Press Release: UMS March Events

Yo-Yo Ma Returns with Pianist Emanuel Ax and Violinist Leonidas Kavakos

Tuesday, March 3 at Hill Auditorium

Beirut-Born Pianist Tarek Yamani Explores Relationship Between Classical Arabic Music and American Jazz
Friday, March 13 at Lydia Mendelssohn Theatre

Hélène Grimaud to Perform Piano Recital Program of French Miniatures, Mazurkas and Waltzes by Chopin, and Schumann’s Kreisleriana
Saturday, March 14 at Hill Auditorium

ANTHEM, Milka Djordjevich's Dance for Four Women, Comes to Jam Handy in Detroit
Wednesday-Saturday, March 18-21

New York Philharmonic String Quartet Makes UMS Recital Debut
Sunday, March 22 at Rackham Auditorium

Sir James Galway Celebrates 80th Birthday with Hill Auditorium Performance featuring Lady Jeanne Galway
Friday, March 27 at Hill Auditorium

UMS and Michigan Theater Partner to Bring Two HD Theater Broadcasts in March
Shakespeare’s Coriolanus (The Stratford Festival)
Sunday, March 8 at Michigan Theater

Present Laughter (National Theatre, London)
Sunday, March 22 at Michigan Theater

Robert Lepage takes the story about the rise and fall of a legendary general who must face off against the angry Roman mob and infuses it with the energy of Occupy Wall Street and the Arab Spring.

This production was staged at the Stratford Festival in 2018 and features André Sills as Coriolanus, Graham Abbey as Tullus Aufidius, Michael Blake as Cominius, Tom McCamus as Menenius Agrippa, Stephen Ouimette as Junius Brutus, Lucy Peacock as Volumnia, and Tom Rooney as Sicinius Velutus.

Presented in partnership with Michigan Theater.

Born and raised in Beirut and now living in New York, Tarek Yamani taught himself jazz at the age of 19 and has dedicated himself to exploring relationships between African-American jazz and classical Arabic music. An educator, film scorer, and Thelonious Monk International Jazz Composers Competition winner, he brings his trailblazing, hypnotic exploration of American jazz and Arabic tarab to the Mendelssohn Theatre in his UMS debut.

Performing works from his acclaimed album Lisan Al Tarab: Jazz Conceptions in Classical Arabic, Yamani will take the audience on a journey from the early 1900s Egypt to today’s New York. The repertoire will include reinterpretations of classical Arabic muwashahat (an old Arabic musical form), traditional music from Mesopotamia, as well as original compositions based on edgy rhythms and modes from the Levant.

Co-presented with the Arab American National Museum.

French pianist Hélène Grimaud explores the universal nature of memory and its place in our lives through this recital program, which comes from her most recent recording, Memory. It comprises a selection of evanescent miniatures by Chopin, Debussy, Satie, and the Ukrainian composer Valentyn Sylvestrov that unlock powerful moods, feelings, and sensations. The recital closes with Schumann's Kreisleriana.

A true Renaissance woman, who has written three novels and dedicates herself to wildlife conservation, specifically wolves, Grimaud returns for this unique recital program after her UMS debut with the Rotterdam Symphony in 2015.

The Los Angeles-based choreographer Milka Djordjevich draws from a variety of compositional strategies to question preconceived notions of what dance should or should not be.

ANTHEM embraces theatricality, virtuosity, and sass. This unabashedly feminine work features four women executing a repetitive yet complex movement vocabulary that evolves as they rotate hypnotically within the confines of a square. Over time, the meditative rigor of their steps dissolves into a tangle of commotion, blurring the distinction between the mundane and the glamorous.

ANTHEM premiered in October 2017 at the LAX Festival and is commissioned by the Chocolate Factory Theater and Los Angeles Performance Practice.

RELATED EVENT

You Can Dance: Dancers from ANTHEM
Sat, Mar 21 // 1:35 pm // Ann Arbor Y (400 W Washington St)
Join dancers from ANTHEM for an exploration of their movement style. No dance training or experience is necessary, and all levels, ages 13 and up, are welcome for this 75-minute class. Free, but first come, first served until studio reaches capacity. Sign up begins at 12:50 pm at the Y Welcome Desk. Please note: Ann Arbor Y policy requires that all participants in You Can Dance show a picture ID to enter the building.

The New York Philharmonic String Quartet comprises four principal musicians from the Orchestra: concertmaster Frank Huang, principal associate concertmaster Sheryl Staples, principal viola Cynthia Phelps, and principal cello Carter Brey. The group was formed in January 2017, during the Philharmonic’s 175th anniversary season. All four members are multiple prize winners, have appeared as concerto soloists with the Philharmonic and orchestras around the world, and have appeared frequently in the Philharmonic’s chamber music series at David Geffen Hall and Merkin Hall.

The ensemble makes its UMS debut with this performance, joined by acclaimed pianist Anne-Marie McDermott.

As he prepares to embark on an overseas tour, star actor Garry Essendine’s colorful life is in danger of spiraling out of control. Engulfed by an escalating identity crisis as his many and various relationships compete for his attention, Garry’s few remaining days at home are a chaotic whirlwind of love, sex, panic, and soul-searching.

This giddy and surprisingly modern reflection on fame, desire, and loneliness stars Andrew Scott (BBC’s Sherlock, Fleabag) as Garry.

Presented in partnership with Michigan Theater.

Appearing regularly as a flute duo, husband and wife Sir James Galway and Lady Jeanne Galway delight audiences and bring a rare freshness to the recital stage. Returning for his first UMS recital since 2008, the Northern Ireland native celebrates his 80th birthday with this performance.

With over 30 million recordings sold worldwide, extensive international touring, frequent television appearances, and his passionate work in music education, Galway has been a household name for decades. His uniquely expressive interpretations of the flute literature span an extensive range of genres, from classical masterworks to high profile commissions. He has also collaborated on film soundtracks such as The Lord of the Rings, and partnered with such popular artists as Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles, Joni Mitchell, Sir Elton John, and Henry Mancini.