DETROIT, MI (November 13, 2003) - Wayne State University Department of Music is proud to present its 37th Annual Salute Concert to Downtown Detroit on Tuesday, November 25, 2003 at Noon. The concert will be held at Old St. Mary's Church, 646 Monroe Street at St. Antoine in "Greektown", Detroit. This annual WSU concert, celebrating Detroit's rich cultural heritage and to herald the holiday season, is free and open to the public. For more information call (313) 577-1795.

This year's concert will feature the Wayne State Symphonic Chorus and Orchestra, performing Lauridsen's "Lux Aeterna". The Department will also feature James Hartway's "Processional" for brass quintet, organ and timpani. Dr. James Hartway is a Distinguished Professor of Music and director of WSU's composition/theory division. Works by Bach, Rossini and Philip Sparke will also be performed. Each year the Symphonic Chorus and Orchestra lead the large audience in singing two traditional hymns.

Following the Detroit's turbulent events of the summer of 1967, the late Professor Malcolm Johns envisioned bringing people together through music. What began as a Thanksgiving choral concert, the Salute Concerts have grown into an institution treasured by Wayne State and the city at large. "Please accept our enthusiastic invitation to join us for the 37th Annual Salute Concert to Downtown Detroit. This annual concert underscores the power of music to communicate the love and joy of the holiday season, humanities, compassion and hope for peace, as well as celebrate our community's rich heritage," states Professor and Chair, Dennis J. Tini. Dennis J. Tini has continued this time-honored tradition for the past 26 years as Music Director and Conductor of the Annual Salute Concerts to Downtown Detroit.

Wayne State University Department of Music is celebrating 85 years of artistic and academic excellence. The Department's faculty includes renowned jazz artists, composers, scholars, educators and members of the internationally acclaimed Detroit Symphony Orchestra. WSU alumni have gone on to careers in distinguished orchestras, ensembles and as soloists and music educators the world over.