The Whitney
Welcome Back
�e Whitney is so proud to continue our long-lasting relationship with DSO concert-goers. Celebrating the art & beauty of Detroit is a core value for �e Whitney and we are so pleased to be a part of your memorable experience.
�e Whitney Early Evening Menu is back!
Enjoy a 2 course meal at �e Whitney Wednesday, �ursday and Friday from 5-7 pm, and on Sunday from 4-7 pm!
�e Whitney: Detroit’s first choice for pre-concert dining.
*Not available on Saturdays. Can not be combined with any other discounts or promotions*
Program Notes
Dear Friends,
Welcome to Orchestra Hall! Thank you for joining us to experience together the joy of live music. As we enter the warmer months, we have much to look forward to: From world premieres (check out our cover story on Carlos Simon’s new concerto), to strengthening meaningful partnerships, and celebrating with friends at our summer and autumn galas.
We invite you to join us on June 17 as we honor developer, philanthropist, and DSO Chair Emeritus Peter D. Cummings at our eleventh Heroes Gala and Benefit Concert. The Heroes Gala recognizes the remarkable people who impact the vision, values, and success of the DSO and raises funds to support the DSO’s commitment to transforming the lives of young people through music education. This year’s concert will feature a truly remarkable collaboration as Music Director Jader Bignamini conducts the DSO and two of today’s most acclaimed artists, Michael Feinstein and Jean-Yves Thibaudet, in a two-piano program of 20th century American music.
Peter’s three decades of extraordinary leadership have shaped our organization in profound ways, from his six years as Chair of the Board of Directors to his instrumental support of the expansion of Orchestra Hall’s campus, which transformed the DSO’s home into a 21st century performing arts and music education center, The Max. You may also recognize Peter’s name on one of our venues: the Peter D. and Julie F. Cummings Cube (The Cube), the DSO’s black box performance space that presents curated arts programming across musical and artistic genres. Together with his wife Julie, Peter was instrumental in the development of The Cube, creating a venue that is not only accessible, but also relevant to the many communities that the DSO serves.
On July 22 and 23, we look forward to adding another chapter to our storied history with Interlochen Center for the Arts as we return for our annual residency at the camp. Our partnership with Interlochen means so much to our musicians and staff, many of whom experienced firsthand the impact that it has on young people’s lives. The residency will see DSO musicians leading master classes and rehearsing side by side with young students, plus a DSO concert and performance by Interlochen’s World Youth Symphony Orchestra, both conducted by Jader.
We also anticipate the start of our new 2023-2024 season, which Jader will kick off in style in September with an all-star opening week. First, we welcome renowned violinist Gil Shaham for two concerts on the PVS Classical Series before the week culminates with a one-night-only Opening Night Gala featuring one of the most celebrated artists of our time, cellist Yo-Yo Ma. For more, visit dso.org.
We hope you’ll join us for what are sure to be exceptional, one-of-a-kind moments!
Erik Rönmark David T. Provost President and CEO Chair, Board of DirectorsPrincipal Pops Conductor
FIRST VIOLIN
Robyn Bollinger CONCERTMASTER
Katherine Tuck Chair
TERENCE BLANCHARD
Fred A. Erb Jazz Creative Director Chair
CELLO
Wei Yu PRINCIPAL
Abraham Feder
Assistant Conductor, Phillip & Lauren Fisher Community Ambassador
CLARINET
Ralph Skiano PRINCIPAL
Robert B. Semple Chair
Kimberly Kaloyanides Kennedy
ASSOCIATE CONCERTMASTER
Schwartz and Shapero Family Chair
Hai-Xin Wu
ASSISTANT CONCERTMASTER
Walker L. Cisler/Detroit Edison Foundation Chair
Jennifer Wey Fang
ASSISTANT CONCERTMASTER
Marguerite Deslippe*
Laurie Goldman*
Rachel Harding Klaus*
Eun Park Lee*
Adrienne Rönmark*
Alexandros Sakarellos*
Drs. Doris Tong and Teck Soo Chair
Laura Soto*
Greg Staples*
Jiamin Wang*
Mingzhao Zhou*
SECOND VIOLIN
Adam Stepniewski
ACTING PRINCIPAL
The Devereaux Family Chair
Will Haapaniemi*
David and Valerie McCammon Chairs
Hae Jeong Heidi Han*
David and Valerie McCammon Chairs
Elizabeth Furuta*
Sheryl Hwangbo Yu*
Daniel Kim*
Sujin Lim*
Hong-Yi Mo *
Marian Tanau*
Alexander Volkov*
Jing Zhang*
VIOLA
Eric Nowlin
PRINCIPAL
Julie and Ed Levy, Jr. Chair
James VanValkenburg
ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL
Caroline Coade
Henry and Patricia Nickol Chair
Glenn Mellow
Hang Su
Hart Hollman
Han Zheng
Mike Chen
ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL
Dorothy and Herbert Graebner Chair
Robert Bergman*
Jeremy Crosmer*
Victor and Gale Girolami Cello Chair
David LeDoux*
Peter McCaffrey*
Joanne Deanto and Arnold Weingarden Chair
Una O’Riordan* Mary Ann & Robert Gorlin Chair
Cole Randolph*
BASS
Kevin Brown
PRINCIPAL Van Dusen Family Chair
Stephen Molina
ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL
Christopher Hamlen
Brandon Mason
Nicholas Myers^
HARP OPEN
PRINCIPAL
Winifred E. Polk Chair
FLUTE
Hannah Hammel Maser
PRINCIPAL Alan J. and Sue Kaufman and Family Chair
Amanda Blaikie
Morton and Brigitte Harris Chair
Sharon Sparrow
ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL
Bernard and Eleanor Robertson Chair
Jeffery Zook
Shantanique Moore §
PICCOLO
Jeffery Zook
Shari and Craig Morgan Chair
OBOE
Alexander Kinmonth
PRINCIPAL Jack A. and Aviva Robinson Chair
Sarah Lewis
ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL
Monica Fosnaugh
ENGLISH HORN
Monica Fosnaugh
Jack Walters
PVS Chemicals Inc./ Jim and Ann Nicholson Chair
Shannon Orme
E-FLAT CLARINET OPEN
BASS CLARINET
Shannon Orme
Barbara Frankel and Ronald Michalak Chair
BASSOON
Conrad Cornelison
PRINCIPAL
Byron and Dorothy Gerson Chair
Michael Ke Ma
ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL
Marcus Schoon
Jaquain Sloan §
CONTRABASSOON
Marcus Schoon
HORN
Karl Pituch
PRINCIPAL
Johanna Yarbrough
Scott Strong
Ric and Carola Huttenlocher Chair
David Everson
ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL
Mark Abbott
TRUMPET
Hunter Eberly
PRINCIPAL
Lee and Floy Barthel Chair
Stephen Anderson
ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL
William Lucas
TROMBONE
Kenneth Thompkins
PRINCIPAL
David Binder
Adam Rainey
BASS TROMBONE
Adam Rainey
TUBA
Dennis Nulty
PRINCIPAL
TIMPANI
Jeremy Epp
PRINCIPAL
Richard and Mona Alonzo Chair
James Ritchie
ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL
PERCUSSION
Joseph Becker
PRINCIPAL
Ruth Roby and Alfred R. Glancy III Chair
Andrés Pichardo-Rosenthal
ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL
William Cody Knicely Chair
James Ritchie
LIBRARIANS
Robert Stiles
PRINCIPAL
Ethan Allen
LEGACY CHAIRS
Principal Flute
Women’s Association for the DSO
Principal Cello
James C. Gordon
Personnel Managers
Patrick Peterson
DIRECTOR OF ORCHESTRA PERSONNEL
Benjamin Tisherman
MANAGER OF ORCHESTRA PERSONNEL
Nolan Cardenas
AUDITION AND OPERATIONS
COORDINATOR
Stage Personnel
Dennis Rottell
STAGE MANAGER
Zach Deater
DEPARTMENT HEAD
Issac Eide
DEPARTMENT HEAD
Kurt Henry DEPARTMENT HEAD
Steven Kemp
DEPARTMENT HEAD
Matthew Pons
DEPARTMENT HEAD
Jason Tschantre
DEPARTMENT HEAD
LEGEND
* These members may voluntarily revolve seating within the section on a regular basis
^ Extended Leave
§ African American Orchestra Fellow
Jader Bignamini
MUSIC DIRECTORSHIP ENDOWED BY THE KRESGE FOUNDATION
Jader Bignamini was introduced as the 18th music director of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra in January 2020. The DSO’s 2022-2023 season marks his second full year as DSO Music Director, and his infectious passion and artistic excellence have set the tone for the DSO on stage, establishing a close relationship with the orchestra and creating extraordinary music together. A jazz aficionado, he has immersed himself in Detroit’s rich jazz culture and the influences of American music.
A native of Crema, Italy, Jader studied at the Piacenza Music Conservatory and began his career as a musician (clarinet) with Orchestra Sinfonica La Verdi in Milan, later serving as the group’s resident conductor. Captivated by the symphonies of greats like Mahler and Tchaikovsky, Jader explored their complexity and power, puzzling out the role that each instrument played in creating a larger-than-life sound. When he conducted his first professional concert at the age of 28, it didn’t feel like a departure, but an arrival.
In the years since, Jader has conducted
some of the world’s most acclaimed orchestras and opera companies in venues across the globe including working with Riccardo Chailly on concerts of Mahler’s Eighth Symphony in 2013 and his concert debut at La Scala in 2015 for the opening season of La Verdi Orchestra. Recent highlights include debuts with The Cleveland Orchestra, New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, and Minnesota Orchestra; the Osaka Philharmonic and Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra in Tokyo; Madama Butterfly with the Metropolitan Opera, Vienna State Opera, and Dutch National Opera; Gianni Schicchi with Canadian Opera Company; Rigoletto with Oper Frankfurt; La Traviata with Bayerische Staatsoper; I Puritani in Montpellier for the Festival of Radio France; Traviata in Tokyo directed by Sofia Coppola; Andrea Chénier at New National Theatre in Tokyo; Rossini’s Stabat Mater at Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro, Italy; Rossini’s Petite messe solennelle at Teatro dell’Opera in Rome; return engagements with Oper Frankfurt (La forza del destino) and Santa Fe Opera (La Bohème); Manon Lescaut at the Bolshoi; Traviata, Madama Butterfly, and Turandot at Arena of Verona; Il Trovatore and Aida at Rome’s Teatro dell’Opera; Madama Butterfly, I Puritani, and Manon Lescaut at Teatro Massimo in Palermo; Simon Boccanegra and La Forza del Destino at the Verdi Festival in Parma; and La Bohème, Madama Butterfly, and Elisir d’amore at La Fenice in Venice.
When Jader leads an orchestra in symphonic repertoire, he conducts without a score, preferring to make direct eye contact with the musicians. He conducts from the heart, forging a profound connection with his musicians that shines through both onstage and off. Jader both embodies and exudes the excellence and enthusiasm that has long distinguished the DSO’s artistry.
Jeff Tyzik
PRINCIPAL POPS CONDUCTOR
Grammy Award winner Jeff Tyzik is one of America’s most innovative and sought-after pops conductors. Tyzik is recognized for his brilliant arrangements, original programming, and engaging rapport with audiences of all ages. In addition to his role as Principal Pops Conductor of the DSO, Tyzik holds The Dot and Paul Mason Principal Pops Conductor’s Podium at the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and serves as principal pops conductor of the Oregon Symphony, Florida Orchestra, and Rochester Philharmonic—a post he has held for over 20 seasons.
Frequently invited as a guest conductor, Tyzik has appeared with the Boston Pops, Cincinnati Pops, Milwaukee Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony, Toronto Symphony, Indianapolis Symphony, The Philadelphia Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, and Royal Scottish National Orchestra.
Committed to performing music of all genres, Tyzik has collaborated with such diverse artists as Megan Hilty, Chris Botti, Matthew Morrison, Wynonna Judd, Tony Bennett, Art Garfunkel, Dawn Upshaw, Marilyn Horne, Arturo Sandoval, The Chieftains, Mark O’Connor, Doc Severinsen, and John Pizzarelli. He has created numerous original programs that include the greatest music from jazz and classical to Motown, Broadway, film, dance, Latin, and swing. Tyzik holds Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees from the Eastman School of Music.
Visit jefftyzik.com for more.
Terence Blanchard
FRED A. ERB JAZZ CREATIVE DIRECTOR CHAIRTrumpeter, bandleader, composer, and educator Terence Blanchard has served as the DSO’s Fred A. Erb Jazz Creative Director Chair since 2012. Blanchard has performed and recorded with many of jazz’s superstars and currently leads the celebrated E-Collective. He is also wellknown for his decades-long collaboration with filmmaker Spike Lee, scoring more than 15 of Lee’s movies since the early 1990s. 2018’s BlacKkKlansman earned Blanchard his first Academy Award nomination, with a second Academy Award nomination in 2021 for Da 5 Bloods. In and out of the film world, Blanchard has received 14 Grammy nominations and six wins, as well as nominations for Emmy, Golden Globe, Sierra, and Soul Train Music awards.
Blanchard’s second opera Fire Shut Up in My Bones, based on the memoir of New York Times columnist Charles Blow, opened The Metropolitan Opera’s 20212022 season, making it the first opera by an African American composer to premiere at the Met. With a libretto by Kasi Lemmons, the opera was commissioned by Opera Theatre of Saint Louis where it premiered in 2019. The New York Times called it “inspiring,” “subtly powerful,” and “a bold affecting adaptation of Charles Blow’s work.” Blanchard’s first opera, Champion, also premiered to critical acclaim in 2013 in St. Louis and starred Denyce Graves with a libretto from Pulitzer Prize Winner Michael Cristofer. Visit terenceblanchard.com for more.
DETROIT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA, INC.
LIFETIME DIRECTORS
Samuel Frankel◊
Stanley Frankel
David Handleman, Sr.◊
Dr. Arthur L. Johnson ◊
James B. Nicholson
Anne Parsons, President Emeritus◊
Barbara Van Dusen
Clyde Wu, M.D.◊
CHAIRS EMERITI
Peter D. Cummings
Mark A. Davidoff
Phillip Wm. Fisher
DIRECTORS EMERITI
loy Barthel
Chacona Baugh
Penny B. Blumenstein
Richard A. Brodie
Lois Cohn
Marianne Endicott
Sidney Forbes
Herman H. Frankel
Dr. Gloria Heppner
Ronald Horwitz
Bonnie Larson
Arthur C. Liebler
Harold Kulish
David McCammon
David R. Nelson
William F. Pickard, Ph.D.
Marilyn Pincus
Lloyd E. Reuss
Stanley Frankel
Robert S. Miller
James B. Nicholson
David T. Provost Chair
Erik Rönmark President & CEO
Marjorie S. Saulson
Alan E. Schwartz
Jane Sherman
Arthur A. Weiss
OFFICERS OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Faye Alexander Nelson Vice Chair
Laura Trudeau Treasurer
James G. Vella Secretary
Ralph J. Gerson Officer at Large
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Glenda D. Price, Ph.D. Officer at Large
Shirley Stancato Officer at Large
Directors are responsible for maintaining a culture of accountability, resource development, and strategic thinking. As fiduciaries, Directors oversee the artistic and cultural health and strategic direction of the DSO.
David Assemany, Governing Members Chair
Michael Bickers
Amanda Blaikie, Orchestra Representative
Elena Centeio
Dave Everson, Orchestra Representative
Aaron Frankel
Herman B. Gray, M.D., M.B.A.
Laura HernandezRomine
Rev. Nicholas Hood III
Richard Huttenlocher
Renato Jamett, Trustee Chair
Daniel J. Kaufman
Michael J. Keegan
Xavier Mosquet
David Nicholson
Arthur T. O’Reilly
Stephen Polk
Bernard I. Robertson
Nancy Tellem
David M. Wu, M.D.
Ellen Hill Zeringue
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Renato Jamett, Chair
Trustees are a diverse group of community leaders who infuse creative thinking and innovation into how the DSO strives to achieve both artistic vitality and organizational sustainability.
Renato Jamett, Trustee Chair
Ismael Ahmed
Richard Alonzo
Hadas Bernard
Janice Bernick
Elizabeth Boone
Gwen Bowlby
Marco Bruzzano
Dr. Betty Chu
Margaret Cooney Casey
Karen Cullen
Joanne Danto
Stephen D’Arcy
Maureen T. D’Avanzo
Jasmin DeForrest
Afa Sadykhly Dworkin
James C. Farber
Abe Feder, Musician
Representative
Linda Forte
Carolynn Frankel
Maha Freij
Christa Funk
Robert Gillette
Jody Glancy
Mary Ann Gorlin
Donald Hiruo
Michelle Hodges
Julie Hollinshead
Sam Huszczo
John Jullens
Laurel Kalkanis
Jay Kapadia
David Karp
Joel D. Kellman
John Kim
Jennette Smith Kotila
Leonard LaRocca
William Lentine
Linda Dresner Levy
Florine Mark
Anthony McCree
Kristen McLennan
Tito Melega
Lydia Michael
Lois A. Miller
H. Keith Mobley
Scott Monty
Shari Morgan
Sandy Morrison
Frederick J. Morsches
Jennifer Muse, NextGen Chair
Sean M. Neall
Eric Nemeth
Maury Okun
Jackie Paige
Vivian Pickard
Denise Fair Razo
Gerrit Reepmeyer
Richard Robinson
James Rose, Jr.
Laurie Rosen
Elana Rugh
Marc Schwartz
Carlo Serraiocco
Lois L. Shaevsky
Mary Shafer
Ralph Skiano, Musician Representative
Richard Sonenklar
Rob Tanner
Yoni Torgow
Gwen Weiner
Donnell White
Jennifer Whitteaker
R. Jamison Williams
Margaret E. Winters
MAESTRO CIRCLE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Cecilia Benner
Joanne Danto
Gregory Haynes
Bonnie Larson
Lois Miller
Richard Sonenklar
Janet & Norm Ankers, ChairsWORLD PREMIERE: TROUBLED WATER
The DSO brings Carlos Simon’s new work to life
By Hannah EngwallThis May, under Music Director Jader Bignamini, the DSO will perform the world premiere of Grammynominated composer, curator, and activist Carlos Simon’s new trombone concerto, Troubled Water. Written for DSO Principal Trombone Kenneth Thompkins, the piece is inspired by the many stories, accounts, and experiences of enslaved people seeking freedom at any cost on the Underground Railroad. We sat down with Simon and Thompkins to learn more.
“In January 2020, Ken asked me to write a piece for him about the Underground Railroad,” said Simon. “Michigan was one of the last states for enslaved people to reach before getting to freedom in Canada, and it was important for us to tell this story.”
The work was initially conceived as a small chamber work for piano and trombone, but eventually evolved to a concerto. “I now had
use of the full orchestra,” said Simon. “And not just any orchestra— this is the DSO, so it was really a dream to have 25 minutes to play with this amazing orchestra and to utilize the masterful skills of Ken Thompkins.”
During the creation process, Thompkins would walk along the Detroit Riverwalk in the cold winter months, passing by The Gateway to Freedom, the international memorial to the Underground Railroad by Ed Dwight in Hart Plaza. Thompkins passed the statue many times without paying much attention, until one day pausing for a closer look.
He examined the bronze sculpture and the faces of the freedom seekers awaiting transport to Canada—faces of fear, anguish, and hope—bursting with emotion. He began to think about what it was like in Detroit in the 19th century. What did the river look like? Where did they stay?
“Water is such an important element of the travel of enslaved people to freedom,” said Thompkins. “Most of the major Underground Railroad routes are along the river or waterways. Musically, you think about water and the many types of elements that could be used in a composition. When I thought of a composer and their use of color to bring the orchestra to life to evoke the emotions that someone might feel going through this experience, I thought of Carlos because he’s a very colorful, deep composer.”
As the piece developed, Simon and Thompkins continued to center on the first-hand sensory experience of people seeking freedom. In the dead of night, as they were moving, what did they see? The stars? And what did they hear? We know that Harriet Tubman used the call of an owl to alert refugees and freedom seekers that it was safe to come out
of hiding and continue their journey, a sound which Simon recreates in the orchestral texture of Troubled Water.
“The use of the owl call really sheds light on the ingenuity of these amazing people,” said Simon. “It’s a different aspect that we don’t normally hear in the story of the Underground Railroad.”
“It’s so easy to look at things twodimensionally and not see the full humanity of a group of people,” added Thompkins. “By fleshing out these types of stories and looking at things differently, hopefully we’ll bring more humanity to our culture and have less fear and more empathy.”
“For my take, as a composer, I think it’s important to document the times in which we live,” added Simon. “You can’t really do that without bringing issues to the forefront that happened in history and drawing a correlation. I’ve always wanted to understand how I fit within the historical landscape as a Black man, as a Black composer, and as an American.”
“Performing a commission is completely different than performing a work that’s been done before and written for someone else. Many themes in this music are based on spirituals, so this is music that, in some form, I’ve heard all my life. To be able to bring this to the concert stage as a concerto is great. There’s a lot of personal investment for me to honor this music in a way that’s appropriate and tells a story that is personal and human and relatable to everybody.”
— KENNETH THOMPKINS, DSO Principal Trombone
Simon is the current Composer-inResidence for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and has completed commissions for the likes of the New York and Los Angeles philharmonics. His latest album, Requiem for the Enslaved, is a multi-genre musical tribute to commemorate the stories of the 272 enslaved men, women, and children sold in 1838 by Georgetown University, and was nominated for a 2023 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Classical Composition.
“All music was once new music,” said Simon. “It’s important to understand that for the art form to live on, new works have to be created.”
“People have different stories and the stories that we’re telling each other through music are beyond words,” added Thompkins. “It’s getting into emotions— we can express things we can’t say. Each generation, each group of people, has different things that need to be expressed and keep on evolving. I’m always excited to hear different pieces, new pieces, new
compositions. It’s a great honor to be involved with a commissioning project and I’m very happy to be doing this with Carlos, Jader, and my DSO colleagues, who are extremely sensitive, attentive, and musical,” said Thompkins. “I always compare the DSO to driving a Porsche and a Cadillac at the same time—you have that power and then you have the luxury—it’s just fantastic.”
A DSO member since 1997, Thompkins took part in the DSO’s African American Orchestra Fellowship and was appointed to his role by then-Music Director Neeme Järvi. He has since enjoyed a strong career in Detroit and passes his knowledge to the next generation of musicians through performances and master classes at institutions including the University of Michigan.
Simon is also connected to the U of M as an alum, and in 2021 received the Sphinx Medal of Excellence, the highest honor bestowed by the Detroit-based Sphinx Organization, recognizing
extraordinary classical Black and Latinx musicians.
“It’s sort of a dream come true because this is my first commission with the DSO,” said Simon. “I’m over the moon and cannot wait to hear my music in Orchestra Hall, the same hall where I attended many concerts as a graduate student.” He also looks forward to working with Bignamini for the first time.
“Jader is a fantastic musician, so he has extremely high standards,” said Thompkins. “Whenever you start working on a new piece of music, there will always be something that changes your perspective. Conductors are often the person that’s going to hear it a little bit differently than you as a soloist may hear it, or maybe even Carlos. It’s always interesting to have that dynamic—that third person involved on the podium. That interaction is always very fascinating.”
So as composers, musicians, and conductors may all hear something different, Simon invites audiences to attend the premiere with an open mind and open ears. The piece evokes sounds of natural elements and transportation, while also referencing traditional spirituals like “Steal Away” and “Wade in the Water.”
“I come from a very long line of preachers,” said Simon. “I saw how powerful leadership was in the community through the church and how important it was for people who were looking for a sense of connection and empowerment. That music has the ability to connect people and put a mirror up in front of the audience and reflect something that they may not have seen—and to choose to really be honest. I grew up in church and saw my father preach every Sunday, putting a mirror in front of his congregation and saying, ‘this is what I see, and I think you could be better,’ and that’s something I draw from every day through my music and lifestyle.”
Though Troubled Water includes familiar sounds, Simon hopes that audiences will
also have a new experience with the music. “I like to think of music as going to an art exhibit,” said Simon. “When an artist depicts something from real life, it’s not always a literal representation of the thing—it can be more abstracted. That’s what I envision for this piece. I want to use different tools like the quotes from the spirituals to enhance one’s understanding of the Underground Railroad.”
“In American culture, what people see on TV of African Americans is often negative,” added Thompkins. “If you look at Civil Rights footage that is commonly shown, people are being abused or you might see a lynching or a bombing. I remember when I was a kid and I saw Roots and how traumatic it was seeing people treated like that. Part of this story is to tell a different side of Black people in America. There’s also love, courage, hope, ingenuity, and bravery. This is not only a message of the Underground Railroad, but also a message of hope.”
Friday, May 5, 2023 at 10:45 a.m.
Saturday, May 6, 2023 at 8 p.m.
Sunday, May 7, 2023 at 3 p.m. in Orchestra Hall
JADER BIGNAMINI CONDUCTOR
KENNETH THOMPKINS TROMBONE
JOHANNES BRAHMS Variations on a Theme by Haydn
CA RLOS SIMON Troubled Water for Trombone and Orchestra (World Premiere, commissioned by the DSO)
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 8
Giving Back and Creating Impact: DSO appoints Danny Kaufman as Co-Chair of the DSO Impact Campaign
Danny Kaufman has always been a fan of classical and jazz music. Among his fondest childhood memories are car rides listening to classical music with his father and school trips to the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. He even dabbled with playing the piano and trumpet, but a young Danny’s attention eventually shifted to something that was visibly paramount in their household: philanthropy.
In addition to carrying the family legacy in business as the third-generation President of Burns & Wilcox and Executive Vice President for its parent company, H.W. Kaufman Group, Danny holds a special place in his heart for community-rooted missions, including his and the Kaufman family’s support of the DSO.
Danny’s involvement with the institution has spread across committees, including co-chairing Decanted (the organization’s annual fine wine and music event) with his wife Morgan and serving on the DSO’s Board of Directors and now as Co-Chair of the DSO Impact Campaign. Together with DSO Campaign Chair and Board Chair Emeritus Phillip Wm. Fisher, the pair will ignite a final push to drive the campaign to its goal of $75 million in endowment.
At the top of Danny’s to-do list is building a pipeline of multi-generational support that attracts a broad range of patrons and establishes a flourishing donor base reflective of his generation. He also understands the value of engaging youth through arts and music education. He identifies both Detroit Harmony (with its mission to put an instrument in the hands of every student who wants to learn to play) and the DSO’s William Davidson Neighborhood Concert Series as key areas of amplification to further engage people with the organization. Thanks to Danny’s visionary leadership, the DSO will continue to mobilize communities and create sustainable impact for generations to come.
The vitality and longevity of the DSO depends on the next generation of investors, and we need that. It’s important to get skin in the game. So, I’m going to do all I can to get my generation and future generations involved and engaged in the DSO in all ways.”
—Danny Kaufman, DSO Impact Campaign Co-Chair
The DSO is grateful to the donors who have made extraordinary endowment investments through the DSO Impact Campaign or multi-year, comprehensive gifts to support general operations, capital improvements, or special programs.
FOUNDING FAMILIES
Mr. & Mrs. Lee Barthel
Julie & Peter Cummings APLF
The Davidson-Gerson Family and the William Davidson Foundation
The Richard C. Devereaux Foundation
Erb Family and the Fred A. & Barbara M. Erb Family Foundation
The Fisher Family and the Max M. & Marjorie S. Fisher Foundation
Stanley & Judy Frankel and the Samuel & Jean Frankel Foundation
Danialle & Peter Karmanos, Jr.
Mort & Brigitte Harris Foundation APLF
Linda Dresner & Ed Levy, Jr.APLF
James B. & Ann V. Nicholson and PVS Chemicals, Inc. APLF
Bernard & Eleanor Robertson
Mrs. Richard C. Van Dusen
Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation
Clyde & Helen Wu◊
VISIONARIES
Mr. & Mrs. Richard L. AlonzoAPLF
Penny & Harold BlumensteinAPLF
Mr. & Mrs. Phillip Wm. FisherAPLF,MM
Alan J. & Sue Kaufman and Family MM
Shari & Craig Morgan APLF, MM
Paul & Terese Zlotoff
CHAMPIONS
Mandell & Madeleine Berman Foundation APLF
Mr. & Mrs. Raymond M. Cracchiolo
Joanne Danto & Arnold Weingarden
Vera & Joseph Dresner Foundation
DTE Energy Foundation
Ford Motor Company Fund
Mr. & Mrs. Morton E. Harris ◊
John S. & James L. Knight Foundation
The Kresge Foundation
Mrs. Bonnie Larson APLF
Brian & Lisa Meer
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
Ms. Deborah Miesel
Dr. William F. Pickard
The Polk Family
Stephen M. Ross
Family of Clyde & Helen Wu APLF
LEADERS
Applebaum Family Philanthropy
Charlotte Arkin Estate
Marvin & Betty Danto Family Foundation APLF
Adel & Walter Dissett MM
Herman & Sharon Frankel
Ruth & Al◊ Glancy
Mary Ann & Robert Gorlin APLF
Ronald M. & Carol◊ Horwitz
Richard H. & Carola
Huttenlocher MM
John C. Leyhan Estate
Bud & Nancy Liebler
Richard & Jane Manoogian Foundation
David & Valerie McCammon
Mr. & Mrs. Eugene A. Miller
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BENEFACTORS
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Mr. David Assemany & Mr. Jeffery Zook APLF, MM
W. Harold & Chacona W. Baugh
APLF
Robert & Lucinda Clement
Lois & Avern Cohn MM
Jack, Evelyn, and Richard Cole
Family Foundation
Mary Rita Cuddohy Estate
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DSO Musicians MM
Bette Dyer Estate
Michael & Sally Feder
Marjorie S. Fisher Fund MM
Dr. Marjorie M. Fisher & Mr. Roy Furman
Ms. Mary D. Fisher
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Mr. & Mrs. David Jaffa
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Key:
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A student plays a violin at a Detroit Harmony event, the Allegro Ensemble enjoys a day at The Max, the Bucket Band performs during Black History Month.
Empowering Detroit Students Through Music
By Francesca LeoThe DSO’s Detroit Harmony program is making meaningful strides in its goal to provide music education and put an instrument in the hands of every K-12 student in Detroit who wishes to play. First announced in 2019, the program has since collected thousands of new and used instruments thanks to generous donations from people across Michigan. In December, Detroit Harmony Managing Director Damien Crutcher and his team distributed some of the refurbished instruments to Mr. Denzel Donald’s 5th and 6th grade students at Detroit Prep—joy could be felt throughout the classroom.
In continuing efforts to increase access to music education and performance opportunities for Detroit students, the DSO’s Community & Learning team supports in-school ensembles including the Detroit Pistons Bucket Band and the Vera and Joseph Dresner Foundation Allegro Ensemble. The Allegro Ensemble, directed by Maria Bucco and assisted by Camille Jones, is a tuition-free entry-level violin group providing training, instruments, and educational materials to students at Ellington Conservatory of
Music & Art at Beckham Academy. The Bucket Band, led by Darell “Red” Campbell, is a percussion ensemble that teaches students percussion techniques and musical principles in a fun and creative way—by performing on buckets. In February, the Bucket Band performed for a Detroit Pistons Black History Month event at the Detroit Institute of Arts, and in March during a Pistons game at Little Caesars Arena. In December, the Allegro Ensemble visited Orchestra Hall for an Educational Concert Series performance, which for most students was their first orchestral concert. They enjoyed Box Level seats, met DSO musicians, and held a class in the DSO’s Pincus Music Education Center. On April 30, both ensembles will celebrate a season of hard work by performing alongside other Civic Youth Ensembles students in the CYE Family Experience showcase.
By creating opportunities for meaningful engagement with music, the DSO empowers students to create lasting memories and build a bright musical future.
For students in Detroit Public Schools, the DSO’s Detroit Harmony program and in-school ensembles are making musical wishes come true.
DETROIT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
JADER BIGNAMINI , Music Director
Music Directorship endowed by the Kresge Foundation
TERENCE BLANCHARD
Fred A. Erb Jazz Creative Director Chair
NA’ZIR MCFADDEN
Assistant Conductor, Phillip & Lauren Fisher Community Ambassador
LEONARD SLATKIN
Music Director Laureate
NEEME JÄRVI
Music Director Emeritus
MUSIC OF ELTON JOHN
Saturday, May 13, 2023 at 8 p.m. in Orchestra Hall
NA’ZIR McFADDEN, conductor
MICHAEL CAVANAUGH, piano and vocals
Philadelphia Freedom – I’m Still Standing
Your Song
Take Me to the Pilot Funeral for a Friend – Love Lies Bleeding
Chicago Medley
Honky Cat
Benny and the Jets
Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting
INTERMISSION
Pinball Wizard
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road – Rocket Man Dig In Candle in the Wind
Riffer Madness – Sweet Home Alabama
Piano Man
Tiny Dancer – Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me
All songs composed by Elton John and Bernie Taupin except: “Chicago Medley” by Robert Lamm
“Pinball Wizard” by Peter Townshend
“Riffer Madness” by various composers
“Piano Man” by Billy Joel
PROGRAM AT-A-GLANCE |
Rocket Man in the Motor City
Sir Elton John is a household name, and his music is well-loved by audiences across the globe. He has sold more than 300 million records and is one of the 20th century’s biggest musical icons. John made his first appearance in Detroit at the Eastown Theatre in November of 1970, and has since performed in the city 25 times, with an additional 29 appearances across the state of Michigan. His international acclaim led to the production of a 2019 biographical fantasy musical drama film titled Rocketman, based on the star’s life and career.
In July 2022, John gave his final Detroit concert at Comerica Park on the “Farewell Yellow Brick Road” tour—nearly 52 years after his first performance here. This performance was a sold-out, buzzing extravaganza allowing the legend himself to say goodbye to the end of an era, yet it is clear through this program that his spirit has not left Detroit. In this performance, Michael Cavanaugh and the DSO bring Elton John’s greatest hits to life, allowing his legacy to live on in the Motor City.
PROFILES
NA’ZIR MCFADDEN American conductor
Na’Zir McFadden is the newly appointed Assistant Conductor and Phillip & Lauren Fisher Community Ambassador of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.
In this position, he works closely with Music Director Jader Bignamini and guest conductors on both the PVS Classical Series and William Davidson Neighborhood Concert Series. Additionally, he leads pre-concert lectures at Orchestra Hall, and conducts a variety of programs on the Educational Concert Series, Young People’s Family Concert Series, and PNC Pops Series, as well as DTE Community Concerts.
Also commencing in the 2022-23 season, Na’Zir begins his tenure as Music Director of the Detroit Symphony Youth Orchestra. This season, they will present three programs—exploring the symphonies of Dvořák, Tchaikovsky, and Florence Price.
An advocate for arts education, McFadden strives to provide access to the arts for students in under-served communities. This season, McFadden will make appearances with youth
ensembles in Salt Lake City and with the Philadelphia All-City Music Festival. In the past, he’s worked with youth ensembles in Chicago, New York City, St. Louis, and Los Angeles.
Recent engagements include a recording project with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago as part of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s “Notes for Peace” initiative—which featured Hilary Hahn as guest soloist.
McFadden was the inaugural Apprentice Conductor of the Philadelphia Ballet Orchestra from 2020 to 2022, where he worked with Music Director Beatrice Jona Affron. He also served as the Robert L. Poster Conducting Apprentice of the New York Youth Symphony from 2020 to 2021.
Na’Zir conducted his hometown orchestra—The Philadelphia Orchestra—in their “Pop-Up” series in 2017, where he met Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin, who has been a mentor ever since.
The Philadelphia Inquirer praised his “great stick [baton] technique and energetic presence on the podium” in their review of the concert.
Recent and upcoming engagements include a series of commissions with Orchestra 2001 and appearances with the Utah Symphony and the Philadelphia Ballet.
MICHAEL CAVANAUGH
Michael Cavanaugh is the new voice of the American Rock & Roll Songbook and a charismatic performer and musician made famous for his piano/lead vocals in the Broadway musical Movin’ Out Handpicked by Billy Joel to star in Movin’ Out, Cavanaugh evokes a style rivaling the Piano Man. He appeared in the show for three years with more than 1,200 performances and received multiple accolades. The show culminated in 2003 with both Grammy and Tony Award nominations.
Cavanaugh began playing at age seven, when his parents bought their first piano. Encouraged by family and friends, and inspired by his hero Billy Joel, Cavanaugh formed his first band at age 10 and began playing local functions, fine-tuning the craft that would become his chosen career. His first full-time gig as a musician was an extended engagement in Orlando, Florida, at a piano bar called Blazing Pianos. In January of 1999, Cavanaugh received an offer that would unknowingly change his life: an opportunity to play Las Vegas at the famed New York, New York Hotel and Casino. It was there that Billy Joel spotted Cavanaugh and joined him on stage one fateful night of February 2001. It only took two songs before Billy was convinced that he had found his new Piano Man: Michael Cavanaugh.
Cavanaugh closed up shop at New York, New York and moved to New York City to work alongside Billy Joel and Twyla Tharp to shape the Broadway Musical that would be called Movin’ Out. In the lead role, he received both Tony and Grammy Award-nominations.
With the close of Movin’ Out at the end of 2005, Cavanaugh began touring in his own right, creating a show that reinterprets the modern pop/rock songbook.
Cavanaugh soon became one of the hottest artists in the private events market, and he continues to perform worldwide for company and charity events as well as sporting events including many PGA tour events, the Super Bowl, and the Indy 500. His interpretation of the modern rock/ pop songbook led to Billboard calling him “The New Voice of the American Rock and Roll Songbook,” and he was recognized by Reuters as Entertainer of the Year for the private events market.
It wasn’t long before symphony orchestras discovered Cavanaugh’s talents and audience appeal. He accepted his first orchestral booking, “Michael Cavanaugh–The Songs of Billy Joel and More,” which debuted in April 2008 with the Indianapolis Symphony and continues to tour today. In October 2008, he signed with Warner/ADA to distribute his first album, In Color. In June 2010, Cavanaugh debuted his second symphony show in the Generations of Rock series titled “Michael Cavanaugh: The Songs of Elton John and More” and then debuted his third symphony show, “Singers and Songwriters: the Music of Paul Simon, Neil Diamond and James Taylor,” in 2012. In 2015, he debuted his fourth symphony show: “Rockin’ Christmas with the Pops.” He continues to tour all four symphony productions along with performing with his band in performing arts centers and other public venues.
The Way I Hear It, his second commercial album, was released in April 2017, and it debuted at #17 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart.
In 2020, Cavanaugh reached the POLLSTAR Live75. The top 75 active touring acts in the country.
EVGENY KISSIN
RENÉE FLEMING
A ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME OPPORTUNITY TO HEAR TWO CLASSICAL MUSIC SUPERSTARS
SATURDAY, MAY 27 • 8 PM CHENERY AUDITORIUM, KALAMAZOO
LIVE FROM ORCHESTRA HALL
This season, Live from Orchestra Hall is back with more programming than ever before! View free, live webcasts of PVS Classical Series, Paradise Jazz Series, and Classroom Edition performances, plus Civic Youth Ensembles presentations.
WATCH NOW AT DSO.ORG/LIVE
DETROIT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
JADER BIGNAMINI , Music Director Music Directorship endowed by the Kresge Foundation
TERENCE BLANCHARD
Fred A. Erb Jazz Creative Director Chair
NA’ZIR MCFADDEN
Assistant Conductor, Phillip & Lauren Fisher Community Ambassador
PVS CLASSICAL SERIES
Title Sponsor:
LEILA JOSEFOWICZ & MENDELSSOHN’S SYMPHONY NO. 3
Friday, May 19, 2023 at 8 p.m.
Saturday, May 20, 2023 at 8 p.m. in Orchestra Hall
DANÍEL BJARNASON, conductor LEILA JOSEFOWICZ, violin
Daníel Bjarnason Blow bright (b. 1979)
Helen Grime Concerto for Violin and Orchestra (b. 1981) Leila Josefowicz, violin
Intermission
Felix Mendelssohn Symphony No. 3 in A minor, Op. 56, “Scottish” (1809 - 1847)
I. Andante con moto - Allegro agitato
II. Scherzo assai vivace
III. Adagio cantabile
IV. Allegro guerriero - Finale maestoso
Saturday’s performance will be webcast via our exclusive Live From Orchestra Hall series, presented by Ford Motor Company Fund and made possible by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.
PROGRAM AT-A-GLANCE | LEILA JOSEFOWICZ & MENDELSSOHN’S SYMPHONY NO. 3 Building a Landscape Through Music
When reflecting on the works of famous artists such as Claude Monet and Vincent van Gogh, it is clear that many of their paintings were inspired by the breathtaking landscape and scenery of their travels. The same is true of Felix Mendelssohn’s “Scottish” Symphony, which was influenced by the composer’s travels to the British Isles, Edinburgh, and the Scottish Highlands with his friend Karl Klingemann, the Secretary of the Hanoverian Legislation. In 1829, ahead of their journey together, Mendelssohn wrote to Klingemann: “NEXT AUGUST I AM GOING TO SCOTLAND, with a rake for folk songs [and] an ear for the lovely, fragrant countryside.”
Daníel Bjarnason’s Blow bright was also born from geographical influences and depicts the energy and brightness of the Pacific Ocean. Bjarnason wanted to portray the same powerful and beautiful radiation of its waves through the orchestra. He also reflected on the ocean’s stark contrast to the waters of the Atlantic during his compositional journey. A study in contrasts is what inspired Helen Grime’s Violin Concerto, from its frenzy of wild virtuosity to sensitive, reflective melodies throughout. This concerto paints its own landscape and allows the audience to travel through it wherever they desire to go.
PROGRAM NOTES
Blow bright
Composed 2013 | Premiered December 2013
DANÍEL BJARNASON
B. February 26, 1979, Reykjavík, Iceland
Scored for 3 flutes (2 doubling piccolo), 3 oboes (one doubling English horn), 2 clarinets, bass clarinet, 2 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion, harp, piano, and strings. (Approx. 10 minutes)
Although it is not a large country, Iceland has gained a reputation in the 21st century for producing innovative popular music, and for a striking new generation of classical composers, from which Daníel Bjarnason has emerged as an important figure. After initial studies in piano, composition, and conducting in Reykjavík, he went to the University of Music in Freiburg, Germany to pursue advanced studies in conducting. Although he now has an international career, he remains closely involved in the Icelandic musical scene. His compositions range widely in character, sometimes using tonally-based music, sometimes using a very free approach to tonality, and sometimes using electronic elements in the mix.
The title of Bjarnason’s Blow bright is
based on the final lines of Philip Larkin’s poem “Night-Music.” This piece was first scored for voice and small ensemble and set to Larkin’s entire poem. It has since evolved into the orchestral version we hear today, the expanded instrumentation carrying a similarly haunting atmosphere emulated by the string section throughout the piece. On the comparison of his original version for voice and small ensemble and his orchestral version, Bjarnason states:
“The relationship is actually quite ambiguous. I chose this title because I feel it evokes the right feeling and because that line is beautiful: Blow bright, blow bright; the coal of this unquickened world. I had already set the poem of Larkin, from which that line comes, to music. But this [orchestral] piece doesn’t have much to do with the poem or that setting. I took that line away from it and thought about it separately. I also thought about many other things and this piece is written in a very free flowing and instinctive way. It’s actually very close to being pure abstract music.
But one of the things I thought about was the ocean and, more specifically, seeing the Pacific Ocean for the first time and realizing how incredibly different it was to the Atlantic Ocean, which is what I have known my whole life. The brightness
and energy and the way it radiates is so powerful and beautiful. I tried to put some of that into the music, and Blow bright can also refer to that in some ways.”
This performance marks the DSO premiere of Daníel Bjarnason’s Blow bright.
Violin Concerto
Composed 2016 | Premiered December 2016
HELEN GRIME
B. 1981, York, United Kingdom
Scored for solo violin, 2 flutes (one doubling piccolo), 2 oboes, 2 clarinets (one doubling E-flat clarinet), 2 bassoons (one doubling contrabassoon), 2 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, percussion, harp, piano, and strings. (Approx. 22 minutes)
Themusic of Helen Grime has been performed by leading orchestras around the world including the London Symphony Orchestra, Hallé Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Deutsches SymphonieOrchester Berlin, and the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra. Her music has been championed by conductors including Sir Simon Rattle, Sir Mark Elder, Pierre Boulez, Kent Nagano, Oliver Knussen, George Benjamin, Daniel Harding, Marin Alsop, and Thomas Dausgaard. Her music frequently draws inspiration from related artforms such as painting (Two Eardley Pictures, Three Whistler Miniatures), sculpture (Woven Space), and literature ( A Cold Spring, Near Midnight, Limina), and has won praise in equal measure for the craftsmanship of its construction and the urgency of its telling.
On her Violin Concerto, Grime writes the following: “My Violin Concerto came about after several collaborations with Malin Broman and many years of gestation. We first worked together with Malin’s piano trio (Kungsbacka Trio), but I also
had chance to work with the orchestra in 2010, conducted by Daniel Harding with Malin leading. I was immediately struck by the ferocity, power, and passion in her playing. At turns, she is able to play with a sort of wild abandon, but also with great tenderness, sensitivity, and with many different colors. I knew when we started talking about the piece some years back, that I wanted to highlight and showcase these striking, opposing qualities. Violent, virtuosic music covering the whole range of the violin is contrasted with more delicate and reflective filigree material that features oscillating natural harmonic passages and searching melodies. Towards the beginning of the writing process, I sent Malin various fragments of material and many of these are used in the concerto. These initial sketches actually became the basis for the piece’s central section and everything else sprung from this. In one continuous movement, the piece falls into three main sections but features extensive, dreamlike, interlinking passages that connect them.”
This performance marks the DSO premiere of Helen Grime’s Violin Concerto.
Symphony No. 3 in A minor, Op. 56, “Scottish”
Composed 1829-1842 | Premiered March 1842
FELIX MENDELSSOHN
B. February 3, 1809, Hamburg, Germany
D. November 4, 1847, Leipzig, Germany
Scored for 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, timpani, and strings. (Approx. 43 minutes)
An1829 visit to the British Isles that sparked Felix Mendelssohn to compose his famed “Hebrides” Overture also inspired the beginnings of his A minor Symphony, subtitled as the “Scottish.” Following a series of concerts in London, the 20-yearold composer and a group of friends headed north to Scotland. There, they
visited the abbey of Holyrood and the ruined chapel where Mary Stuart was crowned Queen of Scotland. “Everything is broken and the bright sky shines in,” Mendelssohn wrote to his family. “I believe I found today in that old chapel the beginning of my [Scottish] Symphony.”
However, Mendelssohn’s travels continued to Italy, inspiring the famed “Italian” Symphony, while the misty Scottish landscape faded from his memory. He did not complete the A minor Symphony for another 13 years, and it became the last of his five mature symphonies to be finished—although it is labeled “No. 3” according to the order in which the symphonies were published.
Like the “Italian” Symphony, the “Scottish” is very tightly organized, with all four movements written in sonata form. This includes the scherzo, which has a development section in place of the customary trio at its center. Mendelssohn’s placement of the scherzo as the second
PROFILES
DANÍEL BJARNASON
movement, rather than the third, is also slightly novel, although this order had been tried out by Schumann, Beethoven, and Haydn.
Of greater significance is Mendelssohn’s effort to link all four movements with virtually no break—again building upon experiments by Schumann and Beethoven. Mendelssohn also claimed that in designating the tempo and character of the finale with the term “Allegro guerriero,”— the latter word meaning “warrior” in Italian—he intended to laud the bravery of the Scottish people. Apart from the work’s fame as an orchestral symphony, its final three movements gained new dimension in 1952, as the musical score for George Balanchine’s ballet Scotch Symphony.
The DSO most recently performed Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 3 in May 2021, conducted by Jader Bignamini. The DSO first performed the piece in November 1915, conducted by Weston Gales.
Daníel
Bjarnason is one of Iceland’s foremost musical voices today, increasingly in demand as conductor, composer, and programmer. He is Artist in Collaboration with Iceland Symphony Orchestra, an appointment that follows his tenures as Principal Guest Conductor and Artist in Residence.
As guest conductor, he debuts this season with Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, where his music has been previously performed; returns to Göteborgs Symfoniker; and is a regular presence in Reykjavík with Iceland Symphony Orchestra throughout the season.
Keeping a busy composing schedule alongside his conducting commitments, many of his works are taken up beyond
their premieres and regularly programmed around the world. This season, two new works see world premieres: Concerto for Piano and Orchestra, written for Víkingur Ólafsson, and Concerto for Percussion and Orchestra, written for Martin Grubinger, both presented by the Frankfurt Radio Symphony.
Bjarnason has previously conducted Göteborgs Symfoniker, Gävle Symfoniorkester, Aalborg Symfoniorkester, and Turun Filharmoninen Orkesteri in Europe; while in North America he has appeared with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Toronto Symphony Orchestra; and in Japan with the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra.
Bjarnason maintains a close connection with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, having written From Space I Saw Earth for Gustavo Dudamel, Zubin Mehta, and Esa-Pekka Salonen to conduct together at its Centennial Birthday Celebration Concert
and Gala in 2019. In 2017, they premiered Bjarnason’s Violin Concerto at the Hollywood Bowl, in a co-commission with Iceland Symphony for Pekka Kuusisto. His Violin Concerto became a great success with audiences and orchestras and remains very popular. Kuusisto has performed it with Philharmonia Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, New York Philharmonic, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, National Arts Center Orchestra, Swedish Radio and Finnish Radio symphony orchestras, Göteborgs Symfoniker, MDR Sinfonieorchester, and NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester. Bjarnason conducts the recording of the work with Kuusisto, as part of the final instalment of a three-album recording project with Iceland Symphony for Sono Luminus focusing on Icelandic music and composers.
Since its premiere in 2017, his first opera, Brothers, for the Danish National Opera and directed by Kasper Holten, based on the Susanne Bier film of the same name, was also revived in Reykjavík by The Icelandic Opera in 2018, and opened Budapest’s 2019 Armel Opera Festival.
Bjarnason conducted the world premiere of Jóhann Jóhannsson’s Last and First Men, a multimedia work narrated by Tilda Swinton, at the 2017 Manchester International Festival with BBC Philharmonic, and subsequently at the Barbican with the London Symphony Orchestra the following year.
A recipient of numerous accolades, in 2018 he was awarded the Optimism prize by the President of Iceland, won the 8th Harpa Nordic Film Composers Award for the feature film Under the Tree, and was nominated for the Nordic Council Music Prize. He also won Composer of the Year, Best Composer/Best Composition, and Best Performer at the Icelandic Music Awards in recent years.
Bjarnason studied piano, composition, and conducting in Reykjavík and pursued further studies in orchestral conducting at Hochschule für Musik Freiburg. He
released several albums for the label Bedroom Community. Bjarnason is published by Edition Peters
LEILA JOSEFOWICZ
Leila
Josefowicz’s passionate advocacy of contemporary music for the violin is reflected in her diverse programs and enthusiasm for performing new works.
A favorite of living composers, Josefowicz has premiered many concertos, including those by Colin Matthews, Luca Francesconi, John Adams, and Esa-Pekka Salonen, all written especially for her.
Following summer performances at Sun Valley Music Festival and Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, Josefowicz’s season began with a return to Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra with Susanna Mälkki and the Austrian premiere of Matthias Pintscher’s Assonanza with Vienna Symphony Orchestra at the Wien Modern Festival. The 2022-23 season sees the introduction of Helen Grime’s Violin Concerto into Josefowicz’s repertoire, which she premieres with St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic, Toronto Symphony, and, as part of a special triple bill of three contemporary concerti by Hartmann, Adès, and Grime, with Lahti Symphony Orchestra and Dalia Stasevska. Further orchestral dates include Los Angeles Philharmonic; National Symphony Orchestra Washington; Vancouver, Detroit, and Atlanta symphony orchestras; Konzerthausorchester Berlin, NDR Elbphilharmonie; and Valencia Symphony Orchestra.
Highlights of recent seasons include work with Berliner Philharmoniker; Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich; Royal Concertgebouworkest; Orchestre de la Suisse Romande; Oslo Philharmonic; and Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, The Cleveland, and The Philadelphia orchestras. She has worked with conductors at
the highest level, including Matthias Pintscher, John Storgårds, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Louis Langrée, Hannu Lintu, and John Adams. Josefowicz enjoyed a close working relationship with the late Oliver Knussen, performing various concerti together, including his violin concerto more than 30 times. Other premieres have included John Adams’s Scheherazade.2 with the New York Philharmonic, Luca Francesconi’s Duende – The Dark Notes with the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, and Steven Mackey’s Beautiful Passing with the BBC Philharmonic.
Alongside Novacek, with whom she has enjoyed a close collaboration since 1985, Josefowicz has performed recitals at world-renowned venues including New York’s Zankel Hall and Park Avenue Armory, Washington DC’s Kennedy Center and Library of Congress, and London’s Wigmore Hall, as well as in Reykjavík, Chicago, San Francisco, and Santa Barbara. This season their collaboration continues with recitals in Italy, Spain, Canada, and the US.
Josefowicz has released several recordings, notably for Deutsche Grammophon, Philips/Universal, and Warner Classics, and was featured on Touch Press’s acclaimed iPad app, The Orchestra. Her latest recording, released in 2019, features Bernd Alois Zimmermann’s Violin Concerto with Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Hannu Lintu. She has previously received nominations for Grammy Awards for her recordings of Scheherazade.2 with the St. Louis Symphony conducted by David Robertson, and Esa-Pekka Salonen’s Violin Concerto with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by the composer.
In recognition of her outstanding achievement and excellence in music, she won the 2018 Avery Fisher Prize and was awarded a prestigious MacArthur Fellowship in 2008, joining prominent scientists, writers, and musicians who have made unique contributions to contemporary life.
The 2022–2023 PVS Classical Series closes June 8–10 as the DSO performs a program featuring violinist María Dueñas and a work by Wynton Marsalis. Hear from María, Wynton, and other world-class artists on the DSO’s podcast, Between 2 Stands. Scan the QR code to listen today!
DETROIT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
JADER BIGNAMINI , Music Director
Music Directorship endowed by the Kresge Foundation
TERENCE BLANCHARD
Fred A. Erb Jazz Creative Director Chair
NA’ZIR MCFADDEN
Assistant Conductor, Phillip & Lauren Fisher Community Ambassador
LEONARD SLATKIN
Music Director LaureateRESPECT: A TRIBUTE TO ARETHA FRANKLIN
Friday, May 26, 2023 at 10:45 a.m. & 8 p.m.
Saturday, May 27, 2023 at 8 p.m.
Sunday, May 28, 2023 at 3 p.m. in Orchestra Hall
NA’ZIR MCFADDEN, conductor
TAMIKA LAWRENCE , vocals
SHALEAH ADKISSON, vocals
BLAINE ALDEN KRAUSS, vocals
JOHN BOSWELL , piano
Program to be announced from the stage
NEEME JÄRVI
Music Director Emeritus
PROGRAM AT-A-GLANCE | RESPECT: A TRIBUTE TO ARETHA FRANKLIN
Remembering the Queen of Soul
Aretha Franklin was crowned the “Queen of Soul” by Chicago DJ Pervis Spann in 1967—the same year “Respect” hit the charts, launching her to a status of global renown. Born in Memphis, Tennessee, Franklin moved to Detroit when she was two years old after her father accepted a job as the minister at the New Bethel Baptist Church. She grew up in the church parish house on Boston Boulevard and Oakland Avenue and was exposed at an early age to music legends including Art Tatum and Nat King Cole, who would often come to her house to visit with her father. Her childhood home was in the same neighborhood that produced Motown legends Smokey Robinson, The Four Tops, Diana Ross, and Jackie Wilson.
After her 1967 release of “Respect,” she earned more than 20 Grammy Awards and number one R&B hits, recorded on major labels such as Columbia, Atlantic, and Arista, and received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1994. She also sang at inaugurations of three US presidents and was the first woman to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. At Sir Elton John’s “Farewell Yellow Brick Road” concert at Comerica Park in July 2022, John reminisced about his friendship with Franklin, and recalled how she insisted on performing at his AIDS Foundation fundraiser in a New York church just months before her death. On this performance, he remarked, “for an hour and a quarter, she blew the roof off the cathedral.”
PROFILES
TAMIKA LAWRENCE
Hailing from the Mount Hope neighborhood of the Bronx, Tamika Lawrence began her musical career on Broadway almost 10 years ago (with productions including The Wiz Live! on NBC, Book of Mormon, Come From Away, and RENT ). She then began to lend her alt-rock vocals to movie soundtracks and sang backgrounds for artists including Hugh Jackman and Idina Menzel. A cross between Jack White and Betty Davis, Lawrence began to write her own music and in 2014 released the album Ugly with her band Tamika & The Slay to critical acclaim. In 2018, Lawrence won a Grammy Award for her work on the Dear Evan Hansen album and completed her debut solo EP Two Faced, which was released in 2020. Lawrence has also starred in the Broadway revival of Caroline, or Change for the Roundabout Theatre Company.
SHALEAH ADKISSON
Shaleah Adkisson has performed on Broadway and on tour in Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical and off-Broadway in the revival of the Pulitzer Prize-winning musical Rent. Her many regional theater credits include Jubilee (Arena Stage), Clybourne Park, Avenue Q (Arkansas Repertory Theatre), The Hot Mikado, Beehive: The 60’s Musical, Ain’t Misbehavin’ (Broward Stage Door Theatre), Grease, Nunsense (Murry’s Dinner Playhouse), and Children of Eden (Arkansas Repertory Theatre). Adkisson regularly performs in New York City and on tour with Soul Picnic Productions (Back to the Garden and August 1969: A Tribute to the Women of Woodstock). Visit shaleahadkisson.com for more.
BLAINE ALDEN KRAUSS
JOHN BOSWELL
Blaine
Alden Krauss is currently starring in Hamilton as the standby for both Hamilton and Burr. He was thrilled to be part of the second season of Pose while appearing in The Cher Show on Broadway. Previously, he was seen as Lola in Kinky Boots shortly after making his Broadway debut in the smash hit Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812. He traveled the world as Simba in The Lion King and starred in the Radio City Summer Spectacular. Krauss regularly performs with symphonies around the globe and is a regular performer at Feinstein’s/54 Below. In 2011, his talents led him to be a feature performer in the largest commemoration of 9/11 outside of the US at the Trocadero in Paris, France. In 2010, he was selected to be one of 20 Presidential Scholars in the Arts by the White House and Presidential Scholar Commission. He was selected to be the feature vocalist at the 2010 July 4th Celebration at the US National Archives and was a selected participant at the International Fringe Festival in Edinburgh Scotland. His theatrical credits include Godspell and Spelling Bee at the West Virginia Public Theatre, Evita, Into the Woods, Civil War, Make Me A Song, Chess, and Jean Valjean in CCM’s Les Miserables. Krauss is a proud graduate of the University of Cincinnati CollegeConservatory of Music.
John Boswell has served as musical director for Judy Collins, Andy Williams, Bob Newhart, Faith Prince, Scott Coulter, Maude Maggart, Carmen Cusack, Babbie Green, Jason Graae, and a host of other fine talents. Boswell played the role of Moose in the national tour of Crazy For You and has appeared on The Tonight Show, The Today Show, CBS This Morning, Live with Regis and Kathie Lee, and General Hospital, and was the piano playing hands of Nancy McKeon on the sitcom The Facts of Life
Pianist
Recent symphony concerts include Jerry Herman: The Broadway Legacy Concert, Blockbuster Broadway!, Sheena Easton and Scott Coulter: The Spy Who Loved Me, and Music of the Knights. Boswell has sung in the shows Three Men and a Baby, Grant, Cinema Toast, Broadway Today, Wiseguys, and the New York cult hit Cashino. Broadway/off-Broadway credits include Crazy For You, The Secret Garden, Liza: Stepping Out at Radio City, Back to Bacharach, David, and The Kathy & Mo Show: Parallel Lives. Boswell has eight albums of original piano music and a ninth on the way. While a student at UCLA, Boswell received the Frank Sinatra Award for popular instrumentalists.
DETROIT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
PVS CLASSICAL SERIES
Title Sponsor:
JADER CONDUCTS TCHAIKOVSKY’S FOURTH SYMPHONY
Friday, June 2, 2023 at 10:45 a.m.
Saturday, June 3, 2023 at 8 p.m.
Sunday, June 4, 2023 at 3 p.m. at Orchestra Hall
JADER BIGNAMINI, conductor ISATA KANNEH-MASON, piano
Giuseppe Martucci Nocturne No. 1, Op. 70 (1856 - 1909)
Ernő Dohnányi Variations on a Nursery Tune for Piano (1877 - 1960) and Orchestra, Op. 25
Introduction. Maestoso
Theme. Allegro
Variation I. Poco più mosso
Variation II. Risoluto
Variation III. L’istesso tempo
Variation IV. Molto meno mosso (Allegretto moderato)
Variation V. Più mosso
Variation VI. Ancora più mosso (Allegro)
Variation VII. Walzer (Tempo giusto)
Variation VIII. Alla marcia (Allegro moderato)
Variation IX. Presto
Variation X. Passacaglia (Adagio non troppo)
Variation XI. Choral (Maestoso)
Finale fugato (Allegro vivace)
Isata Kanneh-Mason, piano
Intermission
Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 4 in F minor, Op. 36 (1840 - 1893)
I. Andante sostenuto
II. Andantino in modo di canzona
III. Scherzo: Pizzicato ostinato
IV. Finale: Allegro con fuoco
performance will be
via
Saturday’s webcast our exclusive Live From Orchestra Hall series, presented by Ford Motor Company Fund and made possible by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.PROGRAM AT-A-GLANCE | JADER CONDUCTS TCHAIKOVSKY’S FOURTH SYMPHONY
Fate, Lullabies, and Nursery Rhymes
Music has the power to bring stories to life. Martucci’s Nocturne No. 1 was originally written to serve as night music, seeming to belong as the accompaniment of a romantic scene near the end of a silent film, or as the depiction of a child peacefully cradled to sleep. Dohnányi’s Variations on a Nursery Tune also borrows from bedtime favorites with its variations on the iconic “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.” After an abrupt, startling introduction by the orchestra, the solo piano begins with a simple, almost juvenile outline of the melody, as if a child were picking out the notes one by one at the piano with their index fingers. The piece then swiftly progresses and takes the audience through a virtuosic journey of childlike wonder and the art of growing up, varying and distorting the melody as if it were depicting life’s abundant obstacles, an existentialist contemplation.
This existentialism continues through Tchaikovsky’s famous “fate” motif opening his Fourth Symphony with an unmistakable melody played by the brass. Tchaikovsky described this motif as “that fateful force which prevents the impulse to happiness from attaining its goal, which jealously ensures that peace and happiness shall not be complete and unclouded, which hangs above the head like the sword of Damocles, unwaveringly, constantly poisoning the soul. It is an invincible force that can never be overcome—merely endured, hopelessly.” This four-movement symphonic masterpiece concludes the program with a lively and joyful finale, awakening a newfound sense of hope.
PROGRAM NOTES
Nocturne No. 1, Op. 70
GIUSEPPE MARTUCCI
B. January 6, 1856, Capua, Italy
D. June 1, 1909, Naples, Italy
Scored for 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, harp, and strings. (Approx. 6 minutes)
Giuseppe Martucci demonstrated great musical promise from an early age. Born in Capua, Italy, he initially took piano lessons from his father (a bandmaster) and gave recitals with his sister before he was nine years old. In 1868, he became a full-time student at the Reale Collegio in Naples, studying piano with Beniamino Cesi and composition with Paolo Serrao. Serrao’s advocacy of the Austro-German repertoire was quite unusual during that time in Italian pedagogy, and it had a significant influence on Martucci’s compositional style.
He went on to pursue a remarkable career as a concert pianist, giving his first Milan recital in 1875 and going on to tour in London, Dublin, and Paris, where his musical abilities as a pianist and
composer were warmly welcomed and applauded. In 1877, he began his conducting career with his appointment as the principal conductor of the newly formed ensemble, Orchestra Napoletana, which was widely considered the best orchestra in Italy by 1884. He went on to be appointed to three major posts in Bologna, most notably as the director of the Liceo Musicale, which enabled him to develop further as an academic and as a conductor. Here, he championed a broad range of 19th century orchestral music and appeared as a guest conductor in several cultural centers throughout Western Europe. He returned to Naples in 1902 to serve as the director of the Conservatorio, where he continued to program new or unfamiliar orchestral and operatic repertoire. Martucci’s compositional career was expansive, not unlike his endeavors as a conductor and a pianist. His primary focus was on writing instrumental music and songs, and his music was championed and frequently performed by Arturo Toscanini, a renowned Italian conductor and the first music director of the NBC Symphony Orchestra. At this time in his life, his career was thriving, but his health was rapidly deteriorating. He passed
away in Naples in June 1909 at the age of 53.
Martucci’s Nocturne No. 1 became one of the composer’s best-known orchestral works. The piece was originally composed for solo piano in 1891, with Martucci revisiting it 10 years later to orchestrate. He utilized the vast range of sounds and textures available within a full orchestra to create a true “nocturne” atmosphere— music of the night. His muting of the strings, softly pulsating syncopated accompaniment, and singing opening melody by the violins help bring this piece to life, rising to an animated climactic point and slowly fading away into the silence of the night.
The DSO most recently performed Martucci’s Nocturne No. 1 in July 1978 at the Baldwin Pavilion at the Meadow Brook Music Festival, conducted by Andre Kostelanetz. The DSO first performed the piece in January 1937, conducted by Bernadino Molinari.
Variations on a Nursery Tune
Composed 1914 | Premiered February 1914
ERNŐ DOHNÁNYI
B. July 27, 1877, Pozsony County, Slovakia
D. February 9, 1960, New York, NY
Scored for solo piano, 2 flutes, piccolo, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion, harp, piano, and strings. (Approx. 25 minutes)
musical training at the Budapest Academy of Music, later serving as the Director of the Academy and inspiring other Hungarian musicians of his level to study there, including his childhood friend B éla Bartók.
Dohnányi sought out to raise Hungary’s collective musical sophistication. He began presenting concerts and programming music that aspired to a higher artistic standard than audiences were used to at the time. He performed 120 concerts a year in Budapest alone, and when guest artists were unavailable, he himself served as soloist. Despite his close relationship with composers including Bartók and Kodály—who sought to revive Hungarian folk music through the orchestra by researching and recording folk melodies—he didn’t rely on folk melodies for his compositional inspiration. He instead celebrated the Romantic legacies of renowned composers Johannes Brahms and Robert Schumann, and his work is said to have advanced the language of his predecessors into a brand-new territory through his compositional skill at the height of his creative powers. He was praised by Bartók as providing his country’s entire “musical life” between the years of 1919 and 1921.
Ernő
Dohnányi is commonly regarded as one of Hungary’s most versatile musicians. He was also one of history’s finest pianists, taking on the great task of performing the entirety of Beethoven’s complete piano music in one season, and all 27 of Mozart’s piano concertos in another, eventually settling to serve as a Piano Professor at the Berlin Hochschule. He pursued his formal
Dohnányi’s Variations on a Nursery Tune for piano and orchestra was subtitled “For the enjoyment of humorous people and for the annoyance of others.” This piece captures the spirit of Romanticism and manages to delight and enthrall in its sparkling piano writing and lush orchestral textures. Inspired by the French nursery song, Ah, vous dirai-je, Maman otherwise known as Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star —this piece is satirical and pokes fun at the fashions and figures of his youth as much of his music does. The virtuosity of the piano solo part and the orchestral writing come together with an extraordinary degree of empathy. Written in a Theme and Variations form, this piece contains a long, doom-ridden orchestral introduction preparing the audience for
the worst. The soloist enters with the main nursery tune theme, performed plainly and simply, almost as if a child was picking out the tune on the keyboard with their index fingers. Next comes 13 variations presented with an astonishing diversity of contrasts, complements, emotions, and virtuosity. Each variation takes this melody to extremes, at some points completely distorting the theme into oblivion. The final reprise and coda take us back to the initial melody, this time as a virtuosic race to the finish between the pianist and the orchestra, as if Dohnányi was slamming the book shut at the end of this thrilling, captivating tale.
The DSO has performed Dohnányi’s Variations on a Nursery Tune just once, in December 1945, conducted by Karl Krueger.
Symphony No. 4 in F minor, Op. 36
Composed 1877-1878 | Premiered February 1878
PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY
B. May 7, 1840, Votkinsk, Russia
D. November 6, 1893, Saint Petersburg, Russia
Scored for 2 flutes, piccolo, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion, and strings. (Approx. 44 minutes)
TheSymphony No. 4 is a signature piece among Tchaikovsky’s seven works in the symphonic form and is typically understood as the work that established his maturity in the genre. Its salient characteristics are a superheated emotional character and a lean, intense orchestral texture. Together, these traits remind the listener of several other masterworks in Tchaikovsky’s oeuvre: the B-flat minor Piano Concerto (1875), the ballet Swan Lake (1876), and the opera Eugene Onegin (1878), which
was composed simultaneously to the Symphony No. 4. Placed in the context of these other works, this passionate symphony is usually viewed as a white-hot product of Tchaikovksy’s stresses and frustrations in the mid-1870s, which stemmed from his personal recognition of his homosexuality and subsequent failed marriage.
The symphony is dedicated to Nadezhda von Meck, a wealthy Russian businesswoman who supported Tchaikovsky financially for 13 years, under the stipulation that the two may never meet. The work’s opening trumpet fanfare—the so-called “fate” motive Tchaikovsky referred to in letters he wrote to Madame von Meck about the symphony—recurs as a kind of structural pillar marking off major sections of the first movement. Startling statements of the motive separate the exposition setting forth its themes, the development section in which they are fragmented, the restatement of the themes in the recapitulation, and the coda at the end of the movement. The “fate” motive also makes a dramatic reappearance in the coda of the fourth movement.
Following the symphony’s slow introduction, the two main themes in the opening movement are waltzes, which Tchaikovsky had a habit of strewing about his symphonies. First comes a nervous, moody, minor-mode waltz with a twisting thematic profile, and then a lilting waltz for strings and woodwinds emerges from it.
Turning to march rhythms, oboe, cello, violin, and bassoon alternately move in a solemn procession through the slow movement. The measured tread of this music harks back to the slow movement of Mendelssohn’s “Italian” Symphony No. 4, whose clear formal design and crystalline orchestral colors served as a model for the young Tchaikovsky when he began his struggle to master symphonic form.
The brilliant set of marches that make up the third movement stand out as some
of the most striking music Tchaikovsky ever composed. Plucked strings, bright woodwinds, and shining brass enter the parade one after another, their tone colors standing in razor-sharp contrast to each other. Finally, Tchaikovsky combines the march tunes and the separate colors in an exhilarating coda. The fourth movement is no less joyous, consisting of a thrilling set
PROFILES
For Jader Bignamini biography, see page 6.
ISATA KANNEH-MASON
of Russian dances that alternate with each other throughout the movement.
The DSO most recently performed Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4 in November 2018, conducted by John Storgårds. The DSO first performed the piece in February 1917, conducted by Weston Gales.
Pianist
Isata KannehMason is in great demand internationally as a soloist and chamber musician. She offers eclectic and interesting repertoire, with her recital programs encompassing music from Haydn and Mozart to Fanny Mendelssohn, Clara Schumann, Chopin, Brahms, Gershwin, and beyond. In concerto, she is equally at home in Felix Mendelssohn and Clara Schumann, whose piano concerto featured on Kanneh-Mason’s chart-topping debut recording, as in Prokofiev and Dohnányi.
In the 2022-23 season, KannehMason steps into her role as Artist in Residence with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, performing three concerti across the season at London’s Cadogan Hall. She returns to Dortmund’s Konzerthaus as one of their Junge Wilde artists and makes multiple visits to both the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic. Other highlights of the season include recital performances at the Barbican, Queen Elizabeth, and Wigmore halls in London; the Philharmonie Berlin; National Concert Hall Dublin; Perth Concert Hall; Prinzregententheater Munich; and the Sala São Paulo. As concerto soloist, Kanneh-Mason appears with the
Orchestra of Opera North, New World Symphony Miami, City of Birmingham Symphony, Duisburg Philharmonic, Barcelona Symphony, Geneva Chamber Orchestra, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, and Orchestra of Norwegian Opera. She returns to the Baltimore Symphony, and recently made her long-awaited debut with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl.
Kanneh-Mason is a Decca Classics recording artist. Her 2019 album, Romance – the Piano Music of Clara Schumann, entered the UK classical charts at No. 1, Gramophone magazine extolling the recording as “one of the most charming and engaging debuts.” This was followed in 2021 by Summertime, an album of 20th century American repertoire featuring Samuel Barber’s Piano Sonata and a world premiere recording of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s Impromptu in B minor. In November 2021, along with her cellist brother, Sheku Kanneh-Mason, Isata released her first duo album entitled Muse, beautifully demonstrating the siblings’ musicality and refined skill borne from years of playing and performing together.
She was an ECHO Rising Star in 2021-22, performing in many of Europe’s finest halls, and is also the recipient of the coveted Leonard Bernstein Award and an Opus Klassik award for best young artist.
DETROIT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
A COMMU N I T Y -SU P P ORT E D ORCHESTRA
TERENCE BLANCHARD
Fred A. Erb Jazz Creative Director Chair
JADER BIGNAMINI , Music Director
Music Directorship endowed by the Kresge Foundation
NA’ZIR MCFADDEN
Assistant Conductor, Phillip & Lauren Fisher Community Ambassador
PVS CLASSICAL SERIES
Title Sponsor:
STRAUSS’ ALSO SPRACH ZARATHUSTRA & DUEÑAS PERFORMS LALO
Thursday, June 8, 2023 at 7:30 p.m. Friday, June 9, 2023 at 8 p.m.
Saturday, June 10, 2023 at 8 p.m. in Orchestra Hall
JADER BIGNAMINI, conductor MARIA DEUÑAS, violin
Wynton Marsalis Herald, Holler and Hallelujah! (b. 1961)
Édouard Lalo Symphonie espagnole for Violin and Orchestra, (1823 - 1892) Op. 21
I. Allegro non troppo
II. Scherzando: Allegro molto
III. Intermezzo: Allegretto non troppo
IV. Andante
V. Rondo Maria Deuñas, violin
Intermission
Richard Strauss Also sprach Zarathustra, Op. 30 (1864 - 1949)
Saturday’s performance will be webcast via our exclusive Live From Orchestra Hall series, presented by Ford Motor Company Fund and made possible by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.
PROGRAM AT-A-GLANCE | STRAUSS’ ALSO SPRACH ZARATHUSTRA & DUEÑAS PERFORMS LALO
Kindling Fires
If there ever existed a ranking of showstopping orchestral programs, this one would certainly be on the list. Opening with a brilliant fanfare for brass and percussion by Wynton Marsalis, Herald, Holler and Hallelujah! produces a powerful, declaratory, and unforgettable entrance. A DSO co-commissioned work, this piece features influences of brass bands, swing, and jazz, and was first performed by the DSO in June 2022. This fanfare is followed by Édouard Lalo’s Symphonie espagnole for violin and orchestra, a masterful and spectacular work resembling a dance-suite with the soloist. This piece was originally composed for violin virtuoso Pablo de Sarasate. Lalo chose Symphonie espagnole as the title for the piece because “it conveyed my thoughts—that is to say, a violin soaring above the rigid form of an old symphony.”
Ending this program is Strauss’s renowned Also sprach Zarathustra, a piece that contemplates philosophy and its relationship to the art of composition, with the title based on one of philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche’s poems. You may recognize its first 22 measures from the opening of Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey. Each of these works carries its own immense power and is brought to life by the DSO, kindling fires of passion, intensity, and excitement within our beloved Orchestra Hall.
PROGRAM NOTES
Herald, Holler and Hallelujah!
Composed 2021 | Premiered 2022
WYNTON MARSALIS
B. October 18, 1961, New Orleans, Louisiana
Scored for 6 horns, 4 trumpets, 3 trombones, bass trombone, tuba, timpani, and percussion. (Approx. 5 minutes)
Wynton Marsalis is an internationally acclaimed musician, composer, bandleader, and educator, and a leading advocate of American culture. He has recorded more than 70 jazz and classical albums that have garnered him nine Grammy Awards. In 1983, Marsalis became the first and only artist to win both classical and jazz Grammy Awards in the same year; he repeated this feat in 1984. In 1997, he became the first jazz artist to be awarded the prestigious Pulitzer Prize in Music for his oratorio Blood on the Fields, which was commissioned by Jazz at Lincoln Center. Marsalis has created and performed an expansive range of music from quartets to big bands, chamber music ensembles to symphony
orchestras, and tap dance to ballet, expanding the vocabulary for jazz and classical music with a vital body of work that places him among the world’s finest musicians and composers.
Marsalis’s core beliefs and foundation for living are based on the principals of jazz. He promotes individual creativity (improvisation), collective cooperation (swing), gratitude and good manners (sophistication), and faces adversity with persistent optimism (the blues). With his evolved humanity and through his selfless work, Marsalis has elevated the quality of human engagement for individuals, social networks, and cultural institutions throughout the world.
Marsalis’s Herald, Holler and Hallelujah! is a fanfare for brass and percussion. This piece was co-commissioned by the DSO; the symphony orchestras of New Jersey, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, and Milwaukee; and Germany’s WDR Symphonieorchester. The New Jersey Symphony was the lead commissioner and performed the world premiere of the piece in 2022 under Music Director Xian Zhang.
The DSO first performed Wynton Marsalis’s Herald, Holler and Hallelujah! in June 2022, conducted by Jader Bignamini.
Symphonie espagnole for
Violin and Orchestra, Op. 21
Composed 1874 | Premiered February 1875
ÉDOUARD LALO
B. January 27, 1823, Lille, France
D. April 22, 1892, Paris, France
Scored for solo violin, piccolo, two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, timpani, triangle, snare drum, harp, and strings. (Approx. 31 minutes)
“The piece has been recently brought out by that very modern violinist, Sarasate. It is for solo violin and orchestra, and consists of five independent movements, based upon Spanish folk songs. The work has given me great enjoyment. It is so fresh and light, and contains piquant rhythms and melodies which are beautifully harmonized…Lalo is careful to avoid all that is routinier, seeks new forms without trying to be profound, and is more concerned with musical beauty than with tradition.”
—Pyotr Ilyich TchaikovskyLalo was a Frenchman of Spanish descent whose love for music developed as a child. At age 16, his father opposed his musical pursuits, and Lalo left for Paris, enrolling in the conservatory to study violin, piano, and composition.
Lalo made a living as a violinist and teacher, but his true desire was composition. In the 1840s, he published a few minor works, but on the whole was not well received. Discouraged, he stopped composing and, in 1855, helped found the Armingaud Quartet, which was instrumental in creating a renewed interest in chamber works, especially in France. The quartet’s purpose was to keep alive the quartets of Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven, as well as Mendelssohn and Schumann.
A decade later, in 1865, he married singer Julie de Maligny, who encouraged
him to return to composition. Finally, in 1872, when he was nearly 50 years old, his Divertissement brought him public recognition. The general fascination with exotic music, particularly from Spain, prompted Lalo to compose two violin works for Spanish virtuoso Pablo de Sarasate. These works, the Violin Concerto of 1874 and the Symphonie espagnole, secured his reputation internationally.
Despite the title, this work actually resembles a dance suite with soloist. Lalo rejected the name “suite;” for him, it was a “worn-out tag.” Instead, he chose “symphony” because, as he expressed, “it conveyed my thoughts—that is to say, a violin soaring above the rigid form of an old symphony.”
The first of the five movements, the Allegro, begins with two measures of an Iberian rhythm. The seductive theme is reminiscent of a Spanish folk song. The Scherzando is a seguidilla in 3/8, the pizzicato strings imitating guitars. Throughout, is Lalos’s signature figure— that of chords played soft-loud, emphatic, and unexpected. The Intermezzo is a sultry habanera, leading to the least Spanish of the movements, the Andante, with its elegant passion. The finale, Rondo: Allegro—Poco più lento—Tempo I, opens with “Spanish shepherds’ pipes” created by woodwinds and harp. The spirited melody is interrupted by a tango-like malgueña and ends with a virtuosic climax.
The DSO most recently performed Lalo’s Symphonie espagnole for Violin and Orchestra in May 2016, conducted by Leonard Slatkin and featuring violinist Joshua Bell. The DSO first performed the piece in January 1920, conducted by Victor Kolar and featuring violinist Francis MacMillen.
Also sprach Zarathustra, Op. 30
Composed 1896 | Premiered November 1896
RICHARD STRAUSS
B. June 11, 1864, Munich, Germany
D. September 8, 1949, Garmish-Partenkirchen, Bavaria
Scored for 3 flutes (one doubling piccolo), piccolo, 3 oboes, English horn, 2 clarinets, E-flat clarinet, bass clarinet, 3 bassoons, contrabassoon, 6 horns, 4 trumpets, 3 trombones, 2 tubas, timpani, percussion, 2 harps, piano, and strings. (Approx. 33 minutes)
“I did not intend to write philosophical music or portray Nietzsche’s great work musically. I meant rather to convey in music an idea of the evolution of the human race from its origin, through the various phases of development, religious as well as scientific, up to Nietzsche’s idea of the Übermensch.” —Richard
Strauss, 1896
This composition links Strauss with the musician and philosopher Friedrich Neitzsche, having based the work on Nietzsche’s poem of the same title. Both men were strongly influenced by Wagner. Nietzsche’s poem promoted the idea of the Übermensch (superman) later evident in the ideology of Hitler and Nazi Germany. Although Strauss initially embraced the regime and became President of the Third Reich Music Chamber, he was eventually ousted from that position after collaboration with a Jewish author. He was put under house arrest and his royalties were confiscated by the government.
Strauss musically explored nine sections from Nietzsche’s work; they are performed without interruption:
1. Introduction/Dawn—powerfully majestic;
2. Of the Dwellers in the World Behind Us— the horns play the Gregorian Credo;
3. Of the Great Longing—the organ makes use of a Gregorian Magnificat;
Richard
Strauss was a wunderkind, having his reputation as a composer and conductor established by the age of 20. Hans von Bülow, conductor of the Meiningen Court Orchestra, took notice of Strauss. Besides having him compose works for the orchestra, von Bülow appointed him assistant conductor and his eventual successor. It was during his tenure at Meiningen that Strauss’s style radically changed, moving from “absolute” to dramatic and programmatic music.
Also sprach Zarathustra (Thus Spake Zarathustra) is one of six tone poems composed by Strauss that both cast him in role of “bad boy of music” and gave him international recognition. The discords and avant-garde techniques were shocking to their listeners. The first 22 measures of this work are the most recognized of all his works—most prominently as the opening of Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey
4. Of Joys and Passions—rich melodic interest in the second violins and oboe, horns portray human passion; 5. Song of the Grave—the oboe continues a passionate theme;
6. Of Science (Learning)—Life’s riddle being solved by science is represented by canonic imitation in fifths;
7. The Convalescent—this movement uses contrapuntal activity in continuing the science theme; 8. Dance Song—Man’s pursuit of earthly joys is expressed by a Viennese waltz melody;
9. The Song of the Night Wanderer—this closing section is announced by twelve strokes of the midnight bell.
The DSO most recently performed Strauss’s Also sprach Zarathustra in December 2014, conducted by Neeme Järvi. The DSO first performed the piece in April 1924, conducted by Ossip Gabrilowitsch.
PROFILE
For Jader Bignamini biography, see page 6.
MARÍA DUEÑAS
Spanish violinist María Dueñas beguiles audiences with the breathtaking array of colors she draws from her instrument. Her technical prowess, artistic maturity, and bold interpretations have inspired rave reviews, captivated competition juries, and secured invitations to appear with many of the world’s leading orchestras and conductors.
Dueñas studies with world-renowned violin teacher Boris Kuschnir at the Music and Arts University of Vienna. Born in Granada in 2002, she was accepted at the Conservatory in her hometown at the age of seven. In 2014, she won a scholarship to study abroad and went to Dresden, where she was soon spotted by conductor Marek Janowski, at whose invitation she would later make her debut as soloist with the San Francisco Symphony. Two years later, she and her family moved to Austria, following the recommendation of her mentor Vladimir Spivakov. A multi-faceted musician, she is also fond of composing and wrote her own cadenzas for the violin concertos of Mozart and Beethoven.
Following an array of first prizes at various prestigious international competitions, Dueñas created a stir at the 2021 Menuhin Violin Competition, at which she won not only the first prize and audience prize, but also a global online following. 2021 also saw her win first prize at the Getting to Carnegie Competition, the Grand Prize at the Viktor Tretyakov International Violin Competition, and the career advancement prize at the Rheingau Music Festival. She was also named as a BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist 202123. In April 2023, she was awarded the
prestigious Premio Princesa de Girona de las Artes y las Letras in her native Spain.
Since then, she has been in high demand worldwide and has performed with many major orchestras including the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Staatskapelle Berlin, Dresdner
Philharmonie, Danish National Symphony Orchestra, Oslo Philharmonic, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and NHK Symphony Orchestra, under conductors such as Marek Janowski, Manfred Honeck, Vladimir Spivakov, Vassily Sinaisky, Gustavo Gimeno, and Michael Sanderling. In summer 2021, she made her debut with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Gustavo Dudamel at the Hollywood Bowl and joined them again in May 2022 to give the world premiere of Gabriela Ortiz’s violin concerto Altar de cuerda, which she has since also performed in Boston and at Carnegie Hall in New York.
Dueñas signed an exclusive contract with Deutsche Grammophon in September 2022. Her first album, Beethoven and Beyond, with the Wiener Symphoniker and Manfred Honeck, was released in May 2023, featuring the Beethoven Violin Concerto with her own cadenzas. It also includes five showpieces for violin and orchestra by Kreisler, Saint-Saëns, Spohr, Wieniawski, and Ysaÿe, and a companion disc presenting cadenzas written by these same composers for the first movement of the Beethoven.
She plays on the Nicolò Gagliano violin, c. 17?4, kindly loaned from Deutsche Stiftung Musikleben, and on the Stradivari “Camposelice” of 1710, on generous loan from Nippon Music Foundation.
THE ANNUAL FUND
Gifts received between September 1, 2021 and February 28, 2023
The DSO is a community-supported orchestra, and you can play your part through frequent ticket purchases and generous annual donations. Your tax-deductible Annual Fund donation is an investment in the wonderful music at Orchestra Hall, around the neighborhoods, and across the community. This honor roll celebrates those generous donors who made a gift of $1,500 or more to the DSO Annual Fund Campaign. If you have questions about this roster or would like to make a donation, please contact 313.576.5114 or go to dso.org/donate.
PARAY SOCIETY - GIVING OF $250,000 & MORE
Mr. & Mrs. Lee Barthel
Penny & Harold Blumenstein
Julie & Peter Cummings
Ms. Leslie C. Devereaux
Linda Dresner & Ed Levy, Jr.
DORATI SOCIETY - GIVING OF $100,000 & MORE
Mr. & Mrs. Richard L. Alonzo
James & Patricia Anderson
Mr. & Mrs. Raymond M. Cracchiolo
Joanne Danto & Arnold Weingarden
Mr. & Mrs. Phillip Wm. Fisher
David & Valerie McCammon
EHRLING SOCIETY - GIVING OF $50,000 & MORE
Mr. & Mrs. Richard A. Brodie
Lois & Avern ◊ Cohn
Ms. Karol Foss
Mr. & Mrs. Aaron Frankel
Mr. & Mrs. Ralph J. Gerson
Mary Ann & Robert Gorlin
Mr. & Mrs. James Grosfeld
JÄRVI SOCIETY — GIVING OF $25,000 & MORE
Pamela Applebaum
Ms. Sharon Backstrom
Mrs. Cecilia Benner
Dr. Mark & Karen Diem
Mr. Michael J. Fisher
Madeline & Sidney Forbes
Mr. & Mrs. Edsel B. Ford II/Henry Ford II Fund
Mrs. Martha Ford
Dale & Bruce Frankel
Herman & Sharon Frankel
Mr. Steven Goldsmith
Ronald M. & Carol◊ Horwitz
Mr.◊ & Mrs. Norman D. Katz
Morgan & Danny Kaufman
Mr. & Mrs. Stanley Frankel
Mr. & Mrs. Peter Karmanos, Jr.
Mr. & Mrs. James B. Nicholson
Mr. & Mrs. David Provost
Mrs. Richard C. Van Dusen
Shari & Craig Morgan
The Polk Family
Bernard & Eleanor Robertson
Drs. David & Bernadine Wu
Paul & Terese Zlotoff
Ric & Carola Huttenlocher
Renato & Elizabeth Jamett
Mrs. Bonnie Larson
Nicole & Matt Lester
Mr. & Mrs. Eugene A. Miller
Patricia & Henry◊ Nickol
Mr. & Mrs. Arn Tellem
Betsy & Joel Kellman
Mr. & Mrs. David Provost
Ms. Ruth Rattner
Martie & Bob Sachs
Mrs. Patricia Finnegan Sharf
Mr. & Mrs. James H. Sherman
Mr. & Mrs. Larry Sherman
Richard Sonenklar & Gregory Haynes
Mr. & Mrs. John Stroh III
Dr. Doris Tong & Dr. Teck M. Soo
Mr. & Mrs. Gary Torgow
Peter & Carol Walters
S. Evan & Gwen Weiner
And one who wishes to remain anonymous
Mr.◊ & Mrs. Robert A. Allesee
Dr. Lourdes V. Andaya
Janet & Norman Ankers
Drs. Brian & Elizabeth Bachynski
W. Harold & Chacona W. Baugh
Drs. John & Janice Bernick
Dr. George & Joyce Blum
Gwen & Richard Bowlby
Mr. & Mrs. Stephen Brownell
Michael & Geraldine Buckles
Ms. Elena Centeio
Thomas W. Cook & Marie L. Masters
Gail Danto & Art Roffey
Mr. Kevin S. Dennis & Mr. Jeremy J. Zeltzer
Mr. & Mrs. Richard L. DeVore
Adel & Walter Dissett
Eugene ◊ & Elaine C. Driker
Mr. Charles L. Dunlap & Mr. Lee V. Hart
Margie Dunn & Mark Davidoff
Mr. Peter Falzon
Jim & Margo Farber
Sally & Michael Feder
Barbara & Alfred J. Fisher III
Dr. Saul & Mrs. Helen Forman
Barbara Frankel◊ & Ronald Michalak
Mrs. Janet M. Garrett
GIVING OF $5,000 & MORE
Mrs. Denise Abrash
Mrs. Jennifer Adderley
Richard & Jiehan Alonzo
Mr. & Mrs. Robert Armstrong
Mr. David Assemany & Mr. Jeffery Zook*
Mr. & Mrs. William C. Babbage
Ms. Ruth Baidas
Dr. David S. Balle
Mr. Patrick Barone
Ms. Therese Bellaimey
Mr. & Mrs. Dennis Bernard
Mr. & Mrs. Jeffrey A. Berner
Timothy J. Bogan
John ◊ & Marlene Boll
Ms. Debra Bonde
Ms. Nadia Boreiko
Mr. Anthony F. Brinkman
Claire P. & Robert N. Brown
Dr. & Mrs. Roger C. Byrd
Philip & Carol Campbell
Mrs. Carolyn Carr
Mr. & Mrs. François Castaing
Mr. & Mrs. Andrew Christians
Mr. Fred J. Chynchuk
Bob & Rebecca Clark
Dr. & Mrs. Charles G. Colombo
Victor ◊ & Gale Girolami
Ruth & Al◊ Glancy
Dr. Robert T. Goldman
Mr.◊ & Mrs. James A. Green
Mr. & Mrs. Robert Hage
Judy ◊ & Kenneth Hale
Ms. Nancy B. Henk
Michael E. Hinsky & Tyrus N. Curtis
Mr.◊ & Mrs. Norman H. Hofley
Mr. & Mrs. Richard J. Jessup
William & Story John
Lenard & Connie Johnston
Dr. David & Mrs. Elizabeth Kessel
Mr. & Mrs. Kosch
Mr. Daniel Lewis
Bud & Nancy Liebler
Mr. & Mrs.◊ Joseph Lile
Dana Locniskar & Christine Beck
Alexander & Evelyn McKeen
Ms. Deborah Miesel
Dr. Robert & Dr. Mary Mobley
Cyril Moscow
Xavier & Maeva Mosquet
Geoffrey S. Nathan & Margaret E. Winters
David Robert & Sylvia Jean Nelson
Eric & Paula Nemeth
Jim & Mary Beth Nicholson
Gloria & Stanley Nycek
George & Jo Elyn Nyman
Debra & Richard Partrich
Kathryn & Roger Penske
Dr. Glenda D. Price
Maurcine ◊ & Lloyd Reuss
Seth & Laura Romine
Dr. Erik Rönmark* & Mrs. Adrienne Rönmark*
Mr. & Mrs. Robert B. Rosowski
Peggy & Dr. Mark B. Saffer
Mr. & Mrs.◊ Alan E. Schwartz
Elaine & Michael Serling
Lois & Mark Shaevsky
William H. Smith
Charlie & John Solecki
Emily & Paul Tobias
Mr. James G. Vella
Mr.◊ & Mrs. Jonathan T. Walton
Gary L. Wasserman & Charles A. Kashner
Mr. & Mrs. R. Jamison Williams
Ms. Mary Wilson
And four who wish to remain anonymous
Ms. Elizabeth Correa
Mr.◊ & Mrs. Gary L. Cowger
Mrs. Barbara Cunningham
Mr. & Mrs. Charles W. Dare
Ms. Ruby Duffield
Dr. & Mrs. A. Bradley Eisenbrey
Mr. Lawrence Ellenbogen
Marianne T. Endicott
Mr. & Mrs. Francis A. Engelhardt
Fieldman Family Foundation
Dr. & Mrs. Franchi
Mr.◊ & Mrs. Richard M. Gabrys
Alan M. Gallatin
Mr. Max Gates
Allan D. Gilmour & Eric C. Jirgens
Dr. Kenneth ◊ & Roslyne Gitlin
Dr. & Mrs. Theodore Golden
Goodman Family Charitable Trust
Dr. Herman & Mrs. Shirley Mann Gray
Mr. Sanford Hansell & Dr. Raina Ernstoff
Dr. Gloria Heppner
Ms. Doreen Hermelin
Mr. Eric J. Hespenheide & Ms. Judith V. Hicks
Mr. & Mrs. Peter Hollinshead
Mr. Matthew Howell & Mrs. Julie Wagner
Elanah Nachman Hunger
Mr. & Mrs. A. E. Igleheart
Mr. & Mrs. Kent Jidov
Mr. George G. Johnson
Paul & Karen Johnson
Carol & Rick Johnston
Paul & Marietta Joliat
Faye & Austin Kanter
Judy & David Karp
Mike & Katy Keegan
John Kim & Sabrina Hiedemann
Mrs. Frances King
Richard & Sally Krugel
Mr. & Mrs. Harold Kulish
Dr. Raymond Landes & Dr. Melissa McBrien-Landes
Bill & Kathleen Langhorst
Mr. Leonard LaRocca
Max Lepler & Rex L. Dotson
Mr. & Mrs. Robert K. Leverenz
Bob & Terri Lutz
Daniel & Linda* Lutz
Mrs. Sandra MacLeod
Mr. & Mrs. Winom J. Mahoney
Dr. Stephen & Paulette Mancuso
Maurice Marshall
Mr. Edward McClew
Patricia A.◊ & Patrick G. McKeever
Ms. Evelyn Micheletti
Mr. Frederick Morsches & Mr. Kareem George
Robert & Paulina Treiger Muzzin
Joy & Allan Nachman
Mr. & Mrs. Albert T. Nelson, Jr.
Dr. William W. O’Neill
Ms. Jacqueline Paige & Mr. David Fischer
Anne Parsons ◊ & Donald Dietz
Mr. David Phipps & Ms. Mary Buzard
William H. & Wendy W. Powers
Charlene & Michael Prysak
GIVING OF $2,500 & MORE
Nina Dodge Abrams
Mr. & Mrs. Joel Adelman
Mr. Juan Alvarez
Mr. & Mrs. Robert L. Anthony
Dr. & Mrs. Joel Appel
Drs. Kwabena & Jacqueline Appiah
Dr. & Mrs. Ali-Reza R. Armin
Pauline Averbach & Charles Peacock
Mr. Joseph Aviv & Mrs. Linda Wasserman
Mrs. Jean Azar
James A. Bannan
Nora & Guy Barron
Mr. Mark G. Bartnik & Ms. Sandra J. Collins
Mr. Joseph Bartush
Mr. & Mrs. Martin S. Baum
Mr. & Mrs. Richard Beaubien
Mr. Abraham Beidoun
Martha ◊ & G. Peter Blom
Nancy & Lawrence Bluth
Ms. Kristin Bolitho
The Achim & Mary Bonawitz Family
The Honorable Susan D. Borman & Mr. Stuart Michaelson
Don & Marilyn Bowerman
Mr. & Mrs. Marco Bruzzano
Mr. & Mrs. Mark R. Buchanan
Mr. & Mrs. Brian C. Campbell
Dr. & Mrs.◊ Thomas E. Carson
Dr. Carol S. Chadwick & Mr. H. Taylor Burleson
Ronald & Lynda Charfoos
Nina & Richard Cohan
Jack, Evelyn and Richard Cole Family Foundation
Mr. William Cole & Mrs. Carol Litka Cole
Mr. & Mrs. Brian G. Connors
Patricia & William ◊ Cosgrove, Sr.
Ms. Joy Crawford* & Mr. Richard Aude
Robert J. Crutcher Family Trust
Dr. Edward & Mrs. Jamie Dabrowski
Suzanne Dalton & Clyde Foles
Maureen & Jerry ◊ D’Avanzo
Lillian & Walter Dean
Dr. & Mrs. Thomas Ditkoff
Drs. Yaddanapudi Ravindranath & Kanta Bhambhani
Mr. & Mrs. Dave Redfield
Dr. Heather Richter
Dr. & Mrs. John Roberts
Steven Della Rocca Memorial Fund/ Courtenay A Hardy
Mr. Ronald Ross & Ms. Alice Brody
Mr. David Salisbury & Mrs. Terese Ireland Salisbury
Marjorie Shuman Saulson
Mr. & Mrs. Donald and Janet Schenk
Sandy Schreier
Robert & Patricia Shaw
Mrs. Sharon Shumaker
Diana & Mark Domin
Paul◊ & Peggy Dufault
Edwin & Rosemarie ◊ Dyer
Dr. Leo & Mrs. Mira Eisenberg
Randall & Jill* Elder
Ms. Laurie Ellias & Mr. James Murphy
Mrs. Marjory Epstein
Mr. & Mrs. John M. Erb
Dave & Sandy Eyl
Ellie Farber & Mitch Barnett
Hon. Sharon Tevis Finch
Ms. Joanne Fisher
Dorothy A. & Larry L. Fobes
Amy & Robert Folberg
Ms. Linda Forte & Mr. Tyrone Davenport
Ms. Marci Frick
Kit & Dan Frohardt-Lane
Lynn & Bharat Gandhi
Stephanie Germack
Thomas M. Gervasi
Mr. & Mrs. James Gietzen
Mr. & Mrs. Robert W. Gillette
Ms. Jody Glancy
Mr. Lawrence Glowczewski
Paul & Barbara C. Goodman
Dr. William & Mrs. Antoinette Govier
Ms. Jacqueline Graham
Diane & Saul Green
Dr. & Mrs. Joe L. Greene
Anne & Eugene Greenstein
Sharon Lopo Hadden
Dr. & Mrs. David Haines
Robert & Elizabeth Hamel
Cheryl A. Harvey
Ms. Barbara Heller
Ms. Karla Henry-Morris & Mr. William H. Morris
Dr. William Higginbotham III MD
Mr. Donald & Marcia Hiruo
The Honorable Denise Page Hood & Reverend Nicholas Hood III
James Hoogstra & Clark Heath
Mr. F. Robert Hozian
Dr. Karen Hrapkiewicz
Mr. Norman Silk & Mr. Dale Morgan
Mr. & Mrs. Matthew Simoncini
Michael E. Smerza & Nancy Keppelman
Mrs. Kathleen Straus & Mr. Walter Shapero
Joel & Shelley Tauber
Dr. & Mrs. Howard Terebelo
Alice ◊ & Paul Tomboulian
Mrs. Eva von Voss
Mr. William Waak
Dr. & Mrs. Ned Winkelman
Cathy Cromer Wood
Ms. June Wu
Ms. Gail Zabowski
Lucia Zamorano, M.D.
And one who wishes to remain anonymous
Mr. Fred Hunter & Mrs. Viva Foster
Mr. Sam Huszczo
Larry & Connie Hutchinson
Ms. Carole Ilitch
Ms. Elizabeth Ingraham
Dr. Raymond E. Jackson & Dr. Kathleen Murphy
Mr. Arthur Johns
Mr. John S. Johns
Mr. William & Mrs. Connie Jordan
Mr. & Mrs. John Jullens
Diane & John Kaplan
Bernard & Nina Kent Philanthropic Fund
Dr. & Mrs. Edward L. Klarman
Aileen & Harvey Kleiman
Tom ◊ & Beverly Klimko
Mr. Joseph Kochanek
Mr. & Mrs. Ludvik F. Koci
Mr. & Mrs. Robert Koffron
Dr. Sandy Koltonow & Dr. Mary Schlaff
Ms. Susan Konop
Douglas Korney & Marieta Bautista
James Kors & Victoria King*
George M. Krappmann & Lynda Burbury-Krappmann
Barbara & Michael Kratchman
Mr. Michael Kuhne
Mrs. Maria E. Kuznia
Mr. & Mrs. Robert LaBelle
Dr. & Mrs. Gerald Laker
Mr. David Lalain & Ms. Deniella Ortiz-Lalain
Deborah Lamm
Drs. Lisa & Scott Langenburg
Ms. Sandra Lapadot
Ms. Anne T. Larin
Dr. Lawrence O. Larson
Mr. Henry P. Lee
Drs. Donald & Diane Levine
Arlene & John Lewis
David & Clare Loebl
Mr. John Lovegren & Mr. Daniel Isenschmid
Cis Maisel
Mr. & Mrs. Charles W. Manke, Jr.
Ms. Florine Mark
Melissa & Tom Mark
Ms. Janet Marsh
Barbara J. Martin
Brian & Becky McCabe
Dr. & Mrs. Peter M. McCann, M.D.
Mr. Anthony Roy McCree
Ms. Mary McGough
Ms. Kristen McLennan
Dr. Donald & Barbara Meier
Dr. & Mrs. David Mendelson
Olga Sutaruk Meyer
Bruce & Mary Miller
John & Marcia Miller
Mr. & Mrs. Randall Miller
Steve & Judy Miller
J.J. & Liz Modell
Dr. Susan & Mr. Stephen* Molina
Dr. Van C. Momon, Jr. & Dr. Pamela Berry
Eugene & Sheila Mondry Foundation
Mr. & Mrs. Daniel E. Moore
Ms. A. Anne Moroun
Ms. Sandra Morrison
Mr. & Mrs. Germano Mularoni
Ms. Jennifer Muse
Ms. I. Surayyah R. Muwwakkil
Mr. & Mrs. George Nicholson
Mariam C. Noland & James A. Kelly
Megan Norris & Howard Matthew
Mr. & Mrs. Robert Obringer
Mr. & Mrs. Arthur T. O’Reilly
Terry E. Packer
Mark Pasik & Julie Sosnowski
Priscilla & Huel Perkins
Peter & Carrie Perlman
GIVING OF $1,500 & MORE
Ms. Jacqueline Adams
William Aerni & Janet Frazis
Dr. & Mrs. Gary S. Assarian
Drs. Richard & Helena Balon
Mr. & Mrs. David W. Berry
Mr. & Mrs. John Bishop
Mr. & Mrs. Richard Burstein
Mr. & Mrs. Byron Canvasser
Mr. & Mrs. Robert J. Colombo
Mr. & Mrs. Tom Compton
DeLuca Violin Emporium
Ms. Laurie DeMond-Rosen
Gordon & Elaine Didier
Mr. & Mrs. Walter E. Douglas
Mrs. Connie Dugger
Ms. Jodie Elrod
Mr. Howard O. Emorey
Burke & Carol Fossee
Mr. Joseph & Mrs. Lois Gilmore
Howard & Francina Graef
Mr. & Mrs. Stanley Hirt
Jean Hudson
Wolfgang & Kristine Peterman
Ms. Alice Pfahlert
Benjamin B. Phillips
Jill M.* & Michael J. Rafferty
Drs. Stuart & Hilary Ratner
Mr. Tony Raymaker
Mr. & Mrs. William A. Reed
Mr. & Mrs. Gerrit Reepmeyer
Dr. Claude & Mrs. Sandra Reitelman
Denise Reske
Mr. & Mrs. John Rieckhoff
Ms. Linda Rodney
Michael & Susan Rontal
Mr.◊ & Mrs. Gerald F. Ross
Ms. Elana Rugh
Linda & Leonard Sahn
Ms. Joyce E. Scafe
Ms. Martha A. Scharchburg & Mr. Bruce Beyer
Shirley Anne & Alan Schlang
Joe & Ashley Schotthoefer
Catherine & Dennis B. Schultz
Sandy & Alan Schwartz
Mrs. Rosalind B. Sell
Mr. Jeffrey S. Serman
Carlo & Nicole Serraiocco
Nancy & Sam Shamie
Shapero Foundation
Bill* & Chris Shell
Dr. Les Siegel & Ellen Lesser Siegel
Dean P. & D. Giles Simmer
William & Cherie Sirois
Mr. Michael J. Smith & Mrs. Mary C. Williams
Ms. Susan Smith
Shirley R. Stancato
Carolyn & Howard Iwrey
Ms. Nadine Jakobowski
Carole Keller
Mr. & Mrs. Gerd H. Keuffel
Ms. Ida King
Elissa & Daniel Kline
Miss Kathryn Korns
Ms. Jennette Smith Kotila
Mrs. Mary Ann LaMonte
Ms. Christine M. Leonard
Mr. Dane Lighthart & Ms. Robyn Bollinger*
Mr. Sean Maloney & Mrs. Laura PepplerMaloney
Mr. & Mrs. Richard Manning
Mr. Jeffrey Marraccini
Steve & Brenda Mihalik
Carolyn & J. Michael Moore
Muramatsu America Flutes
Mrs. Ruth Nix
Ken & Geralyn Papa
Mr. & Mrs. Mark H. Peterson
Mrs. Anna M. Ptasznik
Peter & Patricia Steffes
Dr. Gregory Stephens
Mr. Mark Stewart & Mr. Anonio Gamez-Galaz
Nancy C. Stocking
Dr. & Mrs. Gerald Stollman
Dr. & Mrs. Choichi Sugawa
David Szymborski & Marilyn Sicklesteel
Dr. Neil Talon
Mr. Rob Tanner
Sandra & Frank Tenkel
Mr. & Mrs. James W. Throop
Dr. Barry Tigay
Gregory Tocco & Erin Sears
Yoni & Rachel Torgow
Barbara & Stuart Trager
Tom & Laura Trudeau
Amanda Van Dusen & Curtis Blessing
Charles & Sally Van Dusen
Gerald & Teresa Varani
Dr.◊ & Mrs. Ronald W. Wadle
Mr. Michael A. Walch & Ms. Joyce Keller
Mr. Patrick Webster
David R. Weinberg, Ph.D.
Janis & William Wetsman/The Wetsman Foundation
Beverly & Barry Williams
Elizabeth & Michael Willoughby
Rissa & Sheldon Winkelman
Ms. Andrea L. Wulf
Ms. Eileen Wunderlich
Dr. Sandra & Mr. D. Johnny Yee
Mr. & Mrs. Wesley Yee
Ms. Ellen Hill Zeringue
And seven who wish to remain anonymous
Drs. Renato & Daisy Ramos
Mr. & Mrs. Rodney Rask
Cheryl & Paul Robertson
Mr. & Mrs. George Roumell
Dr. & Mrs. Hershel Sandberg
Ms. Rosemarie Sandel
Dr. & Mrs. Richard S. Schwartz
Mr. & Mrs. Kingsley G. Sears
Ms. Sandra Shetler
Mrs. Andreas H. Steglich
Mr. Jon Steiger
Mr. Jt Stout
Mr. & Mrs.◊ John Streit
Ms. Amanda Tew*
Mr. William Thom
David & Lila Tirsell
Dennis & Jennifer Varian
Mr. Barry Webster
Ms. Janet Weir
Mr. & Mrs.◊ Richard Wigginton
Dr. M. Roy & Mrs. Jacqueline Wilson
And three who wish to remain anonymous
CORPORATE, FOUNDATION, AND GOVERNMENT GIVING
Giving of $500,000 & more SAMUEL &
Giving of $200,000 & more
Giving of $100,000 & more
JEAN FRANKEL FOUNDATION MARVIN & BETTY DANTO FAMILY FOUNDATION EMORY M. FORD JR. ENDOWMENT FUND MICHIGAN STATE POLICEGiving of $50,000 & more
Paul M. Angell Family Foundation
Broder Sachse
Edward C. & Linda Dresner Levy Foundation
MASCO Corporation
MGM Grand Detroit
Milner Hotels Foundation
Penske Foundation, Inc.
Matilda R. Wilson Fund
Giving of $20,000 & more
Mandell & Madeleine Berman Foundation
Blue Star Catering
The Clinton Family Fund
Eleanor & Edsel Ford Fund
Henry Ford II Fund
Michigan Arts & Culture Council
Myron P. Leven Foundation
Schneider-Engstrom Foundation
Stone Foundation of Michigan
Wolverine Packing Company
Giving of $10,000 & more
Honigman LLP
JPMorgan Chase
Oliver Dewey Marcks Foundation
Karen & Drew Peslar Foundation
Sun Communities Inc.
Varnum LLP
Burton A. Zipser & Sandra D. Zipser Foundation
Giving of $5,000 & more
Applebaum Family Philanthropy
Creative Benefit Solutions
Benson & Edith Ford Fund
Marjorie & Maxwell Jospey Foundation
KPMG LLP
Sigmund & Sophie Rohlik Foundation
Speyer Foundation
Taft
Warner Norcross + Judd
Wisne Charitable Foundation
And one who wishes to remain anonymous
Giving of $1,000 & more
The Children’s Foundation
Coffee Express Roasting Company
Frank & Gertrude Dunlap Foundation
Enterprise Holdings Foundation
EY
James and Lynelle Holden Fund
Japan Business Society of Detroit Foundation
Josephine Kleiner Foundation
Dolores & Paul Lavins Foundation
Ludwig Foundation Fund
Madison Electric Company
Michigan First Credit Union
Plante and Moran, PLLC
Renaissance (MI) Chapter of the Links
Louis & Nellie Sieg Foundation
Samuel L. Westerman Foundation
And one who wishes to remain anonymous
CELEBRATING YOUR LEGACY SUPPORT
BARBARA VAN DUSEN, Honorary ChairThe 1887 Society honors individuals who have made a special legacy commitment to support the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. Members of the 1887 Society ensure that future music lovers will continue to enjoy unsurpassed musical experiences by including the DSO in their estate plans.
Ms. Doris L. Adler
Dr. & Mrs. William C. Albert
Mr.◊ & Mrs. Robert A. Allesee
Dr. Lourdes V. Andaya
Mr. & Mrs. Eugene Applebaum ◊
Dr. Augustin & Nancy ◊ Arbulu
Mr. David Assemany & Mr. Jeffery Zook
Ms. Sharon Backstrom
Sally & Donald Baker
Mr. & Mrs. Lee Barthel
Mr. Mark G. Bartnik & Ms. Sandra J. Collins
Stanley A. Beattie
Mr. & Mrs. Mandell L. Berman ◊
Mrs. Betty Blair
Ms. Rosalee Bleecker
Mr. Joseph Boner
Gwen & Richard Bowlby
Mr. Harry G. Bowles ◊
Judith Mich ◊
Mrs. Ellen Brownfain
William & Julia Bugera
CM Carnes
Cynthia Cassell, Ph. D.
Eleanor A. Christie
Ms. Mary F. Christner
Mr. Gary Ciampa
Robert & Lucinda Clement
Lois & Avern ◊ Cohn
Mrs. RoseAnn Comstock◊
Mr. Scott Cook, Jr.
Mr. & Ms. Thomas Cook
Dorothy M. Craig
Mr. & Mrs. John Cruikshank
Julie & Peter Cummings
Joanne Danto & Arnold Weingarden
Mr. Kevin S. Dennis & Mr. Jeremy J. Zeltzer
Ms. Leslie C. Devereaux
Mr. John Diebel◊
Mr. Stuart Dow
Katherine D. Rines
Mr. Roger Dye & Ms. Jeanne A. Bakale
Mr. & Mrs. Robert G. Eidson
Marianne T. Endicott
Mrs. Rema Frankel
Virginia B. Bertram
Patricia Finnegan Sharf
Ms. Dorothy Fisher
Mrs. Marjorie S. Fisher
Mr. & Mrs. Phillip Wm. Fisher
Dorothy A. & Larry L. Fobes
Samuel & Laura Fogleman
Mr. Emory Ford, Jr.◊ Endowment
Dr. Saul & Mrs. Helen Forman
Barbara Frankel & Ron Michalak
Herman & Sharon Frankel
Jane French
Mark & Donna Frentrup
Mr. Alan M. Gallatin
Janet M. Garrett
Dr. Byron P. & Marilyn Georgeson
Jim & Nancy Gietzen
Mr. Joseph & Mrs. Lois Gilmore
Victor ◊ & Gale Girolami
Ruth & Al◊ Glancy
David & Paulette Groen
Rosemary Gugino
Mr. & Mrs. William Harriss
Donna & Eugene Hartwig
Ms. Nancy B. Henk
Joseph L. Hickey
Mr. & Mrs. Thomas N. Hitchman
Ronald M. & Carol◊ Horwitz
Andy Howell
Carol Howell
Paul M. Huxley & Cynthia Pasky
David & Sheri Jaffa
Mr. & Mrs. Thomas H. Jeffs II
Mr. & Mrs. Richard J. Jessup
Mr. George G. Johnson
Lenard & Connie Johnston
Ms. Carol Johnston
Carol M. Jonson
Drs. Anthony & Joyce Kales
Faye & Austin Kanter
Norb ◊ & Carole Keller
Dr. Mark & Mrs. Gail Kelley
Dr. Mark & Mrs. Gail Kelley
June K. Kendall◊
Dimitri ◊ & Suzanne Kosacheff
Douglas Koschik
Mr.◊ & Mrs. Arthur J. Krolikowski
Mary Clippert LaMont ◊
Ms. Sandra Lapadot
Mrs. Bonnie Larson
Ann C. Lawson ◊
Allan S. Leonard
Max Lepler & Rex L. Dotson
Dr. Melvin A. Lester ◊
Mr. & Mrs.◊ Joseph Lile
Harold Lundquist ◊ & Elizabeth
Brockhaus Lundquist
Eric & Ginny Lundquist
Roberta Maki
Eileen & Ralph Mandarino
Judy Howe Masserang
Ms. Marilyn Snodgrass ◊
Ms. Elizabeth Maysa
Mary Joy McMachen, Ph.D.
Judith Mich ◊
Rhoda A. Milgrim
Mr. & Mrs. Eugene A. Miller
John & Marcia Miller
Jerald A. & Marilyn H. Mitchell
Mr.◊ & Mrs. L. William Moll
Shari & Craig Morgan
Ms. I. Surayyah R. Muwwakkil◊
Joy & Allan Nachman
Mr. Herman Weinreich ◊
Beverley Anne Pack
David & Andrea Page ◊
Edna J. Shin
Mr. Dale J. Pangonis
Ms. Mary Webber Parker ◊
Mr. John Diebel◊
Mrs. Sophie Pearlstein ◊
Helen & Wesley Pelling ◊
Dr. William F. Pickard
Mrs. Bernard E. Pincus
Ms. Christina Pitts
Mrs. Robert Plummer ◊
Mr. & Mrs. P. T. Ponta
Mrs. Mary Carol Prokop ◊
Ms. Linda Rankin & Mr. Daniel Graschuck
Mr. & Mrs. Douglas J. Rasmussen
Deborah J. Remer
Mr. & Mrs.◊ Lloyd E. Reuss
Mr. Robert E. Wilkins ◊
Ms. Marianne Reye
Lori-Ann Rickard
Bernard & Eleanor Robertson
Ms. Barbara Robins
Jack & Aviva Robinson ◊
Mr.◊ & Mrs. Gerald F. Ross
Mr. & Mrs. George Roumell
Marjorie Shuman Saulson
Mr. & Mrs. Donald & Janet Schenk
Ms. Yvonne Schilla
Mr. & Mrs. Fred G. Secrest ◊
Ms. Marla K. Shelton
Ms. June Siebert
Mr. & Mrs. Donald R. Simon ◊
Ms. Marilyn Snodgrass ◊
Mrs. Margot Sterren ◊
Mr. & Mrs. Walter Stuecken
Mr.◊ & Mrs. Alexander C. Suczek
David Szymborski & Marilyn Sicklesteel
Alice ◊ & Paul Tomboulian
Roger & Tina Valade
Charles & Sally Van Dusen
Mr. & Mrs. Melvin VanderBrug
Mrs. Inge A. Vincent ◊
Christine & Keith C. Weber
Mr. Herman Weinreich ◊
John ◊ & Joanne Werner
Mr.◊ & Mrs. Arthur Wilhelm
Mr. Robert E. Wilkins ◊
Mrs. Michel Williams
Ms. Nancy S. Williams ◊
Mr. Robert S. Williams & Ms. Treva Womble
Ms. Barbara Wojtas
Elizabeth B. Work◊
Dr. Melissa J. Smiley & Dr. Patricia A. Wren
Ms. Andrea L. Wulf
Mrs. Judith G. Yaker
Milton & Lois Zussman ◊
And seven who wish to remain anonymous ◊ Deceased
The DSO’s Planned Giving Council recognizes the region’s leading financial and estate professionals whose current and future clients may involve them in their decision to make a planned gift to the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. Members play a critical role in shaping the future of the DSO through ongoing feedback, working with their clients, supporting philanthropy and attending briefings twice per year.
Linda Wasserman, Chair
Mrs. Katana H. Abbott*
Mr. Joseph Aviv
Mr. Christopher Ballard*
Ms. Jessica B. Blake, Esq.
Ms. Rebecca J. Braun
Mr. Timothy Compton
Ms. Wendy Zimmer Cox*
Mr. Robin D. Ferriby*
Mrs. Jill Governale*
Mr. Henry Grix*
Mrs. Julie Hollinshead, CFA
Mr. Mark W. Jannott, CTFA
Ms. Jennifer Jennings*
Ms. Dawn Jinsky*
Mrs. Shirley Kaigler*
Mr. Robert E. Kass*
Mr. Christopher L. Kelly
Mr. Bernard S. Kent
Ms. Yuh Suhn Kim
Mr. Henry P. Lee*
Mrs. Marguerite Munson Lentz*
Mr. J. Thomas MacFarlane
Mr. Christopher M. Mann*
Mr. Curtis J. Mann
Mrs. Mary K. Mansfield
Mr. Mark E. Neithercut*
Mr. Steve Pierce
Ms. Deborah J. Renshaw, CFP
Mr. James P. Spica
Mr. David M. Thoms*
Mr. John N. Thomson, Esq.
Mr. Jason Tinsley*
Mr. William Vanover
Mr. William Winkler
*Executive Committee Member
Share the music of the DSO with future generations
INCLUDE THE DSO AS A BENEFICIARY IN YOUR WILL
Remembering the DSO in your estate plans will support the sustainability and longevity of our orchestra, so that tomorrow’s audience will continue to be inspired through unsurpassed musical experiences. If you value the role of the DSO—in your life and in our community—
please consider making a gift through your will, trust, life insurance, or other deferred gift.
To learn more please call Alexander Kapordelis at 313.576.5198 or email akapordelis@dso.org
TRIBUTE GIFTS
Gifts received between November 1, 2022 and February 28, 2023
Tribute gifts to the Detroit Symphony Orchestra are made to honor accomplishments, celebrate occasions, and pay respect in memory or reflection. These gifts support current season projects, partnerships and performances such as DSO concerts, education programs, free community concerts, and family programming. For information about making a tribute gift, please call 313.576.5114 or visit dso.org/donate.
The DSO wishes to thank those who donated in memory of President Emeritus Anne Parsons. Please visit dso.org/rememberinganne for the full list of donors.
In Honor
Peter and Julie Cummings
The Clinton Family Fund
Abe and Cheryl Feder
Ms. Barbara Lorry
Mr. James S. Garrett
Timothy & Marianne LeVigne
Ms. Jeanne Paton
Sylvia G. Graham
Ms. Jacqueline Graham
Mr. Kenneth Grunow
Ms. Margaret Grunow
Mr. Michael Hanson
Ms. Jennie Wenger
Mrs. Barbara Hardesty
Ms. Tiffany Worthington
Jo Isaacson, MD Robert Granadier
Ms. Lacy Jewell
Ms. Heather Tomlinson
Mrs. Ann Katz
Ms. Ruth Rattner
Ms. June Kendall John & Candace Vaphiadis
Mr. Allen Ledyard
Mr. & Mrs. Paul Laughlin
Mr. Larwrence Liberson
Mrs. Pamela Esser
Mr. Stephen Molina
Ms. Barbara Bloedow
Mr. & Mrs. Michael Feder
Daniel Steinman
In Memory
Mr. Lloyd Cheny
Mrs. Marcia Cheney
Fred and Gloria Clark
Marriet Clark Webber
Ms. Helen Fildew
Mr. & Mrs. William Gilbride
Marc Lie
Parcival Lie
Angelika Morawski
Ms. Lisa Suida
Mr. Michael Tesner
Ms. Cindy Wilson
Mrs. Barbara Frankel
Mr. Dean Allan & Ms. Maya Slickis
Ms. Pamela Applebaum
Mrs. Stacey Armstrong
Mr. & Mrs. John Beiter
Mr. & Mrs. Stanley Bershad
Mr. & Mrs. Harold Blumenstein
Mr. & Mrs. John Dupps Jr.
Mr. Charles W. Dyer
Mr. & Mrs. Bernard R. Edelson
Mrs. John Ellis
Jim & Margo Farber
Ms. Lisa Scholnick Feinbloom
Dr. & Mrs. Paul Goodman
Mr. Howard J. Gourwitz
Allan & Sydell Grant
Paul Grant & Alyssa Jones
Paul & Francine Hack
Ms. Heather Hamilton
Bill & Ellen Kestenberg
Mr. Joel Kirsch
Mr. and Ms. Bruce J. Lazar
Gregg & Sheryl Nathanson
Ms. Lynn Rosenthal
David & Carol Schooch
Ms. Nancy Wiltsie
Mr John Guinn
Ms. Peggy Spencer Castine
Ms. Joan Hoelaars
Ms. Lynn Popa
Mrs. Carol Horwitz
Laurie Horwitz
Dr. Jo D. Isaacson
Ms. Sylvia Lee
Ms. Marsha Pinson
Mr. John R. Kuhn
Nathan Taylor
Mr. Henry P. Lee
Ms. Kerstyn Zalesin
Ms. Benita Lee
Ms. Andrea Levine
Miss Michele Saxon
Mr. Daniel D. Lublin
Ms. Joyce Berman & Mr. Dan Carol
Mrs. Susan Spelker
Ms. Marianne Masserang
Michael & Doris Burke
Denise Juif-Pomerleau
Robert Ling
Jim & Maureen Marchand
Treca Zdybek
Anne Parsons
Dr. Lillian Bauder
Paul & Laurie Burgoyne
The Clinton Family Fund
Ms. Deborah Lamm
Ms. Patricia Mooradian
Ms. Carol Schoch
Mrs. Mary J. Moll
Mrs. Harriet Port
Mr. Maury Okun
Ms. Ruthanne Okun
Mrs. Jill Rafferty
Ms. Linda Holloway
Mr. & Mrs. William Ramroth
Ms. Erica Siedel
Mrs. Marilyn Schorer
Marc Lie
Ms. Maria Slotnick
Mrs. Judith Schultheiss
Mr. Richard A. Sonenklar
Mr. Antonio David Garcia
Mr. George Popow
Ms. Martha Cheadle
Robert D’Aoust
Ms. Lisa Frazzini
Kelly Galea
Ms. Michele Genuise
Greater Kansas City Community Foundation
Mr. & Mrs. Robert J. Holton
June Martin
ST Microelectronics
Thomas S. Richards
Mr. James Amar
Mr. & Mrs. Robert Davisson
Mr. & Mrs. James Francis
Mr. Michael Modelski
Mr. & Mrs. David Paruch
Mr. William Rittinger
Mrs. Patricia K. Rittinger
Mrs. Alice Tomboulain
Paul Tomboulain
Ayten & Zeyn Uzman
Mr. James Akif Uzman
Mr. Charles Van Dusen Robert Scoville
Dr. & Mrs. Clyde Wu
Mrs. Cynthia MacDonald
Mr. James Zann
Mr. & Ms. Dave Beaupre
UPCOMING CONCERTS & EVENTS
Leila Josefowicz & Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 3
May 19–20
Respect: A Tribute to Aretha Franklin
May 26-28
TICKETS & INFO
313.576.5111 or dso.org
CHAMBER RECITAL STRING QUARTET: SHOSTAKOVICH & PROKOFIEV
Mon, Apr 24 at 7 PM
PVS CLASSICAL SERIES HADELICH & STRAVINSKY
Thu, Apr 27 - Sat, Apr 29
PVS CLASSICAL SERIES BEETHOVEN’S EIGHTH & SIMON’S TROMBONE CONCERTO
Fri, May 5 - Sun, May 7
chamber recital LATIN AMERICAN WINDS
Tue, May 9 at 7 PM
WILLIAM DAVIDSON NEIGHBORHOOD CONCERT SERIES TCHAIKOVSKY & PAGANINI
Thu, May 11 - Sun, May 14
PNC POPS SERIES THE MUSIC OF ELTON JOHN FEATURING MICHAEL CAVANAUGH
Sat, May 13 at 8 PM
PVS CLASSICAL SERIES LEILA JOSEFOWICZ & MENDELSSOHN’S SYMPHONY NO. 3
Fri, May 19 - Sat, May 20
TINY TOTS (Ages 2-5) EARTH DAY IS EVERY DAY
Sat, May 20 at 10 AM
YOUNG PEOPLE’S FAMILY CONCERT SERIES (Ages 6+) BRITTEN’S YOUNG PERSON’S GUIDE TO THE ORCHESTRA
Sat, May 20 at 11 AM
WILLIAM DAVIDSON NEIGHBORHOOD CONCERT SERIES MENDELSSOHN’S “ITALIAN” SYMPHONY
Thu, May 25 - Sun, May 28
PNC POPS SERIES RESPECT: A TRIBUTE TO ARETHA FRANKLIN
Fri, May 26 - Sun, May 28
Two Pianos: Who Could Ask for Anything More?
June 17
PVS CLASSICAL SERIES JADER CONDUCTS TCHAIKOVSKY’S FOURTH SYMPHONY
Fri, June 2 - Sun, June 4
classical BIGNAMINI CONDUCTS STRAUSS’ ALSO SPRACH ZARATHUSTRA
Thu, June 8 - Sat, June 10
WILLIAM DAVIDSON NEIGHBORHOOD CONCERT SERIES BEETHOVEN’S “EMPEROR” CONCERTO
Thu, June 15 - Sun, June 18
TWO PIANOS: WHO COULD ASK FOR ANYTHING MORE?
Sat, June 17
For complete program listings, including Live from Orchestra Hall webcast dates, visit dso.org
WELCOME TO THE MAX
Our Home on Woodward Avenue
The Max M. and Marjorie S. Fisher Music Center is one of Detroit’s most notable cultural campuses. The Max includes three main performance spaces: historic Orchestra Hall, the Peter D. and Julie F. Cummings Cube (The Cube), and Robert A. and Maggie Allesee Hall. All are accessible from the centrally located William Davidson Atrium. The Jacob Bernard Pincus Music Education Center is home to the DSO’s Wu Family Academy and other music education offerings. The DSO is also proud to offer The Max as a performance and administrative space for several local partners, including Detroit Youth Volume.
Parking
The DSO Parking Deck is located at 81 Parsons Street. Self-parking in the garage costs $10 for most concerts (credit card payment only). Accessible parking is available on the first and second floors of the garage. Note that handicapped parking spaces go quickly, so please arrive early!
What Should I Wear?
You do you! We don’t have a dress code, and you’ll see a variety of outfit styles. Business casual attire is common, but sneakers and jeans are just as welcome as suits and ties.
Food and Drink
Concessions are available for purchase on the first floor of the William Davidson Atrium at most concerts, and light bites are available in the Paradise Lounge on the second floor. Bars are located on the first and third floors of the William Davidson Atrium and offer canned sodas (pop, if you prefer), beer, wine, and specialty cocktail mixes.
Patrons are welcome to bring drinks to their seats at all performances except Friday morning Coffee Concerts; food is not allowed in Orchestra Hall. Please note that outside food and beverages are prohibited.
Accessibility
Accessibility matters. Whether you need ramp access for your wheelchair or are looking for sensory-friendly concert options, we are thinking of you.
• The Max has elevators, barrierfree restrooms, and accessible seating on each level. Security staff are available at all entrances to help patrons requiring extra assistance in and out of vehicles.
• The DSO’s Sennheiser MobileConnect hearing assistance system is available for all performances in Orchestra Hall. You can use your own mobile device and headphones by downloading the Sennheiser MobileConnect app, or borrow a device by visiting the Box Office.
• Available at the Box Office during all events at The Max, the DSO offers sensory toolkits to use free of charge, courtesy of the Mid-Michigan Autism Association. The kits contain items that can help calm or stimulate a person with a sensory processing difference, including noise-reducing headphones and fidget toys. The DSO also has a quiet room, available for patrons to use at every performance
• Check out the Accessibility tab on dso.org/yourexperience to learn more
THE MAX M. & MARJORIE S. FISHER MUSIC CENTER
3711 Woodward Avenue
Detroit, MI 48201
Box Office: 313.576.5111
Group Sales: 313.576.5111
Administrative Offices: 313.576.5100
Facilities Rental Info: 313.576.5131
Visit the DSO online at dso.org
For general inquiries, please email info@dso.org
WiFi
Complimentary WiFi is available throughout The Max. Look for the DSOGuest network on your device. And be sure to tag your posts with #IAMDSO!
Shop @ The Max
Our brick and mortar shop is closed, but DSO fans can visit dso.org/shop to purchase DSO merchandise anytime!
The Herman and Sharon Frankel Donor Lounge
Governing Members can enjoy complimentary beverages, appetizers, and desserts in the Donor Lounge, open 90 minutes prior to each concert through the end of intermission. For more information on becoming a Governing Member, contact Leslie Groves at 313.576.5451 or lgroves@dso.org.
Gift Certificates
Gift certificates are available in any denomination and may be used towards tickets to any DSO performance. Please contact the Box Office for more information.
Rent The Max
Elegant and versatile, The Max is an ideal setting for a variety of events and performances: weddings, corporate gatherings, meetings, concerts, and more. Visit dso.org/rentals or call 313.576.5131 for more information.
POLICIES HEALTH & SAFETY
n The DSO no longer requires audiences to provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test to attend performances.
n Masks are optional although strongly recommended at DSO performances, particularly when Wayne County and surrounding communities are in the high or “red” category as defined by the CDC.
n We ask all audience members to do their part to create a safe environment for everyone and encourage those who are not feeling well to stay home.
n We will continue to communicate our policies to ticketholders in advance of their concerts and will provide updates should protocols change throughout the season.
SEATING
Please note that all patrons (of any age) must have a ticket to attend concerts. If the music has already started, an usher will ask you to wait until a break before seating you. The same applies if you leave Orchestra Hall and re-enter. Most performances are broadcast (with sound) on a TV in the William Davidson Atrium.
TICKETS, EXCHANGES, AND CONCERT CANCELLATIONS
n All sales are final and non-refundable.
n Even though we’ll miss you, we understand that plans can change unexpectedly, so the DSO offers flexible exchange and ticket donation options.
n Please contact the Box Office to exchange tickets and for all ticketing questions or concerns.
n The DSO is a show-must-go-on orchestra. In the rare event a concert is cancelled, our website and social media feeds will announce the cancellation, and patrons will be notified of exchange options.
PHONES
Your neighbors and the musicians appreciate your cooperation in turning your phone to silent and your brightness down while you’re keeping an eye on texts from the babysitter or looking up where a composer was born!
PHOTOGRAPHY & RECORDING
We love a good selfie (please share your experiences using @DetroitSymphony and #IAMDSO) but remember that photography
can be distracting to musicians and audience members. Please be cautious and respectful if you wish to take photos.
Flash photography, video recording, tripods, and cameras with detachable lenses are strictly prohibited.
NOTE: By entering event premises, you consent to having your likeness featured in photography, audio, and video captured by the DSO, and release the DSO from any liability connected with these materials. Visit dso.org for more.
SMOKING
Smoking and vaping are not allowed anywhere in The Max.
ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF
EXECUTIVE OFFICE
Erik Rönmark President and CEO
James B. and Ann V. Nicholson Chair
Jill Elder Vice President and Chief Revenue Officer
Linda Lutz
Vice President and Chief Financial and Administrative Officer
Joy Crawford
Executive Assistant to the President and CEO
Serena Donadoni Executive Assistant to the Vice President and Chief Revenue Officer
Anne Parsons ◊ President Emeritus
ARTISTIC OPERATIONS ARTISTIC PLANNING
Jessica Ruiz
Senior Director of Artistic Planning
Jessica Slais Creative Director of Popular and Special Programming
D. Kenji Lee Jazz and @ The Max Coordinator
Claudia Scalzetti Artistic Coordinator
Lindzy Volk Artist Liaison
Goode Wyche
Manager of Jazz and @ The Max
LIVE FROM ORCHESTRA HALL
Marc Geelhoed
Executive Producer of Live from Orchestra Hall
ORCHESTRA OPERATIONS
Kathryn Ginsburg General Manager
Patrick Peterson
Director of Orchestra Personnel
Dennis Rottell Stage Manager
Benjamin Brown Production Manager
Nolan Cardenas Auditions and Operations Coordinator
Bronwyn Hagerty Orchestra and Training Programs Librarian
Benjamin Tisherman Manager of Orchestra Personnel
ADVANCEMENT
Alex Kapordelis Senior Director, Campaign
Jill Rafferty
Senior Director of Advancement
Audrey Kelley Director of Executive and Board Operations
Amanda Tew Director, Advancement Operations
Damaris Doss
Major Gift Officer
Leslie Groves Major Gift Officer
Ali Huber
Signature Events Manager
Jane Koelsch Data and Research Specialist
Colleen McLellan Institutional Gift Officer
Juanda Pack Advancement Benefits Concierge
Susan Queen Gift Officer, Corporate Giving
Joseph Sabatella Fulfillment Coordinator
Cassidy Schmid Manager of Campaign Operations
Shalynn Vaughn Major Gift Officer
BUILDING OPERATIONS
Ken Waddington Senior Director of Facilities and Engineering
Cedric Allen EVS Technician
Teresa Beachem Chief Engineer
Demetris Fisher Manager of Environmental Services (EVS)
William Guilbault EVS Technician
Robert Hobson Chief Maintenance Technician
Daniel Speights EVS Technician
EVENT AND PATRON EXPERIENCE
Christina Williams
Director of Patron and Event Experience
Neva Kirksey Manager of Events and Rentals
Alison Reed, CVA Manager of Volunteer and Patron Experience
COMMUNICATIONS
Matt Carlson
Senior Director, Communications and Media Relations
Sarah Smarch Director of Content and Storytelling
Natalie Berger
Video Content Specialist
LaToya Cross Communications and Advancement Content Specialist
Hannah Engwall Public Relations Manager
Francesca Leo Public Relations Coordinator
COMMUNITY
LEARNING
&
Karisa Antonio
Director of Social Innovation
Damien Crutcher
Managing Director of Detroit Harmony
Debora Kang
Director of Education
Clare Valenti
Director of Community Engagement
Kiersten Alcorn
Manager of Community Engagement
Chris DeLouis Training Ensembles Operations Coordinator
Joanna Goldstein
Training Ensembles
Student Development Coordinator
Kendra Sachs
Training Ensembles
Recruitment and Communications Coordinator
FINANCE
Adela Löw Director of Accounting and Financial Reporting
Sandra Mazza Senior Accountant, Business Operations
Hoang Duong Accounting Clerk Assistant
Dina Hardeman-McCoy Payroll and Benefits Accountant
Sarah Nawrot Accounting Clerk
HUMAN RESOURCES
Hannah Lozon Senior Director of Talent and Culture
Angela Stough Director of Human Resources
Shuntia Perry Recruitment and Employee Experience Specialist
INFORMATION
TECHNOLOGY
William Shell Director of Information Technology
Michelle Koning Web Manager
Aaron Tockstein Database Administrator
MARKETING & AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT
Charles Buchanan Senior Director of Marketing and Audience Development
Teresa Alden Director of Growth and Acquisition
Rebecca Villarreal Director of Subscriptions and Loyalty
Sharon Gardner Carr Assistant Manager of Tessitura and Ticketing Operations
Jay Holladay Brand Graphic Designer
Crystal Mann Loyalty Marketing Strategist
LaHeidra Marshall Marketing Projects Specialist
Connor Mehren Digital Marketing Strategist
Kristin Pagels-Quinlan Content Marketing Strategist
PATRON SALES & SERVICE
Michelle Marshall Director of Patron Sales and Service
Rollie Edwards Patron Sales and Service Specialist
James Sabatella Group and Patron Services Specialist
SAFETY & SECURITY
George Krappmann Director of Safety and Security
Willie Coleman Security Officer
Naomi Howard Security Officer
Tony Morris Security Officer
Johnnie Scott Safety and Security Manager
PERFORMANCE
Winter • 2021-2022 Season
Hannah Engwall, editor hengwall@dso.org
•
ECHO PUBLICATIONS, INC. Tom Putters, publisher James Van Fleteren, designer echopublications.com
•
Cover design by Jay Holladay
•
To advertise in Performance: call 248.582.9690 or email info@echopublications.com
Read Performance anytime! dso.org/performance
Activities of the DSO are made possible in part with the support of the Michigan Arts & Culture Council and the National Endowment for the Arts.
The Community Foundation is dedicated to supporting and enhancing the arts in southeast Michigan.
For decades, we have partnered and collaborated with organizations like the Detroit Symphony Orchestra along with other hyperlocal projects to enrich our region through the arts.
We have helped hundreds of donors who want to support local arts and culture find the best way to make a lasting impact.
MAKE AN IMPACT
When you are ready to make a lasting impact on arts and culture, the Community Foundation is here to help. Visit: cfsem.org/arts-culture or call 313.961.6675