Category: Music

PREVIEW: Don Giovanni

nina.j

Don Giovanni

It’s the classic story of that guy who gets around. Don Juan, Dom Juan, Johnny Depp, Don Giovanni, it’s always the same old thing. In Spain, in France, in Italy, and now at U of M, the story repeats itself one more time. This weekend, The School of Music, Theater, and Dance will perform the age old tale of Don Giovanni, a ‘legendary lover’ who ‘makes one too many notches on his bedpost.’ The opera masterpiece is directed by Prof. Robert Swedberg and stars both graduate and undergraduate students from the department. With music by Mozart and lyrics by Lorenzo da Ponte, this piece is one of the most famous operas ever performed. The libretto will be sung in its original language- Italian- but fear not, surtitles will be projected above the stage to guide all you English speakers out there.

I am currently enrolled in a Romance Languages seminar devoted entirely to this elusive and seductive character, Don Juan. As part of the course, we will be attending the opera. We are also engaging with both the actors and the players behind the scenes. Prof. Swedberg visited our class last week to discuss the process of creating such an opera. He spoke of the liberties he took in adapting the story for a modern audience. For example, the plot takes plays in New Orleans instead of Italy, and in the end Don Juan is dragged to hell by…well I don’t want to ruin the surprise but there is a slightly alternate ending the the original tale. It sounds like it will be a dramatic and exciting performance, sure to please. I’ve never been to an opera at U of M so you can certainly count on seeing me there!

The show will be held at The Power Center on:

November 8 at 7:30 pm//November 9 and 10 at 8 pm//November 11 at 2 pm

For more information about the performance, including buying tickets, click here.

Enjoy the show!

REVIEW: MacFest 2012

Kayla Silverstein

So last night I attended MacFest 2012 to see the a cappella groups here on campus. It was spectacular! Here’s a rundown of the groups we saw and how I saw them:

(G)imble was freaking awesome. A co-ed a cappella group going on their 15th year combined great songs with fancy rhythms in their performance. I’ve always liked their group, and this year they performed several great songs.

Amazin’ Blue could have been in my top 3 from last night. They sang an entirely beautiful rendition of “Iowa”, a song which I’d never heard before, but it was so gorgeous – I loved it.

The Harmonettes were a little bit of a snoozer after all the excitement of the previous groups. I don’t really remember their songs – nothing stood out. I think they could have brought more than they did.

G-Men totally pulled of a Spanish love song, fiery and fun, they rocked it.

Midnight Blue, granted I’m biased as a member of the Women’s Glee Club, were so great. They first wowed us with the song “Parachute” by Ingrid Michaelson. The soloist, Katie Glidden, was so perfect for it – it was amazing. Next, they sang a parody of “Jesse’s Girl” entitled “I want to date my GSI”. It was so fantastic and entirely relatable.

Dicks and Janes were cute – they were a great contender in the series.

Good News, the all Christian a cappella group that spreads “the good news of eternal salvation through Jesus Christ,” was actually better than I thought they were going to be. I loved their purple, white, and grey attire. Definitely a fan.

Maize Mirchi, Michigan’s premier and only South Asian a cappella group, was okay. Their songs were a little bit slow for my liking, and I think they could have been better off with something more upbeat.

58 Greene did a stunning rendition of Christian Aguilera’s “It’s a Man’s World” with a male singer as the lead. It was incredible – the notes that dude could hit were entirely admirable. Wowzers.

Others from the night included Kol HaKavod (decent), Angels on Call (not so hot – everyone does “Don’t Stop Believin’”, guys! Ahg.), Kopitonez (cutesy – great arrangement of “Some Nights”), Sopranos (awesome), and the Compulsive Lyres (spectacular).

It was a great night and I am totally going to the next concert. Michigan a cappella’s the best – you should definitely check it out next time!

Review :: New Music and the UM rendition

Hunter Chee

University of Michigan’s own Contemporary Directions Ensemble, otherwise known as CDE, is a group dedicated to playing contemporary music. What the hell is that? Steve Reich, a highly-praised, NYC based composer said, “…the essential difference between ‘classical music’ and ‘popular music.’ And that essential difference is: one is notated, and the other is not notated.”

Contemporary music a.k.a “New music” is a genre of notated music that appeals to a modern aesthetic. Similar to the way in which Beethoven was a revolutionary of his time, composers alive today like Steve Reich, Philip Glass, John Cage, Iannis Xenkis, David Lang, John Luther Adams, and a cast of others, are revolutionizing our ears and our minds. New concepts and definitions of sound and music are being realized almost daily. These composers have been classical trained but have moved so far past the archaic term, “classical” which no longer comes close to describing what they do.

Modern art – music meant for the art galleries and the coffee shops, the intimate venues and the outdoors, the art goers of today and the musicians of tomorrow. This is 21 century shit.

CDE >

Conducted by Christopher James Lees, and made up of graduate students, CDE is a small group – about 20 large. This past Thursday night, their show entitled Fathers and Sons let them all rip it. They played driving music like the Son of Chambers Symphony, paired with the sound explorations of John Cage, paired with the 20 minute long bassoon solo, paired with the in-house piece by Kuster, dedicated to her father now past. Incredible textures, wild combinations, and innovative sounds. A buffet for the ears

The gorgeous program ~

Here, Leaving by Kristin Kuster, premier by U-M composition faculty member

How we got here (4th edition) by Luciano Berio, bassoon solo complete with circular breathing

But what about the noise of crumpling
paper which he used to do in order to
paint the series of “Papiers froisses” or
tearing up paper to make “Papiers
dechires?” Arp was stimulated by water
(sea, lake, and flowing waters like rivers
forests)
by John Cage. Yes, all one piece. Simply Beautiful

Son of Chambers Symphony by David T. Little

I would describe everything in detail but as a friend told me once, “it’s like when someone tells you a joke is funny before you hear it decide for yourself.” In light of that, I would love to hear your thoughts. Listen to a couple of these, Catch a John Cage concert it’s his 100 birthday this year (if he was still alive) and I’m nutty about it. If you don’t hear of any, just get in touch.

Hunter Chee

REVIEW: Earth Without Ice

nina.j 2 Comments

Earth Without Ice

On Thursday October 25, the Kerrytown Concert House hosted an ‘Out of the Box’ musical performance, arranged and enacted by professors from several departments: Henry Pollack of Geophysics, and Steve Rush and Michael Gould of the School of Music. As part of the Abacus and Rose: SciArt Live series, which pairs scientists with artists, the trio of scholars created a stylish, modern piece called ‘Earth Without Ice.’

The performance consisted of a series of noises that soundtracked a slideshow of images projecting from screens on stage that faced the audience. The ‘immersive sonic landscape’ was composed of ‘found sounds’ taken from the Huron River. The photos came from Dr. Pollack’s visual journal as part of his most recent transit of the Northwest Passage from Alaska through the Canadian archipelago to Greenland. They featured vast oceans, floating chunks of ice, inuit peoples catching and gutting fish, elders laughing together, youngsters playing, seals and polar bears splashing, open earthen landscapes, and lots and lots of factories. The contrast between the natural images and the industrial environment was striking. The music was appropriately mixed to match the effect of the scenery. The recorded, manipulated, and live noises created an unusual interplay of sound which caused a strong affect on the curious audience.

The inspiration for the content came from Dr. Pollack’s recent book ‘A World Without Ice.’ The style, however, seemed to be inspired by a  hybrid of John Cage’s Water Walk and Andy Goldsworthy’s nature photography. I liked the performance a lot.  It conveyed a strong message about expressing the danger of climate change through artwork. It was a very unusual performance, but equally entertaining and certainly out of the box.

PREVIEW: Bat Boy, the Musical

Kayla Silverstein

Yes, Bat Boy. The School of Music, Theatre, & Dance will be performing the musical at the Arthur Miller Theatre, Nov. 15-18. This American musical was written by Keythe Farley and Brian Flemming with music and lyrics by Laurence O’Keefe. The plot is based on a June 23, 1992 Weekly World News story about a half-boy, half-bat, dubbed “Bat Boy”, who grew up living in a cave. It has never made it to Broadway, but succeeded for several years Off Broadway, winning several awards such as the Elliot Norton Award, the Richard Rodgers Development Award, and the Richard Rodgers Production Award. I think it’s going to be good, and it’s by the Musical Theatre school so, needless to say, expectations should be high.

Bat Boy the Musical
Bat Boy the Musical

Get your tickets soon!!

citations:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bat_Boy:_The_Musical
http://events.umich.edu/event/9696-1171537

PREVIEW: Monkeys and Playbills

Kayla Silverstein

Head over to Arthur Miller Theatre November 8-10 to see Basement Arts’ FREE performance of “[Title of Show]”. Basement Arts is an entirely student-run performance network on campus and their shows are always beyond one’s expectations. The show, [Title of Show], is super clever. It tells the story of four friends who band together to write a musical. The songs are great, the laughs are rich, and its a great time. I can’t wait to see the show and you shouldn’t either! AND IT’S FREE!

Title of Show
Title of Show

Hope to see you there 🙂
more info on their website: www.basementarts.org