The MMB played under the lights during Notre Dame's half time for the Beyoncé show, 9/7/13. Photo by Gabriella Ring
Who: The Michigan Marching Band
What: Crisler Concert!
When: Sunday, November 17 at 5 p.m.
Where: Crisler Arena
Tickets: General admission $10 for adults and $3 for children age 11 or younger
The Michigan Marching Band’s annual Crisler Concert positions the band at the center of the basketball arena’s stage for an afternoon of halftime and pre-game favorites. It’s one of the last times the band’s all together before a potential bowl trip. You don’t want to miss the MMB project their powerful sound this Sunday.
Like the MMB on Facebook or preview some favorite half time performances on their YouTube channel.
What I truly love about UMS is the variety of their performances. This season, we have classical pianists, Indie rockers (as I’m calling James Blake…sorry if that makes anyone mad), traditional Sufi music, and this: an orchestra of ukulele players from England. It was so unlike anything I’ve seen before at UMS. There wasn’t anything to analyze or interpret. Nothing to look at and be like, “Wait…why are there lambs on stage?” It was just exactly what you were expecting: an hour and a half of covers of songs performed on the ukulele. Don’t get me wrong; I like risqué, innovative, renegade material as much as the next person, but it was a nice change to know what was coming.
And it was fun too! Everyone left with a smile on their face. Prior to the performance, audience members were asked to bring their ukuleles and several people did! In the middle of the show, they played Tom Petty’s “American Girl” and uke-playing audience members took up the challenge and played along! It was a really cute way of engaging the audience. And such a great way of utilizing the smallness of the ukulele! It’s such a lap-friendly instrument! I mean, if they had brought a harp orchestra to Ann Arbor, you couldn’t necessarily ask people to bring along their harps to play along mid-show. It was the perfect way of getting the audience involved without making people nervous or annoying those who didn’t want to participate.
One thing that seemed to detract from my personal experience of the show was my age. All the songs were covers and while I did recognize “Pinball Wizard” and a truly fabulous rendition of Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way”, the rest of the songs were from a time before my generation. I understand that UMS audiences tend to be on the older side, so I know there were a lot of people who got more out of the performance than I. Which is fine – I’m happy that they enjoyed the show (and I think they did because oftentimes just after three chords were struck on stage, I’d hear elderly whooping erupt behind me). It was still good music and fun to watch just how awesome all the band members were at the ukulele…I just think I would have liked it even more had I been more familiar with more of the songs.
Great show, lots of fun, and super cute. Glad I went. Going to shop around for a ukulele so I can learn too!
Photo from A Night of Premieres Facebook event page
A night of premieres and a night of transitions, the Women’s Glee Club fall concert was fantastic. As a celebration of Hill Auditorium’s 100th anniversary, each song the club sang was composed or arranged in the year 2013, and the styles ranged from classical to operatic to pop.
The song choices were not the only demonstration of range in this concert, however, because there were little kids! Little, elementary-aged kids from the Ann Arbor Youth Chorale Descant Choir; older, middle school-aged kids from the Ann Arbor Youth Chorale Concert Choir; and even older, high school-aged girls from the Ann Arbor Huron High School Bel Canto Choir. It was a shocking, adorable transition when the Women’s Glee Club left the stage after a few opening songs and the tiny Descant Choir entered. Their first song, “The Path to the Moon”, remains one of my favorites of the concert because they all looked and sounded so adorable on the massive Hill Auditorium stage.
Each choir took the stage—getting progressively older, taller, and more mature voices—until we were back to the Women’s Glee Club, which proceeded to add another level to their program in the second act. A graduate student in the school of Music, Theatre, and Dance, the immensely talented Elizabeth Galafa joined the club as a soloist for a beautiful piece titled “BeNevel Vekinor”, which was composed by University of Michigan doctoral student Asaf Peres.
This one concert told a tale of the passion for singing that can span across decades of life. It just might be that some of the children who performed that night and heard the college students sing will be inspired to pursue music. Perhaps the next U of M graduate student studying voice or the next composer was sitting in the seats tonight after performing with his or her school choir. Concerts like this are important not just for the students who participate in them, but for the community to see and hear the talent that surrounds them.
Also, I can’t end this without saying that these women did a kick-ass version of the Bellas Final from Pitch Perfect. I mean it. Top notch.
Moral of the story: check out a Women’s Glee Club concert sometime, you guys.
Tuesday, November 12 at 7:30 pm in Michigan Theater, UMS presents a quirky group of seven ukulele players in the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain. Members George Hinchliffe, Kitty Lux, David Sulch, Jonty Bankes, Richie Williams, Peter Brooke Turner, and Leisa Rea come together to bring you a very diverse program of classics and modern pop hits. This group is definitely not to be missed.
Annnd if you’re curious to learn more about ukuleles and their history, check out this clever infographic on the ums lobby website, designed and crafted by yours truly 🙂
Hope to see you there!! Student tickets only $10!!
Who: James Blake
What: British electronic music genius.
Where: Michigan Theater
When: Monday 11 November 7:30pm
How Much: $20-$44 (http://ums.org/jamesblake)
This 25 year old man is an amazing musician, combining hauntingly beautiful vocals, piano and electronic beats and sounds.
Blake began his music career in 2009. This year, after his second nomination, Blake won the British Mercury Music Prize, a prize for best album in the UK and Ireland, for his second album “Overgrown.” He has been touring the world this year, to much international success.
This concert is a thrilling opportunity to experience this amazing young talent!
Even if you are unable to attend this concert, do your self a favor and listen to his music!
What: U of M Women’s Glee Club Fall Concert 2013: A Night of Premieres
When: Saturday, November 9 at 8:00PM
Where: Hill Auditorium
Why you should be there(!): The University of Michigan Women’s Glee Club is an organization composed of fantastically talented young women. The combination of beautiful voices and unique song choices always leads to musical performances that are definitely worth hearing. (This is apparent in their performance of “Frobisher Bay” in a 2012 concert, and no I am not biased just because I was in it.)
This concert will feature many songs written specifically for the Women’s Glee Club, as well as special performances from local youth choirs. Tickets for this event are $5 for students, or free when you use a Passport to the Arts! Check out the Facebook event page for even more details.
