Dearborn Symphony Orchestra’s Exciting 52nd Season Kicks Off With “Dinner at the Courthouse” October 4th

The doors of the 19th District Court in Dearborn will swing open wide at 6 p.m., Friday, Oct. 4 for the Dearborn Symphony Opening Night Dinnerat the Courthouse.  The event features dining in the rotunda with its artistic mural “Justice is Blind” depicting the history of the court of law.

Dearborn’s 19th District Judges Sam Salamey, Mark Somers, and William Hultgren will serve as hosts for the opening night event.  Gloria Nycek, Opening Night Dinner Chairman, has planned a three-course seated gourmet dinner at the Courthouse to launch the Dearborn Symphony’s 52nd season in grand style.  Wine for the event has been donated by Westborn Market in Dearborn.

The dinner will set the stage for a grand season of listening to the award- winning Dearborn Symphony under the direction of Maestro Kypros Markou.  At 8 p.m., guests will move a short distance to the Ford Community and Performing Arts Center Michael A. Guido Theater to hear the Symphony with the evening’s featured musician, world-renowned pianist is Christopher O’Riley.  He is the popular host of “From the Top” on National Public Radio, and is critically acclaimed for his transcriptions of the music of Radiohead and Nirvana. 

The night’s program begins with Offenbach’s “Orpheus in the Underworld Overture,” described by Maestro Markou as “champagne” that includes the famous “Can-Can,” followed by Schubert’s Symphony No. 2 that he says “will make the audience dance.

O’Riley will bring the concert to an exciting climax with Tchaikovsky’s spectacular “First Piano Concert,” the piece that propelled Van Cliburn to a phenomenally successful career when he won the 1958 International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow.  O’Riley himself was a finalist at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 1981.

Symphony fans may also be familiar with the NPR host for his prestigious awards including the Leeds, Van Cliburn, Busoni and Montreal competition, as well as an Avery Fisher Career Grant.  He has appeared with the Los Angeles Philharmonicat the Hollywood Bowl, the Minnesota Orchestra, and the symphonies of Pittsburgh, Detroit, Colorado, Atlanta and Baltimore. 

O’Riley is expected to be introduced to the dinner guests by Maestro Markou before the performance.  For more information on O’Riley, visit his website at http://www.christopheroriley.com/

Without traveling far, Dearborn residents and Friends of the Symphony can enjoy an evening of dinner and theater for a nominal fee.   Dinners are $85 each and Symphony Society President Sandy Butler points out that for a mere $15 extra, each participant can further support the opening night event by having their name listed in the supporters section of the program booklet.  Symphony concert tickets range from $15 to $30 each in the balcony, box and main level. 

Dearborn Sausage Company - along with owner Don Kosch and wife, Mary - are this year’s Opening Night Dinner sponsor.  Lodging for O’Riley is provided by the Dearborn Inn-A Marriott Hotel.

For more information on Dinner at the Courthouse and the rest of the Symphony’s 52nd season, phone 313-565-2424 or visit the Dearborn Symphony website www.dearbornsymphony.org for details.

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