Wow!  Before I expected it, the holiday season came upon me!  Now, I'm racking my brains for gift ideas, all the while trying to get the same amount of work done in less time!  One "Ahhh" moment I took advantage of was to see the symphony's  Sing-Along with Santa at Bethlehem Church on December 1st.  It was wonderful to see all those sweet youngsters enjoying music from our players and the Community High School Jazz Combo.  There are many Ann Arbor Symphony events in December and January, and I urge you to take advantage of them to find warmth in these cold, dark Michigan days.

Glenn Bugala
Marketing Director
Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra

P.S. – I think I’ve solved my quest for great gifts with the A2SO’s gift certificate to upcoming family and main stage concerts.  Call us at 994-4801 to solve your gift needs!

CALENDAR

• Heroes, December 8, 8 pm, Michigan Theater  Buy Tickets
• Mozart’s Birthday Bash, January 26, 8 pm, Michigan Theater  Buy Tickets
• Babar, January 27, 4 pm, Michigan Theater. Petting zoo and other kid-friendly activities start at 2:30.  Buy Tickets
• KinderConcerts, February 1st at 10 & 11 am at Ypsilanti District Library; February 8th at 9:30 and 10:30 am at Ann Arbor District Library.  Featuring A²SO’s Flute Principal, Penny Fischer.  Free!
• Hearts for the Arts, February 9th at Travis Pointe

Up in the sky—It’s a bird!  It’s a plane!  It’s Maestro Arie Lipsky conducting a pair of heroic pieces.

We continue our 2007-2008 season with Heroes on Saturday, December 8 in the Michigan Theater at 8 pm. The concert is cosponsored by Campbell Industries and Pfizer.

The concert continues a season full of local connections and collaborations - A²SO principal cellist Sarah Cleveland and former Boston Symphony Orchestra violinist Yizhak Schotten portray (respectively) Don Quixote and Sancho Panza in Strauss’ Don Quixote.  The A²SO continues its performances of the complete Beethoven cycle with the famous “Eroica,” the Symphony No. 3. Napoleon Bonaparte’s shadow looms large in this glorious and vigorous symphony. 

Strauss’s Tone Poem Don Quixote is a set of variations on a group of several melodies.  We meet Don Quixote in the opening measures played by the cello.  Sancho Panza is portrayed by the viola.  Even Dulcinea has a part in this musical story, this time sung by the oboe.  All based on Miguel de Cervante’s tale; this Strauss piece distills the epic to ten of Quixote’s exploits.  Our performance will feature surtitles, which will guide the listener through the events of the tone poem.

Beethoven’s 3rd Symphony was new for its time.  It was bold, fiery, and shouted to the world that a piece of symphonic music could convey beliefs and ideas. The Eroica is one of the most analyzed pieces of music in the orchestral repertoire.  Stories abound of the utter disappointment Beethoven had in his former hero, Napoleon, scratching his name so hard from the manuscript that a hole was created, and ridges and bumps went through several pages.

There’s still time to get single tickets for this concert.  Just go to our online ticketing system.

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The winners of the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra’s piano competition were determined in early November.  These youth pianists will play for our Carnival of the Animals concert on March 9, 2008 and its Youth Concerts on March 4, 2008.  The winners, who will play the two pianos required for Saint-Saens’ Carnival of the Animals, are J. Jesse Bennett, 15, born in Yongsan, Seoul, South Korea, and Stephanie Webb, 16, who is a junior at Saline High School.

J. Jesse Bennett’s awards include being a three-time winner of the AAAPTG scholarship prize and the 2004 and 2005 Ann Arbor Bach Festival, and Sonata-Sonatina Festivals at Schoolcraft College.  J’s more recent awards include the Ann Arbor Society for Musical Arts Youth Music competition 2nd place winner for 2006, Alternate Winner for the Dearborn Symphony Concerto Competition, and the 2006 Solo Division 1st Place Winner at Ithaca College Piano Competition, Ithaca, New York.  J lives in Ann Arbor and currently studies with Professor Logan Skelton, Piano Department Chair, University of Michigan School of Music.

Stephanie Webb was the first-place winner of the Elementary Division of the Michigan Music Teachers Association (MMTA) Concerto Competition (2002), the Junior Division of the MMTA State Piano Finals (2004), the Rosalie Edwards Youth Music Competition (2007), and the Michigan Youth Arts Festival Soloist Audition (2007). Named as 2007 Outstanding Piano Soloist in the State of Michigan, Stephanie performed with the Grand Rapids Youth Symphony at the Michigan Youth Arts Festival in May, 2007.  She is currently a student of Emilio del Rosario at the Music Institute of Chicago.

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Ann Arbor Symphony’s Education and Outreach Director Rebecca Pagels Cheskidov and Maestro Arie Lipsky were at the Pinckney ice cream social to celebrate the Pinckney Community Schools’ blossoming orchestra program.  Arie met with the Pinckney superintendent, Dan Danosky; the Pinckney High School conductor, Jeff Campbell; and Curriculum Superintendent and A²SO Board Member Nancy Staub.

Arie Lipsky will be conducting students at Pinckney in class on December 7th.  On May 15, 2008, the A²SO will participate in its second Side-by-Side Concert at Pinckney.  In these concerts, A²SO players share stands with students in performance. Last March’s Side-by-Side concert resulted in almost 90 new students signing up for the Pinckney music program.  Our involvement in the Side-by-Side program at Pinckney is designed to build their Middle School and High School orchestra programs and create a new generation of symphonic musicians and young people alive to the potential of creativity.

Dan Danosky, Arie Lipsky and Rebecca Pagels Cheskidov meet with Pinckney parents.

Hi there!

Photos courtesy Remedios Montalbo Young

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Watch your mailbox in early January for an invitation to Hearts for the Arts.  This black tie (optional) event will take place February 9, 2008 at Travis Pointe Country Club.  It will feature a champagne reception, elegant dinner, live auction and a silent auction.  Help support the A²SO’s education and outreach programs that will reach over 40,000 area youngsters this year!  Save the date and join the fun.  More complete information will appear in the January e-newsletter.

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Are you part of the information age?  Are you a person who likes classical music?  If so, you should check out our "I Love My A²SO" Facebook Group.  A²SO Youth on Board members have set up the group for our growing ranks of college and high school age fans.

See a sample (PDF).
Join with a Facebook login.

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