Delaware
Delaware Symphony Orchestra appoints Michelle Di Russo as first female director
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The Delaware Symphony Orchestra is beginning a new era in its 120th season with a historic first.
Michelle Di Russo has been named the orchestra’s new music director, following an international search that began in 2023. She is the first woman in the orchestra’s history to hold the role.
“Winning your first position as music director, as a conductor in general, it’s the most exciting thing,” Di Russo said. “It’s something you’ve been working towards for years, right? And for it to be a place like Delaware and with the Delaware Symphony and having been there, connected with the community and worked with the orchestra, I know it sounds too good to be true, but it is the perfect fit for me.”
Di Russo emerged as a standout among four finalists who appeared during the DSO’s 2024 and 2025 season. The orchestra’s musicians, board members, staff and community were all part of the decision-making process.
“Michelle Di Russo was the unanimous choice of both the search committee and our board,” said J.C. Barker, the orchestra’s chief executive officer, in a statement. “We are thrilled to welcome her as we look to a bold new chapter and beyond.”
The appointment is not just a personal milestone — it marks a breakthrough for representation in classical music in Delaware.
“I think it’s always exciting to be the first one to break those glass ceilings slowly,” Di Russo said. “It’s also exciting to know that the community and the musicians and the organization, everyone is ready for it as well. It just makes me feel very welcome and very excited to help them go into this new path.”
She began her career in the arts not as a conductor but as a performer. In her native Argentina, she worked in musical theater as a dancer and singer before a final exam unexpectedly steered her in a new direction.
“I really didn’t know that was my path,” she said. “But when I conducted the orchestra for the first time… there’s this energy. I don’t know, I just can’t describe it. It just really ignited passion in me and I just knew that that was the path I needed to take on.”
Which famous people have visited Hotel du Pont in Delaware?
Athletes, world leaders, actors and other famous people have visited the Hotel du Pont in Wilmington over the years.
Southern rap icon 2 Chainz is coming for Delaware’s neck this summer in a special event highlighting his recently released New York Times Bestseller, “The Voice in My Head is God.”
This book talk is set for Wilmington Public Library on July 21. Folks interested in attending are required to purchase the book at registration. The cost of a ticket includes the book.
Here’s what to know about 2 Chainz, “The Voice in My Head is God” and how he was involved in one of the greatest hip-hop concerts that Delaware never got to see.
Who is rap star 2 Chainz?
Tauheed Epps, better known by the stage name 2 Chainz, is a 48-year-old Georgia native who used to rap under the controversial moniker Ti– Boi when he was a member of the duo Playaz Circle, alongside his friend Dolla Boy. In 2007, the duo signed to Ludacris’ Disturbing tha Peace (DTP), a label that operated under Def Jam, according to an article from Revolt.TV.
That same year, Playaz Circle dropped the major song “Duffle Bag Boy” featuring Lil Wayne. The Atlanta-area rapper eventually went solo and began his journey as a trap music icon who switched his name to 2 Chainz, under which he’s gained a ridiculous amount of music collaborations and success.
According to RIAA.com, 2 Chainz has racked up over a dozen singles and albums combined that have each gone platinum (including “I’m Different” and “Based on a T.R.U. Story”). That doesn’t even include the multiple guest records he’s appeared on that have gone platinum, too.
From Lil Wayne to Drake, 2 Chainz has worked with everyone
Some of the artists 2 Chainz has teamed with include Quavo and Gucci (“Good Drank”), Wiz Khalifa on the song “We Own It” (Fast and Furious) and J Cole (“Chris Tucker”), plus repeat collabs with artists like Kanye West (“Champions,” “The One”), Drake (“Sacrifices,” “No Lie”) and a joint album with Lil Wayne (“Welcome 2 Collegegrove”).
The rapper 2 Chainz has been nominated for six Grammys Awards and won his first in 2017 for Best Rap Performance on Chance The Rapper’s tune “No Problem.”
That time 2 Chainz brought in LeBron James
Thinking outside of the box, 2 Chainz brought on LeBron James (yep, the same NBA superstar who reportedly is considering signing with the Philadelphia 76ers) as an A&R for his 2019 album: “Rap or Go To the League,” Billboard reported.
2 Chainz releases new book, ‘The Voice in My Head is God’
The rapper’s new book released this past spring and highlights how 2 Chainz, raised by a single mom while his dad served prison time, chose to step away from the streets and discovered “his purpose: not by fame or fear, but by faith,” per the book’s synopsis on Amazon.
“In his most personal work yet, Grammy Award–winning rapper 2 Chainz shares the spiritual journey behind his success, offering a raw, reflective, and deeply motivational meditation on the inner voice that’s guided him his whole life: God.”
2 Chainz and the super Delaware concert that never was
One of Delaware’s greatest hip-hop concerts to never happen was supposed to include several rap legends a few years ago, and 2 Chainz was one of them.
This super concert was titled “Masters of the Mic: Hip Hop 50 Tour,” a celebration of hip-hop’s 50th anniversary, and it was set to be held at Frawley’s Stadium in Wilmington in 2023.
The tour stop to Delaware was slated to feature a lineup that included a blend of contemporary rappers and pioneers such as Rick Ross, 2 Chainz, Fat Joe, Big Daddy Kane, Doug E. Fresh, EPMD, Rakim and Slick Rick.
Just days before the event, however, The Grand in Wilmington announced on social media that the plug had been pulled on the concert “due to circumstances beyond our control.”
A big reason the event was sunk is likely due to the price of tickets, which were initially $170 per person. The Grand offered the same tickets for $100 on Facebook not long before the show was canceled.
This upcoming book talk with 2 Chainz should be redemption for Delaware fans who missed him because of the canceled tour stop in 2023.
How much are tickets to see 2 Chainz in Delaware?
Interested guests are required to purchase 2 Chainz’s new book, “The Voice in my Head is God,” to attend his Delaware book talk. The price of ticketed admission is $28.52 and includes the book. Be warned: Tickets may not be available if you wait too long. Tickets can be purchased at Eventbrite.com.
Where in Delaware is 2 Chainz for his book talk?
Wilmington Public Library (10 E. 10th St., Wilmington) from 6 to 8 p.m. July 21. For more information, visit facebook.com/WilmingtonLibraryDE or Wilmington Public Library’s Eventbrite page or call (302) 571-7400.
If you have an interesting story idea, email lifestyle reporter Andre Lamar at alamar@gannett.com. Consider signing up for his weekly newsletter, DO Delaware, at delawareonline.com/newsletters.
Is Jersey Mike’s the new fast‑food king? How it beat Chick‑fil‑A
Jersey Mike’s beats Chick-fil-A for top customer satisfaction in ACSI study; praised for fresh, made-to-order subs.
Plans for one of the nation’s most popular fast-food chains to open a location in the city of Delaware are moving forward.
Chick-fil-A is planning a new 5,033-square-foot restaurant with a double drive-through lane on a nearly 2-acre site on Delaware’s east side.
The development plans are headed to Delaware City Council after the city’s Planning Commission approved them July 1.
This location would be the first Chick-fil-A in the city of Delaware, but not in the county. The chain has a location in Lewis Center and three in the Polaris area, according to the company’s website.
The popular chicken restaurant, a Chipotle location and other to-be-announced restaurants and retail are part of a new Trailhead Crossing development planned on the eastern edge of Delaware near Sunbury Road (State Route 36) and Sky View Lane, documents indicate. City council approved rezoning the site in February.
Get more Delaware County news: Subscribe to The Dispatch’s free weekly Delaware County newsletter, The Delaware Dispatch.
The restaurant will include 92 indoor seats, an outdoor patio with 20 seats and 68 parking spots, planning documents show.
An internal access drive connecting to Sky View Lane from the west and Biltmore Drive from the north will be built within the site and will connect to all the lots within the Trailhead Crossing development. The access from Sky View Lane will be right-in/right-out only. The site will not have access directly from Sunbury Road, city documents state.
Chris Tebbe, an engineer with the Dublin-based firm Tebbe Civil Engineering, didn’t know an exact opening date for the restaurant, but said once plans are approved by the City Council, crews will be working on the location this year into next year.
Delaware County and eastern Columbus suburbs reporter Maria DeVito can be reached at mdevito@dispatch.com and @mariadevito13.dispatch.com on Bluesky and @MariaDeVito13 on X.
Wednesday, July 8, 2026 10:19PM
ASTON, Pa. (WPVI) — Summer camps are in full swing, and on Wednesday the Action Cam was in Aston, where kids are getting some hands-on learning at Delaware County Technical School.
Middle school students are exploring career pathways as they build, cook, design and create in state-of-the-art classrooms.
They are doing everything from carpentry to cosmetology.
By the end of camp, the kids will create STEAM-based projects that they can take home.
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