Classical Roots 2023 Events
Now in its 45th season, the first Classical Roots concert took place in 1978 at Detroit’s historic Bethel AME Church and moved to Orchestra Hall in 1981, where it has been a beloved annual tradition ever since.
The Classical Roots mission extends far beyond the concert program, with composer residencies, commissions, recordings, and a fellowship program, and beyond Orchestra Hall, with school visits, chamber recitals, and community events.
BLKBOK: A CLASSICAL ROOTS EXPERIENCE
Friday, February 10 at 8 p.m.
The Peter D. and Julie F. Cummings Cube
BLKBOK, piano
Returning from his sold-out debut, BLKBOK returns for a special evening of music, in celebration of the 2023 DSO's Classical Roots concert, with a high-energy performance and live production like none you have ever seen. BLKBOK’s authentic style on the keys attract the ear with compositions situated in a bed of classical notes accentuated with pop forms, jazzy riffs, and hip-hop boldness–sounds that reference his love for rhythms and musicality ranging from Ice Cube and Tina Turner to Chopin and, of course, Bach.
DSO FELLOW JAQUAIN SLOAN PERFORMS
Sunday, February 12 at 7:30 a.m. and 11 a.m.
Hartford Memorial Baptist Church (18700 James Couzens Fwy, Detroit, MI 48235)
DSO musician Jaquain Sloan (bassoon) will perform, highlighting the DSO’s African American Orchestra Fellowship
CHAMBER RECITAL AT PLYMOUTH UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST
Wednesday, February 22 at 6 p.m.
Plymouth United Church of Christ (600 E. Warren Ave., Detroit, MI 48201)
Heidi Han, violin
Sujin Lim, violin
Will Haapaniemi, viola
Jeremy Crosmer, cello
Plymouth United Church of Christ Renaissance Choir, chorus
This chamber recital will present repertoire by African American composers in partnership with students from the Plymouth Educational Community and students from the Plymouth Sunday School, featuring DSO musicians and the Plymouth United Church of Christ Renaissance Choir.
CLASSICAL ROOTS
Friday, March 3, 2023 at 10:45 a.m.
Saturday, March 4, 2023 at 8 p.m.
Orchestra Hall
Na’Zir McFadden, conductor
Anthony McGill, clarinet
Earl Howard, Kurzweil synthesizer
Davóne Tines, bass-baritone
jessica Care moore, poet
Brazeal Dennard Chorale, choir (Alice McAllister Tillman, Artistic Director)
Program to include:
JOHN ROSAMOND JOHNSON / ARR. CARTER Lift Every Voice and Sing
HAILSTORK O Praise the Lord
TRADITIONAL / ARR. DUNCAN Hold On!
ANTHONY DAVIS You Have the Right to Remain Silent concerto for clarinet/contra-alto clarinet, Kurzweil synthesizer, and ensemble in four movements
FLORENCE PRICE Concert Overture No. 2
VARIOUS “Concerto No. 1: SERMON” devised by Davóne Tines
Anthony Davis’s concerto-like work for clarinet and orchestra was inspired by the composer’s experience of an unjust incident with the police. The soloist is Anthony McGill, Principal Clarinet of the New York Philharmonic, who has championed this work in recent years. Bass-baritone Davóne Tines has assembled an array of music and literary texts into a piece he describes as a “devised concerto for voice and orchestra.” Musical selections are by Anthony Davis 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 jessica Care moore. Also on the program: Concert Overture No. 2 by Florence Price, who was the first Black female composer to have a symphony performed by a major American orchestra.
The March 4 performance will be webcast for free at dso.org and via Facebook Live as part of the DSO’s Live from Orchestra Hall series. The March 3 concert will be broadcast and streamed live on 90.9 WRCJ in Detroit and network of stations across Michigan.
2023 Classical Roots Celebration ticket information available here
