What To Know About The DSO's Upcoming Neighborhood Series

METRO DETROIT, MI —The Detroit Symphony Orchestra’s (DSO)William Davidson Neighborhood Concert Series continues this May, with the DSO performing at seven venues across Metro Detroit over two weekends.

During the first weekend, conductor Kensho Watanabe will lead a program that includes Ravel’s orchestral version of Le Tombeau de Couperin, Korngold’s Violin Concerto, and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 8. Violinist William Hagen will be featured soloist on the Korngold.

The concerts will take place:

• Thursday, May 9 at 7:30 p.m. at Congregation Shaarey Zedek in Southfield
• Friday, May 10 at 8 p.m. at Macomb Center for the Performing Arts in Clinton Township
• Sunday, May 11 at 3 p.m. at Seligman Performing Arts Center (on the campus of Detroit Country Day School) in Beverly Hills

Thanks to a generous grant from the FCA Foundation, the charitable arm of North American automaker FCA US, the DSO welcomes military veterans, active military, and their families to access discounted tickets for the May 9 performance in Southfield and the May 10 performance in Clinton Township. See below for more information about the ticket discount. Discounts are also available for concerts throughout the 2018-2019 Season in Orchestra Hall, including several Friday evening PNC Pops Series concerts and every Friday morning Classical Series Coffee Concert. The FCA Foundation and the DSO thank our veterans and active military members for their service.

The William Davidson Neighborhood Concert Series is made possible by a generous grant from the William Davidson Foundation. Renamed in 2014 in honor of philanthropist William Davidson, the Series brings even more opportunities for Metro Detroiters to experience the DSO close to home. In October 2017 the William Davidson Foundation made a $15 million gift of support to the DSO—one of the orchestra’s largest ever—including continued sponsorship of the Series. WRCJ 90.9 FM also supports the Series. The Friday, May 17 concert in Plymouth is additionally supported by Butzel Long.

About Kensho Watanabe
Kensho Watanabe has served as assistant conductor of The Philadelphia Orchestra since the 2016-17 season and was the inaugural conducting fellow of the Curtis Institute of Music from 2013 to 2015, under the mentorship of Yannick Nézet-Séguin. In April 2017 he made his critically-acclaimed subscription debut with The Philadelphia Orchestra and pianist Daniil Trifonov, and recently he conducted the Orchestra for his debut at the Bravo! Vail Music Festival and concerts at the Mann Center and the Saratoga Performing Arts Center.

Equally at home in both symphonic and operatic repertoire, Watanabe has led numerous operas with the Curtis Opera Theatre, including Puccini’s La rondine in 2017 and La bohème in 2015. Additionally, he served as assistant conductor to Mr. Nézet-Séguin on a new production of Strauss’s Elektra at Montreal Opera.

An accomplished violinist, Watanabe received his Master of Music degree from the Yale School of Music and served as a substitute violinist in The Philadelphia Orchestra from 2012 to 2016. Cognizant of the importance of the training and development of young musicians, he has served on the staff of the Greenwood Music Camp since 2007, currently serving as the orchestra conductor.

Watanabe is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music, where he studied with distinguished conducting pedagogue Otto-Werner Mueller. He also holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Yale College, where he studied molecular, cellular, and developmental biology.

About William Hagen
The 26-year-old violinist William Hagen has performed as soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician across the United States, Europe, and Asia. He has collaborated with several top orchestras around the world, including the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, Frankfurt Radio Orchestra, Seattle Symphony Orchestra, and Utah Symphony. He has also appeared at festivals including Grant Park Music Festival, Ravinia, Aspen, and Deer Valley.

As a chamber musician and soloist, he has performed with Ludovic Morlot, the Sofia Philharmonic in Bulgaria, and the Shreveport Symphony, among others. He also played chamber music with Gidon Kremer, Steven Isserlis, and Christian Tetzlaff at the “Chamber Music Connects the World” festival in Kronberg, Germany.

A native of Salt Lake City, Hagen debuted with the Utah Symphony at age nine. He studied at the Colburn School (and later Colburn Conservatory), Juilliard, and Switzerland’s Verbier Academy. He is currently enrolled at the Kronberg Academy in Germany, where he is a student of Christian Tetzlaff. His other teachers have included Natalie Reed, Deborah Moench, Robert Lipsett, and Itzhak Perlman.

Hagen performs on the 1732 “Arkwright Lady Rebecca Sylvan” Antonio Stradivari, on generous loan from the Rachel Barton Pine Foundation.

Ticket Information
Tickets for all William Davidson Neighborhood Concert Series performances are $25 for adults and $10 for children and students, and can be purchased online at dso.org/neighborhood.
Tickets can also be purchased by calling (313) 576-5111 or in-person at the Max M. & Marjorie S. Fisher Music Center Box Office (3711 Woodward Ave., Detroit).

Please note: tickets will not be sold online past 8 p.m. the night prior to each performance, but will still be available for purchase at each venue on the days of the concerts.

Veterans, active military, and their families may use the code HEROES1819 to unlock $10 tickets for the May 9 performance in Southfield and the May 10 performance in Clinton Township. The code can be used at dso.org or by calling the Box Office at (313) 576-5111.

Groups of 10 or more can save up to 30% on the price of a single ticket for most DSO concerts. For more information, contact Group Sales Manager Jim Sabatella at (313) 576-5130 or jsabatella@dso.org.