Ann Arbor — The University Musical Society (UMS) kicks off 2024 with a month packed full of artistic icons, a three-time Academy Award®-winning film with live orchestra, new projects, and a free digital presentation for children and their families.
The month starts off with a bang when the Grand Rapids Symphony performs Nino Rota’s Oscar®-nominated score live to picture: The Godfather Live in concert (Sunday, January 7). The multi-talented pianist Hélène Grimaud takes the stage with an expressive program of Bach, Beethoven, and Brahms (Thursday, January 18), immediately followed by LaTasha Barnes’ The Jazz Continuum, a new production centering the prolific artistry of Jazz music and dance as a cornerstone of Black American culture and community (Friday, January 19 and Saturday, January 20). The week after brings the long-awaited presentation of Latin Grammy nominee Mariachi Herencia de México with Los Angeles-born singer La Marisoul (Tuesday, January 23) in a concert that was postponed from November, when the young group was invited to perform on the Latin Grammy broadcast from Spain. Finally, the celebrated trio of Emanuel Ax, Leonidas Kavakos, and Yo-Yo Ma take the Hill Auditorium stage to close out the month (Tuesday, January 30).
In addition to these live performances, Huddle, a free UMS Digital Presentation will be available for kids and their families to stream (January 8 through March 29).
Tickets and additional information are available at ums.org
Film with Live Orchestra
The Godfather Live
Grand Rapids Symphony John Varineau, conductor
Sunday, January 7, 2024 // 3 pm
Hill Auditorium
Tickets from $14 at ums.org or 734.764.2538
With all of the plot twists, emotional outbursts, and suspenseful scenes of a true grand opera, Francis Ford Coppola’s epic film The Godfather deserves a full sensory experience. Relive this chilling portrait of the Sicilian clan’s rise and near fall from power as the Grand Rapids Symphony performs Nino Rota’s Oscar®-nominated score live to picture.
Presented in partnership with the Grand Rapids Symphony and Cineconcerts.
Free Learning & Engagement Event:
The Society of Disobedient Listeners with Doyle Armbrust Sunday, January 7 at 2 pm
Hill Auditorium Lower Lobby
Music writer and Spektral Quartet violist Doyle Armbrust hosts an interactive pre-concert experience exploring the subversive, visceral, and revolutionary elements of the evening’s program. Conceived as an “anti-lecture,” The Society of Disobedient Listeners draws the great music of the past into proximity with the felicities and calamities of modern life.
Principal Sponsors: Neil and Annmarie Hawkins
Patron Sponsor: Susan B. Ullrich Endowment Fund
Media Partners: WEMU 89.1 FM, WRCJ 90.9 FM, WDET 101.9 FM, and WGTE 91.3 FM
Hélène Grimaud, piano
Thursday, January 18, 2024 // 7:30 pm Hill Auditorium
Tickets from $12 at ums.org or 734.764.2538
Hélène Grimaud is a deeply passionate and committed musical artist with multiple talents that extend far beyond the instrument she plays with such poetic expression and peerless technical control. A committed wildlife conservationist, she is also a compassionate human rights activist and a writer; but it is through her thoughtful and tenderly expressive music-making that she most deeply touches the emotions of audiences. After her UMS debut in 2015 as featured soloist with the Rotterdam Philharmonic, she was due to return in March 2020 for her UMS recital debut. Four years later, we look forward to bringing her back to the Hill Auditorium stage at last.
PROGRAM
Ludwig van Beethoven Sonata No. 30 in E Major, Op. 109 Johannes Brahms Three Intermezzi, Op. 117
Johannes Brahms Fantasies, Op. 116
J.S. Bach Chaconne from BWV 1004 (arr. F. Busoni)
Supporting Sponsors: Joel Howell and Linda Samuelson Media Partners: WRCJ 90.9 FM, and WGTE 91.3 FM
LaTasha Barnes’
The Jazz Continuum
Friday, January 19, 2024 // 7:30 pm Saturday, January 20, 2024 // 7:30 pm Power Center
Tickets from $30 at ums.org or 734.764.2538
LaTasha Barnes, who appeared in Ann Arbor as part of Caleb Teicher’s SW!NG OUT in April 2021, presents The Jazz Continuum, a new production centering the prolific artistry of Jazz music and dance as a cornerstone of Black American culture and community.
Supported by a live music ensemble, including a DJ/Turntablist, the all-star powerhouse cast brings mind-bending musicality, spectacular athleticism, and boundless joy to each offering. This interdisciplinary and intergenerational experience investigates the energetic relationships and throughlines from Jazz and Lindy Hop to vibrant contemporary styles such as House, Hip-Hop, and more that developed from them. Each offering is also curated to amplify the cultural contributions of the local geographic area to the continuum.
The Jazz Continuum celebrates music and dances from across the diaspora, conjuring the spirits of Black dance elders and transporting audiences from Harlem and Cuba to New Orleans and Brazil in its ever-evolving celebration of being, dance, and music.
Supporting Sponsor: Anthony Reffells
Media Partners: WEMU 89.1 FM, WDET 101.9 FM, WRCJ 90.9 FM, and WGTE 91.3 FM
Mariachi Herencia de México
feat. La Marisoul
Tuesday, January 23, 2024 // 7:30 pm Hill Auditorium
Tickets from $14 at ums.org or 734.764.2538
Simultaneously honoring the past, celebrating the present, and creating the future of mariachi music, Mariachi Herencia de México brings an unforgettable night of Mexican music and culture, with a bilingual repertoire that blends genres like bolero, cumbia, tango, and swing with lyrics that speak of the Latino and immigrant identity. The group emerged in 2016 from a program in the Chicago public schools and has gone on to record five albums, with hits topping the Latin streaming charts. Their latest album was recently nominated for a 2023 Latin Grammy Award in the Best Ranchero/Mariachi category.
Los Angeles-born singer La Marisoul, the lead singer of the Mexican-American group La Santa Cecilia, fronts the Mariachi ensemble with powerful and captivating vocals.
Learning & Engagement Event:
School Day Performance for Grades K-12: Mariachi Herencia de México Wednesday, January 23 at 11 am
Hill Auditorium
In addition to the public concert, Mariachi Herencia will introduce students to the traditions of mariachi in a special School Day Performance. To complement this School Day Performance, a UMS Learning Guide offers context about the performers, mariachi music, and the history of Mexico. Details at ums.org/k12.
Title Sponsor: Michigan Medicine
Supporting Sponsors: Rehmann and Old National Bank
Media Partners: WEMU 89.1 FM, Michigan Radio 91.7 FM, WDET 101.9 FM, and Ann Arbor’s 107one School Day Performance Sponsored by: Elaine A. Bennett, Tim and Lisa Lynch, and The Cozad Family
Emanuel Ax, piano
Leonidas Kavakos, violin
Yo-Yo Ma, cello
Tuesday, January 30, 2024 // 7:30 pm
Hill Auditorium
Performance is Sold Out — Join Interest List at ums.org/yoyoma
This classical superstar trio returns to the Hill Auditorium stage with an all-Beethoven program. In the 18th and 19th centuries, composers often created — or allowed others to create — chamber arrangements of their orchestral works so that more people could hear their music. In this program, the celebrated trio performs both works originally written for piano trio as well as an arrangement of one of Beethoven’s iconic symphonies, maintaining the power and immediacy of his orchestral work in an intimate arrangement.
PROGRAM
Ludwig van Beethoven Piano Trio in D Major, Op. 70, No. 1 (“Ghost”) Ludwig van Beethoven Symphony No. 1 in C Major, Op. 21 (arr. Wosner) Ludwig van Beethoven Piano Trio in E-flat Major, Op. 70, No. 2
Title Sponsors: Eileen Weiser and Richard Caldarazzo
Presenting Sponsors: University of Michigan Engineering, Bank of Ann Arbor, and an anonymous gift
Principal Sponsors: Kristine and Michael Martin and Shaomeng Wang and Ju-Yun Li Supporting Sponsor: Robert O. Weisman in loving memory of Darragh Weisman Patron Sponsor: Catherine S. Arcure Endowment Fund
UMS Digital Presentation
Huddle
Streaming Monday, January 8, 2024 – Friday, March 29, 2024 Register at ums.org/huddle
Set in the spectacular snowy world of the Antarctic, Huddle is a wintry weather treat for our youngest audiences and their families. Combining vivid digital storytelling with beautiful line drawn animation and original music, we follow the hapless pair of penguins as they navigate slippery slopes and perilous adventures in this funny and at times incredibly moving story about love, life, and learning. Presented by Unicorn Theatre (UK) and Illuminations Production in association with Filskit Theatre, and narrated by Madeline Appiah.
About UMS
A recipient of the 2014 National Medal of Arts, UMS (also known as the University Musical Society) contributes to a vibrant cultural community by connecting audiences with performing artists from around the world in uncommon and engaging experiences. One of the oldest performing arts presenters in the country, UMS is an independent non-profit organization based in Ann Arbor and affiliated with the University of Michigan. The organization presents dozens of music, theater, and dance performances by professional touring artists each season, along with many free public and private educational activities throughout Southeast Michigan. Since 1990, the organization has co-commissioned and supported the production of more than 80 new or reimagined works. Matthew VanBesien became the organization’s seventh president in July 2017.
