- Hi, I'm Satori Shakoor and here's what's coming up this week on one Detroit, Arts and Culture.

Back in the spring of 2021, the Detroit symphony orchestra aimed to have audiences back at Orchestra Hall in the fall.

We talked to the DSO's Eric Ron Mark to see how they were going to accomplish that feat.

Then hip hop artist, Deidre D.S.

Sense on connection and music.

Plus Detroit filmmaker, Legend Williams on his newly released movie, Asbury Park and a violin performance from the Sphinx competition, is all coming up right now on one Detroit Arts and Culture.

- [Female Narrator] From Delta Faucets to Behr Paint, Masco Corporation is proud to deliver products that enhance the way consumers all over the world experience and enjoy their living spaces.

Masco, serving Michigan communities since 1929.

- [Male Narrator] Support for this program is provided by the Cynthia & Edsel Ford Fund for Journalism at Detroit Public TV, the Kresge Foundation, Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan.

- [Female Narrator] The DTE Foundation is a proud sponsor of Detroit Public TV among the state's largest foundations committed to Michigan focused giving.

We support organizations that are doing exceptional work in our state.

Visit DTEFoundation.com to learn more.

- [Male Narrator] Business leaders for Michigan dedicate to making Michigan a top 10 state for jobs, personal income, and a healthy economy.

Also brought to you by the Fred A. and Barbara M. Erb Family Foundation and viewers like you.

(upbeat music) - Hi, and welcome to One Detroit Arts and Culture.

I'm Satori Shakoor, happy to have you with me.

Coming up Christy McDonald talks with the DSO's Eric Ron Mark, about the 2021/22 season.

Plus, Deidre D.S.

Sense, Detroit hip hop artist and activist on new music and connection.

Then, the movie Asbury park by Detroit filmmaker, Legend Williams.

He tells Stephen Henderson how the film explores mental illness and police brutality.

And it was all filmed here.

And we'll end with a violin performance from the 2021 Spinx competition.

It's just a head.

Christy McDonald talk with the DSO's, Eric Ron Mark, about their plans for more in-person performances.

Let's see what they had to say back in the spring of 2021.

- Give us an idea, Eric, of the conversations that have been going on recently behind the scenes that got you to make this decision and really this big announcement.

- Well, I think you hit it right on the head there, Christy you know, hope.

Arts and culture I think is here to provide people with a sense of hope.

And that has been on our minds since we started talking about what we could do this season even.

We had a lot of conversation last summer about coming back and doing something in our hall.

But we didn't know what we were gonna be allowed to do, how this pandemic was gonna affect us all.

But working together with the musicians of the orchestra, we came up with a great plan, a safe plan to come back and do concerts even this season.

- What is the DSO doing to make sure that things are as safe as possible?

- As we slowly start to bring audiences in even this spring, and then hopefully coming back to the fall, we're gonna follow all of the safety procedures as we have during this season.

We have a great UV filtration in our HVAC systems.

And we wanna make sure, you know, even to the point of electronic tickets, you know, contact list entries and stuff like that, it's really important for us to be safe.

And right now we could have audiences up to 250 people per the guidelines that are out there now.

And that's what we're hoping we can get to as we get later into the spring.

- You know, rewind a year of DSO made the big announcement that Yad Binyamin was going to be the music director and a very exciting announcement at that.

And then all of a sudden the pandemic hits.

So 21/22 will really be his first full season.

Talk a little bit about the programming that is going involved in that and what audiences can expect to see.

- Right.

Yeah.

Yada has been a true champ in this, he actually has been here conducting already two times in the fall and has come here and quarantined safely and conducted the orchestra in three different programs this fall.

And we're gonna see him again in May.

And you're gonna see a lot of different repertoire, a lot of diverse repertoire.

Something that the DSO has always been a champion on is really promoting diverse artists.

So out of the whole season, we're gonna have a third of the composers next season are gonna be living composers.

Over 25% are gonna be black composers.

And this is something that has been at the core of the DNA of the DSO for 40 50 years.

But we know we can always do more.

So, there's some great programs, we're gonna have brand from ourselves come here and play the saxophone concerto.

We're gonna open with the Sibelius violin concerto and large Italian repertoire.

And you're gonna see Beethoven nine.

- With times of great trouble sometimes we see great transition and great creativity come out of it.

What do you think that we're going to be seeing musically in the next five years or so coming out of the pandemic and just maybe some things that we haven't seen before experienced before?

- And you have the time to sit down and think about how do we wanna be different.

Not just as the DSO, but as an industry.

And I think the orchestral industry as a whole really, it's been a wake up moment for us during this year as a pandemic, you know, missing the audiences.

But also the social unrest that we've seen in this country and the focus on diverse composers, diverse artists.

I think for us, that's something that we've always done, but we really wanna do more.

We would really wanna do more for Detroit.

And not just Midtown where we are, but in the city as a whole.

- How would you describe it Eric to people when they sit together and they consume music together?

- Music is an art form that you experienced in real time.

And so when you come to Orchestra Hall, you and 2000 of your closest friends are sharing that experience together.

And once that concert is over, that experience is gone.

No two performances are alike.

So it is truly a shared experience that you are living in real time.

And I think that's what's so unique about music.

(orchestra music) - For the DSO schedule and more, go to our website at onedetroitpbs.org.

Last year was a long year from musicians who haven't been able to get close with audiences and fans because of COVID.

But it hasn't stopped them from reaching out in new ways.

Detroit hip hop, artist and activist, Deidre D.S.

Sense created what she calls her quarantine concert series.

One Detroit Will Glover has more.

(hip hop music) ♪ One love you I ♪ One love you I - To give people a little bit of sense as to you know, who you are, what you've been doing, how long have you been artist, musician in Detroit?

- Close to 20 years I would say.

I started as a teenager, hitting the open mic circuits.

And I was essentially a vocalist.

RnB, neo Soul that way was big then.

But I'd always been an emcee at heart.

And oddly enough I was nominated for a Detroit Musical Hall Award for best RnB.

And around that time I was really itching to step into the waters of hip hop.

(hip hop music) - And am comfortable as a hip hop artist.

So for the last 20 years or so, I've been really pushing that hip hop.

(hip hop music) - Your latest release is Cooper Street Chrysalis.

First of all, tell us about the name of that album.

Cooper Street Chrysalis.

What brought that about?

- Yeah.

Well, that's my homestead.

I'm a native Detroiter an Eastside girl, and that's when my family home is.

Cooper street is home to me.

It always be.

My family was one of the first black families to integrate into the neighborhood that was primarily Jewish and Italian at the time.

And so, my roots run deep on the east side of Detroit.

- Artists are always open to a challenge to something new, to something changing, whether it be good or bad there's a way for an artist to participate, to distill, to translate.

And you did something recently with taking us through a walk in the park.

So tell us a little bit about what that was and you know, what got you to the point in wanting to put this out.

- Much like the rest of the world, my world had gotten a little quieter, naturally reclusive have been introverted.

And so I really felt like this was the time to show the rest of the world how to operate in such quiet and still ones.

I think that if you change your perspective about what this time is about and search for the silver lining if you have the guts to, you'll find that this is the, an opportunity to reinvent yourselves, to tap into those statuses of yourself, that was your plan B.

And artists know all too well about plan Bs and being told to consider your plan B.

Well, now plan Bs are at the forefront.

Being an artist I got up with my plan B itself, (Deidre laughing) and I show my audience how you can make lemonade.

♪ Embark on a whole new journey ♪ ♪ In love when both feel worthy ♪ ♪ Shucks I bless when you say am pretty ♪ ♪ No biggie I bless when you say am pretty ♪ If you feel like you're in a place of despair, what better way to get yourself out of that didn't take an artistry of nature.

Look around at the colors, listen to the sounds of that first and foremost.

And within that, you'll find something to draw.

You'll reinvent yourself eventually, or come back to yourself.

Whatever you need to do with yourself, you will eventually do it if you get out in nature.

And so those that were a little more reluctant to come out, I decided to come up.

I decided to walk the streets.

I decided to walk the park.

Those that are in the fear of isolation, I decided to show them what isolation looks like when you when you choose this, change your perspective, Isolation isn't loneliness.

It's an opportunity to get to know yourself.

And that's all I was doing.

I was taking folks on the ride with me as I got to know myself, I reinvented myself.

There were familiar with my long locks and I cut those and I cropped my hair.

And I wanted to be just as naked and vulnerable as being a vocalist mate.

- What is one of the things that you're looking forward to most?

- I'm looking forward to the alleviation of fear.

I wanna see those people that I've seen a certain amount of fear come over them.

I wanna see them pre and certain again.

I would put out little videos on Instagram and I would say, I can't wait to see you on the other side of this.

Just say anybody who would, you know, view the videos, I would always end it with, I can't wait to see you on the other side of this.

I look forward to see you on the other side of this.

And so I wanna see those that make it on the other side of this along with me.

And you will.

I wanna see you smile again.

I wanna see you confident again.

I wanna see you hug again.

I wanna see you kiss again.

I wanna see all those things that make us human again.

- Let's check out the film, Asbury park which is an actual street here in Detroit.

The movie was created by local filmmaker, Legend Williams, and it tells the story of four Detroit kids growing into adulthood, exploring challenges of mental illness and police brutality.

Stephen Henderson talked with Williams on American black journal.

- Let me ask you a question.

What's the first thought that goes through your mind when the police rolls up on you?

(tense music) (car tires squeaking) - What do want?

(tense music) - I hope we don't get a ticket.

(tense music) - Hope that I make it home alive.

- Quite frankly, I was in fear for my life.

The suspect was noncompliant with our orders and was just obstructing our investigation.

(tense music) (murmuring) - The civil rights act only resulted because of a nation of African-Americans coming together and taking a stand.

(dramatic music) - You people think it's okay to break the law.

- Those of us who are from Detroit or live in the area know that Asbury Park is a street on the west side.

Is now the title of your film, but it's also where you're from.

Is that right?

- Yes.

Yeah.

I grew up I grew up on Asbury Park street right off seven mile.

- So talk about the inspiration for this film, the street that you grew up on, the experiences that you had there.

- The biggest thing behind this film is survival.

You know, like I said, each of the kids, they have their own different things that they're going through and dealing with.

And I thought it would be interesting to see this from kid's perspective.

You know, there are so many cases that are going on in the world right now with police brutality, mental health awareness, you know, just a lot of different things.

And as adults, we have a hard time grasping our heads around it and, you know, and dealing with it.

So, to be able to see this from a kid's perspective, I think it's necessary.

You know, because I'm a parent and I know, you know, as I watched the news and see the things that are going on, I know how I'm trying to deal with it, gravitate to it.

And I think just as a community, we just have to do a better job of, you know, actually checking to see what's going on with our kids, to see how they're dealing with it, to see what they think about it.

Because I think if we did that, I think we'll really be blown away by some of the responses that we get.

Because they're not stupid.

They see what's going on.

- Talk about the differences between what maybe you experienced as a kid growing up in that area and what your characters in the movie experience.

Is there a big difference?

Or, - To be honest, it's a direct reflection of what I experienced as a kid.

Like I grew up in a single parent home.

My father left when I was six years old.

And when that happened, I was no longer able to be a six year old.

I had to start both.

I always, you know, the running joke is when I was six I was actually 16.

Because the level of responsibility, you know, shifted, and I was no longer able to be a carefree kid to just sit back and say, Hey, you know, everything is okay.

There were certain things that I did to try to protect the house.

You know, I was the kid who, I'll pull out the toolbox and something needed to get fixed.

You know, I'm doing that now.

I'm checking the windows at night and looking out to make sure, you know, that my mom is protected and things like that.

So I took on a much older persona than I actually was due to my circumstances.

And the reality is that's not uncommon.

The drug Dylan and the shooting, like, yeah, that happens.

But I feel like this portion of it is often missed.

Everybody is often, you know, trying to be tough and things like this, but what's often missing those film is the vulnerability.

I think one of my biggest motivations behind this film is my youngest son.

I looked at him one day and I laughed.

And I was like, man, you're like really a 10 year old.

Because when I was 10 I had responsibilities, I had, you know what I mean?

It was just a totally different animal.

And to see him just be carefree, I wasn't able to be carefree as a kid.

- So I wonder what message you think, people who aren't from Detroit and who may not know anything about Asbury park, the street, my take away from this, my take away from this room.

So I'm always curious about how we project to everybody else from the city.

- Asbury park, isn't even a fairly a Detroit story.

It actually takes place in the fictitious world of the inner city.

You know, because while it is relevant in Detroit, it's also relevant in Baltimore and St. Louis and, you know, just all over the country.

But I think oftentimes like when you're going through things, because you're dealing with it in real time, you don't stop and think, Hey, somebody is dealing with it over here, or someone's dealing with it over there.

So for me, you know, like I said, is much bigger.

And honestly, my goal and my hope is that people that are not from that environment will take a look and start asking questions, because I feel like that's how you evoke change.

- Here, it's just a fight to breed.

- For more stories from American black journal and all of the arts and culture stories we're working on, go to onedetroitpbs.org.

That'll do it for this week, but we always like to leave you with a performance.

The Sphinx competition is a national competition offering young African-American and Latin X classical string players, a chance for scholarship and mentorship.

Their goal of increasing diversity in classical music has been going strong for over 20 years.

So, we'll leave you with a performance from 2021 Sphinx junior division winner violinist Amaryn Olmeda.

Enjoy and see you next week.

(piano music) (violin music) - [Male Narrator] You can find more at onedetroitpbs.org or subscribe to our social media channels and sign up for our One Detroit newsletter.

- [Female Narrator] From Delta Faucets, to Behr Paint, Masco Corporation is proud to deliver products that enhance the way consumers all over the world experience and enjoy their living spaces.

Masco, serving Michigan communities since 1929.

- [Male Narrator] Support for this program has provided by the Cynthia & Edsel Ford Fund for Journalism at Detroit Public TV.

The Kresge Foundation, Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan.

- [Female Narrator] The DTE foundation is a proud sponsor of Detroit Public TV among the state's largest foundations, committed to Michigan focused giving.

We support organizations that are doing exceptional work in our state.

Visit DTEFoundation.com to learn more.

- Business Leaders for Michigan dedicate to making Michigan a top 10 state for jobs, personal income, and a healthy economy.

Also brought to you by the Fred A. and Barbara M. Erb Family Foundation and viewers like you.

(upbeat music)