Program features hit songs by Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn including "Take the A Train," "Satin Doll," "Caravan," an adaptation of Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker, and more
Tickets on sale now at dso.org
Detroit, (January 17, 2024) – The Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) will continue its PNC Pops Series at Orchestra Hall on February 8 with two performances of a program conducted by Na’Zir McFadden and featuring vocalist Denzal Sinclaire.
This program features works including "Take the A Train," "Satin Doll," "Caravan," an adaptation of Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker, and more by longtime musical collaborators Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn, who wrote some of the most beloved jazz standards of all time, performed by Denzal Sinclaire and the DSO. This one-day-only event will feature a special Thursday morning concert in addition to an evening performance of this program at Orchestra Hall.
Lush Life: Duke Ellington & Billy Strayhorn will take place on Thursday, February 8 at 10:45 a.m. and 8 p.m. at Orchestra Hall.
Tickets for these performances start at $24 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.
The title sponsor of the DSO’s PNC Pops Series is PNC Bank.
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LUSH LIFE: DUKE ELLINGTON & BILLY STRAYHORN
PNC Pops Series
Thursday, February 8 at 10:45 a.m. and 8 p.m.
Orchestra Hall
Na’Zir McFadden, conductor
Denzal Sinclaire, vocalist
Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn, musical collaborators for nearly 30 years, wrote some of the most beloved jazz standards of all time—"Take the A Train," "Satin Doll," "Caravan," an adaptation of Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker, and more. Hear their works and experience their prolific collaborative genius live at Orchestra Hall.
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About Na’Zir McFadden
American conductor Na’Zir McFadden is the Assistant Conductor and Phillip & Lauren Fisher Community Ambassador of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, working closely with Music Director Jader Bignamini. McFadden also serves as Music Director of the Detroit Symphony Youth Orchestra. Together, they’ll present three programs—exploring masterworks by Tchaikovsky, Valerie Coleman, Rimsky-Korsakov, and Margaret Bonds, respectively.
Establishing his presence on the classical music scene, the 2023–2024 season includes a debut with the Ann Arbor Symphony and a return to the Philadelphia Ballet in addition to maintaining several ongoing engagements with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. He’ll also serve as a guest cover conductor for the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. In the 2022–2023 season, he made his subscription debut with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra alongside bass-baritone Davóne Tines and clarinetist Anthony McGill. In March of 2024, he will return to conduct the DSO’s annual Classical Roots program premiering two new works by composers Billy Childs and Shelly Washington. Other conducting highlights have included debuts with the Utah Symphony Orchestra, the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra, and the Philadelphia Ballet.
Additionally, McFadden led a recording project with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago featuring Hilary Hahn as co-collaborator and soloist. This past summer, McFadden participated in the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s Conducting Seminar as part of the Tanglewood Institute under the guidance of Andris Nelsons and Stefan Asbury. In 2020, McFadden was named the inaugural Apprentice Conductor of the Philadelphia Ballet; a position he held until 2022. He also served as the Robert L. Poster Conducting Apprentice of the New York Youth Symphony from 2020 to 2021. At the age of 16, he conducted his hometown orchestra—The Philadelphia Orchestra—in their “Pop-Up” series, meeting their Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin who has since served as a mentor to McFadden.
The Philadelphia Inquirer praised his “great stick [baton] technique and energetic presence on the podium” in their concert review. An advocate for arts education, McFadden strives to provide access to the arts for students in underserved communities. Currently, McFadden is a board member of Generation Music, a Philadelphia-based nonprofit organization that provides classical music education to underrepresented youth in local school districts that cannot afford to do so. His efforts have led to collaborations with youth ensembles in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City, and Salt Lake City.
About Denzal Sinclaire
Denzal Sinclaire is one of Canada’s most popular jazz vocalists and is ranked among the finest jazz singers of his generation. A graduate of McGill University’s jazz performance program (Montreal, Canada), he possesses a rare ability to achieve a profound emotional interaction with his audience from the moment he steps on stage. His passionate and sincere delivery caresses every song he sings. He touches the listener with the purity of the message.
Sinclaire is a Juno Award (Canada’s Grammy Award) nominee, a recipient of the 2004 National Jazz Award for “Best Album,” four-time consecutive recipient of Jazz Report Magazine Award for Male Jazz Vocalist, and 2007 Choc Jazzman Award (France). His admirers include Grammy Award-winning artists Diana Krall (“Denzal Sinclaire embodies the tradition of the great singers I love like Nat Cole, yet definitely has his own voice. He is one of my favorite singers...”), Wynton Marsalis and the JALC Orchestra, Dianne Reeves, Michael Feinstein, and Michael Bublé, as well as growing legions of jazz fans in his native Canada and abroad.
He has graced the stages of numerous concert halls and festivals around the world and has appeared on several popular TV shows, including Canada’s Bravo! TV, Canada AM, Nashville Now, and Ireland’s The Late Late Show. As a former member of soul artist Jamie Lidell’s band (Warp Records), he has appeared on Late Night with Conan O’Brien, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, and Manu Katché’s show One Shot Not (France).
Equally at home in the theatre, film and television arenas, Sinclaire has delighted audiences with his critically acclaimed performance in Unforgettable, a musical based on the life and music of Nat King Cole; Tapestry: The Music of Carole King (Arts Club Theatre); and William Saroyan’s award-winning The Time of Your Life (Soul Pepper Theatre Company). His TV and film credits include appearances in the new Battlestar Gallactica TV Series (dir. Michael Rymer); and Being Julia starring Annette Bening and Jeremy Irons (dir. István Szabó).
A pivotal role in Sinclaire’s career was the collaboration with highly sought-after guitarist/composer/arranger Bill Coon whom he befriended in Montreal. Over the course of 15 years, they performed to rave reviews in a variety of musical settings ranging from duo to symphony orchestras, as well as several live radio, television, and studio recordings for the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) and SRC (Société Radio-Canada). In 1994, they recorded an album of duets, and in 1996, recorded the very first in-studio concert for Canada’s Bravo! TV with a unique ten-piece ensemble.
Sinclaire has performed with renowned artists such as Wynton Marsalis and the JALC Orchestra, Patrice Rushin, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Janis Siegal, Dee Daniels, Kevin Mahagony, Michael Feinstein, Marilyn Mae, Bob Mintzer, Jimmy Heath, Barry Harris, The Count Basie Orchestra, Dame Cleo Laine, Sir John Dankworth, Jamie Lidell, Holly Cole, Vince Giardano & The Nighthawks, The David Berger Jazz Orchestra, and the WDR Big Band (Cologne, Germany).
The list of artists he has supported includes Diana Krall, Dianne Reeves, Kurt Elling, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Anita Baker, Four Tops, Holly Cole, Bill Charlap, Katie Melhua, and Jane Monheit.
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.