Headlines
Hey everyone!
We could not be more pleased with the reception we received for our first concert of the season, "Roots" on September 20th. The audience was very enthusiastic, giving the orchestra a standing ovation at the close of the night. What's more, Susan Isaacs Nisbett of the Ann Arbor News said, “Precision, clear textures, long lines, lots of color, a sense of the dance: this performance under Lipsky’s baton had it all. What a way to begin a season.”
There's more to this impressive season. If you still wish to purchase a season ticket, there is still time. You may order a Mini Series of four concerts, or you may deduct what you spent on September tickets from the price of a full subscription.
But act soon, because our next concert is on October 18th!
Glenn Bugala
Marketing Director
Northern Lights will be Magnetic
Emil Nolde, “Frisian Landscape” 1930s,
Watercolor on Asian paper
University of Michigan Museum of Art,
Museum purchase, 1951/2.39
In northern latitudes, the effect is known as the aurora borealis, named after the Roman goddess of dawn, Aurora, and the Greek name for north wind, Boreas. The northern lights are magnetic in nature, grand, impressive. It also could describe our upcoming concert. On October 18th at 8 pm in the Michigan Theater, you will have a chance to hear the brightest highlights of Scandinavian classical music performed by your A²SO and Yehonatan Berick on the violin.
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Mr. Berick wowed Ann Arbor audiences when he performed with the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra for Israel's 60th birthday. He will heat up the Scandinavian night with Sibelius’ Violin Concerto. The program will be rounded out by Carl Nielsen’s dramatic Symphony No. 4 “The Inextinguishable” which culminates in a powerful “battle between two sets of timpani,” and the melodic beauty of Neils Gade’s Hamlet Overture.
This concert is sponsored by the Ray & Eleanor Cross Foundation.
BUY TICKETS ONLINE or call 734/994.4801. Tickets range from $10-47 depending on sections and passes.
Great Music + Cheap tickets = College Fun
A lot of us think going to the symphony has to be a grand affair—that the orchestra concert experience means dressing up and being able to afford expensive tickets. WRONG! Today, a student can attend an A²SO concert for as little as $10, most concertgoers come in comfortable garb, and EVERYONE is welcome!
In Ann Arbor, there are 40,000+ students. And yet, most are not attending the fabulous concerts put on by the A²SO. Maybe you are a student that thinks you cannot afford a ticket. Maybe you just never thought an orchestra concert was “something for you.”
If you are a college student, you can come relax to a night of beautiful orchestral music. If you are a parent or a grandparent, buy a ticket for your college student, and take them out for some real food, and some REAL GOOD music!
Here are the price breaks we offer:
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College Rate: Pay $15 and we will put you in the best available seats on the night of the concert. That means you may end up sitting in a $40 seat or a $10 seat, depending on what's available. Wouldn't it be cool to pay $15 and end up in the front on the main floor?
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$10 Seats: We continue this rate to encourage newcomers to try it out. Hey, you can still hear, can't you? The sound is still as good in these seats as the ones next to them!
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Dead Composers Society: Are you a college student 21 or older? This group sits together, enjoys its own program notes, then we actually go out afterwards for beer and appetizers! The price for the whole evening is only $26, which is comparable to a date with a meal and a movie!
I love a night at the symphony, and I KNOW you will too!
BUY TICKETS ONLINE or call 734/994.4801.
Laura Dunbar
Education & Outreach Director
Fall Kinderconcerts
Robert Young, Saxophone |
We are pleased to offer free, 30-minute concerts featuring interactive music, movement and storytelling. KinderConcerts are the perfect introduction to music for children ages two through six. Participation is encouraged, and youngsters learn about music as they have fun.
October 10 at the Ann Arbor District Library (downtown) at 9:30 & 10:30 a.m.
October 13 at the Ypsilanti District Library (Whittaker Rd.) at 9:30 & 10:30 a.m.
The Fall KinderConcerts will feature saxophone player Robert Young. Mr. Young will be joined by early childhood educator Gari Stein and pianist Kathryn Goodson. These interactive concerts allow children to hear classical music, move and dance to the music, and learn more about different types of music. Children enjoy music in an active way, encouraging learning and creativity!
No need for tickets or reservations. Just come and bring your kids to the library!
Hearts for the Arts 2009
Every year Hearts for the Arts raises over $60,000 for educational and artistic programs of the A²SO. This year’s event falls on Valentine’s Day, Saturday, February 14, and will be held at the Four Points Sheraton Ann Arbor. Hearts for the Arts is an evening-long celebration beginning with a silent auction and champagne reception, followed by a sit-down dinner and live auction.
In addition to the wine bin raffle, this year the featured raffle is for a guitar autographed by the Traveling Wilburys - including George Harrison and Bob Dylan! Tickets for the guitar raffle are available starting this week, for $50 each. You can BUY THEM ONLINE in our ticketing section of the web site--just select them under PASSES. Or you may call the office at 734/994-4801, or buy a ticket during intermission at a Saturday evening Michigan Theater concert. You may also purchase your ticket to attend Hearts for the Arts now.
(Please note: Postal regulations do not allow raffle tickets to be mailed; we will mail you a confirmation of your purchase, but if you wish to acquire your actual ticket please contact us separately by phone if you order online.)
Community Foundation Grant
The Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra has received a significant grant from the Detroit Auto Dealers Association fund of the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan. This grant will allow for the expansion of the A²SO’s Ensembles in Your Classroom program. Long a cornerstone of the A²SO’s education and outreach efforts, Ensembles in Your Classroom sends the symphony’s string quartet, brass quintet, woodwind quintet or percussion ensemble into schools across Southeast Michigan to present individually tailored, interactive concerts that not only meet the standards and benchmarks of the Michigan Curriculum Framework K-12 but also help to support the subject matter being taught in the classroom.
We are grateful to the Community Foundation and the Detroit Auto Dealers Association for this opportunity to expand our Ensembles program and we thank them for their philanthropy and vision.
Links
- 734-994-4801- Website- A²SO Blog- Buy Tickets for the
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October Blog Highlight
I have the wonderful job of going to the concert and partying with the Dead Composers Society afterwards.... To read the rest of this blog entry, click here. |
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Poems Bloom
Photo courtesy Czarnecki-Dempsey Group
What began in 1976 as a Bicentennial project blossomed to perfection on September 20, 2008 on the Michigan Theater stage. Patrons were treated to a heartfelt, dramatic performance of Paul Fetler's Three Poems by Walt Whitman, which was recorded live for a CD being made for distribution the spring of 2009 by Naxos International/Naxos of America Recording Company. In the words of Ann Arbor News concert reviewer Susan Isaacs Nisbett, "Reprising a 2006 performance of the work, [the narrator Tom Blaske and the A²SO] captured its essence: the rhythms and sounds of the natural world, the clangor of war, the chorale-like intoning of music's solace." This photo depicts conductor Arie Lipsky, narrator Tom Blaske, and composer Paul Fetler, backstage just moments after the performance. Stay tuned for news of the CD's release, the first by the A²SO, in the spring of 2009.
Gifts of Art
A²SO Wind Quintet
Thursday, Oct. 16, 2008, 12:10 pm
University Hospital Main Lobby, Floor 1
The Ann Arbor Symphony Woodwind Quintet will be performing as part of the Gifts of Art program, at the University Hospital Main Lobby .
For the past 10 years, the Ann Arbor Symphony Woodwind Quintet has performed hundreds of concerts in southeast Michigan in concert halls and schools. The quintet also has an educational arm, providing coaching and teaching master classes as an ensemble. The music they perform ranges from Baroque to Modern. Pieces by Beethoven, Milhaud and others will be performed by Penny Fischer—Flute, Lynne Flegg—Oboe, Jay de Vries—Clarinet, Nora Schankin—Bassoon, and Emily Price Dietz—French Horn.
This Week at the Michigan Theater:
Wednesday, October 8 |
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Frozen River |
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Religulous |
Thursday October 9 |
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Design for Democracy |
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Frozen River |
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Religulous |
Friday, October 10 |
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The Duchess |
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Daniel Tosh8:00
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Saturday, October 11 |
Film: |
The Duchess |
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Daniel ToshTimes TBA
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Sunday, October 12 |
Film: |
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Film: |
The Duchess |
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Daniel ToshTimes TBA
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Results of Orchestra Auditions
As we do every year, the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra held auditions for positions in the organization in the week preceding the opening concert in September. We appreciate the help of board, volunteer and union representatives is making these auditions come off without a hitch. We are pleased to announce the following appointments:
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Kathryn Votapek, who has served as Acting Associate Concertmaster is now officially our Associate Concertmaster. As an active musician who has played in our classical series concerts and Afternoon Delights, she is an exciting appointment for this position.
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Having had William Campbell perform with us in the past, we are proud to announce that he has won our Principal Trumpet position. William is an Assoc. Professor of Trumpet at UM and has played with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
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Sara Diane Bowman, a graduate of Julliard, will play as our Principal Oboe.
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Jason Bergman will be our second trumpet. He is a recent graduate of U of M Music School.
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Alex Applegate, who has been double-majoring in bassoon and viola and LSU, joins us on viola.
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Alice Culin-Ellison, who is currently studying at UM School of Music, has joined the A²SO as a violinist.
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Nicholas Hancox, who is a Masters candidate at UM School of Music, joins us on the viola.
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Matthew Leslie has played with us before and is a BM candidate in Violin Performance at UM. Matthew is a new addition to our violin section.
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David Ormai, who is studying for his Masters at UM, is a new member of our violin section.