Deputy Mayor Todd Bettison to name Detroit’s first Composer Laureate

• Composer Laureate will join the City’s First Official Historian and Poet Laureate to highlight the city’s rich history, literary genius and musical excellence

• The three positions are funded by the generosity of the Ford Foundation.

Deputy Mayor Todd Bettison announced the City of Detroit’s first-ever Composer Laureate at an exhibit honoring Detroit composers of jazz and opera music.

The new Composer Laureate is Patrick Prouty, a bassist, composer, conductor and educator from Detroit. As a bassist he has toured North America, Europe and Asia with Grammy nominee Bettye Lavette and blues great, Johnnie Bassett. He maintains a very active performance schedule as a sideman and lead of his own group, The Detroit Office of Civil Defense. 

Patrick's skills as a composer cross many genres including jazz, salsa, orchestral, and avant-garde. His music has been featured in many TV shows and feature films including Brooklyn 99, Overboard, The Today Show, Suits, The Good Place, Parenthood, Nurse Jackie, Masterpiece Theater and Breaking Bad.

Prouty has won multiple awards for his music including the Block M Records Award in 2006 Detroit Music Award for Best Jazz Recording in 2008 and 2012 and Best Classical Composer in 2020. Patrick received a lifetime achievement award from the Michigan Music Hall of Fame in 2023. 

Patrick is the Director of Orchestra and Choirs at The University of Detroit Jesuit High School and Academy. 

The Composer Laureate will advocate for and represent Detroit’s diverse musical heritage, community and spirit, building upon Detroit’s long standing as a leader in musical innovation and excellence. The City Office of Arts, Culture, and Entrepreneurship (Detroit ACE) will host the new honorary post, which like City Historian Jamon Jordan and Poet Laureate jessica Care moore, is funded by the Ford Foundation.

“Detroit has produced some of the world’s greatest music and composers, and we have a whole new generation of young artists that our new Composer Laureate will be able to help develop and inspire,” said Mayor Mike Duggan, who reaffirmed the city’s commitment to the creative community by creating Detroit ACE five years ago, headed by its director, Rochelle Riley.

The Composer Laureate will be expected to teach Detroit’s musical legacy and inspire young people to continue that legacy by considering careers in music, encouraging young talents to make their careers in Detroit rather than travel to New York, Atlanta, or Austin to use their Detroit skills to make those cities better.

The laureate also will honor and challenge local composers to elevate Detroit’s musical genius as well as create original music that defines our lives. The laureate will have two major deliverables:

• To create a legacy project, an original composition, that will be performed in celebration of Detroit’s musical community and continued commitment to musical greatness
• To collaborate with a range of residents, organizations and schools on programming and projects

“We are so proud to be one of the cities in America with an official historian, a Poet Laureate and now a Composer Laureate, which all speaks to Detroit as a leader in history, music and letters,”’ Riley said.

A panel of Detroit art and music professionals reviewed and scored 12 applications for the new position of Detroit Composer Laureate.  The recommended composer laureate scored the highest among the 12 candidates. The selection panel was:

Mark Stryker: Detroit-based, award-winning arts journalist and author based in Detroit, specializing in jazz, classical music, and visual art.  [email protected]  

Marion Hayden: celebrated Detroit jazz bassist                                          

Deborah Smith Pollard: Professor of English Literature and Humanities at the University of Michigan-Dearborn and noted expert on gospel music                                          

Alvin Waddles: accomplished pianist, singer, composer and director     

Erik Ronmark: President and CEO of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra                                                                             

Jeffrey Sposato:  Chair and Professor in the Department of Music at Wayne State University                                                

Justin "Jay" Norman: Global Director of Creative Strategy for Spotify, Inc.

Suai Kee: Director at gener8tor Music

Detroit ACE oversees the City of Detroit’s investment in the fine and performing arts, culture and history with a special focus on theatre and support for the city’s creative workforce. Follow ACE on Twitter , Instagram  and Facebook.