Blog

Despite all the diverse interests of the singers in the Choral Union, there is one unifying quality that brings us all together, and makes us more than happy to donate our time: our love of singing and making music as an ensemble.

UMS announces season additions, including superstar Lebanese singer Assi El Helani and six-production series of NT LIVE high-definition broadcasts.

This week’s news includes Wynton Marsalis’s latest project, Wyclef Jean’s run for the Haitian presidency, and Mark Morris’s work with Parkinson’s patients.

I’ve seen two of Martin McDonagh’s plays when they were produced in New York in the mid-late 1990s, and they are simply brilliant pieces, in part because of the way they force you to re-examine your own morals. He sets up these outrageous scenes that are absolutely hilarious, then delivers the knock-out punch that makes you realize you’ve been laughing at something that is, in fact, incredibly tragic.

Here’s an impressive statistic.

Members of the UMS Advisory Committee donated over 7,500 volunteer hours to UMS during the 2009/2010 Season. That adds up to an equivalent of 3.5 full-time staff positions!

Many members of the UMS staff keep a watchful eye on local and national media for news about artists on our season, pressing arts issues, and more. We thought we’d pull together a list of interesting stories each week and share them with you. Welcome to UMS’s Arts Round-up, a weekly collection of arts news, including national and international arts issues, artist updates, local shout-outs, and a link or two just for fun.

What impresses me so much about Rafal is the incredibly musical maturity he possesses. In many ways, technical prowess is the easy part. But the ability to spin phrases with perfect balance and timing, to not take too many liberties while still drawing out poignancy, the achievement of an incredibly organic result…this takes true mastery. Artists can work for years and still not achieve this.

Today marks the 80th birthday of Paul Taylor, artistic director of the Paul Taylor Dance Company. Mr. Taylor has been dancing and choreographing for over 60 years, enjoying a career that has fundamentally shaped the development of modern dance in America. In honor of Mr. Taylor’s extensive contributions to both modern dance and dance education, and in celebration of such a landmark birthday, we’ve compiled a history of the previous appearances of the Paul Taylor Dance Company at UMS.

Many members of the UMS staff keep a watchful eye on local and national media for news about artists on our season, pressing arts issues, and more. We thought we’d pull together a list of interesting stories each week and share them with you. Welcome to UMS’s Arts Roud-up, a weekly collection of arts news, including national issues, artist updates, local shout-outs, and a link or two just for fun.