Concert halls & amphitheaters / Downtown (Harmonie Park / Paradise Valley)
orsa Music Hall (Music Hall Center for the Performing Arts)
A nonprofit performing-arts house in downtown's Harmonie Park, built in 1928, with about 1,700 seats for concerts, comedy, dance and theatre.
01 / The story of this place
Make time for these
Matilda Dodge Wilson built it in 1928 as the Wilson Theatre, and it was renamed Music Hall in 1944. The complex also contains Aretha's Jazz Cafe and the 3Fifty Terrace rooftop. A 25-year, $20 million naming deal with orsa credit union rebranded it in January 2026, and an expansion with a new 1,900-seat concert hall is planned for 2028.
- Built 1928 as the Wilson Theatre
- Home to Aretha's Jazz Cafe
- New concert hall planned for 2028
Famous Detroiters
Famous people tied to this place 6
Lexicon entries for the people who lived, worked, performed or liked to spend time here.
- Ben Carson born 1951 · pediatric neurosurgeon, author, politician
Related place
He formally announced his 2016 run for the Republican presidential nomination here on May 4, 2015.
- Erma Franklin 1938–2002 · singer
Performed here
She was a guest on Aretha Franklin's 1986 Showtime special filmed here.
- Josef Gingold 1909–1995 · violinist, teacher
Performed here
The DSO's home from 1946, where Gingold served as concertmaster in his last Detroit season.
- Matilda Dodge Wilson 1883–1967 · heiress, philanthropist, Lieutenant Governor of Michigan, co-founder of Oakland University
Founded
The 1,731-seat theater she built as the Wilson Theatre; later home of the DSO (1946) and still a working venue.
- David DiChiera 1935–2018 · opera impresario, composer, musicologist
Founded
DiChiera became the Music Hall Center's founding artistic director in 1971, the same year he launched Michigan Opera Theatre.
- Karl Krueger 1894–1979 · conductor
Performed here
The 1928 theater, built as the Wilson Theatre, that became the DSO's home under Krueger and was renamed Music Hall; it is still a working theater.
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Sources & fact check · Checked: 2026-09-25
An independently written bilingual guide. This collection is not an attendance-based ranking.
03 / Events
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