CADILLAC SENDS DSO CIVIC MENTORS ON NEW YORK ROAD TRIP
Two University of Michigan music students follow the DSO to Carnegie Hall in a Cadillac ATS
(DETROIT, May 6, 2013)— At 9 a.m. on Thursday, May 9, two University of Michigan graduate music students—who double as Detroit Symphony Orchestra Civic Youth Ensemble Mentors—will hit the road in a brand new Cadillac ATS to follow the DSO to Carnegie Hall for its May 10 Ives Immersion performance as part of the Spring For Music Festival.
Along the way, David Cook, first year graduate student of clarinet performance and Emily Wespiser, second year graduate student of flute performance, will spread the word about Detroit, the DSO, and Cadillac ATS drivability by performing pop up concerts and documenting their trip using hashtag #ATStoCarnegie.
Planned stops include a performance at Central Cadillac on Carnegie Avenue in Cleveland, Ohio and a visit to Lola Bistro, a Cleveland diner owned by Michael Symon of Detroit’s Roast in the historic Westin Book Cadillac hotel.
For all details about the DSO’s trip to Carnegie Hall, visit dso.org/carnegiehall.
The DSO’s participation in Spring For Music is made possible with generous support from the General Motors Foundation, Cadillac and the William Davidson Foundation.
The General Motors Foundation and Cadillac have helped to pave the way from Motown to Manhattan for the Detroit Symphony Orchestra this May as it prepares to perform at Carnegie Hall for the first time in 17 years.
The General Motors Foundation provided a $350,000 grant to the DSO for music education initiatives, including its involvement in the prestigious Spring for Music festival. In addition to funding from the Foundation, Cadillac vehicles will transport DSO Civic Mentors, musicians and special guests during the week-long festival.
About David Cook
Originally from Troy, Michigan, David Cook is pursuing Master of Music degrees in clarinet performance and chamber music at the University of Michigan. He holds Bachelor of Music and Bachelor of Music Education degrees from Central Michigan University. David works with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra Civic Youth Ensembles as Civic Orchestra Clarinet Mentor and will be an Orchestra Fellow at the Immanuel & Helen Olshan Texas Music Festival this summer. He is especially excited for the Carnegie Hall performances as a result of completing his research project about the musical evolution throughout Charles Ives’s symphonies.
About Emily Wespiser
A native of Lee, Massachusetts, Emily Wespiser is an active solo, orchestral and chamber musician. As the Detroit Civic Youth Orchestra mentor, she has performed under esteemed DSO conductor Leonard Slatkin, and alongside international soloist Emanuel Ax. Selected to perform and study at the Brevard Music Center for the 2013 season, Emily has spent past summers as the resident principal flutist in the Opera in the Ozarks Orchestra and performing in masterclasses for flutists such as Jeffrey Khaner, Keith Underwood, Ian Clarke, and Doriot Dwyer. Emily can be heard performing with the University of Michigan Symphony Band on their recently released CD, Points of Departure (Equilibrium Records), and with the Ithaca College Symphony Orchestra on their soon to be released Rite of Spring CD. An advocate for new music, Emily has premiered works by composers such as David Biedenbender, Marco Schirripa, Brendan Vavra, Peter Learn, and Gordon Stout. Emily holds a B.M. from Ithaca College, and recently completed her Masters of Music at the University of Michigan, under the direction of flutist Amy Porter.
About DSO’s Carnegie Hall performances
On May 9 and 10, the DSO will become the first orchestra ever to perform two unique programs during New York’s visionary Spring For Music Festival. Joined by Oregon crossover artist Storm Large and the University Musical Society Choral Union, the repertoire will include all four Charles Ives symphonies performed for the very first time on the same program, as well as Kurt Weill’s Seven Deadly Sins, selections by Rachmaninoff and Ravel’s La Valse.
May 9, 2013
The first performance will feature Kurt Weill’s ballet The Seven Deadly Sins, starring cabaret singer Storm Large on lead vocals. Originally written for Weill’s wife, Lotte Lenya, in collaboration with Bertolt Brecht, the work premiered in Paris in 1933 after Weill fled persecution in his native Germany. It tells the tale of what could be two sisters or a split personality as they set out on a tour of American cities each represented by a different sin. The ballet is a bitter satire on bourgeoisie exploitation.
Also on the program are Ravel’s La Valse, and Rachmaninoff’s Caprice Bohemian and Isle of the Dead. Isle of the Dead will appear on the DSO’s third and final CD of Rachmaninoff’s symphonic works to be released on the Naxos label in 2013.
May 10, 2013
The second performance consists of all four Charles Ives symphonies, a debut for the DSO as well as for Carnegie Hall. Music Director Leonard Slatkin chose an immersion into Ives in pursuit of showcasing the strength, sound, ensemble and style that is uniquely Detroit.
Long known for celebrating American repertoire through recordings and commissions, telling Ives’ biographical story through the consecutive performances of all his symphonic works serves as a tribute to both Slatkin’s affinity for American compositions and Detroit’s longtime acquaintance with the American school. Slatkin, who considers Ives to be one of America’s most progressive composers of his time, imagined the four-symphony program as a way to familiarize the audience with his style.
Join Us!
We’re challenging 1,000 Detroiters to join us in New York and fly their hometown flag high. (Detroiters will literally receive DSO hankies to wave at the concerts.) Make sure your trip includes exclusive access to DSO musicians and events with patron tour packages available at $275 and $725. Packages include such activities as a commemorative photo at Carnegie Hall, access to exclusive post-concert receptions; and behind-the-scenes explorations of music, art & food in New York City. Travel to New York City not included. Non-tour general admission tickets are available at dso.org for just $25. Reserve your package at dso.org/carnegiehall or by calling 313.576.5100.
All Detroiters are invited to attend the DSO Sendoff concert on May 7 at Orchestra Hall in Detroit. All tickets are just $25. Those unable to travel to New York can listen to the concerts live in Detroit on WRCJ 90.9 FM.
About Detroit Symphony Orchestra:
This invitation to perform a second Spring For Music concert comes at a triumphant time in the DSO’s recovery, with Slatkin at the helm. After increasing contributions by one-third and doubling the donor base in two years, both Classical and Pops opening weekends experienced record-breaking attendance. The DSO remains the only American orchestra to present a series of free webcasts with its second season of “Live from Orchestra Hall”. The second season of its wildly-successful Neighborhood Residency Initiative will kick-off in December with a full series of concerts, chamber recitals, hospital visits, educational outreach and more in six metro Detroit communities. The partnership between Slatkin and the DSO has resulted in critical acclaim, invitations to tour, numerous recording projects, and a reputation for championing American and contemporary music, all of which are represented in these two Spring For Music 2013 programs.
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