UMS 09/10 Series Brochure

ums 09|10 131st Season

University of Michigan | Ann Arbor

ums 09|10 September 13 Sun October 2 7 8 9-10 10

Fri Wed Thu Fri-Sat Sat

15 Thu 20-25 Tue-Sun

27 Tue 30 Fri

Itzhak Perlman violin

Choral Union, Violin

Bill Charlap Trio Punch Brothers with Chris Thile Alisa Weilerstein cello Suzanne Farrell Ballet Suzanne Farrell Ballet Family Performance Ravi and Anoushka Shankar Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre: Love’s Labour’s Lost Stile Antico Belcea Quartet

Jazz, Monogram Monogram Choral Union, Monogram Dance, Monogram Family Monogram

Theater, Monogram Divine Voices, Monogram Chamber Arts

November 1 Sun 6 Fri

7 Sat 8 Sun 14 Sat 17 Tue

20 Fri

29 Sun

Christine Brewer soprano Keith Terry and the Slammin’ All-Body Band Family Performance Gal Costa and Romero Lubambo St. Lawrence String Quartet Yasmin Levy Berlin Philharmonic Simon Rattle conductor Patti LuPone: Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda Vienna Boys Choir

Divine Voices, Family, Monogram

December 5-6 Sat-Sun 12 Sat

Handel’s Messiah Jean-Yves Thibaudet piano

Monogram Choral Union, Piano

Souad Massi Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company Fondly Do We Hope…Fervently Do We Pray Chicago Symphony Orchestra Pierre Boulez conductor Ladysmith Black Mambazo

Global/Africa, Monogram

Choral Union, Monogram Family Jazz, Monogram Chamber Arts, Momogram Monogram Special (on sale now to all subscribers!)

Monogram

January 8 Fri 22-23 Fri-Sat

27 Wed

31 Sun

Dance, Monogram Choral Union Global/Africa, Divine Voices, Monogram

Cover: Lang Lang by Philip Glaser. Photos: Itzhak Perlman by Akira Kinoshita, Suzanne Farrell Ballet by Carol Pratt, Gal Costa, Baaba Maal by Adrian Boot, Ravi Shankar by Steve Ladner.

131st

season

Series Index Pages Choral Union 6-9 Theater 10-11 Chamber Arts 12-13 Dance 14-15 Jazz 16-17 Global/Africa 18-19 Family 20-21 Michael’s Picks 22-23 Monogram 24-41 Piano 42 Violin 42 Divine Voices 42

4 Thu 6 Sat 10 Wed 11 Thu

14 Sun

17 Wed 21 Sun

The Bad Plus Sō Percussion Angela Hewitt piano Luciana Souza Trio with Romero Lubambo and Cyro Baptista Schubert Piano Trios with David Finckel, Wu Han, and Philip Setzer Béla Fleck: The Africa Project Swedish Radio Choir Ragnar Bohlin conductor

Jazz, Monogram Monogram Choral Union, Piano, Monogram Monogram Chamber Arts Global/Africa, Monogram Choral Union, Divine Voices, Monogram

March 13 Sat Cyro Baptista’s Beat the Donkey Family

Family Performances 15 Mon Takács Quartet Chamber Arts, Monogram 17 Wed Wynton Marsalis and Jazz, Monogram

Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra 19 Fri San Francisco Symphony Choral Union, Violin, Monogram

Michael Tilson Thomas conductor

Christian Tetzlaff violin 20 Sat San Francisco Symphony Choral Union

Michael Tilson Thomas conductor

UMS Choral Union 24 Wed Julia Fischer violin Chamber Arts, Violin, Monogram

J.S. Bach Solo Violin Works Concert 1 25 Thu Julia Fischer violin Chamber Arts, Violin

J.S. Bach Solo Violin Works Concert 2 25-28 Thu-Sun Anton Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya Theater, Monogram Maly Drama Theater

April 7 Wed

8 Thu 10 Sat 20 Tue 22-24 Thu-Sat 25 Sun

Schleswig-Holstein Festival Orchestra with Lang Lang piano Christoph Eschenbach conductor Danilo Perez & Friends: 21st-Century Dizzy Baaba Maal with NOMO Trio Mediæval Hubbard Street Dance Chicago The Rest is Noise in Performance: Alex Ross and Ethan Iverson piano

Choral Union, Piano, Monogram Jazz, Monogram Global/Africa, Monogram Divine Voices, Monogram Dance, Monogram Chamber Arts, Monogram

09/10 ums season | www.ums.org | 734-764-2538

February

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During the 2008 presidential campaign, we often heard President Obama’s mantra, “Change We Can Believe In.” At UMS, we sometimes think of ourselves as “Consistency You Can Count On.” While often associated with something stolid and dull, consistency doesn’t have to be a bad word. The dictionary defines it as “a steadfast adherence to the same principles or course.”

When those principles involve presenting the highest quality performing arts events for our community, staying true to them is not just what we hope for, but what we demand of ourselves.

In the 09/10 season, we’ve maintained and enhanced our commitment to quality. Where else will you find the Berlin Philharmonic and the Globe Theatre within a few weeks of each other — with a Brazilian superstar and a Ladino newcomer in between? The season that unfolds in these pages represents a consistent commitment to the very finest performing arts experiences in the world today.

Consistency You Can Count On.

When UMS was founded in 1879, Morse code was used to communicate with those in distant places. Today, we have skype and twitter and a host of other media platforms to keep us connected constantly and instantaneously with people around the globe. But nothing —truly nothing — connects like the immediate power of attending a live performing arts event.

Nothing connects us to our community like experiencing a concert in the same space with thousands of other people, sharing the moment with friends and strangers alike.

In turbulent times, we seek out the things we can count on.

And we want you to know you can always count on UMS to bring you the finest performing arts events that will provide a wide range of uncommon and engaging experiences. Whether you attend to find comfort and solace, to connect with our community, or to inspire creativity and provoke new ways of thinking, know that we’re here for you.

Special Concert Special UMS Concert Available Now Only to UMS Subscribers When you subscribe to any UMS series, you may purchase tickets to the Berlin Philharmonic, which will go on sale to the general public in August. Subscribers receive top priority for this event.

Berlin Philharmonic Simon Rattle conductor

Tue, Nov 17 8 pm hill Auditorium

Founded during UMS’s third season in 1882, the Berlin Philharmonic has long been considered one of the world’s finest orchestras. Hans von Bülow catapulted the orchestra into one of the leading orchestras in Germany in the late 19th century, and lengthy tenures by Arthur Nikisch, Wilhelm Furtwängler, Sergiu Celibidache, and Herbert von Karajan further cemented their stature. The ensemble’s most recent UMS appearance, in 2001 was under Claudio Abbado’s leadership; a year later, the musicians voted Sir Simon Rattle as their new music director after a 15-year collaboration. Born in Liverpool, Rattle has conducted many of the world’s great orchestras and served an 18year tenure as head of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra in England. In addition to his duties in Berlin, he regularly guest conducts the Vienna Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and other celebrated ensembles. Rattle makes his UMS debut with this appearance, which features Brahms’s final two symphonies as well as film music composed by Schoenberg. This exclusive tour will include only three U.S. cities — New York, Chicago, and Ann Arbor.

Subscribers may order tickets for this special concert now — see section 3 of the Order Form.

Program

Brahms Schoenberg Brahms

Symphony No. 3 in F Major, Op. 90 (1883) Begleitmusik zu einer Lichtspielszene, Op. 34 (1929-30) Symphony No. 4 in e minor, Op. 98 (1884-85)

Co-sponsored by Forest Health Services and Randall and Mary Pittman. hosted by Bank of Ann Arbor.

Choral 131st Annual Series

ITZHAK PERLMAN violin ROHAN DE SILVA piano

ALISA WEILERSTEIN cello INON BARNATON piano

Sun, Sep 13 4 pm

Thu, Oct 8 8 pm

Hill Auditorium

hill Auditorium

Undeniably the reigning virtuoso of the violin, Itzhak Perlman enjoys a superstar status rarely afforded a classical musician. Born in Israel, he was introduced to the American public as a young teenager through an appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1958. The rest, as they say, is history. Selected to perform at the inauguration of President Barack Obama and a recipient of both the National Medal of Arts and the Kennedy Center Honors, he returns for his first UMS recital since 2000.

“Itzhak Perlman wows the crowd…for warmth of tone and generosity of spirit he remains without peer.” (The Toronto Star) Sponsored by

Additional support provided by WRCJ 90.9 FM. Hosted by Jerry and gloria abrams, Ricky and Bernie Agranoff, herb and carol amster, Susan and richard Gutow, and prue and ami rosenthal.

The 26-year-old American cellist Alisa Weilerstein is “arguably Yo-Yo Ma’s heir as sovereign of the American cello,” says New York’s Justin Davidson. An intense and passionate player, she has been surrounded by music her entire life; her parents are both musicians who are active in chamber music circles, and she reportedly started begging for a cello at age four. A 2004 graduate of Columbia University with a degree in Russian history, she has already racked up an impressive catalog of achievements, including Lincoln Center’s 2008 Martin E. Segal prize for exceptional achievement, the 2006 Leonard Bernstein Award in Germany, and an Avery Fisher Career Grant in 2000, not to mention her personal role as a celebrity advocate for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. “Weilerstein plays classical music, but with the depth of soul and raw emotional energy of a diehard rocker,” says The Toronto Star.

Program

Beethoven Britten Stravinsky Rachmaninoff

Photos: Itzhak Perlman by Akira Kinoshita, Alisa Weilerstein by Christian Steiner, Jean-Yves Thibaudet by Kasskara.

Cello Sonata in g minor, Op. 5, No. 2 (1796) Cello Sonata in C Major, Op. 65 (1961) Suite Italienne (1932) Cello Sonata in g minor, Op. 19 (1901)

Media Sponsor

JEAN-YVES THIBAUDET piano Sat, Dec 12 8 pm Hill Auditorium

CHRISTINE BREWER soprano CRAIG RUTENBERG piano Sun, Nov 1 4 pm Hill Auditorium

The Grammy Award-winning American soprano Christine Brewer’s appearances in both opera and recital are marked with her own unique timbre, at once warm and brilliant, combined with a vibrant personality and emotional honesty reminiscent of the great sopranos of the past. Her range, golden tone, boundless power, and control make her a favorite of the stage, as well as a sought-after recording artist. A stunning recitalist, she drew raves from The Sunday Times (London) for her Edinburgh Festival recital: “The finest singing I heard last week came from the lustrous throat of the American soprano Christine Brewer, who pinned us all to our seats and threatened to demolish the walls of the Queen’s Hall with her ecstatic new Brünnhilde voice in her selection of Strauss, Wolf, Britten, and spirituals…she was simply devastating…” Brewer’s Ann Arbor recital debut program will include works of Richard Strauss, Marx, and Britten, among others.

co-sponsored by Natalie MatovinoviĆ and Donald Morelock.

Opera in Concert: Bartók’s Bluebeard’s Castle

CHICAGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

PIERRE BOULEZ conductor MICHELLE DeYOUNG mezzo-soprano FALK STRUCKMANN bass-baritone Wed, Jan 27 8 pm Hill Auditorium

UMS’s history with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra dates back to 1892, when the ensemble was in its second season, and UMS in its 14th. Now, some 107 years and more than 200 performances later, the relationship continues to grow. The CSO’s emeritus conductor, Pierre Boulez, returns to Ann Arbor for the first time since 1972. Boulez, a composer, conductor, tireless advocate for new music, and one of the most important cultural and intellectual figures of our time, was born in 1925. He was invited to the US by George Szell and subsequently held posts with The Cleveland Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic, where he succeeded Leonard Bernstein. The founder of one of the world’s finest contemporary music ensembles, Ensemble Intercontemporain, Boulez conducts a program from the early 20th century: Schoenberg’s stunningly beautiful early work, Verklärte Nacht, and a concert version of Bartók’s one-act opera, Bluebeard’s Castle, in which the lovely Judith opens the seven doors in her new husband’s castle, discovering something horrible and terrifying behind each.

Program

Schoenberg Bartók

Verklärte Nacht, Op. 4 (1917) Bluebeard’s Castle (1911)

Sponsored by The Linda and Maurice Binkow Philanthropic Fund and the Charles H. Gershenson Trust, and an anonymous Donor.

09/10 ums season | www.ums.org | 734-764-2538

Union

“Every note he fashions as a pearl…the joy, brilliance, and musicality of his performance could not be missed.”

(The New York Times) A master of color, nuance, and interpretation, pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet is recognized for his sophisticated performances and poetic soul. Born in Lyon, France, Thibaudet began piano studies at age five and entered the Paris Conservatory at age 12 to study with Aldo Ciccolini and Lucette Descaves, a friend and collaborator of Ravel. Considered one of the great pianists of our time, he has been praised by the press as “a musical treasure of this age.” His absolute artistry, virtuosity, and charisma will be on display in Hill Auditorium just a few days before his Carnegie Hall recital.

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ANGELA HEWITT piano Wed, Feb 10 8 pm

SWEDISH RADIO CHOIR RAGNAR BOHLIN conductor Sun, Feb 21 4 pm

hill Auditorium

“The Canadian pianist is one of the reliably mesmerizing musicians of the day. You sit entranced…it would have been more accurate to say I was floating just below the ceiling.” (The Sunday Times, London) Angela Hewitt is a phenomenal artist who has established herself at the highest level over the last few years, not least through her superb, award-winning recordings. Her 11-year project to record all the major keyboard works of Bach, completed in 2005, has won her a huge following and been described as “one of the record glories of our age.” (The Sunday Times) She has been hailed as “the pre-eminent Bach pianist of our time” (The Guardian) and “nothing less than the pianist who will define Bach performance on the piano for years to come” (Stereophile). Hewitt was named Gramophone’s “Artist of the Year” in 2006.

Program

J.S. Bach Italian Concerto, BWV 971 (1735) J.S. Bach Partita No. 1 in B-flat Major, BWV 825 (c. 1725-30) J.S. Bach Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue in d minor, BWV 903 (1720) Brahms Sonata No. 3 in f minor, Op. 5 (1853) Co-sponsored by Robert and marina Whitman and Clayton and Ann Wilhite.

Photos: Swedish Radio Choir, Christian Tetzlaff by Alexandra Vosding, Lang Lang by Detlaf Schneider.

Hill Auditorium

Comprised of 32 professional singers, the Swedish Radio Choir returns to Ann Arbor after a stunning Verdi Requiem with the Swedish Radio Orchestra in 2001. Recognized as one of the world’s leading a cappella choirs performing the full spectrum of choral repertoire, the group began some 80 years ago and has served under the leadership of famed choral conductors Eric Ericsson and Tõnu Kaljuste, among others. This tour is led by Ragnar Bohlin, a Stockholm native who also serves as choral director for the San Francisco Symphony.

Program

David Wikander Förvårskväll Lars Johan Werle Trees Anders Hillborg Mouyayuom (1983-85) Sven-David Sandström Lobet den Herrn J.S. Bach Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied, BWV 225 (1726-27) Mahler Ich bin der Welt abhanden

gekommen (1901-02) Ned Rorem In Time of Pestilence (1973) Frank Martin Mass for Double Chorus (1922-26) Additional support provided by WRCJ 90.9 FM.

SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY MICHAEL TILSON THOMAS conductor UMS CHORAL UNION Laura Claycomb soprano Katarina KarnÉus mezzo-soprano Sat, Mar 20 8 pm Hill Auditorium

Program

Mahler

SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY MICHAEL TILSON THOMAS conductor CHRISTIAN TETZLAFF violin Fri, Mar 19 8 pm

SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN FESTIVAL ORCHESTRA with Lang Lang piano CHRISTOPH ESCHENBACH conductor

Hill Auditorium

The San Francisco Symphony and music director Michael Tilson Thomas kick off their two-day educational and performance residency with a performance that features violinist Christian Tetzlaff as soloist. Tetzlaff, who performed a solo recital in 2008, is internationally recognized as one of the most important violinists of his generation. His musical integrity, technical assurance, and intelligent, compelling interpretations have set the standards to which violin performances are measured.

Program

Kissine New Work Commissioned by San Francisco Symphony (2009) Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 35 (1878) Ravel Valses nobles et sentimentales (1912) Liszt Symphonic Poem No. 2: Tasso — Lament and Triumph, S. 96 (1849) Sponsored by

Symphony No. 2 in c minor (“Resurrection”) (1888-94)

Wed, Apr 7 8 pm Hill Auditorium

Ever since its founding in 1987 by Leonard Bernstein, the International Orchestral Academy of the SchleswigHolstein Musik Festival has enjoyed a superb reputation worldwide. Comprised of the world’s finest musicians under the age of 27, who are hand-picked through a rigorous auditioning progress and who work with experienced teachers from the Berlin Philharmonic, Munich Philharmonic, and other notable conductors and musicians, the Schleswig-Holstein Festival Orchestra makes its North American debut with this tour, which features the charismatic 26-year-old pianist Lang Lang as soloist. Heralded as the “biggest, most exciting keyboard talent encountered in many years” by The Chicago Tribune, Lang Lang was seen by over 5 billion people in August 2008 when he performed in Beijing’s Opening Ceremony for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad.

Program

Co-sponsored by the Catherine S. Arcure and Herbert E. Sloan Endowment Fund, James and Nancy Stanley, and Jay and Mary Kate Zelenock.

Prokofiev Prokofiev Brahms

Symphony No. 1 in D Major, Op. 25 (“Classical”) (1917) Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Major, Op. 26 (1917-21) Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 73 (1877)

Additional support provided by WRCJ 90.9 FM. Funded in part by the National Endowment for the Arts as part of American Masterpieces: Three Centuries of Artistic Genius.

Co-sponsored by Dennis and Ellie Serras.

09/10 ums season | www.ums.org | 734-764-2538

The San Francisco Symphony gave its first concerts in 1911, the same year that Mahler died. Ever since, the ensemble has been known as a vibrant ensemble that offers a kaleidoscope of classics and new music.

Leonard Bernstein protégé Michael Tilson Thomas has a long relationship with the orchestra; his first appearance dates back to 1974, when the 29-year-old conductor led the ensemble in Mahler’s Symphony No. 9. Now regarded as an important interpreter of Mahler’s works, MTT conducts the orchestra in Mahler’s Symphony No. 2, featuring Ann Arbor’s own Grammy Award-winning UMS Choral Union.

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Main Floor $90 / $80 / $56 Balcony $80 / $70 Theater B: Weekend Evenings

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International

Theater Love’s Labour’s Lost

Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre Dominic Dromgoole artistic director Tue, Oct 20 8 pm Thu-Sat, Oct 22-24 8 pm Sun, Oct 25 2 pm Power Center

Self-denial is in fashion at the court of Navarre, where the young King and three of his courtiers solemnly forswear all pleasures in favor of serious study. But the Princess of France and her all-too-lovely entourage have other ideas, and it isn’t long before young love, with its glad eyes, hesitations, and embarrassments, has broken every self-imposed rule of the all-male ‘academe’. Shakespeare’s boisterous celebration of the claims of young love is a festive parade of every weapon in the youthful playwright’s comic arsenal — from excruciating cross-purposes to silly impersonations, drunkenness, bustups, and pratfalls. It’s also his most joyful banquet of language, groaning with puns, rhymes, bizarre syntax, grotesque coinages, and parody. Directed by Dominic Dromgoole, with designs by Jonathan Fensom and music by Claire van Kampen, the production employs Renaissance staging, costumes, and music. “With a delightful design and jaunty music, it has abundant charm…entirely enchanting.” (The Times, London) Individual performances sponsored by Gilbert Omenn and Martha Darling Jane and edward Schulak Hosted by David and Phyllis Herzig, Mainstreet Ventures, and Loretta Skewes and Dody Viola.

Funded in part by the Wallace Endowment Fund.

Additional support provided by Ann Arbor’s 107one.

Photos: Globe Theatre: Love’s Labour’s Lost by John Haynes, Maly Drama Theater: Uncle Vanya by Viktor Vassiliev.

Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya

MALY DRAMA THEATER OF ST. PETERSBURG Lev Dodin

artistic director

Thu-Sat, Mar 25-27 8 pm Sun, Mar 28 2 pm Power Center Performed in Russian with English surtitles

“Life is boring, stupid, and dirty. It drags you down,” says Vanya in Anton Chekhov’s tragicomic masterpiece of dashed dreams, thwarted love, and eternal longing. The legendary Maly Drama Theatre of St. Petersburg, which was created in 1944, has become one of the great theaters of the world under artistic director Lev Dodin, who has led the company since 1983 and also directs this definitive interpretation of Chekhov’s classic play. Written in 1895, Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya begins as Professor Serebryakov and his young wife, Elena, arrive at the family’s remote country estate that has been looked after by Sonya (the Professor’s daughter from his first marriage) and her Uncle Vanya, the Professor’s brother-in-law. Vanya has sacrificed his life managing the estate for the Professor, whom he once revered, but is now filled with regret for lost time, a pain made worse by the arousing presence of Elena.

“This is a beautiful production that has the stillness and luminosity of a great painting.” (The Guardian)

09/10 ums season | www.ums.org | 734-764-2538

Series

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$287 / $245 / $189 / $140

ChamberArts 47th Annual Series

BELCEA QUARTET

ST. LAWRENCE STRING QUARTET

Fri, Oct 30 8 pm

Sun, Nov 8 4 pm

rackham Auditorium

rackham Auditorium

One of the leading quartets of the new generation, the Belcea Quartet returns to UMS after its first appearance in 2006 with tenor Ian Bostridge. Established in 1994 at the Royal College of Music and recipient of the Gramophone Award for best debut recording in 2001, the quartet returns with a chamber music lover’s dream program of Haydn, Shostakovich, Schubert, and Britten.

Program

Haydn String Quartet in C Major, Op. 20, No. 2 (1772) Shostakovich String Quartet No. 14 in F-sharp Major,

Op. 142 (1973) Schubert Quartettsatz in c minor, D. 703 (1820) Britten String Quartet No. 3, Op. 94 (1975)

Alex Ross of The New Yorker writes, “The St. Lawrence are remarkable not simply for the quality of their music making, exalted as it is, but for the joy they take in the act of connection.” Performing together for 20 years, the St. Lawrence String Quartet has been involved in numerous inventive collaborations, including projects with Pilobolus and the Emerson String Quartet. The foursome, which regularly performs traditional quartet repertoire, is also fervently committed to performing and expanding the works of living composers. They recently gave the world premiere of a new quartet by American composer John Adams, which will be performed on this program. “These are fearless musicians whose spontaneity stretches past conventional interpretation and probes the music’s imaginative limits.” (The Washington Post) Program

Haydn Ravel Adams sponsored by

Photos: St. Lawrence String Quartet by Marco Borggreve, Julia Fischer by Kasskara.

String Quartet in F Major, Op. 77, No. 2 (1799) String Quartet in F Major (1902-03) String Quartet (2008)

Media Sponsor

Solo Violin Works of J.S. Bach — Two Concerts!

JULIA FISCHER violin Wed-Thu, Mar 24-25 8 pm rackham Auditorium

David Finckel cello Philip Setzer violin

Wu Han piano

Sun, Feb 14 4 pm rackham Auditorium

Program (Wed 3/24)

J.S. Bach J.S. Bach J.S. Bach

Sonata No. 1 in g minor, BWV 1001 (1720) Sonata No. 2 in a minor, BWV 1003 (1720) Sonata No. 3 in C Major, BWV 1005 (1720)

A true Valentine’s Day love-fest, when two members of the Emerson String Quartet, cellist David Finckel and violinist Philip Setzer, join forces with pianist Wu Han for an all-too-rare performance of Schubert’s piano trios.

Schubert, who died in 1828 at the untimely age of 31, wrote the two piano trios around the same time that Beethoven was working on his final series of quartets.

Program (Thu 3/25)

Program

ALEX ROSS & ETHAN IVERSON piano

Schubert Schubert

Piano Trio in B-flat Major, Op. 99, D. 898 (1828) Piano Trio in E-flat Major, Op. 100, D. 929 (1827)

sponsored by Gilbert Omenn and Martha Darling.

Takács QUARTET Mon, Mar 15 8 pm rackham Auditorium

One of the highlights of UMS’s Chamber Arts Series over the past decade has been the near-annual visit by the Takács Quartet, whose dazzling performances never cease to amaze. The ensemble returns with two Beethoven quartets bookending a brief new work that the Takács commissioned and premiered last year by the New Zealand composer John Psathas, who has worked closely with a variety of musicians ranging from percussionist Evelyn Glennie to tenor saxophone player Michael Brecker.

Program

Beethoven String Quartet in B-flat Major, Op. 18, No. 6 (1798-1800) Psathas A Cool Wind (2008) Beethoven String Quartet in F Major, Op. 59, No. 1 (1806)

J.S. Bach J.S. Bach J.S. Bach

Partita No. 3 in E Major, BWV 1006 (1720) Partita No. 1 in b minor, BWV 1002 (1720) Partita No. 2 in d minor, BWV 1004 (1720)

Additional support provided by WRCJ 90.9 FM.

The Rest is Noise in Performance

09/10 ums season | www.ums.org | 734-764-2538

Schubert Piano Trios

The 26-year-old German violinist Julia Fischer is recognized for her uncommon talent and exceptional performances in effusive reviews throughout the world.

Winning the Yehudi Menuhin International Violin Competition at age 11 catapulted her career as a soloist, and she now holds the distinction of being Germany’s youngest professor (at the Academy for Music and the Performing Arts in Frankfurt). She made her UMS debut in November 2007 with the St. Petersburg Philharmonic, then returned in April 2009 for her UMS recital debut. BBC Music Magazine describes her as a “soulful musician who doesn’t let an ounce of ego come between the music and the listener.” Her recording of Bach’s Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin earned the BBC Music Magazine’s “Best Newcomer” Award in 2006. The Chamber Arts Series includes both performances on consecutive nights.

Sun, Apr 25 4 pm rackham Auditorium

Re-creating a show they developed for a sold-out performance at the Paris Bar in New York, writer Alex Ross and pianist Ethan Iverson join forces to present a unique exploration of 20th-century music. Ross reads vivid portraits of the 20th-century’s iconic composers from his universally acclaimed and best-selling book The Rest is Noise: Listening to the Twentieth Century. After each selection, Iverson, the pianist in the postmodern jazz trio The Bad Plus, performs a piano interlude related to the reading. Throughout the performance, two of today’s most interesting and respected cultural forces present a dynamic tour of the cultural and musical world of the 20th century.

The performance will include piano works of Debussy, Schoenberg, Bartók, Jelly Roll Morton, Ives, Stravinsky, Gershwin, Webern, Charlie Parker, Shostakovich, Babbitt, and Ligeti.

FUNDED IN PART BY THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS AS PART OF AMERICAN MASTERPIECES: THREE CENTURIES OF ARTISTIC GENIUS. Additional support provided by WEMU 89.1 FM.

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Dance SUZANNE FARRELL BALLET Suzanne Farrell artistic director Fri-Sat, Oct 9-10 8 pm Power Center

One of George Balanchine’s most celebrated muses, Suzanne Farrell remains a legendary figure in the ballet world. She joined the New York City Ballet in 1961, and by the mid-1960s had become not only one of Balanchine’s most renowned ballerinas but also a symbol of the era. During her 28 years on the stage, she danced a repertory of more than 100 ballets (nearly a third of which were created expressly for her) and expanded the limits of ballerina technique to a degree not before seen. She founded the Suzanne Farrell Ballet, housed at the Kennedy Center, in 2000 as a way of preserving Balanchine’s legacy. Over the past decade, the Suzanne Farrell Ballet has become a highly lauded company, hailed

by The New York Times as “one of the most courageous projects in ballet today.”

FUNDED IN PART BY THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS AS PART OF AMERICAN MASTERPIECES: THREE CENTURIES OF ARTISTIC GENIUS.

Photos: Suzanne Farrell Ballet by Carol Pratt, Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company by Paul B. Goode.

Program (Fri 10/9)

Balanchine Apollo (1928) or Agon (1957) / Music by Stravinsky Balanchine Solos and Pas de Deux from Divertimento No. 15 (1956) / Mozart Béjart Scene d’Amour from Romeo and Juliet (1966) / Berlioz Balanchine Contrapuntal Blues Pas de deux from Clarinade (1964) / Gould Program (Sat 10/10): THE BALANCHINE COUPLE

Features nine Balanchine pas de deux presented with live onstage narration by artistic director Suzanne Farrell. The program is presented in loose chronology, following Balanchine’s early interest in Greek drama, the development of his abstract style, and his work establishing himself as an American choreographer Program includes: Apollo (1928) / Music by Stravinsky La Sonnambula (1946) / Rieti “The Unanswered Question” from Ivesiana (1954) / Ives La Valse (1951) / Ravel Agon (1957) / Stravinsky Meditation (1963) / Stravinsky “Pas de Mauresque” from Balanchine’s Don Quixote (1965) / Nabokov Diamonds (1967) / Tchaikovsky Chaconne (1976) / Gluck “Grand Pas de Deux” from Stars and Stripes (1958) / Sousa

Fondly Do We Hope…Fervently Do We Pray

BILL T. JONES/ARNIE ZANE DANCE COMPANY Bill T. Jones

artistic director

Fri-Sat Jan 22-23 8 pm Power Center

Recognized as a cultural trailblazer, Bill T. Jones has crafted his life, philosophy, and art-making by asking questions that resist definitive answers. He commemorates the Abraham Lincoln bicentennial with a production exploring the life and legacy of this complex figure. Commissioned

by Chicago’s Ravinia Festival, the dance-theater evening features the sophisticated movement of his diverse dancers, accompanied by an original score performed live for cello, guitar, piano, and voice. The films of Janet Wong fill a striking, modern stage design, while the conflicts that defined Lincoln’s time are embodied in the dance as the swirling forces of a maelstrom. Singers and an actor deliver a probing and uplifting libretto drawn from Shakespeare, the Old Testament, the poems of Whitman, and Lincoln’s own words. The phrase taken from Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address to title the work, Fondly Do We Hope...Fervently Do We Pray, captures the vision of the piece: an examination of what Lincoln and his time mean today, and our hopes for the future.

FUNDED IN PART BY THE National Dance Project of the New England Foundation for the Arts and the NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS AS PART OF AMERICAN MASTERPIECES: THREE CENTURIES OF ARTISTIC GENIUS. Additional support provided by Ann Arbor’s 107one and Michigan Chronicle.

HUBBARD STREET DANCE CHICAGO Jim Vincent

artistic director

Thu-Sat, Apr 22-24 8 pm Power Center

This innovative and exciting American dance company presents sophisticated work by both American and international choreographers with an energy that literally jumps off the stage and into the audience. The company’s unconventional and innovative repertory by choreographers such as Jírí Kylián, Nacho Duato, Lar Lubovitch, and William Forsythe breaks down preconceptions about dance by juxtaposing pieces based on a variety of dance traditions and genres. The result? An engaging, seductive, human, and often edgy performance that inspires audiences to think, but also to have fun — in short, a terrific introduction to dance. The company returns for three performances of mixed repertory, selected by outgoing artistic director Jim Vincent, who recently announced that he will become the new artistic director of Nederlands Dans Theatre.

Programs to be announced.

The Saturday performance is sponsored by

Additional support provided by Ann Arbor’s 107one.

FUNDED IN PART BY THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS AS PART OF AMERICAN MASTERPIECES: THREE CENTURIES OF ARTISTIC GENIUS.

09/10 ums season | www.ums.org | 734-764-2538

19th Annual Series

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Media Sponsors

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Main Floor $200 / $185 / $150 Mezzanine $175 / $135 / $84

Jaz

16th Annual Series

BILL CHARLAP TRIO Bill Charlap piano Peter Washington bass Kenny Washington drums

Fri, Oct 2 7 pm & 9:30 pm Lydia Mendelssohn Theatre

For more than a decade, pianist/bandleader Bill Charlap has been forging a solo career characterized by hardswinging brio, eloquence, and a rigor-meets-romance musical sensibility. He last appeared in Ann Arbor in 2007 with Marian McPartland and now leads his trio though unique interpretations of the Great American Songbook. Featuring the brilliant rhythm dream team of bassist Peter Washington and drummer Kenny Washington, the Grammy-nominated trio continues its exploration of American composers and Broadway show tunes. One of the Village Vanguard’s most popular performers and the son of Broadway composer Mark “Moose” Charlap (Peter Pan, Alice Through the Looking Glass), Bill Charlap is regarded as one of the premiere interpreters of the Great American Songbook. “When he sits down to play, the result is an embrace, an act of possession.” (Time) The 7 pm performance is sponsored by Michael Allemang and Janis Bobrin.

FUNDED IN PART BY THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS AS PART OF AMERICAN MASTERPIECES: THREE CENTURIES OF ARTISTIC GENIUS.

Photos: Danilo Perez, The Bad Plus by Mike Dvorak.

GAL COSTA and ROMERO LUBAMBO Sat, Nov 7 8 pm Hill Auditorium

The great Brazilian female vocalist Gal Costa makes her area debut as part of UMS’s ongoing exploration of the superstars of Brazilian music, which has brought Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil, and Milton Nascimento to Ann Arbor in recent years. Gal’s professional career was launched in 1964 when she performed alongside Veloso, Gil, Maria Bethânia, and Tom Zé on the concert Nós, por exemplo, which opened a new theater in Salvador, Bahia. An essential component of the Tropicália movement, Costa had two early nationwide hits, “Baby” and “Divino, Maravilhoso,” both of which appeared on her legendary eponymous solo debut album, now considered a Tropicalismo classic. For many years, Costa has been interested in interpreting the beautiful music of Antônio Carlos Jobim and American jazz standards. She is joined in this evening of duets by Rio de Janeiro native Romero Lubambo.

Additional support provided by Ann Arbor’s 107one.

FUNDED IN PART BY THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS AS PART OF AMERICAN MASTERPIECES: THREE CENTURIES OF ARTISTIC GENIUS.

JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER ORCHESTRA and WYNTON MARSALIS Wed, Mar 17 8 pm Hill Auditorium

THE BAD PLUS

REID ANDERSON bass ETHAN IVERSON piano DAVID KING drums Thu, Feb 4 7 pm & 9:30 pm Lydia Mendelssohn Theatre

Forget categories and catch phrases — the sound of The Bad Plus is distinctive, eclectic, and formidable.

The group dug its roots in the wood-paneled, sumppumped basements of the Midwest. Drummer David King and bassist Reid Anderson hooked up as teens in their native Minnesota, bouncing between junior high rock bands and long nights listening to John Coltrane and The Police. Soon after, Anderson met Wisconsinreared pianist Ethan Iverson and formed an alliance — sort of. The threesome played for the first time in 1990, then went their separate ways for the better part of the decade. Thrilled by the instant chemistry from a one-off club date in Minneapolis in 2000, the group decided to make a recording, which was hailed by The New York Times as one of 2001’s best releases of the year. The Bad Plus has exploded all notions of what a jazz piano trio should sound like, proudly recognizing and respecting the rules while ripping them to shreds. “It’s about as badass as highbrow gets,” says Rolling Stone.

Additional support provided by Ann Arbor’s 107one.

co-sponsored by Rachel Bendit and Mark Bernstein.

Additional support provided by Ann Arbor’s 107one and Michigan Chronicle.

Things to Come: 21st Century Dizzy

DANILO PEREZ & FRIENDS

DANILO PEREZ piano DAVID SANCHEZ tenor saxophone RUDRESH MAHANTHAPPA alto saxophone AMIR ElSAFFAR trumpet and voice JAMEY HADDAD percussion BEN STREET bass ADAM CRUZ drums Thu, Apr 8 8 pm Hill Auditorium

Panamanian-American pianist Danilo Perez pulls together a global, all-star band that celebrates the music and bountiful inspiration of his mentor, Dizzy Gillespie.

As the youngest member of the final edition of Dizzy Gillespie’s United Nations Orchestra, Perez learned firsthand how Gillespie embraced musical and personal collaborations throughout the world. His band performs new arrangements of classic Gillespie tunes in addition to original group compositions. Dizzy’s bands were a constant melting pot of styles, genres, and pan-global collaborations. Danilo’s hand-picked band, with roots in Afro-Cuban, bebop, Indian, African, and Middle Eastern music, will more than honor Dizzy’s legendary vision.

Additional support provided by Michigan Chronicle.

09/10 ums season | www.ums.org | 734-764-2538

zz

A St. Patrick’s Day treat for fans of this incredible ensemble! The 15-member Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra is comprised of the finest jazz players on the scene, and their vast repertory — ranging from rare, historic compositions to newly commissioned works to new takes on old classics — makes them a veritable repository of jazz history. Led by the incomparable Wynton Marsalis, who conceived and built this ensemble into the irresistible force it is today, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra returns for another stunning concert.

Despite one of the most aggressive touring schedules in the business, they make each concert seem fresh, drawing in audiences who are continually energized and amazed by the group’s depth of outrageous talent. “[The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra] is not just a band on tour, but a religious congregation, spreading the word of jazz.” (Down Beat)

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Main Floor $156 / $136 / $100 Mezzanine $144 / $112

Africa

SOUAD MASSI

LADYSMITH BLACK MAMBAZO

Fri, Jan 8 8 pm

Sun, Jan 31 4 pm

Michigan Theater

Hill Auditorium

The Algerian singer/songwriter/guitarist Souad Massi grew up in an impoverished Muslim household in a suburb of Algiers. The country’s civil war made guitar lessons for the young woman difficult, but she used the curfew to her advantage at home, creating narratives through song that liberated her imagination. She began her career fronting the Algerian political rock band Atakor, who were influenced by Led Zeppelin and U2, but left her country and moved to Paris following a series of death threats in response to the band’s political lyrics and rabble-rousing popularity. Her music, which prominently features the acoustic guitar, now displays Western musical influences such as rock, country, and the Portugese fado, but also incorporates oriental musical influences and instruments such as the oud.

She performs in many languages, including Algerian Arabic, French, English, and Berber dialects, even within the same song. Her three solo albums delve into the personal rather than the political, expanding on themes of love and loss.

Since Paul Simon’s Graceland album catapulted Ladysmith Black Mambazo to worldwide fame in 1986, the vocal group has remained true to the idea of opening doors to South African culture through their music, dance, and singing. For more than 30 years, the eightmember group has married the intricate rhythms and harmonies of their native South African musical traditions to the sounds and sentiments of Christian gospel music.

The result is a musical and spiritual alchemy that has touched a worldwide audience representing every corner of the religious, cultural, and ethnic landscape.

Assembled in the early 1960s in South Africa by Joseph Shabalala, a young farmboy turned factory worker, the group borrows heavily from a traditional music called isicathamiya (is-cot-a-ME-ya), which emerged from the mines of South Africa, where black workers toiled far from their homes and their families. “It isn’t merely the grace and power of their dancing or the beauty of their singing that rivets the attention, but the sheer joy and love that emanates from their being.” (Paul Simon) A UMS debut! sponsored by

Additional support provided by WEMU 89.1 FM, Ann Arbor’s 107one, and Between the Lines.

Photos: Souad Massi by Carol Bellaîche, Béla Fleck, Ladysmith Black Mambazo by Robert Hoffman, Baaba Maal by Adrian Boot.

Media SponsorS

BÉLA FLECK: THE AFRICA PROJECT BÉla Fleck banjo collaborating with amazing african musicians Wed, Feb 17 8 pm Hill Auditorium

In his most ambitious project to date, renowned musician Béla Fleck explores the origins of the banjo. During his travels to Africa, Fleck discovered that while the banjo is traditionally considered an American instrument that conjures feelings of the American South, its origins lie far from her shores. Throw Down Your Heart, an award-winning film, documented Fleck’s travels and explorations of music in Uganda, Tanzania, The Gambia, and Mali. With the Africa Project, Fleck brings to the stage his collaborations with some of Africa’s most talented musicians.

Co-sponsored by Dennis and Ellie Serras.

Additional support provided by WEMU 89.1 FM and Ann Arbor’s 107one.

BAABA MAAL with NOMO Sat, Apr 10 8 pm Michigan Theater

“Baaba Maal opened his mouth, and beautiful pearls and lilies and songbirds came flying out. It was one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen.” (Michael Stipe, R.E.M.) One of the true stars to rise from the African continent, Senegalese master musician Baaba Maal has been making music for the world to enjoy for nearly two decades. With releases ranging from contemporary Afropop to expressions of traditional West African music, he has received resounding critical acclaim worldwide. Renowned for his fiery performances by fusing funk, rock, and blues with the beats and melodies of West Africa, Maal has continually reinforced his role as a seminal artist in the world music arena. With nearly constant touring, he has honed and enriched an already phenomenal stage show into an explosion of sound, singing, and dancing. Aside from being a remarkable musician, he is socially conscious and represents the United Nations Development Program as a spokesman on the issue of HIV/AIDS in Africa.

Opening for Baaba Maal is NOMO, an Afropop, Fela Kuti-inspired nonet formed in Ann Arbor by graduates of the U-M School of Music, Theatre & Dance.

Additional support provided by WEMU 89.1 FM and Ann Arbor’s 107one.

09/10 ums season | www.ums.org | 734-764-2538

UMS Global Series

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The 09-10 Family Series is sponsored by

Subscribe Today! www.ums.org / 734-764-2538

Adults $62 Children $31

Family

Fun Today…Memories Forever

There’s a whole giant world beyond your backyard, and you want your children to discover it. It’s a world rich in possibilities for adventure and discovery — a world that UMS puts within reach.

Many events, shared with your loved ones, become treasured memories that last a lifetime. Your children will thank you now for the immediate experience — and many years into the future for creating and nurturing a love of the performing arts.

Special Family Performance

SUZANNE FARRELL BALLET Suzanne Farrell artistic director

Sat, Oct 10 1 pm Power Center So you think you can dance? The great ballerina Suzanne Farrell, who danced for 28 years with George Balanchine’s New York City Ballet, danced in nearly 100 ballets over her extraordinarily long career, and she did things with ballet that were beyond others dancers’ wildest dreams. This special family performance allows young ballet aficionados to experience many of Balanchine’s famous ballet duets, presented with live onstage narration by Farrell. The program will showcase the full range of Balanchine’s choreography, with music by composers ranging from Tchaikovsky and Ravel to John Philip Sousa.

Photos: Keith Terry by Rick Der, Vienna Boys Choir by Lukas Beck, Cyro Baptista.

Special Family Performance

KEITH TERRY AND the SLAMMIN’ ALL-BODY BAND Fri, Nov 6 7 pm Power Center “Wow. Fasten your seatbelts, boys and girls because San Francisco-based SLAMMIN’ (an “all-body band”) is about to take you for a ride with their unique blend of rhythm dance, beatbox, and tight, often improvised harmonies. . .

Their rhythms are amazingly intricate and unlike anything I’ve ever heard in contemporary a cappella.” (Contemporary A Cappella Society) A percussionist/rhythm dancer whose work encompasses music, dance, theater, and performance art, Keith Terry brings together musical colleagues from many different cultural traditions to create the Slammin’ All-Body Band. Using only their bodies, Slammin’ explores, blends, and bends traditional and contemporary rhythmic, percussive, and movement possibilities in “a crossing of cultures, a blurring of boundaries at its most sensitive, most humanistic, and most magical.” (National Public Radio) This special performance for families will leave kids creatively exploring new sounds that they can make with the oldest and most accessible instrument in the world — the human body.

Presented in collaboration with Arts on Earth and the University of Michigan’s Center for Educational Outreach.

Christmas in Vienna

VIENNA BOYS CHOIR Sun, Nov 29 4 pm Hill Auditorium The Vienna Boys Choir dates back more than 500 years to 1498, when Emperor Maximilian I moved his court to Vienna and determined that there should be six singing boys among his musicians. The ensemble performed its first UMS concert more than 75 years ago, in 1933, and last appeared in 1992. This delightful ensemble never ceases to amaze with its distinctive charm and crowd-pleasing programs. Their Thanksgiving weekend performance, entitled “Christmas in Vienna” is the perfect way to launch the holiday season. Families will be seated in a special section in the mezzanine of Hill Auditorium.

Media Sponsor WRCJ 90.9 FM.

Special Family Performance

CYRO BAPTISTA‘s BEAT THE DONKEY

Sat, Mar 13 1 pm & 4 pm Power Center There is an undeniable aura of fun and humor whenever Cyro Baptista takes the stage, and this is particularly true with Beat The Donkey, his eight-person band that takes rhythms beyond their natural frontiers to create an innovative brand of music. It is a wild, unstoppable, and torrid world beat percussive ensemble that blends and beats a bewitching stage stew of untamed percussion, tap dance, martial arts, samba, jazz, rock, and funk. They accomplish this by mixing instrumentation from all over the globe and unusual percussion inventions of Cyro’s own creation. The musicians hail from around the world, wear wild, elaborate costumes, and frequently leave their instruments to break into spontaneous dance, making the group fascinating to watch as well as listen to. It is mysterious, spellbinding, infectious, irresistible dance music.

Cyro himself roams the stage, conducting his troupe with fiendish glee, keeping the audience’s attention captive for the whole show. As someone who has both composed music for Nickelodeon and become the “go-to” person for Yo-Yo Ma, Cassandra Wilson, Kathleen Battle, John Zorn, Herbie Hancock, The Chieftains, and a host of other stars looking to add a Brazilian beat and an otherworldly mix to their projects, Cyro Baptista delivers performances that people talk about for years to come.

Media Sponsor WEMU 89.1 FM.

09/10 ums season | www.ums.org | 734-764-2538

Series

20 | 21

Subscribe Today! www.ums.org / 734-764-2538

Main Floor $290 / $260 / $230 Mezzanine $248 / $198 / $90

Michael’s Picks Michael Kondziolka is UMS’s Director of Programming.

We asked him to select events in the 09/10 season that he’s particularly excited to see — and to tell us why, in his own words.

Opera in Concert: Bartók’s Bluebeard’s Castle

CHICAGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

PIERRE BOULEZ conductor MICHELLE DeYOUNG mezzo-soprano FALK STRUCKMANN bass-baritone Wed, Jan 27 8 pm

GAL COSTA and ROMERO LUBAMBO Sat, Nov 7 8 pm Hill Auditorium

When Gal Costa was 10, she befriended sisters Sandra and Andréia Gadelha, the future wives of singersongwriters Gilberto Gil and Caetano Veloso. From that moment on, the history of Brazilian music was changed. Gal, Gilberto, Caetano, and Caetano’s sister, Maria Bethânia, formed the musical nucleus of a popular culture wave called tropicalismo — a Brazilian art movement that arose in the late 1960s encompassing theatre and poetry, but most closely associated with music. In other words, like many great things Brazilian, it was a family affair! To have Gal in Hill for the first time, along with Romero Lubambo, is a real honor and a fitting follow-up to Gilberto and Caetano’s legendary Hill concerts. We are talking about much more than the “Girl from Ipanema” here.

Photos: Swedish Radio Choir, Maly Drama Theater: Uncle Vanya by Viktor Vassiliev.

Hill Auditorium

As student wind players growing up in the Midwest, we ALL looked to the Chicago Symphony as the ultimate gold standard of excellence. I had all of their recordings and devoured them. To this day the CSO holds a special place in my heart, as it does in the hearts of countless UMS concertgoers. (They have, after all, performed for UMS 201 times over the past 107 years!) Conductor/ composer Pierre Boulez, himself a veritable cultural icon of the 20th century, brings an extraordinary program including a concert performance of Bartók’s landmark opera, Bluebeard’s Castle. Ah, to hear THIS orchestra perform THIS music under HIS baton. Beware the fifth door!

Program

Schoenberg Bartók

Verklärte Nacht, Op. 4 (1917) Bluebeard’s Castle (1911)

Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya

MALY DRAMA THEATER OF ST. PETERSBURG Lev Dodin

artistic director

Thu, Mar 25 8 pm (opening night!)

Power Center

RAGNAR BOHLIN conductor Sun, Feb 21 4 pm Hill Auditorium

There is choral music making…and then there is CHORAL MUSIC MAKING. Did you know that the Scandinavian countries have a higher average participation rate in amateur choral groups than any other nation on the planet? In Sweden alone, 10 percent of the population sings in a choir. Within this “engaged cultural context,” the Swedish Radio Choir (SRC) has long been heralded as the mountaintop when it comes to the Scandinavian classical choral tradition. They are superstars in their native land.

As we learned in 2001, when the SRC was last in Ann Arbor, this is music-making that stands alongside the most accomplished symphonic orchestras and solo artists.

BAABA MAAL with NOMO Sat, Apr 10 8 pm Michigan Theater

The infectious joy and passion of Al Housseynou Ba and everyone at the Senegalese Association of Michigan (SAOM) has been an inspiration to me and the entire staff of UMS. Working with Al around past appearances of Youssou N’Dour has formed an imperative when it comes to our presentation of artists from Africa: continue to showcase superstars from Senegal. And so we are. This season’s focus on Africa includes Senegal’s master singer and instrumentalist Baaba Maal. A tireless artist who is constantly touring on the world stage, it will be a real pleasure to welcome him next April, along with everyone from SAOM.

The Rest is Noise in Performance

ALEX ROSS & ETHAN IVERSON Sun, Apr 25 4 pm rackham Auditorium

It seems that anybody and everybody in the entire music-industry cosmos wants to say something about Alex Ross’s wildly popular book, The Rest is Noise.

And so they should: Emanuel Ax, Osvaldo Golijov, Neil Tennant (Pet Shop Boys), Colin Greenwood (Radiohead), Ian Bostridge, and Louis Menand, to name a very few, have all weighed in. One of my personal favorites, Björk, said: “There seems always to have been a ‘crisis of modern music,’ but by some insane miracle one person finds the way out. The impossibility of it gives me hope. Fast-forwarding through so many music-makers’ creative highs and lows in the company of Alex Ross’s incredibly nourishing book will rekindle anyone’s fire for music.” So why not bring it to life?

Alex Ross joins up with pianist Ethan Iverson (The Bad Plus), in concert, to tell the tale of 20th-Century Music – come on, let’s forget the labels!

09/10 ums season | www.ums.org | 734-764-2538

SWEDISH RADIO CHOIR

I vividly remember my first trip to St. Petersburg, Russia. I was ushered directly from the airport — no time to stop at the hotel — to the Maly Drama Theater for a performance of Chekov’s Platonov. You have never seen a more adoring public at the theater — people crammed together on bleachers that would make the Big House feel luxurious, AND sitting up and down the aisles (fire marshals be damned!) Hot, no air conditioning, an enormous and deep water pool filling the stage, (so it was humid, as well), the ensemble of the Maly, through the sheer force of their acting and presence, pulled me into their world despite my fog of jetlag. And so went my first experience with one of the unquestionably great theater ensembles of the world.

Actors gifted enough to be invited to join what Peter Brook has described as the “finest ensemble in Europe” make a life-long commitment, and their dedication is tested through rehearsal periods that can run into years. The Maly, therefore, has become famous for its impossibly high standards. Come to see one of the great classics of Russian drama presented by the people who understand them best.

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MONOG Many people who enjoy attending the live performing arts want UMS to select the events on their series.

Others like the creative act of purposefully selecting their own events to satisfy individual desires. Some subscribers select artists whose work they already know they enjoy; others select artists whom they don’t know, as a way of discovering new talent. Many subscribers choose one event each month to guarantee that they will spend time with friends and family and get out of the house.

With the Monogram Series, you can curate your own performing arts series, remixing the events on our season to fit your lifestyle and personal preferences.

Choose at least five events from the pages that follow, and you’ll receive 10% off the regular ticket prices — while gaining access to the best seats in the house.

Subscribe before Friday, June 26, and you may take advantage of our interest-free installment billing option (minimum order $300), as well as free parking (minimum order of eight events).

And when you purchase a Monogram Series, you’ll also have the opportunity to purchase tickets to the Berlin Philharmonic, months before it goes on sale to the general public.

Now there’s an offer you can’t refuse.

Photos: Punch Brothers by Cassandra Jenkins, Alisa Weilerstein by Christian Steiner.

BILL CHARLAP TRIO Bill Charlap piano Peter Washington bass Kenny Washington drums

Fri, Oct 2 7 pm & 9:30 pm Lydia Mendelssohn Theatre SERIES: Jazz

For more than a decade, pianist/bandleader Bill Charlap has been forging a solo career characterized by hardswinging brio, eloquence, and a rigor-meets-romance musical sensibility. He last appeared in Ann Arbor in 2007 with Marian McPartland and now leads his trio though unique interpretations of the Great American Songbook. Featuring the brilliant rhythm dream team of bassist Peter Washington and drummer Kenny Washington, the Grammy-nominated trio continues its exploration of American composers and Broadway show tunes. One of the Village Vanguard’s most popular performers and the son of Broadway composer Mark “Moose” Charlap (Peter Pan, Alice Through the Looking Glass), Bill Charlap is regarded as one of the premiere interpreters of the Great American Songbook. “When he sits down to play, the result is an embrace, an act of possession.” (Time) The 7 pm performance is sponsored by Michael Allemang and Janis Bobrin.

Media Sponsors WEMU 89.1 FM and Metro Times.

FUNDED IN PART BY THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS AS PART OF AMERICAN MASTERPIECES: THREE CENTURIES OF ARTISTIC GENIUS.

Choose at least Five Events from Pages 24-41 and Save 10%!

PUNCH BROTHERS with CHRIS THILE

Series

ALISA WEILERSTEIN cello INON BARNATON piano

Wed, Oct 7 8 pm

Thu, Oct 8 8 pm

Power Center

hill Auditorium

As the San Francisco Chronicle asks, “Why didn’t someone think about mixing bluegrass, jazz and classical music together sooner? Chris Thile…is doing it with his new outfit, Punch Brothers, and the result is totally mind-blowing.” Formed in 2006, Punch Brothers, led by chamber-folk luminary Chris Thile and composed of five young and fiercely talented musicians, are already playing to sold-out crowds around the world. Mandolin virtuoso Thile grew up performing in the award-winning bluegrass (and beyond) band Nickel Creek. His new band — whose name is taken from the Mark Twain short story, “Punch, Brothers, Punch!” — combines the talents of five of the hottest young pickers in modern bluegrass for a fresh, cutting-edge sound that seamlessly blends bluegrass traditions with breathtaking innovation.

Media Sponsors WEMU 89.1 FM and Ann Arbor’s 107one.

SERIES: Choral Union

The 26-year-old American cellist Alisa Weilerstein is “arguably Yo-Yo Ma’s heir as sovereign of the American cello,” says New York’s Justin Davidson. An intense and passionate player, she reportedly started begging for a cello at age four. A 2004 graduate of Columbia University with a degree in Russian history, she has already racked up an impressive catalog of achievements, including Lincoln Center’s 2008 Martin E. Segal prize for exceptional achievement and the 2006 Leonard Bernstein Award in Germany, not to mention her personal role as a celebrity advocate for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. “Weilerstein plays classical music, but with the depth of soul and raw emotional energy of a diehard rocker,” says The Toronto Star.

Program

Beethoven Britten Stravinsky Rachmaninoff

Cello Sonata in g minor, Op. 5, No. 2 (1796) Cello Sonata in C Major, Op. 65 (1961) Suite Italienne (1932) Cello Sonata in g minor, Op. 19 (1901)

Media Sponsor WGTE 91.3 FM.

09/10 ums season | www.ums.org | 734-764-2538

RAM

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MONOGRAM Series SUZANNE FARRELL BALLET Suzanne Farrell artistic director Fri-Sat, Oct 9-10 8 pm Power Center SERIES: Dance

One of George Balanchine’s most celebrated muses, Suzanne Farrell remains a legendary figure in the ballet world. She joined the New York City Ballet in 1961, and by the mid-1960s had become not only one of Balanchine’s most renowned ballerinas but also a symbol of the era. During her 28 years on the stage, she danced a repertory of more than 100 ballets (nearly a third of which were created expressly for her) and expanded the limits of ballerina technique to a degree not before seen. She founded the Suzanne Farrell Ballet, housed at the Kennedy Center, in 2000 as a way of preserving Balanchine’s legacy. Over the past decade, the Suzanne Farrell Ballet has become a highly lauded company, hailed by The New York Times as “one of the most courageous projects in ballet today.”

FUNDED IN PART BY THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS AS PART OF AMERICAN MASTERPIECES: THREE CENTURIES OF ARTISTIC GENIUS. Media Sponsors Between the Lines, Metro Times, and Michigan Radio 91.7 FM.

Program (Fri 10/9)

Balanchine Apollo (1928) or Agon (1957) / Music by Stravinsky Balanchine Solos and Pas de Deux from Divertimento No. 15 (1956) / Mozart Béjart Scene d’Amour from Romeo and Juliet (1966) / Berlioz Balanchine Contrapuntal Blues Pas de deux from Clarinade (1964) / Gould Program (Sat 10/10): THE BALANCHINE COUPLE

Features nine Balanchine pas de deux presented with live onstage narration by artistic director Suzanne Farrell. The program is presented in loose chronology, following Balanchine’s early interest in Greek drama, the development of his abstract style, and his work establishing himself as an American choreographer.

Program includes: Apollo (1928) / Music by Stravinsky La Sonnambula (1946) / Rieti “The Unanswered Question” from Ivesiana (1954) / Ives La Valse (1951) / Ravel Agon (1957) / Stravinsky Meditation (1963) / Stravinsky “Pas de Mauresque” from Balanchine’s Don Quixote (1965) / Nabokov Diamonds (1967) / Tchaikovsky Chaconne (1976) / Gluck “Grand Pas de Deux” from Stars and Stripes (1958) / Sousa

Photos: Suzanne Farrell Ballet by Carol Pratt, Globe Theatre: Love’s Labour’s Lost by John Haynes, Anoushka Shankar by Pamela Springsteen.

Choose at least Five Events from Pages 24-41 and Save 10%!

Thu, Oct 15 8 pm Hill Auditorium

Ravi Shankar, the legendary 89-year-old sitarist and composer, is India’s most esteemed musical ambassador, a singular phenomenon whose artistry crosses all cultural and musical boundaries. As a performer, composer, teacher, and writer, he has done more for Indian music than any other musician and is wellknown for his pioneering work in introducing India’s classical music tradition to the West. The youngest son of a Bengali family, Ravi Shankar was born in 1920 in Varansi, the holiest of Indian cities. He performs in concert with his daughter, Anoushka, whom he began teaching when she was nine. Now one of the leading figures in world music today, Anoushka is deeply rooted in classical music but has also flourished as a performer and composer, exploring fertile ground in the crossover between Indian music and a variety of genres, including electronica, jazz, flamenco, and Western classical music.

Ravi and Anoushka Shankar appear in Hill Auditorium for the first time since 2004. “Most people are musicians simply because they play a certain instrument; when they play that instrument, the music appears. But Ravi — to me, he is the music; it just happens to be that he plays the sitar. And it’s like that with Anoushka. She has that quality — she is the music.” (George Harrison) Media Sponsor Ann Arbor’s 107one.

Love’s Labour’s Lost

Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre Dominic Dromgoole artistic director Tue, Oct 20 8 pm Thu-Sat, Oct 22-24 8 pm Sun, Oct 25 2 pm Power Center

09/10 ums season | www.ums.org | 734-764-2538

RAVI SHANKAR and ANOUSHKA SHANKAR

SERIES: Theater

Self-denial is in fashion at the court of Navarre, where the young King and three of his courtiers solemnly forswear all pleasures in favor of serious study. But the Princess of France and her all-too-lovely entourage have other ideas, and it isn’t long before young love has broken every self-imposed rule of the all-male ‘academe’.

Shakespeare’s boisterous celebration of the claims of young love is a festive parade of every weapon in the youthful playwright’s comic arsenal — from excruciating cross-purposes to silly impersonations, drunkenness, bustups, and pratfalls. Directed by Dominic Dromgoole, the production employs Renaissance staging, costumes, and music. “With a delightful design and jaunty music, it has abundant charm…entirely enchanting.” (The Times, London) Individual performances sponsored by Gilbert Omenn and Martha Darling Jane and Edward Schulak Hosted by David and Phyllis Herzig, Mainstreet Ventures, and Loretta Skewes and Dody Viola.

Funded in part by the Wallace Endowment Fund.

Media Sponsors Between the Lines, Michigan Radio 91.7 FM, and Ann Arbor’s 107one.

26 | 27

MONOGRAM Series Heavenly Harmonies

STILE ANTICO Tue, Oct 27 8 pm St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church SERIES: Divine Voices

Stile Antico (pronounced STEE-lay an-TEE-ko) is an ensemble of 12 young British singers who have quickly established themselves as one of the most original and exciting new voices in the field. Working without a conductor, the members perform as chamber musicians with a repertoire ranging from the glorious legacy of English Tudor composers to the works of the Flemish and Spanish schools and the music of the early Baroque. For this UMS debut performance, they feature the program “Desire of Heavenly Harmonies,” which intersperses Thomas Tallis’s concise Nine Tunes from Archbishop Parker’s Psalter with William Byrd’s personal and evocative settings of motets that reflected the persecution and desperation he and his fellow Catholics felt during the religious turmoil of 16th-century England. The group’s second CD, Heavenly Harmonies, received astonishing reviews, including a placement in Alex Ross’s “Ten Best Classical Music Recordings of 2008” in The New Yorker.

Media Sponsor WRCJ 90.9 FM.

CHRISTINE BREWER soprano CRAIG RUTENBERG piano Sun, Nov 1 4 pm Hill Auditorium SERIES: Choral Union

The Grammy Award-winning American soprano Christine Brewer’s appearances in both opera and recital are marked with her own unique timbre, at once warm and brilliant, combined with a vibrant personality and emotional honesty reminiscent of the great sopranos of the past. Her range, golden tone, boundless power, and control make her a favorite of the stage, as well as a sought-after recording artist. A stunning recitalist, she drew raves from The Sunday Times (London) for her Edinburgh Festival recital: “The finest singing I heard last week came from the lustrous throat of the American soprano Christine Brewer, who pinned us all to our seats and threatened to demolish the walls of the Queen’s Hall with her ecstatic new Brünnhilde voice in her selection of Strauss, Wolf, Britten, and spirituals…she was simply devastating…” Brewer’s Ann Arbor recital debut program will include works of Richard Strauss, Marx, and Britten, among others.

Media Sponsor WGTE 91.3 FM.

Photos: Stile Antico by B. Ealovega, Gal Costa, St. Lawrence String Quartet by Marco Borggreve.

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ST. LAWRENCE STRING QUARTET Sun, Nov 8 4 pm Rackham Auditorium

Sat, Nov 7 8 pm

SERIES: Chamber Arts

Hill Auditorium SERIES: Jazz

The great Brazilian female vocalist Gal Costa makes her area debut as part of UMS’s ongoing exploration of the superstars of Brazilian music, which has brought Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil, and Milton Nascimento to Ann Arbor in recent years. Costa’s professional career was launched in 1964 when she performed alongside Veloso, Gil, Maria Bethânia, and Tom Zé on the concert Nós, por exemplo, which opened a new theater in Salvador, Bahia. An essential component of the Tropicália movement, she had two early nationwide hits, “Baby” and “Divino, Maravilhoso,” both of which appeared on her legendary eponymous solo debut album, now considered a Tropicalismo classic. For many years, Costa has been interested in interpreting the beautiful music of Antônio Carlos Jobim and American jazz standards. She is joined in this evening of duets by Rio de Janeiro native Romero Lubambo.

Alex Ross of The New Yorker writes, “The St. Lawrence are remarkable not simply for the quality of their music making, exalted as it is, but for the joy they take in the act of connection.” Performing together for 20 years, the St. Lawrence String Quartet has been involved in numerous inventive collaborations, including projects with Pilobolus and the Emerson String Quartet. The foursome, which regularly performs traditional quartet repertoire, is also fervently committed to performing and expanding the works of living composers. They recently gave the world premiere of a new quartet by American composer John Adams, which will be performed on this program. “These are fearless musicians whose spontaneity stretches past conventional interpretation and probes the music’s imaginative limits.” (The Washington Post) Program

Haydn Ravel Adams

String Quartet in F Major, Op. 77, No. 2 (1799) String Quartet in F Major (1902-03) String Quartet (2008)

Media Sponsors WEMU 89.1 FM, Metro Times, and Ann Arbor’s 107one. sponsored by

Media Sponsor WGTE 91.3 FM.

09/10 ums season | www.ums.org | 734-764-2538

GAL COSTA and ROMERO LUBAMBO

28 | 29

MONOGRAM Series Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda

YASMIN LEVY

PATTI LUPONE

Sat, Nov 14 8 pm

Fri, Nov 20 8 pm

Hill Auditorium

Hill Auditorium

“Here surely is the next world music superstar.” (The Guardian) “Aside from her stunning looks, Levy’s biggest asset is her voice, which is versatile, sensuous, and brimming with emotion.” (The Independent) Yasmin Levy was born in Jerusalem in 1975 and was introduced to Ladino singing and culture from a very young age. Her father, who passed away when she was only a year old, was the leading figure in the world of research exploring the preservation of Judeo-Spanish culture, dating back to 15th-century Spain. Today, Ladino remains one of the most moving and romantic traditions of all time. In her deep, spiritual, and moving style of singing, Levy preserves and revives the beautiful songs from the Ladino/JudeoSpanish heritage, mixing them with Andalucian Flamenco.

This US debut tour follows her highly acclaimed appearances at the World Music Expo (WOMEX) and at World of Music, Arts, and Dance (WOMAD) festivals throughout the world. “[Yasmin Levy’s CD] Mano Suave blends her mixture of flamenco, Middle Eastern, Mediterranean, and Sephardic Jewish Ladino traditions to somewhere near perfection. If you’re looking to plunge into a deep pool of exquisite yearning and heartbreak, then just dust off your trunks and dive right in.” (fRootsmag.com) Media Sponsor WEMU 89.1 FM.

Photos: Yasmin Levy, Vienna Boys Choir by Lukas Beck, Patti LuPone by Rahav (Cosi).

Fresh off her rapturously received, role-defining stint as Mama Rose in Gypsy, Tony Award-winning Broadway star — and the original Evita — Patti LuPone and takes us on a high-spirited tour of songs and roles that she “could have played, should have played, did play, and will play” with selections from Hair, Bye Bye Birdie, Funny Girl, West Side Story, Peter Pan, Evita, Anything Goes, and more. Earning an Olivier Award for her performances in London’s West End productions of Les Misérables and The Cradle Will Rock, she has also headlined solo Broadway concerts and received a Tony nomination for her role in the 2006 smash hit revival of Sweeney Todd. “Few have the knockout punch of LuPone.” (The Washington Post) co-sponsored by Robert and pearson macek. hosted by loretta skewes and dody viola.

Media Sponsor Between the Lines.

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VIENNA BOYS CHOIR Gerald Wirth artistic director Sun, Nov 29 4 pm Hill Auditorium SERIES: Divine Voices, Family

Six years after Christopher Columbus sailed to the New World, Emperor Maximilian I moved his court and his court musicians, including six singing boys, to Vienna. That date is now etched in history as the founding of the Vienna Boys Choir, which has boasted relationships with Franz Schubert (a former chorister), as well as Mozart, Salieri, and Bruckner, who all wrote for the group. Until 1918, the choir sang exclusively for the imperial court; after the breakdown of the Hapsburg Empire, the Austrian government allowed the boys choir to flourish as an independent, private institution. The boys were giving concerts outside the chapel and soon doing worldwide tours, including their first UMS appearance in 1933. Today, around 100 choristers between the ages of 10 and 14 are divided into four touring choirs, which continue to delight music lovers with their purity of tone, distinctive charm, and a diverse, crowd-pleasing repertoire. Long a subject of fascination, the VBC will be featured in a 2009 documentary film entitled Silk Road — Songs Along the Road and Time, showcasing the globetrotting choristers during a year in their home in Vienna and on the road, working with artists from Central Asia, China, and India.

Media sponsor WRCJ 90.9 FM.

Handel’s Messiah

Ums Choral Union Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra Jerry Blackstone conductor Sat, Dec 5 8 pm Sun, Dec 6 2 pm hill Auditorium

The Grammy Award-winning UMS Choral Union (2006 “Best Choral Performance” for William Bolcom’s Songs of Innocence and of Experience) launches the holiday season with its signature work, Handel’s glorious oratorio Messiah. An Ann Arbor tradition in the beautiful surroundings of Hill Auditorium, these performances are ultimately the heart and soul of UMS, connecting audiences with the talented people on stage, as well as the friends and family who attend each year. Those who have been coming for decades say that the chorus has never sounded better.

Sponsored by the Carl and Isabelle Brauer Fund.

Media Sponsors WRCJ 90.9 FM, Michigan Radio 91.7 FM, and Ann Arbor’s 107one.

09/10 ums season | www.ums.org | 734-764-2538

Christmas in Vienna

30 | 31

MONOGRAM Series Fondly Do We Hope…Fervently Do We Pray

SOUAD MASSI Fri, Jan 8 8 pm Michigan Theater

BILL T. JONES/ARNIE ZANE DANCE COMPANY Bill T. Jones

SERIES: Global/Africa

The Algerian singer/songwriter/guitarist Souad Massi grew up in an impoverished Muslim household in a suburb of Algiers. The country’s civil war made guitar lessons for the young woman difficult, but she used the curfew to her advantage at home, creating narratives through song that liberated her imagination. She began her career fronting the Algerian political rock band Atakor, who were influenced by Led Zeppelin and U2, but left her country and moved to Paris following a series of death threats in response to the band’s political lyrics and rabble-rousing popularity. Her music, which prominently features the acoustic guitar, now displays Western musical influences such as rock, country, and the Portugese fado, but also incorporates oriental musical influences and instruments such as the oud. She performs in many languages, including Algerian Arabic, French, English, and Berber dialects, even within the same song. Her three solo albums delve into the personal rather than the political, expanding on themes of love and loss.

Media Sponsors Metro Times and Michigan Chronicle.

artistic director

Fri-Sat, Jan 22-23 8 pm Power Center SERIES: Dance

Recognized as a cultural trailblazer, Bill T. Jones has crafted his life, philosophy, and art-making by asking questions that resist definitive answers. He commemorates the Abraham Lincoln bicentennial with a production exploring the life and legacy of this complex figure. The dance-theater evening features the sophisticated movement of his diverse dancers, accompanied by an original score performed live for cello, guitar, piano, and voice. The films of Janet Wong fill a striking, modern stage design, while the conflicts that defined Lincoln’s time are embodied in the dance as the swirling forces of a maelstrom. Singers and an actor deliver a probing and uplifting libretto drawn from Shakespeare, the Old Testament, the poems of Whitman, and Lincoln’s own words. The phrase taken from Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address to title the work, Fondly Do We Hope...Fervently Do We Pray, captures the vision of the piece: an examination of what Lincoln and his time mean today, and our hopes for the future.

FUNDED IN PART BY THE National Dance Project of the New England Foundation for the Arts and the NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS AS PART OF AMERICAN MASTERPIECES: THREE CENTURIES OF ARTISTIC GENIUS. Media Sponsors Between the Lines, Metro Times, Michigan Radio 91.7 FM, Ann Arbor’s 107one, and Michigan Chronicle.

Photos: Souad Massi, Bill T. Jones by Russell Jenkins (courtesy of Ravinia Festival), Ladysmith Black Mambazo.

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Sun, Jan 31 4 pm Hill Auditorium SERIES: Global/Africa, Divine Voices

Since Paul Simon’s Graceland album catapulted Ladysmith Black Mambazo to worldwide fame in 1986, the vocal group has remained true to the idea of opening doors to South African culture through music, dance, and singing.

For more than 30 years, the eight-member group has married the intricate rhythms and harmonies of their native South African musical traditions to the sounds and sentiments of Christian gospel music. The result is a musical and spiritual alchemy that has touched a worldwide audience representing every corner of the religious, cultural, and ethnic landscape. Assembled in the early 1960s in South Africa by Joseph Shabalala, a young farmboy turned factory worker, the group borrows heavily from a traditional music called isicathamiya (iscot-a-ME-ya), which emerged from the mines of South Africa, where black workers toiled far from their homes and their families. “It isn’t merely the grace and power of their dancing or the beauty of their singing that rivets the attention, but the sheer joy and love that emanates from their being.” (Paul Simon) A UMS debut! sponsored by

THE BAD PLUS

REID ANDERSON bass ETHAN IVERSON piano DAVID KING drums Thu, Feb 4 7 pm & 9:30 pm Lydia Mendelssohn Theatre SERIES: Jazz

Forget categories and catch phrases — the sound of The Bad Plus is distinctive, eclectic, and formidable.

The group dug its roots in the wood-paneled, sumppumped basements of the Midwest. Drummer David King and bassist Reid Anderson hooked up as teens in their native Minnesota, bouncing between junior high rock bands and long nights listening to John Coltrane and The Police. Soon after, Anderson met Wisconsinreared pianist Ethan Iverson and formed an alliance — sort of. The threesome played for the first time in 1990, then went their separate ways for the better part of the decade. Thrilled by the instant chemistry from a one-off club date in Minneapolis in 2000, the group decided to make a recording, which was hailed by The New York Times as one of 2001’s best releases of the year. The Bad Plus has exploded all notions of what a jazz piano trio should sound like, proudly recognizing and respecting the rules while ripping them to shreds. “It’s about as badass as highbrow gets,” says Rolling Stone.

Media Sponsors WEMU 89.1 FM, Metro Times, and Ann Arbor’s 107one.

Media Sponsors Metro Times, Michigan Chronicle, Ann Arbor’s 107one, WEMU 89.1 FM, and Between the Lines.

09/10 ums season | www.ums.org | 734-764-2538

LADYSMITH BLACK MAMBAZO

32 | 33

MONOGRAM Series Sō Percussion

ANGELA HEWITT piano Wed, Feb 10 8 pm

Sat, Feb 6 7:30 pm

Hill Auditorium

U-M Museum of Art Since coming together at the Yale School of Music in 1999, Sō Percussion has been creating music that is by turns raucous and touching, barbarous and heartfelt.

Realizing that percussion instruments can communicate all the extremes of emotion and musical possibility, it has not been an easy music to define. Called “astonishing and entrancing” by Billboard and “brilliant” by The New York Times, the Brooklyn-based quartet’s innovative work with today’s most exciting composers and their own original music has quickly helped them forge a unique and diverse career. With an audience comprised of "both kinds of blue hair... elderly matron here, arty punk there" (as The Boston Globe described it), Sō Percussion makes a rare and wonderful breed of music that both compels instantly and offers vast rewards for engaged listening. Edgy (at least in the sense that little other music sounds like this) and ancient (in that people have been hitting objects for eons), perhaps it doesn’t need to be defined after all.

SERIES: Choral Union, Piano

“The Canadian pianist is one of the reliably mesmerizing musicians of the day. You sit entranced…it would have been more accurate to say I was floating just below the ceiling.” (The Sunday Times, London) Angela Hewitt is a phenomenal artist who has established herself at the highest level over the last few years, not least through her superb, award-winning recordings. Her 11-year project to record all the major keyboard works of Bach, completed in 2005, has won her a huge following and been described as “one of the record glories of our age.” (The Sunday Times) She has been hailed as “the pre-eminent Bach pianist of our time” (The Guardian) and “nothing less than the pianist who will define Bach performance on the piano for years to come” (Stereophile). Hewitt was named Gramophone’s “Artist of the Year” in 2006.

Program

J.S. Bach Italian Concerto, BWV 971 (1735) J.S. Bach Partita No. 1 in B-flat Major, BWV 825 (c. 1725-30) J.S. Bach Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue in d minor, BWV 903 (1720) Brahms Sonata No. 3 in f minor, Op. 5 (1853) Co-sponsored by Robert and marina Whitman and Clayton and Ann Wilhite.

Media Sponsor WGTE 91.3 FM.

Photos: Sō Percussion, Béla Fleck, Luciana Souza.

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Luciana Souza vocals Romero Lubambo guitar Cyro Baptista percussion Thu, Feb 11 8 pm Rackham Auditorium

Hailing from Sao Paulo, Brazil, Luciana Souza grew up in a family of Bossa Nova innovators and is now one of jazz’s leading singers and interpreters. Her work as a performer transcends traditional boundaries around musical styles, offering solid roots in jazz, sophisticated lineage in world music, and an enlightened approach to classical repertoire and new music. “[Her] singing bridges with breathtaking finesse the not-so-wide gap between Brazilian pop and American jazz. Souza’s voice is low, soft, and as agile as an otter in water…” (The Washington Post) “Souza phrases with the wisdom of an old soul. With a refined, fluid voice, she’s a master of rhythm and pitch and knows how to get to the core of a melody — her interpretive sensibility projects clarity, emotional openness, and keen, almost detached, self-knowledge.” (Downbeat) Media Sponsor WEMU 89.1 FM.

BÉLA FLECK: THE AFRICA PROJECT BÉla Fleck banjo collaborating with amazing african musicians Wed, Feb 17 8 pm

09/10 ums season | www.ums.org | 734-764-2538

LUCIANA SOUZA TRIO

Hill Auditorium SERIES: Global/Africa

In his most ambitious project to date, renowned musician Béla Fleck explores the origins of the banjo. During his travels to Africa, Fleck discovered that while the banjo is traditionally considered an American instrument that conjures feelings of the American South, its origins lie far from her shores. Throw Down Your Heart, an awardwinning film, documented Fleck’s travels and explorations of music in Uganda, Tanzania, The Gambia, and Mali. With the Africa Project, Fleck brings to the stage his collaborations with some of Africa’s most talented musicians.

Co-sponsored by Dennis and Ellie Serras.

Media Sponsors Metro Times, Michigan Chronicle, Ann Arbor’s 107one, and WEMU 89.1 FM.

34 | 35

MONOGRAM Series SWEDISH RADIO CHOIR Ragnar Bohlin conductor

TAKÁCS QUARTET Mon, Mar 15 8 pm

Sun, Feb 21 4 pm

Rackham Auditorium SERIES: Chamber Arts

Hill Auditorium SERIES: Choral Union, Divine Voices

Comprised of 32 professional singers, the Swedish Radio Choir returns to Ann Arbor after a stunning Verdi Requiem with the Swedish Radio Orchestra in 2001.

Recognized as one of the world’s leading a cappella choirs performing the full spectrum of choral repertoire, the group began some 80 years ago and has served under the leadership of famed choral conductors Eric Ericsson and Tõnu Kaljuste, among others. This tour is led by Ragnar Bohlin, a Stockholm native who also serves as choral director for the San Francisco Symphony.

Program

David Wikander Förvårskväll Lars Johan Werle Trees Anders Hillborg Mouyayuom (1983-85) Sven-David Sandström Lobet den Herrn J.S. Bach Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied, BWV 225 (1726-27) Mahler Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen (1901-02) Ned Rorem In Time of Pestilence (1973) Frank Martin Mass for Double Chorus (1922-26) Media Sponsors WGTE 91.3 FM and WRCJ 90.9 FM.

Photos: Takács Quartet by Peter Smith, Wynton Marsalis by Clay McBride, San Francisco Symphony.

One of the highlights of UMS’s Chamber Arts series over the past decade has been the near-annual visit by the Takács Quartet, whose dazzling performances never cease to amaze. The ensemble returns with two Beethoven quartets bookending a brief new work that the Takács commissioned and premiered last year by the New Zealand composer John Psathas, who has worked closely with a variety of musicians ranging from percussionist Evelyn Glennie to tenor saxophone player Michael Brecker.

Program

Beethoven String Quartet in B-flat Major, Op. 18, No. 6 (1798-1800) Psathas A Cool Wind (2008) Beethoven String Quartet in F Major, Op. 59, No. 1 (1806) Media Sponsor WGTE 91.3 FM.

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SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY MICHAEL TILSON THOMAS conductor CHRISTIAN TETZLAFF violin Fri, Mar 19 8 pm

Wed, Mar 17 8 pm

Hill Auditorium

Hill Auditorium

SERIES: Choral Union, Violin

SERIES: Jazz

A St. Patrick’s Day treat for fans of this incredible ensemble! The 15-member Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra is comprised of the finest jazz players on the scene, and their vast repertory — ranging from rare, historic compositions to newly commissioned works to new takes on old classics — makes them a veritable repository of jazz history. Led by the incomparable Wynton Marsalis, who conceived and built this ensemble into the irresistible force it is today, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra returns for another stunning concert. Despite one of the most aggressive touring schedules in the business, they make each concert seem fresh, drawing in audiences who are continually energized and amazed by the group’s depth of outrageous talent. “[The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra] is not just a band on tour, but a religious congregation, spreading the word of jazz.” (Down Beat) co-sponsored by Rachel Bendit and Mark Bernstein.

Media Sponsors WEMU 89.1 FM, Metro Times, Michigan Chronicle, and Ann Arbor’s 107one.

The San Francisco Symphony and music director Michael Tilson Thomas kick off a two-day educational and performance residency with a performance that features violinist Christian Tetzlaff as soloist. Tetzlaff is internationally recognized as one of the most important violinists of his generation. His musical integrity, technical assurance, and intelligent, compelling interpretations have set the standards to which violin performances are measured.

Program

Kissine New Work Commissioned by San Francisco Symphony (2009) Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 35 (1878) Ravel Valses nobles et sentimentales (1912) Liszt Symphonic Poem No. 2: Tasso — Lament and Triumph, S. 96 (1849) sponsored by

Co-sponsored by the Catherine S. Arcure and Herbert E. Sloan Endowment Fund, James and Nancy Stanley, and Jay and Mary Kate Zelenock.

Funded in part by the National Endowment for the Arts as part of American Masterpieces: Three Centuries of Artistic Genius.

Media Sponsors WGTE 91.3 FM and WRCJ 90.9 FM.

09/10 ums season | www.ums.org | 734-764-2538

JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER ORCHESTRA and WYNTON MARSALIS

36 | 37

MONOGRAM Series Solo Violin Works of J.S. Bach Concert 1 JULIA FISCHER violin Wed, Mar 24 8 pm Rackham Auditorium

Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya

MALY DRAMA THEATER OF ST. PETERSBURG Lev Dodin

SERIES: Chamber Arts, Violin

The 26-year-old German violinist Julia Fischer is recognized for her uncommon talent and exceptional performances in effusive reviews throughout the world. Winning the Yehudi Menuhin International Violin Competition at age 11 catapulted her career as a soloist, and she now holds the distinction of being Germany’s youngest professor (at the Academy for Music and the Performing Arts in Frankfurt). She made her UMS debut in November 2007 with the St. Petersburg Philharmonic, then returned in April 2009 for her UMS recital debut. BBC Music Magazine describes her as a “soulful musician who doesn’t let an ounce of ego come between the music and the listener.” Her recording of Bach’s Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin earned the BBC Music Magazine’s “Best Newcomer” Award in 2006.

Program

J.S. Bach J.S. Bach J.S. Bach

Sonata No. 1 in g minor, BWV 1001 (1720) Sonata No. 2 in a minor, BWV 1003 (1720) Sonata No. 3 in C Major, BWV 1005 (1720)

Media Sponsors WGTE 91.3 FM and WRCJ 90.9 FM.

artistic director

Thu-Sat, Mar 25-27 8 pm Sun, Mar 28 2 pm Power Center SERIES: Theater Performed in Russian with English surtitles

“Life is boring, stupid, and dirty. It drags you down,” says Vanya in Anton Chekhov’s tragicomic masterpiece of dashed dreams, thwarted love, and eternal longing.

The legendary Maly Drama Theatre of St. Petersburg, which was created in 1944, has become one of the great theaters of the world under artistic director Lev Dodin, who has led the company since 1983 and also directs this definitive interpretation of Chekhov’s classic play. Written in 1895, Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya begins as Professor Serebryakov and his young wife, Elena, arrive at the family’s remote country estate that has been looked after by Sonya (the Professor’s daughter from his first marriage) and her Uncle Vanya, the Professor’s brother-in-law. Vanya has sacrificed his life managing the estate for the Professor, whom he once revered, but is now filled with regret for lost time, a pain made worse by the arousing presence of Elena. “This is a beautiful production that has the stillness and luminosity of a great painting.” (The Guardian) Media Sponsors Between the Lines and Michigan Radio 91.7 FM.

Photos: Julia Fischer by Kasskara, Maly Drama Theater: Uncle Vanya by Viktor Vassiliev, Lang Lang by Detlaf Schneider.

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CHRISTOPH ESCHENBACH conductor Wed, Apr 7 8 pm Hill Auditorium SERIES: Choral Union, Piano

Ever since its founding in 1987 by Leonard Bernstein, the International Orchestral Academy of the SchleswigHolstein Musik Festival has enjoyed a superb reputation worldwide. Comprised of the world’s finest musicians under the age of 27, who are hand-picked through a rigorous auditioning progress and who work with experienced teachers from the Berlin Philharmonic, Munich Philharmonic, and other notable conductors and musicians, the Schleswig-Holstein Festival Orchestra makes its North American debut with this tour, which features the charismatic 26-year-old pianist Lang Lang as soloist. Heralded as the “biggest, most exciting keyboard talent encountered in many years” by The Chicago Tribune, Lang Lang was seen by over 5 billion people in August 2008 when he performed in Beijing’s Opening Ceremony for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad.

Program

Prokofiev Prokofiev Brahms

Symphony No. 1 in D Major, Op. 25 (“Classical”) (1917) Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Major, Op. 26 (1917-21) Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 73 (1877)

Co-sponsored by Dennis and Ellie Serras.

Media Sponsor WGTE 91.3 FM.

Things to Come: 21st Century Dizzy

DANILO PEREZ & FRIENDS

DANILO PEREZ piano DAVID SANCHEZ tenor saxophone RUDRESH MAHANTHAPPA alto saxophone AMIR ElSAFFAR trumpet and voice JAMEY HADDAD percussion BEN STREET bass ADAM CRUZ drums

09/10 ums season | www.ums.org | 734-764-2538

SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN FESTIVAL ORCHESTRA with Lang Lang piano

Thu, Apr 8 8 pm Hill Auditorium SERIES: Jazz

Panamanian-American pianist Danilo Perez pulls together a global, all-star band that celebrates the music and bountiful inspiration of his mentor, Dizzy Gillespie.

As the youngest member of the final edition of Dizzy Gillespie’s United Nations Orchestra, Perez learned firsthand how Gillespie embraced musical and personal collaborations throughout the world. His band performs new arrangements of classic Gillespie tunes in addition to original group compositions. Dizzy’s bands were a constant melting pot of styles, genres, and pan-global collaborations. Danilo’s hand-picked band, with roots in Afro-Cuban, bebop, Indian, African, and Middle Eastern music, will more than honor Dizzy’s legendary vision.

Media Sponsors WEMU 89.1 FM, Metro Times, and Michigan Chronicle.

38 | 39

MONOGRAM Series BAABA MAAL with NOMO

TRIO MEDIÆVAL

Sat, Apr 10 8 pm

Tue, Apr 20 8 pm

Michigan Theater

St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church

SERIES: Global/Africa

SERIES: Divine Voices

“Baaba Maal opened his mouth, and beautiful pearls and lilies and songbirds came flying out. It was one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen.” (Michael Stipe, R.E.M.) One of the true stars to rise from the African continent, Senegalese master musician Baaba Maal has been making music for the world to enjoy for nearly two decades. With releases ranging from contemporary Afropop to expressions of traditional West African music, he has received resounding critical acclaim worldwide. Renowned for his fiery performances by fusing funk, rock, and blues with the beats and melodies of West Africa, Maal has continually reinforced his role as a seminal artist in the world music arena. With nearly constant touring, he has honed and enriched an already phenomenal stage show into an explosion of sound, singing, and dancing. Aside from being a remarkable musician, he is socially conscious and represents the United Nations Development Program as a spokesman on the issue of HIV/AIDS in Africa. Opening for Baaba Maal is NOMO, an Afropop, Fela Kuti-inspired nonet formed in Ann Arbor by graduates of the U-M School of Music, Theatre & Dance.

Media Sponsors Metro Times, Michigan Chronicle, WEMU 89.1 FM, and Ann Arbor’s 107one.

Photos: Baaba Maal by Tyrone LeBon, Trio Mediæval by Asa M. Mikkelsen.

The mesmerizing voices of Oslo’s Trio Mediæval have captivated the concert world with their breathtaking performances and recordings of a diverse polyphonic repertoire that features medieval music from England and France, contemporary works written for the ensemble, and traditional Norwegian ballads and songs. “Singing doesn’t get more unnervingly beautiful,” wrote The San Francisco Chronicle. “To hear the group’s note-perfect counterpoint — as pristine and inviting as clean, white linens — is to be astonished at what the human voice is capable of.”

Sponsored by Carl and Charlene Herstein.

Media Sponsor WRCJ 90.9 FM.

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Jim Vincent artistic director

Thu-Sat, Apr 22-24 8 pm Power Center SERIES: Dance

This innovative and exciting American dance company presents sophisticated work by both American and international choreographers with an energy that literally jumps off the stage and into the audience. The company’s unconventional and innovative repertory by choreographers such as Jírí Kylián, Nacho Duato, Lar Lubovitch, and William Forsythe breaks down preconceptions about dance by juxtaposing pieces based on a variety of dance traditions and genres. The result? An engaging, seductive, human, and often edgy performance that inspires audiences to think, but also to have fun — in short, a terrific introduction to dance.

The company returns for three performances of mixed repertory, selected by outgoing artistic director Jim Vincent, who recently announced that he will become the new artistic director of Nederlands Dans Theatre.

Programs to be announced.

The Saturday performance is sponsored by

Media Sponsors Between the Lines, Metro Times, Michigan Radio 91.7 FM, and Ann Arbor’s 107one.

The Rest is Noise in Performance

ALEX ROSS & ETHAN IVERSON piano Sun, Apr 25 4 pm rackham Auditorium SERIES: Chamber Arts

Re-creating a show they developed for a sold-out performance at the Paris Bar in New York, writer Alex Ross and pianist Ethan Iverson join forces to present a unique exploration of 20th-century music. Ross reads vivid portraits of the 20th-century’s iconic composers from his universally acclaimed and best-selling book The Rest is Noise: Listening to the Twentieth Century. After each selection, Iverson, the pianist in the postmodern jazz trio The Bad Plus, performs a piano interlude related to the reading. Throughout the performance, two of today’s most interesting and respected cultural forces present a dynamic tour of the cultural and musical world of the 20th century. The performance will include piano works of Debussy, Schoenberg, Bartók, Jelly Roll Morton, Ives, Stravinsky, Gershwin, Webern, Charlie Parker, Shostakovich, Babbitt and Ligeti.

FUNDED IN PART BY THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS AS PART OF AMERICAN MASTERPIECES: THREE CENTURIES OF ARTISTIC GENIUS. Media Sponsors WGTE 91.3 FM and WEMU 89.1 FM.

09/10 ums season | www.ums.org | 734-764-2538

HUBBARD STREET DANCE CHICAGO

40 | 41

Additional Series Piano Series

Divine Voices Series

Additional information available on pages 6-9.

Additional information available on pages 24-41.

Note: Family series subscribers will be seated in the mezzanine for Vienna Boys Choir.

Jean-Yves Thibaudet Angela Hewitt Schleswig-Holstein Festival Orchestra/Lang Lang Main Floor Mezzanine Balcony

Sat Dec 12 Wed Feb 10 Wed Apr 7

$150 / $132 $135 / $115 $90 / $72 / $30

Stile Antico Vienna Boys Choir Ladysmith Black Mambazo Swedish Radio Choir Trio MediĂŚval

Violin Series

Main Floor Mezzanine Balcony

Additional information available on pages 6-9 and 12-13.

media sponsor

Itzhak Perlman San Francisco Symphony/ Christian Tetzlaff Julia Fischer Bach Concert 1 Julia Fischer Bach Concert 2 Main Floor Mezzanine Balcony

Sun Sep 13 Fri Mar 19 Wed Mar 24 Thu Mar 25

$200 / $188 $176 / $160 $124 / $112 / $60

media sponsor

Photos: Jean-Yves Thibaudet by Kasskara, Itzhak Perlman by Akira Kinoshita.

$165/ $150 $140 / $125 $100 / $85 / $60

Tue Oct 27 Sun Nov 29 Sun Jan 31 Sun Feb 21 Tue Apr 20

At UMS, we try to make sure that the events on our season offer a chance to experience something new, to look at the world through a different lens, or even to change our very lives. To that end, we offer another way to think about the events on our season — a way that transcends the genre-based groupings of the fixed series offered throughout this brochure. While these groupings are not offered as specific series options, they are intended to provide you with an alternative way of viewing our season and may be helpful to you as you build your personal series for the 09/10 season.

Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company The Bad Plus Sō Percussion Maly Drama Theater: Uncle Vanya

Fri-Sat Jan 22-23 Thu Feb 4 Sat Feb 6 Thu-Sun Mar 25-28

Global Beat: Citizens of the World Ravi and Anoushka Shankar Gal Costa and Romero Lubambo Yasmin Levy Souad Massi Ladysmith Black Mambazo Luciana Souza Béla Fleck: The Africa Project Cyro Baptista’s Beat the Donkey Danilo Perez & Friends: 21st Century Dizzy Baaba Maal

Thu Oct 15 Sat Nov 7 Sat Nov 14 Fri Jan 8 Sun Jan 31 Thu Feb 11 Wed Feb 17 Sat Mar 13 Thu Apr 8 Sat Apr 10

Revolutionary Spirit Souad Massi Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company Chicago Symphony Orchestra/Boulez The Bad Plus The Rest is Noise in Performance

Fri Jan 8 Fri-Sat Jan 22-23 Wed Jan 27 Thu Feb 4 Sun Apr 25

Blockbuster Itzhak Perlman Suzanne Farrell Ballet Ravi and Anoushka Shankar Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre Berlin Philharmonic/Rattle Patti LuPone Ladysmith Black Mambazo Wynton Marsalis and Jazz at Lincoln Center Orch San Francisco Symphony Schleswig-Holstein Festival Orchestra/Lang Lang Hubbard Street Dance Chicago

Sun Sep 13 Fri-Sat Oct 9-10 Thu Oct 15 Tue-Sun Oct 20-25 Tue Nov 17 Fri Nov 20 Sun Jan 31 Wed Mar 17 Fri-Sat Mar 19-20 Wed Apr 7 Thu-Sat Apr 22-24

Spiritual Expressions Stile Antico Vienna Boys Choir Handel’s Messiah Ladysmith Black Mambazo Swedish Radio Choir Trio Mediæval

Tue Oct 27 Sun Nov 29 Sat-Sun Dec 5-6 Sun Jan 31 Sun Feb 21 Tue Apr 20

Comfort Music Itzhak Perlman Stile Antico St. Lawrence String Quartet Berlin Philharmonic/Rattle Vienna Boys Choir Handel’s Messiah Jean-Yves Thibaudet Angela Hewitt Schubert Piano Trios Swedish Radio Choir San Francisco Symphony Julia Fischer: Bach Solo Violin Schleswig-Holstein Festival Orchestra/Lang Lang

09/10 ums season | www.ums.org | 734-764-2538

Another Perspective

Expect the Unexpected

Sun Sep 13 Tue Oct 27 Sun Nov 8 Tue Nov 17 Sun Nov 29 Sat-Sun Dec 5-6 Sat Dec 12 Wed Feb 10 Sun Feb 14 Sun Feb 21 Fri-Sat Mar 19-20 Wed-Thu Mar 24-25 Wed Apr 7

42 | 43

UMS education programs provide engaging experiences with arts, culture, and creativity for the entire southeastern Michigan community. As part of UMS’s mission and core values, we are committed to sustaining these efforts for generations to come.

Youth, Teen, and Family Program 734-615-0122 umsyouth@umich.edu Each year, the UMS Youth Education Program serves up to 25,000 schoolchildren, parents, and educators in southeastern Michigan, giving many students their first opportunities to experience the live performing arts. UMS is proud to have the largest series of diverse, artistically-driven youth performances in the state. The performances, extensive teacher training and curriculum development, a yearly teen-driven performance (Breakin’ Curfew), and specially designated family performances comprise the award-winning program, designated as a “Best Practice” in 2004 by ArtServe Michigan and the Dana Foundation.

The UMS Youth Education Program is enhanced by official partnerships with the Ann Arbor Public Schools, Washtenaw Intermediate School District, the Kennedy Center Partners in Education Program, Neutral Zone, and many other area youth and family organizations.

Adult & Community Engagement 734-647-6712 umsed@umich.edu The UMS Adult Education and Community Engagement Program serves many different audiences through a variety of educational programs. Over 100 unique regional, local, and university-based partnerships each season have helped UMS launch initiatives for Arab American, African, Mexican/Latino, Asian, and African American audiences.

UMS is proud of its educational and residency programs, created for general audiences to engage more deeply in the arts. Through artist interviews, panel discussions, symposiums, social receptions, workshops, and informal dialogues, UMS creates a rich assortment of value-added programs. Over 100 events each season inspire creativity, enhance knowledge, promote connections with friends and family, and inform each audience member’s individual experience with the arts.

The Youth Education Program is sponsored by the Esperance Family Foundation.

www.ums.org/education Dan Zanes visits children at Mott’s Children’s Hospital for a special performance, Clague Middle School students after a UMS youth performance.

You Make It Happen Your support of UMS makes this exciting season possible.

Ticket revenues cover about half the cost of presenting world-class performances; the other half comes from contributions given by individuals, corporations, government agencies, foundations, and the University of Michigan. You can support UMS by sponsoring a concert or youth performance, making a gift to the annual fund or endowment fund, or attending the On the Road with UMS auction at Barton Hills Country Club on Friday, September 11.

Your gift, when combined with many others, brings the very best in music, dance, and theater to our community.

UMS provides priority to donors in purchasing tickets to individual performances. The fall single ticket brochure is mailed to donors first, and donors of $250 or more are able to purchase tickets one week before tickets go on sale to the general public.

In addition, UMS donors enjoy:

 Discounted tickets to select performances  Acknowledgement in UMS program books

and donor listings ($250 or more)

 Advance notice of performances and advance

purchasing privileges

 Invitations to special events

09/10 ums season | www.ums.org | 734-764-2538

Former U-M Football Coach Lloyd Carr with Wynton Marsalis, Jim and Nancy Stanley with Yo-Yo Ma.

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10 Things to Know About UMS

ABOUT UMS

1. The University Musical Society is much more than U, M, or S. The name dates back to 1879 but isn’t necessarily reflective of the organization. While affiliated with the University of Michigan, UMS is a separate, independent 501(c)3 organization with its own board of directors. About 20 years ago, UMS expanded its musical programming scope to include significant dance and theater. As for society — well, let’s just say that the word “society” carries its own level of baggage, and you don’t need to “belong” to participate. The long and short of it is that UMS welcomes everyone to enjoy the transformative power of the live performing arts.

2. UMS ranks among the top performing arts presenters in the United States. With frequent partners on international tours such as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, Brooklyn Academy of Music, the Barbican, Théâtre du Châtelet, and leading university presenters, UMS stands in good company. Few communities of the size of Ann Arbor can support this breadth of programming, making our community a hub for international performing arts tours.

3. UMS is closely aligned with the University of Michigan. Our education department has worked with 57 academic units and 175 individual U-M faculty members. Through these collaborations, we present contextual programming that enriches audience engagement with the performances on our stages. In addition, the University of Michigan provides annual support through the President and Provost, the University of Michigan Health System, the Office of the Vice President for Research, and other units that support specific work.

We are extraordinarily grateful and appreciative of this collaborative and mutually beneficial relationship.

4. UMS is committed to student participation in arts and culture. Each year, UMS offers discounted tickets to university and high school students for regular UMS performances through a variety of programs. In a typical year, more than 17,000 student tickets are sold, representing over 21% of the audience at UMS events.

Through these discount programs, students save over $325,000 each season. In addition to the many students who attend our events, we work closely with a group of about 30 students each year who develop skills in arts management through jobs and internships in all departments of UMS.

6. The UMS education program reaches the entire region. Since 2000, UMS has served 345 schools through its popular youth education program, which includes live performances, in-class visits, teacher workshops, and more. UMS recognizes outstanding programs with its Educator of the Year and School of the Year Awards.

7. Volunteers are central to everything we do.

A 300-person usher corps, a 150-voice chorus, a 90-member Advisory Committee, a 34-member Board of Directors, student interns, a Teacher Advisory Committee, and countless others help us with putting up posters around town, project-based assistance, and backstage support. We couldn’t do it without the support of volunteers, who collectively offer over 45,000 hours each year to support UMS programs.

8. UMS is committed to nurturing and developing artists. Over the past 20 years, UMS has committed modest funds to help keep creativity alive and well, with commissions of 25 new musical works, and funding to support the creation of new dance and theater productions. In all, more than 50 new works or productions have been supported by UMS, and many of these works have been seen in Ann Arbor. We believe that to create a healthy artistic ecology, we need to become patrons of the arts as well as supporters, by giving artists the resources to imagine and create.

9. UMS has been recognized for its distinctive programming by major national foundations.

The Wallace Foundation and the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation have given UMS major gifts for its distinctive programming and widelyemulated education and community engagement programs. These gifts include significant endowment support, which keeps on giving through annual allocations that continue to support these programs.

10. UMS is a key player in southeastern Michigan’s revitalization efforts, with representatives serving on economic development task forces throughout the region. With arts and culture as a key driver of quality of life, and thus a prime motivator for companies recruiting new talent, UMS is often a primary draw for newcomers to the area.

Audience members singing the “Hallelujah Chorus” at the 2008 performances of Handel’s Messiah, UMS Arts & Eats pizza event drew nearly 400 students for free pizza and a brief talk preceding Complicite’s A Disappearing Number in September 2008.

09/10 ums season | www.ums.org | 734-764-2538

5. Ticket revenues cover only half of our total costs.

Twenty years ago, ticket revenues covered about 80% of our total costs. In the past two decades, however, touring has changed, and expenses have risen much faster than income, in part due to the expansion of our free educational offerings. We rely on generous support from individual donors, corporations, foundations, government grants, and University of Michigan support to continue to bring the finest performing artists in the world to Michigan. And we know that people choose to donate for any number of reasons: engaging more deeply in the arts, networking with others, and providing memorable arts experiences for children are just a few of the frequently stated motivations. We’re grateful to all of our generous donors!

46 | 47

Hill Auditorium 825 North University Avenue

Map 1 - Orchestras

Map 2 - Classical Recitals & Jazz/World

Map 3 - Main Floor & Mezzanine Only

BALCONY

BALCONY

MEZZANINE

Sec 18

Sec 17 Sec 11

Sec 6

Sec 12

Sec 19 Sec 13

Sec 20

Sec 14

Sec 21 Sec 15

Sec 16

MEZZANINE

Sec 7

Sec 8

Sec 9

Sec 17 Sec 11

Sec 10

Sec 6

Sec 18 Sec 12

Sec 19 Sec 13

Sec 20

Sec 14

Sec 21 Sec 15

MEZZANINE

Sec 7

Sec 8

MAIN FLOOR

MAIN FLOOR

Sec 2

Sec 3

Sec 2

Sec 3

Sec 2

Sec 3

Sec 2

Sec 3

Sec 9

Sec 6

Sec 7

Sec 16

Sec 8

Sec 9

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MAIN FLOOR

Sec 10

Sec 1

Sec 2

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Sec 2

Sec 3

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Sec 5

Sec 4

STAGE Sec 1

Sec 4

Sec 5

Sec 1

Sec 4

Sec 5

Hill Auditorium (H1)

Hill Auditorium (H3) Keith Terry Family Perf Gal Costa / Romero Lubambo Yasmin Levy Béla Fleck: The Africa Tour

Sec 4

STAGE

STAGE

Berlin Philharmonic/Rattle Handel’s Messiah Chicago Symphony/Boulez Swedish Radio Choir San Francisco Symphony/MTT Schleswig-Holstein Festival Orchestra/Lang Lang

Sec 4

Fri Nov 6 Sat Nov 7 Sat Nov 14 Wed Feb 17

Hill Auditorium (H2) Tue Nov 17 Sat-Sun Dec 5-6 Wed Jan 27 Sun Feb 21 Fri-Sat Mar 19-20 Wed Apr 7

Itzhak Perlman Alisa Weilerstein Ravi and Anoushka Shankar Christine Brewer Patti LuPone Vienna Boys Choir Jean-Yves Thibaudet Ladysmith Black Mambazo Angela Hewitt Wynton Marsalis/Jazz at Lincoln Center Orch Danilo Perez: 21st Century Dizzy

Sun Sep 13 Thu Oct 8 Thu Oct 15 Sun Nov 1 Fri Nov 20 Sun Nov 29 Sat Dec 12 Sun Jan 31 Wed Feb 10 Wed Mar 17

Pricing Pricing scheme applies to all venues.

Price Level Gold Price Level (A) Price Level (B)

Thu Apr 8

Price Level (C)

General Admission Venues

Price Level (D)

St. Francis of Assisi (SF)

Price Level (E)

2250 East Stadium Boulevard Stile Antico Tue Oct 27 Trio Mediæval Tue Apr 20

University of Michigan Museum of Art (UMMA) 525 South State Street Sō Percussion

Sat Feb 6

Detailed seat maps are available on our website at www.ums.org/tickets/seat_maps.asp

Subscribers to the Jazz, Global/Africa, Violin, Divine Voices, and Michael’s Picks Series, please note: These series take place in more than one venue. We have made every effort to make the seat locations comparable from one venue to the next. For specific information about seating locations for these series, please visit www.ums.org or call the Ticket Office at 734-764-2538.

Seat Maps How to Order Tickets

There is an $8 service charge for all subscription orders.

Phone

In Person

Mail

With Visa, MasterCard, Discover, or American Express

Please visit the Ticket Office on the north end of the Michigan League building (911 North University Avenue). The Ticket Office also sells tickets for all U-M School of Music productions and the Ann Arbor Summer Festival.

UMS Ticket Office Burton Memorial Tower 881 North University Avenue Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1011

734-764-2538

Outside the 734 area code and within Michigan, call toll-free 800-221-1229.

Internet

www.ums.org

Fax 734-647-1171

Summer Hours (beginning Mon, May 4) 10 am to 5 pm Mon–Fri Closed Sat and Sun. Extended hours resume after Labor Day.

Group Sales Office Bring your friends and save! When you bring a group of 10 or more people to a UMS event, you’ll save 15-25% off the regular ticket price for most performances. For more information, contact UMS Group Sales at 734-763-3100 or umsgroupsales@umich.edu.

UMS accepts group reservations beginning Monday, July 20, four weeks before individual events go on sale to the general public. Act early to guarantee access to great seats!

Subscription tickets will be mailed in mid-August.

All sales are final. Refunds are available only when an event is canceled or rescheduled.

Programs and artists are subject to change without notice.

Michigan Theater

Power Center

603 East Liberty Street

121 Fletcher Street

BALCONY

BALCONY Sec 8

Sec 7 c6

Sec 9 Se

MAIN FLOOR

0

c1

Se

Sec 3 Sec 2

MAIN FLOOR

Sec 4

Sec 1

Sec 5

STAGE

Power Center (P)

A

Punch Brothers with Chris Thile Suzanne Farrell Ballet Globe Theatre/Love’s Labour’s Lost Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Co Cyro Baptista/Beat the Donkey Maly Drama Theater/Uncle Vanya Hubbard Street Dance Chicago

Wed Oct 7 Fri-Sat Oct 9-10 Tue-Sun Oct 20-25 Fri-Sat Jan 22-23 Sat Mar 13 Thu-Sun Mar 25-28 Thu-Sat Apr 22-24

STAGE Souad Massi Baaba Maal with NOMO

Fri Jan 8 Sat Apr 10

Rackham Auditorium

Lydia Mendelssohn Theatre

915 East Washington Street

911 North University Avenue

Sec 7

Sec 6 Sec 5 MAIN FLOOR

Sec 8

Sec 2

Sec 4

Sec 1

Sec 3 STAGE

Rackham Auditorium (R) Belcea Quartet St. Lawrence String Quartet Luciana Souza Trio Schubert Piano Trios Takács Quartet Julia Fischer The Rest is Noise in Performance

Fri Oct 30 Sun Nov 8 Thu Feb 11 Sun Feb 14 Mon Mar 15 Wed-Thu Mar 24-25 Sun Apr 25

Lydia Mendelssohn Theatre (LMT) Bill Charlap Trio The Bad Plus

Fri Oct 2 Thu Feb 4

Don’t Miss These Important Dates!

Wed May 6

Priority Period Begins for Renewing Subscribers and UMS Donors

Mon July 20

Group Sales Reservations Open

Mon Aug 17

Donor Single Ticket Day (for donors of at least $250)

Wed Aug 19

Last Day to Order Monogram Series

Thu Aug 20

Internet Sales Begin

Mon Aug 24

Single Ticket Day — all tickets to individual events on sale now

Fri Sep 11

Last Day to Order UMS Choral Union Series

Fri Sep 18

Last Day to Order All Other UMS Series

Mon May 11 Subscription Packages Available

to General Public Fri June 5

Fri June 26

Deadline for U-M Payroll Deduction Seating Priority Deadline for Donors and Renewing Subscribers Deadline for Installment Billing and Free Parking Options

09/10 ums season | www.ums.org | 734-764-2538

Michigan Theater (MT)

48 | 49

Seating Priority Donors

Donors of at least $2,500 annually receive the highest priority seating based on level of giving for fixed series and Monogram packages. Donations may be made at time of purchase and included with your ticket order. Ticket orders must be received

by Friday, June 5 to be eligible for seating priority. Within each subscription category listed below, annual donors of $500 or more receive special consideration for seating.

Fixed Series

Renewing and fixed series subscribers (for packages listed on pages 6-23 and 42 of this brochure) receive priority before Monogram Series subscribers and individual event purchasers.

Subscriptions will be filled by series, in the order received.

Monogram Series

Monogram subscribers (those who choose at least five events from pages 24-41 of this brochure) will receive priority before individual event purchasers. Subscriptions will be filled in the order received and must be received by Wednesday, August 19.

Access for Persons with Disabilities

All UMS venues are accessible for persons with disabilities.

Call 734-764-2538 for more information.

Start Time & Latecomers

UMS makes every effort to begin concerts at the published time. Most of our events take place in the heart of central campus, which may have limited parking and several events occurring simultaneously in different venues. Please allow plenty of extra time to park and find your seats.

Latecomers will be asked to wait in the lobby until seated by ushers. Most lobbies have been outfitted with monitors and/ or speakers so that latecomers will not miss the performance entirely.

The late seating break is determined by the artists and will generally occur during a suitable repertory break in the program. This could be as late as intermission or, for classical music concerts, after the first piece (not after individual movements). There may be occasions where latecomers are not seated until intermission, as determined by the artist. UMS makes every effort to alert patrons in advance when we know that there will be no late seating.

UMS works closely with the artists to allow a more flexible late seating policy for family performances.

Notices about start times and late seating will be sent via e-mail. Please make sure that the UMS Ticket Office has your e-mail address on file.

TICKETS & INFO Important Notes from the Ticket Office Please Make Sure We Have Your E-mail Address on File!

UMS regularly sends updated concert-related parking and late seating information via e-mail a few days before the event.

Please be sure that the Ticket Office has your correct e-mail address on file.

Ticket Exchanges

Subscribers may exchange tickets free of charge. Nonsubscribers may exchange tickets for a $6 per ticket exchange fee. Exchanged tickets must be received by the Ticket Office (by mail or in person) at least 48 hours prior to the performance.

The value of the tickets may be applied to another performance or will be held as UMS Credit until the end of the season. You may also fax a photocopy of your torn tickets to 734-647-1171. UMS Credit must be redeemed by April 25, 2010.

The UMS Ticket Office will accept subscription ticket exchanges after subscription tickets are mailed in August.

Ticket Donations/Unused Tickets

Parking/Parking Tips

Detailed directions and parking information will be mailed with your tickets and are also available at www.ums.org/parking.

Construction of the University of Michigan’s North Quad residence hall over the next year will increase traffic congestion and require occasional lane and street closures in the block surrounding the construction area. Because this impacts access routes to performance venues, we ask that you allow ample travel time and avoid certain streets. Recommended alternative directions and parking access suggestions are available at www.ums.org/parking.

All parking structures will remain open during construction.

Children and Families

Children under the age of three will only be admitted to special UMS Family Performances. This year’s Family Performances include: Suzanne Farrell Ballet Keith Terry/Slammin’ Body Band Vienna Boys Choir Cyro Baptista’s Beat the Donkey

Sat Oct 10 Fri Nov 6 Sun Nov 29 Sat Mar 13

Unused tickets may be donated to UMS for a tax-deductible contribution up to 15 minutes prior to the performance.

Unused tickets that are returned after the performance are not eligible for UMS Credit or for a tax-deductible contribution.

For these performances, please call the Ticket Office if you are bringing a child under the age of two. Children under two will be admitted at no charge, but do need to be assigned a seat due to fire marshall capacity limitations.

Will-Call/Ticket Pick-Up

Children under the age of three will only be admitted to special UMS Family Performances. (Note: children under three will not be admitted to the Vienna Boys Choir concert.) All children attending such performances must be able to sit quietly in their own seats without disturbing other patrons. Children unable to do so, along with the adult accompanying them, may be asked by an usher to leave the auditorium. Please use discretion when choosing to bring a child. Remember, for regular UMS performances, everyone must have a ticket, regardless of age.

All ticket orders received less than 10 days prior to the performance will be held at will-call, which opens in the performance venue 90 minutes prior to the published start time.

Lost or Misplaced Tickets

Call the Ticket Office at 734-764-2538 to have duplicate tickets waiting for you at will-call. Duplicate tickets cannot be mailed.

Refunds

Due to the nature of the performing arts, programs are subject to change. Refunds are given only in the case of event cancellation or date change. Handling fees are not refundable.

See pages 20-21 for information about the UMS Family Performance Series and the UMS Classical Kids Club. For more information about the family-friendliness of specific UMS performances, please call the Ticket Office at 734-764-2538.

Special thanks for the following supporters: Arts at Michigan. Arts at Michigan provides the programs and services that enable students to integrate arts and culture into their undergraduate experience at the University of Michigan.

Doris Duke Charitable Foundation Endowment Fund. Special project support for several components of the 2009/10 UMS season is provided by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation Endowment Fund, established with a challenge grant from the Leading College and University Presenters Program at the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.

National Dance Project. Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company is funded by New England Foundation for the Arts’ National Dance Project (NDP), with generous support by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and the MetLife Community Connections Fund of the MetLife Foundation.

National Endowment for the Arts. Project supuport for several components of the 09/10 UMS season is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts through its American Masterpieces: Three Centuries of Artistic Genius program. The NEA believes that a great nation deserves great art.

University of Michigan. The University of Michigan provides special project support for many activities in the 2009/10 season through the U-M/UMS Partnership Program. Additional support is provided by the U-M Office of the Vice President for Research, the U-M Office of the Senior Vice Provost for Academic Affairs, and many other individual academic units.

CREDITS Education Program Supporters Reflects gifts received during the 08/09 fiscal year.

Season Media Sponsor

Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs University of Michigan

Media Sponsors

Anonymous Arts at Michigan Arts Midwest’s Performing Arts Fund Bank of Ann Arbor Bustan al-Funun Foundation for Arab Arts The Dan Cameron Family Foundation/Alan and Swanna Saltiel Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan Consulate General of the Netherlands in New York Doris Duke Charitable Foundation Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art DTE Energy Foundation The Esperance Family Foundation Honigman Miller Schwartz and Cohn LLP JazzNet Endowment W.K. Kellogg Foundation Masco Corporation Foundation Miller, Canfield, Paddock and Stone, P.L.C. THE MOSAIC FOUNDATION (of R. and P. Heydon) The Mosaic Foundation [Washington, DC] National Dance Project of the New England Foundation for the Arts National Endowment for the Arts Prudence and Amnon Rosenthal K-12 Education Endowment Fund Rick and Sue Snyder Target TCF Bank UMS Advisory Committee University of Michigan Credit Union University of Michigan Health System U-M Office of the Senior Vice Provost for Academic Affairs U-M Office of the Vice President for Research Wallace Endowment Fund

09/10 ums season | www.ums.org | 734-764-2538

Wallace Endowment Fund. Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre is funded in part by the Wallace Endowment Fund, established with a challenge grant from the Wallace Foundation to build public participation in arts programs.

50 | 51

UMS is a member of the University of Michigan Public Goods Council and the Cultural Alliance of Southeastern Michigan.

The University of Michigan is an Equal Opportunity Employer and provides programs and services without regard to race, sex, color, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, or disability.

Burton Memorial Tower 881 North University Avenue Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1011

Non-Profit Organization US Postage PAID Ann Arbor, MI Permit No. 27

Connecting

Audiences

and ArtistS in

Uncommon

Engaging Experiences

Graphic Design: Margot Campos

and