I’m grinning and happy, loving what we have experienced this evening. Loved the energy in the audience, too! I’m living proof that music transcends language and culture….by the end of the final encore I could swear I spoke Spanish fluently. VIVA!!!

I’ve been a musician for 45 years, and I’ve played and heard Firebird many times….as a concert band transcription. The Montreal Symphony tonight gave me my very first live orchestral experience of Stravinsky’s work. INCREDIBLE. Our seats were very close to the stage, and the location allowed me to also hear nuances in the music that I’d never before noticed in recordings; how the pulse and intention of the composition sweeps across the orchestra; how Hill Auditorium itself becomes part of the music as it augments what a listener experiences; how the orchestra breathes with Maestro Nagano. An unexpected, magnificent, and certainly uncommon and engaging experience. I am not the same person I was at 7:58 this evening. Thank you!

What an amazing, ASTONISHING, gasp-worthy production! I never expected to be completely transported by a story I know by heart and which I’ve performed myself. This is an INCREDIBLE experience. RUN, do not walk, to see this!

What a privilege to hear new music created. Their ease and facility with their instruments made every note special. I’ve followed this group since its inception, and was SO happy to be able to hear them in my own back yard. Thanks, UMS Programming staff, for bringing them to me.

I believe that UMS should start granting college credit for attendees to JLCO and Wynton concerts! ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS does teaching come hand in hand with stellar performance quality with every JLCO performance. Watching the members of the orchestra play with such joy and being able to share in the experience is such a gift. THANK you, UMS, for bringing these moments of joy to my back yard.

I have never experienced a more intense 90 minutes of PURE art. From beginning to end, the production expanded my universe exponentially, and made me look, feel, and know things about myself I’d never considered….all from the smallest of viewpoints. DO.NOT.MISS.THIS. You need to experience this.

The interaction between each and every member of the orchestra as each piece progressed was as interesting as hearing the orchestra swing! An amazing study in communicating. We felt that they granted us, as audience members, the privilege of being included in the performance rather than just sitting there!

Stunning. Gobsmacking. You MUST go to this. You NEED to see this.

Mahler 9 with MTT & SFSO = exhilaration and joy. Truly an incredible experience for the audience.

LOVED this performance! We’d seen Apollo’s Fire “back in the day” in Cleveland in the mid-90s, and are so happy that the ensemble continues to create passion in their audiences! Completely thrilled that Hill Auditorium’s fabulous space allowed so many to experience the Brandenburgs. I, though I’ve played it, have never before had the opportunity to hear Brandenburg #2 presented on period instruments. I was transported.

Audra McDonald and a Rhapsody in Maize and Blue….an incredible combination. Thank you UMS for bringing this stellar musical treasure to Ann Arbor. Her voice and her emotion brought the American songbook to life.

Many congratulations to Professor Mark Clague and the School of Music, Theatre, and Dance for the launch of the Gershwin Project.

And there are no words to describe how proud I am of the students of the University Symphony Orchestra, who just started school and were able to present such a beautiful musical experience with only a few days of rehearsal. An amazing evening!