Tag: arts

Looking Forward: MUSIC Matters

Lucy Freeman Leave a comment

Happy Friday, arts, ink!

I hope you’ve been getting through the week alright – we’re practically on break already! Today I wanted to talk to you guys a little bit about MUSIC Matters, a student organization on campus that I am fortunate enough to be co-president for this year. 

MUSIC Matters’ mission is to utilize the unifying power of music to drive social impact in the community. This is usually achieved through a variety of events each year, including local talent showcases, battle of the band competitions, and our capstone April event, SpringFest, which features live music, food trucks, student organizations, corporate activations, and more. In addition to these events, MUSIC Matters spearheads three of their own social ventures: the CoMMunity Partnership grant program, the Michigan Overnight Experience for Detroit-area highschoolers and the Big Thinkers Scholarship.

In response to the context of the past few months, MUSIC Matters has adjusted much of its programming. Over the summer, we made donations to the Henry Ford Hospital and to a campaign through another student organization, Heal Move Shift, to help first responders during the COVID Pandemic. In support of the protests against police- and government-sanctioned violence against BIPOC, they arranged a benefit concert and donated the proceeds to the Detroit Justice Center. They have also pivoted our local talent events to be virtual, utilizing Instagram Live to stream these performances. As for SpringFest, the MUSIC Matters team is working extremely hard to make it the best it can be while prioritizing the health and safety of everyone involved. Stay tuned for updates by following our Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter accounts. 

If you want to get involved in MUSIC Matters, you can still join! Go to our website, then under the “About Us” title go to the “Get Involved” tab. Here, you can find the application for 2020-2021, as well as check out more information on each of the committees and initiatives. 

That’s all for this week! Hope you all have a lovely Thanksgiving week (even though it may look a little bit different this year) and find some time to reset. 

 

Stay well + stay safe!

Lucy

Looking Forward: Meet the Writer

Lucy Freeman 2 Comments

Hello arts, ink readers!

Welcome to my new column here on arts, ink.: Looking Forward. My name is Lucy. I’m excited to get started on my journey as a writer in this space, but first, let me introduce myself. 

I’m a senior in LSA majoring in Communication & Media Studies with a double minor in Performing Arts Management and Writing. That’s a really long-winded way of saying that this blog is right up my alley; I’m really passionate about connecting students with the arts on campus. The talent and resources we have access to while we’re at Michigan are incredible, and I encourage everyone to take full advantage of them during your time here.

I’m currently the co-president of MUSIC Matters, a non-profit student organization that aims to use the unifying power of music to drive social impact in the community. Through our capstone event SpringFest, as well as our programming throughout the year, I’ve been able to see the breadth of work that students on campus are doing in the arts and I hope to help showcase that in this column. I’ve also worked as a Program Assistant for Arts Ambassadors through Arts at Michigan, where I got to learn 

more about the campus resources that are available to students wanting to engage in the arts. 

My professional interests lie in the intersection of arts and community, with special emphasis on diversity and accessibility. I’ve seen how the arts can bring people together, it’s a powerful force. By allowing us to see others’ forms of expression, art encourages us to engage in empathy, which the world could use more of right now. I’m excited to continue advocating for the arts and the connections it can forge throughout my career, wherever it may take me.  

Enough about me, I’m sure you’re curious about what this column is. The goal of Looking Forward is to engage in conversations with arts groups and resources on campus. Every Friday I’ll be spotlighting one, exploring the strategies that they’re implementing to continue their programs and engage with the community during this complex public health, social, and political time. I also want to provide a space where students can access information about how to engage with these arts platforms, whether by participating or viewing since it can feel very decentralized at the moment. Hopefully, you’ll find this column to be a place where you can discover arts resources, reconnect with old favorites, or just learn more about the arts scene on U-M’s campus right now. 

I’m excited to get started. If you have any questions or requests for groups or resources to spotlight, please feel free to leave a comment!

See you next week!

Lucy

Classic Holiday Entertainment

Jordan Brown Leave a comment

From Black Friday to January first, Holiday music and movies are playing nonstop in stores and on TV.  Most of the classic holiday movies also have very popular songs to accompany them.  Here is list of classic holiday songs and the movies that accompany them:

Rudolph, the red nosed reindeer

The popular song, “Rudolph the red nosed reindeer” actually came from a book written in 1939 by Robert May.  The song was created in 1949 by Johnny Marks.  The first claymation movie adaptation was created in 1964.

Santa clause is coming to town

The song “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town” was written in 1934 by John Frederick Coots.  The claymation movie was made in 1970 starring Kris Kringle, A.K.A. Santa Claus, and his journey of becoming Santa.  A book was written in 2008 to accompany the song and movie.

Frosty the snowman

The song “Frosty The Snowman” was written in 1950 by Walter E Rollins.  The first movie adaptation was a 2D animation created in 1969.  Many more movies have been created after this showing Frosty’s life and featuring the song.  There have also been countless books that depict his life as it is laid out in the song.

Little drummer boy

The song “Little Drummer Boy” was written in 1941 by Harry Simeone, Katherine Kennicott Davis, and Henry Onorati.  The claymation movie were released in 1968.  Ezra Jack Keats wrote the book adaptation in the same year,1968.

The Year Without a Santa Claus

The classic songs “Heat Miser” and “Snow Miser” were in the claymation movie “The Year Without A Santa Claus”.  The movie was created in 1974.  Unlike the other classic Holiday songs on this list, the songs were written for the movie and become classics and popular through the movie.

Grandma Got run over by a reindeer

The song “Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer” was written in 1979 by Randy Brooks.  The animated movie adaptation was created in 2000.  This newer movie has quickly become a classic for people under 30, with the movie appearing on Cartoon Network frequently over the Holiday season.

Jingle Bells

The song “Jingle Bells” was written in 1857 by James Pierpont(not the man Pierpont Commons in named after).  The song was originally called “One Horse Open Sleigh”.  There have been many movie adaptations of this song, and many other movies have used the song to add a Holiday feeling to them.  “Jingle Bells” was the first song to be broadcast from outer space.  The two astronauts sang the song to mission control with bells and a harmonica after pulling a prank on them!