January 11, 12 & 14: Nicholas McGegan conducts music by Bach, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, and Haydn featuring DSO Associate Concertmaster Kimberly Kaloyanides Kennedy and Principal Oboe Alexander Kinmonth
January 25-28: Bertie Baigent conducts works by Emilie Mayer, Elgar, Mozart, and Gerald Finzi’s Concerto for Clarinet featuring DSO Principal Clarinet Ralph Skiano
Subscriptions and tickets on sale now at dso.org
Detroit, (December 20, 2023) – This January, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) will open its 2024 William Davidson Neighborhood Concert Series with two weekends of concerts at community venues across Metro Detroit conducted by British conductors Nicholas McGegan and Bertie Baigent, respectively.
On January 11, 12, and 14, McGegan will lead the DSO in a program including beloved works by Haydn (Symphony No. 82, “The Bear”), Chevalier de Saint-Georges (Symphony No. 1 in G major, Op. 11, No. 1), and two works by Bach: his Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D major (including the famous Air on the G String) and Concerto for Violin and Oboe in C minor, which will feature DSO musicians Kimberly Kaloyanides Kennedy (Associate Concertmaster, Schwartz and Shapero Family Chair) and Alexander Kinmonth (Principal Oboe, Jack A. and Aviva Robinson Chair) as soloists. The concerts will take place on January 11 at 7:30 p.m. at Congregation Shaarey Zedek in Southfield, January 12 at 8 p.m. at Meyer Theater in Monroe, and January 14 at 3 p.m. at the Seligman Performing Arts Center in Beverly Hills.
On January 25–28, Baigent will lead the DSO in a program including Emilie Mayer’s Mozart-esque Overture No. 2 in D major, Elgar’s Serenade for Strings, Mozart’s Symphony No. 39, and Gerald Finzi’s dramatic Concerto for Clarinet featuring DSO musician Ralph Skiano (Principal Clarinet, Robert B. Semple Chair) as soloist. The concerts will take place on January 25 at 7:30 p.m. at The Berman Center for the Performing Arts in West Bloomfield, January 26 at 8 p.m. at the First United Methodist Church in Plymouth, January 27 at 8 p.m. at Kirk in the Hills in Bloomfield Hills, and January 28 at 3 p.m. at Our Lady Star of the Sea Catholic Church in Grosse Pointe.
In partnership with Gesher Human Services, each William Davidson Neighborhood Concert Series performance in 2024 will feature a display of artwork by a Gesher Human Services's artist(s) at each venue. Since 2018, the DSO has collaborated with Gesher and other local partners through Gesher's Creative Expressions Program. Creative Expressions provides arts programming to people in Oakland and Wayne County who live with mental health challenges, intellectual and developmental disabilities, and more. The featured artists for upcoming concerts are Sharon Glazer (January 11, 12, and 14) and Jacob Berman (January 25–28). Since 2018, the DSO has collaborated with Gesher and other local partners through the Creative Expressions Program. Creative Expressions serve people in Oakland and Wayne County who live with mental health challenges, intellectual and developmental disabilities, and more.
William Davidson Neighborhood Concert Series subscriptions and single tickets (beginning at $30, with $10 tickets available for students and teachers) are on sale now and can be purchased at dso.org/neighborhood or by calling the Box Office at 313.576.5111. The Box Office is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Currently in its thirteenth year, the William Davidson Neighborhood Concert Series brings world-class DSO performances to seven metro Detroit communities. Featuring repertoire curated especially for intimate venues, the series creates musical impact by connecting with audiences in their communities. DSO Chamber Recitals feature DSO musicians in a variety of settings in Detroit and across the entire metro area. In addition, DSO musicians regularly perform at schools, hospitals, senior living facilities, places of worship, parks, and other community gathering spaces. Learn more about the series on the DSO’s blog.
The William Davidson Neighborhood Concert Series is made possible by a generous grant from the William Davidson Foundation. WRCJ 90.9 FM also supports the series. Renamed in 2014 in honor of philanthropist William Davidson, the William Davidson Neighborhood Concert Series brings even more opportunities for Metro Detroiters to experience the DSO close to home. In October 2017, the William Davidson Foundation made a $15 million gift of support to the DSO—one of the orchestra’s largest ever—including continued sponsorship of the series.
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BACH & BEYOND
William Davidson Neighborhood Concert Series
Thursday, January 11 at 7:30 p.m. at Congregation Shaarey Zedek (27375 Bell Road, Southfield, MI)
Friday, January 12 at 8 p.m. at La-Z-Boy Center – Meyer Theater on the Monroe County Community College campus (1555 S. Raisinville Road, Monroe, MI)
Sunday, January 14 at 3 p.m. at the Seligman Performing Arts Center on the Detroit Country Day School campus (22305 W. 13 Mile Road, Beverly Hills, MI)
Nicholas McGegan, conductor
Kimberly Kaloyanides Kennedy, violin
Alexander Kinmonth, oboe
The DSO delights audiences with musical pairs: two works by Bach, one featuring the famous Air and the other a concerto for two soloists featuring DSO Principal Oboe Alexander Kinmonth and Associate Concertmaster Kimberly Kaloyanides-Kennedy. "Music from Paris"—the First Symphony by Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges—completes the program along with a symphony by Haydn that the Chevalier helped bring to life.
JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D major
JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH Concerto for Violin and Oboe in C minor
JOSEPH BOLOGNE, CHEVALIER DE SAINT-GEORGES Symphony No. 1 in G major, Op. 11, No. 1
FRANZ JOSEPH HAYDN Symphony No. 82, “The Bear”
ELGAR & MOZART
William Davidson Neighborhood Concert Series
Thursday, January 25 at 7:30 p.m. at The Berman Center for the Performing Arts (6600 W. Maple Road, West Bloomfield Township, MI)
Friday, January 26 at 8 p.m. at NorthRidge Church (49555 N Territorial Rd, Plymouth, MI)
Saturday, January 27 at 8 p.m. at Kirk in the Hills Presbyterian Church (1340 W. Long Lake Road, Bloomfield Hills, MI)
Sunday, January 28 at 3 p.m. at Our Lady Star of the Sea Catholic Church (467 Fairford Road, Grosse Pointe Woods, MI)
Bertie Baigent, conductor
Ralph Skiano, clarinet
Emilie Meyer, a prolific composer in her own right, recalls something of Mozart’s style. English composer Gerald Finzi writes dramatically for both the DSO strings and Principal Clarinet Ralph Skiano, while Elgar’s Serenade puts the former entirely in focus. One of Mozart’s last symphonies takes us all on a ridiculously fun ride.
EMILIE MAYER Overture No. 2 in D major
GERALD FINZI Concerto for Clarinet
EDWARD ELGAR Serenade for Strings
WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART Symphony No. 39 in E-flat major, K. 543
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About Nicholas McGegan
In his sixth decade on the podium, Nicholas McGegan—long hailed as “one of the finest baroque conductors of his generation” (The Independent) and “an expert in 18th-century style” (The New Yorker)—is recognized for his probing and revelatory explorations of music of all periods. Following a 34-year tenure as Music Director of Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra and Chorale, he is now their Music Director Laureate. He also serves as the Principal Guest Conductor of Hungary’s Capella Savaria. At home in opera houses, McGegan shone new light on close to 20 Handel operas as the Artistic Director and Conductor at Germany’s Göttingen Handel Festival for 20 years (1991–2001), and the Mozart canon as Principal Guest Conductor at Scottish Opera in the 1990s. He was also Principal Conductor of Sweden’s Drottningholm Court Theatre from 1993 to 1996.
Best known as a Baroque and Classical specialist, McGegan’s approach—intelligent, infused with joy, and never dogmatic, along with an ability to engage players and audiences alike—has made him a pioneer in broadening the reach of historically informed practice beyond the world of period ensembles to conventional symphonic forces. His guest conducting appearances with major orchestras—including the New York, Los Angeles, and Hong Kong philharmonics; the Chicago, Dallas, Milwaukee, Toronto, Sydney, and New Zealand symphonies; The Philadelphia Orchestra; the Royal Northern Sinfonia and Scottish chamber orchestras; and at Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw—often feature Baroque repertoire alongside Classical, Romantic, 20th century, and contemporary works. He has led performances of Mendelssohn, Sibelius, Britten, Bach, and Handel with the Utah Symphony; Poulenc and Mozart with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra; and the premiere of Stephen Hough’s Missa Mirabilis with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, paired with works by Haydn, Brahms, and Mendelssohn. He collaborates frequently with the Mark Morris Dance Group, including leading the premiere productions of Rameau’s Platée and Handel’s Acis and Galatea.
Highlights of his 2022–2023 season in North America included leading the Los Angeles Philharmonic in an all-Mozart program at the Hollywood Bowl; performances of Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos Nos. 2–4 with The Philadelphia Orchestra; a program of Campra and Rameau with Philharmonia Baroque; return engagements with the St. Louis, Milwaukee, and Edmonton symphonies; and a performance and recording of Bach’s Mass in B Minor with Cantata Collective. In Europe, he appeared with Denmark’s Aalborg Symphony, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra in Handel’s Messiah, and the Royal Northern Sinfonia in a program of works by Bach, Vivaldi, and Caroline Shaw.
McGegan’s prolific discography includes more than 100 releases spanning five decades. Having recorded over 50 albums of works by Handel, McGegan has explored the depths of the composer’s output with a dozen oratorios and close to 20 of his operas. Since the 1980s, more than 20 of his recordings have been with Hungary’s Capella Savaria on the Hungaroton label, including groundbreaking opera and oratorio recordings of repertoire by Handel, Monteverdi, Scarlatti, Telemann, and Vivaldi. Recently, the collaboration has produced albums of works by Kraus, Mendelssohn, and Schubert; a two-CD set of the complete Mozart violin concertos; and Haydn’s Symphonies Nos. 79, 80, and 81. McGegan also released two albums with the Swedish Chamber Orchestra under the BIS label: Josef Mysliveček’s complete music for keyboard with soloist Clare Hammond, and an album of early horn concertos with soloist Alec Frank-Gemmill. His extensive discography with Philharmonia Baroque includes two Grammy nominations, Handel’s Susana and Haydn’s Symphonies Nos. 104, 88, and 101. This past season, his album of Mozart violin concertos launched with violinist Gil Shaham and the SWR Symphonie Orchester.
McGegan is committed to the next generation of musicians, frequently conducting and coaching students in residencies and engagements at Yale University, The Juilliard School, Harvard University, the Colburn School, Aspen Music Festival and School, Sarasota Music Festival, and the Music Academy of the West. He has been awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Music by the San Francisco Conservatory of Music; an honorary professorship at Georg-August University, Göttingen; and in 2016 was the Christoph Wolff Distinguished Visiting Scholar at Harvard. McGegan’s fun and informative lectures have delighted audiences at Juilliard, the Yale Center for British Arts, the American Handel Society, and the San Francisco Conservatory.
English-born, McGegan was educated at Cambridge and Oxford. He was made an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) “for services to music overseas.” Other awards include the Halle Handel Prize; the Order of Merit of the State of Lower Saxony (Germany); the Medal of Honour of the City of Göttingen; and a declaration of Nicholas McGegan Day by the Mayor of San Francisco in recognition of his work with Philharmonia Baroque.
About Kimberly Kaloyanides Kennedy
Kimberly Ann Kaloyanides Kennedy won her coveted position as a violinist with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra at age 22. In 2003, Kennedy further realized her dream when she was appointed Associate Concertmaster of the orchestra.
Kennedy began her study of the violin at the age of five in Dayton, Ohio. Being the daughter of a Minister of Music and church organist allowed her many chances to share from her heart in front of congregations. Her love of music became what undoubtedly would be her career as she pursued her studies at Brevard Music Center and Interlochen Arts Camp as the Governor’s Scholar for the state of Ohio. She continued her studies at the Sarasota Music Festival; spent four summers at the Aspen Music Festival on fellowship and as Associate Concertmaster of the Chamber Orchestra; spent three years at the Harid Conservatory in Boca Raton, Florida with Sergiu Schwartz; and finally landed at the University of Michigan with Paul Kantor. It was halfway through her senior year at Michigan in 1998 that her hard work paid off, when she joined the first violin section of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.
Throughout her training, she won several prizes in competitions around the country, including the Grand Prize in the National MTNA competition and first prize in the Greek Women’s National Competition in Chicago; the Skokie Valley Concerto Competition, where she performed Barber's Violin Concerto; the University of Michigan Concerto Competition, where she performed Ravel’s Tzigane; and the Harid Conservatory Concerto Competition, where she performed the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto. Kennedy was one of the few Americans invited to the International Violin Competition of Indianapolis in 1998. She regularly solos with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.
Kennedy enjoys performing chamber music regularly around Michigan with various groups including the Detroit Chamber Winds and Strings, and playing on chamber series including Chamber Music North, Fairlane Concert Guild, Pro Mozart, Classical Brunch in Birmingham, and the Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival.
Kennedy is passionate about serving others through her music, both at church and around the community. She loves teaching and sharing what God has put in her heart with her students. Kennedy and her husband Bryan Kennedy, who previously served in the DSO’s horn section, are strongly committed to this orchestra and to this region. They believe in the future of this great organization and intend to work diligently to ensure that it remains the internationally renowned and artistically revered Detroit Symphony Orchestra.
About Alexander Kinmonth
Alexander Kinmonth was appointed Principal Oboe of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra by Leonard Slatkin and can be heard on the DSO’s recordings of Tchaikovsky’s Symphonies Nos. 1, 2, 4, and 6. He is a graduate of The Juilliard School, where he studied with Nathan Hughes of The Metropolitan Opera.
Kinmonth has substituted in The Metropolitan Opera on both oboe and English horn and in the Charleston (SC) Symphony Orchestra. In the summer of 2022, Kinmonth participated in the Mainly Mozart Festival in San Diego, California and the Tanglewood Music Festival in Lenox, Massachusetts. In previous summers he has attended the Music Academy of the West, the Round Top Institute, and the Aspen Festival, where he received a fellowship in 2014. He also participated in the prestigious New York String Orchestra Seminar at Carnegie Hall in 2013.
Kinmonth is a winner of the Professional Musicians Club of Boston’s Award for Outstanding Achievement. During his time in New York, Kinmonth performed operas, orchestral works, and new music with the Juilliard Orchestra and the New Juilliard Ensemble, working with noted conductors such as James Levine, Kurt Masur, and Jaap van Zweden.
Kinmonth grew up in a musical household in Carlisle, Massachusetts, choosing to play violin at age five and oboe at age nine. From a young age, he has pursued orchestral, solo, and chamber music interests, performing with the Boston Youth Symphony, the New York Youth Symphony, and winning awards from the Massachusetts Instrumental and Choral Conductors Association, the Philharmonic Society of Arlington, and the Concord (MA) Orchestra. His former teachers include John Ferrillo and Laura Ahlbeck.
Although music is the main focus of Kinmonth’s life, he also enjoys a balance of athletic, social, and academic interests. He participated in the 2010 National Junior Olympics for fencing and enjoys soccer and downhill mountain biking. He is also the winner of a National Gold Key Award in the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards’s Short Story category.
About Bertie Baigent
In June 2022, Bertie Baigent won the Grand Prix at the inaugural International Conducting Competition in Rotterdam (Netherlands) along with the classical and symphonic prizes. He has since gone on to conduct the Rotterdam Philharmonic, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, the Phion Orchestra at Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, and Orchestre National de Lille at BOZAR.
Throughout the 2023–2024 season, Baigent will make his conducting debuts with the London Philharmonic, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra, the Orchestre philharmonique du Luxembourg, the Bruckner Orchester Linz, and the Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century, and will return to conduct the Rotterdam Philharmonic, the City of Birmingham Symphony, and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra.
Baigent has served as the Music Director of Waterperry Opera Festival since 2017, where he has conducted productions of Die Zauberflöte, Don Giovanni, Così fan tutte, Dido, and Aeneas and Partenope—directing the latter two from the harpsichord. He made his Opera Holland Park debut in 2021 and assisted on L’elisir d’amore at the Glyndebourne Festival Opera in summer 2023.
Born in 1995, Baigent studied at the Royal Academy of Music. He was awarded the Orchestra Prize by the New Japan Philharmonic at the Tokyo International Conducting Competition in 2021. His compositions have been awarded commissions and prizes by the Royal Philharmonic Society and the National Centre for Early Music.
About Ralph Skiano
Ralph Skiano was appointed Principal Clarinet of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra in 2014, after having served in the same position with the Richmond Symphony and the Des Moines Metro Opera. He has also appeared as guest principal clarinetist of the Seattle Symphony, the Cincinnati Symphony, and the Cleveland Orchestra.
Skiano has been involved in numerous music festivals including the Mainly Mozart Festival, the Peninsula Music Festival, the Britt Music Festival, Festival Lyrique-en-Mer, and the Tanglewood Music Center. As a soloist, he has been featured with ensembles throughout the United States, France, Germany, and Switzerland. In 2010, Skiano was a guest artist at the Oklahoma Clarinet Symposium and a featured soloist with the Baton Rouge Symphony at the 2014 International Clarinet Association Convention. Skiano appeared as a soloist several times with the Richmond Symphony, most notably performing concertos by Mozart, Weber, and Copland. He made his solo debut with the DSO in March of 2015 performing Mozart's Concerto for Clarinet.
Skiano has served on the music faculty at James Madison University and the College of William and Mary, and has presented masterclasses at UVA, Towson University, Louisiana State University, California State University Northridge, Michigan State University, Northwestern University, and the University of Maryland.
Under the guidance of Richard Hawley, Skiano completed his Bachelor of Music at the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music in 2002.
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 performance schedule that features the PVS Classical, PNC Pops, Paradise Jazz, and Young People’s Family Concert series. In addition, the DSO presents the William Davidson Neighborhood Concert Series in metro area venues, as well as 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.
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.