Hill Auditorium – The REAL Big House

UM Hill Auditorium 1913

Discover the story behind the stage in “A Space for Music, A Seat for Everyone.” The video documentary tells the story of Hill Auditorium, one of the most storied venues in the United States, this afternoon at 5 p.m. on Detroit Public Television, WTVS Channel 56. Produced by the University Musical Society (UMS), the program also will be simulcast online at ums.org/hill100.

One of the performing arts jewels of the University of Michigan, Hill Auditorium opened on May 14, 1913. Designed by the renowned architect Albert Kahn and boasting one of the world’s finest acoustical designs, Hill Auditorium has been a true cultural incubator for the arts community in southeast Michigan for the past 100 years.

With a rich history of performances by the world’s top artists, Hill Auditorium is a shining example of how investment in the arts cultivates a vibrant, engaged community.

Through concert recordings, news articles, and anecdotal interviews, A Space for Music, A Seat for Everyone: 100 Years of UMS Performances in Hill Auditorium provides historical context for the auditorium’s role as a UMS anchor venue and highlights its evolving community function.

Find out more about the film:

We hope you tune in, and thank you for being part of the UMS experience.

Sponsored by AnnArbor.com, part of the MLive Media Group. Presented with support from Detroit Public Television.

The image above was made on Opening Night at Hill Auditorium, May 14, 1913.

Kickstart Your Summer with the Arts!

Edsel and Eleanor Ford House and Daffodil Garden by Stephen J. Brown

WRCJ 90.9 FM and Edsel & Eleanor Ford House invite you to Kickstart Your Summer!

Don’t miss a fun filled event for families, students and arts and cultural organizations. You also can be part of a live radio broadcast on WRCJ 90.9 FM, hosted by Dave Wagner and Chris Felcyn.

Join us on the grounds of the historic Edsel & Eleanor Ford House on the shore of Lake St. Clair on Saturday, June 8, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Among the fun:

  • Free Admission and Free Parking
  • Live entertainment will be provided by musicians from the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Livonia Symphony, Macomb Symphony, Cantata Academy Chorale, The Detroit Children’s Choir, Grosse Pointe Community Chorus, Motor City Brass Band and many others
  • Over 40 Exhibitors – Arts, Music, Educational and Civic Organizations
  • Instrument “Petting Zoo” and other children’s activities
  • Tours of the historic Edsel & Eleanor Ford House will be available with an admission fee of $12 for adults, $11 for seniors, $5 for children ages 6 – 12 and free for children under 5.

Families will be able to sample tasty food from Ford House’s Cotswold Café, Dirty Dog Jazz Café and Fresh Farms Market.

Representatives from the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra, Cranbrook Academy of Art & Art Museum, Cranbrook Music Guild, Dearborn Symphony, Detroit Public TV, Grosse Pointe Symphony, Michigan Opera Theatre, Windsor Symphony, and many other arts and cultural organizations will be on hand with activities and information.

The Edsel & Eleanor Ford House is located at 1100 Lake Shore Road, Grosse Pointe Shores. For more information, visit us online at www.wrcjfm.org.

The image above of the Edsel and Eleanor Ford House and the Daffodil Garden is a detail from a photograph by Stephen J. BrownClick here to see it and other photographs by Mr. Brown.

 

Palmer Woods Music in Homes – Afro Cuban Jazz

Orquesta-La-Inspiracion-i3

The paradisal spring gardens behind a stately Palmer Woods Mansion will be swaying with the hot rhythms of Orquesta La Inspiracion’s horns, percussion and vocals for the upcoming Palmer Woods Music in Homes concert on Saturday, May 25 at 8 p.m. A delicious Mexican feast will be served during intermission, and the main floor of the home will be open for a tour prior to the concert.

Orquesta La Inspiracion is led by award-winning jazz pianist and music director Bill Meyer. Bringing together veterans of Detroit’s Latin and jazz scenes, his ear respects and his hand reveals these distinct ­traditions to produce authentic music derived from the Spanish-speaking Caribbean. Meyer’s new musical structures also include elements of Yoruban, Congolese, and Dahomean traditions.

This is a concert where the audience is encouraged to not keep still. ­Propelled by the rhythms and tones of Afro-Cuban pop and salsa, those within earshot instantly become part of the unique Latin pulse and are often up on their feet dancing.

The Palmer Woods Music in Homes series presents outstanding live music set in the magnificent homes of one of the City of Detroit’s most beautiful and historic neighborhoods. The 2012-2013 season launched in December, followed by a jazz, classical or world music concert each month in a different magnificent home. The spring-summer concerts are held in beautiful gardens, shelter by a spacious tent.

Tickets, $40 each or $35 for groups of 10 or more, can be purchased at palmerwoods.org or by calling (313) 891-2514. The address of the concert home in Palmer Woods is revealed when tickets are purchased. The concerts are special opportunities to hear world-class musicians who have Detroit-area roots. Included is a reception with delicious food, beverages and desserts (often related to the musical style).

Long considered to be one of Michigan’s premiere communities, Palmer Woods actively works to preserve and enrich the quality of life in Detroit. The concerts help raise funds for neighborhood preservation and improvements, as well as support the arts and project a positive and creative image about Detroit. Performances are held in different historic Palmer Woods mansions and cool homes.

The “concert halls” have included homes designed by legendary architects Minoru Yamasaki, Albert Kahn, Frank Lloyd Wright, Richard Marr and others. Concerts are produced by the Creative Arts Collective. The Palmer Woods Association and Creative Arts Collective present Palmer Woods Music in Homes to strengthen our neighborhood and Detroit’s image, showcase Palmer Woods as a wonderful place to live and visit, and enrich the quality of life and cultural environment in our city. Concerts are supported in part by Be Well Medical Center in Berkley, Barefield DesignWorksBlossoms in BirminghamCity Living DetroitDMC-Sinai Grace Hospital and WRCJ 90.9 FM.

 

A Musical Evening in England

Chamber-Music-at-the-Scarab-Club

Chamber Music at the Scarab Club celebrates the final concert of its 15th season with a program of music created by English composers. “An Evening in England” will be performed Sunday, June 2 at the Scarab Club in Detroit, beginning at 7 p.m.

The program includes the Bax Quintet for Harp and Strings, featuring harpist Maurice Draughn; York Bowen’s Quintet for Bass Clarinet and Strings with clarinetist Brian Bowman; and two selections for string quartet by Vaughan Williams and Samuel Coleridge-Taylor.

Tickets are $18 if reserved in advance and $22 at the door, $10 for students.

For tickets and more info, call (248) 474-8930 or email chambermusic@scarabclub.org.

 

 The Artists

Maurice Draughn – harp
Brian Bowman – bass clarinet
Velda Kelly – violin
Andrew Wu - violin
Scott Stefanko – viola
Nadine Deleury – cello

The Program

Quintet for Harp and Strings – Arnold BAX (1883-1953)
Phantasy Quintet for Bass Clarinet and Strings – York BOWEN (1884-1961)
Three Preludes on Welsh Hymn Tunes for String Quartet – Ralph VAUGHAN WILLIAMS (1872-1958)
Fantasie-Stücke for String Quartet – Samuel COLERIDGE-TAYLOR (1875-1912)

 

More from Chamber Music at the Scarab Club:

Don’t miss the season finale of Chamber Music at the Scarab Club! Relax in the courtyard garden before and after the concert, view the current art exhibits in both galleries and enjoy Detroit chamber musicians perform English music in a perfect setting.

Arnold Bax is beginning to become a more well-known composer but his music still has not been heard by many. His Quintet for Harp and Strings is an expressive one-movement piece. Bax has a singular and very romantic style with gorgeous expansive themes. This work was written in 1919 around the time of his first visit to Ireland, a country and culture that fascinated him throughout his entire life.

York Bowen is another prolific composer who is relatively unknown. This exceptional work was luckily suggested by one of the CMSC performers. Bowen showcases the bass clarinet, an instrument rarely included in chamber music, especially not with a string quartet! This is a well-structured and exciting piece that will cause you to wonder why the bass clarinet as a chamber instrument isn’t heard more often. Bowen was a pianist, but is said to have played every instrument in the orchestra. No wonder he could write so well for this unusual combination of instruments!

Ralph Vaughan Williams is certainly a name everyone will recognize. The Three Preludes on Welsh Hymn Tunes are truly beautiful and richly melodic. The composer felt a responsibility to write works for different combinations of instruments that could be played by people “whiling away the waiting hours of war’. Written in 1940-41 for string quartet, Vaughan Williams specifically noted in the parts that these preludes could also be played by a variety of other instruments, assuming that people would use whatever they had on hand.

Samuel Coleridge-Taylor was an African-British composer who had a short but influential life. He made several trips from his native London to the United States and was greatly admired in this country as well as in England. Composed in 1898, the Fantasie-Stücke (Fantasy Pieces) consists of five relatively short and light-hearted works, each representing a different character or mood.

As always, each piece on the concert will be introduced by one of the musicians and the performance will be followed by a delicious and friendly reception.

 

Oakaloosa Takes Historic Fort Wayne

Historic Fort Wayne

It’s a music festival with a great message and a good cause. The region’s first fully philanthropic music festival, Oakaloosa will take place at Historic Fort Wayne in Detroit July 27.

A percentage of every dollar raised will be put towards the restoration of Historic Fort Wayne in order to help return the Fort to its previous glory and preserve it for future generations to admire and enjoy.

Headlining the festival are national artists Girl Talk and Bone Thugs-n-Harmony. Local stars include Royce da 5’9’’, Jessica Hernandez, Trick Trick, Kaleido and Robert James, AKA Robert Ritchie Jr., the 19-year-old son of Kid Rock. Also performing are DJ A.M.F., Ro Spit, Hir-O, Freddy Todd and Paulina Jayne.

Tickets are $45 for general admission. They are available online at www.oakaloosa.com. The first 313 buyers will get a $10 discount.

Oakaloosa is organized and supported by Detroit Sports Zone, Inc., a non-profit group committed to exposing people of all ages to sports, cultural arts, mentoring, life-skill development and character building activities. Additional proceeds from the festival will be used to support the youth sports and mentoring programs provided through Detroit Sports Zone, Inc.

 Detroit Sports Zone Inc.

Founded in 2011, based on the vision of former Harlem Globetrotter Ernest “Wag” Wagner, Detroit Sports Zone, Inc. is committed to exposing youth, adults and older adults to sports, cultural arts, mentoring, life-skill development and character building activities. Detroit Sports Zone, Inc. is a State of Michigan 501c3 non-profit organization and is a pending IRS/501c3 non-profit organization.

Art X Detroit

Art X Detroit mural by artist Hubert Massey

Get set for a five-day multidisciplinary celebration that presents works created by the 2011-2012 Kresge Eminent Artists and Artist Fellows. Free and open to the public, Art X Detroit is filled with dance and musical performances, literary readings, workshops and panel discussions that are distinguished in depth and quality.

Artists include Detroit Poet Laureate Naomi Long Madgett and playwright Bill Harris, as well as a host of visual and performing artists who represent established and cutting edge parts of the spectrum. For the complete Who’s Who, What’s What and the schedule, click here.

From Art X Detroit:

Art X Detroit: Kresge Arts Experience is a five-day multidisciplinary celebration, from April 10-14, 2013, that will exclusively present works created by the 2011-2012 Kresge Eminent Artists and Artist Fellows, along with a special visual arts exhibition at MOCAD that runs through April 28, 2013.

An exciting program of dance and musical performances, literary readings, workshops, panel discussions, public art and special exhibitions, Art X Detroit will be hosted at more than a dozen venues located throughout Midtown Detroit’s Cultural Center and is free to the public. Art X Detroit is supported by The Kresge Foundation.

———————–

Midway

I’ve come this far to freedom and I won’t turn back

I’m climbing to the highway from my old dirt track

I’m coming and I’m going

And I’m stretching and I’m growing

And I’ll reap what I’ve been sowing or my skin’s not black

I’ve prayed and slaved and waited and I’ve sung my song

You’ve bled me and you’ve starved me but I’ve still grown strong

You’ve lashed me and you’ve treed me

And you’ve everything but freed me

But in time you’ll know you need me and it won’t be long.

I’ve seen the daylight breaking high above the bough

I’ve found my destination and I’ve made my vow;

So whether you abhor me

Or deride me or ignore me

Mighty mountains loom before me and I won’t stop now.

Naomi Long Madgett (1959)

 

————————-

Madgett’s note:

(“Midway was first published in Freedomways in 1959, but I think I wrote it in 1958. The poem grew out of a discussion with a friend that acknowledged that the Supreme Court desegregation ruling, which legalized racial justice for the first time, led to the determination of Black people to move forward and never again accept the status quo.”)

SOURCE

————————-

The image above:

“A People’s Vision” is a work of public art located at Warren and Woodward Avenues in Detroit Michigan. Created by Hubert Massey, a Kresge Fellow and visual artist whose work is featured in Art X Detroit, the mural reflects images of Detroit’s past and future, including historic events, cultural traditions and symbolic figures associated with the city. The work is a result of collaborative feedback between the artist and community. Learn more here.

 

 

Ten Buildings That Changed America

Cranbrook-Academy-of-Art

The always-colorful and interesting Reed Kroloff, architect, editor, educator, and Director of the Cranbrook Academy of Art, is featured tonight on “Ten Buildings That Changed American,” an upbeat DPTV program that also features the Ford Highland Park Plant.

“10 Buildings” is a one-hour dash through more than 200 years of the remarkably creative output of American architecture, and we hope you enjoy it. The program airs Thursday at 9 p.m. and again this Sunday at 4 p.m.

Details from PBS:

Ever wondered how your house got its plan? Or why you occupy your office the way you do? How would you have designed an airport if you didn’t know what a jet was?

These questions and more are addressed in the new PBS documentary “10 Buildings that Changed America,” airing this week on Detroit Public Television. As its title suggests, the program considers how 10 landmark buildings reshaped life as we know it in the United States.

Hosted by Geoffrey Baer, the program features interviews with leading architects, historians, and critics, including Reed Kroloff, Director of the Art Academy. Speaking from the living room of Saarinen house, Reed appears in a number of the show’s ten segments, which includes an analysis of Eero Saarinen’s Dulles Airport, the original model of which now resides in the Cranbrook Art Museum.

 

So, what are the most important buildings
and greatest architecture in Michigan? 

We asked The Michigan Architectural Foundation for an answer.

They recommended Great Architecture of Michigan by John Gallagher (author) and Balthazar Korab (photographer).

As Senator Carl Levin points out in the forward to the book, “The State of Michigan, almost entirely surrounded by the world’s greatest fresh waters, has one of the most distinctive and easily recognizable boundaries on the planet.  But the state’s geography is just one of the forms that has shaped Michigan’s story of growth and production.  Another enduring backdrop is the buildings that have housed some of Michigan’s finest moments, with architecture that is as diverse and eclectic as the people of Michigan.”

Looking for more information about Michigan’s architecture? 

The Michigan Architectural Foundation is an excellent resource to connect people with architecture in Michigan, through a variety of tools, including the library that is under development.

The Michigan Architectural Foundation serves as a resource to connect people with architecture in Michigan through a comprehensive collection of resources published on MichiganArchitecturalFoundation.org – from grants to facilitate historic preservation to scholarships to support the profession and perpetuation of architecture.  Educational resources also are available through the Michigan Architectural Foundation, including a curriculum for elementary grades, an architectural handbook for high school students and summer camps held across the state.  The Foundation has just begun efforts to assemble a Library of Architecture that will be housed in existing libraries.

Want to stay connected to Michigan architecture?  Join the Foundation on FacebookTwitter or Linked in, or sign up to receive their blog or e-newsletter.

Michigan Architectural Foundation is dedicated to the promotion, perpetuation and preservation of architecture as a fine art. By serving as a visible resource for funding, information and educational programs, we increase the public’s appreciation for architecture, which encourages cohesive, sustainable communities, increasing economic value, enriching experiences and adding beauty.

 

 


 

The Murals Dance

Detroit-Industry-by-Diego-Rivera

Famed around the world for their depictions of the people of Southeast Michigan in action in their work and lives, Detroit Industry by Diego Rivera will come to life Sunday at the Detroit Institute of Arts.

Eastern Michigan University Dance Majors, under the direction of professor Joanna McNamara, will perform in the Diego Rivera Detroit Industry Murals Court at the Detroit Institute of Arts on Sunday, April 28, from 2-4 p.m.

Free with paid admission and open to the public, the event consists of an open rehearsal followed by a presentation by professor McNamara and her colleagues on the multiple processes involved in making a video dance.

McNamara’s new dance, to music by Paul Dreshner, will be filmed in the Rivera Court later in the week. EMU faculty lecturer Laura Zimmerman, director of photography for the dance, will also participate in the Sunday presentation.

The dance, which draws from the juxtaposed natural and human-made dynamics and relationships of the Detroit Industry murals, explores ways in which the immense court can be activated through movement.

“I think of the dance not so much as a representation of the murals, but as a dialogue between the dancers’ embodied action and Rivera’s frescoes,” says McNamara.

The dancers, who were instrumental in creating the work, are Jermaine Dickerson, Jennifer Flanagan, Chloe Gray, Amber Lawson, Morgan Hertz, Anthony Milian, Mariah Robinette, and Rebecca Zahm.

“I usually choreograph a dance with minimal input from my dancers,” says McNamara. “But I couldn’t ignore Rivera’s emphasis on the significance of the voice of the workers depicted in the Detroit Industry murals. It’s a reoccurring theme. So I gave my dancers structured improvisations then developed much of what evolved out of these improvs into the final piece. The dancers thus have a very strong voice in the choreographed dance.”

In addition to the above dancers, Dance Major Lauren Mudry serves as production manager for this project and graduate student David Koltunchik as camera operator.

For more information visit the DIA online.

Beethoven & Beyond

PWMIH presents Berick and Martin

Beloved Beethoven will be the composer in the spotlight at the Saturday, March 16 Palmer Woods Music in Homes present “Beethoven & Beyond,” a concert featuring pianist Pauline Martin and violinist Yehonatan Berick.

The intimate art-filled setting — a breathtaking contemporary home in Palmer Woods — could not be finer to appreciate the works of this master composer — including the “Spring” Sonata, as vibrant today as it was when composed more than two centuries ago, heralding the approaching season of rebirth, warmth and resilience. The concert begins at 8 p.m. and includes delicious food, desserts, wine and beverages during the mid-concert reception.

Palmer Woods Music in Homes tickets, $40 each or $35 for groups of 10 or more, can be purchased at palmerwoods.org or by calling 313-891-2514. The address of the concert home in Palmer Woods is revealed when tickets are purchased. The concert series showcases the outstanding mansions, cool homes and historic architecture in Palmer Woods, with magnificent living room salons providing the concert “stage” for the monthly presentations of jazz, classical and world music.

Berick and Martin have distinguished themselves internationally as sensitive and creative musicians — both as soloists and chamber musicians — as well as highly regarded pedagogues.

A prizewinner in the 1993 Naumberg competition and recipient of the 1996-97 Prix Opus, Violinist Yehonatan Berick has performed to rapturous acclaim in North America, Europe and Israel. His music has graced the stages of Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center, London’s Wigmore Hall, the Musée du Louvre, and Milan’s Sala Verdi. As a salon and chamber player, he has performed at the Marlboro Festival, and in Seattle, Vancouver, Ottawa, and Jerusalem. Beginning his musical journey at the age of six, Berick studied under Ilona Feher, Henry Meyer, Kurt ­Sassmannshaus and the venerable Dorothy DeLay. Internationally lauded, Berick is considered one of the brightest talents of Israel, having won several Clairemont Awards, and yearly stipends from the America-Israel Cultural Foundation. Following faculty stints at McGill University and the Eastman School of Music, Berick is currently a Professor of Violin at the University of Michigan.

Pianist Pauline Martin is well known in chamber music circles as a founding member of the St. Clair Trio, and as the artistic director and driving force of the Pro Mozart Society of Greater Detroit and Chamber Soloists of Detroit, where she has helped to showcase the talents of numerous outstanding classical musicians. Described by the Washington Post as “dazzling” and having “performed rapturously and sensually,” Martin has garnered well deserved world-class recognition. Martin’s chamber performances include work with Detroit Chamber Winds and Strings, the Lafayette String Quartet, violinists James Ehnes and Andres Cardenes, and cellist Robert DeMaine. As a soloist, she has performed as a concerto soloist with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the New American Chamber Orchestra and Orchestra London (Canada). Martin received Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in piano performance from Indiana University as a student of Menahem Pressler; and her Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Michigan, where she studied with Gary Graffman, Theodore Lettvin and Andre Watts.

Wm. Grant Still, de la Presle, Hahn and More!

Patricia Terry-Ross, harpist i2

Chamber Music at the Scarab Club is pleased to present a concert in the beautiful sanctuary of Grosse Pointe Unitarian Church on Sunday, April 14 at 4 p.m. The exceptional program includes a variety of composers and instrumentation. There’s something for most everyone to enjoy, including a prelude that begins at 3 p.m.

Hear the rarely performed Ennanga by William Grant Still, showcasing MOT principal harpist Patricia Terry-Ross; richly textured songs by Jacques de la Presle, Reynaldo Hahn and Vincent d’Indy, with mezzo soprano Barbara Bland; and J. S. Bach’s Flute Sonata in B minor, performed by Yana Staples and Angelina Pashmakova.

And as a special treat, come early for a 30 minute prelude starting at 3 p.m. with ‘Trio Magnificat,’ a young piano trio from Sault Ste. Marie. They will perform a movement from Mendelssohn’s D minor Piano Trio and Schubert’s F minor Fantasy for one piano, four hands! The group came together as a trio just three years ago and consists of violinist Benjamin Gulder, cellist/pianist Kristin Beckman and pianist Emily Beckman. The Beckman Sisters piano duo has been playing together as a team for eleven years.

The Program

Sonata in B minor – J. S. BACH (1685-1750)
Yana Staples – flute, Angelina Pashmakova – piano

Au Clair de la Lune – Jacques de la PRESLE (1888-1969)
Barbara Bland – mezzo soprano, Patricia Terry-Ross – harp

Marche Nuptiale – Jacques de la PRESLE
Barbara Bland – mezzo soprano, Angelina Pashmakova – piano, Velda Kelly and Molly Hughes – violins, Scott Stefanko – viola, Nadine Deleury – cello

Madrigal à deux voix pour soprano et violoncelle – Vincent d’INDY (1851-1931)
Barbara Bland – mezzo soprano, Nadine Deleury – cello

L’Heure exquise and A Chloris – Reynaldo HAHN (1874-1947) String quartet arr. by Maurice DRAUGHN
Barbara Bland – mezzo soprano, Velda Kelly and Molly Hughes – violins, Scott Stefanko – viola, Nadine Deleury – cello

Ennanga – William Grant STILL (1895-1978)
Patricia Terry-Ross – harp, Angelina Pashmakova – piano, and string quartet

As always, each piece on the concert will be introduced by one of the musicians and the performance will be followed by a delicious and friendly reception.

Tickets – $16 for subscriptions, $18 if reserved in advance and $22 at the door $10 for students.

For tickets and more info, phone (248) 474-8930 or email chambermusic@scarabclub.org.

The image above depicts Patricia Terry-Ross in performance. It is a detail from a photograph of Patricia Terry-Ross from the Coalition of Harpists of African Descent.