[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 8 (Tuesday, January 16, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Page S121]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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               RECOGNIZING THE WARREN SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

 Mr. PETERS. Mr. President, I rise today to recognize the 50th 
anniversary of the Warren Symphony Orchestra located in Macomb County, 
MI. Founded in 1972, the Warren Symphony Orchestra and its musicians 
have worked to provide cultural enrichment, entertainment, and youth 
education to the Macomb community by supporting and advancing a local 
orchestra of professional quality. What began as a small project aimed 
at replacing the Warren Consolidates Schools string program has grown 
over the past 50 years into thriving arts and culture destination for 
residents of Warren and Macomb County.
  The Warren Symphony Orchestra--WSO--opened its first season in 1973-
1974, playing their first concert on May 5, 1974. Over the next decade, 
the WSO benefited from growing community support, hosting concerts such 
as ``Music of the 20s'' and ``A Salute to Poland in April,'' the latter 
of which celebrated the history of the Polish community in the city of 
Warren. In this period, the WSO also began to form traditions, 
including a series of concerts performed by the WSO at the St. Dorothy 
Church in Warren, the beginning of yearly youth concerts, and General 
Motors sponsoring the WSO's opening night. By 1979, subscriptions to 
the Warren Symphony Orchestra had increased by over 143 percent and the 
WSO began to gain acclaim. The spring performance was chosen by the 
Detroit Free Press as one of the 10 best performances of the 1979-1980 
season in metro Detroit. The WSO has been chosen seven times--2000, 
2001, 2003, 2007, 2014, 2015, and 2017--as Outstanding Community 
Orchestra at the Detroit Music Awards. Over the years, the WSO has 
engaged and inspired the Warren community through the delivery of 
unique concert experiences and themes. Memorable among them was the 
All-American concert in the spring season of 1982, which features 2 
choruses and 2 orchestras: 198 singers, 116 orchestra players, and 1 
conducting, accounting for a total of 315 musicians, and a fully staged 
opera performed in accompaniment with Oakland University in the 2000-
2001 season, to name a few.
  In line with their mission of youth education, the Warren Symphony 
Orchestra has a long history of performing with local youth choirs, 
bands, and artists. This is in addition to the free music education 
materials that the WSO provides to the youth in the Macomb community, 
as well the reoccurring youth concert series that reaches as many as 
2,000 elementary students annually.
  The Warren Symphony Orchestra has been enriching the lives of Warren 
and Macomb residents since 1972. As they celebrate their 50th 
anniversary, I ask my colleagues to join me today in recognizing the 
cultural and educational contributions that the Warren Symphony 
Orchestra has made over the past five decades. I wish the Warren 
Symphony Orchestra continued growth and prosperity in the years 
ahead.

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