For Immediate Release
Contact:
Name: Dionanda Tillman
Title: Marketing Administrator
Phone: 810-237-3112
Email address: dtillman@thefim.org
Year of Haydn Makes World Premiere at Capitol Theatre
The debut of a documentary following four young Flint musicians in collaboration
with renowned Dover Quartet
DATE: Tuesday, December 14, 2021
TIME: 7:00 pm
Where: Capitol Theatre Flint
Flint, MI - The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted countless lives in innumerable ways over the last two years. The Year of Haydn: COVID Can’t Stop the Music is a new documentary by Nicole Bowers Wallace. The film premieres on Tuesday, December 14 at 7 pm at the Capitol Theatre. Tickets are “pay-what-you-wish” with a suggested price of $10. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit The Ticket Center online.
 
The Year of Haydn: COVID Can’t Stop the Music follows four young string musicians enrolled in the Flint School of Performing Arts as they embrace a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be privately tutored online by the world-famous Dover Quartet, culminating in a live, in-person performance. The local Flint musicians are part of the Dort Honors String Quartet, the Flint School of Performing Arts (FSPA) most advanced chamber ensemble.
 
“Normally, the quartet travels for concerts and masterclasses each year… when their 2020 European tour was canceled due to COVID-19, our young musicians were devastated,” said Davin Pierson Torre, Vice President of Performing Arts Instruction at the Flint Institute of Music, and Director of the Flint School of Performing Arts.
 
Like countless great artists throughout history, the young musicians of the Dort Quartet were able to overcome adversity and make the best of a bad situation. Instead of visiting with the award-winning Dover Quartet in person, they collaborated virtually over Zoom. Months of hard work adjusting to a virtual format and individual practice with Coach Ching-Wen Tseng culminated in a live, in-person concert with the two quartets sitting side-by-side, performing Haydn’s String Quartet, Op 76, No. 1.
 
“With generous funding from the Dort family, the willingness of the Dover Quartet to share their talent virtually and in-person, the creativity of filmmaker Nicole Bowers Wallace, and the inspired support of coach Ching-Wen Tseng, 2020-21 has turned out to be better than anyone could have expected!” said Torre. 

 
The J. Dallas and Marcia W. Dort Trust of Huntington Bank generously provide funding for the Dort Honors Strings Quartet.
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The Flint School of Performing Arts is a program of the Flint Institute of Music. FIM has five distinctive performing arts venues: The Whiting, the historic Capitol Theatre, Elgood Theatre, Bower Theatre and MacArthur Recital Hall. Flint Institute of Music programs also includes Whiting Presents, the Flint Repertory Theatre, Music Around Town, and a weekly line-up of concerts and movies at the Capitol. All FIM programming is funded in part by the Genesee County Arts & Cultural Enrichment Millage. The Flint Institute of Music is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization and equal opportunity employer providing programs and services without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex or handicap.