When Instruments Roamed the Earth - Young People's Family Concert Series - April 13, 2024

JADER BIGNAMINI , Music Director

Music Directorship endowed by the Kresge Foundation

JEFF TYZIK

Principal Pops Conductor

FIRST VIOLIN

Robyn Bollinger

CONCERTMASTER

Katherine Tuck Chair

Kimberly Kaloyanides Kennedy

ASSOCIATE CONCERTMASTER

TERENCE BLANCHARD

Fred A. Erb Jazz Creative Director Chair

CELLO

Wei Yu

PRINCIPAL

Abraham Feder

ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL

NA’ZIR MCFADDEN Assistant Conductor, Phillip & Lauren Fisher Community Ambassador

Dorothy and Herbert Graebner Chair

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*

William and Story John Chair

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

Janet and Norm Ankers Chair

Caroline Coade

Henry and Patricia Nickol Chair

Glenn Mellow

Hang Su

Hart Hollman

Han Zheng

Mike Chen

Harper Randolph §

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*

Mary Lee Gwizdala Chair

BASS

Kevin Brown

PRINCIPAL

Van Dusen Family Chair

Stephen Molina

ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL

Christopher Hamlen*

Peter Hatch*

Vincent Luciano*

Brandon Mason*

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

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

LEONARD SLATKIN Music Director Laureate

CLARINET

Ralph Skiano

PRINCIPAL

Robert B. Semple Chair

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

Cornelia Sommer

Marcus Schoon

CONTRABASSOON

Marcus Schoon HORN

OPEN

PRINCIPAL

David and Christine Provost Chair

Johanna Yarbrough

Scott Strong

Ric and Carola Huttenlocher Chair

David Everson

ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL

Mark Abbott

TRUMPET

Hunter Eberly

PRINCIPAL

Lee and Floy Barthel Chair

Austin Williams

William Lucas

TROMBONE

Kenneth Thompkins

PRINCIPAL

Shari and Craig Morgan Chair

David Binder

Adam Rainey

BASS TROMBONE

Adam Rainey

TUBA

Dennis Nulty

PRINCIPAL

NEEME JÄRVI Music Director Emeritus

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

Luciano Valdes§

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

Matthew Pons

DEPARTMENT HEAD

Jason Tschantre

DEPARTMENT HEAD

LEGEND

* These members may voluntarily revolve seating within the section on a regular basis

^ On sabbatical

§ African American Orchestra Fellow

DETROIT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

NA’ZIR MCFADDEN

DETROIT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

J A DER B I G

DETROIT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

A COMMU

DETROIT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

A COMMU N I T Y -SU P P ORT E D ORCHESTRA

JA DER B I G NA M I N I MUSIC DIRECTOR

DETROIT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

A COMMU N I T Y -SU P P ORT E D ORCHESTRA

JA DER B I G NA M I N I MUSIC DIRECTOR

Young People’s Family Concert Series

WHEN INSTRUMENTS ROAMED THE EARTH

Saturday, April 13, 2024 at 11 a.m. in Orchestra Hall

American conductor Na’Zir McFadden is the Assistant Conductor and Phillip & Lauren Fisher Community Ambassador of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, working closely with Music Director Jader Bignamini. McFadden also serves as Music Director of the Detroit Symphony Youth Orchestra. In both 2023 and 2024, McFadden conducted the DSO’s annual Classical Roots concerts.

Establishing his presence on the classical music scene, McFadden’s 2023–2024 season includes a debut with the Ann Arbor Symphony and a return to the Philadelphia Ballet. He will also serve as a guest cover conductor for the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. Other conducting highlights include debuts with the Utah Symphony Orchestra, the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra, and the Philadelphia Ballet.

Additionally, McFadden led a recording project with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago featuring Hilary Hahn as co-collaborator and soloist. This past summer, McFadden participated in the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s Conducting Seminar as part of the Tanglewood Institute under the guidance of Andris Nelsons and Stefan Asbury. In 2020, McFadden was named the inaugural Apprentice Conductor of the Philadelphia Ballet; a position he held until 2022. He also served as the Robert L. Poster Conducting Apprentice of the New York Youth Symphony from 2020 to 2021. At the age of 16, he conducted his hometown orchestra—The Philadelphia Orchestra—in their “Pop-Up” series, meeting their Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin, who has since served as a mentor.

An advocate for arts education, McFadden currently serves as a board member of Generation Music, a Philadelphia-based nonprofit organization that provides classical music education to underrepresented youth in local school districts.

Na’Zir McFadden, conductor Eric Gutman, actor

Bob Singleton When Instruments Roamed the Earth!® (b. 1952)

Story & Narration by  Stephen White

“When Instruments Roamed the Earth!®” © 2019 Agnes Day Music, BMI, composed by Bob Singleton, with narration by Stephen White. Used By Permission. All Rights Reserved.

Join us throughout the William Davidson Atrium for family-friendly activities including a composer’s workshop, instrument try-out tables, a face painting station, a creative journaling station (where children can decorate a journal to take home), and a “make an instrument” craft table.

Children also have the opportunity to write notes to DSO musicians, and visit an informational booth hosted by the MSU Community Music School in Detroit, which features additional performances and musical activities.

Need a sensory break from the action? The DSO has a quiet room available for patrons to use on the third floor of the William Davidson Atrium. We also offer sensory toolkits (available at the Box Office) to use free of charge, courtesy of the Mid-Michigan Autism Association.