Friday, February 22, 2013 - 5 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com EVENT PREVIEW Kerrytown to host Marsalis quartet Gilbert to bring NY Philharmonic to Hill M.p per On Concer will be the vib and based j his Vib tet. T forman include from h recent a Worl lets. "The a few that ha xyloph bells," " played all of t this. A the titl being i Mar a perct and cla release howev attenti phone.' Feb.19, in each what so ments "I se really I've do is diffe I have butthe In b based throug allet-based jazz bing tracks with percussion. In approaching the music and pro- former comes to ducing, there's been a sense of consistency, but with the selection Ann Arbor of instruments, Marsalis is look- ing to break new ground. By JOHN BOHN "I try to shake the form up and Daily Arts Writer do different things with it," Mar- salis said. Sunday, at the Kerrytown "There's a lot that can be done t House, Jason Marsalis on the (vibraphone) that has not breathing fresh air into been done yet," Marsalis said. raphones "There have not been a lot of mallet- Jason Mar- vibraphone players in the his- iazz with sais Vie tory of the music. We can name 10 be Quar- trumpet players or 10 saxophones 'he per- Quartet players in like 30 seconds. But you ice will can't really do that with vibes. You music unday might be able to get to 10, but it's his most 7:00 p.m. not easy." album, In Kerrytown In addition to the attention he d of Mal- Concert House gained for his skill on the mallets, Marsalis was also a group recipi- ere are From $5 ent of the 2011 NEA Jazz Mas- songs ters Award. The other musicians ive vibes and marimba, or to receive the award were Ellis one, glockenspiel, tubular Marsalis Jr., Branford Marsalis, Marsalis said. "And I've Wynton Marsalis and Delfeayo them, and I've overdubbed Marsalis. Jason Marsalis happens hese tracks together with to come from a family of accom- nd when I thought about it, plished musicians, New Orleans's e just came to me. It's like famous Marsalis family. Through- n a world of mallets." out his career, Marsalis has played salis originally trained as and composed with his father, ussionist, both in drums Ellis Marsalis Jr., and his three ssical percussion. With the brothers. of Music Update in 2009, "I was born much later," Mar- er, he began garnering salis said. "The lastof six boys. Me on for his skill on the vibra- and my brothers played music, but This latest album, released by the time I was six or seven, they comprises 14 tracks. With- were all out of the house." h song, Marsalis explores Interestingly, Marsalis grew ounds mallet-based instru- up in a house of soon-to-be musi- can create. cians. His father practiced a lot ee it as an extension, not with him, and his older brother a break, with things that Ellis would be around for lessons. ne," Marsalis said. "There "My older brother Ellis did rent instrumentation and come around and we did play a to deal with melodic solos, lot together when I was in high re are similarities." school," Marsalis said. "So I did oth his drum- and mallet- have support with music. I had a recordings, Marsalis went great support system." h a process of overdub-- In addition to his family roots, Marsalis also acknowledges the influence of his hometown, New Orleans, on his music. "(New Orleans) has made me appreciate the history of the music," Marsalis said. "New Orleans has music that was born out of the city. It's still sustained in a way, and it made me appreci- ate those elements as I got older. I even use those elements when I play more updated music." This weekend, however, Mar- salis is touring with his own band, the Jason Marsalis Vibes Quartet. It includes pianist Austin John- son, bassist Will Goble and drum- mer David Potter. Marsalis first met his bandmates while on a teaching residency at Florida State University. "What struck me about those guys was that they were really serious about the music and real- ly committed to it, and I thought I would give them a chance," Marsalis said. "They're very seri- ous about the music that we are playing, and they've really grown throughout the process." Jason Marsalis will be the third Marsalis brother to appear at the Kerrytown Concert House. As the youngest brother, he cer- tainly hasn't had a head start in making his name known or per- forming across the country. How- ever, he isn't concerned with that sense of following in anybody's footsteps. "What it means to follow them is something I don't worry about because I play music on my own terms," Marsalis said. "I have my goals that I'm thinking about, and I have music that I need to work on to become a better musician. It's not about what they've done in the past. I believe in that music, but I'm not worried about follow- ing that. I'm worried about look- ing in terms of the present and the future in terms of a musician." By TEHREEM SAJJAD DailyArts Writer With a track record of over 15,000 concerts in 430 cities, 63 countries and five continents, New York Phil- harmonic isN returning to NeWYOII Ann Arbor this Philhar- year as part of .n a countrywide monC tour to deliver Saturday at two enthrall- 8:00 p.m. ing orchestra and Sunday performances. at 2:00 p.m. Both concerts will mark Alan Hill Auditorium Gilbert's first, From$10 appearance in F Michigan as music director of the Philhar- monic. "What's most unique about the New York Philharmonic is that it's been in existence for 160 years and has a tradition of excel- lence," said Mark Schmoockler, one of the orchestra's violinists. Founded in 1842, the New York Philharmonic is the old- est symphony orchestra in the world. Its rich tradition includes the works of directors Bruno Walter, Willem Mengelberg and Arturo Toscanini. The Philhar- monic is recognized for yield- ing some of the best music of its time and is an internationally acclair Sinc concer York placei the Ph ing at I concer season The ic's pi "Moza riage c phony. Symph progra Modes Bald 1 "Schel Vogler Tchail Pathet med musical institution. since he took the post in 2009. ce 1916, 16 of the 15,000 He is the first New Yorker to -ts performed by the New be offered the highest position Philharmonic have taken at the Philharmonic. Gilbert is in Ann Arbor. This year, also the director of Orchestral hilharmonic will be play- Studies at the Philharmonic Hill Auditorium during the and holds the William Schuman t hall's 100th anniversary chair position in Musical Stud- 1. ies at The Juilliard School. His first of the Philharmon- recordings have received top erformances will feature honors from The Chicago Tri- rt's Overture," "The Mar- bune and Gramophone maga- of Figaro," Mozart's Sym- zine. No. 36, Linz and Brahms's Cellist Jan Vogler will also ony No. 1. In the second be playing as part of the orches- im, Gilbert will conduct tra. An award-winning artist, t Mussorgsky's "Night on Vogler records for SONY Classi- lountain," Ernest Bloch's cal. Considered a cello prodigy, omo" with cellist Jan Vogler became the principle as soloist and Pyotr ll'yich cello at the Staatskapelle Dres- kovsky's Symphony No. 6, den, a German Orchestra, and ique. was named the youngest con- certmaster in the Orchestra's history. Vogler also won the Echo Klassik Award (the Ger- man equivalent of the Grammy) 1d orchestra in 2008 for some of his record- ings. return to While the New York Phil- harmonic aspires to cultivate Ann Arbor its audience's musical zest, its Ann Arbor visit also comprises numerous classes that will be taught by Philharmonic brass n Gilbert, the Philhar- and string musicians, includ- 's newly appointed music ing Chris Lam, Joe Alessi and or, has strived to make the Glenn Dicterow, at the Univer- tra a token of pride for sity's School of Music, Theatre York City and the country & Dance. N ar I Ala monic direct orches New Y PERFORMANCE PREVIEW 'Hothouse' to explore human interactions By PAIGE PFLEGER Daily Arts Writer Hunan interactions today seem to have been reduced to texting and Facebook messaging. How- ever, School of Music, Theatre & Dance senior The Hot- and directing house major Emily Lyon hopes to Fridayat7:0O challenge these p.m. and11:00 ideals in her p.m.,Saturday senior thesis at7:00 p.m. with the pre- sentation of the Walgreen play, "The Hot- Drama Center house," by Har- Free old Pinter. "The Hot- house" takes place in what appears to be a mental institution or asylum, though this is not ever explicitly stated - a quirk that is common in Pinter's plays. Lyon chose to set the play in the United States in 1984, giving it a moder- nity the 1950s-written play did not formerly have. "I think the show is very appro- priate for our time," Lyon said. "I always try to pick pieces that will say something to who we are now and the audience we'll be address- ing. 'The Hothouse' is a mockery and a condemnation of bureaucra- cy, more or less, and it shows us in a time of Facebook, military drones and systemized health care that institutionalizing human interac- tion is not what we do best." The show develops a Clue- like game of whodunit. After an alleged murder and rape takes place in the sanatorium, the char- acters scramble humorously to find the culprit, causing the play to take on a comedic sense while dealing with more serious themes. "The characters themselves are given numbers instead of names, which ties into the distancing of humanity," Lyon said. "It's a chess game from there of what has hap- pened and who is going to chal- lenge the system, if anyone." The show, taking place in Wal- green Drama Center's Studio One, is unusual because it is not often that the University puts on Pinter plays. Pinter is known for a few trademarks, one being the Pinter pause, which places emphasis on the words and gives actors time to reflect on them. Because of Pint- er's quirks, his plays can some- times be a challenge. "For the theater majors, this is definitely a different experience and a different type of theater overall," Lyon said. "One chal- lenge we've been having is that in finding whatthis institution is like and dealing with how intention- ally vague Pinter can be, it has to go against a lot of actors instincts to create a very tense and funny show." The cast has had a great deal of bonding time on and off stage by researching the show through dif- ferent kinds of games. They have played a game of Assassin (which is still on-going), Clue and even an English tea time. Lyon believes the small cast has really made her senior thesis special. "The cast is amazing, and I was extremely fortunate to get one of the strongest casts that I could have possibly put together," Lyon said. "They are certainly seven heavy hitters. They challenge me and they inspire me, and it's been really wonderful." Lyon's senior thesis puts modern twist on Pinter's play. Lyon focuses her energy in try- ing to convey a certain aesthetic, and with her last act as an under- graduate, she hopes "The Hot- house" will continue to display it. "I focus in on trying to tell the best story, and making sure that every single moment is interesting and alive," she said. "I love color- ful characters and what draws me to theater is thorough under- standing and pinpointing of genu- ine humanity. Often, what we find funny about theater is seeing our- selves in it." "Runaway love." Taylor too swift with romances By LENA FINKEL songs p Daily Arts Writer tragedi And Taylor Swift is officially dating Conor Kennedy. No, she's dating Harry Styles. No, she's dating John Mayer, or maybe Bradley Cooper - OK, that last one only applies to Jennifer Lawrence. But it's no secret that Taylor Swift has had her fair share of romances; she's jumped around from guy to guy, only staying single for about five minutes. Swift prides herself on being a good role model for young girls and has even made a career out of it, but what does this say about the example she sets for her fans? Swift only dated her last boy- friend, Harry Styles of One Direc- tion, for about two months, and yet she had already planned to buy a house in the United King- dom, down the road from Styles. Though she claimed the location was merely a coincidence, when the two split, she immediately stopped looking. So, coincidence? Probably not. You'll notice, of course, that Styles never looked to buy a house near Swift in the United States. Not to mention that Swift has become infamous for writing much h with al partyin on the 1 sound i that ha J J t iost-breakup, detailing the her boyfriend to call. Whether es of her love life. or not her songs accurately por- yes, writing songs is a tray her personality is beside the healthier way of dealing point. Swift could be the stron- breakup than, say, drugs or gest girl in the world, but her ig. But Swift's songs harp music says otherwise. Her song breakup, making each one about Jonas is not a fluke - she's like a devastating tornado written similarly worded songs s torn rightthrough her. about Taylor Lautner and John Mayer and reportedly has five songs about Harry soon to come. S W Taylor, What is she really saying to teen- iayio age girls with lyrics like these? ohn Jake That it's OK to let every breakup > > tear you apart? 1i onor and Maybe it's not fair to psychoan- alyze her love life. But when she H arry makes it public, when she makes it into a career and when her audience is a bunch of13-year-old girls, then Swift better be careful song about ex-boyfriend what she's telling them. ias, "Forever and Always," Taylor, maybe you should take ics such as, "Baby, what a cue from Beyonce's anthem ed? Please tell me. ... Was "Run the World (Girls)"; you're a line? Did I say something multi-Grammy-winning, plati- o honest?" and "I stare num album-recording artist. phone and he still hasn't You've been nominated for a And then you feel so low, Golden Globe, for Best Original 't feel nothin' at all." Song and have sold over 26-mil- e lyrics are not empoWer- lion albums and 75-million digital y scream, "I am drowning downloads worldwide. You don't t my man." Swift sounds need a man, and when you start c, like she has fallen to to believe that, maybe your fans waiting by the phone for will, too. One Joe Jon has lyr happen I out of way to at the called / you can Thes ing; the withou patheti pieces WANT TO BE COOL? JOIN DAILY ARTS! e-mail arts@michigandaily.com to request an application TIRED OF TAYLOR TOO? Tweet us @michdailyarts and tell us!