Detroit Symphony Orchestra to return to Interlochen Arts Camp on July 19–21, 2024
Music Director Jader Bignamini conducts DSO in concert on July 20 and Interlochen’s World Youth Symphony Orchestra in a side-by-side with DSO musicians on July 21. DSO musicians to lead master classes for Interlochen campers.
This summer, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) and Music Director Jader Bignamini will add another chapter to their storied history with Interlochen Center for the Arts. The 97th season of Interlochen Arts Camp will see DSO musicians leading masterclasses and rehearsing side-by-side with young students. In addition, Bignamini will conduct Interlochen’s World Youth Symphony Orchestra (WYSO) in performance.
“The DSO’s residency at Interlochen is a treasured summer tradition,” said DSO President and CEO Erik Rönmark. “Each year, we look forward to strengthening our relationship with this incredible institution and experiencing firsthand the power of music to shape young people’s lives.”
“There’s nothing like the motivation and inspiration that is sparked in our young artists through the mentorship of these world-class musicians,” said Interlochen Center for the Arts President Trey Devey. “It is an extraordinary opportunity for our students and a partnership we truly cherish.”
The DSO will perform at Interlochen’s iconic Kresge Auditorium on Saturday, July 20 as part of the 2024 Interlochen Arts Festival. Repertoire will include Richard Strauss’s Don Juan, Op. 20 and Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3, “Eroica.” Tickets for this performance are on sale now through interlochen.org/tickets. During the residency, DSO musicians will lead master classes for different orchestral instruments with high school campers at Interlochen Arts Camp. On Sunday, DSO musicians will also join the World Youth Symphony Orchestra for an evening concert, which will feature Giuseppe Verdi’s Overture to Nabucco and Antonín Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9 in E minor, "From the New World” under the direction of Bignamini. The concert will be broadcast by Interlochen Public Radio and webcast live at interlochen.org.
The DSO’s association with Interlochen dates back to 1926 when Detroit’s Orchestra Hall hosted the National High School Honors Orchestra, the ensemble that evolved two years later into the founding orchestra of Interlochen Arts Camp. The relationship flourished over the decades, and the DSO came to Interlochen’s campus for numerous summer performances and master classes.
Interlochen Arts Camp 2024 is currently accepting applications; availability is limited, and prospective students are encouraged to apply as soon as possible at interlochen.org/apply.
Interlochen’s world-renowned multidisciplinary arts camp attracts thousands of students, faculty, and distinguished guest artists from across the globe for immersive training in dance, theatre, creative writing, visual arts, music, and film. Surrounded by peers who share their artistic passion and curiosity, students forge cross-cultural friendships that last a lifetime and find reflection, rejuvenation, and inspiration on Interlochen’s pristine, 1,200-acre campus. With a global alumni base that includes creative leaders in the arts and many other fields, Interlochen Arts Camp has been at the forefront of arts education for nearly a century.
About Jader Bignamini
Jader Bignamini was introduced as the 18th music director of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra in January 2020, commencing with the 2020–2021 season. He kicked off his tenure as DSO Music Director with the launch of DSO Digital Concerts in September 2020, conducting works by Copland, Puccini, Tchaikovsky, and Saint-Georges. His infectious passion and artistic excellence set the tone for the season ahead, creating extraordinary music and establishing a close relationship with the orchestra. A jazz aficionado, he has immersed himself in Detroit’s rich jazz culture and the influences of American music.
A native of Crema, Italy, Bignamini studied at the Piacenza Music Conservatory and began his career as a musician (clarinet) with Orchestra Sinfonica La Verdi in Milan, later serving as the group’s resident conductor. Captivated by the music of legends like Mahler and Tchaikovsky, Bignamini explored their complexity and power, puzzling out the role that each instrument played in creating a larger-than-life sound. When he conducted his first professional concert at the age of 28, it didn’t feel like a departure, but an arrival.
In the years since, Bignamini has conducted some of the world’s most acclaimed orchestras and opera companies in venues across the globe including working with Riccardo Chailly on concerts of Mahler’s Eighth Symphony in 2013 and his concert debut at La Scala in 2015 for the opening season of La Verdi Orchestra. Recent highlights include debuts with Opera de Paris conducting La Forza del Destino and with Deutsche Opera Berlin conducting Simon Boccanegra; appearances with the Pittsburgh and Toronto symphonies; debuts with the Houston, Dallas, and Minnesota symphonies; Osaka Philharmonic and Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra in Tokyo; with the Metropolitan Opera, Vienna State Opera, and Dutch National Opera (Madama Butterfly); Bayerische Staatsoper (La Traviata); I Puritani in Montpellier for the Festival of Radio France; Traviata in Tokyo directed by Sofia Coppola; return engagements with Oper Frankfurt (La forza del destino) and Santa Fe Opera (La bohème); Manon Lescaut at the Bolshoi; Traviata, Madama Butterfly, and Turandot at Arena of Verona; Il Trovatore and Aida at Rome’s Teatro dell’Opera; Madama Butterfly, I Puritani, and Manon Lescaut at Teatro Massimo in Palermo; Simon Boccanegra and La Forza del Destino at the Verdi Festival in Parma; Ciro in Babilonia at Rossini Opera Festival and La bohème, Madama Butterfly, and Elisir d’amore at La Fenice in Venice.
When Bignamini leads an orchestra in symphonic repertoire, he conducts without a score, preferring to make direct eye contact with the musicians. He conducts from the heart, forging a profound connection with his musicians that shines through both onstage and off. He both embodies and exudes the excellence and enthusiasm that has long distinguished the DSO’s artistry.
About the DSO
The acclaimed Detroit Symphony Orchestra is known for trailblazing performances, collaborations with the world’s foremost musical artists, and a deep connection to its city. Led by Music Director Jader Bignamini since 2020, the DSO makes its home at historic Orchestra Hall within the Max M. and Marjorie S. Fisher Music Center, offering a performance schedule that features the PVS Classical, PNC Pops, Paradise Jazz, and Young People’s Family Concert series. In addition, the DSO presents the William Davidson Neighborhood Concert Series in metro area venues, as well as eclectic multi-genre performances in its mid-size venue The Cube, constructed and curated with support from Peter D. & Julie F. Cummings. A dedication to broadcast innovation began in 1922, when the DSO became the first orchestra in the world to present a live radio broadcast of a concert and continues today with the groundbreaking Live from Orchestra Hall series of free webcasts.
Since its first school concerts a century ago, and particularly since the founding of the Civic Youth Ensembles in 1970, the DSO has been a national leader in bringing the benefits of music education to students, teachers, and families in Detroit and surrounding communities. The DSO remains committed to expanding its participation in the growth and well-being of Detroit through programs like its Detroit Neighborhood Initiative—cultural events co-created with community partners and residents—and Detroit Harmony, a promise to provide an instrument and instruction to any student in the city who wants to learn. With unwavering support from the people of Detroit, the DSO actively pursues a mission to impact lives through the power of unforgettable musical experiences.
