Stay in the field, children Until the war is ended. ————— Prologue 3. “Lay dis Body Down” Narrator I know moon-rise; I know star-rise, Lay dis body down. I walk in de moonlight; I walk in de starlight, To lay dis body down.

I’ll walk in the graveyard; I’ll walk through de graveyard To lay dis body down; I’ll lie in de grave and stretch out my arms; Lay dis body down. I go to the judgement in de evenin’ of de day When I lay dis body down And my soul and your soul will meet in de day When I lay dis body down. ————— I. Whenever a People is Oppressed They Wait in Hope Soprano, Bass, Chorus As it was in the old days, So it is now. Whenever a people is oppressed, They wait in hope. They wait in hope for the one that will lead them. And when a child is born, they look at him and say: “Is this the one?” They look at him and say, they look at him and say: “Is this the one?” “Is this the one?” “Is this the one who will save us?” They know; they know when he has the look. CLASSICAL ROOTS CELEBRATION

They look at him and they say: “This is the one.” They look at him and say, they look at him and say: “This is the one!” “This is the one!” “This is the one that will save us!” They look at him and they say: “Yes! Yes!” “This is the one!” They can tell. ————— II. His Mother Rocked Him Gently with Love and Freedom on Her Mind Orchestra ————— III. Songs at the Cradle, No. 1 Mezzo-soprano His mother rocked him gently and slow. His mother rocked him gently and slow. And every time that cradle rocked She thought, “my child, we love you so.” God made this world for children like you. God made this world for children like you. He made it beautiful, he made it beautiful, He made it beautiful just for you. Someday when time has passed us by, When time has passed us older ones by, You’ll be a strong man, You’ll be a free man, You’ll love the world as we love you.

SCENES FROM THE LIFE OF A MARTYR CONT'D IV. Songs at the Cradle, No. 2 Mezzo-soprano His mother rocked him. Oh, how she rocked him. She rocked him easy, gentle, and slow. And every time that cradle rocked ’Twas love, ’twas love and freedom on her mind. ’Twas love, ’twas love and freedom on her mind. ————— V. Songs at the Cradle, No. 3 Mezzo-soprano Oh she rocked him, oh she rocked him. Love and freedom on her mind, love and freedom on her mind, Love and freedom on her mind, Oh Lord, rest. Lord, rest. ————— VI. Ring Game Narrator, Orchestra O happy childhood In the clay—in the summer dust of Georgia. I have forgotten much, but still remember The poinsettias red, blood red in warm December, What weeks, what months, What wild time of the mild year. We cheated school to have our ﬂing at tops— What days our wine-thrilled bodies pulsed with joy. Feasting upon blackberries in the copse— Oh, some I know! I have embalmed the days, even the sacred moments When we played all innocent of passion, uncorrupt, At noon and evening in the ﬂame-heart’s shade. We were so happy, happy I remember… ————— VII. The Voice of My Beloved Narrator, Soprano

We grew to young manhood, and with his beloved, He lived the young man’s fancy— The time of the signing of birds is come; The ﬂowers appear on the earth; The voice of the turtle is heard in the land. ... The voice of my beloved, Behold, he cometh. Leaping upon the mountain, skipping up on the hills, My beloved is like a roe, or a young hart. Behold, he standeth behind our wall. He looketh in at the window. He showeth himself at the lattice. My beloved spoke. My beloved spoke, And said unto me: ————— VIII. Arise My Love, My Fair One Tenor Arise my love, my fair one, And come away. O, my dove, that art in the clefts of the rocks, In the covert of the steep place. Let me see thy countenance. O, my dove, Let me hear thy voice. For sweet is thy voice, And thy countenance is comely. IX. Set Me as a Seal on Thy Heart Soprano, Tenor Set me as a seal on thy heart. Set me as a seal. Set me as a seal on thy arm, Set me as a seal. For love is strong as death. Moving many waters cannot quench love. Neither can the ﬂoods drown it. ————— X. He Hath Annointed Me to Preach the Gospel Narrator, Tenor, Chorus Like the child, Samuel, of old, This man had grown before the Lord. And now, the time of his anointment is at hand. 16

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... The spirit of the Lord is upon me. Amen. Because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor. Amen. He hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor. He hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted. Amen. To preach deliverance to the captive, And receiving of sight to the blind. Amen. To set at liberty Them that are bruised. ————— XI. I Never Felt Such Love in My Soul Before Chorus I never felt such love in my soul before. I never felt such love in my soul before. All the days of my life ever since I been born. I never felt such love in my soul before. I never heard a man speak like this before. I never heard a man speak like this man before. All the days of my life ever since I been born. ————— XII. Martin’s Song (Lord, Thou Knowest) Narrator, Tenor The people loved him. Crowds followed him. He was clothed with honor. But, far off; far off come rumors of evil; Shadows of trouble. “There ariseth a little cloud Out of the sea, like a man’s hand.” But this man knew in whom he had believed. In quietness and conﬁdence, he spoke to his God. ...

Lord, Thou knowest, Lord, Thou knowest I have tried to do justly And love mercy And walk humbly before our God. Lord, Thou knowest, All the days of my life I have loved Peace and freedom for the bonds-man. I have believed that love never faileth, Never faileth. I have not sought riches, I have not sought honors. Lord, Thou knowest I have not sought fame, But Thou hast blest me to hear The voice of rejoicing and salvation In the tabernacle. Thou hast blest me to see the people Come up after me with great joy! With utmost power, oh, my God. ————— XII. Martin’s Lament Narrator, Tenor This was a good man, always remember. This was a man who Spoke. In the days of moral crisis He made choices. As was said of the prophets of old: “The word of the Lord in his mouth was Truth.” And, thus, after many days, Evil times came upon him. His enemies rose against him. They considered together how they Might destroy him. ... Now, Lord, I have come down from the mountain, Down from the mountaintop. I have journeyed, journeyed From city to city. I have seen the iniquity of the cities of the plain. Evil days are upon me. When I have sought to aid thy suffering servants, Enemies have arisen against me. Oppressors seeks after my soul. Oh God, how many are them that hate me! —————

XIV. Oh God, How Many Are Them That Hate Me! Chorus, Narrator Oh God, how many are them that hate me, Hate me, hate me, Them that hate me, them that hate me, Them that hate me, them that hate me, Them that hate me, them that hate me. ... Strangers are risen up against me. Oppressors seek after my soul. ... Oh God, how many are them that hate me, Hate me, hate me, Them that hate me, them that hate me, Them that hate me, them that hate me, Them that hate me, them that hate me, Them that hate me. ... I have seen violence and strife in the city. ... Oh God, how many are them that hate me, Hate me, hate me, hate me, Oh God, how many are them that hate me, That hate me. ... My heart is sore, pained within me; And the terrors of death are fallen upon me. ... Oh God, how many are them that hate me, That hate me. ————— XV. They Tell Me Martin is Dead Narrator, Chorus Know that love has chosen you To live his crucial purposes. Know that love has chosen you.

————— XVI. Tell All My Father’s People Don’t You Grieve for Me (Alleluia) Chorus Tell all my father’s people Don’t you grieve for me. Don’t you grieve for me. Tell all my father’s people Don’t you grieve for me. He has laid down his burden and gone home, And the angel’s waiting at the door. He has laid down his burden and gone home, And the angel’s waiting at the door. Tell all my father’s people Don’t you grieve for me. Don’t you grieve for me. Tell all my father’s people Don’t you grieve for me.

And will not pamper you nor spare; Demands obedience to all The rigorous laws of risk, Does not pamper, will not spare.

He has laid down his cross and gone home, And the angel’s waiting at the door. He has laid down his cross and gone home, And the angel’s waiting at the door.

Oh, master now love’s instruments— Complex and not for the fearful, Simple and not for the foolish. Master now love’s instruments.

Tell all my father’s people Don’t you grieve for me. Tell all my father’s people Don’t you grieve for me.

I who love you tell you this, Even as the pitiful killer waits for me, I who love you tell you this. ... They tell me Martin is dead;

CLASSICAL ROOTS CELEBRATION

Have they killed him? They say Martin is dead! Have they killed him? Is it true, is it true Martin is dead? They have killed him. Our leader is slain! Our leader is slain! He said death would come. Oh God! He is slain. They have killed him. A shot rang out on the air. How could they! No! How Could they! His blood runs red in the street. They have killed him. Oh! Where shall we go? What shall we do? Martin is dead! Yes! Martin is dead! They killed him, killed him, Killed him, killed him, killed him! Martin is dead!

Alleluia!

Deep

1990

2018 marks the 40th anniversary of the first Classical Roots concert in October 1978. Learn more about the history of the groundbreaking Classical Roots mission by following the timeline below.

1978

OCTOBER 29, 1978: The first Classical Roots concert took place at historic Bethel AME Church. DSO associate conductor Paul Freeman conducted, and the concert featured the “Classical Roots Chorus”—a large ensemble comprising members of the Brazeal Dennard Chorale and several local church choirs.

Three significant milestones in the history of Classical Roots: • Classical Roots was added to the DSO Classical subscription series in the 1989-1990 Season. • The African-American Fellowship was inaugurated, allowing young musicians to get handson experience performing with the orchestra, practicing for auditions, and receiving mentorship from experienced players. • The African-American Composers Forum was inaugurated, raising the prominence of several composers and inspiring the African-American Composer Residency of today.

1988

FEBRUARY 14, 1988: DSO Associate Conductor Leslie B. Dunner conducted Classical Roots for the first time. Dunner went on to conduct Classical Roots every year through 1999.

1981

FEBRUARY 21, 1981: Classical Roots was held at Orchestra Hall for the first time. After outgrowing the packed auditorium of Bethel AME, the third Classical Roots concert took place at Orchestra Hall.

1983

FEBRUARY 6, 1983: At the ﬁfth annual Classical Roots concert, Isaiah Jackson conducted the Midwest premiere of Undine Smith Moore’s oratorio Scenes from the Life of a Martyr. Moore attended the concert and was presented a key to the city by mayor Coleman A. Young.

DETROIT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

2002

2001

FEBRUARY 17, 2001:

MARCH 2, 2002:

The Classical Roots Celebration—a blacktie fundraiser gala and presentation of lifetime achievement award to Classical Roots Honorees— was inaugurated. The ﬁrst Honoree was Pulitzerwinning composer George Walker.

DSO Resident Conductor Thomas Wilkins conducted Classical Roots for the first time. Wilkins went on to conduct Classical Roots every year through 2009, and he was named an Honoree in 2008.

2005

FEBRUARY 19, 2005: The DSO commissioned a new work—Dear Mrs. Parks—for Classical Roots, where it received its world premiere. The piece, fully titled Dear Mrs. Parks: The Road to Musical Inspiration, was composed by Hannibal Lokumbe, who was also the 2005 Honoree.

2009

MARCH 6, 2009: Dear Mrs. Parks was performed again and released on CD, thanks to sponsors and funds raised by The Chair’s Circle of Friends.

2015

MARCH 7, 2015: Joseph Striplin was named a Classical Roots Honoree, alongside Judge Damon Keith. Striplin, violin, remains the ﬁrst and longest-serving African-American musician hired by the DSO. He joined the orchestra in 1972.

2017

MARCH 3, 2017: The DSO commissioned a new work— Detroit 67—for Classical Roots, where it received its world premiere. The piece was composed by Fred A. & Barbara M. Erb Jazz Creative Chair Terence Blanchard in conjunction with the city-wide Detroit 67 project, spearheaded by the Detroit Historical Museum and meant to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Detroit’s summer of civil unrest in 1967.

CLASSICAL ROOTS CELEBRATION

The University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance proudly salutes

GEORGE SHIRLEY,

the Joseph Edgar Maddy Distinguished University Emeritus Professor of Music.

A 2014 National Medal of Arts Recipient, Professor Shirley has shared his expertise, wisdom, and virtuosity with hundreds of SMTD students over the years, shaping their artistic journeys and helping them launch exceptional careers as musicians, academics, and arts administrators. We congratulate Professor Shirley as an honoree of the Detroit Symphony Orchestraâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 40th Annual Classical Roots Celebration, and we thank him for his years of devoted service as a consummate educator, beloved colleague, and inspirational leader.

smtd.umich.edu 20

DETROIT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

umichsmtd

Born April 18, 1934,

George Shirley credits his love of music to his education.

“Anyone with musical chops could read music by sixth grade,” says Shirley, 83. His music teacher at Northern High School exposed him to Handel, Verdi, and other greats of choral music, but also inspired him to become an educator himself. Shirley sang at his church, the historic Ebenezer AME in Detroit, and formed a community band to pay his tuition as a music education student at Wayne State University. Then, in 1955, the U.S. Army formed an ofﬁcial chorus. Some of Shirley’s friends auditioned and were accepted; he thought about auditioning himself, but was hesitant about a three-year Army commitment. “Plus,” he says, “I knew there had never been a black member.” But a year after securing a job at as the ﬁrst black vocal music teacher in a Detroit public school, Shirley was drafted. “The Army was not something I looked forward to,” he says. “We pushed our wedding date up. I was enjoying teaching. But I believe that God works in ways that I can’t understand.” Though his military experience was tedious, Shirley was now in the Army—

so why not try out for the chorus? In 1957, he and a few friends (who were white) drove to Fort Myers, FL to audition. His friends, who went first, were rejected. “I thought, ‘Oh boy, here we go,’” Shirley says. But he was a hit, and Samuel Loboda, who managed the chorus, fought all the way to Pentagon for him. Shirley became the U.S. Army Chorus’s first black member. When he joined the Metropolitan Opera in 1961, Shirley was the first African-American tenor and the second African-American lead to perform with the company. “It was a thrill. I was sort of in a daze. I still find it hard to believe I ended up in this profession,” he says. He performed major roles in more than 20 operas while at The Met, and in 1968 he earned a Grammy Award for his role in Mozart’s

CLASSICAL ROOTS CELEBRATION

Cosi fan tutte. Though he traveled the world as an opera star, Shirley never strayed too far from educating young musicians. He has taught at Staten Island College, the University of Maryland, and the University of Michigan, where he is now the Joseph Edgar Maddy Distinguished University Emeritus Professor of Voice. “I didn’t ask God for good gifts, to make me a teacher or a singer, or for the less good gifts. They were just given. I can only be grateful for what I was given,” he says.

LIE LES

EN GRE

WE SALUTE THE DSO FOR 40 YEARS OF CLASSICAL ROOTS, AND GEORGE SHIRLEY AND EARL LEWIS FOR THEIR LIFETIME AS CHAMPIONS OF DIVERSITY. —————————————

JULIE

AND

PETER

DETROIT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

CUMMINGS

Praised for being a generous mentor and visionary,

Earl Lewis advocates for and creates diversity and equity in the arts, in education, and in life.

He served on the faculty of the University of California at Berkeley (1984-1989) and the University of Michigan (1989-2004), where he also directed the Center for AfroAmerican & African Studies and co-authored Defending Diversity: Afﬁrmative Action at the University of Michigan (2004). “By the time I became dean of the Graduate School in 1998, the school was embroiled in afﬁrmative action cases,” says Lewis, 62, now President of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. He said U-M’s multi-year effort to get people to value diversity resonated and continued as a part of his approach to leadership. And his interest in the arts cultivated further when he became a trustee of the University Musical Society (UMS) and served as provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and a professor of History and African-American Studies at Emory University (2004-2012).

“All the schools and colleges reported to me, including the museum and library. It broadened my perspective and view and connected me to a whole range of players,” says Lewis. “I certainly gained a passion for the ability for the arts to explain the human condition or human treatise in a way that academic text could not. “Bringing classical art forms is critical to the health and vitality of a community,” he continues, arguing that arts institutions are vital places that can bring back struggling or suffering economies. Lewis became a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2008. Mellon, which has supported the DSO for many

CLASSICAL ROOTS CELEBRATION

years, recently pledged $2.75 million toward diversifying audiences and developing the next generation of musicians. Signiﬁcantly, this gift enables the DSO to expand the African-American Fellowship to include two fellows. Though Lewis’s term at Mellon ends March 16, he says his work won’t cease. In addition to returning to the University of Michigan to teach, he plans to establish the Center for Social Solutions, which will focus on diversity and race, water in ﬂoodand drought-prone regions, and the dignity of labor in an automated world. He also hopes to launch a 10-year public humanities project, linked to theaters and museums around the country, on slavery’s continued impact on life. Though he’ll be leaving the big budgets of Mellon behind, Lewis is excited about the future of these ideas: “It’s not just about the resources you have, but whether or not you can make a contribution that’s effective and important.”

LIE LES

EN GRE

CONDUCTOR

Joseph Young is a gifted conductor who currently serves as the Ruth Blaustein Rosenberg Artistic Director of Ensembles at the Peabody Conservatory. He has appeared with the Saint Louis Symphony, Buffalo Philharmonic, New World Symphony Orchestra, Bamberger Symphonkier, Spoleto Festival Orchestra, and others in the United States and Europe. He previously served as Assistant Conductor of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Music Director of the Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra, Resident Conductor of the Phoenix

Symphony, and League of American Orchestras Conducting Fellow with the Buffalo Philharmonic and Baltimore Symphony. Young is a recipient of the 2015 Solti Foundation U.S. Career Assistance Award for young conductors, an award he also won in 2008 and 2014. In 2013, he was a semifinalist in the Gustav Mahler International Conducting Competition, and in 2011 he was one of six conductors featured in the League of American Orchestras’ prestigious Bruno Walter National Conductor Preview.

DETROIT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

Young earned his bachelor’s degree in music education at the University of South Carolina and completed graduate studies with Gustav Meier and Markand Thakar at the Peabody Conservatory in 2009, earning an artist’s diploma in conducting. He has been mentored by many world-renowned conductors including Jorma Panula, Robert Spano, and Marin Alsop, with whom he continues to maintain a close relationship.

ORCHESTRA

LEONARD SLATKIN

Principal Pops Conductor

Music Directorship endowed by the Kresge Foundation

Fred A. and Barbara M. Erb Jazz Creative Director Chair

JEFF TYZIK

TERENCE BLANCHARD

Music Director,

FIRST VIOLIN

Yoonshin Song

CONCERTMASTER Katherine Tuck Chair

Kimberly Kaloyanides Kennedy

ASSOCIATE CONCERTMASTER Alan and Marianne Schwartz and Jean Shapero (Shapero Foundation) Chair

Hai-Xin Wu

ASSISTANT CONCERTMASTER Walker L. Cisler/Detroit Edison Foundation Chair

Jennifer Wey

ASSISTANT CONCERTMASTER

Marguerite Deslippe* Laurie Landers Goldman* Rachel Harding Klaus* Eun Park Lee* Adrienne Rönmark* Laura Soto* Greg Staples* Jiamin Wang* Mingzhao Zhou*

SECOND VIOLIN

Sujin Lim

ACTING PRINCIPAL The Devereaux Family Chair

Adam Stepniewski

ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL

Ron Fischer* Will Haapaniemi*

David and Valerie McCammon Chair

Hae Jeong Heidi Han*

David and Valerie McCammon Chair

Sheryl Hwangbo* Hong-Yi Mo* Alexandros Sakarellos* Joseph Striplin* Marian Tanau* Jing Zhang*

VIOLA

Eric Nowlin

PRINCIPAL Julie and Ed Levy, Jr. Chair

NEEME JÄRVI

Music Director Emeritus

James VanValkenburg

Jeffery Zook David Buck~

ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL

Caroline Coade Hang Su Glenn Mellow Shanda Lowery-Sachs Hart Hollman Han Zheng

Sarah Lewis

Maggie Miller Chair

Monica Fosnaugh

ENGLISH HORN

Open

CLARINET

ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL Dorothy and Herbert Graebner Chair

ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL

HARP

Patricia Masri-Fletcher PRINCIPAL Winifred E. Polk Chair

FLUTE

Sharon Sparrow

ACTING PRINCIPAL Bernard and Eleanor Robertson Chair

Amanda Blaikie

Morton and Brigitte Harris Chair

Hunter Eberly

PRINCIPAL Lee and Floy Barthel Chair

Monica Fosnaugh

Victor and Gale Girolami Chair

ACTING PRINCIPAL

Jack Walters

PVS Chemicals Inc./Jim and Ann Nicholson Chair

E-FLAT CLARINET

TUBA

Dennis Nulty PRINCIPAL

BASS CLARINET

Shannon Orme

PERCUSSION

Barbara Frankel and Ronald Michalak Chair

Joseph Becker

PRINCIPAL Ruth Roby and Alfred R. Glancy III Chair

BASSOON

Robert Williams

Andrés Pichardo-Rosenthal

Victoria King Michael Ke Ma

James Ritchie

PRINCIPAL

ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL William Cody Knicely Chair

ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL

CLASSICAL ROOTS CELEBRATION

ORCHESTRA PERSONNEL MANAGER

Patrick Peterson

ASSOCIATE ORCHESTRA PERSONNEL MANAGER

Matthew Pons

Randall Hawes

Laurence Liberson

Heather Hart Rochon

TROMBONE

BASS TROMBONE

PRINCIPAL Robert B. Semple Chair

PERSONNEL MANAGERS

Steven Kemp

David Binder Randall Hawes

ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL

PRINCIPAL

William Lucas

PRINCIPAL

Shannon Orme Ralph Skiano~

LIBRARIANS

Dennis Rottell

Kenneth Thompkins

Laurence Liberson

ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL

Kevin Good Stephen Anderson

ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL

Andrea Levine†

James Ritchie

Ethan Allen

TRUMPET

Shari and Craig Morgan Chair

PRINCIPAL Richard and Mona Alonzo Chair

Johanna Yarbrough Scott Strong Bryan Kennedy David Everson Mark Abbott^

ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL

Jeremy Epp

Robert Stiles

ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL

Brian Ventura

TIMPANI

Karl Pituch

PRINCIPAL

PRINCIPAL Jack A. and Aviva Robinson Chair

Haden McKay* Úna O’Riordan* Paul Wingert*

Linton Bodwin Stephen Edwards Christopher Hamlen

HORN

Alexander Kinmonth

Joanne Danto and Arnold Weingarden Chair

Stephen Molina

Marcus Schoon

OBOE

Robert Bergman* Jeremy Crosmer* David LeDoux* Peter McCaffrey*

PRINCIPAL Van Dusen Family Chair

CONTRABASSOON

Jeffery Zook

PRINCIPAL James C. Gordon Chair

BASS

African-American Orchestra Fellow

PICCOLO

Wei Yu

Kevin Brown

Marcus Schoon Alexander Davis

PRINCIPAL Women’s Association for the DSO Chair

CELLO

MICHELLE MERRILL

Associate Conductor, Phillip and Lauren Fisher Community Ambassador

STAGE PERSONNEL STAGE MANAGER

DEPARTMENT HEAD DEPARTMENT HEAD

Michael Sarkissian

DEPARTMENT HEAD

——————————— LEGEND * These members may voluntarily revolve seating within the section on a regular basis † substitute musician ^ on sabbatical ~extended leave

Please visit dso.org to view a list of substitute musicians who performed during the Benefit Concert

GUEST ARTISTS Joshua WILLIAMS HORN

Joshua Williams was recently awarded the First Prize in the professional division of the 2017 International Horn Competition of America. As the top prize winner in this premier international competition, Williams has been invited to be a featured artist at the 2018 International Horn Society Summer Symposium. He will also make guest appearances at the 2018 Southeast Horn Workshop, on university campuses, and in concert series across the country. Williams is an active performer in the southeastern United States, making regular appearances as a substitute with the Tuscaloosa Symphony Orchestra, Meridian Symphony Orchestra, and Starkville Symphony. He also maintains a busy schedule as a soloist and chamber musician. A native of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Williams is currently in the final stages of completing his Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the University of Alabama, where his primary teacher is Charles “Skip” Snead. Williams also earned his undergraduate and master’s degrees at Alabama and continues to serve as an educator to other horn students. Williams performs exclusively on an instrument hand crafted by Schmiedhäuser Orchestral Horns. 26

DETROIT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

Janice CHANDLERETEME SOPRANO

Soprano Janice Chandler-Eteme has performed an astonishing range of concert literature with ensembles across the world: Strauss’s Four Last Songs (with symphonies from Baltimore to Utah), Mahler’s second symphony (in San Diego, Cincinnati, Rome, and beyond), Porgy and Bess (at Opera de Lyon and the Dallas Opera), and many others. In 2009 she joined the Detroit Symphony Orchestra for Hannibal Lokumbe’s Dear Mrs. Parks, which was also recorded and released on Naxos with help from the Classical Roots Chair Circle of Friends. Chandler-Eteme first rose to prominence as a favorite of Robert Shaw and has in the years since collaborated with many renowned and respected conductors: Marin Alsop, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Andreas Delfs, Peter Oundjian, Edo de Waart, and more. In addition to Chandler-Eteme’s disc with the DSO, recordings include a solo album titled Devotions and Dvořák’s Te Deum with Zdeněk Mácal and the New Jersey Symphony. She holds degrees from Oakwood College and Indiana University, and has studied with Virginia Zeani, Margaret Harshaw, Ginger Beazley, and Todd Duncan.

Issachah SAVAGE TENOR

Olivia JOHNSON MEZZO SOPRANO

A native of North Carolina, Olivia Johnson recently earned her master’s degree in voice performance at the University of Michigan. She is currently a member of Michigan Opera Theatre’s Touring Ensemble, and last summer won first place in the National Vocal Arts Competition for Emerging Artists sponsored by the National Association of Negro Business and Professional Women’s Clubs, Inc. Johnson’s previous roles include Gertrude in Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette and Dorbella in Cosí fan tutte at the University of Michigan, Marte in La púrpura de la rosa for Le Château de la Voix, and Maurya in Vaughan Williams’ Riders to the Sea with East Carolina Opera Theater. She graduated from East Carolina University in 2014.

Issachah Savage is the winner of the 2014 Seattle International Wagner Competition, earning the main prize, audience favorite prize, orchestra favorite prize, and a special honor by Speight Jenkins. In the 2017-2018 season he will join the roster of the Lyric Opera of Chicago in Die Walküre, sing Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Utah Symphony, perform a solo recital at Pittsburg State University in Kansas, and appear at a special gala performance for the Austin Lyric Opera. A particular champion of Verdi and Wagner, Savage recently appeared with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra for Defiant Requiem: Verdi at Terezín, a multimedia performance of Verdi’s Requiem that tells the stories of prisoners at a Nazi ghetto and concentration camp who performed the piece as an act of resistance. Savage has studied at Morgan State University and The Catholic University of America.

CLASSICAL ROOTS CELEBRATION

George SHIRLEY NARRATOR

For a profile of Classical Roots Honoree George Shirley, please turn to page 21.

WHEN IT COMES TO GIVING, WE DON’T PLAY GAMES.

We salute the

Detroit Symphony Orchestra for touching so many lives in such a positive way

Touching Communities, Touching Lives™

mgmgranddetroit.com

THE 40TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION CHOIR Norah Duncan IV, Chorus Master

The 40th Anniversary Celebration Choir, specially assembled by Norah Duncan IV, Professor and Chair of the Wayne State University Department of Music, comprises members of the Brazeal Dennard Chorale, Detroit Choral Society, and choirs from Wayne State University and the Detroit School of Arts. The group honors the tradition and history of Classical Roots, which was co-founded by Brazeal Dennard and has always featured choral music at its core. The very first Classical Roots concert in 1978 featured a large choir of singers from several area churches with Brazeal Dennard Chorale members as a nucleus, described by the original program book as “representative of the interdenominational and community-wide aspect of the event.” The DSO wishes to thank all those who have sung in the choir at Classical Roots over the past 40 years.

THE BRAZEAL DENNARD CHORALE

Yvonne Turner, Executive Director Alice McAllister Tillman, Artistic Director Michele Cotton Stanfield, Assistant Conductor/ Children’s Chorus Director Krystal Thomas, Accompanist Rosilyn Stearnes-Brown, Librarian

SOPRANO Cheryl Bundy | Ernestine Cox | Samantha Fentress | Nicole Jeffers | Brenda Jett | Cheryl Meadows | Barbara Middleton | Lenora Miller^ | Deborah O’Neal | Staci Reed | Daryl Taylor | Yvonne Turner | LaNyck Washington^ || ALTO Michele Cotton Stanfield | Madonna Draughn | Sadarra Fields^ | Chiquila Francis | Camille Hanna | Jackie Howard | Juanita Jeffries | Carolyn Kent | Rochelle Mitchell | Miriam Smedley | Rosilyn StearnesBrown | Angela Williams || CONTRALTO Marcia Cotton Flint || COUNTERTENOR Deontaye Clay | Brandon Hodges || TENOR Chester Carter | Ryan Fielder | Frederick Smith | Darrius Washington | Luke Windon || BASS Andrew Cox | Geronimo Larson | Michael McFarland | Marvin McKinney | Christopher Peters | Earnest Robinson^ ^ Featured in Undine Smith Moore's Scenes from the Life of a Martyr

MEMBERS OF THE WAYNE STATE UNIVERSITY SYMPHONIC CHORUS

SOPRANO Ashley Baylor | Hannah Bonenfant | Sheren Deza | Chelsea Kornago | Samantha Maroki | Lyric Elliot | Minmei Findlay | Clarissa Kam || ALTO Caolilfhionn Davis | Allyson Elliot | Taylor Vaughan | Kallie Ives | Wilma Stringer | Meara Thierry | Anaijah White | Camiah Tutstone | Daniela Rakhlina-Powsner | Clara Steemer || TENOR Mark Bettendorf | Josh West | Nathaniel Zook | Ben Findlan | Dalas Stewart || BASS Justin Carrier | Samuel Mead | Bassam Romolino | Ryan Rutowski | Paul Wenger | Ben Schornak | Evan Waszkiewicz

DETROIT SCHOOL OF ARTS CONCERT CHOIR

SOPRANO De’Jah Brooks | Micah Brown | Sophia Burton | Samier Gogins | Jamia Henry Alaina Hicks | Katerina Johnson | Micah Jones | Jalia Kent | Keturah Mahli | Tyonna Martin | Arreyon Pettis | Chantell Phillips | Destiny Sanders | Joslyn Tatum | Elizabeth Trice | Katryna Williams | Alaska Wilson || ALTO Paris Boler | Onyx Burk | Artoria Clayton | Jordan Fuller | Mariah Gossett | De’Nysse Green | Ivon Harris | Kiara Jackson | LaTasha Jones | Symon Kilgore | Eboni Marcum | Christen Murry | Braya Ray Eboni Robinson | Renita Smith | Teiana Smith | Kamia Wardlaw-Swafford || TENOR Michael Brown | Dario Carswell | Justin Malone-Horton | Ontrice Ramsey || BASS Eddie Gardner | Ca’mar Leonard | Karmaree Williams

DETROIT CHORAL SOCIETY

SOPRANO Kathleen Augustine | Marion Frances Duncan | Karen Larkins | Betty Newman | Monica Pritchard | Emily Sharp-Gay | Marcelline Shivers | Linda Simpson || ALTO Althea Anderson | Marilyn Duncan-Taylor | Deborah Frontczak | Tierra Jones | Lucy King | Karen Knox | Sharon York || TENOR Donald Gay | George Gullen | Terry Horn | Darryl Mopkins | Wallace Shelton | Gerald Smith | Greg Urbiel || BASS Jack Day | William Keener | Dennis Landis | Fr. Jim Lowe | James Smith | Ray Tejada

Dr. Arianne Abela, Director Gerrie Ball, Accompanist

Cheryl Valentine, Director Joseph Rush, Accompanist

Norah Duncan IV, Conductor Stephanie Yu, Accompanist

CLASSICAL ROOTS CELEBRATION

COMMUNITY OUTREACH

From the start, Classical Roots has been a community effort—an event that both draws support from and gives back to all Detroiters. After the second Classical Roots concert in 1980, the Michigan Chronicle detailed several audience reactions explaining how impactful the thennascent event was: “Bringing the symphony to the people is an excellent idea.” “The DSO brought the classics to many who otherwise have never before attended a community concert.” “By all means let this good thing continue, because it shows today’s youths that our heritage also exists within the framework of the classical background!” “Let this good thing continue”— and so it has. For the past 40 years, the Classical Roots mission has extended beyond the concert hall to include chamber recitals, recording projects, school visits, commissions of new works, orchestra fellows, and

more. If the goal is to both celebrate and enable further opportunities for African-American contributions to classical music, then one must recognize the decades-long Classical Roots story as one of success. The program book for the inaugural Classical Roots concert noted that the event was meant to bring people together, personified by the large choir comprising members of nearly two dozen churches: “The special chorus is representative of the inter-denominational and communitywide aspect of the event.” From that first concert at Bethel AME in October 1978 to a chamber performance at Hartford Memorial Baptist Church just last month, houses of worship have always played a key role in defining and connecting the Classical Roots community. The African-American Composer Residency, an initiative added for the 40th anniversary year and a successor to the African-American Composers Forum of the 1990s and early 2000s, exhibits the remarkable talent of 30

DETROIT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

composer Evan Williams. His work GRIME was performed in a chamber concert at the historic Plymouth United Church of Christ February 26, and two days prior he led a Q&A titled “Exploring Your True Self in Music” with members of the DSO’s Civic Youth Ensembles and their families. Williams, Honoree George Shirley, soprano Olivia Johnson, and AfricanAmerican Orchestra Fellow Alexander Davis, bassoon, also took the Classical Roots mission to the schools on Monday, February 26 and Friday, March 2. They shared their musical stories and inspired students to pursue their dreams—artistic or otherwise—at six schools across Detroit and Harper Woods. Thank you for your support of Classical Roots, which always has been and always will be about much more than one evening of spectacular music.

steering COMMITTEE

Photos courtesy of Stephen Hudson, Candid Shots Photography

Therese Peace Agboh & Janice Cosby CO-C HA I R S

Geaneen Arends, Esq Erica Banks Sherman C. Barton, PAST C HAI R Cornell Batie Chacona W. Baugh, PAST C HAI R Austin Black II Rochelle Black Candice Bowman Nicole Brown Caroline Chambers Garnet Conerway Terrence Curry Jasmin DeForrest Linda Forte Atiim Funches Linda Gillum Laurie Goldman Dr. Herman Gray, PAST C HAI R Antoinette Green Algea Hale, Ph.D., PAST C HAI R

Vera Heidelberg, PA ST C H A I R Stephen Hudson Mable V. Jones, Ph.D. Rita L. Jordan, PA ST C H A I R Sandra O. Kent, PA ST C H A I R Elizabeth Mays Anthony McCree Keith Mobley Janice Morlock Anne Parsons Willis C. Patterson, PA ST C H A I R Michael Perkins Vivian Pickard James Rose Shannon D. Smith Marlo D. Staples Marlowe Stoudamire Michele Tate Jason E. Tinsley, PA ST C H A I R Daniel Washington CLASSICAL ROOTS CELEBRATION

Anne Wilczak Alexis Wiley Dana Williams Geneva Williams Lamar Willis Lauren Winn Laydell Harper Wyatt Ellen Hill Zeringue, PA ST CH A IR DSO STAFF Matthew Carlson Marah Casey Jill Elder Michael Frisco Jacqueline Garner Chris Harrington Chelsea Kotula Erik Rรถnmark Jessica Ruiz Caen Thomason-Redus

AFRICAN-AMERICAN COMPOSER IN RESIDENCE

Composer Evan Williams’ music draws from a wide range of influences, both musical and cultural. His work has been performed in diverse settings across the United States, and internationally in Canada, Italy, and Switzerland. He has received awards and recognition from the National Federation of Music Clubs and ASCAP, and serves on the Fellows Council at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. Williams has been commissioned by the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, the Lawrence University Symphony Orchestra, V3NTO Brass Trio, the Urban Playground Chamber

Orchestra, Patchwork Duo, and others. His work can be found on recordings by The Namaste Ensemble’s “No Borders Quartet” and Levels, a student ensemble at Lawrence University. Also an aspiring conductor, Williams has trained at the Bard Conductors Institute and the Band Conducting and Pedagogy Clinic at the University of Michigan. He has conducted at Lawrence University and the New Music Festival at Bowling Green State University, and has led Café MoMus, members of the International Contemporary Ensemble, and numerous chamber ensembles.

Originally from the Chicago suburbs, Williams studied at Lawrence University, Bowling Green State University, and the CollegeConservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati, where he completed his doctorate degree. His teachers include Michael Fiday, Mara Helmuth, Douglas Knehans, Asha Srinivasan, Joanne Metcalf, Christopher Dietz, Mikel Kuehn, and Marilyn Shrude. Williams currently serves on the faculty at Lawrence University and the Walden School’s Young Musicians Program.

Evan Williams’ 2013 composition GRIME was selected to receive its DSO premiere at the 2018 Classical Roots Chamber Recital on February 26, 2018. 32

DETROIT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

AFRICAN-AMERICAN FELLOW

Alexander Davis has worked and performed with orchestras and series including Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, CityMusic Cleveland, New York Symphonic Ensemble, The Songwriters Orchestra, Rob Kapilow’s “What Makes Music Great,” Bach and Beyond Festival, Western New York Chamber Orchestra, and Western New York Opera. Beginning in September 2016, Davis joined the Detroit Symphony Orchestra as African-American Orchestra Fellow, under the direction of Music Director Leonard Slatkin and Principal Bassoon Robert Williams. As a frequent chamber musician, Davis has performed with Carol Wincenc, Frank Morelli, Stephan Taylor, William Purvis, Artis Quartet, WindScape, Boris Berman, the Imani

Winds, and others. An advocate of cross-cultural influences in music, Davis formed Xelana Duo with saxophonist Ana García Caraballos. They made their explosive debut at the National Opera Center in March 2016. Xelana Duo balances the refinement of classical music with hip-hop, blues, flamenco, bollywood, and rock. Davis won his first concerto competition at age 20, performing Weber’s Andante e Rondo Ungarese with the Fredonia Chamber Orchestra in 2012. That same year, he was chosen to play principal in a Scholarship Benefit concert featuring Yo-Yo Ma. Davis has participated in several summer festivals, including the Banff Music Festival, Norfolk Chamber Music

CLASSICAL ROOTS CELEBRATION

Festival, American Wind Symphony Orchestra, and Imani Winds Chamber Music Institute. Davis holds a bachelor’s degree in music education and performance from SUNY Fredonia, a master’s in performance from Stony Brook University under the Turner Fellowship, and a Performer Certificate in Orchestral Performance at Manhattan School of Music. He has taught and coached music at Stony Brook University, NYSSSA: School for Orchestral Studies, SUNY Fredonia, and the Fredonia Summer Music Festival. In addition to DSO Principal Bassoon Robert Williams, Davis has studied with Abraham Weiss, Laura Koepke, and Frank Morelli.

Thank you