DETROIT, MI (December 5, 2003) - The Wayne State Orchestra proudly presents Detroit Symphony Orchestra's Robert deMaine as a featured soloist on their last concert of 2003. He will be performing the Saint-Säens Cello Concerto on Monday, December 8 under the direction of Kypros Markou. The concert is being held at 7 p.m. in the Community Arts Auditorium, located at 5451 Cass Avenue. Admission is $3 for students/seniors and $5 for adults. For more information call (313) 577-1795 or visit Department of Music.

Performing as guest members of the WSU Orchestra will be DSO's Joseph Striplin, violin, Caroline Coade, viola, Mario DiFiore, cello and Max Janowsky, bass.

Robert deMaine won the post as Principal Cellist for the DSO in October 2002. deMaine is one of the finest musicians of his generation, performing to critical acclaim throughout the world. Performing from Carnegie Hall to Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, deMaine has been praised by The New York Times as "an artist who makes one hang on every note." Since the age of twelve, deMaine was a first-prize winner in many national and international competitions, and in 1990 he became the first cellist to win San Francisco's distinguished Irving M. Klein International Competition of Strings.

Robert deMaine is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music and Yale University. He is an avid chamber musician and solo recitalist, and frequently performs as a guest artist at music festivals across the country. As a composer, deMaine has written and performed music for cello and as a teacher he has presented master classes throughout North and South America, Europe and New Zealand. He has served on the faculties at the University of Connecticut, the Hartford Conservatory, and the American Festival for the Arts in Houston, and is currently serving on Wayne State's string faculty.