DSO touts upcoming season with a string trio and a train ride down Woodward
Talk about a moving performance.
The music was in motion Wednesday down Woodward Avenue, where journalists were invited by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra to hop on a QLINE train — to be greeted by a string trio.
Selections by Hadyn and Ravel were followed by a lovely bit of Motown (“Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”) as the streetcar made its way to the DSO’s Max M. and Marjorie S. Fisher Music Center. Sandbags kept the music stands in place for violinist Rachel Harding Klaus, violist Mike Chen and cellist Cole Randolph.
“I had to make sure my feet were set on the ground,” Randolph said of the concert-in-transit.
It was all in the service of the DSO’s upcoming 2022-23 season and the release of single tickets, along with the organization’s launch of customizable series. The “Create Your Own” package deal offers three or more concerts for $39 a ticket, and patrons can select their events at dso.org/cyo39.
“We want to make sure there are easy ways for people to access the symphony,” DSO President and CEO Erik Rönmark said during Wednesday's media event.
Rönmark emphasized that theme of accessibility and diversity of programming, saying the orchestra wants metro Detroiters to see the DSO as “one of their regular entertainment destinations.”
"Together our Detroit institutions can unite people from all backgrounds and interests," he said.
He described the QLINE event as part of the “journey” to the new season, which will feature 10 classical weeks conducted by music director Jader Bignamini, with highlights including Mahler’s “Resurrection” symphony (Nov. 11-13) and Stravinsky’s “Firebird” (March 30-April 1).
The season will launch Sept. 21 with “The Music of Star Wars, and other pops programs will include “Home of the Holidays” (Dec. 16-18) and three nights of Aretha Franklin music (May 26-28).
The Paradise Jazz Series will include an Oct. 14 performance with trumpeter Terence Blanchard.
Audience protocols introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic are being eased: Patrons are no longer required to show vaccination proof or a test result, and masks are now optional inside Orchestra Hall.
While the DSO resumed performances in late 2020 and welcomed back audiences in 2021, “this year feels like our real opening out of COVID,” said DSO musician Klaus. “I really appreciate being able to see the audience.”
Wednesday’s QLINE session was a blast for the musicians involved, they said.
“Things are usually so formal,” said Klaus. “I loved it. Playing while moving really made me feel like a part of the city.”
M-1 RAIL President Lisa Nuszkowski said Wednesday’s QLINE collaboration with the DSO was “a guinea pig” as other programming and activations are planned. They may include music, art and spoken word performances in the light-rail streetcars, and will be funded with a recent grant from the Rocket Community Fund.
“I think there are a lot of creative ways we can use something as utilitarian as public transport,” Nuszkowski said.
QLINE fares were suspended coming out of the pandemic, and rides will remain free indefinitely, she said.
Contact Detroit Free Press music writer Brian McCollum: 313-223-4450 or bmccollum@freepress.com.
Detroit Symphony Orchestra
2022-23 season
Sept. 21-June 10
Single tickets now available, along with customizable "Create Your Own" packages
dso.org or 313-576-5111
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Symphony touts new season with a string trio and a train ride
