U-M unites with Detroit for world-class performances

 ANN ARBOR—Detroit will be moving with sights and sounds from around the world when the city teams with the University of Michigan and its University Musical Society to host world-renowned performances ranging from the Vienna Philharmonic to the Bolshoi Ballet. The partnership offers five presentations from October to April that includes the music of the Cleveland Orchestra, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, and the Vienna Philharmonic, the talents of Evening at the Apollo, and the incredible movement of the Bolshoi Ballet’s 130 dancers in "Swan Lake." "We are thrilled to be working in collaboration with the Detroit Opera House and Detroit Symphony Orchestra to bring these world-class orchestra and dance events to their venues and with The Arts League of Michigan to showcase the area’s top amateur talent at our ‘Evening at the Apollo’ events," says Ken Fischer, president of the University Musical Society. Detroit and U-M have produced some of the world’s most distinguished performers, conductors, composers and soloists, as well as established first-class musical, theatrical and dance ensembles. Such collaboration has resulted in new and expanded audiences, sponsors for all cultural events and the reclamation and restoration of magnificent venues. "Since The Arts League began its partnership with University Musical Society in 1998 with our first presentation of ‘The Harlem Nutcracker,’ we have been able to bring to Detroit audiences unique performances and educational activities that have expanded the program offerings for all of the collaborators," says Oliver Ragsdale Jr., president of The Arts League of Michigan. "Next season’s ‘Evening at the Apollo’ will not only be a great evening of entertainment for the audience but a tremendous opportunity for us to discover the next Apollo headliner." The line-up includes: · Oct. 9: Detroit’s Orchestra Hall with the Cleveland Orchestra under the baton of its new music director, Franz Weiser-Most, with a program including Beethoven’s "Pastoral Symphony" and H.K. Gruber’s "Frankenstein!!" a playfully sinister piece that sets nursery rhyme-like texts about monsters, superheroes and rodents to catchy melodies and the accompaniment of the orchestra with a full arsenal of raucous toy instruments. · Nov. 19: Myung-Whun Chung in Detroit’s Orchestra Hall conducting the Orchestre Philharmonique do Radio France in its UMS debut. The program includes Debussy’s "LaMer" and the "Turangalila Symphony" by Messiaen, performed in commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the composer’s death. · Nov. 20-24: The Bolshoi Ballet comes to the Detroit Opera House for six performances of "Swan Lake." This production features choreography by Yuri Grigorovich after Petipa and Ivanov. · Oct. 20, 2002 to Jan. 12, 2003: To compliment the Bolshoi performance, the Detroit Institute of Art will present the power and passion of dance as interpreted by Edgar Degas, known as "the painter of dancers." With more than half of his work concentrating on the on- and off-stage activities of ballet students and stars, this Degas exhibition includes works from 97 collections in 11 countries around the world in all media spanning the artist’s entire career. Degas’ works will be exhibited side-by-side with model stage sets, costume designs and photographs of dancers offering what the DIA describes "an unprecedented glimpse into the world of dance and into the mind of a brilliant artist." · Feb. 27: The Detroit/UMS partnership continues with Nikolaus Harnoncourt conducting the Vienna Philharmonic at the Detroit Opera House in Schubert’s "Symphony No. 4" and Dvorak’s "Symphony No. 9 the New World." Originally written to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus’ encounter with the Americas, this Dvorak piece rings wholly appropriate for the newly renovated Detroit Opera House and the cultural rebirth of the 300-year-old city. · April 4-5: "Evening at the Apollo" makes an appearance at the Michigan Theater in Ann Arbor on April 4 and the Detroit Opera House in Detroit on April 5. With its theme "Where stars are born and legends are made," this New York City favorite that launched such careers as that of Aretha Franklin and The Supremes will bring exciting evenings of varied talents that could do the same for participants. Additional information for the UMS/Detroit events is available at 734-764-2538 or 800-221-1229 or at www.ums.org. The Detroit Institute of Art can be reached at 313-833-7900 or at http://www.dia.org/. Museum hours are: 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.Wednesday and Thursday; 10 a.m. – 9 p.m. Friday; 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. The museum is closed Mondays, Tuesdays and some holidays