Blog Post
Meet The Audio Visual Synthesizer From Bleep Labs -- Available Now
by Employee 37
Checkout our newest Music Tool, the HSS3jb Audio Visual Synthesizer, hand made in Austin Texas by Bleep Labs. This little instrument produces both audio and visual distortions reminiscent of a seriously malfunctioning Atari 2600. We've cased it with a mini projector to let you beam your creations onto walls, ceilings, friends, pets - the possibilities are endless. There's no wrong way to play the HSS3jb, so experiment and have fun. Also, starting today select Music Tools from our Stuff Shelf will be available at the branches, another great reason to visit.
Blog Post
UMS Night School: 100 Years Of UMS At Hill Auditorium: Session 6: Sing Out: Soloists At Hill
by hillary dorwart
Monday February 4, 2013: 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm -- Downtown Library: Multi-Purpose Room
Musical luminaries have lit up the stage at Hill Auditorium for over 100 years. In Session 6, we explore some of the great soloists (like Vladimir Horowitz, Leontyne Price, Enrico Caruso, Cecilia Bartoli, and Sergei Rachmaninoff) that have cemented University Musical Society's identity as a top-notch, world-class performing arts presenter.
Professor Mark Clague joins us again as host and resident scholar.
Blog Post
UMS Night School: 100 Years Of UMS At Hill Auditorium: Session 5: Global Beats in the Aisles
by hillary dorwart
Monday January 28, 2013: 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm -- Downtown Library: Multi-Purpose Room
Over the years, the University Musical Society has turned Hill Auditorium into a global stage. Session 5 explores UMS's history of global music performances at Hill Auditorium, including a recent performance by Mexico's Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlan and the upcoming one by Benin's Angelique Kidjo.
This season of Night School focuses on 100 years of UMS at Hill Auditorium. Professor Mark Clague joins us again as host and resident scholar.
Blog Post
Confessions of an Elder-in-Training
by iralax
Join this unique interactive take on the passage of time we’re all trying to understand and make the most of. Local musician and workshop leader Jeanne Mackey offers a rare blend of emotional intensity, wry humor, and social commentary as she shares stories, songs, and reflections on the aging process. This adventurous gathering will be at the Downtown Library on Wed., Jan. 30, 7-8:30 pm.
Blog Post
Cinema Night Special: Discover Something Different
by mariah
Looking to discover something unusual in the world of film? Start your weekend off with something different!
From 7-9pm on Friday, January 18, at the Downtown Library, Cinema Night Special offers you a chance to catch a 70-minute feature, a shorter experimental film, and live music in between, along with free popcorn!
The evening will start with the area premiere of the suspense-filled 2012 German short film Pro Kopf (The Maid). Ann Arbor's No Excuses Band then take the stage to play a set of originals and covers ranging from classic rock to folk and pop.
2008's critically-acclaimed Somers Town, a Best Film nominee at the British Independent Film Awards, will round out the night. This warmhearted portrait of an unlikely friendship between two boys which Empire Magazine called "beautifully modulated" with an "improvised feel, sparky comedy and interest in the truth of youth (that) services a story that's both winning and winsome."
Don't miss this special evening of experimental film and live music!
Blog Post
UMS Night School: 100 Years Of UMS At Hill Auditorium: Session 4: Jazz In the Hall
by hillary dorwart
Monday January 14, 2013: 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm -- Downtown Library: Multi-Purpose Room
This season of UMS Night School sessions is dedicated to celebrating the 100 years of the University Musical Society at Hill Auditorium. Professor Mark Clague will lead this session and explore the history of jazz performances of Hill Auditorium and will touch on the venue's upcoming jazz tribute from Detroit's Cass Corridor.
Blog Post
Delightful Audiobook for Kids
by skcramer
Did you ever want to learn to play the piano?
That’s what ten-year-old Zoe Elias wants more than anything in the world, but when her father brings home an organ rather than an elegant baby grand, Zoe’s dreams of playing concerts at Carnegie Hall are replaced with competing in the local Perform-O-Rama organ competition. It may not be what Zoe expected, but she just might find it a crooked kind of perfect.
Linda Urban’s debut novel, set here in Michigan, is funny and poignant and hopeful as it chronicles Zoe’s musical dreams, her quirky family and her lost and found friendships. Give A Crooked Kind of Perfect a listen.
Blog Post
On This Day in History--January 8th: Elvis Presley was born in 1935
by nicole
Elvis Presley was born today on January 8th, 1935 in Tupelo, Mississippi. Known to many as the King of Rock and Roll, Elvis got his start in the music industry singing for Sam Phillips, the owner of Sun Records, in 1954. Phillips, who had hoped to find someone who could do justice to the songs and sound of African-American musicians and provide those songs with a broader audience, took Presley under his wing and had him record a few cover songs that made their way onto the radio. They were an instant and overwhelming hit.
Elvis went on to become one of the most important artists in 20th century pop culture and the best-selling solo artist in the history of popular music, releasing dozens of albums and singles, including From Elvis in Memphis and Elvis's Christmas Album. His unique voice, style, and his interpretations of songs from African-American sources made him a wildly popular and highly controversial figure. He made his film debut in Love Me Tender in 1956 and continued to appear in many other films in the years following. Nominated for 14 Grammys, he won three, and received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award at age 36. He has been inducted into multiple music halls of fame.
Follow the links and you'll find many of Elvis's albums (and a few biographies!) in AADL's collection.
Related Posts:
Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti Reads Event: Film & Discussion: Blacking Up: Hip-Hop's Remix of Race and Identity
Blog Post
Performance Network: "Brill"
by annevm
Performance Network in downtown Ann Arbor is staging Brill, a comedy by David Wells from Jan. 10-Feb. 10. Music is by Frank Allison. The play is a comedy set in 1959 when a Big Band songwriter facing the arrival of Rock n'Roll meets a young woman who has a guitar, secrets and dreams. The title "Brill" refers to a building in Manhattan. More information and tickets are here.
Blog Post
YPT: "Fiddler on the Roof"
by annevm
Young Peoples Theater is staging Fiddler on the Roof Jan. 10-13 at U-M Lydia Mendelssohn Theater. The show is based on the book by Joseph Stein with lyrics by Sheldon Harnick and music by Jerry Block. Ticket information is here