UMS Concert Program, Sunday Feb. 11 To 22: University Musical Society: Winter 2007 - Sunday Feb. 11 To 22 --

Season: Winter 2007

j Fm m m
Winter 2007 Season
128th Annual Season
General Information
On-site ticket offices at performance venues open 90 minutes before each performance and remain open through intermission of most events.
Children of all ages are welcome at UMS Family and Youth Performances. Parents are encouraged not to bring children under the age of 3 to regular, full-length UMS performances. All chil?dren should be able to sit quietly in their own seats throughout any UMS performance. Children unable to do so, along with the adult accompanying them, will be asked by an usher to leave the auditorium. Please use discre?tion in choosing to bring a child.
Remember, everyone must have a ticket, regardless of age.
While in the Auditorium
Starting Time Every attempt is made to begin concerts on time. Latecomers are asked to wait in the lobby until seated by ushers at a predetermined time in the program.
Cameras and recording equipment
are prohibited in the auditorium.
If you have a question, ask your usher. They are here to help.
Please turn off your cellular phones and other digital devices so that every?one may enjoy this UMS event distur?bance-free. In case of emergency, advise your paging service of auditori?um and seat location in Ann Arbor venues, and ask them to call University Security at 734.763.1131.
In the interests of saving both dollars and the environment, please either retain this program book and return with it when you attend other UMS performances included in this edition or return it to your usher when leaving the venue.
Event Program Book
Sunday, February 11 through Thursday, February 22, 2007
Michigan Chamber Players 3
Complimentary Admission Sunday, February 11, 4:00 pm Rackham Auditorium
Stephen Petronio Company 9
Friday, February 16, 8:00 pm Saturday, February 17, 8:00 pm Power Center
Time for Three 17
Sunday, February 18, 4:00 pm Rackham Auditorium
Dave Holland Octet and Big Band 21
Thursday, February 22, 8:00 pm Michigan Theater
Dear UMS Patron,
T
'hank you for attending this UMS perform?ance. We appreciate your support of the
performing arts and
hope your experience at this event will persuade you to attend more of our programs in the future.
UMS, not unlike many other arts organizations, must raise a significant amount of money each year to keep our operation going. I think many people wonder
why arts organizations can't be self-sufficient, or ask, "why can't you run that place like a business" You always hear that ticket prices only cover a cer?tain percentage of the cost of operation. But the question still arises: "Why aren't ticket prices enough"
Let me attempt to shed some light on the necessity for on-going funding, above and beyond ticket sales. I believe there are three key reasons for our funding needs:
1. We are committed to quality. In our presen?tations, we strive to bring the very best performers to our community. We spend time reviewing acts and attractions, reading reports of performances, and looking for the very best in each performing genre. Quality is expensive.
2. We are labor-intensive. Can you truly per?form an orchestral piece that requires 100 musicians with only 50 Can a string quartet be adequately represented with only two musicians While other industries and businesses can find ways to reduce labor costs and create efficiencies, the arts cannot compromise in the same manner.
In addition, there are high costs associated with loading in, running, and loading out a per?formance. We typically have a short amount of time to get a show ready in a venue and this inevitably means hiring a large stage crew to work both very hard and very fast to be ready for a per?formance.
3. We are committed to accessibility, especial?ly as it impacts ticket prices. In pricing tickets we look to cover some of the cost of the event, but not to fully pay for the overhead operation of our organization. If we were to try to cover all of our costs in our ticket prices, they would be two or three times higher than they currently are, making it impossible for many patrons in our community to attend events.
I hope these three points help you under?stand some of the financial issues surrounding the operation of UMS, and help put into context some of our decision-making. I also hope it takes some of the mystery out of the age-old question of why private and public support of the arts is required.
I'd like to thank the many generous individ?uals, corporations, businesses, and government agencies that provide the annual support we need to do our jobs effectively.
Best Wishes,
John B. Kennard
UMS Director of Administration
UMS Educational Events
through Thursday, February 22, 2007
All UMS educational activities are free, open to the public, and in Ann Arbor unless otherwise noted. For complete details and updates, please visit www.ums.org or contact the UMS Education Department at 734.647.6712 or e-mail umsed@umich.edu.
Master Class with Time for Three
Friday February 76, 7:00 pm, Stearns Building, 2005 Baits Drive
Members of Time for Three lead a master class for students of the U-M School of Music, Theatre & Dance. The class is open to the public for observation.
A collaboration with the U-M School of Music, Theatre & Dance
ums University Musical Society
presents
Michigan Chamber Players
Faculty Artists of the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance
Lynne Aspnes, Harp Aaron Berofsky, Violin Anthony Elliott, Cello Christopher Harding, Piano Freda Herseth, Mezzo-soprano Nancy Ambrose King, Oboe Louis Nagel, Piano Amy Porter, Flute Yizhak Schotten, Viola Stephen Shipps, Violin Michael Udow, Percussion
Sunday Afternoon, February 11, 2007 at 4:00 Rackham Auditorium Ann Arbor
Sippal, Dobbal, Nadihegeduvel Fabula (Fable) Tncdal (Dance Song) Kinai templom (Chinese Temple) Kuli (Coolie) Alma alma (Dream) Keseredes (Bittersweet) Szajk6 (Parakeet)
Ms. Herseth, Mr. Udow
Featuring Graduate Students from the School of Music, Theatre & Dance: Brian Baldauf, Daniel Karas, and Neil Sisauyhoat
Concerto for Flute, Oboe, Harp, and String Quartet
Allegro moderate Cavatina (Lento) Moderate giocoso
Ms. Aspnes, Mr. Berofsky, Mr. Elliott, Ms. King, Ms. Porter, Mr. Schotten, Mr. Shipps
INTERMISSION
Franz Xavier Mozart
Ludwig van Beethoven
Quartet for Piano and Strings
Allegro vivace Adagio, ma non troppo Thema con Variazioni: Allegretto
Mr. Berofsky, Mr. Schotten, Mr. Elliott, Mr. Harding
Trio in D Major, Op. 70, No. 1
Allegro vivace e con brio Largo assai ed espressivo Presto
Mr. Shipps, Mr. Elliott, Mr. Nagel
49th Performance of the 128th Annual Season
The photographing or sound and video record?ing of this concert or possession of any device for such recording is pro?hibited.
Thanks to all of the U-M School of Music, Theatre & Dance Faculty Artists for their ongoing commitment of time and energy to this special UMS performance.
Large print programs are available upon request.
Sippal, Dobbal, Nadihegeduvel
Gyorgi Ligeti
Bom May 28, 1923 in Dicsoszentmarton,
Transylvania Died June 12, 2006 in Vienna
Concerto for Flute, Oboe, Harp, and String Quartet
Arnold Bax
Born November 8, 1883 in London
Died October 3, 1953 in Cork, Ireland
Quartet for Piano and Strings
Franz Xavier Mozart
Born July 26, 1791 in Vienna
Died July 29, 1844 in Carlsbad, Czech Republic
Trio in D Major, Op. 70, No. 1
Ludwig van Beethoven
Born December 15, 1770 in Bonn, Germany
Died March 26, 1827 in Vienna
Lynne Aspnes (Harp) began her training in her native Minnesota. She holds a B.F.A. from the University of Minnesota, a M.M. from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and a D.M.A. from the Manhattan School of Music. Ms. Aspnes is currently Professor of Harp and Chair of the String Department at U-M. With VocalEssence (the Plymouth Music Series of Minnesota), Ms. Aspnes has recorded for the CRI, ProArte, RCA Red Seal, and Virgin Classics labels. With organist John Walker, and the choir of the Riverside Church, New York, Ms. Aspnes has recorded works by Gabriel Faure and Marcel Grandjany for the Pro Organo label. With the late Sir Peter Pears, she has recorded Benjamin Britten's Canticle V: The Death of Saint Narcissus for NPR and PBS. Active in the American Harp Society, she was a director of its Concert Artist Program, has served on its Executive Committee and Board of Directors, was National Conference Chairman three times, and is a frequent contributor to The American Harp Journal.
Aaron Berofsky (Violin) has won international critical acclaim as both a soloist and a chamber musician. He has appeared as soloist with orches?tras in the US, Germany, Italy, Spain, and Canada. Mr. Berofsky recently completed his fifth annual performance at the International Deia Festival in Spain, a series in which he will play the complete Mozart sonatas, a project to be completed in 2009. Last spring he performed an all-Mozart recital at U-M in honor of Mozart's 250th anniver?sary year and he recorded a CD of Mozart's Sonatas. He regularly appears at festivals through?out North America and Europe, including the Adriatic Chamber Music Festival in Italy, the Skaneateles Festival in New York, Steamboat Springs in Colorado, Springfest in Ann Arbor, Garth Newel and the Staunton Festival in Virginia, the Speedside and Guelph Spring Festivals in Canada, and the Oregon Symphony's "Mozart 'til Midnight" gala. Mr. Berofsky is first violinist of the Chester String Quartet, which has appeared at the 92nd Street "Y," Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall, the Kennedy Center, and at Carnegie's Weill Recital Hall. He has conducted the Indiana University Philharmonic and the South Bend Symphony's Academy Orchestra and participated in a performance and recording of John Cage's Atlas Edipticalis and a series of concerts with the chamber orchestra Tafelmusik. Mr. Berofsky is the concertmaster of the Ann Arbor Symphony. He has studied with Dorothy DeLay, Glenn Dicterow, Robert Mann, and Elaine Richey, serves on the faculty of the Meadowmount School of Music, and has taught and coached chamber music at the Oberlin Conservatory, the Quartet Program, the Conservatory of Palma de Mallorca, the Adriatic Chamber Music Festival, and at Interlochen. He can be heard on the Sony, New Albion, Audio Ideas, ECM, and Chesky labels.
Anthony Elliott (Cello), a protege of Janos Starker and of Frank Miller, won the Feuermann International Cello Solo Competition, then gave a highly successful New York recital. Mr. Elliott has given master classes at most leading American conservatories. He is a frequent soloist with major orchestras, including those of Detroit, Minnesota, Vancouver, CBC Toronto, and the New York Philharmonic. His CD recording of Kabalevsky, Martinu, and Shostakovich sonatas received a rave review from Strad Magazine of London and
was named a "Best Buy of 1991" by the Houston Post. Forthcoming releases include works by French and Russian composers. In demand as a chamber musician, Mr. Elliott has been a guest artist at the Sitka (Alaska) Summer Music Festival, the Seattle and Texas chamber music festivals, New York's Blossom Music Festival, Houston's Da Camera Series, and the Victoria International Festival. He has performed as a member of Quartet Canada and as a guest artist with the Brunswick, Lyric Art, and Concord string quartets. He devotes his summers to teaching and per?forming at the Aspen Music Festival and School.
Christopher Harding (Piano) was born in Munich, Germany and raised in Northern Virginia. An active and successful competitor, Mr. Harding has taken 25 first prizes in national and interna?tional competitions. Among his achievements are top prizes in competitions sponsored by the American Matthay Society, the National Society of Arts and Letters, the Saint Louis Symphony, the Santa Barbara Symphony, and Esperia Foundation. He also has received top honors at the Kingsville International Young Performers' Competitions and the Grace Welsh Prize for Piano. In 1999, he was awarded the special "Mozart Prize" at the Cleveland International Piano Competition, given for the best performance of a composition by Mozart. He was a semi-finalist in the Calgary Esther Honens International Piano Competition 2000, one of 27 pianists chosen through world?wide auditions to compete. A trip to Seoul, Korea this fall (his fifth since 1999) included lecture recitals and classes at Seoul National University, Ewha Womens University, and Dong Duk University. His current recording projects include the complete solo piano works of Samuel Barber; the complete piano chamber music of Franz Xavier Mozart with Amy Porter, Aaron Berofsky, Yizhak Schotten, and Anthony Elliott; and the Brahms Sonatas for piano and violin with Stephen Boe.
Freda Herseth (Mezzo-soprano) has sung criti?cally acclaimed leading roles in opera throughout Germany and has performed with orchestras and chamber ensembles throughout Europe, Russia, and Israel. Well known for her work in contem?porary music, she has premiered many works written for her, with performances at the Vienna Festival, Warsaw Autumn Festival, Festival d'Automne at the Bastille Opera in Paris,
Steirischer Herbst in Graz, and with the American Music Theater Festival of Philadelphia in the opera Tanya by Anthony Davis. She also appeared with the Stuttgart State Theater Orchestra in the world premiere of William Bolcom's Songs of Innocence and of Experience. Ms. Herseth has given master classes at Indiana University, Cleveland Institute of Music, Baylor University, the International Symposium of the Voice Foundation, the University of Houston, and Northern Illinois University. She has been the recipient of a stipend from the Richard Wagner Society in Bayreuth, an honorary doctorate from the University of Puget Sound, a DAADFulbright grant, and the Van Lawrence Fellowship for research and excellence in the field of vocal pedagogy from the Voice Foundation. The Milken Archive recently released two of her recordings, the Bridge of the Binding by Samuel Adler and The Dybbuk by David Tamkin. Ms. Herseth has also recorded for CRI, Gasparo, South German Radio and Television, Hessen Radio (Frankfurt), Bavarian Radio (Munich), ORF Austrian Radio and Television, RAI Italian Radio, and Northeastern Records.
Nancy Ambrose King (Oboe) is the first-prize winner of the third New York International Competition for Solo Oboists, held in 1995. She has appeared as soloist throughout the US and abroad, including appearances with the St. Petersburg and Russian Philharmonics, the Janacek Philharmonic in the Czech Republic, the Festival Internacionale de Musica Orchestra in Buenos Aires, the New York String Orchestra, the Sinfonia da Camera, and the Dearborn and Champaign-Urbana Symphonies. Her two most recent CD releases, on the British label Cala Records, feature oboe concertos of Mozart, Goossens, Lebrun, Martinu, and Vaughn Williams. She has appeared as a recitalist throughout the world, including the American Academy of Music in Rome and the Royal Conservatory of Music in Stockholm. Currently Associate Professor of Oboe at U-M and President of the International Double Reed Society, she was previously Associate Professor and University Scholar at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Ms. King received her B.M. and the prestigious Stanley Medal from U-M. She received her D.M.A., M.M., and Performer's Certificate from the Eastman School of Music.
Louis Nagel (Piano) combines an active concert and teaching schedule and is noted for his lec?ture-recitals by musicians and non-musicians alike. He has performed in highly acclaimed solo recitals and concerto concerts in major American and European cities. He has taught at the Interlochen Arts Camp, International Music Camp in Poland, Adamant Music School, and the Amalfi Coast Music Festival in Italy. He is director of the School of Music, Theatre & Dance Outreach Program at U-M and advisor to the B.M.A. pro?gram. He is on the board of the American Liszt Society and often performs at its annual festivals, including the Great Romantics Festival at McMaster University. He has presented programs in association with the Michigan Psychoanalytic Institute at both the state and national levels, in collaboration with his wife, the psychologist and musician, Dr. Julie Jaffee Nagel. Mr. Nagel is a Steinway artist, and has performed in Steinway Hall in New York as well as numerous times for the Steinway music stores in Michigan. He has studied with Rosina Lhevinne, Josef Raieff, Joseph Bloch, and Vladimir Ashkenazy. His CD, Four Centuries Of J.S. Bach, has been praised by Murray Perahia and David Dubai. He is often invit?ed to perform and lecture in David Dubai's Piano Literature classes at The Juilliard School. He is cur?rently presenting a series of programs traversing the complete works of Beethoven for piano, vio?lin, and cello at Ann Arbor's Kerrytown Concert house in collaboration with colleagues Stephen Shipps and Anthony Elliott.
Amy Porter (Flute) was recently awarded the U-M 2006 Henry Russel Award for distinguished scholarship and conspicuous ability as a teacher. This is only the third time since 1926 that this award has been given to a U-M School of Music Professor. Recently, she served as the American jury member of the 2005 Kobe International Flute Competition in Kobe, Japan. Ms. Porter recently premiered her arrangement of 5x Songs by Benjamin Godard, published by Little Piper, and has produced a study guide DVD for the Karg-Elert Caprices for Solo Flute. International prizes include: 2001 Deuxieme Prix at the ParisVille d'Avray International Flute Competition in France and the Alphonse Leduc Prize for outstanding musicianship. Special Prize for the best perform?ance of the commissioned work required at the 1993 Kobe International Flute Competition, and
First Prize at the 1990 National Flute Association Competition in the US. From 1991-99, she was Associate Principal Flute of the Atlanta Symphony. Ms. Porter has performed as principal flute with the orchestras of Atlanta, Houston, and Boston. She has been heard in recital on NPR, featured on the cover of Flute Talk Magazine, and highlighted on PBS's Live From Lincoln Center. She received her B.M. and M.M. degrees from The Juilliard School. Ms. Porter serves as a founding member and Past President of the Southeast Michigan Flute Association and is on the Board of the National Flute Association.
Yizhak Schotten (Violin) was brought to the US by the renowned violist William Primrose, with whom he studied at Indiana University and the University of Southern California. His solo appear?ances with orchestras have included performanc?es with conductors Seiji Ozawa, Thomas Schippers, Sergiu Commissiona, and Arthur Fiedler. He has concertized in Israel, Japan, Taiwan, Malaysia, Holland, Austria, Mexico, England, Canada, and throughout the US. He has appeared at Bargemusic, the Library of Congress, at Symphony Hall in Boston, and the Concertgebouw. Mr. Schotten has also had numerous performances on NPR. Formerly a member of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, he has been principal violist of the Cincinnati and Houston symphony orchestras. Mr. Schotten has been on the faculties and performed at the Aspen Music Festival, Banff, Meadow-mount, Interlochen, Tanglewood, Chamber Music Northwest, Montreal Skaneateles, and the Juneau Festivals; and abroad at the Taipei Philharmonic Festival, the Festival Internacional de Musica Clasica, the Festival de Musique de Chambre de Montreal, and the Amsterdam Kamermuzik Festival. He is also Music Director of the Maui Classical Music Festival in Hawaii, the Strings in the Mountains Festival in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, and SpringFest in Ann Arbor. Mr. Schotten was the Artistic Director of the XIV International Viola Congress and has been a featured artist at six other international congresses. He has recorded for Crystal Records, CRI, and Pearl Records, which included his playing on its anthology, History of the Recording of the World's Finest Violists. Mr. Schotten is very active giving master classes throughout the US and abroad.
Stephen Shipps (Violin) studied with Josef Gingold at Indiana University. He also studied with Ivan Galamian and Sally Thomas at the Meadowmount School and with Franco Gulli at the Academia Chigiana in Siena, Italy. He is a for?mer member of the Meadowmount Trio and the Amadeus Trio and has appeared as soloist with the symphony orchestras of Indianapolis, Dallas, Omaha, Seattle, and Ann Arbor, as well as the Piedmont Chamber Orchestra and the Madiera Bach Festival. He has been a member of the Cleveland Orchestra, Associate Concertmaster of the Dallas Symphony and Concertmaster of the Dallas Opera, Concertmaster and Associate Conductor of the Omaha Symphony and the Nebraska Sinfonia, and guest Concertmaster for the Seattle and Toledo symphony orchestras. Mr. Shipps has recorded for American Gramophone, Bay Cities, NPR, RIAS Berlin, Hessiche Rundfunk of Frankfurt, MelodiyaRussian Disc, and Moscow Radio. His work on the Mannheim Steamroller Christmas Albums has yielded a dozen gold and two platinum records. He has adjudicated major national and international competitions for three decades and serves on the Advisory Panel for the International Violin Competition of Indianapolis and the Board of Directors of the Sphinx Competition. He is former Director of the American String Teachers Association National Solo Competition. Prior to joining the U-M facul?ty, he served on the faculties of Indiana University, the North Carolina School of the Arts, and the Banff Centre in Canada.
Michael Udow (Percussion) has been the princi?pal percussionist with the Santa Fe Opera since 1968. He is a member of the Summit Brass and tours with the dancepercussion duo Equilibrium. Mr. Udow performs with marimba virtuoso Keiko Abe in diverse chamber music settings in both Japan and the US. As a solo percussionist, he per?formed the roles of the DrummerMadman in the American premiere of Hans Werner Henze's We Come to the River for the Santa Fe Opera as well as the gypsy soloist in Sante Fe's production of Countess Maritza. Mr. Udow was soloist with the Buffalo Philharmonic in the world premiere of David Felder's Between for solo percussion and orchestra. He has performed as a soloist at Paris's Dragon Center, Amsterdam's Stedliejk Museum, Tokyo's Interlink Festival, Dussledorf's Rhine Music Festival, Salzburg's Aspekte Festival, England's Dartington Dance Festival, and Tubingen's International Percussion Days. As performer and composer, Mr. Udow can be heard on the Columbia, ColumbiaDenon, Forte Music, Advance, Opus One, CRI, Orion, New World, EQ, and Einstein labels. Under his guidance, the U-M Percussion Ensemble has performed at Lincoln Center and Merkin Hall, Tokyo's Seimei Hall with Pro Musica Nipponia, the National Concert Hall of Taiwan for the inaugural Taiwan International Percussion Festival, the Toyama Japan Festival, and in a three-week tour of Japan with Keiko Abe. Mr. Udow has taught at the International Festival of Youth Orchestras in Banff, and adjudi?cated at the International Marimba Competition in Stuttgart.
ums University Musical Society
presents
Stephen Petronio Company
Artistic Director and Choreographer Stephen Petronio
Company
Michael Badger Elena Demianenko Davalois Fearon Gino Grenek
Jonathan Jaffe Mandy Kirschner Shila Tirabassi Amanda Wells
Rehearsal Director Ori Flomin Rehearsal Assistant Shila Tirabassi Resident Lighting Designer Ken Tabachnick Lighting Supervisor Burke Wilmore Production Stage Manager Lynda Erbs Managing Director Tricia Pierson
Program
Friday Evening, February 16, 2007, at 8:00 Saturday Evening, February 17, 2007 at 8:00 Power Center Ann Arbor
Bud Suite
PAUSE BLOOM
INTERMISSION The Rite Part
50th and 51st Performances of the 128th Annual Season
16th Annual Dance Series
The photographing or sound and video record?ing of this performance or possession of any device for such recording is prohibited.
Funded in part by the National Dance Project of the New England Foundation for the Arts, with lead funding from Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. Additional funding provided by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and The Ford Foundation.
Media partnership provided by Metro Times and Detroit Jewish News.
Large print programs are available upon request.
Notes on the Repertory
Bud Suite (2006)
Music Rufus Wainwright
Songs "Oh What A World," "Vibrate,"
"This Love Affair," and "Agnus Dei" Publisher Put Tit On MusicWB Music Corp.
(ASCAP) Costumes Tara Subkofflmitation of Christ
and H. Petal
BLOOM (2006) for Lucia Terzi Bagan
Original Music Rufus Wainwright
Lyrics Lux aeterna (Latin Mass), and the poetry
of Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson Choral Arrangement Francisco J. Nunez Costumes Rachel Roy
Unseen Buds
Walt Whitman
Unseen buds, infinite, hidden well,
Under the snow and ice, under the darkness,
in every square or cubic inch, Germinal, exquisite, in delicate lace,
microscopic, unborn. Like babes in wombs, latent, folded,
compact, sleeping; Billions of billions, and trillions of trillions
of them waiting, (On earth and in the sea--the universe--
the stars there in the heavens,) Urging slowly, surely forward, forming endless, And waiting ever more, forever more behind.
One's-Self I Sing
Walt Whitman
One's-self I sing, a simple separate person,
Yet utter the word Democratic, the word En-Masse.
Of physiology from top to toe I sing, Not physiognomy alone nor brain alone is
worthy for the Muse, I say The Form complete is worthier far, The Female equally with the Male I sing.
Of Life immense in passion, pulse, and power, Cheerful, for freest action form'd under the
laws divine, The Modern Man I sing
Hope is the Thing With Feathers
Emily Dickinson
Hope is the thing with feathers That perches in the soul, And sings the tune without the words, And never stops at all.
And the sweetest in the gale is heard; And sore must be the storm That could abash the little bird That kept so many warm.
I've heard it in the chillest land, And on the strangest sea; Yet, never, in extremity, It asked a crumb of me.
BLOOM was made possible, in part, by the Doris Duke Fund for Dance of the National Dance Prajea, a program administered by the New England Foundation for the Arts with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, and the Ford Foundation. BLOOM has been commis?sioned through a generous grant by Liz Gerring and Kirk Radke and by San Francisco Performances. The music was commissioned, in part, by the American Music Center Live Music for Dance Program and with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts Composers Program.
The Rite Part
(excerpt from Full Half Wrong, 1992) Music, Rite of Spring, Igor Stravinsky;
Mitchell Lager Music Arrangement Simon Rattle and
City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestrata Costumes Manolo
Wildly acclaimed by audiences and critics alike, Stephen Petronio Company has performed in 25 countries throughout the world as well as presenting over 30 New York City engagements. New music, visu?al art, and fashion collide in Mr. Petronio's dances producing powerfully modern landscapes for the senses. Mr. Petronio has built a body of work with some of the most talented and provocative artists in the world including composers Rufus Wainwright, Lou Reed, Laurie Anderson, James Lavelle, Michael Nyman, Sheila Chandra, Diamanda Galas, Andy Teirstein, Wire, Peter Gordon, Lenny Pickett, and David Linton; visual artists Cindy Sherman, Anish Kapoor, Donald Baechler, Stephen Hannock, Tal Yarden, Arnaldo Ferrara, Justin Terzi III; fashion designers Rachel Roy, Tara Subkofflmitation of Christ, Tanya SarneGhost, Leigh Bowery, Paul Compitus, Manolo, Yonson Pak, and H. Petal; and Resident
Lighting Designer Ken Tabachnick.
Founded in 1984, Stephen Petronio Company has been commissioned by Dance Umbrella FestivalLondon, Hebbel TheaterBerlin, Internationales TanzFestival NRWGermany, Theater Scene National de SceauxFrance, Festival d'Automne a Paris, CNDC AngersFrance, Het MuziektheaterAmsterdam, The Holland Festival, Festival International Montpellier-Danse, Danceworks UK Ltd, International Cannes Danse Festival, and in the US by San Francisco Performances, The Joyce Theater, UCSB Arts & Lectures, Spirit Square Center for the Arts, Wexner Center for the Arts, Walker Art Center, White Bird, and Carver Community Cultural Center.
TTiese performances mark the Stephen Petronio Company's UMS debut.
ums University Musical Society
Stephen Petronio (Artistic DirectorChoreo?grapher) was born in Newark, New Jersey, and received a B.A. from Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts, where he began dancing in 1974. Initially inspired by the dancing of Steven Paxton and Rudolf Nureyev, Mr. Petronio was the first male dancer of the Trisha Brown Company (1979-86). He founded Stephen Petronio Company in 1984 and has since received international acclaim for the development of his unique movement language and ground-break?ing choreography. He has received a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship as well as awards from the Foundation for Contemporary Performance Arts, New York Foundation for the Arts, an American Choreographer Award, and a New York Dance and Performance AwardBessie. He has created over 30 works for his company as well as being commissioned by William Forsythe's Frankfurt Ballet (1987), Tulsa Opera (1990), Deutsche Oper Berlin (1992), Lyon Opera Ballet (1994), Maggio Danza Florence (1996), Ricochet Dance Company of London (1998, 2001, 2005), Axis Dance Company in San Francisco (2001), A Quo Danza Contemporanea in Mexico (2002), Sydney Dance Company (2003, full evening), CanDoCo (2003), and Norrdans (2004, 2006). His company works have been set on London Contemporary Dance Theater, Chamber Dance Company in Seattle, Skolen for Moderne Dans in Denmark, Norrdans in Sweden, Scottish Ballet, and X Factor Dance Company in Edinburgh. In 2006, repertory works were set on Ballet National de Marseille, Ballet Lorraine, and London Contemporary, and new works will soon be cre?ated for Norrdans and Washington Ballet.
Michael Badger (Dancer) is a native of New York and began his dance training at the School of American Ballet. While he was there, he danced with the New York City Ballet and American Ballet Theater, and was privileged to work directly with George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, and Mikhail Baryshnikov. After receiving his B.A. in Dance and Dramatic Art from the University of California at Berkeley, Mr. Badger joined the Margaret Jenkins Dance Company in San Francisco. He first joined Stephen Petronio Company in 1999 and has now returned to the Company. He has most recently been involved with writing and recording music.
Photo Sarah Silver al Kalt Ryan Inc.
Elena Demianenko (Dancer) is a Russian-born graduate of the Academy of Theatrical Arts (Moscow) and is now based in New York. She has performed internationally with Nikolai Androsov's Russian Seasons Dance Company (1994-98) and as a guest artist with the Moscow Ballet in Riverdance: The Show (1998-2001). After study?ing with Trisha Brown and Bill I Jones and work?ing with several choreographers including Henning Rubsam, Nathan Trice, Andrew Marcus, and Susan Dodge, Ms. Demianenko joined the Petronio Company in 2003.
Davalois Fearon (Dancer) is a graduate from the SUNY Purchase B.F.A. program and was born in Jamaica and raised in New York. She began her dance training in the Professional Performing ArtsAlvin Ailey High School dance program. She also received training from Alvin Ailey Professional division, Merce Cunningham, and the Martha Graham School on scholarship. She has worked with Troy Powell, Kevin Wynn, Nankama International, and Forces of Nature. Ms. Fearon joined the Petronio Company in 2004, her senior year of college.
Gino Grenek (Dancer) is originally from Rochester, New York. He graduated from Dartmouth College in 1994 with degrees in both engineering sciences and studio art. In 1996, he earned his M.F.A.in dance at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. He was later invited to join Matthew Bourne's British-based dance company, Adventures in Motion Pictures, for the Broadway mounting of its award-winning reinterpretation of Swan Lake. Mr. Grenek made his debut with the Stephen Petronio Company in 1999 in Londrina, Brazil. Recently, he assisted Mr. Petronio in the creation of Unchained Melodies for the Swedish company NorrDans.
Jonathan Jaffe (Dancer) began his professional career dancing with Leslie Partridge and Guido Tuveri in New York. As a member of the Sean Curran Company, he performed in New York and around the US. He briefly left New York to dance in Amir Kolben's company, Kombina, in Jerusalem and toured throughout Israel. Upon returning to New York he joined the Stephen Petronio Company in the spring of 2005. He is also working on mixed-media collaborations involving visual art, music, set design, architec?ture, poetry, fashion, and dance.
Mandy Kirschner {Dancer) grew up in Columbia, Maryland. She received her early dance training at the Baltimore School for the Arts and continued on to graduate cum laude from SUNY Purchase in May 1999. Since graduation, she danced four years with the Merce Cunningham Dance Company as well as with Liz Gerring and Ellen Cornfield. She joined the Stephen Petronio Company in May 2006.
Shila Tirabassi (Dancer), a native of Florida, graduated in 1999 receiving her B.F.A. from The Juilliard School under the direction of Benjamin Harkarvy. Ms. Tirabassi's professional experience includes Ballet Hispanico of New York, The Merce Cunningham Repertory Group, BuglisiForeman Dance, Lar Lubovitch Dance Company, and Mark Morris Dance Group for their "Hard Nut" produc?tions. In addition to teaching dance, Ms. Tirabassi is also a yoga instructor. She completed her certi?fication at OM Yoga Center directed by Cyndi Lee. This is her sixth season with the Stephen Petronio Company.
Amanda Wells (Dancer) was born in San Francisco where she began her formal dance training at the San Francisco Ballet School. Her training and performance experience continued with the Boston Ballet and Richmond Ballet Company. In 1998, Ms. Wells relocated to New York to attend NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. While there, she was selected to perform at Tisch's 25th Anniversary Gala at Lincoln Center. Ms. Wells graduated in 2001 with a B.F.A. and proceeded directly into the Stephen Petronio Company. She is currently on the faculty of the New England Academy of Dance.
Manolo {Costume Design), a native of Cuba, was born to a family in which men made cigars and every woman was a seamstress, embroiderer, or tailor. In the early 1970s, Manolo abandoned his original career as a Special Education Professor to dedicate himself entirely to designing. Manolo joined forces with Amaldo Ferrara and together the team has produced a series of projects: from an enchanting nightspot in Manhattan's lower east side, called Silencio; to the creation of a vaca?tion retreat in the rainforests of Venezuela. Manolo presently directs his own design firm, Manolo Ready Couture, based in SoHo. Manolo Ready Couture has been responsible for the pro?duction and direction of six events in the past two years.
Rachel Roy (Costume Design) launched Rachel Roy Collection in Spring 2005. Her collection is recognized for hip, beautiful, and wearable cloth?ing with a hint of vintage inspiration and delicate embellishments. After graduation from Columbia Union University in Washington D.C., she headed for New York and quickly earned a reputable name for herself as a fashion stylist for magazines and video. Rocafella Records' CEO, Damon Dash, recognized Ms. Roy's talent and ambition and in 1998 she began working at Rocawear. The Rachel Roy Collection is featured in countless magazines and worn by celebrities such as Jessica Simpson, Lindsay Lohan, and Halle Berry. The Rachel Roy Collection retails to boutiques nationwide as well as Bergdorf Goodman, Henri Bendel, and shops in Canada and Japan.
Tara Subkoff {Costume Design) is an art school dropout who fell into acting. She spearheads Imitation of Christ (IOC)--a creative collective of social engineers in a collaboration that includes fashion design, art, and film. IOC fashion trans?forms undesirables into desirables that are one-of-a-kind creations sold in stores including Barney's, Kirna Zabete (NY), Fred Segal (LA), Colette (Paris), Bus Stop (Japan), and Andrea Balinski (Brazil). IOC recently produced a film about indulgence, exploitation, sweatshops, and child labor starring Ms. Subkoff, Reese Witherspoon, Jason Schwartzman, Elodie Bochez, Selma Blair, and Lisa Marie. An indie film actress, Ms. Subkoff has appeared in All Over Me, Last Days of Disco, and The Cell; and recently com?pleted a film with Larry Clark as well as the inde?pendent film At the End of the Day. She has col?laborated with Mr. Petronio since 2000.
Rufus Wainwright (Composer) was born in Montreal. A New York-based composer and per?former, he released his first album Rufus Wainwright in 1998 on the DreamWorks label. Poses followed in 2001, Want One in 2003, and Want Two was released in November 2004. A classically trained pianist, Wainwright is the son of folk artists Kate McGarrigle and Loudon Wainwright III. His music has garnered much crit?ical acclaim including comments from critic Keith Phipps, "Wainwright has continually expanded the borders of his previously unclaimed musical turf, drawing on pre rock & roll and roll pop songs and classical music to create a sound all his own."
Rufus Wainwright
Ori Flomin (Rehearsal Director) is from Israel and was a member of Stephen Petronio Company from 1991-99. He has danced in the works of Neil Greenberg, Molissa Fenley, Kevin Wynn, Michael Clark, and currently works with Maria Hassabi. His work has been seen in New York at DTW, The Joyce SoHo, PS 122, and international?ly in Austria, Japan, and Israel. He teaches throughout the world and at DNA in NYC. He teaches yoga and received his Shiatsu certification from the Ohashi Institute in 2000. Mr. Flomin is pleased to return as Rehearsal Director this year, continuing the long-standing relationship with Mr. Petronio and the Company.
Ken Tabachnick (Resident Lighting Designer) has an extensive background in both the manage?ment and the creative sides of the arts. For more than 20 years, he has maintained a private prac?tice in lighting design and production manage?ment. Some companies with whom he has col?laborated include the Bolshoi and Kirov Companies, Paris Opera Ballet, Robert Wilson, Martha Graham Dance Company, and Trisha Brown Company. Mr. Tabachnick was also the Resident Lighting Director at New York City Opera. He has served as the Executive Director of the Hamptons International Film Festival, and as Corporate Relations Director and Gotham Awards Producer at the Independent Feature Project. He also practices as an attorney, advising clients on entertainment matters and is a Managing Member of indieWIRE LLC, an internet venture responsible for community sites such as indiewire.com and filmmag.com. Mr. Tabachnick currently serves as the General Manager for New York City Ballet and has been lighting Mr. Petronio's work since 1985.
Burke Wilmore (Lighting Supervisor) lives in Brooklyn and works in dance and musical theater. He is the Resident Lighting Designer for Battleworks (Robert Battle, Artistic Director) for whom he lit Juba, which was commissioned by Alvin Ailey Dance Theater. Mr. Wilmore has worked with Larry Keigwin, Aszure Barton, Sweden's Norrdans, Holland's Introdans, and the Parsons Dance Company. He frequently collabo?rates with director Andre de Shields, for whom he lit several iterations of Ambassadors Satch, Hotcha Razza Ma Tazz, and Killa Dilla. He gradu?ated from Weslyan University and is a member of United Scenic Artists Local 829.
Lynda Erbs (Production Stage Manager) has been the Lighting Supervisor for Parsons Dance Company, the Production Stage Manager for Battleworks Dance Company, and has worked as a stage manager for the Saratoga City Ballet in Saratoga Springs, NY. She has also spent some time with the Lake George Opera and designing for choreographer Deborah Fernandez. Ms. Erbs studied under Lori Dawson and David Yergan at Skidmore College.
Tricia Pierson (Managing Director) has worked in dance administration for more than 25 years with companies including Bebe Miller Company, Baryshnikov Productions, and Cie Felix Ruckert. She is currently involved in projects with Tamango's Urban Tap and The Dance Cooperative and has worked with Stephen Petronio Company since 2000.
Stephen Petronio Dance Company, Inc.
Administrative Associate Jillian Hall Administrative Assistant Bessie McDonough-Thayer Bookkeeper Henry Hiles
For their support and encouragement this season, Stephen Petronio Company wishes to express appreciation and thanks to Altria Group, Inc., Liz Gerring and Kirk Radke, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the National Dance Project, the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York State Council on the Arts; Lila Acheson Wallace Theater Fund, established in The New York Community Trust by the founders of The Reader's Digest Association; the USArtists International Program of the MidAtlantic Arts Foundation.
Immense thanks to the following patrons of the Producer's Circle: Gregg Agins, Donald Baechler, Margaret Dictenberg, Ron & Daniele Flack, James C. Hormel, Liz Gerring & Kirke Radke, Stephen Petronio, Robert Rauschenberg, Ken Tabachnick, Patsy Tarr, and Laurie & Dr. Roberto Tuchman.
urns
and
Miller, Canfield,
Paddock & Stone
present
Time for Three
Zach DePue, Violin Nick Kendall, Violin Ranaan Meyer, Double Bass
Program
Sunday Afternoon, February 18, 2007 at 4:00 Rackham Auditorium Ann Arbor
This afternoon's selections will be announced by the artists from the stage. There will be no intermission.
52nd Performance of the 128th Annual Season
44th Annual Chamber Arts Series
The photographing or sound and video record?ing of this concert or possession of any device for such recording is prohibited.
This performance is sponsored by Miller, Canfield, Paddock & Stone.
Media partnership provided by WGTE 91.3 FM, Observers Eccentric newspapers, and WEMU 89.1 FM.
This season marks the beginning of a deeper chamber music collaboration between UMS and the U-M School of Music, Theatre and Dance. Tonight's debut artists, Time for Three, as well as the perennial Ann Arbor favorites, the Takacs Quartet, have made multiple trips to Ann Arbor over the course of this season to work with students across the University. A special thank you to Dean Christopher Kendall and Professor Andrew Jennings for their hard work and on-going commitment to successful chamber music collaborations in Ann Arbor.
Time for Three is represented in North America by Arts Management Associates, LLC.
Time for Three is represented worldwide by Melodyvision, Inc.
Large print programs are available upon request.
This Afternoon's Performance
Time for Three plays an eclectic mix of bluegrass, Hungarian gypsy, jazz, country-western fiddling, classical, and improvisatory music. The artists will choose selections from the following:
Time for Three Arrangements:
Jerusalem's Ridge (Bill Monroe)
Ragtime Annie (trad.) Ashoken Farewell (Jay Unger)
Amazing Grace (trad.) Shenandoah (trad.) Csardas (Vittorio Monti) Blackbird (Lennon McCartney) The Orange Blossom Special (Rouse) Hungarian Dance No. 5 (Brahms) Bach Double (first mvt.) (Bach)
Original Compositions:
Samuel (Time for Three) Don't forget (R. Meyer) Thunderstomp (R. Meyer) Don Don (R. Meyer) Forget About It (R. Meyer) Soul Journey (R. Meyer) Philly Phunk (R. Meyer) Wyoming 307 (R. Meyer) Quail Hollow (N. Kendall) Bradford commission (Tf3)
Time for Three is increasingly gaining atten?tion as one of America's brightest, most unique ensembles. Founded in 2001 by three Curtis Institute of Music students intent on exploring repertoire that stretches far beyond the limits of convention, the ensemble burst onto the scene in July 2003, following a lightning-induced power failure at Philadelphia's Mann Center for the Performing Arts. Prompted by fellow orches?tra members to entertain the audience while technicians attempted to restore onstage lighting, Ranaan Meyer and Zachary DePue obliged with an enthusiastically received impromptu jam ses?sion that included works as far a field from the originally scheduled symphony as "Jerusalem's Ridge," "Ragtime Annie," and "The Orange Blossom Special."
To date, the group has performed over 200 engagements in venues as diverse as its music, appearing as featured guest soloists with the
Philadelphia Orchestra and opening for k.d. lang at Philadelphia's Kimmel Center, to name just a few. Time for Three sets itself apart not only with its varied repertoire performed with immaculate technical acuity, but also with the approach in which it presents its music: "blurr(ing) genres," writes David Patrick Stearns of The Philadelphia Inquirer, ultimately "creating different dialects," according to bassist Ranaan Meyer. Its youthful, engaging performances are free of conventional performance practice and instead draw from each member's different musical background. The trio also performs its own arrangements of traditional repertoire and Mr. Meyer provides original com?positions to further complement the trio's musical offerings.
Recently, the Philadelphia Orchestra com?missioned composer Jennifer Higdon to create a work for the trio. The premiere is scheduled for the orchestra's 0708 season. In the summer of 2005, Time for Three made its official Philadelphia Orchestra debut in a much anticipated July 7th concert at Philadelphia's Mann Music Center. During the 0405 season, the trio played with the Philly Pops under conductor Peter Nero. The ensemble has also been heard in such distin?guished venues as the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, the 92nd Street Y in New York, and at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. Other recent season highlights include per?formances at the Kimmel Center's Verizon Hall, the Beethoven Society in Washington D.C, the Cerritos Center in Los Angeles, Joanne Woodward's Westport Playhouse, the Philadelphia Folk Festival, Wyoming's Grand Teton Music Festival, and Chicago's "Music in the Loft" series.
In addition to its demanding performing schedule, the trio is also committed to reaching younger audiences and to date has participated in a number of educational residencies and outreach concerts including Paul Newman's Hole In The Wall Gang Camp's "Fandango XIV." In the record?ing studio, Time for Three has made two discs. The trio's debut recording, aptly entitled Time for Three, was released in October 2002. A second CD is scheduled for release this season. Time for Three has also been heard on various radio broad?casts including Philadelphia's WXPN, WHYY, and WRTI stations. It has appeared on FOX's Good Morning Philadelphia, telecast from the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts and will be fea-
tured in an upcoming documentary film about Philadelphia's Rittenhouse Square produced by Max L. Raab and directed by Robert Downey, Sr. Beyond their work with the trio, the musicians of Time for Three are outstandingly gifted young artists with individual careers.
Japanese-American violinist Nick Kendall, a 2000 Astral Artistic Services National Auditions recipi?ent and first prize winner of the 2002 Young Concerts Artists International Auditions, grew up in Washington D.C. He debuted with the National Symphony Orchestra and the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra as the winner of their Young Artists competitions. Much in demand as a soloist, he has graced the stages of Chicago, San Francisco, Cleveland, New York, and Tokyo. Recent highlights include an acclaimed Philadelphia recital debut as part of the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts' "Rising Stars" series, a quartet performance at New York's Carnegie Hall, and a guest artist appearance on tour with the Metamorphosen Chamber Orchestra. Mr. Kendall is also a member of the Dryden String Quartet and a co-founder of the East Coast Chamber Orchestra.
A native of Bowling Green, Ohio, violinist Zachary DePue made his solo debut with the Toledo Symphony Orchestra in 1994. Born into a musical family that boasts four fiddling brothers, Mr. DePue attended the Cleveland Institute of Music before entering the Curtis Institute of Music. Recent highlights include performances at the Isaac Stern Music Workshop, the Angel Fire, La Jolla, and Sarasota music festivals, and at the Chautauqua Institution and Interlochen Arts Academy. Mr. DePue is the recipient of numerous awards and honors including third prize winner of both the 1998 International Stulberg String Competition and of the 1998 Fischoff Chamber Music Competition (senior division). In the same year, he was also recognized by the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts. Mr. DePue is currently a tenured violinist with the Philadelphia Orchestra.
Ranaan Meyer, double bassist, hails from Turnersville, New Jersey. He began studying the double bass at the age of 11, eventually entering the Curtis Institute of Music in 1999. Beyond his regular appearances with orchestras such as the Minnesota Symphony and the Philadelphia Orchestra, Mr. Meyer is also increasingly in demand as a composer, creating unique new works for Time for Three as well as for solo bass and string orchestra. Mr. Meyer is also an accom?plished jazz musician and was recently invited to tour with legendary jazz guitarist Pat Martino. Other recent highlights include appearances at the Washington Township and Wiliingboro jazz festivals in New Jersey, both of which were broad?cast on Philadelphia's WRTI. A co-founding mem?ber of the East Coast Chamber Orchestra, Mr. Meyer is also double bass professor at the University of Delaware. This summer he will teach at Mark O'Connor's String Camp (CA) as well as at Strings International at Bryn Mawr College (PA).
This afternoon's performance marks Time for Three's UMS Debut.
Time for Three wishes to acknowledge the invaluable support of Marin Alsop, Christoph Eschenbach, Yo-Yo Ma, Paul Newman, Michael Tilson Thomas, Sir Simon Rattle, Astral Artistic Services, The Curtis Institute of Music, The Philadelphia Orchestra, and Young Concert Artists. Tf3 also thanks the Robertson and Sons Violin Shop (www.robertsonviolins.com) for their exemplary work in servicing instruments.
Time for Three
ums University Musical Society
presents
Dave Holland Big Band
and the
Dave Holland Octet
John Swana, Trumpet
Alex "Sasha" Sipiguine, Trumpet
Duane Eubanks, Trumpet
Chris Potter Tenor Saxophone
Gary Smulyan, Baritone Saxophone
Antonio Hart Soprano and Alto Saxophone
Mark Gross, Alto Saxophone
Robin Eubanks, Trombone
Jon Arons, Trombone
Josh Roseman, Trombone
Steve Nelson Vibraphone and Marimba
Nate Smith Drums
Dave Holland, Bass
indicates member of Dave Holland Octet
Program
Thursday Evening, February 22, 2007 at 8:00 Michigan Theater Ann Arbor
Tonight's selections will be announced by the artists from the stage and will contain an intermission between the sets of the Octet and Big Band.
53rd Performance of the 128th Annual Season
13th Annual Jazz Series
The photographing or sound and video record?ing of this concert or possession of any device for such recording is prohibited.
Media partnership provided by WDET 101.9 FM and WEMU 89.1 FM.
Large print programs are available upon request.
At the pinnacle of his career, Dave Holland has settled into the unassuming role of jazz master. The multi-award and poll-winning bassist, composer, arranger, and band?leader leads two of the most vibrant groups in jazz: the Dave Holland Quintet and the Dave Holland Big Band. He has collaborated in two of the top jazz collectives of the decade: the ScoLoHoFo quartet comprised of Holland, John Scofield, Joe Lovano, and Al Foster; and the Herbie Hancock-piloted all-star quartet including Wayne Shorter and Brian Blade.
A onetime sideman with two titans of jazz, Thelonious Monk (a short tenure) and Miles Davis (a seminal experience during the trumpeter's Bitches Brew era), Mr. Holland made his debut as a leader in the early 1970s. In recent years, his recording career has continued to flourish, record?ing such milestone albums as his quintet CD, Extended Play: Live at Birdland (2003) and two Grammy-winning big band discs, What Goes Around (2002) and the potent follow-up Overtime (2005). Continuing this impressive cre?ative streak into 2006, Mr. Holland released a new quintet album, entitled Critical Mass.
Not willing to rest on his laurels, Mr. Holland is committed to taking his music to new plateaus. "I want to continue to stay engaged in my work," he says. "I want it to develop. That's what keeps me interested and involved. I don't want to per?form night after night and play in a routine. I want the music to be alive and real. I want to be enthusiastic By extension, that translates to the audience."
In talking with Mr. Holland in person, one is struck by his innate shyness as well as a sense of humility. When conversing, his demeanor is simi?lar to his stage presence. He quietly leads his bands with a steady bass pulse in sets of swinging originals that display a flawless balance of form and freedom. He evokes a calming effect-relaxed, unhurried, assured.
Born in Wolverhampton, England, on October 1, 1946, Mr. Holland taught himself how to play stringed instruments, beginning at four on the ukulele, then graduating to guitar and later bass guitar. He quit school at the age of 15 to pur?sue the professional music life in a top 40 band. He and his band mates entertained the idea of getting a record deal and, like the Beatles and Rolling Stones at the time, played ballrooms and small clubs around England.
Eager to learn more about his bass guitar, Mr. Holland gravitated to jazz players when he was 15. After seeing an issue of DownBeat where Ray Brown had won the critics' poll for best bass player, Mr. Holland went to a record store and bought a couple of LPs where Brown was backing pianist Oscar Peterson. He also picked up two Leroy Vinnegar albums because the bassist was posed with his instrument on the cover.
Within a week, Holland recalls, he traded in his bass guitar for an acoustic bass and began practicing with the records. "I loved the richness of the sound and the instrument's expressiveness. But what really knocked me out--and is still the key to playing this music--is the communicative quality of those players. The idea of the commun?ion of playing struck me deeply--how they com?plemented each other during solos and how they interacted. This was so far ahead of anything I had heard up to that point. I saw a much wider horizon ahead to reach for." He adds, "The emo?tion of jazz moved me. It knocked me off my feet. I was inspired. I couldn't think of anything better to do with my life than to try to play like Ray Brown and Leroy Vinnegar."
After moving to London in 1964, Holland played acoustic bass in small venues and, on the advice of some bassist friends, sought tutorial guidance from James E. Merritt, principal bassist of the London Philharmonic Orchestra and the BBC Symphony Orchestra. Merritt trained him to sight read and then recommended he apply to the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Mr. Holland received a fulltime scholarship for the three-year program.
Mr. Holland's most significant non-bassist mentor was Miles Davis, who caught the young bassist at Ronnie Scott's one evening in 1968. Mr. Holland played in the opening act during a month-long stint by the Bill Evans Trio. The pianist's trio included drummer Jack DeJohnette who recalls Davis being eager to get Mr. Holland a ticket to New York.
Mr. Holland recalls that upon arrival, one of his earliest and hardest lessons was how to make his own space in Davis' music, which at the time was electronically evolving. "When I first joined Miles' band, he didn't say much to me. I now know that to be one of his great gifts to artists: to encourage us to not play like the guys who came before us, but to explore our own creative solutions."
Dave Holland
Creatively restless himself, Mr. Holland has recently been involved with a number of new projects, including his own "mini big band," an octet comprising bass, drums, vibraphones and five horns: trumpet, trombone, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone and baritone saxophone. "Like Duke Ellington did, I wanted to pare down the big band," Mr. Holland says. "I wrote some music for it and we toured Europe as a part of a British Arts Council program and performed at Orchestra Hall in Chicago in 2005."
Underlying all of the successes in Mr. Holland's career is a joie de vivre in the music itself. "In my bands, I like being the bass player-in a supportive role as well as exploring melodic and rhythmic ideas--rather than the featured soloist," he says. "I'm more interested in being part of the celebration. After all, it's hard to party on your own. For me, the most joyous part of the music is when people's spirits and hearts come together."
In October 2006 Mr. Holland turned 60. In reflecting on his consistency as a preeminent jazz bassist, he says he feels fortunate in being able to persevere for so long. "When you find yourself
struggling against the challenges of the music industry and your rent's due, those are the diffi?cult times when you are tested," he says. "Each musician has to make their own decision about how they want their music to serve. When you make the commitment to stay true to your musi?cal voice instead of giving into the temptations of some fantastic offer, that is when your music gets stronger. That's something I see as a positive result of this commitment: renewed energy. In the end, people do recognize that commitment."
UMS ARCHIVES
Tonight's performance marks Dave Holland's second UMS appearance. He appeared with the Dave Holland Quintet and Dave Holland Big Band in February 2003. Tonight marks the UMS debut performance of the Dave Holland Octet.
Dave Holland Big Band