The Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival began in 1992 as a joint effort between Detroit Chamber Winds & Strings and local religious institutions. Since then, the organization has brought some of the world’s most acclaimed chamber musicians to the city for a two-week Festival that occurs in venues across the metropolitan area. In 2023 the DIA will host Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival with a special Juneteenth performance by composer Carlos Simon. 

Having grown up in Atlanta, with a long lineage of preachers and connections to gospel music to inspire him, Simon proves that a well-composed song can indeed be a sermon. His compositions span genres – jazz, gospel, and contemporary classical music are noticeable influences – and can be found everywhere from film scores to concert music.

Simon is the current Composer-in-Residence for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and frequently writes for the National Symphony Orchestra and Washington National Opera, with the 2022/23 season seeing premieres with Boston Symphony Orchestra, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Brooklyn Art Song Society and Minnesota Orchestra – a large-scale tribute to George Floyd and the ongoing movement for racial justice. These follow recent other commissions from the likes of New York Philharmonic and Los Angeles Philharmonic, and performances from Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, and American Ballet Theatre.
 

In 2023, the DIA will host Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival with performances by the Pelia and Hesper String Quartets with a program of works by Robert Schumann and Dmitri Shostakovich:

• SCHUMANN String Quartet No. 3 in A major, Op. 41, No. 3
• SHOSTAKOVICH Two Pieces for String Octet, Op. 11
• SHOSTAKOVICH String Quartet No. 15 in E-flat minor, Op. 144

The Pelia String Quartet was formed at the Emerson String Quartet Institute of Stony Brook University in 2019. The quartet received a special prize at the 2022 Wigmore Hall International String Quartet Competition, a bronze medal at the 2022 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition and were winners of the 2022 Ackerman Chamber Music Competition. The Pelia Quartet served as the resident string quartet for the SUNY Artist Residency in 2020-2021. 

The Hesper String Quartet is a Korean-American chamber ensemble that was formed as a student group at Stony Brook University in 2022. Since its formation, the quartet maintains an energetic balance of performing works by Beethoven, Schumann, and Haydn, while performing works by living composers such as Joan Tower. 

The Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival began in 1992 as a joint effort between Detroit Chamber Winds & Strings and local religious institutions. Since then, the organization has brought some of the world’s most acclaimed chamber musicians to the city for a two-week Festival that occurs in venues across the metropolitan area. 

Alex and Olmsted, the creative team behind  Milo The Magnificent, return to the DIA with their Jim Henson Foundation grant awarded MAROONED! A Space Comedy.

This innovative new puppet show, featuring music from the Voyager Golden Record, takes place at the outer reaches of space where an astronaut crashes on an uncharted planet.

Will she be able to survive strange creatures, anomalous atmosphere, and isolation in order to find her way home? See for yourself... in MAROONED! 

For families of all ages. Free with general museum admission. 

After unforgettable adventures in wonderland, Alice, a 12-year-old Black girl, struggles to reintegrate into the real world. As she grapples with feelings of alienation from her family and friends, she sets off to find a new wonderland in her city.

Don't miss the world premiere of this touching new play by Idris Goodwin, featuring music and performances by the young artists of the Mosaic Youth Theatre of Detroit.
 
For tickets and additional information, visit the Mosaic Youth Theatre of Detroit at their website.

This year’s celebration show will share the journey into Bengali, Burmese, Chinese, Filipino, Hmong, Indian, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Mongolian, Polynesian, Taiwanese, Thai, and Vietnamese cultures through music and dance.

Samples of Thai delicacies by James Beard Award-nominated Chef Genevieve Vang will also be shared.  

Director’s Note: America is created by people from different parts of the world. We came here bringing the threads of our culture that have been woven into the fabric of our great country, the American dream. 

Our country’s fabric is rich with color, texture, contrast, and aesthetics. Migrating to America creates a new section of our tapestry, the rich history of our ancestral thread is woven into our evolving culture. Sometimes the migration is not measured in miles but in transition of thought, from our old traditions to the ways of our new land. Our ancestor’s influences have laid a path to the present and technologies have made history more accessible, allowing us to add more depth to our rich fabric of life. 

With 150 years of Asian Americans in Michigan, we can use our resources to spread the arts as a universal language, expressing ourselves in a global community, showing our sense of beauty, and our challenges.

Featured Performances:

• Plum Blossoms | Performed by ArtLab J, Choreographed by Joori Jung
• Morning Light | Performed by J.Z Dance Studio, Choreographed by Joanne Zheng
• Blossom | Performed by Inner Action Dance Team, Choreographed by Anna Lou
• Hakka Umbrella Fusion | Performed by Wind Dance Chinese Cultural Group, Choreographed by Sharon Dow
• Thank you Mekong River | Performed by Ntxhais Tshiab Ci, Choreographed by Brea Yang
• Love the Fickle Lantern | Performed by Vietnamese American Association of Michigan-Dance Team, Choreographed by Loan Anh Pham
• Bulaklakan | Performed by Magkapuso Group of Salvation Army Farmington Hills Corps, Choreographed by Flor Penner
• Snow Plateau | Performed by J.Z Dance Studio, Choreographed by Joanne Zheng
• Dancing Stories of Bollywood Beats | Performed by Indian Rhythms of Dance - The Life Mantra Academy, Choreographed by Forem Mehta
• Joyful Nature of Bangladesh | Performed by Michigan Kalibari Nrityangan, Choreographed by Mohua Das Sarkar
• Chilugen, Revolving of Four Seasons | Performed by Eric Gantumur
• Warrior Horse | Performed by Xiao Dong Wei and Austin Liczbinski
• The Last Time | Performed & Composed by Shin Hoo Yong
• Let’s Celebrate with the Lion Dance! | Performed by Buddhist Family Youth Group of America - From Linh Son Monastery in Warren Mi (Representing Vietnamese American Association)

Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage American Month programs are developed in partnership with the DIA’s auxiliary group Friends of Asian & Arts Cultures and funded in part by the Freeman Foundation.

Registration for programs in Rivera Court is highly encouraged - capacity will be limited.

Please arrive early - 5 minutes prior to performance start any open seats will be forfeit and given to visitors who are on-site, regardless of registration.

Photo Credit: 2022 AAPI Cultural Show

Since founded in 1966, the University of Michigan's Gamelan Ensemble has explored classical and new music composed for gamelan, helped in the training of an important generation of scholars of Southeast Asian music, and exposed students from all areas of the university to the vibrant culture of Indonesia. The U-M's Gamelan Ensemble is one of the oldest in the U.S. and the Year of 2023 marks the 56th anniversary of the U-M Gamelan ensemble.

University of Michigan's Javanese Gamelan Kyai Telaga Madu (“The Venerable Lake of Honey”) and Balinese Gamelan Madu Biru (“Blue Honey”) will perform traditional music from the islands of Indonesia. The ensemble consists of several types of percussion orchestras including the incredibly rare and ancient gamelan selonding. From stately and soothing to dynamic and exciting, the variety of moods and styles will keep any listener entertained. Audience members will also be welcome to participate and try playing these rare and beautiful instruments.

Samples of Indonesian delicacies will also be shared.

This event is supported by:

• Center for Southeast Asian Studies at University of Michigan
• Stearns Collection of Musical Instruments at University of Michigan
• Perhimpunan Mahasiswa Indonesia di University of Michigan (Indonesian Student Association at the University of Michigan) (PERMIAS)

Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage American Month programs are developed in partnership with the DIA’s auxiliary group Friends of Asian & Arts Cultures and funded in part by the Freeman Foundation. 

Registration for programs in Rivera Court is highly encouraged - capacity will be limited. 

Please arrive early - 5 minutes prior to performance start any open seats will be forfeit and given to visitors who are on-site, regardless of registration. 

Spend the evening celebrating the vibrancy of Hmong culture. Hmong, which means "free people," is an ethnic minority whose ancestors originated from Mainland China more than 2,000 years ago. The Hmong migrated across the forested highlands of Southeast Asia, now known as Vietnam, Thailand, and Laos.

Learn about the traditional Hmong arts, including Hmong Song Poetry known as kwv txhiaj (pronounced "kuh tziah"), classic and modern dance performances, and a Hmong New Year courting and wedding ritual with the ancient bamboo reed instrument called qeej (pronounced "gheng"). Also discover the secret language and symbolism of Hmong embroidery woven in tribal garments and prized story cloths known as paj ntaub (pronounced "pa ndau").

Caroline Vang Polly from the Michigan Hmong Women's Association will share the heroic story of the "Secret War," which resulted in the Hmong relocating globally. There will also be a tribute to the brave Hmong veterans who fought alongside the American CIA during the Secret War of Laos.

Samples of Hmong delicacies by James Beard Award-nominated Chef Genevieve Vang will also be shared.

This event is supported by:

• Michigan Hmong Women's Association
• Special Guerrilla Unit Veterans and Families of Michigan Inc. (SGUVFM)
• Ngianhormua Yang, Adjunct Instructor at the College for Creative Studies and at Lawrence Technological University
• Thai Feast
• Amanda Hang Collection
• Lee Pao Xiong, Director of the Center for Hmong Studies at Concordia University, St. Paul and professor of American Government/Political Science and Hmong Studies.

Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage American Month programs are developed in partnership with the DIA’s auxiliary group Friends of Asian & Arts Cultures and funded in part by the Freeman Foundation. 

Registration for programs in Rivera Court is highly encouraged - capacity will be limited. 

Please arrive early - 5 minutes prior to performance start any open seats will be forfeit and given to visitors who are on-site, regardless of registration. 

Each year Mr. B stages his annual Blues and Boogie Piano Celebration in Ann Arbor, and in 2023 the DIA is hosting an additional evening of Boogie Woogie piano featuring Mr. B and pianists Carl ‘Sonny’ Leyland and Luca Fliastro.

Boogie Woogie is a profound, expressive and powerful style of piano playing, firmly rooted in the blues and played here by two of the masters of the style. 

In celebration of Arab American Heritage Month, the Detroit Institute of Arts in partnership with National Arab Orchestra  music director Michael Ibrahim will present three concerts celebrating Arab music and poetry, both classical and contemporary. Performances will be presented in the DIA’s Kresge Court throughout April.

DJ and musician Tammy Lakkis is one of  the brightest talents to come out of Detroit’s electronic music scene. Her EP, Notice, made Barack Obama’s list of his favorite films and music from 2021 and was selected as one of the best records of that year by NPR. 
 

In celebration of Arab American Heritage Month, the Detroit Institute of Arts in partnership with National Arab Orchestra music director Michael Ibrahim will present three concerts celebrating Arab music and poetry, both classical and contemporary. Performances will be presented in the DIA’s Kresge Court throughout April.

Emma Aboukasm is an award-winning, Detroit-based recording artist, composer and vocalist. She is a graduate of the Jazz & Contemporary Music program at the University of Michigan and has performed at a variety of music venues, including the Detroit Jazz Festival. As an Arab-American musician with a variety of musical backgrounds, Emma is in the vanguard of contemporary music in metro-Detroit.