Melodies & Manuscripts
Melodies & Manuscripts: DCWS at the Hosmer
On September 27, Detroit Chamber Winds & Strings (DCWS) invites audiences into something more immersive than a typical chamber concert. The historic Hosmer Building—once a 1911 Italian Renaissance library and now the innovative headquarters of Macro Connect—sets the stage for Melodies & Manuscripts, an afternoon where tradition meets technology, and music mingles with history.
The lineup is stacked with Detroit Symphony Orchestra favorites—flutist Amanda Blaikie, oboist Alex Kinmonth, clarinetist Jack Walters, and bassoonist Conrad Cornelison—plus saxophonist Walt Puyear, pianist Shuyu Lin and a featured young artist, Kleo Zhao. Together, they’ll bring to life a program that ranges from premieres by Jacqueline Wilson and Daniel Godsil to Chick Corea’s jazz-infused trio, French neoclassicism by Henri Tomasi, and innovative works for woodwinds with electronics.
For Cornelison, the program mirrors the building itself: “Just as the architecture embraces contemporary design while preserving its classical exterior, the performance explores how old and new can coexist in harmony, both sonically and architecturally.” Expect tape, fixed media, and video projections to blur the line between chamber concert and art installation.
The Hosmer isn’t just a backdrop—it’s a partner in the storytelling. Macro Connect, co-founded by DCWS board member Matthew Morin, together with his brother Kevin, transformed the space into a creative hub. And Natalie Bruno, once a vital part of DCWS staff, now helps lead the Macro Connect team as Chief People Officer. These personal connections highlight why DCWS’s Structurally Sound series thrives: the music doesn’t just inhabit a place, it reflects the community around it.
As DCWS president Maury Okun shares: “The Hosmer isn’t just a building—it’s a reflection of Detroit’s ability to reinvent itself, just like our music does. When our musicians share the stage in a place tied so closely to our own family—board members, alumni, friends—it becomes more than a concert. It becomes a celebration of who we are together.”
Mark your calendar: Saturday, September 27, 2 p.m. Melodies & Manuscripts isn’t only a concert—it’s an invitation to hear the city’s past and future resonate in the same space.
This concert is part of DCWS’s Structurally Sound series. Supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts and sponsored by Gloria Heppner.
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About Detroit Chamber Winds & Strings
About Macro Connect and Hosmer Building history
