Events include Educational Concert Series performance, Detroit Community Ensembles performance, Wu Family Academy Showcase, and Civic Youth Ensembles Family Experience
Tickets on sale now at dso.org
Detroit, (April 2, 2025) – The Detroit Symphony Orchestra’s (DSO) Learning & Engagement team is pleased to present educational and community events this spring at the Max M. and Marjorie S. Fisher Music Center. These events will include A Symphony of Science as part of the Educational Concert Series, a performance by the Detroit Community Ensembles, the Wu Family Academy Showcase, and the Civic Youth Ensembles (CYE) Family Experience.
On Wednesday, April 23 at 10:30 a.m. and 11:45 a.m. the DSO will present A Symphony of Science led by Assistant Conductor and Phillip & Lauren Fisher Community Ambassador Na’Zir McFadden in Orchestra Hall. This performance is part of the DSO’s Educational Concert Series, where students from 3rd to 8th grade are invited to explore topics including science, history, and art through orchestral music. A Symphony of Science is presented in partnership with the Michigan Science Center.
The following week on Wednesday, April 30 at 7 p.m. the Detroit Community Ensembles will present a program of band and orchestral music conducted by Damien Crutcher (the DSO’s Managing Director of Detroit Harmony) and music educator, composer, and conductor Maritza Garibay. Part of the DSO’s 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.
Continuing on Friday, May 2 at 7 p.m., the Wu Family Academy (WFA) Showcase will feature the premier classical ensembles of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra's CYE program. Join us for this performance from the Detroit Symphony Youth Wind Ensemble, directed by Dr. Kenneth Thompson, and the Detroit Symphony Youth Orchestra, directed by DSO Assistant Conductor and Phillip and Lauren Fisher Community Ambassador Na’Zir McFadden in Orchestra Hall. This concert will also feature violin soloist Isabell Johnson, the winner of the 2025 CYE Concerto Competition.
To conclude the spring educational and community events, an all-day concert experience featuring the DSO’s Civic Youth Ensembles on Sunday, May 11 at 1 p.m. will take place in Orchestra Hall. Ten ensembles, including string orchestras, wind ensembles, jazz bands, and a full orchestra comprised of exceptionally talented students will perform. This concert will also feature violin soloist and winner of the 2025 CYE Concerto Competition, Daniel Liu, with the Civic Philharmonic Orchestra. The Dresner Allegro String Ensemble will open this performance. This ensemble is comprised of students from the Duke Ellington Conservatory, a Detroit Public School Community District school.
The Educational Concert series is made possible in part by the Penny and Harold Blumenstein Future Audiences Fund.
CYE is proudly sponsored by the following funders: Mandell & Madeleine Berman Foundation, Dr. George & Joyce Blum, Penny & Harold Blumenstein Future Audiences Fund, Ms. Debra Bonde, Michael Thain Cameron & Martha Cavanagh Cameron, Robert & Lucinda Clement Fund for Music Education, Jack, Evelyn, and Richard Cole Family Foundation, Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan, Detroit Pistons, Vera & Joseph Dresner Foundation, The Fred A. & Barbara M. Erb Family Foundation, Max M. & Marjorie S. Fisher Foundation, Ford Foundation, Stanley & Judith Frankel Family Foundation, Paul Wingert Scholarship, Mary Lee Gwizdala, Laurie Lindemulder Harris, Dr. Karen Hrapkiewicz, David & Sheri Jaffa, The Kellman Scholars, Mary Lambert, Liebler Family Foundation, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Deborah Miesel Scholarship Endowment, David R. & Sylvia J. Nelson Foundation for Arts & Letters, Sheila Paton, PNC Bank, Dr. Glenda D. Price, Mr. & Mrs. David Provost, Renaissance (MI) Chapter of the Links, Chris Sachs/Shanda Lowery-Sachs Civic Youth Ensembles Scholarships, The Bea &, Harry Shapiro Fund for Keyboard Education, Bill & Chris Shell, Susan Shevrin, Steven Smith, Stone Foundation of Michigan, Peter & Carol Walters, Warner Norcross + Judd LLP, Elaine Weingarden, Drs. David & Bernadine Wu, Young Woman's Home Association, and Burton A. Zipser & Sandra D. Zipser Foundation.
Much of the growth of CYE was made possible through the years of visionary leadership from Clyde and Helen Wu. The DSO is proud to honor their legacy through the Wu Family Academy of Learning and Engagement, which encompasses all the educational activities of the DSO.
Tickets for these performances 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.
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Educational Concert Series
Wednesday, April 23 at 10:30 a.m. and 11:45 a.m.
Orchestra Hall
Na'Zir McFadden, conductor
The Detroit Symphony Orchestra's Educational Concert Series (ECS) has introduced students to classical music for more than 80 years. Each 45-minute ECS performance is thematically designed to explore topics like science, history, and art through orchestral music. ECS performances take place in historic Orchestra Hall and are webcast for free via the Live from Orchestra Hall: Classroom Edition series.
ECS performances are recommended for students in 3rd through 8th Grade.
Wednesday, April 30 at 7 p.m.
Orchestra Hall
Damien Crutcher, director
Maritza Garibay, director
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.
Friday, May 2 at 7 p.m.
Orchestra Hall
Kenneth Thompson, director
Na’Zir McFadden, director
The Wu Family Academy (WFA) Showcase features the premier classical ensembles of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra's Civic Youth Ensembles (CYE) program. Join the Detroit Symphony Youth Wind Ensemble, directed by Dr. Kenneth Thompson, and the Detroit Symphony Youth Orchestra, directed by DSO Assistant Conductor and Phillip and Lauren Fisher Community Ambassador, Na’Zir McFadden, in the historic Orchestra Hall.
Sunday, May 11 at 1 p.m.
Orchestra Hall
Showcasing the Civic Youth Ensembles on Orchestra Hall stage, this all-day concert experience will feature ten ensembles, including string orchestras, wind ensembles, jazz bands, and a full orchestra.
Featured Ensembles:
Pizzicato String Ensemble, directed by Mark Mutter and Maria Pia
Bucco Civic Arco String Ensemble, directed by Danny DeRose
Civic Sinfonia String Orchestra, directed by Tanya Bennett
Civic Concert String Orchestra, directed by Mark Mutter
Civic Jazz Band, directed by Dominic Waddles
Creative Jazz Ensemble, directed by Darell “Red” Campbell
Civic Jazz Orchestra, directed by Vincent Chandler
Civic Concert Band, directed by Kristin Blanchard
Civic Symphonic Band, directed by Damien Crutcher
Civic Philharmonic Orchestra, directed by Dr. Kenneth Thompson
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About the DSO
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. Led by Music Director Jader Bignamini since 2020, the DSO makes its home at historic Orchestra Hall within the Max M. and Marjorie S. Fisher Music Center, offering a robust performance schedule that features classical, pops, jazz, and family concerts, plus community performances. Enrico Lopez-Yañez was named Principal Pops Conductor in 2023, trumpeter and composer Terence Blanchard serves as the orchestra’s Fred A. Erb Jazz Creative Director Chair, and Tabita Berglund began her tenure as Principal Guest Conductor in the 2024–25 season. A dedication to broadcast innovation and technology 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.
The DSO’s distinguished history of recordings—many led by its renowned music directors—spans nearly a century, beginning with the orchestra’s first 78 rpm singles with Ossip Gabrilowitsch released on the Victrola label in 1928. A steady recording output has continued since then, with highlights including more than 20 releases with Paul Paray for Mercury’s Living Presence series, and 27 under the baton of Neeme Järvi, mostly on the Chandos label. In the 1970s, the DSO took part in the historic Black Composers Series for Columbia Records led by its then-Associate Conductor Paul Freeman and later made several acclaimed recordings with Antal Doráti for the Decca label. More recently, under the direction of Leonard Slatkin, the DSO recorded music by Rachmaninoff, Copland, and John Williams for the Naxos label, earning its first GRAMMY® nomination in 2017 for Copland’s Third Symphony / Three Latin American Sketches. The first recording with Jader Bignamini, of Wynton Marsalis’s Blues Symphony, will be released in 2025 on the Pentatone label.
Since its first school concerts a century ago, and particularly since the founding of the Civic Youth Ensembles in 1970, the DSO has been a national leader in bringing the benefits of music education to students, teachers, and families in Detroit and surrounding communities. The DSO remains committed to expanding its participation in the growth and well-being of Detroit through programs like its Detroit Neighborhood Initiative—cultural events co-created with community partners and residents—and Detroit Harmony, a promise to provide an instrument and instruction to any student in the city who wants to learn. With unwavering support from the people of Detroit, the DSO actively pursues a mission to impact lives through the power of unforgettable musical experiences.