Detroit Community Ensembles to present concert at Orchestra Hall, November 16

Ticket reservations available now at dso.org

Detroit, (November 3, 2022) – The Detroit Community Ensembles, under the auspices of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO), will come together at Orchestra Hall for a program of band and orchestral music conducted by Damien Crutcher (the DSO’s Managing Director of Detroit Harmony) and music educator Maritza Garibay, with a guest conducting appearance by H. Robert Reynolds (Director of Bands Emeritus of the University of Michigan Bands).

Part of the DSO’s educational training programs, the Detroit Community Ensembles consists of the Detroit Community Concert Band (conducted by Crutcher) and the Detroit Community Orchestra (conducted by Garibay). Each ensemble is comprised of a mix of adult musicians of all ages from across the metro Detroit area. The ensembles rehearse and perform repertoire on the historic Orchestra Hall stage each season.

2022-2023 SEASON DSO SAFETY POLICIES: The DSO no longer requires audiences to provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test to attend performances. 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. The DSO asks audience members to do their part to create a safe environment for everyone and encourages those who are not feeling well to stay home.

Detroit Community Ensembles will take place Wednesday, November 16 at 7 p.m. at Orchestra Hall.

Tickets for this performance start at $15 and can be purchased at dso.org or by calling the Box Office at 313.576.5111, open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

 

DETROIT COMMUNITY ENSEMBLES
Wednesday, November 16 at 7 p.m.
Orchestra Hall
Damien Crutcher, conductor
Maritza Garibay, conductor
Robert Reynolds, conductor
Please join us for an exciting evening with the Detroit Community Orchestra and Detroit Community Concert Band! These ensembles are comprised of adults of all ages from the metro Detroit area.

 

About Detroit Community Ensembles
Founded in 2016, the Detroit Community Ensembles (DCE) provide a safe and encouraging space for adults to continue playing their instrument. Open to all traditional classical instruments, DCE encourages you to oil your valves and rosin your bows to pick up right where you left off, rehearsing with friends and playing concerts in historic Orchestra Hall.

DCE currently consists of two ensembles: the Detroit Community Orchestra and the Detroit Community Band. We welcome all players regardless of how long it’s been since you’ve last picked up your instrument, but experience of at least two years is recommended.

The Detroit Community Concert Band (DCB) houses a mix of professional and non-professional woodwind, brass, and percussion musicians from across the metro Detroit area. Under the direction of Damien Crutcher, DCB rehearses and performs standard wind ensemble repertoire in Detroit’s own historic Orchestra Hall.

The Detroit Community Orchestra (DCO) contains a mix of professional and non-professional string musicians from across the metro-Detroit area. Under the direction of Maritza Garibay, the DCO rehearses and performs string chamber orchestral works on historic Orchestra Hall stage. Three times each Detroit Community Ensemble season, the DCO collaborates with musicians from the Detroit Community Concert Band to perform full orchestra repertoire. 

 

About Damien Crutcher
Damien Crutcher is a native Detroiter now entering his third season of working with CYE. A graduate of Cass Technical High School, he studied at Michigan State University and earned a Master of Music degree from the University of Michigan. He is also the co-founder and CEO of Crescendo Detroit and artistic director and conductor of the Farmington Community Band.

After graduating from the University of Michigan, Damien served as director of bands and orchestras at Southfield-Lathrup High School. Many of his former students are currently professional musicians, music teachers, and artists.

 

About Maritza Garibay
Maritza Garibay is a musician and music educator from Detroit, Michigan. A violinist and orchestral conductor, she has shifted her focus toward experimental sonic explorations with homemade analog synthesizers and effects. Her current work reflects on the diaspora of Pauline Oliveros’s deep listening pedagogy in the BIPOC sound art community.


About H. Robert Reynolds
Robert Reynolds is the Principal Conductor of the Wind Ensemble at the Thornton School of Music at the University of Southern California where he holds the H. Robert Reynolds Professorship in Wind Conducting. This appointment followed his retirement, after 26 years, from the School of Music of the University of Michigan where he served as the Henry F. Thurnau Professor of Music, Director of University Bands and Director of the Division of Instrumental Studies. In addition to these responsibilities, he has also been, for over 35 years, the conductor of The Detroit Chamber Winds and Strings, which is made up primarily of members from the Detroit Symphony. Robert Reynolds has conducted recordings for Koch International, Pro Arte, Caprice, and Deutsche Grammophon. In the United States, he has conducted at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center (New York), Orchestra Hall (Chicago), Kennedy Center (Washington, D. C.), Powell Symphony Hall (St. Louis), Academy of Music (Philadelphia), Disney Concert Hall (Los Angeles), and Tanglewood. In Europe, he conducted the premiere of an opera for La Scala Opera (Milan, Italy), and concerts at the prestigious Maggio Musicale (Florence, Italy), the Tonhalle (Zurich, Switzerland), and at the Holland Festival in the Concertgebouw (Amsterdam, Holland), as well as the 750th Anniversary of the City of Berlin. He has won the praise of composers: Leslie Bassett, William Bolcom, Aaron Copland, John Corigliano, Henryk Gorecki, Karel Husa, Gyorgy Ligeti, Darius Milhaud, Bernard Rands, Gunther Schuller, Karlheinz Stockhausen, and many others for his interpretive conducting of their compositions. Robert Reynolds has been awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Duquesne University and holds degrees in Music Education and Performance from the University of Michigan, where he was the conducting student of Elizabeth Green. 

About the DSO
The most accessible orchestra on the planet, the acclaimed Detroit Symphony Orchestra is known for trailblazing performances, collaborations with the world’s foremost musical artists, and a deep connection to its city. As a community-supported orchestra, generous giving by individuals and institutions at all levels drives the continued success and growth of the organization. In January 2020, Italian conductor Jader Bignamini was named the DSO’s next music director to commence with the 2020-2021 season. Celebrated conductor, arranger, and trumpeter Jeff Tyzik is the orchestra’s Principal Pops Conductor, while Oscar-nominated trumpeter and composer Terence Blanchard holds the Fred A. Erb Jazz Creative Director Chair.

Making its home at historic Orchestra Hall within the Max M. and Marjorie S. Fisher Music Center, the DSO offers a performance schedule that features PVS Classical, PNC Pops, Paradise Jazz, and Young People’s Family Concert series. One of the world’s most acoustically perfect concert halls, Orchestra Hall celebrated its centennial in 2019-2020. In addition, the DSO presents the William Davidson Neighborhood Concert Series in seven metro area venues, as well as a robust schedule of eclectic multi-genre performances in its mid-size venue The Cube, constructed and curated with support from Peter D. & Julie F. Cummings.

A dedication to broadcast innovation began in 1922, when the DSO became the first orchestra in the world to present a live radio broadcast of a concert and continues today with the groundbreaking Live from Orchestra Hall series of free webcasts, which also reaches tens of thousands of children with the Classroom Edition expansion. With growing attendance and unwavering philanthropic support from the people of Detroit, the DSO actively pursues a mission to embrace and inspire individuals, families, and communities through unsurpassed musical experiences.