Detroit Chamber Winds & Strings, composed of musicians drawn primarily from the Detroit Symphony and Michigan Opera Theatre orchestras, is pleased to announce its 26th season. Nine innovative concerts will be presented, featuring both timeless favorites and contemporary masterpieces.

The season opens on Sunday, October 21, with a 3:00 pm performance at Birmingham Unitarian Church. Entitled Lucky Sevens, Crazy Eights, the concert features Beethoven’s Septet Op. 20 for winds and strings along with the world premiere of Half Moon Nocturne, an octet by composer Andrea Reinkemeyer, a faculty member at Bowling Green State University.

The two annual Holiday Brass concerts that follow are always among the most popular of the season. The choirs of Grosse Pointe South and Bloomfield Hills Andover high schools will join DCWS brass, conducted by Scott Boerma, Director of the University of Michigan Marching Band. The concerts occur at 4:30 pm on Sunday, December 9 at Christ Church Grosse Pointe, and on Sunday, December 16 at 7:30 pm at Christ Church Cranbrook.

The brass ensemble remains at center stage for two performances entitled All Brassed Up, spanning four centuries of large brass choir repertoire. The concerts will occur at 4:00 pm on Sunday, January 27, at Cathedral Church of St. Paul in Detroit, and at 3:30 pm on Sunday, February 3, at First United Methodist Church – Birmingham.

DCWS follows its brass showcases with Geniuses and Wannabes, a concert featuring charming wind masterpieces by Mozart, Beethoven, and Salieri. This performance will be held on Sunday, March 16, at 3:00 pm in Birmingham Unitarian Church.

Something Old, Something New follows at 3:00 pm on Sunday, April 13 at the Birmingham Unitarian Church in Bloomfield Hills. The concert will include a performance of Beethoven’s masterful Sextet for Winds, Op. 71, and a world-premiere by composer Matthew Tommasini for solo trombone, piano, bass, percussion, and woodwind octet. The concert will be repeated on Sunday, April 20, at Grosse Pointe United Methodist Church.

The final concert of the DCWS series will occur at the Seligman Center as part of the Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival, on Saturday, June 28 at 8:00 pm. Combining some of the area’s top musical talent with internationally renowned guest artists from the Festival, this concert gives the audience exposure to expert regional and national musicianship. Featured is a performance of Gershwin’s masterpiece, Rhapsody in Blue.

In addition to its subscription concerts, DCWS also presents a six-concert series of eclectic performances entitled Nightnotes. These concerts occur on Friday evening at Hagopian World of Rugs, 850 S. Old Woodward, in Birmingham. Performances begin at 8:30 p.m., following an 8:00 reception offered by Hagopian. The Nightnotes schedule is as follows:

October 5 Mostly Baroque Sally Pituch, Andrew Wu, Angelina Pashmakova
November 9 Young Artist Violist Jason Amos
January 11 Trios and More Karl Pituch, Laurence Liberson, pianist tbd
February 22 In Recital Violist James Van Valkenburg, pianist Pauline Martin
April 4 DSO Horn Quartet Karl Pituch, Bryan Kennedy, Corbin Wagner, Denise Tryon
May 9 Detroit Jazz Legends Donald Walden Quartet

Tickets to the subscription and Nightnotes series may be ordered on the DCWS website, www.detroitchamberwinds.org, or by calling the DCWS office at 248-559-2095. Season ticket prices range from $60 to $160, with substantial discounts offered for students and senior citizens.

Detroit Chamber Winds & Strings is an ensemble committed to bringing to life the large and wonderful body of repertoire that utilizes between six and twenty musicians. Due to their unusual instrumentation, many of these works go largely unheard in professional concert halls. Supplementing its season with recording, touring and educational programs, Detroit Chamber Winds & Strings has established an international reputation for artistic excellence. The organization has released five compact discs, the most recent being a 2007 recording of Mozart’s Gran Partita on Koch Classics.

More information can be found at www.detroitchamberwinds.org.

Subscription Series at a Glance
October 21 3:00 p.m. Lucky Sevens, Crazy Eights Birmingham Unitarian Church
December 9 4:30 p.m. Holiday Brass Christ Church Grosse Pointe
December 16 7:30 p.m. Holiday Brass Christ Church Cranbrook
January 27 4:00 p.m. All Brassed Up Cathedral Church of St. Paul
February 3 3:30 p.m. All Brassed Up First United Methodist – Birmingham
March 16 3:00 p.m. Geniuses and Wannabes Birmingham Unitarian Church
April 13 3:00 p.m. Something Old, Something New Birmingham Unitarian Church
April 20 3:00 p.m. Something Old, Something New Grosse Pointe United Methodist Church
June 28 8:00 p.m. Rhapsody in Blue Seligman Performing Arts Center