The Michigan Daily-Thursday, September 7, 1978--Page 43
Campus alive with sounds of musc:i",
House
I
ights up at Major Events
By DOUGLAS HELLER
After the stage is built, the amps con-
iected and the bills paid, people like
lackson Browne and Linda Ronstadt go'
o work and the people from the
iniversity's Office of Major Events can
elax - until the next show.
Most of the concerts by major recor-
sing artists in Ann Arbor are brought to
,ampus through the Office of Major
vents which was originally a division
)f University Activities Center (UAC),
3ut is now a separate organization.
A LIST of the top performers the of-
fice has brought to the University in the
past is almost endless, but some of the
ames include Elvis Presley, Al
areau, Bruce Springteen, Earth, Wind
nd Fire and Carole King. Major Even-
s not only books musicians, but has
featured the National Lampoon comedy
troupe and Doug Henning's "World of
Magic" as well.
Tickets for almost all concerts held
on campus are available either at the
Michigan Union box office or Ticket
Central. Both are located in the lobby of
the Union. Occasionally, tickets are
distributed through other outlets, such
as Hudson's or certain party stores, but
they vary depending on the act. Prices
these days are around $5 to $8.
MOST OF the concerts are held in the
University's three major concert halls.
Crisler Arena, the largest auditorium in
town, seats about 13,000 and is not bad
for concerts compared with larger
sports arena. The real treasure is when
a great performer plays at Hill
Auditorium (capacity over 4,000) or
Power Center for the Performing Arts
(capacity 1,420). Both are situated on
campus and designed with acoustics,
visibility and comfort mmmd.
Major Events also provides assistan-
ce to other campus organizations.
Major Events is available as a resource
that can help or advise in checking the
people involved in a production, the
contract, treatment of performers and
lecturers, promotion, and so on.
UAC, also a volunteer organization, is
run by about 600 students a year and in-
volves a network of various committees
that touch on almost every aspect of the
arts. The University Program Commit-
tee helps arrange various functions, in-
cluding dorm programming with all the
dorm councils. The Collaborative, a
part of the Artists and Craftsman
Guild, sponsors. non-credit art classes,
the Annual Ann Arbor Art Fair, and is
active in bringing in guest artists to
teach.
MEDIATRICS provides films a
couple of times a week, and the Cinema
Lecture series presents different direc-
tors and actors to speak on their craft.
Viewpoint Lectures feature speakers on
topics of more political, social, or in-
tellectual interest, such as political car-
toonist Bill Mauldin and John Dean.
UAC Theater Productions, a new
program this fall, will be in charge of
all the various theater groups:
MUSKET (which produces major
musicals), Children's Theater, im-
provisation, drama, mime,
etc. UAC also has a ride board set
up in the basement of the Union.
AS FOR WHAT musicians to watch
for this fall, it's still too early to plan on
any specific names, but you'll be seeing
some soon.
But be assured that some of the best
in folk, jazz, country, pop, and hard and
soft rock music will tour through town
this fall, courtesy of Major Events.
Daily Photo by PETER SERLING
Reggae artist Bob Marley performs during a Major Events concert.
Classical reaching a crescendo
By JEFFREY SELBST
Classical music in Ann Arbor used to
be in a shocking state. Not that there
wasn't much to choose from - for there
always has been - but rather because a
great deal of what was performed was
in a terrible state of unreadiness when
it came to the stage.
This doesn't apply so much to the
series presented by Gale Rector's
University Music Society, but rather of
the various University-sponsored
productions.
THE TWO Music School symphonic
groups are the University Symphony
Orchestra (USO) and the University
Philharmonia. The former is officially
regarded the better group, and is
(again, officially) more competitive. In
past years, however, reality has upset
expectations. The USO has too often
seemed disorganized, too ambitious
(not in itself a fault) and with too many
artistic deficiencies, while its sister
group has presented well-balanced,
well-performed programs with
regularity.
Another pair of performing groups,
the Symphony and Wind Ensemble, suf-
fered from lackadaisical direction and
inadequate preparation, as well as a
certain artistic conceit in presenting
difficult, frequently meaningless new
works, presented nonetheless because
they were in the vanguard of music at
the moment. This made the performers
feel very excited and left the audience
wondering what they will have for lun-
ch.
Lately these trends have been rever-
sing. One possible reason for this is the
School's recognition that the programs,
as they had been presented; were fast
becoming an object of mirth. This is not
to say that good quality music was not
occasionally escaping, mostly through
the outlet of the Philharmonia, but
mainly it was pretty tired stuff.
THEY SAY that a good music direc-
tor can turn things around, and many
students and faculty at the School feel
that this is what has happened with the
advent of Gustav Meier as music direc-
tor of the University Symphony Or-
chestra.
Meier has been on the job some time
now, working in other departments as
well, including the nationally-famous
opera department (one area which
always resisted the general decline of
the last few years), and already the
change for the better is seen. More
rehearsal (or more effective rehear-
sal), a concentration upon works to be
performed within the limitations of any
group while not abdicating a respon-
sibility towards both innovations and
the needs of the audience.
The Music Society, run by Rector,
has always brought in high-quality per-
formers from around the globe, in-
cluding opera stars of the magnitude of
Pavarotti, Sills, and Price. He is also
the man who brings in some performing
luminary each year for the Music
School's scholarship Benefit Concert,
which has in the past featureds
Horowitz, Rostropovich, Menuhin, and
Sandor (who was not hard to get, being
a professor in the Music School here).
There are also a number of Univer-
sity choirs, not the least of which is the
University Choir, the mainstay of the
Music School's concerted vocal effort.
The perform a number of old works; as
well as a liberal sprinkling of the
moderns. This choir has in the past
been conducted by Thomas Hilbish.
The Choral Union performs the
Messiah each year at Hill around
Christmas; admission to this august
group is not difficult to procure-some
say you must be breathing, others aver
that this is scarcely necessary (not the,
number of octegenarians contained
within).
And the Arts Chorale, which used to
be conducted by the great Maynard'
Klein (though that was Some Time ago;
bordering on Quite Some Time ago),.
still cranks out a couple of concerts!
each year at Hill. They're fun to listen,
to, at any rate.
Things appear to be on the up-and-up:
for music in Ann Arbor. For those who;
have been strenuously avoiding atten-:
ding concerts for reasons outlined
above, the freeze appears to be over.
Spring is here.
Doily Photo by JOHN KNOX
Michael Cooney pleases an Ark crowd with his own brand of folk music.
All aboard the Ark
'U' musical groups
keep students in tune
By R.J. SMITH
'And God saw the earth, and
behold, it wasscorrupt; for all flesh
had corrupted their way upon the ear-
th. And God said to Noah . . . 'make
yourself an ark'. ..'
-Genesis, 6-12
'You better come on, in my kitchen
There's going to be rain in our door'
-Robert.Johnson,
Come on in my kitchen
Dave and Linda Siglind run an
average household, in most ways.
The front lawn generally is
unkempt, and they have a
problem with people who walk
across it, cutting a path. Dave
coaches his daughter Anya's
baseball team. They own two
cats, a dog, and a hampster
named Rusty Staub.
But several- times a week, ab-
normal events occur at the
Siglind household. People from
all over the Ann Arbor area flock
into the Siglinds' "living room"
to eat free popcorn and drink free
coffee as they sit on floor
cushions or on hard wooden ben-
ches. From all over the United
States and Canada-and indeed,
from many parts of the
world-some of the best folk
musicians gather in Dave and
Linda's home, to play music and
see old friends.
WELCOME TO the Ark coffee-
house.
The Ark is an attractive, large
white house at 1421 Hill, nestled
among . the apartments and
fraternity houses. Once owned by
the Henry Carter Adams family
(Adams was a University
economics professor), the home
became a coffeehouse 14 years
ago when it was purchased by a
Presbyterian church. The Siglin-
ds moved into the Ark in 1967.
"Part of the reason that we've"
stayed so long at the Ark is all the
people we've met," says Linda.
"It is a nice place to come when
you don't know anyone on arbig
campus.
IN TIHE PAST, the Ark has
presented everything from
movies, poetry readings, lec-
tures, debates and sensitivity
training sessions.
But nowadays, the main attrac-
tion is the music. The Ark spon-
sors hootenannies, combined
concerts and often features local
musicians. A national grant this
year allowed the Ark to begin a
See FOLK, Page 45
By BRIAN BLANCHARD
If you spend hours a day rippling
through arpeggios and months perfec-
ting concertos, you're probably already
tuning up for a season with one of the
University's highly-rated musical
groups like the Wind Ensemble or the
Chamber Choir. But for those who lack
the time or, let's face it, the ability to
gather with the very best, the Univer-
sity orchestrates a wide variety of
musical groups in which even non-
virtuosos can participate.
"The bottom line," says H. Robert
Reynolds, director of University bands,
"is that if someone wants to play,
there's a place for him."
SPOTS IN THE Wind Ensemble and
Symphonic Band are usually reserved
for Music School students.
The Concert Band, under the direc-
tion of Allan McMurray, meets twice a
week for 'skilled musicians," according
to Reynolds. Again, you needn't be a
music major to join, but Reynolds poin-
ts out that about 80 percent of the Con-
cert Band's trumpeters and bassoonists
are working towards music degrees.
The best group for the part-time
musician with a desire to keep their
embouchure under control is probably
the Varsity Band,, also led by Mc-
Murray. Like all of the University-
sponsored performance groups,
academic credit is offered for par-
ticipation in the band, which meets one
night a week the first semester and
twice a week during the winter term.
IF YOU HAVE the energy, you might
consider blowing your horn in the
nationally-acclaimed Michigan Mar-
ching Band. Members of the Marching
Band step right into a grueling season
of practice as soon as they arrive on
campus and the practice does not let up
until late-November or January 1,
depending on several variables such as
Woody Hayes and Rick Leach.
For eight years, George Cavender
has been supervising the meticulousl
choreographed half-time shows and.
performances of various kinds that
have taken the band around the U.S.,
including two recent, although
somewhat disappointing, ventures to k
California. Most of the Marching Band..t.
members are not Music School studen- .
ts. ... ~
Auditions for both the University Jazz
Band and Lab Band are open to all stu-
dent musicians although the Jazz Band.
is more select. Daily Photo by ANDY FREEBERG
REYNOLDS SAYS the Music Schoof Members of the University Marching Band step lively to the baton of George
See STUDENTS, Page 49 Cavender.
... and all that jazz
By ERIC SMITH
Ann Arbor is fast becoming the
major Midwestern whistle stop for
professional jazz musicians on the
college circuit. And much of the credit
must go to the University's Eclipse jazz
program and its many projects.
Founded in 1975 as a non-profit
organization, Eclipse's commitment to
jazz has led to the opportunity to
showcase many of thb world's finest
performers and bring audiences and
artists closer together. Last year, the
group, which operates under the
auspices of the University Activities
OnnfnrlT T A V\ hrneht m..nininne eannh
modern avant-garde," says Cramer.
By offering season tickets in series,
Eclipse staffers try to expose audiences
to a variety of jazz forms. They balance
the series with big name artists like
Chuck Mangione and lesser-knowns
like Anthony Braxton.
A FREE Eclipse newsletter is mailed
to subscribers tri-annually and contains
information about purchasing season
tickets, in addition to background
material on visiting artists and inter-
views with local jazz personalities.
Subscribers receive first priority for
ordering tickets before they go on sale
modate different levels of musical
ability and plans are being finalized to
expand these workshops.
A LECTURE-discussion workshop is
also offered for musicians and non-
musicians alike. In a non-concert set-
ting, an audience and local musicians
have a chance to get closer to the per-
former.
Eclipse is also planning the first an-
nual Ann Arbor Jazz Festival, slated
for early fall. Members hope the
festival will help the city earn
prominence as a jazz center.
In addition to the regular five-concert
MR,: 1 At E'I I - U kEA1