Interlochen Arts Academy students are stepping straight into the big leagues at Orchestra Hall on Tuesday, March 10, 2026, sharing the stage with members of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra for Imagine US: Celebrating America at 250. The one-night program features a brand-new cello concerto by Wynton Marsalis, Reena Esmail’s RE|member, and a reimagined take on Charles Ives’ Symphony No. 4 in a cross-disciplinary mix of music, dance, theater and visual art. Cristian Măcelaru will conduct, with cellist Tommy Mesa serving as guest soloist for the Detroit performance.
Tour, mission and student role
Interlochen describes Imagine US as a four-city tour that pairs Arts Academy students with members of leading American orchestras, weaving student work from all seven Interlochen disciplines into the concert itself. The project pulls double duty as part of nationwide programming around the United States’ 250th anniversary and as a prelude to Interlochen’s own centennial. Interlochen president Trey Devey frames the tour as a way to give young artists a voice in conversations about the country’s past and future.
According to Interlochen Center for the Arts, the program was commissioned by Interlochen and places students in side-by-side performances with professional musicians, rather than keeping them in the background. Their work, onstage and behind the scenes, is built directly into how each concert unfolds.
Detroit performance logistics
The Detroit stop is set for 7:30 p.m. on March 10 at Orchestra Hall in the Max M. & Marjorie S. Fisher Music Center, 3711 Woodward Avenue. The Detroit Symphony Orchestra’s event listing confirms Tommy Mesa as soloist for the Marsalis concerto and Cristian Măcelaru as conductor, and directs would-be attendees to the DSO box office for tickets and venue information.
Those looking to lock down seats, compare prices or check accessibility options are pointed to the Detroit Symphony Orchestra site for full details on the Orchestra Hall setup that night.
Who’s playing the Marsalis concerto
Interlochen commissioned Wynton Marsalis to write the new cello concerto that anchors the tour. Interlochen’s materials note that Yo-Yo Ma will work with students and serve as soloist for the Interlochen, Philadelphia and Boston performances, while Detroit gets a different vantage point on the premiere, with Tommy Mesa taking the solo part.
Those casting details appear in Interlochen’s tour information and release materials, which emphasize that each city gets its own flavor of the new work, even as the student-professional pairing stays central to the concept.
Tommy Mesa and the student connection
Tommy Mesa, a Cuban-American cellist, has logged appearances with major orchestras and recently picked up Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Career Grant along with the Sphinx Organization’s Medal of Excellence. His resume includes premieres and collaborations with contemporary composers, which fits neatly with unveiling a new Marsalis concerto.
For students sharing the Orchestra Hall stage, Mesa offers both a high-profile soloist to collaborate with and a real-time example of what a modern classical career can look like. For more on his background and recent honors, see Tommy Mesa.
Reena Esmail’s RE|member and the program’s themes
Reena Esmail’s RE|member, written amid the disruptions of the COVID-19 era, takes on the idea of an orchestra “re-membering” itself as musicians return to the stage after being apart. Program notes and composer materials describe it as a short, energetic overture about return and collective memory, which makes it a natural fit for a show that layers live performance with student-generated visual and written work.
Tickets are available through the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, and the performance will be broadcast live by Interlochen Public Radio starting at 7 p.m. local time, ahead of the 7:30 p.m. downbeat. Local reporting notes that ticket prices begin at $10 and up. For ticket purchases and detailed performance information, readers are directed to the Detroit Symphony Orchestra’s event listing, Interlochen tour materials, and Interlochen Public Radio’s live-broadcast notice.
