UMS Concert Program, Wednesday Nov. 10 To Dec. 05: University Musical Society: Fall 2010 - Wednesday Nov. 10 To Dec. 05 --

Season: Fall 2010
Hill Auditorium

urns
Fall 2010 Season
132nd Annual Season
General Information
On-site ticket offices at performance venues open 90 minutes before each performance.
Children of all ages are welcome at UMS Family and Youth Performances. Children under the age of 3 will not be admitted to regular, full length UMS performances. All children must be able to sit quietly in their own seats without disturbing other patrons. Children unable to do so, along with the adult accompanying them, will be asked by an usher to leave the audito?rium. Please use discretion 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 everyone may enjoy this UMS event disturbance-free.
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
Wednesday, November 10 through Sunday, December 5, 2010
Vladimir Feltsman
Wednesday, November 10, 8:00 pm Hill Auditorium
Stew & The Negro Problem 11
Thursday, November 18, 8:00 pm Friday, November 19, 8:00 pm Saturday, November 20, 7:30 pm Saturday, November 20, 10:30 pm 523 South Main Street
Carolina Chocolate Drops 15
Friday, December 3, 8:00 pm Michigan Theater
Handel's Messiah 17
Saturday, December 4, 8:00 pm Sunday, December 5, 2:00 pm Hill Auditorium
ums University Musical Society
fall 2010
i September
9-
Oct3 25
30
Susurrus
Rosanne Cash
La Capella Reial de Catalunya with
Hesperion XXI and
Tembembe Ensamble Continuo
October
7-9 9
Paul Taylor Dance Company
Paul Taylor Dance Company
Family Performance
10
Mariinsky Orchestra with
Denis Matsuev, piano
Takcics Quartet: Schubert Concert 1
Jerusalem Quartet
Sankai Juku: Hibiki: Resonance from
Far Away
27
Venice Baroque Orchestra with
Robert McDuffie, violin
29
Django Reinhardt's 1OOth Birthday
Celebration: The Hot Club of San
Francisco and The Hot Club of Detroit
31
NT Live: A Disappearing Number
November
2 j ONCE. MORE.: ONCE THEN 4 ONCE. MORE.: ONCE NOW
i The Tallis Scholars
! Mariachi Vargas de TecalitlSn
i Assi El Helani
10 : Vladimir Feltsman, piano 8-201 Stew & The Negro Problem
December
3 I Carolina Chocolate Drops 4-5 i Handel's Messiah
Winter 2011
@@@@ January
2 NT Live: Hamlet
14-15 Laurie Anderson's Delusion
16 Renee Fleming, soprano
21-22 Grupo Corpo
23 Joanne Shenandoah
27 Sequentia

30 Baby Loves Salsa Family Performance 30 : NT Live: FELA!
February
1 ! The Cleveland Orchestra with
Pierre-Laurent Aimard, piano
2 ! Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis
4 I New Century Chamber Orchestra with Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, violin
i Blues at the Crossroads: The Robert i Johnson Centennial Concert
i Rafat Blechacz, piano
Vijay Iyer Trio and Rudresh Mahanthappa's
Apex
13 i Concertante with Rafal Blechacz, piano 1-19 i Merce Cunningham Dance Company:
; The Legacy Tour
20 I Takacs Quartet: Schubert Concert 2 20 NT Live: King Lear
23 Kodo
March
9 i Scharoun Ensemble Berlin 1-13 Druid and Atlantic Theater Company: Martin McDonagh's The Cripple of Inishmaan
19 Detroit Symphony Orchestra with the UMS Choral Union: Mahler's Symphony No. 8
24 Bach Collegium Japan: Bach's Mass in b minor
Propeller: Shakespeare's Richard III and I The Comedy of Errors
I April
2 i St. Petersburg Philharmonic with Nikolai Lugansky, piano
i NT Live: Frankenstein
; Septeto Nacional de Ignacio Pineiro
de Cuba
Takacs Quartet: Schubert Concert 3
Tetzlaff Quartet
16 Tony Allen's Afrobeat Tour
23 ! Liebeslieder Waltzes (Songs and Waltzes of Love)
May
14 Breakin' Curfew
July
17 NT Live: The Cherry Orchard
UMS Educational and Community Events
All UMS educational activities are free, open to the public, and take place in Ann Arbor unless otherwise noted. For complete details and updates, please visit www.ums.org or contact the UMS Education Department at 734.615.4077 or umsed@umich.edu. b
Vladimir Feltsman
PLAY Your Own Melody
Wednesday, November 10, 7-8:00 pm and
intermission
Hill Auditorium Mezzanine Lobby
How does individual play and exploration transform the experience of watching an exceptional artist play their instrument And how does the challenge of making music on a variety of keyboards further help audiences celebrate their own music making Try your hand(s), or feet, on a variety of keyboards in the mezzanine lobby.
Stew & The Negro Problem
Screening of Passing Strange
Sunday, November 14, 5:30 pm
Helmut Stern Auditorium, University of Michigan
Museum of Art, 525 S. State Street
Singer-songwriter and performance artist Stew was commissioned by New York's Public Theater to develop Passing Strange, a heartfelt and hilarious story of a young bohemian who charts a course for "the real" through sex, drugs, and rock-n-roll. The story takes the audience from black, middle-class America to Amsterdam, Berlin, and beyond on a journey towards personal and artistic authenticity. After its move to Broadway, director Spike Lee and cinematographer Matthew Libatique committed the musical to film, shooting a live production on high-definition cameras.
A collaboration with U-M Museum of Art.
Artist Interview:
Post Minstrel Syndrome: A Public
Conversation with Stew
Wednesday, November 17, 7:00 pm 523 S. Main Street
Paul Farber, U-M doctoral candidate in American Culture, will facilitate a conversation with Stew, providing insights on the artist's own musical, cultural, and personal journey. Song and media
clips from both Passing Strange and the Negro Problem's discography will be interspersed throughout the interview. Topics will include Stew's performance history, musical and cultural influences, ideas about race and identity, the transformation of Passing Strange, new works Making It and Brooklyn Omnibus, and stories around the multidisciplinary construction of American music today.
A collaboration with the U-M Black Humanities Collective, U-M Center for Afroamerican and African Studies, U-M Department of American Culture, U-M Arts of Citizenship, and the U-M Center for World Performance Studies.
Carolina Chocolate Drops
American RootsAmerican Routes 101, Part 2: String Bands
Tuesday, November 30, 7:00 pm Cobblestone Farm Barn, 2781 Packard Road
Looking for some good, old-timey music fun Come explore the origins of the string band tradition and its roots in the Piedmont region. Leading this interactive session is Bruce Conforth, U-M professor of American culture. Making guest appearances are Josh Davis of Steppin' In It and Anne Crawford from Orpheum Bell. Come prepared to have fun...and maybe make a little music of your own.
PLAY and Creativity
The Business of Free Play with Stephen Nachmanovich
Wednesday, December 1, 5-6:15 pm U-M Ross School of Business
Author and musician Stephen Nachmanovich discusses the concepts of play and improvisation within a business context. Open to the public for observation.
A collaboration with the U-M Ross School of Business and Ross Leadership Initiative.
visit www.ums.org for more information 0
I'.liiM
oresents
Vladimir Feltsman
Piano
Program
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wednesday Evening, November 10, 2010 at 8:00 Hill Auditorium Ann Arbor
Please note:
Mr. Feltsman graciously replaces Murray Perahia for this evening's recital. As previously announced, Mr. Perahia has been forced to cancel his recital tour due to injury.
Fantasia in d minor, K. 397
Andante
@@@@Franz Schubert
Four Impromptus, Op. 90, D. 899
No. 1 in c minor No. 2 in E-flat Major No. 3 in G-flat Major No. 4 in A-flat Major
INTERMISSION
Frederic Chopin
Four Ballades
No. 1 in g minor, Op. 23 No. 2 in F Major, Op. 38 No. 3 in A-flat Major, Op. 47 No. 4 in f minor, Op. 52
20th Performance of the 132nd Annual Season
132nd Annual Choral Union Series
The photographing or sound and video recording of this recital or possession of any device for such recording is prohibited.
This evening's performance is co-sponsored by Natalie Matovinovic and Gil Omenn and Martha Darling.
Media partnership is provided by WGTE 91.3 FM, WRCJ 90.9 FM, and Detroit Jewish News.
Special thanks to Louis Nagel, professor of piano, U-M School of Music, Theatre & Dance, for speaking at tonight's Prelude Dinner.
The Steinway piano used in this evening's recital is made possible by William and Mary Palmer and by the Steinway Piano Gallery of Detroit.
Special thanks to Tom Thompson of Tom Thompson Flowers, Ann Arbor, for his generous contribution of floral art for this evening's recital.
Mr. Feltsman performs on the Steinway piano and records for Sony Classical, Musical Heritage, Camerata Tokyo, and Melodiya.
Mr. Feltsman appears by arrangement with Arts Management Group, Inc.
Large print programs are available upon request.
Now that you're in your seat...
T
he fantasy, the impromptu, and the ballade are united by what they are not. They emphatically do not belong to the genre of the sonata, the central form of piano music in the 18th and 19th centuries; they are more concerned with character painting than with structure. Tonight's program celebrates the romantic spirit in Mozart, with whom it all began, and in two of his greatest successors. All three knew how to turn the simplest musical phrases into messages of great profundity. And none of them lived to see their 40th birthday.
Fantasia in d minor, K. 397 (1782) Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Born January 27, 1756 in Salzburg, Austria Died December 5, 1791 in Vienna
Snapshot of History... In 1782:
The British fleet defeats the French in the "Battle of the Saintes" off the coast of Dominica in the West Indies
Pierre Choderlos de Laclos writes Les liaisons dangereuses
Johann Christian Bach, Mozart's early mentor, dies in London at the age of 47
Emperor Joseph II of Austria issues his "Edict of Tolerance," granting religious freedom to the Jews
Giovanni Paisiello composes his opera The Barber of Seville
In 1782, one year after he had bolted from Salzburg to take up life as a freelance composer and pianist in Vienna, Mozart developed a new, gleaming admiration for the music of Bach, Handel, and other masters of the early-18th century. He had been exposed to the works of such Italian baroque composers as Leo, Caldara, Durante, and Alessandro Scarlatti in Salzburg, where their scores were used for performance and for study, but his interest in Bach grew from his association in Vienna with Baron Gottfried van Swieten, the court librarian and musical amateur who had developed a taste for the contrapuntal glories of German music while serving as ambassador to the Prussian court at Berlin. Van Swieten, who is also remembered as the librettist for Haydn's oratorios The Creation and The Seasons, produced a weekly series of concerts in Vienna devoted to "ancient music," and hired the best available musicians,
including Mozart, to perform and arrange the compositions for these events.
In addition to the enriched contrapuntal textures that increasingly figured in his compositions, Mozart also discovered from Bach's preludes, fantasies, and toccatas how to fix the evanescence of improvisation into a finished work. He tried out just such a passage of musing, seemingly spontaneous broken chords, a technique found often in the preludes of Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier, to begin the Fantasia in d minor that he wrote in Vienna in 1782. For all of its simplicity, this is one of the most deeply moving movements in Mozart's music. These opening gestures are followed by a plaintive, chromatically infected melody. Repetitions of this sad song are twice interrupted by sweeping cadenza-like eruptions before the fantasia pauses on an inconclusive harmony, takes a small breath, and trots off with a cheerful D-Major melody of opera buffa jocularity. Mozart, perhaps unsure of how to bring these two vastly different kinds of music into balance, did not finish notating the piece. When the score was published by Breitkopf and Hartel in the 1870s as part of the complete Mozart edition, the editors tacked on a few measures of the opera buffa tune to round out the work. A very different effect, chosen by some performers, is achieved by recalling the Bachian strains of the beginning to bring the fantasia to a solemn close.
Four Impromptus, Op. 90, D. 899 (1827)
Franz Schubert
Born January 31, i 797 in Himmelpfortgrund
(now Vienna) Died November 19, 1828 in Vienna
Snapshot of History... In 1827:
Ludwig van Beethoven dies
William Blake dies
Friedrich Wohler isolates aluminum
The first railroad in America, the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, is incorporated
Alessandro Manzoni publishes The Betrothed, one of the greatest Italian novels
On January 31, 1827, Franz Schubert turned 30. He had been following a bohemian existence in Vienna for over a decade, making barely more than a pittance from the sale and performance of his works, and living largely by the generosity of his friends. The pattern of Schubert's daily life was firmly established by that time: composition in the morning; long walks or friendly visits in the afternoon; companionship for wine and song in the evening. The routine was broken by occasional trips into the countryside to stay with friends or families of friends. A curious dichotomy marked Schubert's personality during those final years of his life, one that suited well the romantic image of the inspired artist. The duality in Schubert's character was reflected in the sharp swings of mood marking both his psychological makeup and his creative work.
The ability to mirror his own fluctuating feelings in his compositions is one of Schubert's most remarkable and characteristic achievements, and touches indelibly upon the incomparable series of works--Wnferrese, the "Great" symphony in C Major, the last three piano sonatas, the string quintet, the two piano trios, the impromptus-that he created during the last months of his brief life.
Schubert composed his eight pieces titled "impromptu" in the summer and fall of 1827-they were completed by December. The opening piece of the four comprising the first set (Op. 90, D. 899) in c minor, is in a sort of free sonata form, although its character is so essentially lyrical that melody here simply eats up any large architectonic plan. The principal theme is a bardic song of melancholy sentiment, balanced as the movement unfolds by episodes of almost painful sweetness. The E-flat Major impromptu contrasts an airborne triplet figuration in its outer sections with a waltz-like central passage of more fiery temperament. The crepuscular third impromptu supports its long melodic flights with arpeggiated harmonies of
the greatest finesse and subtlety. Artur Schnabel, one of the most distinguished pianist of recent memory, noted that the last number of the set, in A-flat Major, is "a dance in the moonlight--with the feet scarcely touching the ground."
Four Ballades (1831-1842)
Frederic Chopin
Born March 1, 1810 in Zelazowa Wola, near
Warsaw, Poland Died October 17, 1849 in Paris
Snapshots of History... In 1831:
Victor Hugo publishes The Hunchback of Notre-Dame
Warsaw falls to the Russians
Charles Darwin embarks on his historic journey aboard H.M.S. Beagle
In 1836:
Robert Schumann writes his Fantasy in C Major for piano, Op. 17
Charles Darwin returns to England after a fiveyear journey aboard the H.M.S. Beagle
Charles Dickens writes The Pickwick Papers
In 1841:
Antonin Dvorak is born
England fights the First Opium War in China and the first Anglo-Afghan war in Afghanistan
Adolphe Adam's ballet Giselle is first performed
In 1842:
Verdi's opera Nabucco is first performed
Indiana University is founded in Bloomington
Chopin's lover George Sand writes her celebrated novel Consuelo
Frederic Chopin's greatness as a composer of smaller forms has rarely been questioned. Chopin's contemporaries immediately recognized in him the emergence of a unique musical voice of genius through his etudes, nocturnes, preludes, impromptus, and dance forms Indeed, Chopin's innovations in these forms are staggering: he extended the boundaries of pianism to untold heights through his etudes, translated the tradition of bel canto singing to the piano through his nocturnes, developed a whole new style of
romantic contrapuntal writing (heavily influenced by Bach) in his preludes, forwarded the cause of nationalistic music through his harmonically progressive mazurkas and emotionally powerful polonaises, and transcended the genre of the salon piece with his impromptus and waltzes.
Chopin's mastery of larger forms has been slower in gaining universal recognition, but the Four Ballades demonstrate Chopin's undeniable genius in handling larger structures. The Ballades can be examined against the backdrop of the archetypal formal design of the classical period--sonata form--but it is through his innovative departures from this model that Chopin demonstrates his genius. Through his tonal and formal deviations from the norm, Chopin creates a synthesis of traditional form and a new, romantic aesthetic (in form and content) that results in unified structures imbued with powerful, epic poetry.
The title "ballade" has strong associations in both literature and music. It was a medieval poetic form that the early romantic poets revived as a narrative form to contrast lyric poetry. Settings of ballade texts constituted a major departure point for the relatively new genre of German Lied. In French opera, "ballade" denoted simple narrative songs inserted into operas. When Chopin wrote his Ballade in g minor, he essentially created a new keyboard genre, although the title carried with it these many associations. Later composers to write keyboard ballades include Liszt, Brahms, Grieg, Faure, Debussy, Barber, and Perle.
Like most vocal examples of the genre, Chopin's ballades are written in compound duple meter (64 or 68). Chopin's works are linked with the narrative tradition, each being associated with a specific poem of Chopin's compatriot in exile, Adam Mickiewicz (1798-1855), although these ties are far from universally accepted. The Four Ballades are formally linked with sonata form in that they contain developmental areas, and two themes that are eventually recapitulated. In each ballade, however, Chopin undermines the classical aesthetic of departure and return, creating structures (especially Ballades Nos. 1, 3, and 4) that are end-weighted, and, consistent with the romantic aesthetic, that delay the attainment of an emotional climax for as long as possible.
Program notes courtesy of Arts Management Group, Inc.
P
ianist and conductor Vladimir Feltsman is one of the most versatile and constantly interesting musicians of our time. His vast repertoire encompasses music from the Baroque to 20th-century composers. A regular guest soloist with leading symphony orchestras in the US and abroad, he appears in the most prestigious concert series and music festivals all over the world.
Mr. Feltsman returned in 2010 to the summer festivals of Ravinia, Aspen, LaJolla, and Caramoor, where he performed Schumann's Piano Concerto with the Orchestra of St. Luke's and Robert Spano in celebration of the 200th Anniversary of Schumann's birth. He made a return appearance with the London Symphony Orchestra in June 2010 at the Barbican performing Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3 with Xian Zhang. In the 1011 season, Mr. Feltsman will perform. Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 4 with the Chicago Symphony and Sir Andrew Davis and will be the featured soloist with the orchestras of Seattle, Long Beach, Columbus, and Greensboro. He will perform recitals in New York, Los Angeles, Palm Beach, Kansas City, Lincoln, and Fort Worth.
His 0910 season included a recital in Carnegie's Stern Hall--his fourth recital there since 2004--as well as recitals in Chicago's Orchestra Hall, and Washington DCs Strathmore Performing Arts Center. Recital venues that season also included the Detroit Chamber Music Society, the University of Illinois Urbana, the Tilles Center at Long Island University, and the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts in West Palm Beach. He performed Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1 with the Kansas City Symphony, and in September of 2009, performed Mozart's K. 595 concerto on his own fortepiano with the American Classical Orchestra at Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall.
In June 2009, Mr. Feltsman returned to Singapore to perform in recital, and to Avery Fisher Hall in New York, where he performed the Rachmaninoff Variations on a Theme of Paganini with the New York Philharmonic. He opened the Hollywood Bowl 2009 Festival performing Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No. 2 with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and played recitals at Caramoor and Aspen. He also performed Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 7 with the Macao Orchestra in Beijing, and returned to his native Moscow to conduct the Moscow Virtuosi Orchestra, and to St. Petersburg, performing Brahms's Piano Concerto No. 2 and a recital, and conducted a
concert performance of Cost fan tutte at Mariinsky Concert Hall.
Mr. Feltsman expressed his lifelong devotion to the music of J.S. Bach in a cycle of concerts which presented the major clavier works of the composer and spanned four consecutive seasons (1992-1996) at the 92nd Street Y in New York. His more recent project, Masterpieces of the Russian Underground, unfolded a panorama of Russian contemporary music through an unprecedented survey of piano and chamber works by 14 different composers from Shostakovich to the present day and was presented by the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center in January 2003. Mr. Feltsman served as Artistic Director for this project as well as performing in most of the pieces presented during the three-concert cycle. The programs included a number of world and North American premieres and were also presented in Portland, Oregon, and in Tucson, Arizona, at the University of Arizona. In Fall 2006, Mr. Feltsman performed all of the Mozart Piano Sonatas in New York at the Mannes School of Music and NYU's Tisch Center presented by New School on a specially built replica of the Walter fortepiano.
Born in Moscow in 1952, Mr. Feltsman debuted with the Moscow Philharmonic at age 11. In 1969, he entered the Moscow Tchaikovsky State Conservatory of Music to study piano under the guidance of Professor Jacob Flier. He also studied conducting at both the Moscow and Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) Conservatories. In 1971, Mr. Feltsman won the Grand Prix at the Marguerite Long International Piano Competition in Paris; and followed with extensive touring throughout the former Soviet Union, Europe, and Japan.
In 1979, because of his growing discontent with the restrictions on artistic freedom under the Soviet regime, Mr. Feltsman signaled his intention to emigrate by applying for an exit visa. In response, he was immediately banned from performing in public and his recordings were suppressed. After eight years of virtual artistic exile, he was finally granted permission to leave the Soviet Union. Upon his arrival in the US in 1987, Mr. Feltsman was warmly greeted at the White House, where he performed his first recital in North America. That same year, his debut at Carnegie Hall established him as a major pianist on the American and international scene.
A dedicated educator of young musicians, Mr. Feltsman holds the Distinguished Chair of
Professor of Piano at the State University of New York, New Paltz, and is a member of the piano faculty at the Mannes College of Music in New York City. He is the founder and Artistic Director of the International Festival-Institute PianoSummer at New Paltz, a three-week-long, intensive training program for advanced piano students that attracts major young talents from all over the world.
Mr. Feltsman's extensive discography has been released on the Melociya, Sony Classical, Musical Heritage Society, and Nimbus labels. His discography includes eight albums of clavier works of J.S. Bach, recordings of Beethoven's last five piano sonatas, and more recently a recording on Nimbus of the "Moonlight," "Pathetique," and "Appasionata" Sonatas, solo piano works of Schubert, Schumann, Chopin, Liszt, Brahms,
Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky, Messiaen, and Silvestrov, as well as concerti by Bach, Brahms, Chopin, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, and Prokofiev.
Mr. Feltsman is an American citizen and lives in upstate New York.
Vladimir Feltsman
UMS Archives
T
his evening's performance marks Vladimir Feltsman's ffith appearance under UMS auspices. Mr. Feltsman made his UMS debut in April 1988, opening the 1988 May Festival with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and Michael Tilson Thomas as soloist in Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3. He last appeared this past October with the Takacs Quartet in a performance of Schubert's Piano Sonata in B-Flat Major at Rackham Auditorium.
ums University Musical Society
presents
Stew & The Negro Problem
Stew, Vocals and Guitar Heidi Rodewald, Bass and Vocals Joe McGinty, Keyboards Michael McGinnis, Woodwinds Marty Beller, Drums
Program
Thursday Evening, November 18, 2010 at 8:00 Friday Evening, November 19, 2010 at 8:00 Saturday Evening, November 20, 2010 at 7:30 Saturday Evening, November 20, 2010 at 10:30 523 South Main Street Ann Arbor
Tonight's program will be announced from the stage by the artists and will be performed without intermission.
21st, 22nd, 23rd, and 24th Performances of the 132nd Annual Season
UMS Global: Americas & Americans
The photographing or sound and video recording of this concert or possession of any device for such recording is prohibited.
Thursday evening's performance is sponsored by Michael Allemang and Janis Bobrin.
Funded in part by the National Endowment for the Arts as part of American Masterpieces: Three Centuries of Artistic Genius.
Media partnership is provided by Ann Arbor's 107one and Michigan Chronicle.
Special thanks to Paul Farber, Mark Gjukich, Mosaic Youth Theater of Detroit, the Neutral Zone, the U-M Black Humanities Collective, U-M Center for Afroamerican and African Studies, U-M Department of American Culture, U-M Arts of Citizenship, and the U-M Center for World Performance Studies for their support of and participation in this residency.
Stew & The Negro Problem appears by arrangement with PARADIGM, New York, NY.
Large print programs are available upon request.
S
tew's works include Passing Strange for which he received the 2008 Tony Award for "Best Book of a Musical" in which he wrote lyrics and co-composed music. He is also a two-time Obie winner for "Best New Theater Piece" and, as a member of the PS acting family, "Best Ensemble." A four-time Tony nominee. Stew leads two critically acclaimed bands along with his collaborator Heidi Rodewald: The Negro Problem and Stew. Stew's works include Post Minstrel Syndrome, Joys and Concerns, Guest Host, The Naked Dutch Painter, Welcome Black, Something Deeper Than These Changes, and the cast album of Passing Strange.
Stew was artist-in-residence at the California Institute of the Arts during the 0405 season. Passing Strange was presented at the Berkeley Repertory Theater (2006), New York's Public Theater (2007), and on Broadway at the Belasco Theater (2008). Stew will ultimately be remembered for having composed "Gary Come Home" for SpongeBob SquarePants.
This weekend's performances mark Stew & The Negro Problem's UMS debut.
H
eidi Rodewald has spent more than a decade as a performer, arranger, producer, and composer for both The Negro Problem and the multi-disciplinary ensemble known as Stew. Credits include Passing Strange, Berkeley Repertory Theater (2006), New York's Public Theater (2007), and on Broadway at the Belasco Theater (2008); composer, Karen Kandel's Portraits: Night and Day (2004); and co-writer with Stew of the screenplay We Can See Today, Sundance Screenwriters Lab Directors Lab (2005). Ms. Rodewald also wrote and performed with the seminal female punk band Wednesday Week.
ums University Musical Society
and the
University of Michigan
Health System
present
Carolina Chocolate Drops
Rhiannon Giddens, Justin Robinson,
Dom Flemons,
Vocals, Five-String Banjo, Kazoo, Fiddle Vocals, Fiddle, Beatbox, Hand Clapping,
Foot Percussion, Autoharp Vocals, Bones, Guitar, Four-String Banjo, Jug,
Foot Percussion, Bass Drum
Program
Friday Evening, December 3, 2010 at 8:00 Michigan Theater Ann Arbor
Tonight's program will be announced from the stage by the artists and will be performed without intermission.
25th Performance of the 132nd Annual Season
UMS Global: Americas & Americans
The photographing or sound and video recording of this concert or possession of any device for such recording is prohibited.
This evening's performance is sponsored by the University of Michigan Health System.
Funded in part by the National Endowment for the Arts as part of American Masterpieces: Three Centuries of Artistic Genius.
Media partnership is provided by WEMU 89.1 FM, Metro Times, Michigan Chronicle, and Ann Arbor's 107one.
Special thanks to David and Jo-Anna Featherman and CFI Group for their sponsorship of this morning's youth performance by the Carolina Chocolate Drops.
Special thanks to Bruce Conforth, Josh Davis, and Anne Crawford for their support of and participation in events surrounding tonight's performance.
Carolina Chocolate Drops record for Nonesuch Records.
Carolina Chocolate Drops appear by arrangement with Concerted Efforts.
Large print programs are available upon request.
UMS is grateful to the
Carl and Isabelle Brauer Fund
for generously supporting the performances of Handel's Messiah.
I
n the summer and fall of 2005, three young black musicians Dom Flemons, Rhiannon Giddens, and Justin Robinson made the commitment to travel to Mebane, North Carolina, every Thursday night to sit in the home of old-time fiddler Joe Thompson for a musical jam session. Joe was in his 80s, a black fiddler with a short bowing style that he inherited from generations of family musicians. He had learned to play a wide-ranging set of tunes sitting on the back porch with other players after a day of field work. Now he was passing those same lessons on to a new generation.
When the three students decided to form a band, they didn't have big plans. It was mostly a tribute to Joe, a chance to bring his music back out of the house again and into dance halls and public places. They called themselves the Carolina Chocolate Drops as a tip-of-the-hat to the Tennessee Chocolate Drops, three black brothers Howard, Martin, and Bogan Armstrong, who lit up the music scene in the 1930s.
From town squares to farmers' markets, the Chocolate Drops perfected their playing and began to win an avid following of foot-tapping,
sing-along, audiences. In 2006, they picked up a spot at the locally based Shakori Hills Festival where they lit a fire on the dance tent floor.
In 2008, the ensemble received an invitation to be the first black string band to play the Grand Ole Opry. The legendary Nashville series pronounced the performance a healing moment for the Opry.
With the release of their Nonesuch recording Genuine Negro Jig, the ensemble confirms its place in the music pantheon. With its tongue-in-cheek title, the album ranges boldly from Joe Thompson's "Cindy Gal" to Tom Waits' "Trampled Rose" and Rhiannon's acoustic hip-hop version of R&B artist Blu Cantrell's "Hit 'Em Up Style."
Rolling Stone magazine described the Carolina Chocolate Drops' style as "dirt-floor-dance electricity." If you ask the band, that is what matters most. Yes, banjos and black string musicians first got here on slave ships, but now this is everyone's music. It's OK to mix it up and go where the spirit moves.
UMS welcomes the Carolina Chocolate Drops in their UMS debut.
urns
presents
Messiah
Composed by George Frideric Handel
UMS Choral Union
Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra
Jerry Blackstone, Conductor and Music Director
Caitlin Lynch, Soprano Meredith Arwady, Contralto Nicholas Phan, Tenor Jesse Blumberg, Baritone
Edward Parmentier, Harpsichord Scott VanOrnum, Organ
Program
Saturday Evening, December 4, 2010 at 8:00 Sunday Afternoon, December 5, 2010 at 2:00 Hill Auditorium Ann Arbor
26th and 27th
Performances
of the 132nd Annual
Season
The photographing or sound and video recording of this performance or possession of any device for such recording is prohibited.
This weekend's performances are supported by the Carl and Isabelle Brauer Fund.
Media partnership is provided by Michigan Radio 91.7 FM and Ann Arbor's 107one.
Ms. Lynch appears by arrangement with Pinnacle Arts Management, Inc. Ms. Arwady appears by arrangement with Columbia Artists Management, Inc. Mr. Phan appears by arrangement with Opus 3 Artists, New York, NY. Mr. Blumberg appears by arrangement with ADA Artist Management.
Large print programs are available upon request.
Parti
1 Sinfonia
2 Arioso
Isaiah 40: 1 Isaiah 40:2
Isaiah 40: 3
3 Air
Isaiah 40: 4
Mr. Phan
Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.
Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her that her
warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned. The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness: Prepare ye the way of
the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
Mr. Phan
Every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain . . .
made low: the crooked .. . straight, and the rough places plain:
@@@@4 Chorus
Isaiah 40: 5
5 Accompanied recitative Haggai 2: 6
Haggai 2: 7 Malachi 3: 1
6 Air
Malachi 3:2
And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.
Mr. Blumberg
. . . thus saith the Lord of hosts: Yet once, ... a little while, and I will shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land;
And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come:...
... the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts.
Mr. Blumberg
But who may abide the day of his coming And who shall stand when he appeareth For he is like a refiner's fire, . . .
@@@@7 Chorus
Malachi 3:3
8 Recitative Isaiah 7: 14
9 Air and Chorus
Isaiah 40: 9
Isaiah 60: 1
. . . and he shall purify the sons of Levi, . . . that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness.
Ms. Arwady
Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel, "God-with-us."
Ms. Arwady
0 thou that tellest good tidings to Zion, get thee up into the high mountain; 0 thou that tellest good tidings to Jerusalem, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah: Behold your God!
Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.
10 Arioso
Isaiah 60: 2
Isaiah 60: 3
11 Air
Isaiah 9: 2
Mr. Blumberg
For behold, . . . darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and His glory shall be seen upon thee.
And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.
Mr. Blumberg
The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: and they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.
@@@@12 Chorus
Isaiah 9: 6
Pifa
Recitative Luke 2: 8
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the
government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
(Pastoral Symphony)
Ms. Lynch
. . . there were . . . shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
15 Arioso Luke 2: 9
16 Recitative Luke 2: 10
Luke 2: 11
Ms. Lynch
And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.
Ms. Lynch
And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
@@@@17 Arioso Luke 2: 13
Ms. Lynch
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
@@@@18 Chorus
Luke 2: 14
19 Air
Zechariah 9: 9
Zechariah 9: 10
Glory to God in the highest, and peace on earth, good will toward men.
Ms. Lynch Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, 0 daughter of
Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is the righteous
Saviour, . . . .. . and he shall speak peace unto the heathen: . ..
20 Recitative Isaiah 35: 5
Isaiah 35: 6
21 Air
Isaiah 40: 11
Matthew 11:28 Matthew 11: 29
Ms. Arwady
Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened, and the ears of the
deaf. . unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as a hart, and the tongue of the
dumb shall sing: . . .
Ms. Arwady and Ms. Lynch
He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: and he shall gather the lambs
with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and . . . gently lead
those that are with young. Come unto Him, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and He
will give you rest. Take His yoke upon you, and learn of Him, for He is meek and
lowly of heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
@@@@22 Chorus
Matthew 11:30
... His yoke is easy, and His burden is light.
INTERMISSION
Part II
23 Chorus John 1:29
24 Air
Isaiah 53: 3
Isaiah 50: 6
Behold, the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world! . . .
Ms. Arwady
He was despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and
acquainted with grief: . . . He gave his back to the smiters, and His cheeks to them that
plucked off the hair: He hid not His face from shame and spitting.
@@@@25 Chorus Isaiah 53:4 Isaiah 53: 5
Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: . . .
... he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our
iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with
his stripes are we healed.
@@@@26 Chorus
Isaiah 53: 4
27 Arioso
Psalm 22: 7
All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
Mr. Phan
All they that see him laugh him to scorn: they shoot our their lips, and shake their heads, saying:
28 Chorus
Psalm 22: 8 He trusted in God that he would deliver him: let him deliver him,
if he delight in him.
29 Accompanied recitative Mr. Phan
Psalm 69:20 Thy rebuke hath broken his heart; he is full of heaviness: he
looked for some to have pity on him, but there was no man; neither found he any to comfort him.
30 Arioso Mr. Phan
Lamentations 1: 12 ... Behold and see if there be any sorrow like unto his sorrow . . .
31 Accompanied recitative Mr. Phan
Isaiah 53: 8 ... he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the
transgressions of thy people was he stricken.
32 Air
Psalm 16: 10
Mr. Phan
But thou didst not leave his soul in hell; nor didst thou suffer thy Holy One to see corruption.
@@@@33 Chorus Psalm 24: 7
Psalm 24: 8 Psalm 24: 9 Psalm 24: 10
34 Recitative
Hebrews 1: 5
Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting
doors; and the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord
mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, 0 ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting
doors; and the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory The Lord of hosts, he is tie King of
glory.
Mr. Phan
. . . unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my son, this day have I begotten thee . . .
@@@@Chorus Hebrews 1: 6
Air
Psalm 68: 18
... let all the angels of God worship him.
Ms. Arwady
Thou art gone up on high, thou has lead captivity captive: and
received gifts for men; yea, even for thine enemies, that the Lord God might dwell among them.
@@@@Chorus Psalm 68: 11
Air
Isaiah 52: 7
The Lord gave the word: great was the company of the preachers.
Ms. Lynch
How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things . . .
39 Chorus
Romans 10: 18
40 Air
Psalm 2: 1
Psalm 2: 2
Their sound is gone out into all lands, and their words unto the ends of the world.
Mr. Blumberg
Why do the nations so furiously rage together, . . . why do the
people imagine a vain thing The kings of the earth rise up, and the rulers take counsel together
against the Lord and his anointed, . ..
@@@@41 Chorus
Psalm 2: 3
42 Recitative Psalm 2:4
Let us break their bonds asunder, and cast away their yokes from us.
Mr. Phan
He that dwelleth in heaven shall laugh them to scorn: the Lord shall leave them in derision.
@@@@43 Air
Psalm 2: 9
Mr. Phan
Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.
@@@@44 Chorus
Revelation 19: 6 Revelation 11: 15
Revelation 19: 16
Hallelujah: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.
. . . The kingdom of this world is become the kingdom of our
Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. . . . King of Kings, and Lord of Lords.
You are invited to join the Choral Union in singing the "Hallelujah" chorus. Please leave the music at the door when exiting the auditorium. Thank you.
Part III
45 Air Ms. Lynch
Job 19: 25 I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the
latter day upon the earth. Job 19: 26 And though . . . worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I
see God. Cor. 15: 20 For now is Christ risen from the dead, ... the first fruits of them
that sleep.
46 Chorus
Cor. 15: 21 ... since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection
of the dead. Cor. 15: 22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
47 Accompanied recitative Mr. Blumberg
Cor. 15: 51 Behold, I tell you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all
be changed, Cor. 15: 52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye at the last trumpet:
48 Air Mr. Blumberg
Cor. 15: 52 ... the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised
incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
Cor. 15: 53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must
put on immortality.
49 Recitative Cor. 15: 54
50 Duet
Cor. 15: 55 I Cor. 15: 56
51 Chorus
Cor. 15: 57
Ms. Arwady
. . . then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.
Ms. Arwady and Mr. Phan
0 death, where is thy sting O grave, where is thy victory The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.
But thanks be to God, who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
@@@@52 Air
Romans 8: 31 Romans 8: 33
Romans 8: 34
Ms. Lynch
If God be for us, who can be against us
Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect It is God
that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth It is Christ that died, yea rather, that
is risen again, who is ... at the right hand of God, who . . .
maketh intercession for us.
@@@@53 Chorus
Revelation 5: 12
Revelation 5: 13
. . . Worthy is the Lamb that was slain and hath redeemed us to God by His blood to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.
. . . Blessing, and honour, . . . glory, and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.
Amen.
Handel's Messiah
Messiah (1741)
George Frideric Handel
Born February 23, 1685 in Halle, Germany
Died April 14, 1759 in London
Nicholas Phan, tenor soloist, Ann Arbor native, and U-M School of Music, Theatre & Dance alumnus
The very first time I ever heard Handel's Messiah, I remember sitting in the first balcony of Hill Auditorium, carefully reading the program notes before the performance, trying to understand what exactly this VfessaHhing was. I was so young I don't even remember precisely what year it was, but it was long before I ever considered becoming a singer. The reason I remember going was to see my violin teacher play in the Symphony. I had lots of questions: Did it tell a story Why do we all stand up to sing along with that "Hallelujah" moment What is an "Oratorio," anyway My inquisitive mind absorbed as much as it could before the first notes of the Overture. From that moment on, I was transfixed.
The first balcony of Hill was my favorite place to see concerts while I was growing up in Ann Arbor. It felt like the perfect distance from the stage--I wasn't too far away to feel disconnected (not that distance matters in Hill--the sound actually gets better the higher up you sit), and I wasn't too close, so I could see all of the action without missing a thing. It was from that first balcony that I caught a glimpse of how powerfully expressive music-making could be, watching Yo-Yo Ma play the Dvorak cello concerto with the Orchestra of St. Luke's, getting my first taste of live great singing when Cecilia Bartoli offered a recital, and having my heart broken by Les Arts Florissants' semi-staged performance of Acis and Galatea.
I cultivated my passion for classical music as an audience member in Hill, and it was on the stage that I cut my teeth as a young performing musician. It was in Hill, sitting in the back of the viola section of the Michigan Youth Symphony where I discovered what it was like to play in a large symphony orchestra. A year later, on a whim, as a sophomore in high school, I went to sing a last minute audition for Jerry Blackstone to try and get into the Michigan Youth Chamber Singers. Not having anything else to sing for him, I sang the national anthem. After I had finished, he said "sounds great!" and told me to go pick up some music for our first rehearsal that afternoon. A few months later, he assigned me my very own first, tiny oratorio solo to sing in Hill in Mozart's Regina Coeli, and my journey as a singer began. I spent the next seven years performing intermittently and even recording in Hill as a choral singer and soloist, honing my craft and gaining valuable experience that would set the foundation of what would turn out to be a life in music. To come back to Hill for such an important UMS tradition, standing on stage as a colleague with the people who started me on this life journey, marks not only a dream come true, but the ultimate homecoming.
Caitlin Lynch, soprano soloist, Michigan native, and U-M School of Music, Theatre & Dance alumna
Dr. Blackstone (whom my dad has always referred to as Dr. Whiterock) is the reason that I fell in love with music. I attended the Interlochen All-State High School Choir Camp for four summers and he was our conductor. He was my first real conductor and he terrified me! He was so smart and so serious about music-making and choral singing. His validation was my ultimate goal--I just wanted to be worthy of singing in his choir. When I was given a tiny solo in "Freedom Come" my first summer there, I thought I had died and gone to heaven. Those summers at Interlochen were magical: I spent the first two with my best friend, Megan, singing through the camp, music everywhere...we loved every minute. All of us worshipped Dr. Blackstone. His passion for music was contagious and I most certainly caught the bug. His expectation of nothing less than our absolute best was fundamental in my development as a young musician. My final summer at Interlochen I was a senior in high school and was awarded a partial scholarship to study music at the University of Michigan. Four more years in Dr. B's choirs! I am forever grateful to him for those lessons. Handel's Messiah is my favorite oratorio and every opportunity I have to sing it feels like a true blessing. But the opportunity to sing this beautiful work at my alma mater with Dr. Blackstone conducting is truly a dream come true. Talk about coming full circle. I feel honored to be making music at Hill Auditorium and being presented under UMS auspices along with such fantastic other soloists (who happen to be friends). What a joy to have Dr. Blackstone keeping us all together.
Hill Auditorium kiosk announces the 1951 presentation of Messiah.
G
rammy Award-winning conductor Jerry Blackstone is director of choirs and chair of the conducting department at the U-M School of Music, Theatre & Dance where he conducts the Chamber Choir, teaches conducting at the graduate level, and administers a choral program of 11 choirs. In February 2006, he received two Grammy Awards ("Best Choral Performance" and "Best Classical Album") as chorusmaster for the Naxos recording of William Bolcom's Songs of Innocence and of Experience. In 2006, the Chamber Choir performed by special invitation at the inaugural convention of the National Collegiate Choral Organization in San Antonio, and in 2003, the Chamber Choir presented three enthusiastically received performances in New York City at the National Convention of the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA). In addition to Dr. Blackstone's choral conducting work at the University, he has led operatic productions with the U-M Opera Theatre, including productions of Janacek's The Cunning Little Vixen and Strauss's Die Fledermaus.
Dr. Blackstone is considered one of the country's leading conducting teachers and his students have received first place awards and been finalists in both the graduate and undergraduate divisions of the American Choral Directors Association biennial National Choral Conducting Awards competition.
He has appeared as festival guest conductor and workshop presenter in 30 states as well as New Zealand, Hong Kong, and Australia. Guest appearances for the current season include festivals and conference presentations across the country and Shanghai (China).
In 2004, Dr. Blackstone was named conductor and music director of the UMS Choral Union. In March 2008, he conducted the UMS Choral Union and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra in a special performance of Bach's St. Matthew Passion. Choirs prepared by Dr. Blackstone have appeared
under the batons of Valery Gergiev, Neeme Jarvi, Leonard Slatkin, John Adams, Helmuth Rilling, James Conlon, Nicholas McGegan, Rafael Fruhbeck de Burgos, Peter Oundjian, and Itzhak Perlman.
As conductor of the U-M Men's Glee
Club from 1988-2002, Dr. Blackstone led the ensemble in performances at ACDA national and division conventions and on extensive concert tours throughout Australia, Eastern and Central Europe, Asia, South America, and the US. The U-M Men's Glee Club recording, have had singing, is a retrospective of his tenure as conductor of the ensemble.
Santa Barbara Music Publishing distributes Dr. Blackstone's acclaimed educational video Working with Male Voices and publishes the Jerry Blackstone Choral Series, a set of choral publications that presents works by several composers in a variety of musical styles.
Prior to coming to U-M in 1988, Dr. Blackstone served on the music faculties of Phillips University in Oklahoma, Westmont College in California, and Huntington College in Indiana.
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aitlin Lynch is one of the most promising young sopranos today. She was awarded first prize in the 2008 Houston Grand Opera Competition, and recently made her mainstage Houston debut as Hero in Beatrice et Benedict, female soloist in the American premiere of Chorus!, and Helena cover in A Midsummer Night's Dream. In the current season and beyond, she will perform Micaela in Carmen at the Seattle Opera; Eliza in the world premiere of Nico Muhly's Dark Sisters, at the Opera Company of Philadelphia and Gotham Chamber Opera in New York; Leila in Les Pecheurs des Perles at Opera Cleveland; Fiordiligi in Cosi Fan Tutte at Opera Carolina and the Palm Beach Opera; and Konstanza in Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serail at the Arizona Opera.
Ms. Lynch completed the Seattle Opera Young Artist Program in spring 2007, where she per?formed Micaela in Carmen and Alice Ford in Fal-staff. Other recent performances include Oasis in L'Etoile with the Cincinnati Opera, and several roles at the University of Cincinnati CCM includ?ing Donna Anna in Don Giovanni, Ginevra in Ari-odante, and Philippa in Babette's Feast.
In concert, Ms. Lynch has performed the Mo?zart Requiem with Kentucky Symphony Orchestra, Carl Nielson's Symphony No. 3 with the Cincin?nati Symphony Orchestra, a Mendelssohn concert with the Glimmerglass Opera, Musetta (Act II) in La Boheme with Opera Theatre and Music Festival of Lucca (Italy), Handel's Messiah with the Lex?ington Philharmonic, Monteverdi's Lamento delta
Jerry Blackstone
Wnawith the Grandin Festival, and a concert with the Columbus Symphony entitled Be?yond the Score.
Recent awards include a 2008 Sara Tucker Grant, first prize in the Irma M. Cooper Opera Columbus Com?petition in 2006, the encouragement award
in the 2007 Opera Index and the Jensen Founda?tion Voice Competition, and second prize in the 2007 Palm Beach Opera Competition.
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ontralto Meredith Arwady begins the current season with the role of Auntie in Houston Grand Opera's new production of Peter Grimes. Ms Arwady will also join the Cana?dian Opera Company on their Brooklyn Academy of Music tour, with roles in Stravinsky's Nightingale and Berceuses du Chat. Dallas opera audiences will hear her in Mussorsky's Boris Godunov in the spring of 2011 and in Giulio Cesare as Cornelia at Fort Worth Opera Festival. Ms. Arwady will end the season with the title role of Vivaldi's Griselda in a new Peter Sellars production at the Santa Fe Opera in summer 2011. On the concert stage, she will perform Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 with Edo de Waart and the Milwaukee Symphony and a song recital at the Curtis Institute of Music.
Ms. Arwady has also appeared as Schwertleite in Die Walkure, Meg Page in The Merry Wives of Wind?sor, Madame Flora in The Medium, Zita in Gianni Schicchi, Mrs. Peachum in Die Dreigroschenoper, both Mother and The Square Root of 7 in L'Enfant et les Sortileges, Madame de Quimper Karadec in La Vie Parisienne, and in L'incoronazione di Poppea.
Ms. Arwady is a winner of the 2004 Metro-
politan Opera National Council Auditions. She is the recipient of nu?merous awards and grants, including the 2005 Kirsten Flagstad Award for a singer with a promising Wagne-rian career, presented by the George London Foundation; first prize
winner of the 2004 Licia Albanese-Puccini Com?petition; the inaugural Marian Anderson Prize for "Emerging Classical Artists" in 2002; and a 2007 Richard Tucker Career Grant. As a member of the Lyric Opera of Chicago's Opera Center ensemble, Ms. Arwady made her mainstage debut with the Lyric Opera of Chicago in 2005 as Tisbe in La Ce-nerentola conducted by Bruno Campanella, Third Lady in Die Zauberflote, and She-Ancient in Sir Michael Tippett's A Midsummer Marriage, both conducted by Sir Andrew Davis.
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n the heels of his debut at the BBC Proms, tenor Nicholas Phan began his current season with a recital tour which culmi?nated in his recital debut at Carnegie Hall as part of its Great Singers III: Evenings of Song series at Weill Recital Hall. Mr. Phan continued his fall sea?son with performances of Carmina Burana with the San Francisco Symphony, a concert of Purcell with Chicago's Music of the Baroque, and Haydn's Creation with the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra.
Mr. Phan begins the new year with his Seattle Opera debut as Count Almaviva in Rossini's com?edy llbarbiere diSiviglia. From Seattle, he returns to the San Francisco Symphony for performances of Bach's Mass in b minor and Carnegie Hall for Men?delssohn's Elijah with the Oratorio Society of New York. In April Mr. Phan embarks on a European tour of Handel's Ahodante with conductor Alan Curtis and his orchestra II Complesso Barocco. He will sing the role of Lurcanio alongside mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato's Ariodante in London (Barbican), Paris (Theatre de Champs-Elysees), Baden-Baden (Festspielhaus), and Madrid.
Mr. Phan recently made his Edinburgh Inter?national Festival debut in a concert performance of Macbeth with the BBC Scottish Symphony con?ducted by David Robertson. An accomplished re-citalist and concert singer, he has appeared with many of the leading orchestras in the US, includ?ing the Atlanta Symphony, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra of St. Luke's, San Francisco Symphony, the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, and the St. Louis Symphony. He has worked with con?ductors including Pierre Boulez, Zubin Mehta, Da?vid Robertson, Robert Spano, and Michael Tilson Thomas. He has appeared at the Ravinia, Rheigau, and Marlboro music festivals. In August 2010, he made his debut at the BBC Proms, performing Bartok's Cantata Profana with Mr. Robertson and
Caitlin Lynch
Meredith Arwady
the BBC Symphony Or?chestra.
Mr. Phan made his Carnegie Hall debut in 2008 and has since returned to its Stern Auditorium with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Pierre Boulez for Stravin?sky's Pulcinella and for Haydn's Creation with
Helmuth Rilling and the Orchestra of St. Luke's. In recital he has been presented by the Marilyn Home Foundation in their annual On Wings of Song series, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, Oberlin Conservatory of Music, and the University of Chicago. An avid proponent of vocal chamber music, he has collaborated with pianists Mitsuko Uchida and Richard Goode.
Mr. Phan's recording of Stravinsky's Pulcinella with Pierre Boulez and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra was recently released on the CSO Re?sound label. His world premiere recording of Evan Chambers' orchestral song cycle The Old Burying Ground was released in July 2010.
A graduate of the University of Michigan, Mr. Phan also studied at the Manhattan School of Mu?sic and the Aspen Music Festival and School and is an alumnus of the Houston Grand Opera Studio. He was the recipient of a 2006 Sullivan Founda?tion Award and 2004 Richard F. Gold Career Grant from the Shoshana Foundation.
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aritone Jesse Blumberg is an artist equally at home on opera, concert, and recital stages. This past season he performed the role of the Celebrant in Bernstein's Mass at London's Royal Festival Hall under the baton of Marin Alsop, debuted with Boston Lyric Opera as Harlekin
in Ariadne auf Naxos, and performed recitals in Paris with the Mirror Visions Ensemble. In 2007 he created the role of Connie Rivers in The Grapes of Wrath at the Minnesota Opera and later made his Utah and Pittsburgh Opera debuts in the
same production. Other recent appearances include leading and featured roles with Annapolis Opera, Opera Delaware, Opera Vivente, and the Boston Early Music Festival.
In concert, Mr. Blumberg has been a featured soloist with American Bach Soloists, Los Angeles Master Chorale, Sacred Music in a Sacred Space, and the Berkshire Choral Festival. He has also given the world premieres of two important chamber works: Ricky Ian Gordon's Green Sneakers and Lisa Bielawa's The Lay of the Love and Death. He has toured with the Mark Morris Dance Group and the Waverly Consort and has given recitals for the Marilyn Home Foundation. Last season, he and pianist Martin Katz performed Schubert's two monumental song cycles, Die schone Mullehn and Winterreise, over one weekend in Ann Arbor, and will soon repeat this pairing in New York City. Mr. Blumberg has been recognized in many song and opera competitions, and in 2008 was awarded third prize at the International Robert Schumann Competition in Zwickau, becoming its first American prizewinner in over 30 years.
His current season engagements include song recitals in New York, Boston, and Washington DC; debuts with New York Festival of Song, Clarion Society, and Apollo's Fire; and returns to American Bach Soloists, Minnesota Opera, and the Boston Early Music Festival. Mr. Blumberg received a master's degree from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and undergraduate degrees in history and music from the University of Michigan. Mr. Blumberg is also the founder and artistic director of the Five Boroughs Music Festival, a new concert series in New York City. For further information, please visit www.jesseblumberg.com.
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dward Parmentier is professor of harpsichord and director of the Early Music Ensemble at U-M School of Music, Theatre & Dance. He has performed throughout the US, Russia, Western Europe, Japan, and Korea on harpsichord and on historic organs, and is a frequent recitalist, lecturer, and adjudicator at symposia and festivals. His collection of recordings has won both critical and popular acclaim. Recent releases include Bach's partitas, French 17th-century harpsichord music, sonatas of Scarlatti, and music of the English virginalists. Mr. Parmentier appears frequently in ensemble settings as a continuist and concerto soloist. His harpsichord teachers were Albert Fuller
Nicholas Phan
Jesse Blumberg
and Gustav Leonhardt.
In 2010, Mr. Parmentier presented solo recitals at Pomona College, Claremont, CA; at the Reformed Church in Nieuwolda, Netherlands; and on the Dumont Series at Flintwoods in Greenville, DE. Mr. Parmentier appeared with the Ann Arbor Symphony
Orchestra, at the Garth Newel Music Festival in Warm Springs, VA, and at U-M with violinist Aaron Berofsky. He offered two harpsichord workshops in June on Scarlatti and Fundamentals of Harpsichord Performance and Repertoire at the University of Michigan.
A strong advocate for education and outreach, Mr. Parmentier has lectured on baroque performance practice and composition for the Ann Arbor Piano Teachers Association and his annual summer harpsichord workshops at U-M attract performers from all over the world. In March, along with his U-M harpsichord students, Mr. Parmentier held the annual Michigan Harpsichord Saturday, an outreach program for young keyboard musicians.
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hroughout its 132-year history, the UMS Choral Union has performed with many of the world's distinguished orchestras and conductors. Based in Ann Arbor under the aegis of UMS, the 175-voice Choral Union is known for its definitive performances of large-scale works for chorus and orchestra. Fifteen years ago, the UMS Choral Union further enriched that tradition when it began appearing regularly with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO). Amidst performances of Stravinsky's Symphony of Psalms, Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, and Mozart's Requiem, the UMS Choral Union has also recorded Tchaikovsky's The Snow Maiden with the DSO for Chandos, Ltd.
Led by Grammy Award-winning conductor and music director Jerry Blackstone, the UMS Choral Union was a participant chorus in a rare performance and recording of William Bolcom's Songs of Innocence and of Experience in Hill Auditorium in April 2004 under the baton of Leonard Slatkin. Naxos released a three-disc set of this recording in October 2004, featuring the UMS Choral Union and U-M School of Music ensembles.
The recording won four Grammy Awards in 2006, including "Best Choral Performance" and "Best Classical Album." The recording was also selected as one of The New York Times "Best Classical Music CDs of 2004."
Recent highlights of the UMS Choral Union's schedule include a 2006 performance of Shostakovich's Symphony No. 73 ("Babi Yar")with the Mariinsky Orchestra under the baton of Valery Gergiev. In 2008, the UMS Choral Union performed Carl Orff's Carmina Burana with the DSO for the inaugural weekend of Leonard Slatkin's post as music director of the DSO. Most recently, in 2010, the chorus joined the San Francisco Symphony and Michael Tilson Thomas for a performance of Mahler's Symphony No. 2 ("Resurrection") at Hill Auditorium.
In March, the chorus joins together with the DSO, U-M choral ensembles, the MSU Children's Choir, and Leonard Slatkin for performances of Mahler's Symphony No. 8 at Detroit's Michigan Opera Theater and Hill Auditorium. In April, the chorus returns to Detroit with performances of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 with the DSO and Leonard Slatkin, and women of the chorus perform Mahler's Symphony No. 3 with the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Arie Lipsky.
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rom its inception as a shared dream among a group of music-loving friends to its eventual establishment as a premiere regional orchestra, under the leadership of 13 conductors over the course of almost a century of growth, the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra (A2SO) has remained passionately committed to enriching Michigan's culture through their gift of musical performance and outreach. From its humble beginnings as the local community orchestra, the A2SO has been an artistic pillar of southeast Michigan, year after year providing the region with: Great. Live. Music.
The A2SO offered its first major program in November 1931, after being founded in 1928. In 1941, distinguished music educator Joseph Maddy, who had founded what would later become the Interlochen Center for the Arts, became the fourth conductor of the Symphony. By 1986, the A2SO had become a fully professional orchestra under conductor Carl St.Clair. In 2000, Arie Lipsky was chosen as the organization's 13th music director,
Edward Parmentier
and the Symphony's first decade of the 21st century has been one of its most successful.
A2SO concerts frequently feature world-class guest soloists, including, most recently, Anton Nel, Arkadiy Figlin, llya Kaler, and American Idol star David Archuleta. But the Symphony is most privileged to be part of a community that is already enriched with musical talent; local artists such as violinist Yehonatan Berick; cellist Anthony Elliott; pianists Arthur Greene and Louis Nagel; and vocalists Melody Racine, Stephen West, and Daniel Washington regularly join the A2SO on stage.
In 2009, the A2SO released their first CD, featuring the music of contemporary composer Paul Fetler, as part of Naxos's "American Classics" series. The CD consists of live performances of Fetler's Violin Concerto No. 2, with concertmaster Aaron Berofsky as soloist, Capriccio for orchestra, and Three Poems of Walt Whitman, narrated by Thomas Blaske.
Whether on the stereo or radio, in the concert hall or the classroom, the mission of the A2SO is always striving to attract, inspire, and educate the most diverse audience possible; foster a growing appreciation for excellent music and regional talent; and provide imaginative programming through community involvement.
UMS Archives
T
he UMS Choral Union began performing on December 16, 1879 and has presented Handel's Messiah in annual performances ever since. This weekend's performances mark the UMS Choral Union's416th and 417th appearances under UMS auspices. This weekend Dr. Blackstone makes his 18th and 19th UMS appearances following his debut leading the Choral Union in performances of Messiah in 2003 at the Michigan Theater. The UMS Choral Union most recently appeared under UMS auspices joining the San Francisco Symphony under the baton of Michael Tilson Thomas in March 2010 in performance of Mahler's Symphony No. 2 at the 2010 Ford Honors Program at Hill Auditorium.
This weekend's performances mark the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra's 59th and 60th UMS appearances since their 1974 UMS debut.
Harpsichordist Edward Parmentier has performed in the annual UMS presentations of Messiah since 1995; this weekend's performances marks Mr. Parmentier's 33rd and 34th appearances under UMS auspices.
Tenor soloist Nicholas Phan makes his second and third UMS appearances this weekend, previously appearing under UMS auspices as vocal soloist in a Michigan Chamber Players Bach birthday celebration in March 2000.
UMS welcomes U-M School of Music, Theatre & Dance alumni Caitlin Lynch and Jesse Blumberg, and Michigan native Meredith Arwady (currently residing in Kalamazoo) who make their UMS debuts this weekend.
Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra
Arie Lipsky, Music Director and Conductor Mary Steffek Blaske, Executive Director
Violin I
Aaron Berofsky,
Concertraster
Stephen B. Shipps
Concertmaster Chair Kathryn Votapek,
Associate
Concertmaster
Ruth Merigian
and Albert A.
Adams Associate
Concertmaster Chair Karen Jenks
Linda Etter Violin Chair Katie Rowan
Kim, Darlene and
Taylor Eagle Violin
Chair Denice Turck
Sarah and Jack
Adelson Violin Chair Paula Muldoon
Priscilla Johnson Violin
Chair Amy Cave Kathryn Stepulla
Violin II
Barbara Sturgis-Everett The A2SO Principal Second Violin Chair Honoring Anne Gates and Annie Rudisill
David Lamse Brian K. Etter Memorial Violin Chair
Sharon Meyers-Bourland
Anne Ogren
Juliet Yoshida
Paul Lundin
Carolyn Lukancic
Yanina Nagorny
Viola
Kathleen Grimes Tim and Leah Adams Principal Viola Chair
Barbara Zmich
Janine Bradbury
David Ford
Alex Applegate
Cello
Sarah Cleveland Sundelson Endowed Principal Cello Chair
Aliciaftowe
Bill and Hah Weiblen Cello Chair
Britton Riley
Marijean Quigley-Young Cello Chair
Ken Ishii
Bass
Gregg Emerson Powell Erin Zurbuchen The EZ Chair Robert Rohwer
Oboe
Timothy Michling Gilbert Omenn Principal Oboe Chair
Liz Spector
English Horn
Kristin Reynolds Bill and Jan Maxbauer Oboe Chair
Bassoon
Nathanel Zeisler
E. Daniel Long
Principal Bassoon Chair Scott Armstrong
William and Elizabeth
Knapp Bassoon Chair Timothy Abbott
Contrabassoon
Nora Schankin
Trumpet
William Campbell
David S. Evans III
Principal Trumpet Chair Joseph Brown
Timpani
James Lancioni A. Michael and Remedios Montalbo Young Principal Timpani Chair
= Principal
Gregg Emerson Powell,
Personnel Manager
Ben Thauland, Librarian
Jim Wright, Operations
Manager
UMS Choral Union
Jerry Blackstone, Conductor and Musical Director
Jason Harris, Assistant Conductor
Jean Schneider and Scott VanOrnum, Accompanists
Kathleen Operhall, Chorus Manager
Nancy K. Paul, Librarian
Donald Bryant, Conductor Emeritus
Soprano
Kathryn Borden Ann Marie Borders Jamie Bott Debra Joy Brabenec Ann K. Burke Anne Busch Carol Callan Susan F. Campbell Antonia Chan Young Cho Jessica Chung Cheryl D. Clarkson Joy Collman Elizabeth Crabtree Marie Ankenbruck Davis Kristina Eden Emilia Fracz Jennifer Freese Keiko Goto Gabriele Hingelberg Imogen Leigh Howes Bethany Isackson Karen T. Isble Anne Jaskot Kyoung Kim Kay Leopold Allyson Lieberman Patricia Lindemann Loretta Lovalvo Katherine Lu Natalie Lueth Linda Selig Marshall Sara McMullem-Laird Carole McNamara Toni Marie Micik Ann Ophoff Ann Orwin Florence Pache Nancy K. Paul Ann Payne Sara J. Peth Margaret Dearden
Petersen lulie Pierce Alexis Ridener Erin L. SchefflerFranklin Mary A. Schieve Joy C. Schultz Susie Shaefer Jennifer Stevenson
Sue Ellen Straub Virgina A. Thorne-
Herrmann
Barbara Hertz Wallgren Margie Warrick Barbara J. Weathers Katie Weber Mary Wigton Sara Zeglevski
Alto
Paula Allison-England Olga Astapova Carol Barnhart Dody Blackstone Margy Boshoven Lorraine Buis Anne Casper Elim Chan Emily Clader Allison Belmont Conn Carole DeHart Melissa Doyle Marilyn Finkbeiner Katherine Fisher Grace K. Gheen Heidi Goodhart Siri Gottlieb Johanna Grum Kat Hagedorn Linda Hagopian Sook Han Nancy Heaton Jane Hecker Carol Kraemer Hohnke Laura Holladay Stacey Hoopes Stefanie Iwashyna Sue Johnson Josephine Kasa-Vubu Katherine Klykylo Ling-Ju Lai Jean Leverich Cynthia Lunan Christina Macholan Karla K. Manson Jennifer McFarlane-Harris Beth McNally Marilyn Meeker Nicole Michelotti Carol Milstein
Francesca Minonne Mary Morse Stephanie Normann Kathleen Operhall Hanna Martha Reincke Sherry Root Susan Schilperoort Joy Schroeder Cindy Shindledecker Susan Sinta Beverly N. Slater Hanna Song Connie Soves Katherine Spindler Gayle Beck Stevens Ruth A. Theobald Carrie Throm Alice E. Tremont Barbara Trevethan Cheryl Utiger Katy Vaitkevicius-Wyner Alice VanWambeke Rachelle Barcus Warren Mary Beth Westin Sandra K. Wiley Susan Wortman Allison Anastasio Zeglis
Tenor
Gary Banks Dean Bush Philip Cheng Fr. Timothy J.
Dombrowski John W. Etsweiler III Steven Fudge Randy Gilchrist Roy Glover Arthur Gulick Jason Harris Steve Heath Andy Hickner Erik Johanson Marius P. Jooste Ezra Keshet Bob Klaffke Nils Klykken Mark A. Krempski Richard Marsh Nicholas Mischel Michael J. Pitsch
David Schnerer Ray Shuster Carl Smith Joshua Smith Christopher Switzer Bryce Thompson Patrick Tonks Jim VanBochove Chris Whittaker Vincent Zuellig
Bass
Sam Baetzel Joseph Baldwin William Baxter William Boggs Paul Bowling Michael Coster John Dryden Don Faber Kenneth A. Freeman Mark Goodhart Philip J. Gorman Matthew Gray Chris Hampson James Head Zachery Kirkland Christopher Lee William Malone Joseph D. McCadden James B. McCarthy Gerald Miller Michael Peterson Victor Pinedo Michael Pratt Matthew Schafer William Shell Donald Sizemore Jeff Spindler Brian W. Spolarich William Stevenson Alexander Sutton Terril 0. Tompkins Thomas L. Trevethan John Van Bolt Alexander Von Hagen-
Jamar Paul Venema
=Section Leader