Renowned Deaf Musicians Perform With The Detroit Symphony Orchestra

Classical music meets hip hop, pop and world-class percussion when Eminem publisher, 8 Mile Style Music, presents The Deaf and Loud Symphonic Experience, starring three renowned deaf artists performing an unprecedented concert with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra this Sunday at 7 p.m. at Detroit's Orchestra Hall.

Grammy-winning percussionist Dame Evelyn Glennie, "America's Got Talent" finalist Mandy Harvey and hip-hop star Sean Forbes, all three of whom happen to be deaf, headline an immersive orchestral experience to benefit the Deaf Professional Arts Network (D-PAN), the Detroit-based nonprofit created to make music and culture accessible to the deaf and hard-of-hearing community. D-PAN was co-founded in 2006 by Sean Forbes and Detroit music producer Joel Bacow (aka Martin).

The entire concert will be given in American Sign Language (ASL), accompanied by large screen videos with lyrics presented for each song. Grammy-winning Sly5thAve will conduct arrangements of Detroit-centric hits by hometown composer Jake Bass, with performances by Grammy- and Academy Award-winning musicians Jeff Bass and Luis Resto.

The Motown Museum is sponsoring a set of Motown classics arranged by music legend, Paul Riser.

The Detroit Symphony Orchestra prides itself on being the most accessible orchestra on the planet, and with this unique concert it takes the pledge one important step further. An estimated 15 million Americans are deaf or hard of hearing.

The event follows the introduction recently of DPAN.TV, an online streaming channel seen worldwide, with news, videos and information, all in ASL, with more than 100,000 subscribers and growing. Based in Ferndale, Michigan, it employs 25 individuals, all deaf or hard of hearing.

The concert takes place at Orchestra Hall; tickets can be purchased online here. And the event will be live-streamed on Detroit Public Television's arts and culture website, detroitperforms.org