U of M Musical Society Oct. Schedule
Chemists at Colorado State University say they have evidence that legendary violin makers like Stradivarius and Guarneri may have treated the wood with chemicals.
October 4th - October 27th
The University Musical Society (UMS) at the University of Michigan, launches its 2008/2009 Global Series on Oct. 4th, featuring the Performing Arts of the Arab World, with The Art of the Oud: Remembering Munir Bashir and the Baghdad Conservatory of Music.
The concert brings together oud players Omar Bashir (Munir Bashir's son) and Rahim AlHaj with singer Farida and the Iraqi Maqam Ensemble (Saturday, October 4) in a tribute to the late oud master Munir Bashir and the Iraqi style of oud performance. The Arab World series continues with Algerian-born choreographer Heddy Maalem's The Rite of Spring featuring his Compagnie Heddy Maalem.
Also featured in October, classical music comes alive with an array of virtuosic performances: the acclaimed Tokyo String Quartet collaborates with clarinetist Sabine Meyer; UMS teams with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra to bring the first-ever national tour of the Sphinx Chamber Orchestra; German violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter returns to Ann Arbor with the Camerata Salzburg; pianist András Schiff brings the fifth and sixth installments of his Beethoven Sonata Project and the Michigan Chamber Players perform works of Ives, Poulenc, and Stravinsky.
Global beats take center stage with the third Ann Arbor appearance of the Soweto Gospel Choir and the UMS debut of Milton Nascimento and the Jobim Trio: Celebrating 50 Years of Bossa Nova.
For tickets and additional information, please contact the University Musical Society Ticket Office at 734-764-2538, or visit www.ums.org.
Tickets may also be purchased in person at the Michigan League Ticket Office (911 North University Avenue). The UMS Ticket Office is open Monday-Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., closed Sunday.
For tickets to the Sphinx Chamber Orchestra, please contact the Detroit Symphony Orchestra box office at (313) 576-5111, or visit www.detroitsymphony.com. Tickets may also be purchased in person at the Max M. Fisher Music Center box office (3711 Woodward Avenue, Detroit), Monday-Friday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Seniors (60 and over) and students can purchase 50% off RUSH tickets at the box office 90 minutes prior to DSO classical concerts based on availability. For group discount information, contact Chuck Dyer at (313) 576-5130 or cdyer@dso.org. Please note: the UMS Ticket Office is not selling tickets for this performance
The full October Schedule is Below:
THE ART OF THE OUD: REMEMBERING MUNIR BASHIR AND THE BAGHDAD CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC
Saturday, October 4, 8 p.m.
Rackham Auditorium (915 East Washington Street, Ann Arbor)
Omar Bashir, oud; Rahim AlHaj, oud; Farida and the Iraqi Maqam Ensemble
Oud player Munir Bashir (1930-1997) was one of the most famous musicians in the Middle East during the 20th century. His 1972 album, The Art of the 'Ud, brought worldwide acclaim to the oud as a solo instrument, distinguished by a novel style of improvisation that reflected his study of Indian and European music. Born in Mosul, Bashir studied at the famous Baghdad Conservatory from age six and migrated to Budapest in the early 1960s. He returned to Iraq for several years, where he championed traditional Iraqi folk music and taught at the Baghdad Conservatory, before returning to Hungary after the First Gulf War.
The Baghdad Conservatory was the preeminent institution for studying the unique Iraqi style of oud performance and Iraqi maqam. In 2004, the Conservatory was bombed, and many of its faculty and students fled the country, threatening the continuation of the Iraqi oud tradition.
This performance celebrates the opening of the Performing Arts of the Arab World series and the end of Ramadan. Paying tribute to the legacy of Munir Bashir and the Baghdad Conservatory of Music, as well as the historic Iraqi maqam tradition, the concert features Munir Bashir's son, Omar, and Rahim AlHaj. Iraq's most distinguished female singer, Farida, who studied at the Baghdad Conservatory, also performs with the Iraqi Maqam Ensemble. "This concert is only a small token of our deep gratitude and appreciation for Munir Bashir, a true hero of the 20th century," says AlHaj. "He was a wonderful musician and human being, who will be present in our lives, hearts, and music."
Tickets: $20-$40
Saturday, October 4, 5:30 p.m.
Rackham Building Assembly Hall
Related Event:
PRELUDE DINNER - $50 per person; call 734-764-8489 for reservations.
Speaker: Rahim AlHaj, oud player for the evening's performance, interviewed by Ben Johnson, Director of Concerts and Lectures, University of Minnesota and Curator, UMS Performing Arts of the Arab World series
Saturday, October 4, 11 am
Performance Network Stage (120 E. Huron Street, Ann Arbor)
Free Educational Event:
PANEL DISCUSSION - "The Arts of Iraq: Artists in the Diaspora"
Every American has heard about the devastation of the Iraq war, from a distinctly American perspective. Now, hear firsthand from Iraqi artists and scholars about a different and unseen consequence of that conflict: its devastating impact on arts and culture, artists and their families, and the fabric of society that arts and culture provide. Learn what happened, and what artists in the diaspora are doing to survive and rebuild their livelihoods, while processing their experiences through art. This collaboration between Performance Network Theatre (PNT) and University Musical Society (UMS) is in conjunction with the PNT production of Heather Raffo's 9 Parts of Desire and UMS's Performing Arts of the Arab World opening event, The Art of the Oud: Remembering Munir Bashir and the Baghdad Conservatory of Music. Iraqi oud player Rahim AlHaj will be a featured panelist.
Sunday, October 12, 2 p.m.
Orchestra Hall (3711 Woodward Avenue, Detroit)
Sphinx National Tour, featuring the Sphinx chamber Orchestra
Chelsea Tipton II, conductor
The University Musical Society and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra co-present this concert on the Sphinx Chamber Orchestra's first-ever national tour, which culminates in a Carnegie Hall concert by the all-African American and Latino/a ensemble. Comprised of the top alumni of the national Sphinx Competition for young Black and Latino string players, the Sphinx Chamber Orchestra has performed masterpieces by Bach, Vivaldi and Mozart alongside more rarely presented works by composers of color, including Heitor Villa-Lobos, Wynton Marsalis, Michael Abels, and Astor Piazzolla. Members of the Sphinx Chamber Orchestra have completed and continue to pursue their studies at the nation's top music schools, including Juilliard, Curtis, Eastman, Peabody, Harvard, and the University of Michigan. Additionally, several members hold professional orchestral positions, have been named laureates of other prestigious international competitions, and have appeared as soloists with major orchestras, among them the New York Philharmonic, and Cleveland, Detroit, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Seattle, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestras.
Tickets: prices begin at $12
Program
Mozart - Divertimento in D Major, third movement, K. 131 (1772)
Piazzolla - Winter in Buenos Aires for Solo Violin and Orchestra (1970)
Villa-Lobos - Fugue
Marsalis - Hellbound Highball from At the Octoroon Balls (Harlem Quartet) (1995)
Vivaldi - Concerto No. 10 in b minor for Four Violins and Orchestra from L'Estro Armonico, Op. 3, RV 580 (1711)
Abels - "Delights and Dances" for String Quartet and Orchestra (2007)
For tickets to the Sphinx Chamber Orchestra, please contact the Detroit Symphony Orchestra box office at (313) 576-5111, or visit www.detroitsymphony.com.
Sunday, October 12, 7 p.m.
Rackham Auditorium (915 East Washington Street, Ann Arbor)
Tokyo String Quartet with Sabine Meyer, clarinet
Since its beginnings in 1969 as a young firebrand quartet out of Juilliard to its current stature as one of the world's supreme chamber ensembles, the Tokyo String Quartet has captivated audiences and critics alike with its finesse and elegance. The ensemble will be joined by one of today's most in-demand soloists, the acclaimed clarinetist Sabine Meyer. Since her departure from the Berlin Philharmonic in 1983, where she served as the venerated ensemble's solo clarinetist and first female member, Meyer has established herself as an eminent soloist and a committed chamber musician. They appear in Ann Arbor this season during a brief two-week US tour, a follow-up to their stunning recital in the 05/06 season. Please note the program change since this concert was announced last spring.
Program
Beethoven - Quartet in A Major, Op. 18, No. 5 (1798-1800)
Bartók - Quartet No. 5 (1934)
Brahms - Clarinet Quartet in b minor, Op. 115 (1891)
Tickets: $22-$46
More information about the Classical Kids Club is available at the end of this release.
Wednesday, October 15, 8 p.m.
Power Center (121 Fletcher Street, Ann Arbor)
The Rite of Spring - Compagnie Heddy Maalem
Heddy Maalem, artistic director
Heddy Maalem was born in Batna, Algeria, in the heart of the Aurès, to an Algerian father and a French mother. He had early and extensive training in boxing and also studied Aikido. His faith in the strengths of his body are evident in his choreography, which is marked by precision, sparse vocabulary, and clarity.
Maalem brings togheter 14 utterly distinctive dancers from Mali, Benin, Nigeria, and Senegal come together for Maalem's explosive interpretation of Le Sacre du printemps (The Rite of Spring). Stravinsky's story of a pagan spring ritual is transported to Africa, inspired by Maalem's time in Lagos, Nigeria, where the cacophony of a city of 12 million people is echoed by Stravinsky's music. Highly dynamic dance sequences and overwhelming group scenes are interlaced with atmospheric film projections and intense scenes of silence that provide provocative contrast to the music. Male and female dancers — each one urgent and unflinching — meld into one unit, pulsating with sex and energy. Performed without intermission.
Tickets: $16-$38
Friday, October 17, 8 p.m.
Hill Auditorium (825 North University Avenue, Ann Arbor)
African Spirit - Soweto Gospel Choir
David Mulovhedzi and Beverly Bryer, music directors
Formed to celebrate the unique and inspirational power of African Gospel music, the Soweto Gospel Choir draws on the best talent from the many churches in and around Soweto, South Africa. Under the direction of David Mulovhedzi, this choir is dedicated to sharing the joy of faith through music with audiences around the world. Their performances feature a mixture of tribal, traditional, and popular African gospel, with earthy rhythms, rich harmonies, and charismatic performances that uplift the soul and express South Africa's great hopes for the future. With both a cappella songs and a four-piece band and percussion section, the Soweto Gospel Choir performs in six of South Africa's 11 official languages with traditional songs sung in Zulu and Sotho, traditional American songs, and new works by contemporary African composers.
Tickets: $10-$40
Saturday, October 18, 8 p.m.
Hill Auditorium (825 North University Avenue, Ann Arbor)
Celebrating 50 Years of Bossa Nova - Milton Nascimento and the Jobim Trio
Daniel Jobim, piano; Paulo Jobim, guitar; Rodrigo Villa, bass; Paulo Braga, drums
Milton Nascimento's extraordinary, soaring voice and songwriting genius have made him one of the best-known Brazilian pop musicians. Born in Rio de Janeiro in 1942, Nascimento has returned again and again to the introspective, spiritual music of Minas Gerais, a state north of Rio where he moved when he was two. His extensive discography dates back more than 40 years, and his eponymous 1998 album won the Grammy for "World Music Recording of the Year." In his UMS debut, Nascimento performs alongside the Jobim Trio, featuring the son and grandson of the internationally celebrated songwriter Antonio Carlos Jobim ("The Girl from Ipanema"). Paulo Braga, the father of modern Brazilian drumming who performed and recorded with Antonio Carlos Jobim for more than 15 years, rounds out the trio. Together with bassist Ridrigo Villa they pay tribute to 50 years of Bossa Nova, which was invented by Jobim in the late 1950s and became an international craze in the 1960s after American jazz musicians began performing it more frequently.
Tickets: $10-$42
Sunday, October 19, 7 p.m.
Hill Auditorium (825 North University Avenue, Ann Arbor)
Anne-Sophie Mutter, violin with Camerata Salzburg
For three decades, Anne-Sophie Mutter has been one of the greatest violin virtuosos of our time, her music-making driven by both passion and simplicity. After embarking on a major Mozart project two years ago, she now turns her attention to J.S. Bach, performing all of the composer's violin concertos as soloist and leader of the brilliantly high-spirited Camerata Salzburg. Founded in 1952, Camerata Salzburg has a rich tradition of both musical excellence and infectious joy. Led by Roger Norrington from1997-2006 and now under the artistic direction of Leonidas Kavakos, the ensemble is made up of young, motivated musicians of 20 different nationalities who come together for 80 concerts each year in Salzburg and throughout Europe. The second solo part of the Bach Double Concerto will be performed by the young violinist Vilde Frang, a scholarship recipient from the Anne-Sophie Mutter Foundation, which offers support to promising young musicians.
Tickets: $10-$80
Program
J.S. Bach - Violin Concerto No. 1 in a minor, BWV 1041 (1717)
J.S. Bach - Concerto for Two Violins in d minor, BWV 1043 (1717)
J.S. Bach - Violin Concerto No. 2 in E Major, BWV 1042 (1717)
Tartini - Sonata in g minor for Violin and Continuo ("The Devil's Trill") (ca. 1749)
This is a Classical Kids Club concert. More information about the Classical Kids Club is available at the end of this release.
Sunday, October 19, 5 p.m.
Rackham Building Assembly Hall
Related Event:
PRELUDE DINNER - $50 per person; call 734-764-8489 for reservations.
Speaker: Stephen Shipps, Professor of Violin, U-M School of Music, Theatre & Dance
Friday, October 24, 8 p.m. - Sunday, October 26, 4 p.m.
Rackham Auditorium (915 East Washington Street, Ann Arbor)
Beethoven Sonata Project Concerts 5 & 6 - Andras Schiff, piano
Among the highlights of the 07/08 UMS season were the four concerts by pianist András Schiff as he launched his Beethoven Sonata Project in Ann Arbor, a cycle being repeated in its entirety only in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York. The 32 sonatas were written between 1795 and 1822 and provide an overview of Beethoven's stylistic development as he progressed through his early, middle, and late periods, marked in part by his increasing deafness. This second year of the cycle concentrates on his middle period, when he had partial hearing, and his late period, when he was profoundly deaf.
Tickets: $24-$48
Friday Program
Beethoven - Sonata No. 16 in G Major, Op. 31, No. 1 (1801-02)
Beethoven - Sonata No. 17 in d minor, Op. 31, No. 2 ("Tempest") (1802)
Beethoven - Sonata No. 18 in E-flat Major, Op. 31, No. 3 (1801-02)
Beethoven - Sonata No. 21 in C Major, Op. 53 ("Waldstein") (1803-04)
Sunday Program
Beethoven - Sonata No. 22 in F Major, Op. 54 (1804)
Beethoven - Sonata No. 23 in f minor, Op. 57 ("Appassionata") (1804-05)
Beethoven - Sonata No. 24 in F-sharp Major, Op. 78 (1809)
Beethoven - Sonata No. 25 in G Major, Op. 79 (1809)
Beethoven - Sonata No. 26 in E-flat Major, Op. 81a ("Les Adieux") (1809-10)
This is a Classical Kids Club concert. More information about the Classical Kids Club is available at the end of this release.
Friday, October 24, 5:30 p.m
Rackham Building Assembly Hall
Related Events:
PRELUDE DINNER - $50 per person; call 734-764-8489 for reservations.
Speaker: Steven Whiting, Associate Dean for Graduate Studies and Associate Professor of Musicology, U-M School of Music, Theatre, & Dance.
Sunday, October 5, 5 p.m. - Saturday, October 11, 8 p.m. - Sunday, October 12, 2 p.m.
Stamps Auditorium at the Walgreen Drama Center (1226 Murfin Avenue, Ann Arbor)
Beethove: The Sonata Obsession
A series of free concerts by students at the U-M School of Music, Theatre & Dance
A series of free student concerts featuring contextual commentary by U-M School of Music, Theatre & Dance Professor Steven Whiting, scheduled in conjunction with the Schiff concerts. The concerts will take place over a two-year period and will include all of the Beethoven sonatas, including solo recitals and chamber concerts. Complete details on the October concerts are available online at www.ums.org. In collaboration with the U-M School of Music, Theatre & Dance.
Monday, October 27, 8 p.m.
Stamps Auditorium at the Walgreen Drama Center (1226 Murfin Avenue, Ann Arbor)
Michigan Chamber Players
The Michigan Chamber Players, composed of faculty members of the U-M School of Music, Theatre & Dance, present a free program entitled A Season to Create: Creating Drama.
Admission is free, and no ticket is required.
Featured artists include: Rebecca Albers, viola; Gabriel Bolkosky, violin; Bill Campbell, trumpet; Alicia Doudna, violin; Diana Gannett, bass; Joe Gramley, percussion; Robert Hartwell, speaker; David Jackson, trombone; Sandra Jackson, clarinet; Andrew Jennings, violin; Jeffrey Lyman, bassoon; Andrew Parker, oboe; Daniel Pesca, piano; Mary Ann Ramos, cello; Stephen Shipps, violin; George Shirley, speaker; Stephen West, solo baritone; and Steven Whiting, narrator. Four of the performers (Rebecca Albers, Gabriel Bolkosky, Alicia Doudna, and Mary Ann Ramos) are members of the Phoenix Quartet, which is the School of Music, Theatre & Dance Quartet-in-Residence. Repertoire includes works of Ives, Poulenc, and Stravinsky.
Program
A Season to Create: Creating Drama
Ives - Hallowe'en for String Quartet, Piano, Bass Drum
Ives - Intermezzo for String Quartet from The Celestial Country
Poulenc - Le Bal Masqué
Stravinsky - The Soldier's Tale
CLASSICAL KIDS CLUB
Designed to nurture and create the next generation of musicians and music lovers, the Classical Kids Club allows students in grades 1-9 and their parents to purchase tickets to all classical music concerts at significantly discounted prices. Membership is free with no advanced registration required.
Classical Kids Club tickets are available beginning two weeks before the concert date. Tickets may be ordered in person or by phone and can be picked up at will-call the night of the performance. Students must be present when tickets are picked up.
Two weeks before any UMS classical music performance, parents can purchase up to two kids' (ages 5-14) tickets for $10 each with the purchase of an adult ticket for $20. Seating is subject to availability. UMS will reserve a limited number of Classical Kids Club tickets for each eligible performance — even those that sell out. Parents are encouraged to call the Ticket Office at 734-764-2538 with any questions the week or day of the performance.
Students over age 14 are welcome to purchase rush tickets through UMS's Teen Ticket Program to any UMS event, subject to availability.
