It’s all about the show. When that first note hits, when the riff takes off, Vicariant explodes. “It’s all energy and right from the start we are all into it,” says guitarist Jake Morrison. “We just want to play anywhere and everywhere,” adds guitarist Zak Held. “Really, we believe success is 40% music and 60% show.” The band’s frenetic live performances and raucous rock sound has been turning heads in Greater Flint and around the state since its inception nearly a decade ago. Their reputation is such that they were voted “Favorite Local Band” in the My City Magazine 2022 City’s Choice Awards, despite not being able to play a local live show since the pandemic began. It was an award of anticipation for their next big production. “Yeah, when I first heard that we had won, I was shocked,” says Held. “I mean, we haven’t been able to play live much for nearly two years.” That will change soon in a big way with the band rumbling straight forward, refreshed and hell bent on a dynamic end to the year with new music and upcoming shows.
Everyone in attendance was responding in their own way to the rollicking music filling Downtown Flint’s Totem Books being performed by a gifted quartet fronted by area native and renowned boogie-woogie-style pianist, Mark Braun.
The youngest of three concert bands in Greater Flint, the Genesee Wind Symphony will celebrate its 40th anniversary with a stand-out performance on May 2. “We are a year behind,” explains Music Director, Doug Burtch. “Because of the pandemic, we have not been together for 18 months, so this year will be our big anniversary performance.”
On April 9, the Flint Symphony Orchestra will continue the 2021-2022 season’s Classical Concert Series, “RENEWAL The Timeless Healing Power of Music Inspired by Nature.” The FSO and Maestro Enrique Diemecke will be joined by multi-award-winning Flutist and FSPA Instructor, Brandon LePage.
On March 12, the Flint Symphony Orchestra will continue the 2021-2022 season’s Classical Concert Series, “RENEWAL The Timeless Healing Power of Music Inspired by Nature.” The FSO and Maestro Enrique Diemecke will be joined by multi-award-winning violinist Andrés Cárdenes. In 1980, Cardenas won the William C. Byrd Young Artist Competition, an international music competition sponsored by the St. Cecilia Society of Flint in collaboration with the Flint Institute of Music and the FSO.
On February 12, the Flint Symphony Orchestra will continue the 2021-2022 season’s Classical Concert Series, “RENEWAL The Timeless Healing Power of Music Inspired by Nature.” The FSO and Maestro Enrique Diemecke will be joined by multi-award-winning Steinway Artist, Alessio Bax.
From her first enthusiastic “hello” to her closing “stay beautiful and stay safe,” Heather Maxwell’s love for African music and culture fills each and every episode of “Music Time in Africa” as well as every day of her life. “I love the rhythm of African music and how it is used and appreciated in the community,” she says. “For Africans, music is a very communal thing. There, people view music as a natural extension of being human.”
The community will once again be filled with holiday spirit and Christmas cheer as The Flint Symphony Orchestra and Flint Symphony Chorus join to create an exciting, multi-genre presentation at The Whiting. The Holiday Pops performers will inspire and delight with the heartwarming musical traditions of the season, including a selection of Christmas carols chosen to encourage a festive audience sing-along!
Organized by Don Clough in 1966 as the Flint Civic Wind Ensemble and sponsored by the Flint Community Music Association, today’s Flint Symphonic Wind Ensemble (FSWE) continues to produce beautiful music and entertainment for the Greater Flint community. “We have been in operation for more than 50 years,” says current Conductor, Chris Anderson. “We are entirely made up of adult volunteers with an age range of early 20s to late 80s. We are a welcoming group, open to everyone.”
A well-known musician in the Flint area, his stage name is Blu Mykals – but most people just call him “Blu.” The solo performing artist plays five instruments: tenor, alto and soprano saxophones, flute and keyboard. He plays a variety of music such as pop, Top 40, country, Motown, smooth jazz and old jazz standards. His credits include performing in the backup band for one of Motown’s all-female groups – The Marvelettes – and has shared the stage with the world-renowned funk/rock/soul band, War. Traveling all over the state of Michigan and beyond, Blu performs at family reunions, weddings, anniversaries, graduations, private and corporate parties and other events.
Principal Harpist for the FSO and Windsor Symphony Orchestra, Amy Ley has held the principal harp position in the Lansing Symphony, Ann Arbor Symphony, and Saginaw Bay Orchestras. She has also performed with the Grand Rapids Symphony, National Ballet Orchestra in Toronto, Kitchner-Waterloo Symphony, Orchestra London, Toledo Symphony, and Charleston Symphony. Her performance of the “Flute and Harp Concerto” by Mozart with the Windsor Symphony has been broadcast on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s radio network across Canada and the United States. She also performs as a part of the Walla Walla Chamber Music Festival in Washington and the Lancaster Music Festival, Ohio.
The crowd quieted as Najee Greenlee took up his clarinet and began to play the first notes of the Carmen Fantasy by P. Sarasate. With seemingly little effort, the music began to dance through the auditorium. The audience was rapt as Greenlee, with intricate variations, trills and movement, transported them to another world. And after the last note faded, the crowd erupted in applause as Greenlee humbly bowed, then left the stage. The performance marked the end of his education at the prestigious Interlochen Center for the Arts and the start of something new. “I’m heading to the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor to continue my education looking to excel in clarinet performance,” he explains. “I would love to play for my profession or maybe teach and help someone else get the opportunities that I have had. My immediate goal is to get even better.”
