100 Years of Musical Magic – The Orchestra Hall Story
Detroit Public TV and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra premiere a new documentary on the rich and surprising history of this acoustical masterpiece
Watch Monday, Dec. 2 at 8 p.m. ET on DPVT (56.1)
This year, Orchestra Hall celebrates its 100th anniversary – a century of great music and artistry.
Detroit Public TV and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra have partnered to share the saga of this acoustical masterpiece in a new documentary, “Orchestra Hall – A Centennial Celebration,” which is premiering Monday, Dec. 2 at 8 p.m. on DPTV (56.1).
And what a great story it is: Built at the demand of the renowned pianist and DSO music director, Ossip Gabrilowitsch (also Mark Twain’s son-in-law), Orchestra Hall has been home to the fourth oldest symphony orchestra in North America, as well as the most important venue for African-American musical entertainment in Detroit in the heyday of jazz.
It was designed by famed architect C. Howard Crane. Over his remarkable five-decade career, Crane designed around 40 theaters in Michigan, including The Capitol Theater in 1922 (now the Detroit Opera House) and three of the five national Fox movie palaces, including Detroit’s own Fox Theatre in 1928.
After the DSO moved to a new venue, Orchestra Hall enjoyed renewed life as the Paradise Theatre from 1941 to 1951 when the greatest jazz and blues artists performed on its stage.
For a time after that, it was abandoned and left in disrepair before being saved from the wrecking ball by musicians and a mobilized community, which raised money for its restoration. In 1989, the DSO triumphantly returned to Orchestra Hall.
Now, it is a great hub of activity for the DSO’s remarkable lineup of classical, jazz and world music offerings, as well as for many other school, church and community programs.
For the past couple months, DPTV has been sharing a series of segments on the Orchestra Hall story, leading up to the 90-minute documentary being aired Monday.
Join us as we raise the curtain on the story of a venue so important to Detroit’s musical past and future.
Rich Homberg
President and CEO
Detroit Public Television - 1 Clover Court, Wixom, MI 48393
248-640-4169 - rhomberg@dptv.org - @RichHomberg
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