DSO Assistant Conductor and Phillip & Lauren Fisher Community Ambassador Na’Zir McFadden leads orchestra performance for children ages 6 and up
The same day, Joe Reilly and Friends hosts Earth Day is Every Day in The Cube for children ages 2-6
Tickets on sale now at dso.org
Detroit, (May 4, 2023) – The Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) will continue its Young People’s Family Concert Series with Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra conducted by DSO Assistant Conductor and Phillip & Lauren Fisher Community Ambassador Na’Zir McFadden on May 20 at 11 a.m. at Orchestra Hall.
The program will allow families to get to know the DSO and discover all the orchestra can do. The Young People's Family Concert Series provides an exciting introduction to classical music and often includes dance, theater, storytelling, and video elements. The concerts, designed for audiences age 6 and up, have introduced generations of children to classical music—a friendship that lasts a lifetime.
Prior to the Young Peoples Family Concert Series performance at 10 a.m. in the Peter D. and Julie F. Cummings Cube, celebrate spring with Joe Reilly and friends in a program of environmental songs titled Earth Day is Every Day. This program will allow audience members to move, dance, and become the animals, plants, and water in the music. Tiny Tots performances are fun-filled, interactive concerts designed for children ages 2-6 and their families. Please note the DSO does not appear on this performance.
On the morning of the concerts, the DSO will host family-friendly activities in the William Davidson Atrium, including a composer’s workshop, instrument try-out tables, a face painting station, a creative journaling station where children can decorate a journal to take home, and a “make an instrument” craft table. Children will also have the opportunity to write notes to DSO musicians, and visit an informational booth hosted by the MSU Community Music School in Detroit, which will feature additional performances and musical activities.
Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra will take place Saturday, May 20 at 11 a.m. at Orchestra Hall. Earth Day is Every Day will take place Saturday, May 20 at 10 a.m. in the Peter D. and Julie F. Cummings Cube (The Cube). Both Orchestra Hall and The Cube are located within the DSO’s Midtown Campus: the Max M. and Marjorie S. Fisher Music Center (3711 Woodward Avenue).
Tickets for the Young People’s Family Concert Series performance start at $20; tickets for the Tiny Tots performance are $12. Tickets to both events 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.
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.
The Young People’s Family Concert Series is sponsored by Sun Communities.
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YOUNG PERSON’S GUIDE TO THE ORCHESTRA
Young People’s Family Concert Series
Saturday, May 20 at 11 a.m.
Orchestra Hall
Na’Zir McFadden, conductor
Get to know the DSO and discover all the orchestra can do! Young People's Family Concerts are an exciting introduction to classical music that often include dance, theater, storytelling, and video. Young People's Concerts have introduced generations of children to classical music—a friendship that lasts a lifetime.
EARTH DAY IS EVERY DAY
Tiny Tots
Saturday, March 11 at 10 a.m.
The Peter D. and Julie F. Cummings Cube
Joe Reilly and Friends, ensemble
Can you hop like a frog, flap your wings like a turkey vulture, or make a face like a dinosaur? Celebrate spring with Joe Reilly and friends in a program of environmental songs for kids of all ages. Move, dance, and allow yourself to become the animals, plants, and water in the music!
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About Na’Zir McFadden
American conductor Na’Zir McFadden is the newly appointed Assistant Conductor and Phillip & Lauren Fisher Community Ambassador of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.
In this position, he works closely with Music Director Jader Bignamini and guest conductors on both the PVS Classical Series and William Davidson Neighborhood Concert Series. Additionally, he leads pre-concert lectures at Orchestra Hall, and conducts a variety of programs on the Educational Concert Series, Young People’s Family Concert Series, PNC Pops Series, and DTE Community Concerts. Also commencing with the 2022-2023 season, McFadden serves as Music Director of the Detroit Symphony Youth Orchestra.
An advocate for arts education, McFadden strives to provide access to the arts for students in underserved communities. This season, McFadden will make appearances with youth ensembles in Salt Lake City and with the Philadelphia All-City Music Festival. In the past, he’s worked with youth ensembles in Chicago, New York City, St. Louis, and Los Angeles.
Recent engagements include a recording project with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago as part of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s “Notes for Peace” initiative—which featured Hilary Hahn as guest soloist.
McFadden was the inaugural Apprentice Conductor of the Philadelphia Ballet Orchestra from 2020 to 2022, working with Music Director Beatrice Jona Affron. He also served as the Robert L. Poster Conducting Apprentice of the New York Youth Symphony from 2020 to 2021.
McFadden conducted his hometown orchestra—The Philadelphia Orchestra—in their “Pop-Up” series in 2017, meeting their Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin, who has been a mentor ever since. The Philadelphia Inquirer praised his “great stick [baton] technique and energetic presence on the podium” in their review of the concert.
Upcoming engagements include a series of commissions with Orchestra 2001 and appearances with the Utah Symphony, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, and the Philadelphia Ballet.
About Joe Reilly and Friends
Joe Reilly is a singer, songwriter, social worker, and educator who writes songs from his heart. Reilly’s songs are playful, clever, engaging, joyful, and always have something meaningful to say. The core of his message is an invitation to heal our relationships with ourselves, with each other, and with the earth.
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. 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.