Welcome to UMS Connect, a new digital series that invites audiences to dive deeper into the season’s performances in casual conversations with artists and creators.

In this Episode

Hear from Christopher Rountree, founder and artistic director of musical collective Wild Up, about the ensemble’s origins, its performance philosophy, and why they champion works by the late composer Julius Eastman.

Welcome to UMS Connect, a new digital series that invites audiences to dive deeper into the season’s performances in casual conversations with artists and creators.

In this Episode

Programming manager Mary Roeder speaks with HOME creator Geoff Sobelle, scenic designer Steven Dufala, and performer Jennifer Kidwell. They discuss their roots in Philadelphia’s Pig Iron Theatre, how the magic of HOME comes to life, and what audiences can expect.

Welcome to UMS Connect, a new digital series that invites audiences to dive deeper into the season’s performances in casual conversations with artists and creators.

In this Episode

UMS senior programming manager Mark Jacobson interviews saxophonist Joshua Redman about how the original MoodSwing quartet came together in the 1990s, and what inspired their new album and reunion tour.

Get tickets to A MoodSwing Reunion, Thursday, April 21, 2022 at Hill Auditorium.

Welcome to UMS Connect, a new digital series that invites audiences to dive deeper into the season’s performances in casual conversations with artists and creators.

In this Episode

In this episode of UMS Connect, programming manager Mary Roeder speaks to choreographer and theater maker Ali Chahrour. Ali shares his path to becoming a creator, his philosophy and approach, and previews ‘Layl’ (Night), coming to the Power Center on February 12, 2022.

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Full trailer:

Rehearsals:

Welcome to UMS Connect, a new digital series that invites audiences to dive deeper into the season’s performances in casual conversations with artists and creators.

In this Episode

UMS will present Requiem: Fire in the Air of the Earth on January 7 & 8, 2022. Choreographer and MacArthur Fellow Kyle Abraham and pioneering producer, composer, and electronic music pioneer Jlin have come together to create this new work through a reimagining of Mozart’s Requiem in d minor.

Cayenne Harris, UMS’s Vice President of Education & Community Engagement, interviews Kyle Abraham and Jlin about Requiem and its conception, their creative processes, and what audiences can expect.

Inspired by the elements, mythology, and astrology, Requiem: Fire in the Air of the Earth incorporates Abraham’s fluid choreography from classical ballet, hip-hop, modern dance, and street dance repertoire. Jlin takes Mozart’s classic Requiem and turns it into an electronic dance piece, building her sound on a style of house dance and street dance that originated in Chicago in the 1990s.

‘Requiem: Fire in the Air of the Earth’

More About the Artists

Kyle Abraham

Recently featured in O, The Oprah Magazine, Kinfolk, and Vogue Italia, 2018 Princess Grace Statue Award recipient and Lincoln Center Education Artist in Residence, Kyle Abraham is a 2013 MacArthur Fellow and 2016 Doris Duke recipient who began his dance training at the Civic Light Opera Academy and the Creative and Performing Arts High School in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He continued his dance studies in New York, receiving a BFA from SUNY Purchase and an MFA from NYU Tisch School of the Arts, an honorary Doctorate in Fine Arts from Washington Jefferson College, and is currently serving as a visiting professor in residence at UCLA. Mr. Abraham is the founding Artistic Director of A.I.M, an American contemporary dance company, created in honor of his history, experiences, and artistic interests.

Learn more at aimbykyleabraham.org

Jlin

In this NPR Morning Edition interview, Jlin shares her love of math, how global travels influenced her sound, and how the pandemic propelled a renewed love of her craft into her new EP album.

Explore Jlin’s critically acclaimed albums on Apple Music or Spotify, including Dark Energy (2015) and Black Origami (2017):

Welcome to UMS Connect, a new digital series that invites audiences to dive deeper into the season’s performances in casual conversations with artists and creators.

In our two-part debut episode of UMS Connect, we explore the upcoming program by the Takács Quartet and bandoneón virtuoso Julien Labro, which features two world premieres and UMS co-commissioned works by composers Clarice Assad and Bryce Dessner. Enjoy learning more about the quartet’s 35+ year history performing with UMS, and what makes this unique collaboration so meaningful as these artists join forces for the first time.

Part 1

Michael Kondziolka, UMS’s VP of Programming and Production, introduces Takács Quartet members Harumi Rhodes and Ed Dusinberre in a discussion about the process of learning new works with bandoneón virtuoso Julien Labro. Julien then joins Ed and Harumi to reflect on the new sonic world they discovered upon their first rehearsals coming out of the pandemic.

Part 2

Mark Jacobson, UMS’s senior programming manager, joins Julien Labro for an extended discussion of the works performed, and a demonstration of the bandoneón and the members of the accordion family.