Program celebrates David Bowie’s final, critically acclaimed album Blackstar—reimagined for full orchestra and performed with the original Blackstar band
Tickets on sale Friday, March 28 at dso.org
Detroit, (March 27, 2025) – The Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) will present BLACKSTAR SYMPHONY: The Music of David Bowie on May 22 at Orchestra Hall. “The concert casts new light on an album that deserves closer listening, expanding its sonic palette with thoughtfully arranged orchestrations.”—The Washington Post
BLACKSTAR SYMPHONY celebrates David Bowie’s final, critically acclaimed album Blackstar—reimagined for full orchestra and performed with the original Blackstar band.
Artistic Director Donny McCaslin, who along with keyboardist Jason Lindner and bassist Tim Lefebvre helped create the original Blackstar recording, will bring their electrifying energy to the Orchestra Hall stage. Joining them are Bowie's longtime bandmate Gail Ann Dorsey, along with vocalist David Poe and the indispensable rhythmic talents of drummer Zach Danziger, all under the masterful baton of conductor Tim Davies. John Cameron Mitchell joins the band as a special guest onstage.
This sonic tapestry will include Blackstar in its entirety, alongside classics like “Space Oddity,” “Life on Mars,” and “Heroes”. BLACKSTAR SYMPHONY is a poignant tribute, and a celebration of pure musical genius.
The concert will take place Thursday, May 22 at 7:30 p.m. at Orchestra Hall. Tickets go on sale to the public on Friday, March 28. To purchase tickets, visit dso.org.
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, was released in March 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.