Mark Wigglesworth returns to Detroit to conduct DSO program featuring violinist Simone Lamsma, March 22-23

- Lamsma is featured soloist on Jean Sibelius’s Violin Concerto

- March 23 concert will be webcast for free at dso.org/live and available on TV to Michigan Comcast customers on Xfinity channel 900

Detroit, (March 13, 2019) – Conductor Mark Wigglesworth returns to Detroit to lead the Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) and violinist Simone Lamsma on a pair of concerts in Orchestra Hall.

The program begins with Delius’s “The Walk to the Paradise Garden,” a popular excerpt of the composer’s opera A Village Romeo and Juliet arranged for orchestra. Lamsma is featured soloist on Sibelius’s Violin Concerto, the only work in the concerto genre written by the great Finnish composer. And Vaughan Williams’s tranquil Symphony No. 5, written in England during the chaos of World War II, will complete the program.

The concerts take place Friday, March 22 at 10:45 a.m. and Saturday, March 23 at 8 p.m. at Orchestra Hall, within Midtown Detroit’s Max M. and Marjorie S. Fisher Music Center. 

One hour prior to each performance, guests are invited to enjoy an informative onstage Concert Talk about the program. These lectures and discussions will be made available for later viewing on the DSO’s YouTube channel.

Watch Live around the world: the Saturday evening concert will be webcast for free atdso.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.

Michigan Comcast customers can also tune in to the Saturday evening concert directly on their TV sets by selecting Xfinity channel 900. Additionally, the Friday morning concert will be broadcast on the radio by WRCJ 90.9 FM and simulcast by a network of radio stations in west and northern Michigan. Visit dso.org/broadcasts for more information about experiencing DSO concerts on TV and radio.

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 Friday, March 22 performance. See below for more information about the ticket discount. Discounts are available for 19 concerts throughout the 2018-2019 Season, including six Friday evening PNC Pops Series concerts and every Friday morning Classical Series Coffee Concert. The FCA Foundation and the DSO thank our veterans and active military members for their service.

The DSO Classical Series is generously sponsored by PVS Chemicals, Inc.

About Mark Wigglesworth

Olivier Award-winning conductor Mark Wigglesworth is one of the outstanding musicians of his generation, as much at home in the opera house as the concert hall. Through a broad repertoire ranging from Mozart to Boulez, he has forged enduring relationships with many orchestras and opera houses throughout the world. He currently serves as Principal Guest Conductor of the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra.

Wigglesworth has enjoyed a long relationship with English National Opera, and operatic engagements elsewhere include London’s Royal Opera House, New York’s Metropolitan Opera, the Bavarian State Opera, Semperoper Dresden, Teatro Real, The Netherlands Opera, La Monnaie, Welsh National Opera, Glyndebourne, and Opera Australia. On the concert platform, highlights include performances with the Berlin Philharmonic, Royal Concertgebouw, London Symphony, London Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, Chicago Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra, Tokyo Symphony, Sydney Symphony, and many others.

Wigglesworth’s recordings include a critically acclaimed complete cycle of the Shostakovich Symphonies with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic, Mahler’s Sixth and Tenth symphonies with the Melbourne Symphony, a disc of English music with the Sydney Symphony, Britten’s Peter Grimes with Glyndebourne, and the Brahms Piano Concertos with Stephen Hough. He has written articles for The Guardian and The Independent, made a six-part TV series for the BBC entitled Everything to Play For, and held positions as Associate Conductor of the BBC Symphony, Principal Guest Conductor of the Swedish Radio Symphony, Music Director of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, and most recently Music Director of English National Opera.

About Simone Lamsma

Dutch violinist Simone Lamsma boasts a repertoire of over 60 violin concertos and has performed with many of the world’s leading orchestras. These include the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic, Seoul Philharmonic, New Zealand Symphony, and others.

Lamsma enjoys a close relationship with Jaap van Zweden, who recently became music director of the New York Philharmonic. She has worked with other prominent conductors as well, including Vladimir Jurowski, Sir Neville Marriner, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, James Gaffigan, Sir Andrew Davis, and Hannu Lintu.

In May 2018 Lamsma was invited by His Majesty King Willem-Alexander and Her Majesty Queen Máxima of The Netherlands to perform during their official state visit to Luxembourg. In 2011 Simone performed during the Queen’s Day Concert, in the presence of HRH Queen Beatrix of The Netherlands. In 2010 she was awarded the national Dutch VSCD Classical Music Prize by the Association of Dutch Theatres and Concert Halls.

Lamsma started playing the violin at the age of 5 and began her studies with Professor Hu Kun at the Yehudi Menuhin School at age 11. She made her professional solo debut with the North Netherlands Orchestra at age 14. She continued her studies at the Royal Academy of Music in London, also with Kun, as well as Maurice Hasson. Lamsma proudly plays the 1718 “Mlynarski” Stradivarius, on generous loan to her by an anonymous benefactor.

Ticket Information

Tickets for Sibelius Violin Concerto 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 HEROES1819 to unlock $10 tickets for the 10:45 a.m. concert on Friday, March 22. The code can be used at dso.org or by calling the Box Office at (313) 576-5111.

Performance Details

Friday, March 22 at 10:45 a.m.
Saturday, March 23 at 8 p.m. 

Orchestra Hall at the Max M. and Marjorie S. Fisher Music Center

Mark Wigglesworth, conductor
Simone Lamsma, violin

DELIUS (arr. Thomas Beecham)
“The Walk to the Paradise Garden”

SIBELIUS
Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in D minor, Op. 47
  Simone Lamsma, violin

R.V. WILLIAMS
  Symphony No. 5 in D major

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.