UMS first presented Handel’s Messiah in December of 1879. Over several weeks, we released a series of Messiah Memories webisodes from everyone involved over the years. We couldn’t resist releasing these staff bloopers.

Previously:

Episode 1: Jerry Blackstone, long-time Messiah conductor, forgets his jacket on the day of the performance.

Episode 2: Father Timothy Dombrowski, choral union member for over forty years, remembers “The Bat out of Hill.”

Episode 3: Megan Sajewski, resident of Martha Cook dormitory, talks about co-chairing the annual Martha Cook Messiah Dinner.

Episode 4: Meg Bragle (mezzo-soprano) and Mary Wilson (soprano), Messiah soloists and good friends, talk about the fun of coming back to Ann Arbor to perform in Messiah.

UMS first presented Handel’s Messiah in December of 1879. In this third episode, Megan Sajewski, resident of Martha Cook dormitory, talks about co-chairing the annual Martha Cook Messiah Dinner.

Comment below with your own Messiah Memories!

Previously:

Episode 1: Jerry Blackstone, long-time Messiah conductor, forgets his jacket on the day of the performance.
Episode 2: Father Timothy Dombrowski and “The Bat out of Hill”

UMS first presented Handel’s Messiah in December of 1879. In this second webisode of our Messiah Memories series, Father Timothy Dombrowski, choral union member for over forty years, remembers “The Bat out of Hill.”

Comment below with your own Messiah Memories!

Previously: Episode 1: Jerry Blackstone, long-time Messiah conductor, forgets his jacket on the day of the performance.

In a long-awaited performance, Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan presents Lin Hwai-min’s newest work, Water Stains on the Wall, on October 21 & 22 at the Power Center.

Below, Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan in the words of Ann Arbor’s Taiwanese community.

And an interview with Artistic Director Lin Hwai-min upon his arrival in Ann Arbor:

And a little bit more about his inspirations:

Our Asia Series starts with Yuja Wang on October 9th.

This weekend, Center for Chinese Studies, inspired by the traditional Asian craft of kite flying, presented a one-day jubilee with a community competition, master kite fly-offs, lion dancing, and wind-borne activities, including a DIY kite workshop on September 25. Check out the fun:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Opxj6G5kTo8

Long time UMS subscriber Penny Schreiber puts together a group of friends every year to attend UMS performances together.

Who do you like to go to UMS shows with?

On January 14^th 2005 the renowned composer, turntablist, multimedia artist and writer Paul D. Miller (aka DJ Spooky), shook the Power Center with his multimedia performance work Rebirth of a Nation.

On Thursday, April 7th at 5:10pm in the Michigan Theater, DJ Spooky returns to Ann Arbor through the U-M School of Art & Design’s Penny W. Stamps Speaker Series. In his Stamps presentation, DJ Spooky explores the theme of sound in contemporary art, digital media, and composition, reconstructing the history of sound and recorded media through works by Brian Eno, Steve Reich, Moby, Chuck D, Pierre Boulez, Jonathan Lethem, Bruce Sterling, Manuel Delanda, and Naeem Mohaimen. Using the essays that are in Miller’s recent book, Sound Unbound, Miller creates a rip-mix-burn-lecture, using historic texts and rare audio recordings and films, to demonstrate the complex relationship between text and art in a multimedia context.

Hope to see you at the Michigan Theater on Thursday at 5:10pm!

Did you see Rebirth of a Nation? Here are some photos from his 2005 presentation at the South Bank IMAX wit the Optronica Festival…

Ten years ago today, UMS audiences began a great experiment — the Royal Shakespeare Company presenting four Shakespeare History plays (Henry VI, parts i, ii, and iii, and Richard III) over the course of 27 hours with lunch and dinner breaks built in. The productions, directed by now-RSC artistic director Michael Boyd, marked the beginning of a long relationship between the University of Michigan and Ann Arbor with the RSC. Over the past decade, this partnership has included three major residencies, as well as workshopping new plays on the U-M campus.  Each residency was accompanied by dozens of free educational events for students and the public-at-large.

Those who were present will no doubt fondly recall some of these images from the productions:

David Oleyowo as Henry VI

Fiona Bell as Joan of Arc, Henry VI, part i

Clive Wood as Duke of York, Henry VI, part iii

Aidan McArdle as Richard III with Fiona Bell as Queen Margaret

The three Henry VI plays were presented at 11 am, 2 pm, and 8 pm on a Saturday, with audiences returning on Sunday for the climactic production of Richard III. (There was also one mid-week cycle, which ran Tuesday, Wednesday [both matinee and evening], and Thursday.) Since that season, UMS’s theater programming has expanded significantly, with an annual commitment to presenting both live and high-definition broadcasts of international theater — including this season’s productions of Richard III and The Comedy of Errors by another British theater company, Propeller.  Like the RSC, Propeller presents contemporary interpretations of Shakespeare and works with an ensemble cast; unlike the RSC, Propeller uses an all-male cast to present the Bard’s works, as would have been the case in Shakespeare’s day.

Richard III opens at the Power Center on Wednesday, March 30, and The Comedy of Errors opens the following evening.  Tickets can be purchased at www.ums.org or by calling 734-764-2538.

During a two week period (that began on Friday) UMS hosts five “youth performances” — performances by mainstage artists held during the school day and attended by kids ranging from ages 5-18 from throughout southeastern Michigan.  In December, the Carolina Chocolate Drops gave a youth performance to a full house of kids the same day as their sold-out public performance, teaching songs and sounds, as well as performing music.  The atmosphere was electric.  At the public performance, the CCD talked about how committed they are to providing educational experiences for youngsters and how much they enjoyed performing for the kids earlier in the day.  In this video, some students from a local elementary school in Ann Arbor talk about what they enjoyed most about the performance.

Although they only last an hour, these youth performances take literally dozens of people and hundreds of person-hours to pull off.  For each performance, UMS creates a “teacher resource guide” that provides background information for teachers, as well as activities they can conduct with students in the classroom.  Dozens of Advisory Committee volunteers serve as ushers and provide logistical support for getting all of the students in and out of the venue in a timely fashion.  And, of course, backstage the production staff is working with the artists to ensure a top-notch performance.  UMS Youth Education Manager Omari Rush is at the center of it all, creating the teacher resource guides, communicating with teachers, ushers, production staff, and following up with those in attendance to ensure an optimal experience.

Recent performances include Brazilian dance, a Native American songwriter, a salsa band, and high school students performing classical music:

Grupo Corpo — Friday, January 21

Joanne Shenandoah — Monday, January 24

Baby Loves Salsa — two performances on Monday, January 31

Sphinx Competition — Friday, February 4

UMS Youth Performances are just one component of a well-rounded youth education program that also includes teacher “cultural literacy” workshops; culture-focused book clubs;  day-long intensive “immersions” that focus on a specific culture, community, or art form; and training with education experts provided as part of UMS’s relationship with the Kennedy Center Partners in Education program, which provides educators with arts-infused strategies to enhance student learning across various areas of the curriculum.  Click here for complete details on all youth education programs.

Last year UMS had the pleasure of presenting Fondly Do We Hope…Fervently Do We Pray, the 90 minute piece inspired by Abraham Lincoln, created by the Bill T. Jones & Arnie Zane Dance Company. The company was here in Ann Arbor for a week long residency.

Please join us in reviewing some of our very first UMS Lobby posts!

The Creative Process Behind “Fondly Do We Hope…”

Keepin’ up with the Joneses: BTJAZ Dance Co. in Residence

People are Talking: Bill T. Jones & Arnie Zane Dance Company