Community chamber orchestras are at the heart of towns and cities across America. Volunteer, amateur musicians often comprise these ensembles, yet some ensembles employ high-level, local freelance professionals and students at nearby universities. The Ann Arbor Camerata (AAC), founded in 2006, is of the latter variety. Until 2019, the AAC existed as a traditional community chamber orchestra that regularly performed in local churches.
Wednesday, June 24, 2020 - 3:36pm
Monday, April 20, 2020 - 5:44pm
The funny thing is, oranges aren’t really even in season right now. Yet lately I can’t seem to get enough of them. My family has been buying sacks and sacks of oranges; I grab one every time I head out on a walk, the juice making my fingers freeze in the brisk Northeastern April air. Or I have one at 2 a.m., the orange residue working its way under my fingertips as I wonder why I’m still up.
Sunday, April 19, 2020 - 5:21pm
Music, Theatre & Dance professor Matthew Albert is the former violinist of the Grammy award-winning contemporary classical music ensemble Eighth Blackbird and serves as the current chair of the Department of Chamber Music in the School of Music, Theatre & Dance. In a phone interview with The Daily, he spoke about his role as a now active substitute violinist for Eighth Blackbird, the group’s canceled concerts scheduled in March, his own adjustment to the reality of the COVID-19 outbreak and its consequences at the University.
Wednesday, April 15, 2020 - 4:02pm
Though they might have gotten only four rehearsals in, it is clear that the School of Music, Theatre & Dance production of “My One and Only” was going to be something special. Directed by Music, Theatre & Dance professor Linda Goodrich, this musical theater piece, set in 1927, tells the fictional story of Capt. Billy Buck Chandler as he prepares to attempt the first solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean.
Tuesday, April 7, 2020 - 5:52pm
Last weekend, Outta This World Booking, a local booking group I spoke with a few columns ago, put out a compilation album featuring 10 bands from Southeast Michigan. When I found out about this, I checked out their newly-formed Bandcamp page, bought the album and hit play.
Monday, April 6, 2020 - 6:37pm
The social distancing rules put into effect in response to the COVID-19 crisis have affected everyone greatly, but those who are in creative and artistic professions — whose livelihoods depend on public engagements — have been hit extremely hard by these changes. In the University of Michigan community, important student and faculty projects have been postponed or canceled altogether, many of which were milestones in students’ artistic careers, like senior recitals and theses.
Tuesday, March 24, 2020 - 5:25pm
Two weeks ago, I wrote about the cancellation of South by Southwest resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s safe to say that in the two weeks since that article was published, a lot has changed in the state of Michigan. As of midnight on Monday, Mar. 23, Governor Whitmer’s Stay Home Stay Safe executive order (which intends to halt any “non-essential” public gatherings or activities) was brought into effect. This policy was enacted with the news of over 1,000 cases of COVID-19 being found in Michigan in the last 13 days.
Tuesday, March 24, 2020 - 5:00pm
I decided to write about my love for The Blind Pig long before I knew I would have to say goodbye to Ann Arbor and its many strange institutions that I love. As such, this piece feels entirely bittersweet, tinted with more longing than a simple ode to my favorite concert hall in town would normally be.
Wednesday, March 18, 2020 - 5:20pm
Time is an active friend. It skips, flies, races and slows. It’s spent and wasted. It’s on our hands and walls and microwaves. In moments of joy, we never have enough of it.. And, in a few indelible moments in our lives, time holds its breath and stands completely still.
Wednesday, March 18, 2020 - 5:17pm
I tie “Interstellar” to the concept of time because of how rooted it is to a specific time in my life. I was 18 years old when I first watched the movie in my AP Literature and Composition class. I knew nothing of it other than that it starred Matthew McConaughey and came out in 2014 — my freshman year of high school. When we watched it, I was a month shy of graduating. I can’t tell you the run time, or at what point I truly felt myself reeled in, but I bawled my eyes out and forgot about the assignment all together.