Arts is Life

THE CENTER
INSTITUTE FOR RETIRED
PROFESSIONALS
presents a concert
by world-renowned performers

.

VISIT FROM FRIENDS from page 39

Composer/Pianist

William Bolcom

& Joan Morris

Mezzo-Soprano

22 2004 • 7.30
p.m
Monday 3 March 22,
•

Jewish Community Center of Metropolitan Detroit

Marion & Dayid Hancliernan Hall & Auditorium • D. Dan & Betty Kahn Building
Eugene & Marcia Applebaum Jewish Community Campus • 6600 West Maple Road, West Bloomfield

This event is underwritten by a generous gift, from
Shirley Harris and is open to the public free of charge,

For more information, call the IRP Office at 248.967.4030 ext. 2018.

THE CENTER

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tic adviser to -the Flemish Radio
Orchestra. A virtuoso violist as well as
violinist, Zukerman also conducts, and
is currently serving in his fifth season
as music director of Canada's National
Arts Centre Orchestra; he continues to
make concerto and recital appearances
throughout the world.
With four days in Ann Arbor,
orchestra members will have a chance
to decompress from their rigorous per-
forming schedule. And Ann Arbor's
Jewish community is pulling out all
the stops to make them feel welcome.
At the suggestion of Friends of the
IPO, Jeff Levin, executive director of
the Jewish Federation of Washtenaw
County, began searching about a month
ago for community members to host
the musicians for Shabbat dinner March
19. There are about 120 players; Levin
soon found more space than he needs,
and the replies are still pouring in.
Levin said he's limited the number
of Shabbat guests to two per family.
"It's the first time the symphony has
been here since early in 1998," he
said, "and I was fairly sure people'
would welcome them. But this has
been an overwhelming response."
Joan Hartman of Ann Arbor, whose
sister, Miriam, is the IPO's principal
violist, said the musicians are thrilled
at the invitation. "Orchestra members
have said no one has ever invited them
into their homes for dinner before
while they were on tour," she said.
Seven members of the IPO — three
wind players, three brass players and a
double bassist — will spend Thursday,
March 17, at the Ann Arbor Hebrew
Day School. Joan Hartman, whose
children attend the school, made all
the arrangements.
"The Philharmonic has an educa-
tional program, funded through con-
tributions," she said. "They go to
schools all over [Israel], including the
Arab schools."
The Hartman sisters, who grew up
in Philadelphia, have remained close
over the years. Miriam Hartman com-
pleted her musical studies at Yale
University and New York's Juilliard
School, then moved to Israel to per-
form first in the Jerusalem Symphony,
then with the IPO.
"She could leave Israel, get a job.
anywhere," her sister said. "She's a
committed Zionist; she loves the
country, the way of life.
"She's raising her two kids there,
despite the violence. They still manage
to play music and make people happy.

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804070

According to IPO spokesman Avi
Shoshani, "In these troubled times,
the IPO has come to represent much
more than just an orchestra.
"Audiences come to hear our music
making for solace, for emotional sup-
port and to remember that the arts
can nurture and replenish our souls."
Among the sponsors of the orches-
tra's Ann Arbor appearance is the
Detroit Jewish News.
About two years ago, the IPO was
scheduled to perform at Detroit's Fox
Theatre when the tour was abruptly
canceled, with only a few weeks'
notice to ticket-holders. The concert
would have featured singer Michael
Feinstein, with excerpts from the CD
he'd released with the IPO a few
months earlier (Michael Feinstein with
the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra;
Concord Jazz; May, 2002).-
At the time, publicists for the orches-
tra, booking agents and venues sent out
mixed signals as to the reasons for the
cancellation — some claiming it was
due to security concerns and others
faulting anemic ticket sales.
"We haven't received any informa-
tion about specific concerns sur-
rounding the IPO concert," said Ken
Fisher, president of the University
Musical Society, which is hosting the
orchestra's March 20 appearance. "It's
a university campus, and it's a free
country. We've had people express
themselves freely in the past.
"But we can assure people that issues
of security have been taken care of."
Founded in 1879, UMS has pre-
sented the Israel Philharmonic six pre-
vious times, beginning in 1972.
"We really look forward to having our
friends from the Israel Philharmonic
Orchestra back and showing off our
new auditorium," Fisher said. ❑

The Israel Philharmonic
Orchestra performs 8 p.m.
Saturday, March 20, at Hill
Auditorium, 825 N. University
Avenue, Ann Arbor. $10-$85.
(734) 764-2538 or
(800) 221-1229.
For group discounts, call
(734) 763-3100. For more
information, see the University
Musical Society website:
wwvv.ums.org.

