Friday, January 17, 2025 (Ann Arbor, MI) — On Friday, January 24, 2025, the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra (A2SO) will return to Detroit for the second time in its 96-year history, taking the stage at Orchestra Hall with acclaimed flute virtuoso Demarre McGill. Currently principal flute for the Seattle Symphony, McGill is a recipient of the Avery Fisher Career Grant and the Sphinx Medal of Excellence, and will join A2SO Music Director Earl Lee and the orchestra for Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Flute Concerto No. 1.
One year on from their inaugural appearance at the home of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the A2SO are poised to take the stage amid the Sphinx Organization’s 2025 SphinxConnect conference. The A2SO and Sphinx share a rich and illustrious partnership dating back to 1997 when the orchestra performed as part of Sphinx’s first-ever competition, then hosted at the University of Michigan’s Hill Auditorium in Ann Arbor. The January 24 concert will feature two Sphinx artists, with Medal of Excellence winner McGill joining as soloist and Sphinx commissioning artist Andrea Casarrubios featuring on the program with her 2023 work, Herencia.
As A2SO Music Director and the winner of the 2022 Solti Conducting Award (the first recipient of Asian descent), conductor Earl Lee will direct the program. Following Casarrubios’s Herencia and Mozart’s first flute concerto, the concert’s second half will return to Mozart’s oeuvre with his Symphony No. 39, completed just three years before his death. Following the Detroit performance, the A2SO will repeat the program the following day (Saturday, January 25), this time at the historic Michigan Theater in Ann Arbor. As part of his appearance schedule, McGill will also deliver a series of masterclasses for students at Cass Technical High School, Oakland University, and the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance.
The A2SO’s appearance at Orchestra Hall is made possible through a grant from the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan (CFSEM), with additional funding from the Michigan Arts and Culture Council and the National Endowment for the Arts. The Detroit Symphony Orchestra is also closely involved in supplying critical support for the venture.
“Our January concerts in Detroit and Ann Arbor represent an important facet of the Symphony’s community focus” remarks A2SO Executive Director Sarah Calderini. “This opportunity broadens our reach, brings our music to more audiences than ever, and supports meaningful and mission-driven partnerships with the Sphinx Organization and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.”
Tickets to the concert can be booked at www.a2so.org/24-25-jan-mainstage, and discounts are available for students, children, and groups of 10 or more.
Concert details:
Friday, January 24, 2025 (8 PM) — Orchestra Hall (Detroit)
Saturday, January 25, 2025 (8 PM) — The Michigan Theater (Ann Arbor)
Demarre McGill, flute
Earl Lee, conductor and Music Director
Andrea Casarrubios: Herencia
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Flute Concerto No. 1
Mozart: Symphony No. 39
(734) 994-4801 | a2so.org