Announcing our 30th anniversary year of exciting events. Under the direction of Oliver  Ragsdale, Jr., President and CEO,  and Artistic Director, three-time Grammy Award-winning jazz musician and educator Terri Lyne Carrington, The Carr  Center’s Season begins in October and includes our first LIVE concert event in more  than a year.

As we open our doors to in-person live events, the safety of our staff, patrons and artists is of utmost importance. To that end we have adopted a number of policies to keep everyone safe. 

LIVE events from The Carr Center will all require proof of full vaccination. Mask wearing and social distancing will also be observed.

A return to LIVE  events is important, says Ragsdale. “Art happens when there is  communication and engagement between artists and audience,” explains Ragsdale. “You can be standing in front of a piece of art or you can watch  a film on television,  but when you are in a theater and feel that energy emanating from the stage reach out and touch you,  when your own in-person energy and excitement  flows  back to the  artist,  that is when communication happens… that is when the magic  happens. ”

Highlights of The Carr Center’s 30th Anniversary Season include:

“Jazz on Film,” In this new five-part “Film @ The Carr” series hosted by  Juanita Anderson, Carr Center Resident Artist and a noted film director, is joined by Guest Curator Marcus Turner, a Clio winning, Emmy nominated film director. “Jazz on Film,”  begins Tuesday, October 5, and continues weekly through  November 2. Each screening is followed by a discussion with the  hosts and special guests. Tickets 

The Carr Center Gallery Presents… “Multifaceted: A retrospective of work by Jason Phillips”, a mid-career retrospective of works by the prolific Detroit artist. This show will be on exhibit  inside the Carr Center’s renovated  gallery space at Park Shelton and online in the Carr Virtual Center Gallery, beginning  Friday, October 16. Timed tickets

 The Gathering Orchestra Nonet in Residency at Detroit School of Arts (DSA) brings together nine of the current orchestra’s musicians for a  weeklong professional development/educational/performance residency that  runs from November 1 through November 6. The Gathering Orchestra is a two year fellowship program under the artistic direction of Rodney Whitaker, The residency includes a special “school  matinee” performance on Friday, November 5, streaming live from DSA to schools. The ensemble will also perform on the Season Spectacular. 

 “A Season Spectacular”, a star-studded performance set for Saturday,  November 6, will take place at The Ford Theater inside Detroit School of Arts, 123 Selden Avenue,  Detroit, Michigan 48201. The Center’s first LIVE music presentation since the COVID-19 pandemic closed venues in spring of 2020, the show will feature performances by Terri Lyne Carrington, jazz and pop keyboardist Patrice Rushen, pianist and arranger Kevin Harris, vocalist Jazzmeia Horn, harpist  Brandee Younger and the Center’s own Gathering Orchestra Nonet directed by Rodney Whitaker. There will also be a few surprise appearances.  Tickets

On February 26, 2022, will be “To Stevie With Love” a tribute  concert to the genius of Stevie Wonder, that imagines the music of the Maestro  through the lens of the New York jazz scene, with musical direction by Terri  Lyne Carrington and featuring arrangements by pianist Kevin Harris. Other  guest artists will be announced. This concert is rescheduled from its original March 2020 date. Tickets

On April 9, 2022 The Carr Center will present “The  Great Jazz Women of Detroit: Alice Coltrane, Dorothy Ashby and  Betty Carter,” a program celebrating the contributions of three African  American women from Detroit and their role in the development of jazz, with  musical direction by Terri Lyne Carrington. Special guests will be vocalist  Jazzmeia Horn and harpist Brandee Younger. Tickets

On May 21, 2022 a new commissioned work by keyboardist Patrice Rushen  celebrating The Carr Center’s 30th Anniversary will highlight The Gathering Orchestra’s second residency of the season at Detroit School of Arts from May 16 -21. The new work will be performed in three movements to commemorate the three decades.  Tickets