civic youth ensembles
50th
Anniversary Celebration
50th anniversary celebration
April 29-May 1
civic youth ensembles
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50th anniversary celebration
letter from the mayor
Dear Friends: A thousand welcomes! Greetings and welcome to the Detroit Symphony Orchestra’s celebration of the fifty years of its Civic Youth Ensembles! The DSO has remained committed to creating opportunities for young musicians across our city and throughout our region. Through programs like CYE, the talent of local students is nurtured and celebrated by one of the world’s preeminent symphonies. I am pleased that DSO continues to be one of the city’s prized institutions. On behalf of the City of Detroit, I commend the Detroit Symphony Orchestra for the critical work that you do in our community. Thank you to the organizers, volunteers, and supporters who helped produce and make the CYE50 Celebration Weekend a success. Please accept my wishes for another successful event and incredible year! Again, many thanks to you for all that you do.
Sincerely,
Mike Duggan, Mayor, City of Detroit
50th anniversary celebration
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welcome
Dear Friends, Thank you for joining us this weekend to celebrate 50 years of the DSO bringing performance training to students through our Civic Youth Ensembles (CYE). Since the founding of the Detroit Symphony Youth Orchestra (DSYO) in 1970, our program has grown and evolved—we now offer 14 different classical and jazz ensembles plus a variety of individualized learning—but our goal has always remained the same: to provide high quality music education, instrument instruction, and ensemble training to young people in Detroit and across the region. We are grateful to all those who helped build and sustain CYE over the past five decades: then-DSO bassoonist Paul Ganson and conductor-in-residence Paul Freeman, who conceived and guided the launch of DSYO; Ray Turner (retired DSO Principal Trombone), Michael Krajewski, Leslie Dunner, Joe Striplin (retired DSO violinist), and Charles Burke, among many others, who all helped lead and conduct the orchestra at various points in its history; Daisy Newman who, with Charles, shepherded the program’s growth into CYE in the 1990s and 2000s; Clyde and Helen Wu, whose passion for giving back to the community and for music education helped fuel the evolution; and Anne Parsons, whose inspirational leadership as President and CEO of the DSO for more than 17 years shepherded CYE through economic downturns and a global pandemic. Though we sadly have lost six of these remarkable people in the past decade—Paul Freeman and the Wus in 2015, Paul Ganson and Daisy Newman in 2021, and Anne Parsons just last month—their contributions in securing CYE’s future will inspire our youth for decades to come. We also thank the dedicated CYE faculty, DSO musicians, and staff who have given their time and energy to help mentor multiple generations of young musicians in our community. We specifically want to thank two individuals who are stepping down from their roles following this weekend. Oriol Sans has led DSYO with distinction as its Music Director for the past six seasons and continued to fly in to work with our students even after being named Director of Orchestral Activities at the Mead Witter School of Music at the University of Wisconsin in fall 2019. DSO Senior Director of Community & Learning Caen Thomason-Redus has greatly increased the impact of CYE since being appointed in 2015, including strengthening our partnership with Detroit Public Schools Community District, growing our investment in scholarships, electives, and individualized learning for our students, and playing a central role in the creation and launch of Detroit Harmony, our city-wide effort to provide an instrument and instruction to any Detroit student who wants to learn. Caen will continue to impact our entire field as the new Vice President of Inclusion & Learning for the League of American Orchestras. On behalf of the DSO family, and the hundreds of CYE students and families they have reached, we thank Oriol and Caen for their leadership and wish them all the best in their future endeavors! Lastly, we thank this year’s CYE musicians and the parents and guardians who have supported them, including many students who returned following a year of virtual learning. The DSO believes that music education is transformational for all who can participate. We hope that all of you—those who continue to perform professionally and those who choose other paths in life—have learned the value of teamwork, preparation, personal responsibility, shared values, and the joy of realizing you can conquer seemingly insurmountable difficulties through hard work and practice.
Erik Rönmark, President and CEO Mark Davidoff, Chair, Board of Directors
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50th anniversary celebration
Officers of the Board of Directors
Samuel Frankel ◊ Stanley Frankel David Handleman, Sr. ◊ Dr. Arthur L. Johnson ◊ James B. Nicholson Clyde Wu, M.D. ◊
Deceased ◊
Mark A. Davidoff, Chair Erik Rönmark, President & CEO David T. Provost, Vice Chair Faye Alexander Nelson, Treasurer
Chair Emeriti
Board of Directors
Peter D. Cummings Phillip Wm. Fisher Stanley Frankel Robert S. Miller James B. Nicholson
David Assemany, Governing Members Chair Elena Centeio Richard L. DeVore Aaron Frankel Herman B. Gray, M.D., M.B.A. Laura Hernandez-Romine Rev. Nicholas Hood III Richard Huttenlocher
Directors Emeriti
Board of Trustees
Floy Barthel Chacona Baugh Penny B. Blumenstein John A. Boll, Sr. Richard A. Brodie Lois Cohn Marianne Endicott Sidney Forbes Barbara Frankel Herman H. Frankel Dr. Gloria Heppner Ronald Horwitz Bonnie Larson Harold Kulish David McCammon David R. Nelson William F. Pickard, Ph.D. Marilyn Pincus Lloyd E. Reuss Marjorie S. Saulson Alan E. Schwartz Jane Sherman David Usher Barbara Van Dusen Arthur A. Weiss
Renato Jamett, Trustee Chair Ismael Ahmed Richard Alonzo Hadas Bernard Janice Bernick Elizabeth Boone Gwen Bowlby Marco Bruzzano Margaret Cooney Casey Karen Cullen Joanne Danto Stephen D’Arcy Maureen T. D’Avanzo Jasmin DeForrest Afa Sadykhly Dworkin Peter Falzon James C. Farber Linda Forte Carolynn Frankel Maha Freij Christa Funk Robert Gillette Jody Glancy Malik Goodwin Mary Ann Gorlin
50th anniversary celebration
Hon. Kurtis T. Wilder (Ret.), Secretary Pamela Applebaum, Officer at Large Ralph J. Gerson, Officer at Large
Renato Jamett, Trustee Chair Daniel J. Kaufman Michael J. Keegan Arthur C. Liebler Xavier Mosquet Arthur T. O’Reilly Stephen Polk Bernard I. Robertson
Donald Hiruo Michelle Hodges Julie Hollinshead John Jullens David Karp Joel D. Kellman Jennette Smith Kotila Leonard LaRocca William Lentine Linda Dresner Levy Florine Mark Anthony McCree Kristen McLennan Tito Melega Lydia Michael Lois A. Miller Daniel Millward H. Keith Mobley Scott Monty Shari Morgan Sandy Morrison Frederick J. Morsches Jennifer Muse, NextGen Chair Nicholas Myers, Musician Representative
Glenda D. Price, Ph. D., Officer at Large Shirley Stancato, Officer at Large James G. Vella, Officer at Large
board of dirctors & trustees
Lifetime Directors
Scott Strong, Orchestra Representative Nancy Tellem Laura J. Trudeau Dr. M. Roy Wilson David M. Wu, M.D. Johanna Yarbrough, Orchestra Representative
Sean M. Neall Eric Nemeth Maury Okun Vivian Pickard Denise Fair Razo Gerrit Reepmeyer Richard Robinson James Rose, Jr. Laurie Rosen Elana Rugh Marc Schwartz Carlo Serraiocco Lois L. Shaevsky Mary Shafer Cathryn M. Skedel, Ph.D. Ralph Skiano, Musician Representative Richard Sonenklar Rob Tanner Yoni Torgow Gwen Weiner Donnell White Jennifer Whitteaker R. Jamison Williams Margaret E. Winters Ellen Hill Zeringue
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wu family
“50 years ago, a music training program was launched at the DSO. My parents, Clyde and Helen Wu, were proud to call the DSO their home symphony. When their passion for instilling discipline, teamwork, and the lifelong love of music in students was met with the orchestra’s desire to grow the program, a partnership was born that continues to thrive. Congratulations to this year’s students and instructors, who returned to the stage after more than a year of virtual learning, dedicated and committed to growth. On behalf of my family, congratulations to the staff, directors, mentors, musicians, parents, and alumni of the Civic Youth Ensembles program who paved the way to this historic moment. Thank you for creating a legacy that will enable 50 more years of students to be impacted by the transformative experience of music education.”
- DR. DAVID WU CHAIR, EDUCATION STEERING COMMITTEE
Clyde and Helen Wu’s vision has principally guided the DSO’s achievements in music training. The DSO is proud to carry on their legacy through the Wu Family Academy for Learning and Engagement (WFA), which offers a broad range of educational programs for all ages and backgrounds. WFA’s mission is to change lives by expanding the understanding of the arts, empowering students to have confidence in their creative decisions, and sparking a passion for music that will last a lifetime. Through live and digital partnerships, hands-on music education, and training in classrooms, communities, and virtual settings, the Wu Family Academy cultivates relationships that impact lives today, and as a result, our communities tomorrow.
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50th anniversary celebration
wu family
“Congratulations CYE on your 50th anniversary! As a longtime CYE coach, I have been involved with CYE ever since the late 90s. It was always bittersweet for me every May to say goodbye to a group of graduating young musicians. During their time in CYE, DSO and CYE musicians have formed a special bond between us. It also brings me great joy to know that we have contributed a small part in making you the successful person you will be in your life.
We are building people through music.”
- HAI-XIN WU DSO ASSISTANT CONCERTMASTER
“It’s a great honor to have a program like Civic Youth Ensembles, with 50 years of history, in Detroit.
Achieving this milestone is so meaningful: it means that music is an important part of our life and neighborhoods, and we are so thankful to have a very supportive community joining us in this work. Music is universal, you can share your emotions and you can feel what other people have to say without talking. Children that grow in a musical community can understand the importance of respecting and listening to others without judgement. I always learn something new making music with young musicians.”
- JADER BIGNAMINI DSO MUSIC DIRECTOR 50th anniversary celebration
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scholarship
CYE Scholarships Through focused investments aligned with the DSO’s Scholarship Endowment Fund, the DSO’s Wu Family Academy for Learning and Engagement ensures that all interested youth in metro Detroit have access to top tier CYE training. The energy that pumps throughout CYE is an eagerness to learn and explore. But, don’t just take our word for it–hear from students themselves!
Trumpeter Ethan Banks credits his experience in Civic Symphonic Band with motivating his desire to become a multi-instrumentalist and identifies the program as a space and opportunity for collaboration.
Saxophonist Oliver Strickfaden’s experience in CYE Jazz Band encouraged him to step out of his comfort zone on his first day of class and try something new. He also credits his teachers as helping him with new styles.
“[Being a part of the Symphonic Band] helped me build character and become a more active person. This is the opportunity I get to play my trumpet with a group. [The teachers] asked if there was any other instrument I wanted to play and I said, ‘yeah, I want to play bass guitar’ and they just handed me one. I want a whole [range] of instruments. I want to be able to play the flute and expand my talent around instruments.
“We had a huge jam session, and I was really nervous because I only knew one song, “Blue Monk,” so I basically went up whenever I heard an easy song that was going to be played. Then, I went way out of my comfort zone. I went up and didn’t realize it, but it was all of the people who had been in the jazz orchestra for like one or two years and I just kind of tried to play along. I didn’t think there was some place where you could just go and be able to jam!”
- Ethan Banks, 15 Trumpet, Civic Symphonic Band; Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Scholarship Recipient A trumpet player in the Civic Symphonic Band, Seth Banks’s–Ethan’s younger brother– curiosity about various instruments and enthusiasm toward music has been elevated. “[CYE] is pretty much a new level, and the music they give us [and] the amount of time we have to get it done is challenging. I would hear it for the first time, and be like ‘yeah, we can do it, but I don’t think we can do it in this amount of time.’ But just somehow, magically, we all get it down pat! CYE helped me grow, and it opened up more doors to more people. It was a little bit hard when I started; I still had to catch on but I pretty much got it down.” - Seth Banks, 14, Trumpet, Civic Symphonic Band; Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Scholarship Recipient
- Oliver Stickfaden, 12, Saxophonist, Civic Jazz Band; Kellman Scholarship Recipient Collaboration and learning from a DSO musician has been influential in Milan’s growth and aspirations to become a professional musician. “I have been a member of CYE as a violinist for the last 5 years. One of my favorite parts of my CYE experience has been being part of a quartet. The opportunity to be coached by a DSO musician and work with other musicians at my level has been so much fun! The people I have interacted with at CYE have taught me and encouraged me as I pursue my goal of becoming a professional musician. While I have grown as a musician I have also learned valuable leadership and teamwork skills through CYE that help me in all areas of my life.” - Milan Forrester, 14, Violinist, Civic Chamber Ensemble; Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Scholarship Recipient
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50th anniversary celebration
Fred A. and Barbara M. Erb Family Foundation:
A Purpose-Inspired Life
Preserving Legacy and Amplifying a Life in Jazz
Shari and Craig Morgan, who share a desire to pursue a purpose-inspired life, are avid believers in the ability of the arts to expand the way we see and interact with the world. Their personal relationship with the arts—Shari, an oboist, and Craig, an engineer and cultural enthusiast — bolstered their mission to enrich the lives of others through philanthropy.
Fred Erb’s love of jazz and artists like Billie Holiday, Art Tatum, and Sidney Betchet was the motivation for empowering organizations that provide and improve jazz instruction for musically talented youth. Twenty years ago, he partnered with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra to make this a reality and build upon his determination to ensure a jazz future in Detroit as eminent and sublime as its past.
As members of Detroit Symphony Orchestra’s 1887 Society and active investors in the institution, including support for the Civic Youth Ensembles, the couple view the arts as being a vital source to energizing the cultural make-up of a city creatively and economically. Together, they established the “Illene Wenner & Shari Morgan Scholarship’’ for a Civic Youth Ensembles student. The scholarship is in honor of Shari’s mother, who passed away in 2019.
Aligned with the Wu Family Academy’s mission to “foster the development of every student’s artistic and creative potential,” endowment support from the Fred A. and Barbara M. Erb Family Foundation sustains the DSO’s jazz future through the funding of Civic Jazz instruction, in addition to support of the Fred A. Erb Jazz Creative Director Chair, established in 2002. The position is currently held by award-winning trumpeter/composer Terence Blanchard.
“My mother was very supportive of me, but my family didn’t have much. Knowing how much they sacrificed, the opportunities, and scholarship aid given to me to go to Interlochen and Blue Lake – which play a part in why Craig and I do what we do–I want to make sure others have the opportunities I did,” Shari expresses.“The kids are the future of art, and without access and exposure, they wouldn’t have any interest. Anything you can do to provide for them: put an instrument in their hands, bring them to a concert, high-five them coming off the stage from a rehearsal, excite them… what this breeds is all good.”
CYE Jazz programs are composed of three ensembles – Orchestra, Band, and Creative Jazz. With training from DSO musicians and local and national jazz artists, students engage in a curriculum focused on music theory and performance; improvisation, arrangement, and section playing; solos and collaboration; and styles ranging from big band to classic jazz standards.
Craig recounts childhood trips to the Fisher Theatre with his mom and “occasionally going to the Detroit Symphony at the Ford Auditorium.” When Craig met Shari over 25 years ago, his involvement in arts communities heightened—to the tune of the pair purchasing a DSO subscription just weeks after their first date. “Understanding what Shari’s experience was and how [music] was life-changing for her brought me to understand that there are kids that don’t have the opportunity, and we can give them the opportunity,” he says. “I’m not a musician at all, but I love seeing the orchestra and watching them make music.The more we learned [about the DSO], the more important it was to see what we can do to make sure this keeps on happening.” The wondrous thing about the arts and music is the creative freedom to color outside the lines and design your path–whether that road leads to music, art, or something else. For the Morgans, that freedom and the ethics that extend from the artistic realm and contribute to one’s holistic well-being is foundational in their service.
APPRECIATION
Shari and Craig Morgan:
Students gain access to the DSO’s Paradise Jazz Series that features world-class artists, plus professional mentorship and masterclasses with the Erb Jazz Creative Director Chair; as well as performance opportunities throughout metro Detroit and in the Max M. and Marjorie S. Fisher Music Center—including Orchestra Hall. Robust musicality and jazz presence are distinctively embedded in Detroit’s artistic DNA, and Orchestra Hall is part of its storied history. In the 1940s, this address operated as the Paradise Theatre–a jazzy entertainment venue that attracted national talent. Audiences at the Paradise grooved to headlining talent from Louis Armstrong and Dinah Washington to Sammy Davis Jr. and Cab Calloway. The performances energized the city’s social scene and set the tone for Detroit as a premiere jazz incubator. That’s the richness that Fred Erb desired to preserve throughout the city. Today, the transformative impact of Erb’s legacy lives on through their foundational support of Civic Jazz and care for metro Detroit’s economic, social, and creative well-being. The DSO is honored to have the Erb Family and the Fred A. and Barbara M. Erb Family Foundation as part of our esteemed Founding Family group.
“It’s what the arts bring to people,” Shari says. “They instill values and acceptance of differences to work together for a common goal. Kids need to learn all these important aspects and take it forward in their everyday life–it makes the world better, and that’s all that matters.”
50th anniversary celebration
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historical feature
Civic Youth Ensembles: Five Snapshots From 50 Years
ORIGINS
(with a cameo by Duke Ellington) “At Ford Auditorium Monday afternoon, auditions for the Detroit Symphony Youth Orchestra were a mixture of nerves, anxious parents and the bittersweet chaos of musicians tuning up.” So reported the Detroit Free Press, June 16, 1970, on the first auditions for DSYO.
DSYO played its first concert on January 31, 1971, at Ford Auditorium with Detroit Free Press music critic Collins George in attendance, who wrote that “there seemed nothing childish about the performance of any part of the orchestra,” particularly praising a “sterling performance” by the brass section.
The year 1970 brought an important new initiative to the DSO. That year, the Detroit Symphony Youth Orchestra was founded, sponsored by the DSO and under the guidance of DSO bassoonist Paul Ganson, to provide musical instruction to talented young musicians from the Detroit area, and also a possible training ground for the orchestra itself. The 112 musicians who won a place in the ensemble gathered to rehearse on Saturdays, under the baton of Sixten Ehrling, the DSO’s music director, as well as other outstanding conductors.
OVER 4,000 ALUMNI
One of those conductors was Paul Freeman, who joined the DSO as conductor-in-residence and the first conductor of DSYO. Freeman, who had received his bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees from the Eastman School of Music, came to Detroit after conducting with Robert Shaw in Atlanta and serving as associate conductor of the Dallas Symphony. In Detroit, he championed African American music and, during his nine years with the orchestra, was the conductor on a series of recordings with the DSO, which were featured on Columbia Record’s Black Composer Series. Even though jazz would not become a regular fixture of the program until almost thirty years later, the beginnings of DSYO were at least partly inspired by a meeting between the two Pauls and the one-and-only Duke Ellington at an educator’s conference in Detroit in 1970.
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Detroit Symphony Youth Orchestra first performed under DSO Asst. Conductor Paul Freeman.
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Since its founding, CYE has graduated well over 4,000 alumni who have gone on to accomplish great things in the arts and other fields around the world. They have become outstanding members of orchestras including the DSO, but have also become acclaimed teachers, engineers, lawyers, doctors, and more. Bryan Kennedy, DSO horn player for 35 years until his recent retirement, was in that “sterling” brass section of the inaugural DSYO in 1970, as were Maury Okun, retired principal trombone of Michigan Opera Theatre and cofounder of Detroit Chamber Winds & Strings, and George Troia, longtime President of the Detroit Federation of Musicians, AFM Local 5. Current DSO musicians who received training in CYE are violinists Rachel Klaus, Adrienne Rönmark, and Greg Staples. Jazz violinist Regina Carter is an alum, as are many other Detroit jazz artists, including Marcus Elliot and Kris Johnson.
DSO MUSICIANS PLAY A CENTRAL ROLE
Like Miguel Cabrera coaching your Little League team, DSO musicians have been important leaders and mentors in CYE since the very beginning, serving as managers, coaches, conductors, audition adjudicators, and private teachers. Paul Ganson co-founded DSYO and served as its administrator for years. Ray Turner, then principal trombone of the DSO, served as assistant conductor of the group in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, as did then DSO violinist Joe Striplin in the ‘80s and ‘90s.
Jazz, Classical, Winds, Strings, Bucket Band, large groups, small groups, 3rd Grade through College.
years of training ensembles.
School-based ensembles, Saturday busses, private lessons, chamber music.
GROWTH: CIVIC JAZZ, CHAMBER MUSIC, AND SCHOOL-BASED ENSEMBLES
By the late ‘90s, DSYO (then known as the Detroit Symphony Civic Orchestra or “Civic”) and the education program that supported the orchestra had expanded its offerings to include the Civic Sinfonia for emerging young musicians, plus chamber ensemble playing opportunities such as a string quartet and a brass and percussion ensemble. The Civic Jazz Orchestra was founded in 1999, bringing jazz ensemble instruction into the fold, and initially led by such Detroit jazz luminaries as Marcus Belgrave, Rodney Whitaker, and Kenny Garrett. CYE now encompasses 14 different classical and jazz ensembles including two full orchestras, four string orchestras, three wind ensembles, and three jazz ensembles. Thanks to a partnership with Detroit Public Schools Community District, the two most recent additions have included an introductory string program—the Dresner Foundation Allegro Ensemble—for students at Ellington Conservatory of Music & Art at Beckham Academy, a DPSCD school on Detroit’s East Side, and the Detroit Pistons Bucket Band, a percussion ensemble that teaches entry-level techniques in a fun and creative way to students at Spain Elementary-Middle School in Midtown.
DETROIT HARMONY AND THE FUTURE OF CYE
The expansion of the Civic Youth Ensembles over the past 20 years has been driven by a desire to increase the number of pathways young people have to find their way to a life in music. Yes, the DSO and its Wu Family Academy not only offer a top-tier youth orchestra (now back to its original name, DSYO), but also provide multiple entry-points for kids in addition to their own schools’ music programs. Looking forward to the next 50 years of CYE, the DSO is investing in more individualized opportunities for students including private lessons and electives, increasing scholarships, and providing new programs and mentorship that better meet the needs of all students and families. Preserving the vibrancy and relevance of CYE via endowment is a top priority. A strong endowment ensures the program’s viability and health for future generations, allowing the DSO as well as countless other partners to continue to engage, connect, and develop the talent of our region’s youth for decades to come. The DSO believes that every student deserves the opportunity to explore their world through music, and CYE is one example of how the orchestra is investing in that belief. Detroit Harmony, launched in 2020, is a collaborative, citywide engagement effort to provide an instrument and instruction to any student in the City of Detroit who wants to learn. With Detroit Harmony, the DSO envisions a city where every K-12 student can choose their musical destiny, where instruments are available to each child, and where a groundswell of support perpetuates music education as the heartbeat of our community through world-class training programs like the Civic Youth Ensembles. Bryan Kennedy holds the 1971 program.
Thanks in large part to the generosity of the late Dr. Clyde Wu and Helen Wu, active participation in music is an opportunity now more than ever for Detroit’s youth. Their son, Dr. David Wu, continues their legacy by serving as member of the DSO’s Board of Directors and as Chair of the Education Steering Committee.
4,000+
From 1 directed ensemble in 1970 to 14 today.
Middle School Honor Days with nearly 500 regional students.
historical feature
More recently, Larry Hutchinson (retired bass) and Paul Wingert (retired cello) helped guide the young musicians. Violinist Hai-Xin Wu, current Acting Associate Concertmaster of the DSO and the longest-serving member of the orchestra’s Education Committee, has coached CYE’s top chamber group, the Slatkin String Quartet, which won first place at the MASTA Chamber Music Competition in March 2022. Countless other DSO musicians routinely teach CYE students in sectionals, masterclasses, and private lessons. During the recent schoolyear of virtual learning due to the pandemic, CYE had the extraordinary commitment of 64 DSO musicians who were part of the program’s faculty.
Alumni across the country and globe.
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weekend schedule
Weekend Schedule FRIDAY, APRIL 29 6 PM — CYE50 Donor Reception (by invitation only) 7 PM — Wu Family Academy Showcase concert featuring world premiere performances by the Detroit Symphony Youth Orchestra and Detroit Symphony Youth Wind Ensemble 9 PM — Afterparty
SATURDAY, APRIL 30 8:30 AM — Open House 1 PM — CYE50 Orchestra Reading Session 5 PM — Jazz Masterclass 7 PM — Civic Jazz Live!
SUNDAY, MAY 1 1 PM — CYE Family Experience concert
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50th anniversary celebration
Friday, April 29, 2022 7 PM | Orchestra Hall
DETROIT SYMPHONY YOUTH WIND ENSEMBLE Dr. Ken Thompson, director Kris Johnson (b. 1983)
Golden Jubilee: A Fanfare for Brass & Percussion (Commissioned by the Detroit Symphony Youth Wind Ensemble; world premiere)
Tyler Eschendal (b. 1993)
cheerfully failing along
Ira Hearshen (b. 1948)
8 Mile Rhythm I. “To the ‘Temps’” II. “To ‘Stevie’” III. “To ‘Marvin’”
David Maslanka (1943 - 2017)
Give Us This Day: Short Symphony for Wind Ensemble I. Moderately Slow II. Very Fast
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wu family academy showcase
Wu Family Academy Showcase
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DETROIT SYMPHONY YOUTH ORCHESTRA Oriol Sans, director Angélica Négron (b. 1981)
Tornasol (Commissioned by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of their Civic Youth Ensembles; world premiere)
Joaquín Turina (1882 - 1949)
Danzas fantásticas I. Exaltación II. Ensueño III. Fiesta
Leonard Bernstein (1918 - 1990)
Divertimento for Orchestra I. Sennets and Tuckets II. Waltz III. Mazurka IV. Samba V. Turkey Trot VI. Sphinxes VII. Blues VIII. March: “The BSO Forever”
50th anniversary celebration
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program notes
Golden Jubilee: A Fanfare for Brass and Percussion KRIS JOHNSON Commissioned by the Detroit Symphony Youth Wind Ensemble; World Premiere. Detroit-based trumpeter, composer, arranger, film scorer, educator, and CYE alum Kris Johnson currently serves as the Director of the Michigan State University Community Music School in Detroit. He has worked with the renowned Count Basie Orchestra, directed the University of Utah Jazz Studies program, and scored films including the Emmy-nominated web series King Ester. Of Golden Jubilee: A Fanfare for Brass and Percussion, Johnson said the following: “Golden Jubilee is a celebration of the deep cultural and artistic impact that the Detroit Symphony Orchestra’s Civic Youth Ensembles have had on the city of Detroit and on my own personal experience as a young musician growing up in this community. CYE is where I was mentored by Anne Parsons, Marcus Belgrave, Daisy Newman, Rodney Whitaker, and Charles Burke. Through CYE, I’ve made friends with whom I’ve formed a lifelong bond and brotherhood in and out of music. Civic Youth Ensembles has also been responsible for some of my early experiences as a developing educator, and has been an outlet for many of my compositions and arrangements over the years. This piece honors the legacy of anyone who has graced the Orchestra Hall stage in the last 50 years as an educator, student, guest artist, or audience member, and on a personal note, represents the lasting impression that CYE has had on my musical career. Thank you, Detroit Symphony. Thank you, Civic Youth Ensembles. Thank you, Detroit. With love, Kris Johnson.” Funding provided by Kellman & Associates LLC and Betsy and Joel Kellman cheerfully failing along TYLER ESCHENDAL Tyler Eschendal is a composer and percussionist originally from the suburbs of Detroit who now resides in Los Angeles. His music is heavily influenced by a fascination with adapting sample-based procedures found in electronic music to acoustic and live instruments. An obsession with deconstructing source materials and exploring malfunction within the western classical canon fuels much of his work. About the work, Eschendal said, “cheerfully failing along is an explosive fanfare that uses the early marches for wind band (1879-1885) by John Philip Sousa as source material for exploring properties of malfunction, repetition, and transmogrification.” The Bowling Green State University Wind Symphony commissioned and premiered the piece in 2021.
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8 Mile Rhythm IRA HEARSHEN Detroit-born composer Ira Hearshen graduated from Wayne State University and in 1972 moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in music. Since then, he has steadily worked as an award-winning arranger and orchestrator in motion pictures, television, and recordings, with composers including Randy Newman, Lalo Schifrin, John Debney, Stanley Clarke, and Lee Holdridge. He has orchestrated scores for movies including Toy Story 2, Rush Hour, A Bug’s Life, and Monsters University, and was also nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in Music in 1971. Hearshen’s 8 Mile Rhythm was commissioned for the Ferndale High School wind orchestra. Of the piece, Hearshen said, “I wanted to create something that was identifiable, that people could relate to and something I could do so that the kids in the band could relate. The “8 Mile Rhythm” refers to the border between Detroit and its suburbs and hopefully everyone feels good hearing it.” The work pulls inspiration and melodies from Motown hits including “Papa Was a Rolling Stone” by The Temptations, “Living For the City” by Stevie Wonder, and “What’s Going On?” by Marvin Gaye. Give Us This Day: Short Symphony for Wind Ensemble DAVID MASLANKA David Maslanka was born in New Bedford, Massachusetts and attended the Oberlin College Conservatory where he studied composition with Joseph Wood. He spent a year at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria, and did masters and doctoral study in composition at Michigan State University with principal teacher H. Owen Reed. Of Give Us This Day: Short Symphony for Wind Ensemble, Maslanka said, “The first movement is deeply searching in character, while the second is highly energized. The words, “give us this day,” from the Lord’s Prayer, touch the idea of being immediately and vividly alive in the moment, the reason why music making can be so vital and compelling.” The inspiration for this music is Buddhist, with Maslanka citing Thich Nhat Hahn’s For a Future to be Possible as a reference. The piece ends with a modal setting of the choral melody “Vater Unser in Himmelreich” (Our Father in Heaven) – No. 110 from the 371 four-part chorales by Johann Sebastian Bach. “Music makes the connection to reality, and by reality, I mean a true awakeness and awareness. Give Us This Day gives us this very moment of awakeness and awareness so that we can build a future in the face of a most dangerous and difficult time,” said Maslanka.
50th anniversary celebration
Divertimento for Orchestra LEONARD BERNSTEIN
Commissioned by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of their Civic Youth Ensembles, this piece is dedicated to the musicians of the Detroit Symphony Youth Orchestra; World Premiere.
If there ever was a Renaissance man in 20th century music, that man was Leonard Bernstein. Composer, conductor, pianist, writer, teacher, lecturer, and an unparalleled musical advocate to young people, he was the most famous and successful American musician of the last century, and in the eyes of many, the greatest musician this country has yet produced. Although his output both as composer and conductor was certainly uneven, nevertheless the impact the man had on classical music all over the world was enormous, due as much to his charismatic personality as to purely musical considerations
Puerto Rican-born composer and multi-instrumentalist Angélica Negrón writes music for accordions, robotic instruments, toys, and electronics as well as for chamber ensembles, orchestras, choir, and film. She was also the recipient of the 2022 Hermitage Greenfield Prize. Of Tornasol, Négron writes, “Tornasol (iridescent) is inspired by unexpected moments of finding joy and beauty in simple things around us. The idea for the piece came after an experience of encountering a tiny oil slick on a rock by a river in Utuado (Puerto Rico) and being instantly transported by the profound beauty in the different textures and colors of that reflection while simultaneously joking with a friend that this was going to be the inspiration for my next piece. Through playful patterns, incessant repetition of fragmented grooves and dreamy textures, this piece explores the feeling of getting lost in the splendor of something unforeseen and surrendering to the present moment. It’s a celebration of these seemingly small moments that spark wonder and continue to reverberate afterwards.” Funding provided by New Music USA Danzas fantásticas JOAQUÍN TURINA Spanish composer Joaquín Turina helped to promote the national character of 20th century Spanish music. After studying in Sevilla and Madrid, Turina went in 1905 to Paris, where he was a pupil of Moritz Moszkowski for piano and Vincent d’Indy for composition. Though he absorbed elements of the French style, he was inspired in Paris by Isaac Albéniz to write distinctively Spanish music.
program notes
Tornasol ANGÉLICA NÉGRON
Bernstein was born in Lawrence, Massachusetts and grew up in the Boston area, often going to concerts by the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Although he was probably unaware of it at the time, this activity certainly planted the seeds of what was to become a long and productive relationship with that great orchestra. He went to Tanglewood as a student in 1940, coming under the influence of Serge Koussevitsky, the long-time conductor of the orchestra. Later in his career he returned to Tanglewood as head of the orchestra and conducting programs, and in fact gave his final public performance there with the BSO in August of 1990, just days before his death. Given his long connection with Boston and its famous orchestra, it was only logical that Bernstein should be commissioned to write a work for the BSO’s centennial in 1980. The result was his witty, clever, light-hearted, brilliantly scored, and energetic Divertimento for Orchestra, still somewhat under-appreciated even today, but full of musical puns and allusions to the pieces which Bernstein heard as a young concertgoer in Symphony Hall. As he so eloquently put it, “It reflects my youthful experiences here where I heard my first orchestral music. I nearly fell out of my chair I was so excited!”
Danzas fantásticas was one of Turina’s most popular works, and the composer created two versions for piano and orchestra, respectively. The orchestral version is most widely known, with the color and symphonic dimension it stamps on the dance music. Written in 1919, the piece is inspired by the novel La orgía by José Más, and quotations from the novel were printed on the score at the start of each dance. The first, Exaltación, is based on an Aragonese jota, although transformed into something of greater profundity. Ensueño (Dream) brings to life the emotional heart of the work; it is a poetic romance that mingles Andalusian melodic elements with the Basque rhythm of the zorcico. Orgía is a brilliant Andalusian farruca, the melodic turns of which evoke flamenco.
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civic youth ensembles experience
Civic Youth Ensembles Experience Sunday, May 1, 2022 1 PM • Orchestra Hall DETROIT PISTONS BUCKET BAND
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Darell “Red” Campbell Jr., director Louis Jones III, assistant director
DRESNER FOUNDATION ALLEGRO ENSEMBLE Leslie DeShazor, director Ashley Nelson, assistant director 3rd Grade
“Be the Change” – Leslie DeShazor “French Folk Song” – Traditional
4th & 5th Grades
“Minuet No. 2” – J.S. Bach “Bee’s Blues” – Leslie DeShazor
6th Grade
“Concertino” – George Perlman “Listen Here” – Eddie Harris
PIZZICATO STRING ENSEMBLE Mark Mutter, director Ashley Nelson, assistant director Winifred Crock, William Dick, and Laurie Scott
Selections from Learning Together 2 “Oh, How Lovely” – English Round “Banuwa” – Liberian Round “Long, Long Ago” – T.H. Bayly, English Art Song “Vive la Compagnie” – English Ballad “Skye Boat Song” – Scottish Folk Song
CIVIC ARCO STRING ORCHESTRA Danny DeRose, director Ralph Ford (b. 1963)
Hyperdrive
Traditional, after F.J. Haydn (1732 – 1809) arr. Sandra Dackow
St. Anthony Chorale
Reinhold Glière (1875 – 1956) arr. Michael Allen
Russian Sailor’s Dance
CIVIC SYMPHONIC STRING ORCHESTRA Leslie DeShazor, director Mark Mutter, director
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George Frideric Handel (1685 – 1759) arr. Gerald Anderson
“Andante” from Concerto Grosso Op. 3, No. 5 in D minor
Harold Arlen (1905 – 1986) arr. Leslie DeShazor
Somewhere Over the Rainbow
Edvard Grieg (1843 – 1907)
“Prelude” from Holberg Suite arr. Brendan McBrien
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CIVIC JAZZ BAND Solomon Parham, conductor John Swana (b. 1962)
Teeko
Vincent Herring (b. 1964)
Don’t Let It Go
CREATIVE JAZZ ENSEMBLE Darell “Red” Campbell, conductor Terence Blanchard (b. 1962)
Soldiers
Joey Alexander (jb. 2003)
Fourteen
Kenny Garrett (b. 1960)
Happy People
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CIVIC JAZZ ORCHESTRA Vincent Chandler, conductor Now
Kenny Garrett (b. 1960)
Li’l Liza Jane
Countess Ada de Lachau (1866 - 1956) arr. by Nicholas Payton
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CIVIC SYMPHONIC BAND Damien Crutcher, director Tyler S. Grant (b. 1995) Percy Aldridge Grainger (1882 – 1961) arr. Michael Sweeney
...At Twilight
“The Lost Lady Found: Dance Song” from Lincolnshire Posy
Brian Balmages (b. 1975)
Marche Diabolique
Frank Ticheli (b. 1958)
Joy
CIVIC PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA Dr. Ken Thompson, director Samuel Barber (1910 – 1981)
Violin Concerto, Op. 14 I. Allegro moderato Henry Jackson, violin (2022 Concerto Competition Winner)
Johannes Brahms (1833 – 1897) arr. Vernon Leidig
Brahms First Symphony (Fourth Movement)
Igor Stravinsky (1882 – 1971) arr. Merle J. Isaac
“Berceuse and Finale” from The Firebird Suite
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about the artists
About the Artists Oriol Sans
Detroit Symphony Youth Orchestra DIRECTOR Hailed as “refreshing and expressive in his handling of the orchestra,” (El Informador, Jalisco) Catalan conductor Oriol Sans has inspired musicians and audiences across North America and Europe. Sans has conducted concerts with outstanding orchestras and ensembles including the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra, the Santa Fe Symphony, the Michigan Chamber Winds and Strings, the New Mexico Philharmonic, the San Juan Symphony (Colorado), the Orquesta Filarmónica de Jalisco in Guadalajara (Mexico), the Flint Symphony Orchestra, the Sheboygan Symphony, the International Contemporary Ensemble, and the Four Corners Ensemble. He has lead performances with renowned soloists including Yoonshin Song, Wei Yu, Tony Arnold, Amy Porter, Aaron Berofsky, Jourdan Urbach, Álvaro Bitrán, Íride González, Alan Pingarrón, Jason Vieaux, Alexander Gavrylyuk, Anderson & Roe Piano Duo, Pacho Flores, Alon Goldstein, and Wu Han. Sans is Assistant Professor and Director of Orchestral Activities at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Under his musical direction, the university’s production of Così fan tutte received 2nd prize from the National Opera Association. Before joining the University of WisconsinMadison, he was Associate Director of Orchestras at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, where he directed both the University Philharmonia Orchestra and the Contemporary Directions Ensemble (CDE). With CDE, Sans fostered projects with celebrated composers including John Luther Adams, Ted Hearne, Julia Wolfe, David T. Little, Tyshawn Sorey, and Augusta Read-Thomas. As Music Director of the Detroit Symphony Youth Orchestra, a position he has held since 2016, Sans has initiated collaborations with other musical institutions in the community, including the Young Artists Program at the Detroit Opera. Sans is among the finalists for the position of Music Director with the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra.
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of Figaro and Così fan tutte, Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin, Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Jake Heggie’s Two Remain. In 2018, he conducted a production of Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitors at the Detroit Opera, and more recently he collaborated with the Opera Theatre Saint Louis in a workshop of Awakenings, a new opera by composer Tobias Picker. In the fall of 2021, he conducted a production of Puccini’s Giani Schicchi with the Tulsa Opera. A native of Catalonia, Spain, Sans studied Orchestral and Choral Conducting at the Barcelona Conservatory, receiving the school’s Honors Award in both specialties upon graduation. Following his training in Spain, he studied with Kenneth Kiesler at the University of Michigan where he received his master’s degree in Orchestral Conducting and his doctorate in Musical Arts. In addition to his degrees in music, Sans also holds a degree in Humanities from the Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona.
Dr. Ken Thompson
Civic Philharmonic Orchestra & Detroit Symphony Youth Wind Ensemble DIRECTOR Dr. Ken Thompson directs the Detroit Symphony Youth Wind Ensemble and Civic Philharmonic Orchestra, and has worked with CYE for more than ten years. He serves as professor in the College of Musical Arts at Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio. In demand as a guest conductor and lecturer, Thompson maintains an active schedule with engagements throughout the United States, Canada, Malaysia, Singapore, Japan, and China. He has appeared as a lecturer or clinician with the International Society for Music Education, the National Conference of the College Band Directors National Association, the North Carolina, South Carolina, Iowa, West Virginia, Ohio, and Missouri Music Educators Association conferences, and others. Thompson studied at Limestone College and earned his master and doctorate degrees from the University of Iowa. He previously served as artistic director of the Toledo Symphony Youth Orchestras and associate conductor of the St. Louis Wind Symphony and Chamber Winds.
Darell “Red” Campbell, Jr.
His reputation for working with young musicians has led to several invitations to serve as conducting faculty at leading educational institutions including the Interlochen Summer Academy and Sewanee Summer Music Festival. He is also a frequent conducting clinician and guest conductor for other youth ensembles across North America.
“Darell “Red” Campbell Jr. is a musician, songwriter, producer, teacher, and preacher who enters his seventh season of working with CYE.
As an opera conductor, his eclectic repertoire includes performances of Verdi’s Falstaff, Mozart’s The Marriage
Red has collaborated with The Dramatics, War, India Arie, Stevie Wonder, Holland-Dozier-Holland, Anita Baker, Kris
Creative Jazz Ensemble & Detroit Pistons Bucket Band DIRECTOR
50th anniversary celebration
Vincent Chandler Civic Jazz Orchestra DIRECTOR
Vincent Chandler is a trombonist and native Detroiter now entering his third season of working with CYE. He is a protégé of Detroit’s great jazz scene and has studied and performed with local heroes including Donald Walden, Kenn Cox, Marcus Belgrave, James Carter, Marion Hayden, Regina Carter, and Rodney Whitaker. Chandler has also performed internationally with jazz legends including Herbie Hancock, Marcus Miller, Joe Henderson, Clark Terry, Roy Hargrove, Ravi Coltrane, Jeff “Tain” Watts, and others. In 2014, he released Embraceable, his first album as a bandleader. Chandler earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts and a Master of Music degree from the University of Michigan. He is now a Lecturer in Jazz Studies at Wayne State University.
Damien Crutcher
Civic Symphonic Band & Detroit Community Concert Band DIRECTOR Damien Crutcher is a native Detroiter now entering his third season of working with CYE. A graduate of Cass Technical High School, he studied at Michigan State University and earned a Master of Music degree from the University of Michigan. He is also the Co-Founder and CEO of Crescendo Detroit, Artistic Director and Conductor of the Farmington Community Band, and Managing Director of Detroit Harmony. After graduating from the University of Michigan, Crutcher served as Director of Bands and Orchestras at SouthfieldLathrup High School. Many of his former students are currently professional musicians, music teachers, and artists.
Danny DeRose
Civic Arco String Orchestra DIRECTOR Violist Danny DeRose has been a member of the CYE conducting staff for seven years. He believes that musical progress and fun can work hand in hand to create an enriching educational orchestra environment for all. >> DeRose received his formal education at Wayne State University and the University of Michigan, receiving Bachelor and Master of Music degrees in Performance. For the last ten years, DeRose has been an active teacher in the Metro Detroit community, with teaching roles at the String Project @ Wayne, the Flint Institute of Music, and Michigan State University Community Music School - Detroit. In addition to his work in the Wu Family Academy, DeRose is Director of Development & Marketing for the Chamber Music Society of Detroit and has many private violin and viola students.
50th anniversary celebration
Leslie DeShazor
Civic Symphonic String Orchestra & Dresner Foundation Allegro Ensemble DIRECTOR Leslie DeShazor is a violinist, teacher, and recording artist who now enters her seventh season as a CYE instructor. In addition to her work with the DSO, DeShazor teaches students through programs offered by the Arts League of Michigan, Michigan State University, and the Sphinx Organization.
about the artists
Johnson, Mary Wilson, Mike Powell, Dorinda Clark-Cole, HotSauce Yolanda Adams, LaToya Turrentine, Obie Trice, Freyda Payne, Eminem, and more. Red has served as musician and production assistant at Sick Note and minister of music at El Bethel Church.
DeShazor has appeared as a soloist with the Toledo Symphony Orchestra and regularly performs with the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra, Saginaw Symphony Orchestra, and Flint Symphony Orchestra. She has also performed with jazz ensembles, the Leigh Daniels Ensemble, superstars like Smokey Robinson and Aretha Franklin, the Detroit-based Musique Noire, and the West African dance troupe Bichini Bia Congo (for whom she has also served as a choreographer). A Michigan native, DeShazor studied at the University of Michigan.
Henry Jackson
Civic Philharmonic Orchestra VIOLIN SOLOIST At the age of 3, Henry Jackson entered Orchestra Hall for the first time to see a Young People’s Family Concert, where he held his first violin at the instrument petting zoo and listened to DSO members play Eine kleine Nachtmusik. For several weeks afterwards, Jackson played “air” violin while humming Mozart until his parents signed him up for Suzuki violin lessons and his Nana bought him his first violin for $25 on eBay. Flash forward 14 years and you can find Jackson playing violin in the DSYO, Student League, and as concertmaster of his high school orchestra. Jackson proudly collaborated with his orchestra teacher, Scott Wolf, to start a summer camp for young students in his district—and as a result, has a few students of his own. When not making music you can find Jackson on the basketball court, playing chess, solving math problems, and debating current issues with his friends. Jackson is grateful to CYE for this incredible opportunity and to his family and friends for all their support. He’d also like to thank his former violin teachers Mark Mutter and Sonia Lee. He’d especially like to thank his current teacher, DSO first violinist Adrienne Rönmark, for her dedication and support in helping him grow as a musician.
Louis Jones III
Detroit Pistons Bucket Band ASSISTANT DIRECTOR Louis M. Jones III is one of the Detroit jazz scene’s premier drummers who has been mentored by some of the city’s top musicians including Wendell Harrison, Pamela Wise, and Marion Hayden, and molded as a drummer by Sean Dobbins and Nate Winn. Jones III has played with some of the biggest names in jazz, hip hop, and Latin including Wayne Shorter, Ron Carter, Keyon Harrold, Karriem Riggins, Elzhi, and
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about the artists
Pepe Espinosa, in addition to his aforementioned mentors. He is also the bandleader of the Louis Jones Group, which showcase the creativity and virtuosity of young musicians from Metro Detroit. Jones III has balanced being a working musician with being a student at Wayne State University. In 2017, he won the MPrize Junior Open Division and in 2019 received an Honorary Spirit of Detroit Award.
Mark Mutter
Pizzicato String Ensemble & Civic Symphonic String Orchestra DIRECTOR Mark Mutter is a violinist and educator who has collaborated with CYE for eleven seasons. He is a registered Teacher Trainer with the Suzuki Association of the Americas and is the executive director of Suzuki Royal Oak Institute of Music, where he oversees 11 educators that instruct over 150 students. Mutter began his orchestral career as assistant principal second violin of the Hong Kong Philharmonic. During his time in Hong Kong, he also taught at the Hong Kong Academy for the Performing Arts. Mutter studied Suzuki pedagogy with John Kendall, Ronda Cole, Jacquie Maurer, and Geri Arnold, and is now a Suzuki lecturer at the University of Michigan. In addition to his work in Michigan, he has proudly served as a clinician at workshops throughout the United States and Asia.
Ashley Nelson
Pizzicato String Ensemble & Dresner Foundation Allegro Ensemble ASSISTANT DIRECTOR Ashley Nelson is an accomplished violinist, vocalist, and musician born and raised in Detroit. Nelson began her musical journey at Bates Academy, a Detroit Public School for the gifted and talented, and has participated in numerous music programs throughout the city of Detroit
COMMUNITY AND LEARNING STAFF Caen Thomason-Redus, Senior Director of Community & Learning Karisa Antonio, Director of Social Innovation Debora Kang, Director of Education Clare Valenti, Director of Community Engagement Kiersten Alcorn, Manager of Community Engagement Connor Bulka, Training Ensembles Recruitment & Communications Coordinator Joanna Goldstein, Training Ensembles Student Development Coordinator Damien Crutcher, Managing Director of Detroit Harmony Lucy Alessio, Education Assistant Bronwyn Hagerty, Orchestra and Training Programs Librarian Thomas Monks, Training Programs Percussion Technician Dennis Rottell, Stage Manager
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and the metro area including Detroit Symphony Civic Youth Orchestra, Weekend School of Music, DSO Summer Music Institute, and the prestigious Interlochen Center for Arts All State Program. Nelson studied with Hai Xin Wu (Acting Associate Concertmaster of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra) and Dr. Laura Roelofs, Professor of Violin, while earning a B achelor of Music degree in Violin Performance at Wayne State University. Nelson enjoys teaching violin and viola with the Sphinx Organization’s Overture Program and Detroit Youth Volume, a quality arts program that teaches youth through the world-class Suzuki method. Nelson has performed violin and viola with numerous artists on local, national, and international platforms.
Solomon Parham Civic Jazz Band DIRECTOR
Hailing from Detroit, trumpeter Solomon Parham has established a substantial music education and community pathway in the Twin Cities. Parham began his musical education in Detroit at the age of nine, studying trumpet with Herbie Williams and going on to earn a bachelor’s degree in Instrumental Music Education from Wayne State University. He has served as a mentor and member of the DSO’s Civic Jazz Orchestra and Director of Bands in the Lansing Public School District. In the Twin Cities, Parham has co-composed for KBEM Jazz 88.5 and hosted jazz workshops and summer youth jazz camps including Jazz Around Minneapolis. He has shared the stage with celebrated musicians including Delfeayo Marsalis, Eric Kamau Gravatt, Eric Alexander, Wess Anderson, and Christian McBride. A dedicated music educator and consummate professional in the fine and performing arts, Parham recently earned his Master of Music degree in Performance from McNally Smith College of Music with an emphasis in jazz trumpet. He is a current member of the three-time Grammy Award winning group Sounds of Blackness.
CIVIC YOUTH ENSEMBLE MENTORS Brandon Golpe, Bassoon Jacob Wolf, Clarinet Abby Cline, Clarinet Claudia Aizaga, Flute Michael Goss, Horn David Diaz, Oboe Thomas Wheeler, Trombone Evan Foster, Trumpet Jane Kelly, Trumpet Malika Brower, Violin Liz Mathiesen, Violin James O’Donnell, Saxophone Kirby Leitz, Saxophone & Violin CIVIC YOUTH ENSEMBLE MANAGER Schuyler Donahoe
EDUCATION STEERING COMMITTEE David Wu, chair Marlene Bihlmeyer Sarai Brachman-Shoup Meagan L. Brown Elena Centeio Larry Hutchinson Misty McDowell Lois Miller Jan Bernick Shari Morgan Jeremy Crosmer Hannah Hammel Kim Kennedy Alex Kinmonth Hai-Xin Wu Alex Kapordelis Debora Kang Erik Rönmark Caen Thomason-Redus
50th anniversary celebration
DETROIT PISTONS BUCKET BAND Darell “Red” Campbell Jr., director Louis Jones III, assistant director The DSO partnered with the Detroit Pistons in 2018 to create the Detroit Pistons Bucket Band: a tuition-free program based at neighboring Spain Elementary-Middle School. The Detroit Pistons Bucket Band is a percussion ensemble that teaches students percussion techniques and musical principles in a fun and creative way. Along with the Dresner Foundation Allegro Ensemble, the Detroit Pistons Bucket Band creates a pathway for Detroit students to pursue music educa tion further by participating tuition-free in other CYE ensembles during and after their time in the Bucket Band. Lucas-George Jackson GraceAnn Jackson Justin Mathis Na’Kai Curry Amiria Ferrell Tyla Gervin Ean Wilson Ronneal McQueen DRESNER FOUNDATION ALLEGRO ENSEMBLE Leslie DeShazor, director Ashley Nelson, assistant director Launched in 2017, the Dresner Foundation Allegro Ensemble joins the DSO’s many CYE groups as an in-school, tuition-free, entry-level violin group for students at Ellington Conservatory of Music & Art at Beckham Academy, a DPSCD school on Detroit’s east side. Classes are taught by CYE instructors during and after the students’ school day, in collaboration with Ellington Conservatory teacher Sean Patton. Prior experience is not needed to join the group. Students are invited to continue their studies with other CYE groups tuition-free and using the same instru ments provided. 3RD GRADE: Jayden Smith Marcus Ballard Madisyn Shelby Bobby Howard Carly Jackson King McGhee Jocellyn Dubose Kaimya Glenn Nicolas Hood Ka’Marii Wade Leia Houston
Sasha McNeece Jaidyn Driscoll Jamaya Alexander Treyvont’e Denham Dakoda Dozie 4TH/5TH GRADE: Na’Lani Coburn Jordan Dolford Skyy Jenkins Lemani Humphrey 6TH/7TH GRADE: Caleb Hankins Na’Miyah Coburn Jaden Doolin Jaiden Dolford Antonio Flowers Storm Jenkins PIZZICATO STRING ENSEMBLE Mark Mutter, director Ashley Nelson, assistant director The Pizzicato String Ensemble offers an excellent launching pad into the world of orchestral performance by focusing on the presentation of rudimentary ensemble techniques. The curriculum allows for advancement of those who have limited experience playing in an orchestral setting, while providing a performance outlet for beginners. Open to beginning level string students of elementary age. VIOLIN Makaela Ansley Cole Bennett NaLani Coburn Jordan Dolford Theo Gladstone-Highland Joshua Liu Jack Naglick, Bea & Harry Shapiro Scholar + Smita Ravikoti Nyla Turay PIANO Jack Naglick, Bea & Harry Shapiro Scholar + CIVIC ARCO STRING ORCHESTRA Danny DeRose, director VIOLIN Lucy Alessio + Ione Alva-Wies Iris Cook Sihyeon Jun Addison Lackey Audrie Miller Jack Naglick * – principle + – mentor/extra
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Divya Nema Zephaniah Pharr Alyssa Piol Smaran Ravikoti Tatiyana Stallings Brooklyn Wade VIOLA Vedika Budhraja Alycia Wilder + CELLO Bronwyn Hagerty + BASS Faith Thomson + PIANO Jack Naglick, Bea & Harry Shapiro Scholar + CIVIC SYMPHONIC STRING ORCHESTRA Leslie DeShazor, director Mark Mutter, director Civic Symphonic String Orchestra students receive deeper instruction and preparation for progressing in their musical endeavors. The Civic Symphonic String Orchestra is a bridge between beginner and advanced studies. Open to intermediate string instrument students of middle and high school age. VIOLIN Angela Abdul-Nour Elora Adams Suvetha Anand Ashley Azpetia Han Chau Na’Miyah Coburn Jaden Dolford Jaden Doolin Daniel Edwards Emma Edwards Marcell Green Matina Green Hannah Haines Caleb Hankins Wesley Johnson Ryan Kang Elliot Karr Lauriel King Daniel Liu Alexander Marsh Grace Martin Siena McNary Olivia Miller Hank Neal Norah Nordin Sloane O’Neill Paloma Palomino Aidan Park ~ – senior ** – concertmaster
Elisha Park Lunar Park Princeton Reese Annika Rönmark Ryan Sabha Claire Shin Gaia Sperone Ta’Laya Stallings Mason Tibbitts Tony Wu Thomas Yu
civic youth ensembles
Civic Youth Ensembles
VIOLA Felix Degazio ~ Danny DeRose + Madeleine Hooper Ivy Kelley Sarah Wilkinson CELLO Hassan Echols Lola (Rae) Howes Lauren McKague + Aiden Shen BASS Julia Harris Cameron Pringle PERCUSSION PIANO CIVIC JAZZ BAND Solomon Parham, director The Civic Jazz Band allows students the opportunity to develop their ensemble skills through section playing, improvisation, and theory while performing big band standards and jazz classics. Open to beginner & intermediate, high school age jazz students in piano, guitar, upright bass, bass guitar, woodwind, brass, and percussion/drums. ALTO SAXOPHONE Oliver Strickfaden TRUMPET Samuel Roberts GUITAR Kevin Lin DRUMS Nathaniel Hill Landen Kendrick
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civic youth ensembles
CREATIVE JAZZ ENSEMBLE Darell “Red” Campbell, Jr., director
bass, bass guitar, woodwind, brass, and percussion/drums.
The Creative Jazz Ensemble opens the doors of the jazz world to all intermediate to advanced students, including those outside the traditional jazz instrumentation. Students in the Creative Jazz Ensemble have the unique opportunity to enhance their understanding of jazz theory and improvisation in a non-traditional setting by collaborating with each other and arranging their own charts.
ALTO SAXOPHONE Dilan Swami ~
BASSOON Neel Kamath Faith Whitted*
TENOR SAXOPHONE Shane Karas
ALTO SAXOPHONE James O’Donnel + Liam Taormina
Open to intermediate and advanced students of most instruments—including strings, oboe, bassoon, horn, tuba, etc.—of middle and high school age interested in jazz.
BASS TROMBONE Kyle Quick
ALTO SAXOPHONE Christian Manohar ~
PIANO William Hill III ~
TENOR SAXOPHONE Alex Pranis
DRUMS Joseph Fielder ~ Kareem Harrison ~
GUITAR Brayden Keding Matthew Yemmans ~ VIOLIN Felix Shields CELLO Chris Tilmon BASS Christian Bush PIANO Dresden Keding Joanna Lin Alexander Prodan VIBRAPHONE Hannah Gillery DRUMS Isaac Demko Nico Wachholz ~ CIVIC JAZZ ORCHESTRA Vincent Chandler, director The CJO is CYE’s premier jazz ensemble, providing students advanced experiences in performing music of varying styles from the standard jazz repertoire. The CJO is featured in their own concert series, Civic Jazz Live! in the Cube at the Max M. and Marjorie S. Fisher Music Center before select Paradise Jazz Concerts. Open to advanced, high school age jazz students in piano, guitar, upright
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VIOLIN Adrianna Sewell ~ TRUMPET Jauron Perry ~
BASS Peter Lin ~
CIVIC SYMPHONIC BAND Damien Crutcher, director The Civic Symphonic Band is the CYE’s intermediate level wind band designed to give wind, brass, and percussion students experience in an ensemble setting by rehearsing fundamental ensemble skills. Open to intermediate level woodwind, brass, and percussion students of middle school age. FLUTE Kamryn Burch Eva Dai Hyobin Kim * Alexia Nowicki Yashieta Somani Erika Thompson-Edwards Laasya Vadrevu ~ OBOE Nina Attisha * Raina Dearing Matthew Dyson Ellorie Krum Liam O’Mara Georgia Stoy CLARINET Kaelinn Bocci Alysia Due Kamya Fulton Yuna Hahm Jay Kim * Aayushi Parab Lorelei Phiri * – principle + – mentor/extra
Dakota Rae Robinson
TENOR SAXOPHONE Caleb Thomason-Redus BARI SAXOPHONE Malcolm Ethridge HORN Evren Celebi Nick Culver + Nate Sachs Lydia Thomason-Redus * TRUMPET Timothy Abrams Ethan Banks Seth Banks Jordan Harris Jasmine Johnson Nashwah Khan Ryan Loos Jackson Otlewski Ezra Navin * Himari Tamura ~ TROMBONE Riley Pettengill * Anthony Serra Lainie Roper + BARITONE Meghan Murray TUBA Matthew Dickerson Thomas Wheeler + PERCUSSION William Carey + Hannah Gillery Jacob Hardgrove + Najee Hakeem Chase Wiley CIVIC PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA Dr. Ken Thompson, director The Civic Philharmonic Orchestra provides advanced musicians the opportunity to learn challenging repertoire while continuing to develop their musicianship. Open to advanced string, woodwind, brass, and percussion musicians of upper middle through high school age.
VIOLIN Margaret Chen ~ Sophie Chen Allen Choi Sienna Clark Eve Feles * Felix Foreman-Braunschweig Isabel Homayouni Annalise Judge * Lucy Kwak Veda Mantena Henrietta Martha ~ Isaac Mougoue Phoebe Navin John Paul Orlosky Joanna Pfeiffer * Regina Sanchez-Galvez Elena Serna Mariah Sray ~ Gabrielle Stallings Jerusha Tayler + Cara Wong Charlotte Wu Claire Wu ~ Ethan Yung Dorothy Zheng VIOLA Laila Al-Zubi ~ Julia Tibbitts Alycia Wilder + CELLO Grace Bae Brenden Comerford Alexandra Della-Torre Woolley Jasmine Johnson Bronwyn Hagerty + Daniel Kim James Lee Lauren McKague ~ Emma Riggs Jocelyn Wong Julia Wu BASS Faith Thomson FLUTE Deniz Akinci Seaha Kim Sana Mohammed Amanda Newton ~ Joanna Ouyang Manasvi Patel OBOE Emily Nash CLARINET Benjamin Hatto Isaac Lublin BASSOON Beatrice Ethridge Teodor Vujic
~ – senior ** – concertmaster
50th anniversary celebration
TRUMPET Andrew Bae Colleen Pettengill Ashley Rennells TROMBONE David Franklin Aaron Sager ~ Nicholas Simonelli ~ Ana Trujillo Garcia ~ TUBA Thomas Wheeler + PERCUSSION Venkatesh Alagappan William Carey + Amaiah Durham ~ Jacob Hardgrove + DETROIT SYMPHONY YOUTH WIND ENSEMBLE Ken Thompson, director The DSYWE provides opportunities for advanced students to study and perform works from the wind repertoire, from 16th century compositions to contemporary world premieres. Open to advanced woodwind, brass, and percussion musicians of high school age. FLUTE Judy Chung Kevin Guo Qingqing Ouyang Tiffany Rennells ~ Halie Schmidlin ~ Jinny Song ~ Faith Whitted OBOE Michael Chen ~ Hayden Natinsky ~ Samantha Zelnik + CLARINET Daniel Ma Connor Pang Zoe Scott + Miya Wagner Jungbin Yoon ~ BASS CLARINET Abby Cline +
BASSOON Thomas DesRosiers ~ Mitchell Margraf Avaneesh Prasad ~ Phelan + ALTO SAXOPHONE Mary Borus ~ Sebastian Cruz Matthew Dyson Michael Lu Jaimey Tison TENOR SAXOPHONE Erik Anundson + HORN Isaiah Thomason-Redus Nick Culver + Hannah Oprea + Phoebe Saboley + TRUMPET Russell Calhoun ~ Evan Foster + Emma Lang Jackson Pierce ~ Lucy Trapp ~ TROMBONE Dylan Young ~ Brian Liu Brady Smith Lainie Roper + Lucas Prim ~ EUPHONIUM Charlotte Pavlic ~ TUBA Evan Zeigel + PERCUSSION Gwendolyn Crawford *~ Amaiah Durham ~ Thomas Kratochwill Eleanor Wisniewski ~ William Carey + Jacob Hardgrove + PIANO Jack Naglick, Bea & Harry Shapiro Scholar + DETROIT SYMPHONY YOUTH ORCHESTRA Oriol Sans, director Founded in 1970, the DSYO is CYE’s premier youth orchestra. Through advanced orchestral repertoire, students are challenged to perform at professional levels, to strive for advanced musicianship, and to continue to enhance their superior technical and musical
* – principle + – mentor/extra
50th anniversary celebration
ensemble playing. Open to advanced string, woodwind, brass, and percussion musicians in high school through age 20. VIOLIN Eline Chen Jeongwoo Choi Ryan Choi Vijay Daita Jacob Degner Peter Fazekas Milan Forrester Elise Hsiao ~ Henry Jackson Isabell Johnson Clarice Kim ** ~ Gwendolyn Kohl ~ Anna Lee Karen Luo Jackson McDowell Tyler Moon Jack Naglick Grace Redner Peter Schwendeman Adrianna Sewell ~ Ketan Swami Julia Tauro ~ Igor Trifunovic ~ Isabella Vesprini Andrew Wang ~ Kate Watson Lillianna Wodzisz Claire Wu ~ David Yang Bryce Yung ~ VIOLA Sophia Chacko Elodie Chapoutot Danny DeRose Benjamin Graham Daniel Muzzi ~ Emerson Tomaszewski CELLO Lisa (Seo Hyun) Baek ~ Emily Baek Daniel Gross Hyuno Kim Benjamin Kletzli ~ David Lee Sarah Lee ~ Jisoo Park Ty Pfeiffer Tomas Serna ~ Julianna Stratton ~ BASS Gael Alvarez Faith Thomson ~
FLUTE Kata Bajcz ~ Kasen Korstanje Andrew Lee Rebecca Wang ~ Audrey Wu ~ OBOE Halle Chen Sophia Graham ~ Samantha Zelnik + CLARINET Michael Hudzik ~ Luke Montgomery Dave Kim ~ Zoe Scott +
civic youth ensembles
HORN Jackson Bolsley Rahk Dearing Quinton Riggs
BASS CLARINET Abby Cline + BASSOON Ben Do ~ Pranay Yellapantula Contra Bassoon Phelan + HORN Joe Murphy ~ Christopher Stocking ~ Yuma Tsubouchi Nick Culver + TRUMPET Scott Brinley ~ Catherine Li Jacob Rushlow + TROMBONE Grant Martinez ~ Christopher Yiu Bass Trombone Jamey Morgan + TUBA Evan Zeigel + PERCUSSION Karl Rueterbusch ~ Amaiah Durham ~ Schuyler Donahoe + William Carey + Jacob Hardgrove + Ben Hellert + Claire Miller + Trey Washington + HARP Ken Allen PIANO Jack Naglick, Bea & Harry Shapiro Scholar +
~ – senior ** – concertmaster
22
The Wu Family Academy for Learning and Engagement is proudly sponsored by the following funders: Ms. Debra Bonde
Ford Motor Company Fund
Dr. Glenda D. Price
Robert & Lucinda Clement Fund for Music Education
Charles T. Harris + & Laurie Lindemulder Harris
Christine & David Provost
Detroit Pistons
David & Sheri Jaffa
Vera & Joseph Dresner Foundation
Kellman & Associates and Betsy & Joel Kellman
The Fred A. & Barbara M. Erb Family Foundation
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
Max M. & Marjorie S. Fisher Foundation
Deborah Miesel Scholarship Endowment
Renaissance (MI) Chapter of the Links The Bea & Harry Shapiro Fund for Keyboard Education Ilene Wenner & Shari Morgan Scholarship Paul Wingert Scholarship Drs. David & Bernadine Wu
Honoring the visionary leadership of Dr. Clyde and Helen Wu, we are celebrating fifty years of passionate dedication to changing lives through music at the DSO with a special CYE50 campaign to ensure that every student in the region can lead a musical life. Through the generosity of DSO donors, we can offer this training regardless of a family’s financial resources.
The DSO and Wu Family Academy would like to thank the following donors for their leadership support of the CYE50 Campaign: Aaron & Carolynn Frankel
Bernard & Eleanor Robertson
Mary Ann & Rob Gorlin
Martie & Bob Sachs
Nancy Schlichting & Pamela Theisen Drs. David & Bernadine Wu
CYE50 Gold Club: Celebrating donors of $1,000+ to the CYE50 Campaign Dr. Lourdes V. Andaya Pamela Applebaum Pauline Averbach & Charles Peacock Drs. Brian & Elizabeth Bachynski W. Harold & Chacona W. Baugh Mr. & Mrs. Martin S. Baum Gwen & Richard Bowlby
Eugene & Elaine C. Driker Margie Dunn & Mark Davidoff Jim & Margo Farber Max M. & Marjorie S. Fisher Foundation, Inc. Mr. & Mrs. Aaron Frankel Mr. & Mrs. Ralph J. Gerson Ms. Jody Glancy
Mrs. Karen Kotulis-Carter Barbara & Michael Kratchman Drs. Lisa & Scott Langenburg Laskaris-Jamett Advisors of Raymond James Drs. Donald & Diane Levine Wenyang Mao Alexander & Evelyn McKeen
Sue & Bob Pilon Dr. Glenda D. Price Bernard & Eleanor Robertson Mr.+ & Mrs. Gerald F. Ross Martie & Bob Sachs Nancy Schlichting & Pamela Theisen Robert & Patricia Shaw
Butzel Long Ms. Elena Centeio Deloitte Mr. Kevin S. Dennis & Mr. Jeremy J. Zeltzer
Mary Ann & Robert Gorlin Howard & Howard Attorneys PLLC Renato & Elizabeth Jamett Ms. Susan Konop
Patricia A.+ & Patrick G. McKeever Mr. & Mrs. Eugene A. Miller Mr. & Mrs. James B. Nicholson Anne Parsons+ & Donald Dietz Mr. David Phipps & Ms. Mary Buzard
Ms. Claudia Sills Mr. James G. Vella Mr.+ & Mrs. Jonathan T. Walton Hon. Kurtis T. Wilder (Ret.) Drs. David & Bernadine Wu
+ – deceased
THANK YOU