Michigan’s Macomb Symphony Orchestra and Music Director Andrew Neer.
In Saturday’s (4/12) C&G News (Michigan), Dean Vaglia writes, “For the Macomb Symphony Orchestra, a professional classical orchestra that performs at the Macomb Center for the Performing Arts as well as at other locales throughout the county, 2025 marks its golden year. According to Thomas Cook, orchestra director from the MSO’s founding in 1974-2021, the orchestra formed as an outgrowth of the Macomb Community College music program … though it did not take long for the orchestra to become its own nonprofit organization…. The Macomb Symphony Orchestra used the Macomb Center’s presence to establish itself as, in Cook’s words, the ‘voice of classical music in Macomb County.’ The move allowed the orchestra to expand to up to as many as 70 musicians per concert and even begin paying all of its musicians … Cook stepped down from directing the orchestra in 2021 with Andrew Neer taking on the role…. ‘I’m a little bit more involved in (the business and marketing side) than maybe your average music director would be,’ Neer said…. ‘My biggest hope for the organization is that we could continue to grow and continue to develop in a way that would be lasting and have an impact on the community for the good.’ ”
