Welcome

Dear Friends,

Welcome to Orchestra Hall! Whether you’re here for a PVS Classical Series or PNC Pops program, a Paradise Jazz concert, or one of our wonderful Civic Youth Ensemble showcases, you join us at a pivotal time in our history.

The DSO and Music Director Jader Bignamini have never sounded better together, and our exciting 2022-2023 season, to be announced in March, will take the DSO to new heights. While the pandemic continues to present challenges for us all, audiences are returning thanks to our additional safety measures both here at The Max and throughout the region for our William Davidson Neighborhood Concerts and other community performances. We understand, now more than ever, that you are choosing to spend your time with us, and we offer our profound thanks. If you’re not ready to come back as often as you’d like, remember that we webcast every one of our classical concerts and select pops shows for free on dso.org and Facebook.

In March, we present two distinct programs for our 44th annual Classical Roots concerts, the first with the fabulous pianist Lara Downes, followed by a return engagement by the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis, who also appear on our Paradise Jazz Series. The Brazeal Dennard Chorale will perform on both programs—as they have done at every Classical Roots concert since 1978. We thank DSO President Emeritus Anne Parsons for her championing of Classical Roots, and we look forward to honoring the late conductor Michael Morgan and our own Dr. Glenda Price.

The mission of Classical Roots to celebrate Black musicians, composers, and their advocates, remains central to all that we do at the DSO, not just for one week but throughout the year. Be sure to join us one week after Classical Roots for Voices of America, featuring pianist Aaron Diehl in his DSO debut plus William Grant Still’s Poem and Joel Thompson’s To Awaken the Sleeper, inspired by James Baldwin’s Notes of a Native Son. These backto-back weeks are bound to be highlights of the year and can’t be missed!

Thank you again for continuing to support your Detroit Symphony Orchestra.

Erik Rönmark President & CEO Mark Davidoff, Chair, Board of Directors