John Williams, Steven Spielberg Team Up With DSO For Benefit Concert

Oscar-winning composer John Williams and legendary director Steven Spielberg will join the DSO for a one-night-only gala benefit concert for the orchestra. Tickets to this special concert appearance will be available starting April 14. Both artists are donating their services for this extraordinary event.

Five-time Academy Award and 21-time Grammy Award winner John Williams returns to the DSO to conduct an unforgettable evening of music from the movies, featuring selections from some of his most popular and iconic scores, including Star Wars, Harry Potter, Jaws, E.T., Indiana Jones, Schindler's List and more. Acclaimed director and three-time Academy Award winner Steven Spielberg joins Williams to host the second half of the evening, presenting selections from their remarkable forty-year artistic collaboration, including selected film clips projected on a giant screen above the orchestra.

Kid Rock With A Cause: Detroit Symphony Concert Raises $1M

Performing a benefit concert with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra on Saturday night (May 12) at the Fox Theatre, according to Kid Rock, was "the best drunk move I ever made," have received the call while he was enjoying some post-show libation backstage in Louisville during the spring of 2011.

On paper it certainly looked a little...screwy. The likes of "Bawitdaba," "Devil Without a Cause" and "You Never Met a Mother****** Quite Like Me" hardly seem like orchestral fare, and the DSO has surely never before worked with vocalists who drop liberal F-bombs and sing about prostitute, pimps, drugs and debauchery. The orchestra may play Aaron Copland's "Fanfare for the Common Man," but the terrain of Rock's song is little more, well, common in the rawest sense of the word.

And it's highly unlikely any previous DSO guest has ever referred to music director Leonard Slatkin as "badass," as Rock did on Saturday.

But the pairing, which raised $1 million for the DSO -- still feeling the after-effects of a six-month 2010-11 musicians' strike as well as a challenging economy in general -- worked well. The two-hour and five-minute show, during which Rock and his Twisted Brown Trucker band performed 11 of his songs with the DSO as well as a three-song encore set on their own, added layers of orchestral bombast and spice to a repertoire more stylistically diverse than, say, Metallica's "S&M" set list and proving that the orchestra could rock and that Rock's songs, at least those played with the DSO, were sturdy enough to support a little bit of sophistication. Rob Mathes' complementary arrangements gave the DSO a prominent place in the music without trying to upstage the songs, making a batch of familiar sound richer, fuller and fresher.

"I think the good idea is to let the audience hear the band rock and use the orchestra to enhance what the band is doing," Mathes, whose voluminous credits include musical director for the Kennedy Center Honors, told Billboard.com. "I want to use the orchestra as another member of the band -- albeit an extraordinary one -- and let them shine in their glory at times but not just let them be this carpet over everything." Mathes, who had worked with the DSO's Slatkin on previous projects, studied a number of live tapes from concerts by Rock and his Twisted Brown Trucker band and also attended a concert in Tampa "so I could really write the orchestra to the way they play live, not just on record."

Rock sported a tuxedo while Slatkin and the orchestra musicians donned his trademark black fedoras for the opening "Devil Without a Cause," which included the late Joe C. rapping via tape about his 10-foot you-know-what while a scrim featuring his photo hung over the DSO. Rock changed garb quickly -- "You didn't really think I was wearing a tuxedo all night, did you?" he said -- a ran through a repertoire during which the orchestra added bold, Mahler-esque stabs marked "Bawitdaba" and "Rock N Roll Jesus" and bulked up the main riffs of "You Never Met...," "All Summer Long," "Born Free" and "Cowboy," with the latter mixing tastes of Americana fiddle flare with Gershwinesque grandeur. Mathes borrowed from Al Green's Memphis soul on the ballad "Rock On," while melodic counterpoints enriched "Purple Sky" (a favorite of Rock's mom, which he dedicated to her for Mother's Day) and "Picture." The DSO also introduced songs such as pro-Detroit paean "Times Like These" and "Born Free" with specially created intros.

Click HERE to read the full article on Billboard (dot) com! 

DSO One of 6 Groups to Grace Carnegie Hall Stage In 2013

The Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) is thrilled to announce it will perform at Carnegie Hall for the first time in 17 years. The DSO is one of six orchestras that will participate in the third annual Spring For Music festival. On May 10, 2013, the DSO will perform all four Charles Ives Symphonies in one extraordinary three-hour program, becoming the first orchestra to do so for New York audiences.

“We’re taking the Orchestra back to New York at a very special time for the DSO and for Detroit,” said Anne Parsons, DSO president and CEO. “Our appearance at Carnegie Hall is at once a celebration of the thriving Leonard Slatkin/DSO era and Detroit’s renaissance, exemplified by our robust arts and culture scene.”

Spring For Music is a six-day festival that features six major American orchestras, all selected based on the imaginative nature of their proposed programming and how it aligns with the philosophy of each orchestra. The affordable, general admission ticket price, just $25, is designed to make adventurous repertoire available to anyone and everyone. In 2013, the DSO will perform along with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Albany Symphony Orchestra, Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, Oregon Symphony and the National Symphony Orchestra.

“We are thrilled to welcome the Detroit Symphony to Spring For Music 2013,” said Spring For Music Artistic Director Thomas W. Morris. “Their program of the four symphonies by Charles Ives embodies perfectly the creativity and innovation in programming that Spring For Music stands for, and represents Leonard Slatkin and his orchestra’s commitment to American music.”

Music Director Leonard Slatkin chose an immersion into Ives in pursuit of showcasing the strength, sound, ensemble and style that is uniquely Detroit. Long known for celebrating American repertoire through recordings and commissions, telling Ives’ biographical story through the consecutive performances of all his symphonic works serves as a tribute to both Slatkin’s affinity for American compositions and Detroit’s longtime acquaintance with the American school. Slatkin, who considers Ives to be one of America’s most progressive composers of his time, imagined the four-symphony program as a way to acquaint the audience with his style.

“For our first trip together to New York, the DSO and I are proud to present a landmark musical event,” said DSO Music Director Leonard Slatkin. “To our knowledge this is the first integral performance of the four symphonies by Charles Ives anywhere. The opportunity to participate in Spring For Music made it possible not only to perform at Carnegie hall, but also to make a truly once-in-a-lifetime experience for our own audiences in Detroit.”

In support of the Orchestra, a Detroit contingent will be accompanying the musicians to New York. For more information about joining us, call 313.576.5147.

Patrons may reserve their ticket now at the Max M. Fisher Music Center box office (3711 Woodward Ave.) or by calling 313.576.5111.

Detroit Symphony Orchestra Kicks Off Pops Season With Award-Winning Composer Dave Grusin

Join the Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) as it teams up with Award-winning composer and pianist Dave Grusin for five performances from Oct. 8-11.

Grusin, joined by bassist Brian Bromberg and percussionist Will Kennedy, will showcase his film scores as well as jazz and traditional works in a concert event titled An Evening with Dave Grusin.

The performances, part of the DTE Energy Foundation Pops Series, take place Thurs., Oct. 8 at 10:45 a.m. and 8 p.m.; Fri., Oct. 9 at 8:30 p.m.; Sat., Oct. 10 at 8:30 p.m.; and Sun., Oct. 11 at 3 p.m. in Orchestra Hall.

The program features a wide array of Grusin’s original compositions from film scores to such movies as The Firm, Tootsie, On Golden Pond, Havana, The Milagro Beanfield War and The Goonies along with the jazz work “Mountain Dance” and traditional cowboy songs “Git-along, Little Dogies,” “The Colorado Trail” and “Cripple Creek Breakdown.”  Also highlighted in the program are Mancini’s Peter Gunn and Mr. Lucky, Bernstein’s Porgy and Bess Medley and much more.

Since the late 50’s, Dave Grusin has worked in the profession of music as an arranger, pianist, composer and record producer.  Born in Littleton, CO and educated at the University of Colorado, he holds honorary doctoral degrees from the University of Colorado and from the Berklee College of Music in Boston.  
              
Grusin has written over sixty film scores, including The Graduate, Tootsie, The Fabulous Baker Boys, The Firm, Havana, Heaven Can Wait, and On Golden Pond. Having received eight Academy Award-nominations, he won an Oscar in 1988 for The Milagro Beanfield War. Most recently he scored Recount for HBO.

From 1976 to 1995, he was in partnership with Larry Rosen as owners of GRP records.  His life as a recording artist and producer has resulted in ten Grammy Awards and numerous nominations, including one for Two Worlds in 2002 and another for Amparo in 2008. These two projects with guitarist Lee Ritenour feature performances by Renée Fleming, Joshua Bell, Gil Shaham, Chris Botti and James Taylor, among others.  

He has also arranged for and/or performed with Quincy Jones, Gerry Mulligan, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Arnold Steinhardt, Bobby Mcferrin, Peggy Lee, Patti Austin, Diana Krall, Grover Washington Jr., Earl Klugh, Arturo Sandoval, Clark Terry, Sergio Mendes, James Taylor, Billy Joel, Andy Williams and Paul Simon.
In addition, Grusin is co-founder (with Rosen) of the National Foundation for Jazz Education, a philanthropic group dedicated to helping young jazz musicians. He is also a rancher and a dedicated environmental activist.

TICKET INFORMATION

Tickets to An Evening with Dave Grusin range in price from $19 to $70 with a limited number of box seats available for $100 to $105.  Tickets may be purchased at the Max M. Fisher Music Center box office (3711 Woodward Ave., Detroit); by calling (313) 576-5111; or online at www.detroitsymphony.com.  Seniors (60 and over) and students with a valid student ID can purchase 50% off RUSH tickets at the box office 90 minutes prior to concerts based on availability.

For group discount information (10 people or more), please contact Chuck Dyer at (313) 576-5130 or cdyer@dso.org.

Detroit Symphony Orchestra to Perform Free Concert at Kensington Park Saturday, June 26

The “Target Harmony in the Metroparks” concert will be held on Friday, June 26, beginning at 8 p.m.
The DSO will again perform a free family-friendly concert. The concert is free with a vehicle entry permit.

Concertgoers should arrive early for the best seating and should bring a chair or blanket. Picnic baskets are allowed, but no glass containers. Food will also be available at the park's concession area.