The Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra will celebrate the musical heritage of Motown this weekend (March 3-5) as the symphony’s Pop Series features Dancing in the Street: The Music of Motown.
The Motown tribute concerts at Bass Hall will be presented at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday with a matinee performance at 2 p.m. Sunday.
The orchestra will perform hits by Marvin Gaye, The Four Tops, Michael Jackson, The Temptations, Stevie Wonder and other popular artists who cranked out chart-topping classics for Motown Records. Between 1961 and 1971, the Motown label, under the leadership of founder Berry Gordy Jr., released more than 100 songs that became Top 10 hits.
New York-based William Waldrop, a Broadway music director, conductor, pianist and composer, will conduct the concerts and will be joined by renowned vocalists Michael Lynche, Chester Gregory and Crystal Monee Hall.
Besides the Motown program, there are still other opportunities to experience the orchestra during its 2022-3023 season. Upcoming highlights from the Symphonic Series include Gil Shaham Plays Tchikovsky: Mahler and Tchikovsky and A Night at the Ballet: Brian Raphael Nabors, Humperdinck, Griffes, Ravel and Stravinksy.
Other remaining concerts include a Family Series concert called Wild Symphony as well as a Chamber Series performance of Three Chamber Music Masters: Mozart, Poulenc and Lutoslawski.
Also on tap: three acclaimed tenors perform a program called Three American Tenors, featuring classic opera arias, Broadway favorites and American standards with the orchestra and under the direction of FWSO Music Director Robert Spano.