Your source for stories and conversations about making art in greater Detroit.
Kick off summer and kick out the dub jams at the 2013 Movement Electronic Music Festival. The action happens this weekend at Hart Plaza Saturday, May 25 through Monday, May 25.
Tickets are $49 for one day and $99 for the full fest. Click here for details.
On Sunday, Historic Fort Wayne will be filled with music, art, poetry and wisdom. The first-of-its-kind spectacular, “Hold the Fort” runs from noon to 10 p.m. on May 26.
Organizers are working to establish an annual expo to inspire and engage future generations through the transformative power of creative collaboration. The program will bring together local and global artists, innovators and builders, local food vendors and community groups who will be creating a temporary world that provokes the imagination and stimulates participatory engagement.
Equally, organizers also want to reactivate this important historical site and allow participants to draw inspiration from Detroit’s rich history in building its future.
Shuttles will be provided during “Hold the Fort” for the trek back and forth from Hart Plaza to Fort Wayne, where the Movement Electronic Music Festival will be happening.
The image above is a detail from “Sky Burial – As Above, So Below” an amazing installation by Bethany Shorb.
For complete information, click here.
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.
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:
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. Brown. Click here to see it and other photographs by Mr. Brown.
Check it out. Your Detroit Institute of Arts is opening up its treasure trove for viewing at a public place near you. Well, almost — the works on display are excellent reproductions of the masterpieces which residents of Macomb, Oakland and Wayne counties are invited to see, gratis*, currently on display at the DIA. Even if you buy a ticket, it’s a small price to pay to see the real McGill and VanGoghs.
Details from DIA:
Inside|Out, now in its fourth year, brings nearly 80 reproductions of masterpieces from the DIA’s collection to the streets and parks of metro Detroit, pleasantly surprising and delighting residents of the participating communities. Where possible, the works are clustered within walking or biking distance of each other in a grand, open-air gallery.
The DIA is working with the communities to plan educational opportunities and other fun activities, such as bicycle and walking tours. Residents of participating communities will enjoy a designated weekend to visit the museum for free and see “their” works of art. Visitors will receive a 10-percent discount in Café DIA and the museum shop, $1 off Detroit Film Theatre (DFT) tickets and free admission to showings of the DFT 101 film series.
Stay tuned for updates on the Inside|Out photo contest and geocaching series.
Participating Communities and Community Weekend Dates:
Click here for details on Inside/Out. The DIA itself is open Tuesdays through Sundays.
* DIA admission is free for residents of Macomb, Oakland and Wayne counties, where voters passed a millage to support the acclaimed institution, home to some of the most magnificent works of art in the world. Admission also is free to Members of the DIA. For residents of other Michigan counties, and for visitors from out of state, admission is $8 for adults ($6 for senior citizens), $4 for children (free for kids 5 and under), and $5 for college students with valid ID.
The Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival launches its celebratory 20th Anniversary Season with an opening night performance featuring Jonathan Biss and the Pacifica Quartet. The festival opens Saturday, June 8 at the Seligman Performing Arts Center.
Details from the GLCMF:
The Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival will celebrate its 20th anniversary season June 8-23 with more than 20 concerts in downtown and metro venues. In celebration of a milestone year, the 2013 Festival will feature the return of favorite artists, five new commissions performed by five returning ensembles, and the return of three legendary composers. The festivities kick off on Opening Night, Saturday, June 8 at Seligman Performing Arts Center. The concert will feature world-famous pianist Jonathan Biss and Grammy Award winning ensemble, the Pacifica Quartet.
Pianist Jonathan Biss performed at the very first Festival in 1994 at the age of 13. His last Festival appearance occurred in 1998.
Jonathan Biss, who appeared on the very first Festival season in 1994 at the age of 13, has since appeared with the foremost orchestras of North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia and released a number of solo albums. The most recent album being the first CD in a nine-year, nine-disc recording cycle of Beethoven’s complete sonatas in January 2012. His last Festival appearance occurred in 1998.
Biss will bookend the concert with a performance of Beethoven’s “Piano Quartet in E-flat major, Op. 16″ with his parents, violinist Miriam Fried and violist Paul Biss, along with cellist Andrés Díaz. Biss will also close out the evening with a performance of Dvořák’s “Piano Quintet No. 2, Op. 81″ – a work widely acknowledged as a masterpiece of its form. Biss will perform the work with the members of the Pacifica Quartet.
The Pacifica Quartet made their Festival debut in 1998 as part of the Shouse Institute. This year marks their first return engagement.
Also featured on the evening will be a new work by composer Keeril Makan, co-commissioned by the Festival and the Boston Celebrity Series for the Pacifica Quartet. The work was premiered on the Celebrity Boston Series to a sold-out audience in October of 2012 at Bard College. Makan is an Associate Professor of Music at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and received the Rome Prize from the American Academy in Rome and a 2012 Guggenheim Fellowship.
The Pacifica Quartet made their Festival debut in 1998 as a part of the Shouse Ensemble Institute for young and emerging ensembles. This will be their first return performance to the Festival. Named the quartet-in-residence and full-time faculty members at Indiana University’s Jacob School of Music in March 2012, the Pacifica was the quartet-in-residence at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (2009 – 2012) – a position previously held by the Guarneri String Quartet – and received the 2009 Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance.
The Festival’s opening night performance will set the tone for the two-week festival. Upcoming concerts during the Festival’s first week will include a Sunday, June 9 at 3 p.m. performance at Grosse Pointe Unitarian Church, and four concerts running Tuesday, June 11 through Friday, June 14 at Temple Beth El and Kirk in the Hills Presbyterian Church. The first week concerts will feature many of the opening night artists as well a number of additional artists including: the Jupiter String Quartet, the Parker Quartet, pianist James Tocco and cellists Paul Katz and Robert deMaine. The Festival’s closing night performance will take place on Saturday, June 22. Find out more about these upcoming concerts by calling (248) 559-2097 or going online to www.greatlakeschambermusic.org.
Opening Night is sponsored by Plante Moran. Major sponsorship for the 2013 Festival is provided by JPMorgan Chase.
JUNE 8 CONCERT INFORMATION
Piano Quartet in E-flat major, Op. 16…………………………………… Ludwig van Beethoven
Miriam Fried, violin; Paul Biss, viola; Andrés Díaz, cello; Jonathan Biss, piano
Return ……………………………………………………………………………………………Keeril Makan
The Pacifica Quartet: Simin Ganatra, violin; Sibbi Bernhardsson, violin; Masumi Per Rostad, viola; Brandon Vamos, cello
Piano Quintet No. 2 in A major, Op. 81…………………………………………..Antonín Dvořák
Jonathan Biss, piano; Pacifica Quartet
ABOUT THE GREAT LAKES CHAMBER MUSIC FESTIVAL
The Festival is co-sponsored by St. Hugo of the Hills, Temple Beth El, Kirk in the Hills, and Detroit Chamber Winds & Strings. Subscriptions and single tickets are now on sale. To order or to find out more, please visit www.greatlakeschambermusic.org or call (248) 559-2097.
Performance Network Theatre presents a series of community discussions regarding “The Mountaintop,” by Katori Hall – the current Performance Network production that is an imagined portrayal of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s last night on earth.
The discussions will be held on Monday, May 13 at 6 p.m.; Sunday, May 19 at 4:30 p.m.; and Sunday, June 2 at 4:30 p.m. The programs are open to the public to facilitate dialogue about the play’s innovative take on Dr. King’s final hours.
“The Mountaintop” runs on select dates through June 2.
The Baton Passes On: Community Discussion; 6 p.m. on Monday, May 13 at Performance Network Theatre – FREE
Performance Network Theatre invites the acclaimed Civil Rights historian Matthew Countryman and Associate Professor of Theatre and writer-in-residence at the University of Michigan OyamO (a.k.a. Charles F. Gordon) to lead a comprehensive discussion regarding the themes of “The Mountaintop”. Due to the complexity of “The Mountaintop”, Performance Network Theatre offers perspectives from both historical and theatrical sources. This event is perfect for the historic and/or theatre enthusiast who is interested in discussing and analyzing Katori Hall’s unique depiction of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s last night on earth and the tools she used to create the story. It is not a requirement to see the production of “The Mountaintop” before attending the discussion as it may serve as a useful guide during an audience member’s viewing of the show. This event is first come, first serve: General admission.
About the Panel:
Matthew Countryman is faculty director of the University of Michigan’s Arts of Citizenship program and is an associate professor of History and American Culture, where he teaches modern U.S. and African-American history and comparative race relations. Countryman is the author of “Up South: Civil Rights and Black Power in Philadelphia”, which won the 2006 Liberty Legacy Foundation Award from the Organization of American Historians for the best book on the subject of civil rights history. His research interests include African American social and political movements, comparative race and ethnicity, and United States politics.
OyamO’s plays have been performed in theatres across the country, including the Yale Repertory Theatre, the Manhattan Theatre Club, the Working Theatre, the Public Theatre, Negro Ensemble Company, the Arena Stage Theatre, the Goodman Theatre of Chicago, the Kennedy Center in D.C., and many more. He is also a past member of the NEA Professional Nonprofit Theatre Panel and was a 1998 panelist for the Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund of San Francisco. He has received fellowships from the Berrilla Kerr, Guggenheim, Rockefeller and McKnight Foundations, as well as grants from the Ohio and New York State Arts Councils and three NEA fellowships. OyamO received his MFA in playwriting from the Yale School of Drama and is a member of PEN, Dramatistis Guild, New Dramatists (alumni), the Ensemble Studio Theatre, Writers Guild East, the O’Neill Playwrights Center, and the Black Theatre Network. With HBO, he has written an episode for the “Famous Black American Anthology” and a TV adaptation of “I Am a Man”. He was a site monitor for the NEA and is a former vice president of the board of directors of The Theatre Communications Group. He wrote a musical based on the history of Detroit, the research funds for which were provided by UM’s OVPR through its Arts For Citizenship program. The Mosaic Youth Theatre of Detroit commissioned him to write two plays, one on the Civil Rights Movement in Detroit, “City in a Strait”, produced May 2007, the other on the Fisk Jubilee Singers, “Sing Jubilee”, for a May 2008 production at the Detroit Institute for the Arts. Join Performance Network Theatre to explore “The Mountaintop” with these fascinating individuals.
Backstage Cafe: Where Artists Share Their Creative Caffeine; 4:30pm on Sunday, May 19 at Performance Network Theatre – $10/$5 for students and seniors
Join us in the Performance Network Theatre’s lobby for an in-depth conversation exploring the nuances of making theatre from the artist’s perspective while sipping complimentary coffee from Mighty Good Coffee and Roastery. Associate Artistic Director Carla Milarch interviews Brian Marable on portraying the historical icon, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. “Brian Marable does not imitate Martin Luther King, and thereby creates a solid, real character. In a final speech we hear the fiery skills that marked the career of, arguably, the greatest orator of the 20th century, but Marable has made it all his own,” John Quinn of Encore Michigan. Backstage Cafe is the perfect event for cultural gurus and aspiring theatre professionals. Only 20 seats! Reservations suggested.
About the Artist
A native Detroiter, born and raised, Brian Marable is a graduate of Cass Technical High School’s Performing Arts Department, and attended Wayne State University as a theater major. Marable has appeared in productions such as “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” and “Old Settler” with Plowshares Theatre Company, “Take Me Out” and “Piano Lesson” at Performance Network Theatre, “Superior Donuts” at the Purple Rose Theatre, and the award-winning Best Play of the Year (2003) “Jesus Hopped the A Train” with African Renaissance Theatre Company. Join Milarch and Marable to discover the genius behind his original portrayal of one of the greatest figures in American history.
The Baton Passes On: Community Discussion; 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, June 2 (after the final performance of “The Mountaintop”) at Performance Network Theatre – FREE
Join diversity-centric children’s theatre personality, LaRon Williams, for the final community discussion for “The Mountaintop” at Performance Network Theatre. Williams will offer his extensive experience as a nationally acclaimed African American theatre professional to examine the play’s unusual plot devices and complex characters and how they affect the depiction of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s last night on earth. This event is first come, first serve: General admission.
About the Speaker:
LaRon Williams is a nationally acclaimed, award winning storyteller who has toured the country with his highly participatory music-spiced program of traditional and original tales crafted to improve literacy, foster cooperation, build self-esteem, and deepen our understanding of the ideal of American democratic inclusion.
Reservations are not necessary for the Baton Passes On: Community Discussions on May 13 and June 2. Backstage Cafe reservations can be made at the Performance Network Box Office at 734-663-0681, by email at boxoffice@performancenetwork.org, or at Performance Network Theatre (120 East Huron St., Ann Arbor, 48104) Monday – Friday 10 a.m. – 6 p.m., and Saturday 11 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Founded in 1981, Performance Network Theatre has grown from a fledgling company to Ann Arbor’s resident professional theatre. The Network reaches 40,000 theatre patrons and children each year through the year-round Professional Series and the Children’s Theatre Network. Performance Network also presents the Fireside New Play Festival and a series of classes on theatre-related topics. The Network provides uncompromising artistic leadership in the region and produces works that engage, challenge and inspire audiences and artists.
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.
The Matrix Theatre Company’s School of Theatre presents The Story of Frog Belly Rat Bone. Written by Timothy Basil Ering, the story follows the adventures of a little boy who takes a journey to discover a very special treasure which ends with new friends and a colorful, joyous world.
Told through puppetry, The Story of Frog Belly Rat Bone runs from Friday, May 31 through Sunday, June 2. All Friday and Saturday performances are at 7 p.m., and Sunday performances are at 3 p.m. Adult tickets are priced at $8. Students, seniors, and children are $5.
All performances are held at Matrix Theatre, 2730 Bagley in the heart of Detroit’s Mexicantown. Visit www.matrixtheatre.org to register online, or call (313) 967-0599. Call (313) 967-0999 for detailed information.
Frog Belly Rat Bone is a delightful fantasy about a very special boy who lived in a dull, gray endless place called Cementland. After much searching among piles of greasy toaster ovens and wet, smelly socks, he spies a box filled with hundreds of “tiny grey specks” and a wrinkled note that says: “Put these wondrous riches in the earth and enjoy.”
Horrified to learn that thieves are after his treasure, the boy scrounges the junkyard and creates a creature to stand guard – a scarecrow-like gardener with crooked bony arms, a giant belly, a jaunty crown, and preternatural wisdom: Frog Belly Rat Bone, king and protector of the specks. The story is full of surprises and an ending with an inspiring message on world beautification.
The Matrix Theatre Company’s School of Theatre, challenges and encourages students to become creators of their own work by writing and performing original works. They believe that everyone has a story to tell and that the best way to learn is by doing. Therefore, the School of Theatre at Matrix has its own season where students perform shows they have, in most cases, authored themselves.
Matrix Theatre Company
Celebrating 22 years as a non-profit community-based theatre, Matrix Theatre Company is located in southwest Detroit. By using the transformative power of theatre to change lives, build community and foster social justice, Matrix creates everything from scratch, from puppets of all sizes to more than 130 original plays. It provides creative opportunities for children, youth, adults and elders, especially those in isolated or challenged communities, to become creators, producers, and audiences of original and heritage theatre. For further information or to follow Matrix on Facebook, Twitter and Blogger, go to matrixtheatre.org.
Matrix’s Inclusive Theatre Initiative (ITI) strives to offer the transformative power of theatre to all. It aims to build a community for those with and without disabilities. It is a model of relating to people, rooted in the essential dignity and value of each person, offering ways to build deeper connections between people, places, and institutions.
Jewish Ensemble Theatre and Performance Network Theatre present the story of Asher Lev. Based on a novel by Chaim Potok and adapted for stage by Aaron Posner, “My Name is Asher Lev” tells the story of a talented painter in New York City challenged to find balance in his life and satisfaction in his work.
The drama is directed by David Magidson, artistic director of Jewish Ensemble Theatre. The production features performances by Mitchell A. Koory as Asher Lev, John Seibert as The Men, and Naz Edwards as The Women.
Performances run through May 25. Tickets are $38 to $45. For reservations, please call (248) 788-2900. For details, click here.
Aaron DeRoy Theatre is located on the West Bloomfield Hills campus of the Jewish Community Center of Metropolitan Detroit, 6600 W. Maple Road, West Bloomfield, MI 48322.
Performance Dates and Show Times:
Thursday, May 16 at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, May 18 at 5 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.
Sunday, May 19 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.
Saturday, May 25 at 5 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.