It’s undeniable that music is one of the most powerful mediums of human expression. Varied in both form and breadth across the many cultures it unites, it has a profound capacity to conjure the sublime.
What many people may not realize is that music also carries lasting benefits for our health and well-being. Research shows it can lower blood pressure, heart rate, and cortisol levels—effects that have inspired many musical organizations to give back to their communities by promoting wellness, joy, and awe through their uniquely evocative art form.
The Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra (A2SO) recognizes both of these truths and has long embraced its role as a source of inspiration and connection throughout our community. Its dedicated ensemble of musicians has traveled beyond the concert hall to perform in libraries, parks, and even the quiet wings of senior centers and children’s hospitals. Today, the A2SO is poised to expand its outreach efforts, forge new community partnerships, and redefine the role of its orchestra as it steadily approaches its centennial milestone.
Since its establishment in 1928, the A2SO has built a legacy around artistic excellence and community engagement that has secured its reputation as one of the finest symphony orchestras in the Midwest—a feat accomplished in no small part thanks to its diverse, genre-spanning programming, ranging from the masterworks of Mozart to the imaginative music of seven-time GRAMMY® Award-winner Jacob Collier. One of only two professional symphonies in the state, alongside the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the A2SO reaches more than 70,000 listeners each year.
The A2SO is also notable for the breadth of its community initiatives, which extend far beyond the scope of similar outreach programs. According to A2SO Executive Director Sarah Calderini, some of the activities the orchestra engages in include offsite concert performances, free concert tickets for SNAP recipients, and hosting “Instrument Petting Zoos,” unique events that invite individuals of all ages to interact with the symphony’s diverse array of instruments.
“One of the things I love about [Instrument Petting Zoos] is that you may be in a different part of the lifespan but still have never played the cello and always wanted to, right? It’s very different from the connections we’re making with the younger kids,” Calderini says. “For us to be able to offer this program to people of different life stages is really a wonderful way to connect with people—and connect the music to people.”
This belief in music’s innate resonance is the heart of Calderini’s mission at the A2SO, who has seen firsthand the art form’s profound impact. “My mother had Alzheimer's, and that disease ultimately took her life about 10 years ago,” she says. “In her final days, I would just lay in bed with her, and we’d listen to music on my iPhone together, since [people with Alzheimer’s] never lose that sense.”
Music has proven uniquely effective in helping dementia patients recall joyful memories from their past—one of the many healing phenomena that the A2SO has recognized in its work with patients across a wide range of healthcare settings. In a broader sense, this principle has formed the basis of the orchestra’s upcoming expansion of its wellness program—an initiative that Calderini promises will both enhance the institution's present outreach efforts and the experiences of audiences through the integration of innovative technology.
“For us to ignore technology would not be the right thing to do,” Calderini explains. “Instead, it’s, ‘How do we take a tradition of music that’s hundreds of years old and integrate it with technology to enhance the audience experience, whether on or off the stage?’… We’re not ready to officially announce anything yet, but we do have partnerships underway throughout the community, as well as collaborations at the university, that are very, very exciting.”
In this way, the A2SO’s work nods to something timeless—that music has always been both an art and a lifeline, capable of grounding, healing, and connecting us across every stage of life.
Learn more at a2so.org.
The A2SO Onstage
In Recital: Aristo Sham
January 17
Enjoy a captivating piano matinee as 2025 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition winner Aristo Sham makes his Ann Arbor debut, performing signature works by Ferruccio Busoni and Johannes Brahms.
Mozart & Beethoven
January 24
2025 GRAMMY® Award-winning pianist Michelle Cann (above) joins the A2SO to perform Mozart’s agile and elegant Piano Concerto No. 23 in a concert that takes place days before the composer’s 270th birthday.
Imagined Worlds: Debussy, Chin & Mahler
March 14
Opus Klassik’s 2023 Singer of the Year, soprano Juliana Zara, stars in Mahler’s Symphony No. 4, a musical expression of a child’s view of heaven, plus Unsuk Chin’s Alice in Wonderland-inspired Puzzles and Games.