classical roots Beyond the music

By Hannah Engwall

This March, the DSO will honor composer and pianist Anthony Davis and Reverend Dr. Charles G. Adams at the 22ND ANNUAL ARTHUR L.

JOHNSON-HONORABLE DAMON JEROME KEITH CLASSICAL ROOTS CELEBRATION. Originated in 1978, Classical Roots honors African American composers, musicians, educators, and leaders for lifetime achievement and raises funds to support the DSO’s African American music and musician development programs.

This year’s Classical Roots concerts will be conducted by DSO Assistant Conductor Na’Zir McFadden and include John Rosamond Johnson’s Lift Every Voice and Sing (arr. Roland Carter) and Florence Price’s Concert Overture No. 2 alongside works by contemporary Black artists: You Have the Right to Remain Silent by Anthony Davis and Concerto No. 1: SERMON, an array of music and literary texts assembled by bass-baritone Davóne Tines.

We sat down with Davis and Tines to discuss their works and what it means to be part of Classical Roots.

Davis’s You Have the Right to

Remain Silent is a four-movement concerto inspired by the composer’s own experience of “driving while Black” in the 1970s. A person matching Davis’s description had robbed a bank, and in a case of mistaken identity, Davis and his wife were pulled over by police.

“To have a policeman point a gun at you is scary, and it showed me how perilous it is that certain assumptions were made,” said Davis. “For Black people, particularly Black males of a certain age, this is something that we all experience while driving.”

Davis emerged physically unharmed, but the encounter left a lasting impression that he later channeled in You Have the Right to Remain Silent.

In the piece’s first movement,

Interrogation, Davis explores the vulnerability of the solo instrument’s relationship to the orchestra. “When I began the project, the first thing I thought about was the orchestra interrogating the clarinetist. The piece starts almost as if it’s in the middle of a scene—I wanted this feeling of being plunged into something right away.”

With the DSO at Classical Roots, the piece will feature Anthony McGill, Principal Clarinet of the New York Philharmonic and a champion of Davis’s work in recent years. McGill previously performed at Classical Roots in 2021, under conductor William Eddins.

“McGill is a brilliant clarinetist who brings a certain vulnerability and emotion to the piece,” said Davis. “With him, the clarinet becomes a character, and he finds moments of real lyricism.”

Alongside avant-garde pioneer Earl Howard on the Kurzweil synthesizer, McGill explores multiphonics and other more extended techniques on the contra-alto clarinet.

In the Incarceration movement, we hear the speech rhythms of the complete Miranda warning accompanied by percussion, expanding upon the haunting “you have the right to remain silent” refrain that is prominent throughout the work.

The final movement, Dance of the Other, expresses what it’s like to walk or dance in someone else’s shoes. “It’s about the hope for transcending these negative experiences, and the fact that we can empathize,” said Davis.

“When the piece begins, it has the percussion and the clarinet. It’s almost like an African folk song, which is what I wanted to evoke. There’s a sense of the hopefulness in that, and the idea of reclaiming one’s innocence—meaning innocence at all levels: in terms of being charged with a crime, and then innocence in terms of not being jaded, not being so affected by these experiences that we can’t accept love or compassion from others.”

For Tines, Concerto No. 1: SERMON was born of an invitation he received in late 2020 to perform with The Philadelphia Orchestra.

The original invitation was to do John Adams’s The Wound-Dresser, but Tines felt compelled to go in a different direction. “I wanted to explore what else I could I say with this opportunity to sing something in the contemporary vein, but that was also truer to what I felt like I needed to say at that time in our collective history, which was some sort of statement that dealt head-on with this revitalized racial reckoning. Concerto No. 1: SERMON was my attempt to speak honestly in this context where art about Black trauma was being expected.”

For the work, Tines assembled an array of music and literary texts, including musical selections by Davis (“You Want the Truth, but You Don’t Want to Know” from X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X ) and John Adams, along with a piece Tines co-wrote with Igée Dieudonné and Matthew Aucoin. The texts include excerpts by James Baldwin, Langston Hughes, and Detroit poet jessica Care moore, who is also featured in the performance.

Tines originally met moore during his residency at Detroit Opera, which culminated in May 2022 with his performance in the title role of Davis’s X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X . With Moore, Tines felt an immediate connection, one that grew as he became more familiar with her work and the broader network of artists that she was a part of. “I realized the depth of her love for her city, and her conviction about telling the truth of her experience.”

Concerto No. 1: SERMON draws audiences in with the proclamation that “I am going to shake heaven and earth,” something that Tines achieves not through anger or aggression, but through a simple display of humanity and emotion. The piece aims to hold a mirror to the audience, inviting them to interrogate why it is even necessary to make art that calls out the degradation of humanity.

“Jessica is able to address Black lived experience in a very direct, clear, and poetic way,” said Tines. “Having her writing as the centerpiece does exactly what we need it to do—turn the proposition on its head and say yes, I’m here, proving my humanity to you, but why is it even necessary for me to do that in the first place?”

Through previous collaborations, Davis and Tines have built a strong mutual respect and appreciation for one another.

“He’s an incredible artist and I really enjoy working with him,” said Davis of Tines. “He’s been a real trailblazer in devising and transforming the role of what the opera singer/soloist is supposed to be by creating his own programs using other music to tell a different kind of story.”

Of Davis, Tines shares similar admiration: “Anthony is a genius in many ways. He creates music that is at the intersection of so many different ideas, histories, aesthetics, and ways of being, and I find myself contending with those intersections as well. It was amazing to meet somebody who had done such incredible work to coalesce the diversity of their experience and the Black experience and make that incarnate within a classical music context, generations before myself.”

Born in 1951, Davis has been active for decades as a composer, educator, and pianist, and in the 1990s, took part in the DSO’s Unisys African American Composer Residency Program. Both he and Tines look forward to continuing the legacy of African American music at the DSO with Classical Roots.

“I’ve enjoyed my experiences in Detroit and am excited to bring this piece to the city,” said Davis. “Detroit is a serious center for African and African American music from R&B and jazz to classical, and Classical Roots sheds light on the fact that African Americans are deeply involved in classical music and that it is part of our whole spectrum of expression.”

Tines echoed Davis’s sentiments: “All of the people that I’ve engaged with in Detroit are very passionate and curious about what’s going on in their city. There’s a certain je ne sais quois about the Detroit energy and spirit that is unique from other places. I’ve seen a certain kind of unified identity that also is unable to fully articulate itself, but you can actually feel it. And that’s something I’m thrilled to experience again.”

“I’m very glad that the work that I make, that engages identity, can be experienced in a context where people are open minded in that way. Concerto No. 1: SERMON is very direct to the exact context in which Classical Roots is also trying to make change, and I hope that I’m able to show a contemporary method for addressing the necessity for equitable engagement of other histories by predominantly white institutions. I hope that the work strikes a chord with people to try to interrogate how they are contributing to making change.”

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Jeffery Zook & David Assemany: Living Legacy

An acclaimed musician and educator, DSO Flute and Piccolo Jeffery Zook (Shari and Craig Morgan Chair) is currently in his 30th season with the orchestra. Together with his husband, DSO Governing Member Chair David Assemany, the pair gives back to the organization that has given them so much.

It was within the DSO universe that they first met in 1996 and fell in love. Since then, the DSO has been a constant presence in their lives— evolving from a patron and musician-only based relationship to high-level donor status.

The harmonious oneDSO culture initially cultivated by DSO Chair Emeritus Phillip Fisher inspired Zook and Assemany to deepen their investment in the prosperity of the DSO.

Assemany became a Governing Member from the beginning and is now serving in his third year as Chair of the Governing Members. His ambassadorial role is essential to the artistic and cultural health and strategic direction of the DSO.

When the Musicians Fund was established, I immediately knew I wanted us to contribute because I feel strongly that excellence is the most important one of the DSO’s core values. Without excellence, nothing is going to be successful. It was also important to us to give a gift to the Anne Parsons Leadership Fund while Anne was still alive. We respected her immensely and were grateful that we were able to do that before she passed away.”

David Assemany, Governing Member Chair

Living at the intersection of music and community, the sociable duo impacts everyone they meet. They open their home as an entertainment venue for student recitals, open mics, workshops, musical feasts, and fundraisers. As DSO advocates, their legacy gifts to the DSO Musicians Fund for Artistic Excellence and the Anne Parsons Leadership Fund contribute to the future sustainability of Detroit’s world-class orchestra. Within their world of music, advocacy, and community-building through the arts, Dave and Jeff are building a living legacy with their purposeful generosity.

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. and 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

Champions

Mandell & Madeleine Berman Foundation APLF

Mr. and Mrs. Raymond M. Cracchiolo

Joanne Danto & Arnold Weingarden

Vera and Joseph Dresner Foundation

DTE Energy Foundation

Ford Motor Company Fund

Mr. and Mrs. Morton E. Harris ◊

John S. & James L. Knight Foundation

The Kresge Foundation

Mrs. Bonnie Larson APLF

Brian Meer & Lisa

Keramedjian Meer

The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation

Ms. Deborah Miesel

Dr. William F. Pickard

The Polk Family

Stephen M. Ross

Family of Clyde and 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

Pat & Hank◊ Nickol

Jack & Aviva Robinson◊

Martie & Bob Sachs

Mr. & Mrs.◊ Alan E. Schwartz

Drs. Doris Tong & Teck Soo

Paul & Terese Zlotof

Benefactors

Mr.◊ & Mrs. Robert A. Allesee

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

Margie Dunn & Mark Davidoff

APLF, MM

DSO Musicians MM

Bette Dyer Estate

Marjorie S. Fisher Fund MM

Dr. Marjorie M. Fisher & Mr. Roy Furman

Ms. Mary D. Fisher

Mr. & Mrs. Aaron Frankel MM

Barbara Frankel & Ronald Michalak MM

Victor◊ & Gale Girolami Fund

The Glancy Foundation, Inc. APLF

Herbert & Dorothy Graebner ◊

Richard Sonenklar & Gregory Haynes MM

Mr. & Mrs. David Jaffa

Renato & Elizabeth Jamett MM

Allan & Joy Nachman MM

Ann & Norman◊ Katz

Dr. Melvin A. Lester ◊

Florine Mark

Michigan Arts & Culture Council

Dr. Glenda D. Price

Ruth Rattner

Mr. & Mrs.◊ Lloyd E. Reuss

Mr. & Mrs. Fred Secrest◊

Jane & Larry Sherman

Cindy McTee & Leonard Slatkin

Marilyn Snodgrass Estate

Mr. and Mrs. Arn Tellem APLF

Nancy Schlichting & Pamela

Theisen APLF

Mr. James G. Vella MM

Eva von Voss and Family MM

Key: MM DSO Musicians Fund for Artistic Excellence

APLF Anne Parsons Leadership Fund

◊ Deceased