That's U-M School of Music alum Colin Stetson on *bass saxophone* joining Laurie on David Letterman….

I enjoyed this performance and look forward to their next appearance in Ann Arbor.

Thanks lovely! Missing you and everyone! 🙂 xx

Heya Mark… I suppose it was less of a formal programmatic agenda, and more inspiration for our programming back here at UMS. I was specifically interested in the somewhat controversial yet totally fascinating work of Bruce Mau. Check out his stuff here, in particular his incomplete manifesto: http://www.brucemaudesign.com/ He's done a good deal of designing community connections in Guatemala… see his Guateamala project as well. I also saw Fuerzabruta, again, which is a performance that always makes me think about how the arts can encourage creativity and build a sense of community. Or a sense of exhaustion! 🙂

Amazing! Can't wait to see them. They seem to blend so many different elements and yet still project a simple purity.

I went to the Detroit Symphony's Salute to America at Greenfield Village on Friday night. I had never been before and really enjoyed it!! The weather was perfect and the fireworks were great. Nice way to spend the holiday weekend.

On Saturday I saw Caravan Palace, presented by the Ann Arbor Summer Festival. Did anyone else see them? It was SUCH a great show…they were so much fun. Check out their latest music video here: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x9qqvl_caravan-p…

Good work Claire x Samata

I am so old that I heard many (most?), of these concerts. I ushered for all the years of my graduate studies and from my sophomore year on of my undergrad years. I have had season tickets most of the adult years that I lived in AA, roughly 55. I particularly enjoy violinists, Thought Stern a real treasure. and Mendelssohn has always been a favorite, Probably underappreciated Prokofiev.

Sounds like a fantastic experience, Claire. What were some of the program ideas to build creative capacity and community connections?

I am so jealous you are seeing the Punch Brothers again! I am really bummed to be missing their Ark show in July as I'll be out of town. I'm hoping to catch them in Grand Rapids. I can't wait for their new CD release next week! I'd love to hear how the show was!

Thanks, Adam! And glad to hear I've recruited another member of the Sankai Juku army…

Really excited for Breakin Curfew this year. As a UMS staff member I went many years ago to just see what it is like. I now return every year with my kids and try to bring another family as well. It's a great way to see local talent and to expose my kids (ages 8 and 11) to different types of music, dance, and spoken word. Looking forward to going to dinner downtown and then to enjoy the show.

Enjoyed the performance and the post-it-wall gathering after the performance. Great concept — while I did not post a comment, my daughter and I did read them as we enjoyed the coffee and snack. What a nice surprise to open my e-mail and click the link to read the responses. Next time, I'll leave a comment. 🙂

What a great comment! I think maybe in our next brochure we should say "UMS cures back pain!!" –Jim @ UMS

Thanks for writing Madina. Sorry you were disappointed. Make sure you give us some suggestions of professional choreographers whose work you would like to see. Or professional choreographers whose work you have seen recently that you would like to see at UMS.
Michael @ UMS

One of the things that I like most about Hubbard Street is getting a chance to see so many different works by different choreographers. I liked some pieces more than others, but I valued getting to see works by choreographers I was unfamiliar with. Watching the dancers perform such different choreography each night isn't something we often get to see…many times it will be the work of one choreographer, or the company's artistic director. I can't imagine how difficult it must be to learn and perform so many different styles at once. It really impressed me.
@JohnB…We didn't know until a couple of months ago what the repertoire would be, but that choice by the company is based on many things–touring schedules, active repertoire, dancer availability and health, etc. I am someone who likes to see as much varied work as possible in a weekend–but this weekend I discovered an upside to repeated repertoire. Getting to see a piece multiple times allowed me to notice more…and I actually liked the two pieces much better after seeing them twice! There was so much going on in 27'52"…there's no way I would have caught it all the first night! I felt the same way about the Bill T. Jones piece we had here in January. Did anything change for you after seeing 27'52" or Walking Mad a second time?

Liz Stover, UMS Programming Coordinator

Hubbard st dance Chcago.
From my point of view, the choreography is unprofessional for the "one of the most renowned dance institutions in the world", as it says in the brochure. They've got many interesting ideas and good techniques but overall, the perfomance is not impressive, defenitelly doesn't worth 50$.

Hi Kathy! Barbara Nissman has made two appearances at UMS, in 1971 and 1979. See the links below to view the concert programs from her performances!
http://ums.aadl.org/ums/programs_19710430e http://ums.aadl.org/ums/programs_19790201e

Liz Stover, UMS Programming Coordinator

HI! Jim from UMS here. It's definitely confusing! The name of the Choral Union Series goes WAAAAY back — as in 132 years! So here's a little history: UMS was created by a group of local university and townspeople who gathered together (calling themselves "The Choral Union") for the study of Handel's "Messiah." Their first performance of Handel's "Messiah" was in December of 1879, and this glorious oratorio has since been performed by the UMS Choral Union annually. As a large number of Choral Union members also belonged to the University, the University Musical Society was established in December 1880. UMS was comprised of the Choral Union and University Orchestra, and throughout the year presented a series of concerts featuring local and visiting artists and ensembles. The original series of concerts was known as "The Choral Union Series" (because it was created by the Choral Union), and the name of the series lives on today in honor of UMS's founding body.

Sorry, I find the interjection of large-format videos confusing. What is wrong with a nice list, clean and simple, and then a hyperlink to the video for those who want it? The whole page is so covered with banner headlines, the ordinary type (what little there is) gets lost. Banner HEADlines should be just for that — not so many and so diffused. Maybe the younger generation can cope — I find it just unreadable. — Mary Price

Can't seem to find much info re: monogram series, other than 10% disc. for at least 5 tickets. Where is the acquisition process explained??

Hi Everyone, I absolutely enjoyed the concert with Perez and band!!!!!!! All the music compositions were smokin' hot!!!! Hope to see them again.

Too bad UM crowds still haven't learned how to interact and jam along. But at least they appreciate & support the music. RE: sound, yes Mark, this is the same response my Father (/drummer/jazz loyalist) explained to me when Chick Corea came last April. So this time, I was able to get past that because I was too entrenched with the music. Nevertheless, fabulous concert!

I really enjoyed the concert last night–but I was a little surprised by Lang Lang considering all of the previous comments I have heard about his dramatic and showy stage presence. I hadn't gotten the chance to see him the other times we've brought him to Ann Arbor and was expecting a wild show–but he seemed unexpectedly tame to me. Those who have seen him perform before, was this usual or unusual for him?

I thought he played beautifully–especially that Chopin encore. And I thought the young orchestra was truly inspiring to a young musician like myself–they were so full of passion and energy!

Rachelle Lesko, UMS

Thank you, Liz!

Hi Rob!
It was Chopin's Etude, Op. 10, No 3. Really beautiful!
Liz Stover, UMS Programming Coordinator

Who knows the name of the piece Lang Lang played for an encore? Absolutely beautiful.

Is there a way to view the entire season as a simple list of events, without all the bells and whistles and genre-specific segregation?

what a disappointing season. where did the commitment to african music go? kodo drummers AGAIN? overall incredibly uninspiring. bad enough that so much of the world music in this year's series has fallen flat — this is enough to make me start looking for jobs elsewhere.

Hi! Check out this link via http://www.ums.org for a simple listing of next season's events, without video and photos.
http://www.ums.org/s_current_season/by_series.asp
Liz Stover, UMS Programming Coordinator

I was surprised to see positive comments on MTT/SFS Mahler 2. The symphony is great, but the performance was far from being great. As I see on youtube, it seems that MTT is not a bad pianist, but somehow it doesn't work out on podium.

Congratulations cmsmw! For leaving such great comments on http://www.umsLOBBY.org, you've been selected by UMS to receive a great SFS-themed prize! Please email your name and mailing address to ums-contest@umich.edu, and we'll send the prize to you. Thanks for participating in the Lobby! — Jim Leija, UMS PR Manager

Congratulations Music Lover! For leaving such great comments on http://www.umsLOBBY.org, you've been selected by UMS to receive a great SFS-themed prize! Please email your name and mailing address to ums-contest@umich.edu, and we'll send the prize to you. Thanks for participating in the Lobby! — Jim Leija, UMS PR Manager

Congratulations Margaret! For leaving such great comments on http://www.umsLOBBY.org, you've been selected by UMS to receive a great SFS-themed prize! Please email your name and mailing address to ums-contest@umich.edu, and we'll send the prize to you. Thanks for participating in the Lobby! — Jim Leija, UMS PR Manager

Thank you for asking about the clacking sound…I didn't get it at all. What was it ??? !!!

Grand existential tragedy (as opposed to a specific tragedy of chance) ALWAYS unleashes the most comic elements…it is the laughing that always carries us through, after all. But for the laughter, we would simply kill ourselves. We don't want to laugh…we NEED to laugh…often times as a way of protecting ourselves from very difficult and grim realities. There are a lot of Professors, Vanyas and Sonyas in Ann Arbor and it doesn't surprise me in the least our audience's need for the protective shield of an easy, laughing response. Laughing only after "appreciating the objective misery" of the character's life would simply be to painful. Great production, by the way.

Great review…everyone should read it. Thanks Nanarama…!!

What exciting offerings next year! I very much hope that we'll be given the choice of picking two of them for a make-your-own subscription series. (I would pick one of the Shakespeare plays and the Cripple of Inishmaan, myself) We subscribed for the first time last year because the two-performance package, with Uncle Vanya and Love's Labour's Lost, was exactly what we could commit to at the beginning of the academic year.

My husband and I totally enjoyed the play as did our friends. The play really communicated to me – I felt I really knew the characters and appreciated the minimalist scenery. I would encourage those who don't have tickets to take advantage of this opportunity to enjoy first rate theater.

I thought the video was so cool! I must say, it wasn't something that I expected to like…but I was immediately amazed by the discovery of a way that I have never related to music–visually. Of course, I read notes on a score, or witness artists perform, but I've never felt that I could actually SEE music until last night. Really interesting. What did others think?

I was talking to another UMS intern about the symbolism of the haystacks; I found them incredibly intriguing throughout the performance It was strange, because the haystacks hung above them the whole time, and then, when they lowered, it felt somehow expected and yet completely unexpected.

I feel that, in lieu of Sonya's conversation about finding salvation in the afterlife, it made me feel like they were finally going to reach that peace in the end; maybe, instead of the seeing it as the haystacks lowering, we could imagine the floor rising up to the level of the haystacks? Yet, at the same time, the haystacks symbolize all their work–perhaps it means they will need to keep working when they die, just as they continue writing even as the haystacks come to meet them?

Either way, I think it was effective, because it DEFINITELY got me thinking!

Anyone else have thoughts about the significance of the haystacks?

Good question, Rachel; I was wondering the same thing. It was strange, because the haystacks hung above them the whole time, and then, when they lowered, it felt somehow expected and yet completely unexpected.

I feel that, in lieu of Sonya's conversation about finding salvation in the afterlife, it made me feel like they were finally going to reach that peace in the end; maybe, instead of the seeing it as the haystacks lowering, we could imagine the floor rising up to the level of the haystacks? Yet, at the same time, the haystacks symbolize all their work–perhaps it means they will need to keep working when they die, just as they continue writing even as the haystacks come to meet them?

Either way, I think it was effective, because it DEFINITELY got me thinking!

I agree with Sara. I actually read the comment as a complement. One which simply placed the Maly's stage picture in the context of the visual arts of the relative period. It seems that DJK thought that JWR was trying to say that it was derivative — the ultimate put down — when, in fact, JWR was just trying to come up with a shared pointed of reference. I find this technique very helpful especially when trying to talk about the visual arts and design.

Every character in the play is vivid and can be found in the real life.
The theme of the play is where the real art lies:how to find meaning in the common life? Only suffering?
The play shows the hope of life is really important.

We just loved seeing UNCLE VANYA in Russian with a brilliant cast. We felt very privileged to have this opportunity.

As an admirer of Chekhov, plays as well as stories, I found this very disappointing. The very slow pacing lost all of his concision, but seemed intended to induce an empathetic depression in the audience. The character Elena as played had little in common with the character as written, and her lack of evident cool beauty made the behavior of Astrov and Vanya incredible. Many Russian speakers were in the audience, but the failure of the cast to make any effort to project their voices was very disappointing; Vanya and Astrov were occasional exceptions to this criticism. On the whole, I think Chekhov would have been very disappointed in this production.

I have to say that while I think there is some truth to what the above Guest says, it was the surprising, unconventional and sometimes SHOCKING choices that ended up holding my attention. His interpretation basically threw all the performance conventions out the window and rebuilt the piece from the bottom up. There wasn't a lick of sentimentality or self-indulgence. Just the music. It is without a doubt the first time I have actually understood some of what is actually going on in this piece of music because there was NOTHING to hide behind. The Tchaik Violin Concerto is a virtuoso work of the highest order. However, I do not think of Tetzlaff as a virtuoso; I think of him as a poet. The virtuoso being concerned primarily with display and the poet, concerned instead, with drawing you into his confidence of secrets. Ultimately, he has made me see the work anew…WOW. That is the highest praise of all.

Absolutely riveting. Wonderful acting and directing.

This was a fantastic performance. The acting was masterful and the minimal set was also very effective. I'm tempted to go again if I can find the time. My only complaint is that the audience started clapping too soon at the end! The ending would have been much stronger had the audience allowed a fade into silence as I'm sure the director intended. (Also, as usual, there were numerous audience members with nagging coughs. I know it's terrible to be sick, but if you have a cough, you need to stay home!).

Please bring back the Maly Drama Theater!

The entire production reminded me of the famous painting of "The Gleaners" by Jean-François Millet . The haystakes, the lighting, the costume designs and color choices really seemed to have been inspired by this painting.

As a director I found it interesting how the production was a mixture of realism and suggestive realism throughout. The rain on the window, very real, the limited use of 6 chairs, 1 table and random doorways was not pure realism. I was intrigued by these choices.

I brought 10 acting students who have read the play and have performed scenes from it as a class project. We were all excited by the acting and the quality of the actors. We also loved the humor that was displayed.

All in all a very enjoyable night of top-notch theatre.

Christian Tetzlaff's performance of the Tcaikowsky violin concerto was bloodless, without passion. Perhaps it takes a Russian violinist to do justice to this work?

An uninteresting rendition of Bach (there are so many much better performers of these); better on Britten.

This was absolutely one of the best concerts I've ever seen (right up there with the Schubert piano trios last month, the Berlin Phil, and the Guarneri Quartet's final tour). As a violinist, I tend to be a bit jaded with string performances, but there wasn't a single note I would have wanted differently. He had such a wonderful stage presence (excellent introductions!) and from the moment he started playing, he created a compelling atmosphere. After a long and exhausting day, it was just what I needed – not music to draw me out of my exhaustion, but music which accompanied me through the weariness. This is how music should be: an interaction between the notes on the page, the performer, and the audience. I didn't just hear Wispelwey; I heard Wispelwey having a conversation with Bach and an – I don't know what to call it, an affair? – with Britten.

I agree – let's bring him back!

And excellent comparison of Keats.

I definitely thought the same thing! And I tend to enjoy new music, but that piece just made me so uncomfortable. It was like MTT took his baton and kept poking my soul with it!

My mom joined me for this concert and in our debate about how to count it, she was feeling the four, but I am definitely with you on 123 123 123 12 12!

What a great night – I'm still on that post-performance high! I loved the umsLOBBY conversation afterward, but realized I forgot to ask, what did everyone think of the lowering of the haystacks at the end? My interpretation was it represented of the return of reality, both in a crushing devastating sort of way, with that ceiling almost collapsing in onto of them and yet also it felt natural, as it just seemed to fit around them. Anyone else see it differently? The same? And also, when it first started coming down I immediately thought, Whaaaat is going on? Do you think it was effective?

Agreed Mo! I am looking definitely forward to tonight!

This is going to be great! I encourage everyone to stop by and chit-chat with us.

I'm with you, Carlos. I definitely felt it as 123,123,123,12,12. The clapping they did certainly helped the audience get in the groove. I can't imagine it as 1234,1234, 12345.

Keep writing Music Lover…so insightful and well articulated !!

I also wrote a blog post for the SF Symphony's social network about the concert and the Orchestra's residency here, including two concerts, master classes by Michael Tilson Thomas and the musicians, a screening of the Symphony's Keeping Score Shostakovich documentary, and more:

http://community.sfsymphony.org/profiles/blogs/po…

Check out Susan Nisbett's fine review on AnnArbor.com of the Orchestra's concert, posted at 5 this morning (that's impressive!!):
http://www.annarbor.com/entertainment/san-francis…

Sayan Bhattcharya wrote an interesting article about the Cyro Baptista concert on the UMS student blog (http://umsstudents.blogspot.com), this was one of my favorite parts which I thought I would share!

"After the performance, I had a very lively and interesting discussion with a friend over coffee at Panera's. She said — and I think she is correct — that a concert like this can all too easily become kitschy, an exercise in mere showmanship and crowd-pleasing — and in pandering, with its profligate and over-stumulative excess — to us, the perpetually attention-deficient denizens of the cyberculture era, who are likely to lap up such pageantry and consume with goggle-eyed ecstasy, the globetrotting bricolage of world-music samples seemingly thrown together in a randomly jumbled, decontextualized, fashion. But I think that Cyro Baptista is well aware of this, and, with more than a hint of self-parody, he is putting on this performance in what is actually an ironic way. Very postmodern, in fact. He is, I think, while not denying the cacophony and kitschiness of modern existence, challenging its meaninglessness and actually humanizing it by performing it with fellow musicians with such joy and intensity."

My nine year old daughter danced to Wynton and company at the top of Hill Auditorium. Everyone in the family enjoyed the variety of peices and the opportunity to hear individuals perform.

Well said, Karla! I agree with you – it is a rare treat for us altos to get to sing a two-octave range in a choral work, as we do in this piece. And Mahler gave the basses a B-flat below the bass clef four different times in this piece! Wow! Singing this piece is quite intense, even when we are singing as quietly as possible. I hope the audience will be moved by this piece, as I think all of us in the Choral Union have been while preparing it!

Hi everyone! Liz from UMS here. While program changes can sometimes be disappointing, I thought last night was a nice opportunity to hear some duet repertoire that I hadn't ever had a chance to hear. I particularly liked the Kodaly violin/cello duo…it was really exciting for me to listen to. The concert made me long to pull out my violin…it's been sitting in my closet for a little too long now. I think after two weeks of the Takacs, San Francisco Symphony, Pieter Wispelwey, and Jennifer Koh…I'll have no excuse! What did you all think?

This family show was OFF THE HOOK….I loved it so much!! Please bring them right back!!

Various press quotes from across the US as the Swedes made their way from community to community…they appear to have made a very strong impression.

"Here in the land of 10,000 choirs, you can start a lively conversation by asking a clutch of singers whom they regard as the world's best choral ensemble. One name that frequently comes up is the Swedish Radio Choir. So it's no surprise that the seats of Ted Mann Concert Hall were filled with most of the stars of the local choral firmament. And what they heard was a concert that might make some rethink how much power can be packed into 32 voices. Yes, the group wove soft, supple layers of harmony when the works called for them, but they also infused their performance with intensity and a volume level that some groups of 100 can't reach. This remarkable group filled it with tension and drama, an inspiring end to a performance that likely left the appreciative audience feeling that this group deserves the adulation it's accrued."
St. Paul Pioneer Press – Feb. 26

"The members of the Swedish Radio Choir are the Olympians of choral singing, and if every choral singer got a chance to hear them, the world might hum with gorgeous music for an awfully long time. The balances among the 32 voices in the choir are unimaginably perfect; ditto the phrasing, the purity of their sound, and last, but hardly least, their unerring intonation." AnnArbor.com – Feb. 21

"It was an event of the first magnitude. Exquisitely done. The sheer quality of the singers' voices was continually startling. Dynamic control was faultless. The choir's sound was so full and rich it might have been heard in Kentucky, and there was a wealth of color and expressive detail. Bohlin was a vibrant leader, precise and keenly expressive." Cincinnati.com – Feb. 25

Love the honey bear!

They really are a great group!

video and photos and a LOT of neon green! oh, my! wonderful!

I grew up on Soyer's and the GSQ's recording of the Beethoven quartets. His passing is very sad, as he was such an integral part of the chamber music world.

I thought the Swedish Radio Choir was terrific. I especially enjoyed the Mass. It was very moving and the Latin enunciation for a group of 32 arranged in a dual chorus was remarkable. I applaud the conductor for making sure the choir correctly pronounced the short "e" in "Christe eleison"–since the Latin vocative is long, almost everyone mispronounces the Greek. I also really enjoyed the "Lobet" with the dual chorus. Very powerful voices for so few. One low point was the "Mouyayoum." More of a technical exercise than a musical piece, it was neither pleasant nor meaningful. In future concerts, I would recommend they drop that one.

Wow! My mother idolized Kiri Te Kanawa and I grew up hearing her name, I can only imagine hearing her LIVE! With Martin Katz! And at a venue as amazing as Hill!!! Wow!!!

I'm psyched about it, too! I can't wait to see what sorts of cool pieces of UMS history I'll be adding to the online database.

I mean really…what a stupendous choir !!! Are they human?

http://www.annarbor.com/entertainment/swedish-rad…

This concert was all about the good vibes both on and off the stage. The musicians and crew were all some of the nicest folks I've had the privilege of working with backstage at a UMS production.

Mary's got it right: SO is incredible at communicating new and exciting and unfamiliar content to a disparate set of ears and eyes and brains. They get it done! Their masterclass was an incredible opportunity for the UM percussion students and percussion guests to work with these great, hip musicians. 6 UM Percussion majors got to play and there was a lively Q and A. Well done SO and UMS!!!!!

"You walk into one of these performances and emerge a little smarter, a little more whole, and a little more in touch with what it means to be a human being." This sums it up so well.

It's incredible to think that in all my college years I've lived just a $5 student ticket and a 10-minute walk away from some of the best music I'll ever hear in my life. Thank you, UMS!

Kirov Orchestra in fall 2006 – wow! Shostakovich! And a percussionist who "was swinging from the rafters" (said one of my professors).

Takacs Quartet in January 2007 (Brahms a minor, Mozart d minor K. 421, and Beethoven Op. 132) – the concert that made me want to be a musician.

Guarneri Quartet's farewell tour in spring 2009 – late Beethoven quartets and the most nuanced ensemble I've ever heard.

Stile Antico in October 2009 – a brilliant programming idea to juxtapose Byrd and Tallis, and performed by a dynamic and excellent ensemble.

Berlin Phil in November 2009 – especially the 3rd movement of Brahms 3 (where each instrument or section played the theme SO beautifully).

Schubert Piano Trios in February 2010 – a concert in which all my critical faculties were turned off the moment they started playing, and I was drawn into an incredible musical and emotional journey.

Having heard this concert, I can say it was one of the top 3 (along with the Guarneri Quartet's farewell tour and the Berlin Phil) I've ever heard. The Eb major has to be one of the most heartfelt pieces ever written, and this performance by musicians who really understand and love the music was just incredible. It was one of those concerts where at the end, you had to take a deep breath and come back to earth.

I really liked how the concert started with all of the performers very separate, and built up to combine everything toward the end!

Thanks for inviting Bela Fleck, and having the African theme performances this year. Bassekou Kouyate alone was amazing, but the whole ensemble was amazing, revealing and inspiring.

The album doesn't do the concert justice. What amazing musicians! Thanks to Bela for bringing this outstanding music to us.

Those guys were rockstars. I enjoyed the musicians from Tanzania. Their music was the epitome of relaxation for me. The band and Kouyate were stunning. I'm pretty sure that people around me were tired or me shouting out and dancing, but I honestly didn't care. And Bela is too amazing to put into words.

Anania Ngoliga and John Kitime have THE most captivating voices, especially when they sing together. My winter heart feels so much warmer; I could listen to them play all day and night.

I want the Big Nagoni !!

definitely! i'm already wondering how the different acts are going to come together in this second half. i think it's going to be overwhelmingly amazing.

Was wondering the same – but the colors do match Bassekou's outfit!

Excited to be at Bela Fleck!

Ann Arbor.com review

http://www.annarbor.com/entertainment/schubert-pi…

I could not stop laughing at that "honey bear" part!

I, too, am stoked for this concert! The first time I ever played and performed chamber music was with a piano quintet. Though I play violin, i have a real soft spot for chamber music with piano…I can't get enough.

Sometimes, I wonder, if others were actually at the same concert I attended. I think, all too often, we have preconceived ideas of how a work should go, and, if what we hear doesn't match our expectations, then we tend to stop listening and write it off. I think, this largely speaks to the fact, that, unfortunately, many of us don't actively listen to what we're hearing. An extreme case in point is Sara's comment about knowing she wouldn't like a work as soon as it was announced, which says, "I choose to close my ears." By the way, the encore arrangement is Wilhelm Kempff's.

I was really HAPPY to have an alternative to the Superbowl. Thanks to UMS for saving me for all that football madness.

I wonder how Sara knew she wouldn't like something as soon as it was announced? How sad.

This is a hilarious video of the Bad Plus! More people need to see this!

That's great to hear. Of course, as my luck would have it, I woke up with the onset of a cold this morning, so I'm not sure I'll be able to make it after all. =(

Has Neil Peart ever been voted People Magazine's "Sexiest Man Alive?"

How cool! The Bad Plus is so amazing for doing this! THIS is what the Lobby is all about!

I know I'm biased because I created this post (and full disclosure: I work for UMS), but it really is the most hilarious video.

These shows definitely stood out as a personal highlight for me during my few years' tenure here at UMS. Unfamiliar with the overwhelming bulk of Reich's work, I'll admit that I expected it all to be a bit too cerebral for my unaccustomed ears. Suffice it to say that I was pleasantly surprised! I especially loved the Mallet Quartet. (Did anyone else notice the cool reflection of the vibes on the curvature of the balcony over the stage during this piece?)

The late night set was something special. For the lucky few who made it into the show–it was great joining in the music-making with you! I've never heard crickets sound so lovely! How often do performers actually solicit cricket chirping from the audience? Oh the irony!

The So Percussion fellows are real cool dudes–genuine, funny, and passionate about what they do. On Sunday, they led a fantastic masterclass for the tremendously talented students of the U-M percussion department. It was a privilege to watch.

Both sets were amazing – the band was definitely in fine form as usual! I'm very impressed by how much the band even now continues to expand and explore their own material, even older songs like Big Eater and Guilty. I love each composer's work but it's Reid's tunes that tend to draw me in the most easily – I was *thrilled* to hear Beryl Loves to Dance (one of my favorites) in the second set, too!! Great to see a good crowd for both shows, definitely the elder crowd at the first and the younger at the second, which is excellent – shows how this band really has a huge appeal across so many boundaries. Amazing band, incredible shows, great venue – thank you UMS! 🙂

June, the encore was "Have You Met Ms. Jones" by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart. I was at the 7 pm show as well and really enjoyed all the pieces by bassist Reid Anderson – was thrilled that they played "And Here We Test Our Powers of Observation" as that's my favorite piece of his.

My huge and personal thanks to Adrienne for hanging with UMS education for a week!

Fun concert, and a little bit off the beaten path. Their harmonies are really open, and easy to listen to. Even if you're not into jazz, this is a concert that would have been fun. I wish they had done more covers, I wanted some Nirvana.
Seemed like the audience was comprised of mostly students, which is a good thing. However, I think a lot of older UMS concertgoers would have enjoyed the show as well.

I completely agree with Liz's comment above. I wasn't sure what to expect and debated not going to the concert, but decided to give it a shot after all…and I was really pleasantly surprised! I was at the 9:30pm set and especially loved the songs by Reed, the bassist–as well as the two encores. I enjoyed myself so much that I even picked up some of their CD's. Great night!

I really enjoyed this concert. Wasn't really sure what to expect and didn't know if I would like it, but it was awesome. I really liked the piece "You Are". Good show, good energy…would definitely see them again!

Who doesn't love a day away from the desk! Any chance to explore Detroit is well worth it. Not to mention the fact that the wonderful folks at UACO are great company and even better community partners!

(…and, if I behaved myself, Claire would let us swing by Masri Sweets in Dearborn on the way home for some delicious baklava!)

What a great behind the scenes look at this production and an interesting, intimate picture of what inspires Bill T. Jones!

I too was somewhat underwhelmed by this performance. I didn't feel like there was much energy or momentum keeping the concert going.

I'm glad you're excited, Michelle!! I am too…we've wanted to do this for so long. We're looking into what it would mean to include audio and video clips–there are lots of issues regarding copyrights and permissions and all, but it's something we do hope to include as we figure out how to deal with these barriers. Stay tuned!

I absolutely love the idea of the archives being available in an online, digital format. I'm hoping that beyond still images, we can expand to include music and video clips. Great work!!

We loved seeing the Mummenschanz on The Muppet Show and we took our children to one of their performances at the Power Center. They were incredibly original and talented. I wish I could take my grandkids to see them.

Who knew there were so many Grammy winners on our schedule! Can't wait to see Bela Fleck!

I loved this concert! I enjoyed the contrast in pieces on the program, with Bluebeard's Castle being the highlight of the evening for me. Michelle DeYoung belting out that high C at the start of the 5th door was incredible! Check out these two reviews of the Chicago Symphony's concert:
AnnArbor.com
http://www.annarbor.com/entertainment/chicago-sym…
Michigan Daily
http://www.michigandaily.com/content/chicago-symp…

Great review, and good idea to have a place/way to link to items like this.

Door 5….The Kingdom…'nuff said

I enjoyed this concert…the CSO sounded fantastic. It was interesting to hear a whole program of repertoire that I've never heard live before. The Bartok was intense, but I was disappointed that from my seat in the mezzanine, I couldn't hear Michelle De Young very well (though I heard from people on the main floor that she was very loud down there!!!). Nonetheless, I think she made an incredible Judith…WOW!