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Performances

Messiah Soloist Master Classes
Free
Master Class

The U-M School of Music, Theatre & Dance Department of Voice, in conjunction with UMS, is pleased to present three Master Classes, each led by a soloist from this year’s UMS presentation of Handel’s Messiah.

Messiah Pre-Concert Presentation: Fortunate the Eyes that See and the Ears that Hear
Free
Pre-Performance Talk

Scott Hanoian, Music Director of the UMS Choral Union, in conjunction with the annual Handel’s Messiah performances, presents a pre-performance talk about the Saturday evening concert. He gives a conductor’s inside look at Handel’s treatment of the Charles Jensen’s libretto.

Handel’s Messiah
Performance

Free Event

Handel’s Messiah

Saturday, December 2 - Sunday, December 3

Hear Handel’s Messiah, Ann Arbor’s most beloved holiday tradition, with the UMS Choral Union and the Ann Arbor Symphony in Hill Auditorium.

UMS 101: All About the Uke
Public Workshop

Immerse yourself in the virtuosity of the ukulele, an instrument rich with tradition that originated in Hawai’i in the 1800s.

Holidays in Hawai’i
Family Friendly
Performance

Shimabukuro draws on a vibrant catalog of holiday classics for his return appearance in Hill Auditorium.

School Day Performance: Jake Shimabukuro
School Day Performance

Jake Shimabukuro returns to the UMS School Day Performance series to present a program of holiday fun sprinkled with a little Hawaiian tradition.

Michael Feinstein and Jean-Yves Thibaudet
Performance

Two of today’s most celebrated artists join forces in an innovative program for two pianos that celebrates the music of George Gershwin, Cole Porter, Richard Rodgers, and more.

The Godfather Live
Film Screening
Performance
Pre-Performance Talk

With all of the plot twists, emotional outbursts, and suspenseful scenes of a true grand opera, Francis Ford Coppola’s epic film The Godfather deserves a full sensory experience.

Huddle
Digital Event
Family Friendly
School Day Performance

Papa Penguin receives a special delivery from the sky — a baby chick penguin! The hapless pair navigates slippery slopes and perilous adventures in this funny and moving story about love, life, and learning.

Hélène Grimaud, piano
Performance

Hélène Grimaud returns to Hill Auditorium for her UMS recital debut, bringing her thoughtful and tenderly expressive sound to the stage.

Program

Ludwig van Beethoven Sonata No. 30 in E Major, Op. 109
Johannes Brahms Three Intermezzi, Op. 117
Johannes Brahms Fantasies, Op. 116
J.S. Bach Chaconne from BWV 1004 (arr. F. Busoni)

The Jazz Continuum
Performance

Free Event

LaTasha Barnes’
The Jazz Continuum

Friday, January 19 - Saturday, January 20

LaTasha Barnes presents The Jazz Continuum, a new production centering the prolific artistry of jazz music and dance as a cornerstone of Black American culture and community.

Mariachi Herencia de México feat. La Marisoul
Family Friendly
Performance

A new generation takes mariachi to whole new heights when Latin Grammy nominee Mariachi Herencia de México presents Herederos (the “heirs”).

School Day Performance: Mariachi Herencia de México
School Day Performance

Introduce your students to the traditions of mariachi performed by the next generation of young, talented musicians.

Emanuel Ax / Leonidas Kavakos / Yo-Yo Ma
Performance

This classical superstar trio returns to the Hill Auditorium stage with an all-Beethoven program.

Program

Ludwig van Beethoven Piano Trio in D Major, Op. 70, No. 1 (“Ghost”)
Ludwig van Beethoven Symphony No. 1 in C Major, Op. 21 (arr. Wosner)
Ludwig van Beethoven Piano Trio in E-flat Major, Op. 70, No. 2

Nkeiru Okoye’s When the Caged Bird Sings
Performance

When the Caged Bird Sings is a new commission by American composer Nkeiru Okoye, fusing elements of oratorio, theater, and opera in a multi-movement musical ceremony. Okoye describes the work as “a gathering” that invokes the ritual of the concert experience as a ritual of community.

UMS 101: Reshaping American Movement: The Graham Technique
Public Workshop

Explore the fundamentals of the revolutionary Graham technique developed by Martha Graham and taught worldwide, led by local dance artist Peter Sparling, who danced in Martha Graham’s company early in his career.

James Ehnes, violin
Performance

Two of the most sought-after recitalists on the international stage join forces, as Canadian violinist James Ehnes and his longtime recital partner, American pianist Andrew Armstrong, make their UMS live performance debuts together in a concert that will also include faculty and students from the U-M School of Music, Theatre & Dance.

Program

Leclair Violin Sonata, Op. 9, No. 3
Shostakovich Violin Sonata in G Major, Op. 134
Howard They Have Just Arrived At This New Level (for string quartet, flute, and clarinet)
Sarasate Spanish Dances, Op. 22
Wieniawski Polonaise Brillante, Op. 21

School Day Performance: Martha Graham Dance Company
School Day Performance

Bring your students to this riveting performance and experience not only the rich history of the ensemble but also the fresh innovation of artists expanding the landscape of dance.

Martha Graham Dance Company
Performance

The Martha Graham Company, recognized as a primal artistic force of the 20th century, gives a performance rooted in cultural history. These performances will include a new work choreographed by Jamar Roberts and set to music by Rhiannon Giddens, as well as Agnes DeMille’s 1942 classic Rodeo, with its iconic score by Aaron Copland reorchestrated for a bluegrass ensemble. Martha Graham’s final complete work, Maple Leaf Rag, rounds out the program.

Igor Levit, piano
Performance

In his much-anticipated return after his 2016 UMS debut, pianist Igor Levit performs a recital of transcriptions by Mahler, Hindemith, and Beethoven in Hill Auditorium.

Program

Gustav Mahler Adagio from Symphony No. 10 (arr. for piano by Ronald Stevenson)
Paul Hindemith Suite 1922
Ludwig van Beethoven Symphony No. 3 in E-flat Major, Op. 55 (“Eroica”) (arr. for piano by Franz Liszt)

Isidore String Quartet
Performance

The dynamic Isidore Quartet takes the listener through an immersive musical experience.

Program

Franz Joseph Haydn String Quartet in C Major, Op. 20, No. 2
Billy Childs String Quartet No. 2 (“Awakening”)
Ludwig van Beethoven String Quartet No. 15 in a minor, Op. 132

Marvin’s Binoculars
Digital Event
Family Friendly
School Day Performance

Marvin loves exploring the parks around his home looking for birds, bugs, and animals. On his ninth birthday he receives his very own pair of grown-up, pro binoculars! But then something terrible happens: he loses them, and to get them back, he must face the intimidating park warden.

Orchestre de Paris
Performance
Pre-Performance Talk

Free Event

Orchestre de Paris

Thursday, March 14

The Orchestre de Paris returns to Hill Auditorium for the first time since 2002, featuring the UMS debuts of two young superstar artists — music director Klaus Mäkelä and Van Cliburn gold medal-winning pianist Yunchan Lim — in a program of Debussy, Prokofiev, and Stravinsky.

Program

Claude Debussy Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun
Sergei Prokofiev Piano Concerto No. 2 in g minor, Op. 16
Igor Stravinsky The Firebird (complete version)

Weather Bird: Sullivan Fortner and Ambrose Akinmusire
Performance

Trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire and pianist Sullivan Fortner join forces for a concert at the intersection of jazz and Western European chamber music.

Batsheva Dance Company: MOMO
Performance

Free Event

Batsheva Dance Company
MOMO

Saturday, March 23 - Sunday, March 24

Ohad Naharin’s new creation for Batsheva’s 18 dancers, MOMO, premiered in Tel Aviv in December 2022. With a soundtrack largely drawn from the album Landfall by Laurie Anderson and the Kronos Quartet, a shared passion of deep sorrow and beauty unfolds on stage. If “FOMO” is the fear of missing out, MOMO is its opposite: the Magic of Missing Out.

UMS 101: Dynamic Ladies of Jazz: An Evening of History and Appreciation
Public Workshop

The role of women in jazz goes back nearly a century. Local jazz bassist Marion Hayden leads this exploration of women who have made their name in this uniquely American art form.

Samara Joy
Performance

Free Event

Samara Joy

Wednesday, March 27

At 23, Samara Joy is already setting the music world on fire, winning the 2023 Grammy for Best Jazz Vocal Album, as well as the Best New Artist nod — only the second time in Grammy history that award has been bestowed upon a jazz musician.

Canceled Event: Marcel, Rami, and Sary Khalife: Legacy
Performance

We regret that this performance has been canceled due to a hand injury Marcel Khalife sustained in a fall this summer. We are working to reschedule the date for the 24/25 season. Ticketholders will receive an email with options to refund or donate their tickets.

Takács Quartet
Performance

Free Event

Takács Quartet

Friday, April 12

The Takács Quartet, a perennial UMS favorite, returns with a program that nods to the natural world, including a new UMS co-commission by Nokuthula Endo Ngwenyama.

Program

Franz Joseph Haydn String Quartet in B-flat Major, Op. 76, No. 4 (“Sunrise”)
Nokuthula Ngwenyama flow (UMS co-commission)
Ludwig van Beethoven String Quartet No. 8 in e minor, Op. 59, No. 2

The Philadelphia Orchestra
Performance
Pre-Performance Talk

The Philadelphia Orchestra and music director Yannick Nézet-Séguin return to Hill Auditorium in two programs:

Sat Program

Sergei Rachmaninoff Symphony No. 2 in e minor, Op. 27
Florence Price Symphony No. 4 in d minor

Sun Program

Johannes Brahms Ein deutsches Requiem, Op. 45

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