The Calendar - Classical Music

This Week's Events

Classical Music
Between the Kerrytown Concert House and the University Musical Society, an energized Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra and dozens of smaller ensembles, Ann Arbor's classical music calendar has an opus for every taste.

Highlights this week:

Soweto Gospel Choir: University Musical Society.

St. Olaf Orchestra.

"Music of the Northern Lights": Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra.

Monday
October, 2008

4:45-6:15 p.m.
Michigan Marching Band Practice. Every Mon.-Sat. except Oct. 18, 20, & 21. The U-M's highly disciplined 200-plus-member marching band or sections thereof can be seen and heard practicing on Elbel Field under the George R. Cavender Tower used by bandleaders for observation. All are welcome to find a spot in the bleachers and get a sneak preview of upcoming halftime shows. Elbel Field, Hill at Division. Free. 764-0582.

7:30 p.m.
St. Olaf Orchestra. Steven Amundson conducts this 92-member ensemble from St. Olaf College (Northfield, Minnesota), one of the top college orchestras in the country. "You sounded like the Chicago Symphony and yet you're not crabby and grumpy like they are - amazing!" marveled Garrison Keillor after hearing a performance. Program: Rimsky-Korsakov's Russian Easter Overture, Dvorak's Slavonic Dances, and Brahms's Symphony no. 2 in D Major. Zion Lutheran Church, 1501 W. Liberty. Tickets $20 (students, $10) in advance at stolaftickets.com and at the door. Discounts for groups of 15 or more available by contacting stocks@stolaf.edu. 994-4455.

8 p.m.
University Symphony Orchestra: U-M School of Music. Kenneth Kiesler conducts this music-student ensemble in Gary Kulesha's Fireworks and Procession, Enesco's Prelude in Unison, ballet music from Mozart's Idomeneo, and the second ballet of Stravinsky's Petrouchka. Hill Auditorium. Free. 764-0594.

Tuesday
October, 2008

Wednesday
October, 2008

10:30 a.m.
Robert Young: Society for Musical Arts. Performance by this U-M music-student saxophonist, the 2008 Society for Musical Arts competition winner. Program TBA. Followed by a meet-the-artist lunch ($12). Ann Arbor City Club, 1830 Washtenaw. $15 (accompanying friend, $13; students, $5) at the door only. Lunch reservations required. 662-3279.

8 p.m.
Christopher Harding: U-M School of Music. This U-M piano professor plays works by Beethoven and Schubert. U-M Walgreen Drama Center Stamps Auditorium, 1226 Murfin, North Campus. Free. 764-0594.

8 p.m.
Symphony Band, Chamber Choir, University Choir: U-M School of Art. These music-student ensembles perform Messiaen's La Ville d'en Haut, Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Michael Colgrass's Urban Requiem, and Bruckner's Mass in E Minor . Hill Auditorium. Free. 764-0594.

Thursday
October, 2008

7:30 p.m.
Chamber Concert: Pioneer High School. Jonathan Glawe conducts the school's Symphony Strings and Kenneth Westerman directs the Bel Canto and A Cappella choirs in a program TBA. Pioneer High School Schreiber Auditorium, 601 W. Stadium at S. Main. Free. 994-2120.

8 p.m.
Jazz Ensemble: U-M School of Music. U-M jazz piano professor Ellen Rowe directs this music-student ensemble in works by Mike Holober, Glenn Tucker, John Clayton, Ellen Rowe, and others. Rackham Auditorium. Free. 764-0594.

Friday
October, 2008

4:45-6:15 p.m.
Michigan Marching Band Practice. Every Mon.-Sat. except Oct. 18, 20, & 21. The U-M's highly disciplined 200-plus-member marching band or sections thereof can be seen and heard practicing on Elbel Field under the George R. Cavender Tower used by bandleaders for observation. All are welcome to find a spot in the bleachers and get a sneak preview of upcoming halftime shows. Elbel Field, Hill at Division. Free. 764-0582.

5:30 p.m.
"Songs from the American Musical Theater, Past and Present": Ann Arbor Senior Center. Two Michigan Opera Theatre singers TBA perform songs by Jerome Kern, George Gershwin, Irving Berlin, and other musical theater composers. A benefit for the Senior Center service project Little Dresses for Africa. Donations of pillowcases, elastic, bias tape, and ribbons encouraged. Ann Arbor Senior Center, 1320 Baldwin. $5 donation. 769-5911.

7 p.m.
University Choir and Chamber Choir: EMU Music Department. EMU choral director Trey Jacobs directs these 2 music-student choirs in Mozart's Coronation Mass, Purcell's "Come, ye sons of art," Handel's coronation anthem "Zadok the priest," and "The Coronation Scene" from Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov. Pease Auditorium, EMU campus, W. Cross at College Place, Ypsilanti. Free. 487-2255.

8 p.m.
Soweto Gospel Choir: University Musical Society. Named Best Gospel Choir at the American Gospel Awards a year after its founding in 2002, this 26-member gospel choir assembled from churches around Soweto performs fiery, pulse-pounding music decked out in beautifully colorful traditional clothing. Its multilingual repertoire ranges from South African spirituals to traditional American songs, and works by contemporary African composers. "Nothing can really prepare you for the riot of exuberance and depth of emotion," notes a Scotsman critic. Hill Auditorium. Tickets $10-$40 in advance at the Michigan League Box Office and (if available) at the door. To charge by phone, call 764-2538 or (800) 221-1229.

Saturday
October, 2008

8 p.m.
Adam Unsworth: U-M School of Music. This U-M horn professor is joined by trumpeter Wayne DuMaine and bass trombonist David Taylor in a program of chamber brass works by Daniel Schnyder. U-M Music School Recital Hall, 1100 Baits (off Broadway), North Campus. Free. 764-0594.

8 p.m.
"Music of the Northern Lights": Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra. AASO music director Arie Lipsky conducts the orchestra in a program of Niels Gade's Overture to Hamlet, Sibelius's Violin Concerto in D Minor, and Carl Nielsen's The Inextinguishable. With guest violinist Yehonatan Berick. Michigan Theater. Tickets $10-$47 (students, $15) in advance at the AASO office (200 E. Huron, suite 470), at a2so.com, and at the door. $26 dinner-and-concert package available for those ages 21-39. 994-4801.

Sunday
October, 2008

2-5 p.m.
"Organ Spectacular": American Guild of Organists. U-M students and AGO members give short organ concerts and talks at several churches in or near downtown to celebrate the "Year of the Organ." Also, a chance to look at the organs up close and try them out if you know how to play. Programs begin every 1/2 hour. Refreshments. Churches include Bethlehem United Church of Christ, First Baptist Church, First Congregational Church, First Presbyterian Church, St. Paul Lutheran Church, and St. Thomas Catholic Church. various locations. Free. 994-9301.

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