The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com T athtb id Thursday, November 7, 2013 - 3B 1711 &1 : A* 'A : li il I l 1987 1987 2.34 million 80%/20% 2013 2013 7.5 million 47%//53% S1987 1987 o>71,600 40 16%-33% " " 2013 E 2013 100,000 70 FOOD COLUMN Pull up a chair at Paijo HAR From The review Sept.1 that A oped attack happy order betwe especi events Ann A a few and c piece h - inst dedica Unive Thi tion b lished becam would lar con World each s by UM more a UMS grams like th ern & worke contex Fische artists ence to but, m abouta The Fische to exp actual "If engage impor to that out as we cou Fische Thi be an. that su of the For tw to the forged memb COMM as the was wr Fische "I re in whi munit "An what, MONY remembered. "They said it with affection and grace, but it was clear Page lB that they had been waiting." Around the same time, UMS e funding agency started to received some funding to bring the proposal just as the in a diversity consultant, Gwen 1 attacks took place. Stunned Cochran Hadden. After spending hmed and Fischer had devel- the day sitting in on meetings and this relationship before the getting to know the staff, Hadden s, the agency was more than brought the UMS board together to fund Shaheen's visit in in the Michigan Union and provid- to promote relationships ed aroadmap for action that would en the two communities, eventually become one of Fischer's ally in light of the recent 10 Lessons: Start where you are. . In 2003, Shaheen came to As Hadden explained, if Fischer Arbor, where he stayed for took the time to look around his months as a resident artist, own organization to see who was ulminated his visit with a already engaged, he would be he wrote titled "Arboresque" amazed whom he would find just tead of Arabesque - as a waiting tobe asked. tion to his time spent at the That's when Fischer met Leti- rsity. tiafByrd. Byrd had been a singer in s unprecedented coopera- the UMS choir and a loyal volun- etween UMS and an estab- teer for years, but UMS had never shared heritage community really paid any attention to her. As ie a model for which UMS Fischer began to develop a rela- continue to work with simi- tionship with Byrd, he took a trip mmunities. The Arab Music to her house, where he discovered Festival followed, and with that she was involved in about 30 ubsequent outreach attempt additional organizations, all of 4S, the Arab community was whichshe volunteered for. and more responsive. Later, "Here was a woman that volun- began reaching out to pro- teered so much time and was so within the University itself, involved, and an organization that he Center for Middle East- was so near and dear to her had North African Studies, and not had any relationship with her," d with them to truly put into Fischer explained. Kt exactly what UMS does. Somethingneeded tochange. r's desire to bring in Arab In 1997, the Ann Arbor News was not only for the audi- decided it would start a Citizen of o experience a performance, the Year award and deservingly more importantly, to learn gave it to Byrd. At the same time, another culture. Byrd joined the UMS board, and as a result her relationship with Full-blown change Fischer grew. Everything culmi- nated one night in Byrd's base- very first community that ment, where a group of some of the r thought of when he began most prominent African American sand UMS wasn't Arab, but organizers and musicians in Ann ly African American. Arbor and at the University joined, I could get genuinely with Fischer, to discuss UMS and ed in something that was diversity. tant to them and of service Willis Patterson, the first Black community, and give with- professor on the staff of the Uni- sking anything back, then versity's School of Music, Theatre uld really get things going," & Dance and a Professor Emeritus r explained. of Music, told a story about his per- s "something" turned out to sonal experience with UMS. He annual fundraising dinner described how one of the greatest ipported one of the colleges thrills of his life came from UMS, United Negro College Fund. when he sang in the children's to years, Fischer sold tables chorus in the 1930s in Hill Audi- dinner, and through this he torium, accompaniedby the Phila- his first relationships with delphia Symphony. ers of the African American He then stated that one of the unity. After his second year, most disappointing experiences team behind the dinner of his life also came from UMS rapping up its final meeting, and went on to describe the very r spoke to the group. same event in the exact same way. eally want to change the way Fischer was confused, until Pat- ch we connect to your com- terson ended his story: "Reason y," he told them. is, no one was in the audience that d it was like, 'You know looked like me." For Patterson and Ken? About time,' " Fisher for many of the others in Byrd's basement, this story was a way of relaying the unavoidable fact that, in years past, Hill Auditorium hasn't always been welcoming to the Black community. Deeply touched, Fischer asked those in the room what to do. Byrd introduced him to two groups of Black women that support the arts - the Deltas and Links Incorpo- rated - and suggested that these women be placed on the UMS advisory committee, which at the time was mostly white. Furthermore, for subsequent shows at Hill, Fischer had women from the two groups stationed at the various entrances to the audi- torium, handing out programs and sayingsimply, 'Nice to see you. You are welcome here.' These first steps soon blos- somed into a full-blown change to UMS's structure, and subsequent meetings with Catherine Black- well in 2005 established astronger connection between UMS and the African American communities in Detroit. "It was one of the most learn- ing and exciting experiences to be on that board and to be on the inside," Mial remembered. "UMS, the whole staff and people involved in it, makes a true effort not only to integrate performers and the audience, they do specific things to make it work and happen ... they have staff, starting with Ken (Fisch- er), that really dig in there and do the work to make it a more diverse organization." 10Lessons Today, though far from per- fect, UMS is starting to take the shape that Fischer envisioned when he signed on to be presi- dent 26 years ago. In addition to strong relationships with the Arab and African American communities, Fischer has built connections with leaders such as Martina Guzman and Wei Shen, who have brought their own unique presence from their respective Latin and Chinese backgrounds. The effects of Fischer's "10 Lessons" are visible today. UMS's budget has jumped from $2.34 million in 1987 to $7.5 mil- lion in 2012, while the number of volunteers has grown from 250 to 750 in the same period. Maybe most importantly, UMS's 1987 goal of simply presenting the performing arts has evolved into connecting artists and audi- ences in uncommon and engag- ing experiences. More, in any given season, 16 to 33 percent of UMS perform- ers now come from Africa, Asia, Latin America, Israel and the Arab world. Artists as diverse as Gilberto Gil, Doudou N'Diaye Rose, Ravi Shankar and the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater have all graced the stage at Hill, while UMS has been con- sistent in focusing on a variety of influences by taking turns them- ing certain seasons after specific cultures. As a result of this increased globalization, UMS has become one of, if not the premier pre- senting university program, said Lester Monts, senior vice pro- vost for Academic Affairs, who in addition to being University President Mary Sue Coleman's special advisor for undergradu- ate education, diversity and arts, is a longtime UMS board of directors member who actually played classical trumpet at Hill Auditorium while in college. "Some performers often say, 'I will only perform in the great concert halls of Chicago, or New York, Philadelphia, etc.' But with UMS becoming a global institu- tion and encompassing so much musical culture, Ann Arbor has really become a highly desirable destination for world class per- formers," Monts explains. "They know that they will perform before a very sophisticated audi- ence in a stellar performance venue - Hill Auditorium." As for Fischer, his efforts haven't gone unnoticed. Last year, he received the 2012 Mariam C. Noland Award for Nonprofit Leadership given by the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan, which commended his work in "creat- ing relationships with leading corporations, arts organizations, area public and private schools and community organizations." The work of involving every- one into UMS isn't finished, as Fischer, Mial and Monts all acknowledge. "The arts are for everybody," Fischer stated. "It's our job to embrace the entire region, to make them feel welcomed, and then encourage them to work together with others." That being said, UMS has come a long way from being a locally based program focusing predominantly on white com- posers and performers. "Ken Fischer is an impre- sario," Monts said. "And UMS brings serious pride and prestige to the University of Michigan - it is certainly one of the 'jewels in the crown."' w ab of I heard Arbor, Gratzi high e Mia Za the low whileb are goo their ri tive re I'm her report is an o in the Palio. Situ of Will Palio i The br sily pa broken light g faux cr the res looks a repair. span t shadin the sid decora lighted convey to: "Ita a conv Th cl t ou And think a I've bee celebra The set back co good fo choice I'm i the app ic menu more a is peru: virtual Androi obvious Each di for you gested progra over, yo color, p otherc most n fret not old-fas as help We s wine th ate, and more a long as before: its hous crusty ish someone had told me tacky on the inside. It's perfect for out Palio before the end dipping in the table's dark green my junior year. Whenever extra-virgin olive oil (first press, I about Italian food in Ann I'm sure), sea salt and freshly there was only mention of cracked black pepper. My only on the complaint is that the bread isn't nd and served warm. 's on The appetizers ("antipasti") are . And hit and miss, taste-wise. The piz- soth zas and bruschetta are mediocre, d for but the mussels are quite good. espec- Served in an interesting departure asons, from the norm - a tomato-cream e to NATE combination broth spiked with there WOOD saffron threads - the appetizer ption makes both a good first bite for a middle: mussels-loving table to share or an entre for those with smaller sated at the intersection appetites. iam and Main Street, The main courses tend to be s certainly hard to miss. more uniform in grade. They're ick exterior is clum- not out-of-this-world amaz- inted ina pastel yellow, ing, but also fall far from flat. up only by streaks of In other words, I've never been ray paint assembled into wowed by the food, but it's acks and worn areas; always satisfying. The Cavata- ult is acorner joint that ppi con Pollo, Pumate e Pesto - s if it's falling into dis- grilled chicken breast, sundried Circus-like awnings tomatoes, pesto and cream - is he front of the building, a safe choice enjoyed by all. And g patrons eating out on with prices comparable to Olive ewalk, and the rooftop is Garden, Palio is my pick over ted with long strings of the tired chain any day. .bulbs. It all effectively The food I can brag about 's exactly what it means here, though, is the dessert. lian roadside cooking in Made fresh every day, the ivial setting." rotating list of sweet fin- ishes leaves nothing to desire. There's dense carrot cake, rich pai isth gelato, smooth panna cotta, e patio is the crunchy-creamy cannois and osest thing more. But one dessert "takes st g the cake." o Florence The tiramis is immaculate perfection. Its ladyfingers tside of Italy have soaked up just the right amount of espresso and booze and are layered between gener- ous slathers of whipped, sweet convivial it is. When I mascarpone heaven. Topped bout it, the multiple times with cocoa powder and made n to Palio have all been to to share (or not), this popular te my or a friend's birthday. Italian dessert is a must. ting is so conducive to laid- And while winter finds you nversation, drinks and noshing - obligatorily - inside, od that it's an automatic one of the most attractive offer- for such gatherings. ings at Palio otherwise is the mmediately suckered in to seasonal option to sit outside. eal ofPalio byits electron- The Palio Del Sol, the rooftop is. A trend that's becoming at Palio, is an experience that I nd more popular, the menu wholly recommend to each and sed by flipping through every University student. At no pages on the restaurant's other place inAnn Arbor can you d tablets. And besides the sip Pinot Gris and fork hot ravi- snovelty, it's alsopractical. oliunder a dimlylit patio while sh has a pop-up picture overlooking the hustle and bustle to drool over and sug- of Main Street. It's as close as my wine pairings from the mind and body can get to what I mmed-in sommelier. More- imagine dinner in Florence to be. u can sort the wine list by At the hour of a summer's dusk, rice, body and a number of there's no better place. ool features to put even the So - inside or outside - pull ovice oenophile at ease. But up a chair. Swipe through the , technology haters: The menu. Dip your bread. Pry hioned waitstaff is equally open a mussel. Savor dessert ful and knowledgeable. and, more importantly, the tart with glasses of dry friends surrounding you who at we pretend to appreci- are doing the same. Rinse (with 1 move on quickly to the wine), and on the next birth- ppealing bread and oil. As day, repeat. they don't run out right closing, Palio serves up e-made bread, which is on the outside and chewy, Wood is ordering a second tiramisu. To share, e-mail nisaacw@umich.edu