December 9-11: Conductor Jonathon Heyward leads the DSO in a program of Dvořák, Tania León, and Mendelssohn with pianist Yeol Eum Son in Orchestra Hall
December 10 performance webcast for free at dso.org and via Facebook Live as part of DSO’s Live from Orchestra Hall series; December 9 concert broadcast and streamed live on 90.9 WRCJ in Detroit and network of stations across Michigan
Tickets on sale now at dso.org
Detroit, (November 17, 2022) – The Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) will welcome rising-star conductor Jonathon Heyward and acclaimed pianist Yeol Eum Son to Orchestra Hall for a program of works by Pulitzer Prize–winner Tania León, Felix Mendelssohn, and Antonín Dvořák. The three concerts will take place December 9-11 at Orchestra Hall as part of the PVS Classical Series.
The December 9-11 program at Orchestra Hall will open with the DSO premiere of Pasajes by León, the Cuban American composer who won the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 2021. The new piece was co-commissioned by the DSO as a part of New Music USA’s Amplifying Voices initiative, which fosters collaboration and collective action between US orchestras and composers toward racial and gender equity in classical music. Next on the program is Mendelssohn’s spellbinding Piano Concerto No. 1 with Son as soloist. The program concludes with Dvořák’s popular Symphony No. 8, which features uplifting, dance-like melodies inspired by the folk songs of the composer’s native Bohemia.
Heyward returns to Detroit later in the month at Detroit Opera to conduct a one-night-only concert performance of Giuseppe Verdi’s Aida on Friday, December 30 at 6:30 p.m. at the Detroit Opera House. The performance features Angel Blue in her role debut as Aida, in preparation for her first full production of the work at the Royal Opera Covent Garden; Detroit Opera Associate Artistic Director Christine Goerke will perform in the role of Amneris, also a role debut. Visit detroitopera.org to learn more and buy tickets.
Heyward, who the Los Angeles Times has called a “natural showman and sensitive collaborator in service to the music,” will be making his Orchestra Hall debut after having conducted the DSO this past July on the William Davidson Neighborhood Concert Series. The week following, he was named Music Director Designate of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. This program also marks the Orchestra Hall debut for Son, who The Washington Post has praised for playing “with a dazzling range of dynamics.”
Mendelssohn's First Piano Concerto & Dvořák’s Eighth Symphony will take place Friday, December 9 at 10:45 a.m., Saturday, December 10 at 8 p.m., and Sunday, December 11 at 3 p.m. at Orchestra Hall.
The December 10 performance will also be webcast for free at dso.org and via Facebook Live as part of the DSO’s Live from Orchestra Hall series. The December 9 concert will be broadcast and streamed live on 90.9 WRCJ in Detroit and a network of stations across Michigan.
Tickets for Mendelssohn's First Piano Concerto & Dvořák’s Eighth Symphony start at $25 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.
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 title sponsor of the DSO’s Classical Series is PVS Chemicals, Inc. DSO Live is presented by Ford Motor Company Fund and made possible by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Digital programming is produced from the Al Glancy Control Room.
Amplifying Voices is a New Music USA initiative, which is powered by the Sphinx Ventures Fund, with additional support from ASCAP and the Sorel Organization.
MENDELSSOHN'S FIRST PIANO CONCERTO & DVOŘÁK'S EIGHTH SYMPHONY
PVS Classical Series
Friday, December 9 at 10:45 a.m.
Saturday, December 10 at 8 p.m.
Sunday, December 11 at 3 p.m.
Orchestra Hall
Jonathon Heyward, conductor
Yeol Eum Son, piano
Dvořák’s Eighth remains one of his most popular symphonies; its uplifting, dance-like melodies are inspired by the folk songs of his native Bohemia. The Times of London has called Yeol Eum Son “a model of clarity and fleetness”—qualities that shine in her performance of Mendelssohn’s spellbinding work for piano and orchestra. The program opens with a DSO premiere of Pulitzer Prize–winner Tania León's work Pasajes.
TANIA LEÓN Pasajes (Co-Commission)
FELIX MENDELSSOHN Piano Concerto No. 1
ANTONÍN DVOŘÁK Symphony No. 8
About Jonathon Heyward
Jonathon Heyward currently serves as Music Director Designate of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and will begin his five-year contract in the 2023-24 season.
Heyward’s selection was unanimous from the Baltimore Symphony Music Director Search Committee, comprised of BSO musicians, staff, and community members. In March 2022, Heyward made his debut with Baltimore Symphony Orchestra in three performances that included the first-ever performance of Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 15. Quickly re-engaged, he returned in April to lead a Benefit Concert for Ukraine at the Meyerhoff.
Currently in his second year as a Chief Conductor of the Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie, in summer 2021, Heyward took part in an intense, two-week residency with the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, which led to a highly acclaimed BBC Proms debut. He made his DSO debut in July 2022 on the William Davidson Neighborhood Concert Series.
Heyward’s recent symphonic guest conducting highlights in the United Kingdom include debuts and re-invitations with the London Symphony, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, BBC Symphony, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, and Scottish Chamber Orchestra. In continental Europe, amongst Heyward’s recent debuts are collaborations with the Castilla y León in Spain; Basel Symphony, and Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne in Switzerland; Brussels Philharmonic, SymfonieOrkest Vlaanderen and Antwerp Symphony in Belgium; Philharmonie Zuidnederland in the Netherlands; and Kristiansand Symphony in Norway.
About Yeol Eum Son
Multi-award-winning South Korean pianist Yeol Eum Son is highly regarded as a brilliant virtuoso whose playing has a rare balance between enormous kinetic energy and substantial gravity. An avid chamber musician, Son was appointed Artistic Director of Music in PyeongChang in 2018, programming music for both summer and winter Olympic events.
As soloist, Son has collaborated with major ensembles worldwide including the New York Philharmonic, Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra, Czech Philharmonic, Gürzenich-Orchester Köln, Konzerthausorchester Berlin, Dresdner Philharmoniker, Deutsche Radio Philharmonie Saarbrücken, Tonkunstler Orchestra at the Grafenegg Festival, Bergen Philharmonic, CBSO, Aurora Orchestra, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, KBS Symphony Orchestra, Moscow Virtuosi, St. Petersburg, Belgrade, Zagreb, Sofia Philharmonic, and RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra, among others.
Across the 2022-2023 season, Son will feature as Artist in Residence with the Residentie Orchestra in the Hague. Other season highlights include debuts with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Finnish Radio Symphony, NDR Radiophilharmonie Hanover, Orquesta Sinfónica del Principado de Asturias, and Musikkollegium Winterthur. Beyond Europe, this year Australian and Asian audiences will have the opportunity to hear Son live for her concerti debuts with the Melbourne, Sydney, Tasmanian, and Singapore Symphony Orchestras.
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.