- Violinist Yoonshin Song and soprano Janai Brugger join DSO for program including Bruch’s Violin Concerto and Glinka’s Overture to Russlan and Ludmilla
- October 18 concert will be webcast for free at dso.org/live and via Facebook Live
- Classical series sponsored by PVS Chemicals, Inc.
Detroit, (October 2, 2019) – The Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) continues its 2019-2020 Classical Series and Orchestra Hall’s centennial season with an energetic three-piece program of Mahler’s Symphony No. 4, Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1, and Glinka’s Overture to Russlan and Ludmilla.
Conductor Jader Bignamini, who memorably stepped in for Leonard Slatkin to close the 2017-2018 season leading magnificent performances of Puccini’s Turandot, conducts the DSO in these masterpieces featuring guest soloists violinist Yoonshin Song in the Bruch concerto and soprano Janai Brugger in the Mahler symphony.
The three concerts take place Thursday, October 17 at 7:30 p.m., Friday, October 18 at 8 p.m., and Saturday, October 19 at 8 p.m. at Orchestra Hall, within Midtown Detroit’s Max M. and Marjorie S. Fisher Music Center.
Watch Live around the world: the Friday, October 18 concert will be webcast for free at dso.org/live and via Facebook Live, as part of the DSO’s groundbreaking Live from Orchestra Hall series. The series is presented by Ford Motor Company Fund and made possible by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.
One hour prior to each performance, guests are invited to enjoy an informative onstage Concert Talk about the program hosted by conductor Yaniv Segal. These lectures and discussions will be made available for later viewing on the DSO’s YouTube channel.
Thanks to a generous grant from the FCA Foundation, the charitable arm of North American automaker FCA US, the DSO welcomes military veterans, active military, and their families to access discounted tickets for the 7:30 p.m. performance on Thursday, October 17. See below for more information about the ticket discount. The FCA Foundation and the DSO thank our veterans and active military members for their service.
Throughout the 2019-2020 season, the DSO will celebrate Orchestra Hall’s 100th anniversary with special programming and events, a commemorative book written by former Detroit Free Press music critic Mark Stryker, a documentary series produced by Detroit Public Television, a two-site exhibition created in collaboration with the Detroit Historical Society and Museum, and more. Learn more about the centennial at dso.org/centennial/
The DSO would like to thank the Honorable Avern Cohn and Lois Cohn, Bernard and Eleanor Robertson, DTE Energy Foundation, and Varnum LLP for their leadership support of Orchestra Hall’s centennial, and all Centennial Club members who generously contributed.
The DSO Classical Series is generously sponsored by PVS Chemicals, Inc.
About Orchestra Hall
Built for the DSO at the request of then-music director Ossip Gabrilowitsch during the summer of 1919, Orchestra Hall was designed by noted theater architect C. Howard Crane (who also designed Detroit’s Fox Theatre and the current Detroit Opera House) and is renowned for its historic beauty and perfect acoustics. After the hall’s opening on October 23, 1919, the DSO entered a twenty-year golden age, which included its Carnegie Hall debut, its first records for RCA Victor, and making history as the first orchestra to perform a live radio broadcast concert, on February 10, 1922, from Orchestra Hall.
When the DSO left for the larger Masonic Auditorium in 1939, Orchestra Hall took on a new life as the Paradise Theatre from 1941–1951, serving as Detroit’s premier venue for jazz, blues, and R&B. The hall was then long-dormant and nearly demolished in 1970 to make way for a fast-food burger chain, before a group of musicians and civic leaders rallied to save it from the wrecking ball and raise money to restore it over the course of 20 years. The DSO returned to a refurbished Orchestra Hall in 1989 and expanded its footprint in 2003 with the opening of the Max M. and Marjorie S. Fisher Music Center.
About Jader Bignamini
Conductor Jader Bignamini currently serves as resident conductor of Orchestra Sinfonica La Verdi in Milan, where he previously served as associate conductor and assistant conductor, and where he originally performed as a clarinetist.
On the concert stage, Bignamini has appeared as a guest conductor with several prominent orchestras worldwide, including the Orchestra Filarmonica del Teatro Comunale di Bologna and the Slovenian Philharmonic. He is well-known for his work on the opera stage; he made his North American opera debut in 2015 conducting Rigoletto with Santa Fe Opera and his Metropolitan Opera debut in 2017 conducting Madama Butterfly. Overseas, he has appeared at La Scala, Rome’s Teatro dell’Opera, Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Teatro Filarmonico di Verona, Oper Frankfurt, Ópera de Tenerife, Theatro Municipal de São Paulo, Oviedo’s Teatro Filarmónica, La Fenice, the Verdi Festival, and more. He recently engaged in an extensive international tour with soprano Anna Netrebko and tenor Yusif Eyvazov.
About Yoonshin Song
Violinist and DSO Concertmaster Yoonshin Song (Katherine Tuck Chair) was born in South Korea, where she began her musical studies at age 5. Making her solo debut with the Seoul Philharmonic at age 11, she has since built a successful performing career throughout Korea, the United States, and Europe.
Song has earned many prestigious prizes throughout her career. Highlights include top prize awards in the Lipizer International Violin Competition (Italy), Lipinski & Wieniawski International Violin Competition (Poland), and Henry Marteau International Violin Competition (Germany), and first prize at the Stradivarius International Competition in the United States. In her native South Korea, Song has won virtually all the major national competitions.
As a soloist, she has performed with many orchestras around the world—including the DSO, the Houston Symphony Orchestra, the Utah Symphony Orchestra, New Mexico Philharmonic Orchestra, Bayreuth Festival Orchestra, the Paul Constantinescu Philharmonic Orchestra, Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, and KBS Philharmonic Orchestra. She has appeared as a soloist and chamber musician in numerous music festivals, including Marlboro Music Festival, Deer Valley Music Festival, the Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival, Aspen Music Festival, Miyazaki Chamber Music Festival in Japan, and Verbier Festival, Lucerne Festival, and Bayreuth Music Festival in Europe.
Song currently plays on a 1700 Vincenzo Rugeri violin on loan to her from a generous sponsor in Michigan.
About Janai Brugger
Janai Brugger is an American soprano who has performed symphonic works and opera with prestigious ensembles worldwide. She enjoys a close relationship with Los Angeles Opera and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, with whom she has performed La Clemenza di Tito, La Bohème, Aida, Le Nozze di Figaro, and many others. Other highlights include Turandot and Porgy and Bess with the Metropolitan Opera, Die Zauberflöte with Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Roméo et Juliette and Don Pasquale at Palm Beach Opera, Carmen with Washington National Opera, Idomeneo with Lyric Opera of Chicago, and appearances at Ravinia and the Grant Park Festival. Brugger performed Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 with The Philadelphia Orchestra and Yannick Nézet-Séguin at Saratoga Performing Arts Center in August 2018.
Brugger participated in the Merola Opera Program at San Francisco Opera and was a young artist at Los Angeles Opera for two seasons; she later appeared on the Metropolitan Opera’s Rising Stars concert series. In 2012 she was an Operalia winner and winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions; in 2015 she was named a “brilliant young artist” by Opera News. Brugger was born in Chicago and studied at DePaul University and the University of Michigan.
Ticket Information
Tickets for Mahler Symphony No. 4 begin at $15 and can be purchased at dso.org, by calling (313) 576-5111, or in-person at the Max M. & Marjorie S. Fisher Music Center Box Office (3711 Woodward Ave., Detroit).
Groups of 10 or more can save up to 30% on the price of a single ticket for most DSO concerts. For more information, contact Group Sales Manager Jim Sabatella at (313) 576-5130 or jsabatella@dso.org.
Veterans, active military, and their families may use the code HEROES1920 to unlock $10 tickets for the 7:30 p.m. performance on Thursday, October 17. The code can be used at dso.org or by calling the Box Office at (313) 576-5111.
Performance Details
Thursday, October 17 at 7:30 p.m.
Friday, October 18 at 8 p.m.
Saturday, October 19 at 8 p.m.
Orchestra Hall at the Max M. and Marjorie S. Fisher Music Center
Jader Bignamini, conductor
Yoonshin Song, violin
Janai Brugger, soprano
GLINKA Overture to Russlan and Ludmilla
BRUCH Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor, Op. 26
Yoonshin Song, violin
Intermission
MAHLER Symphony No. 4 in G major
Janai Brugger, soprano
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 institution. Conductor Leonard Slatkin, who recently concluded an acclaimed decade-long tenure at the helm, now serves as the DSO’s Music Director Laureate, endowed by the Kresge Foundation. Celebrated conductor, arranger, and trumpeter Jeff Tyzik is the orchestra’s Principal Pops Conductor, while the outstanding trumpeter and composer Terence Blanchard holds the Fred A. and Barbara M. 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 Classical, PNC Pops, Paradise Jazz, and Young People’s Family Concert series. One of America’s most acoustically perfect concert halls, Orchestra Hall will celebrate 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 radio broadcast and continues today with the free Live from Orchestra Hall webcast series, 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.