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World class professional orchestra calls Plymouth home
The roots of the Michigan
Philharmonic go very deep in the com-
munity, dating to 1945 postwar
America.
“Colony Farms Barn was one of the
first places they did concerts,” said
Beth Stewart, executive director of the
Michigan Philharmonic, formerly
known as the Plymouth Symphony
Orchestra.
In the 1940s and early 1950s, leaders
began “creating and shaping this
organization to become one of the finer
orchestras in the state,” said Stewart, a
Plymouth Township resident on the
job 10 years. The proximity of
Plymouth to the University of
Michigan, Michigan State University,
Wayne State University and Eastern
Michigan University means, “We have
a lot of people who've had good train-
ing.”
The first conductor of the orchestra
was Paul Allen, with Wayne Dunlap
following and then Russell Reed, each
with long tenures. For more than 50
years, the orchestra conductors were
primarily from the music faculty at
Eastern Michigan University. When
Reed retired, leaders mulled a change
to a professional orchestra with a full-
time director.
A national search led to hiring cur-
rent conductor/music director Nan
Washburn. “We're a fully professional
orchestra,” saidStewart..
The Michigan Philharmonic,
There are few places a world-renown artist can be found enjoying a quiet cup
of coffee or taking a walk through the park without attracting some attention or
where one of the most famous orchestra conductors in America can shop without being noticed by other cus-
tomers.
Plymouth and Plymouth Township, where some of the best-known artists in widely diverse fields make their
homes, is becoming a phenomenon as painters, musicians, dancers and artists in various disciplines enjoy the
home-town atmosphere.
Plymouth has quietly developed a reputation as a community where arts and artists can quietly flourish. It has
become widely known and celebrated throughout the state and country for the wealth of artistic talent and art
education centered in the community.
These are just a few of the artists, art teachers and art projects which have contributed to the growing reputa-
tion of Plymouth as a respected haven for artists. There are many more celebrated artists here who are just as
well-known and as accomplishedwhomwe hope to feature in the future.
For now, enjoy this introduction to some of the prominent artists of Plymouth.
Let’s begin with The Michigan Philharmonic
The Michigan Philharmonic
See
Philharmonic
, on page 2
