Works by John Adams, Steve Reich, Philip Glass, Frederic Rzewski, Bill Frisell, John Zorn, John Cage meet the music of Mozart, Mendelssohn, and Beethoven at the Detroit Symphony Orchestra's second annual 8 Days in June music festival, which kicks off tonight. It's a multidisciplinary affair aiming to examine the relationship between music and the explosive changes of the 20th and 21st centuries and harness the "The Power of Change."

Philip Glass's music provides the score for images of nature photographer Frans Lanting in the film Life: A Journey Through Time on Sunday, Day Two of the Festival, titled "The Changing Earth."

Tuesday, Day Four, titled "Patterns and Structure," examines how simple repetitive patterns, in both nature and music, form intricate structures, showing beauty and complexity from apparent disorder. The evening's program, which Detroit Free Press music writer Mark Stryker says "promises to be one of the festival highlights," includes performances of Adams's Shaker Loops, Rzewski's Les Mouton de Panurge, and, "most notable" for Stryker, Reich's "profound masterpiece," Different Trains.

The next Friday, June 20, is Day Seven, "Spontaneous Creation," which concludes with a concert by the Bill Frisell Quintet—Tony Scherr, Rudy Royston, Ron Miles, Chris Cheek—with violinist Mark Fewer guitarist Stephen Stubb as guests. "Frisell's quintet is the guitarist's best band," says Stryker, "showcasing his eclectic spirit ranging from dreamy pastoralism to aggressive post-bop."

For all the details on the Festival, visit 8daysinjune.com. For the Detroit Free Press preview, visit freep.com.