Phil-Palooza

Saturday April 1^st, the Michigan Philharmonic will conclude its 71^st season in celebration with the concert, Phil-Palooza. Community enrichment has been an unfailing goal of Michigan Philharmonic since the symphony began. Phil-Palooza will honor the importance of community engagement as well as the platform music gives to foster collaboration and unite people from all age groups, and backgrounds. To demonstrate the inclusivity of music, Phil-Palooza will feature music both kids and adults will enjoy, including Peter and the Wolf by Sergei Prokofiev, narrated by Randy Bhirdo and a Star Wars Medley, compositions by John Williams. The Michigan Philharmonic Youth Orchestra will also appear in a side-by-side performance of the symphony Finlandia, Op, 26 composed by Jean Sibelius.

To wrap up the concert, Phil-Palooza will debut the world premiere of 112 Degrees, written by Alice Gomez whose music embodies solidarity, as she embraces her heritage and the utilization of multicultural compositional techniques. And to end this successful concert series, the Plymouth Community Band, and the Michigan Philharmonic will perform together for the first time. This is a concert you, your family and friends won’t want to miss. 

A Touch of the Irish

This season, the Michigan Philharmonic has embraced and highlighted numerous compositions written by women throughout their concert series. This upcoming concert, A Touch of the Irish, will feature the Gaelic Symphony in celebration of 150 years of Amy Beach, one of America’s most influential female composers.

Did you know?

·         Amy Beach is the first American woman to succeed as a composer of large-scale works.

·         She was 7 years old when she performed her first private recital.

·         She made her debut as a concert pianist at the age of 16.

·         She founded and was the first president of the Society of American Women Composers.

·         She was the first female American composer to compose a symphony performed by  an orchestra, Gaelic Symphony.

·         She is the first American woman to perform as a soloist on her own work. 

Black History Month, Women in Music

5 Significant African-American Women Composers in Music History: 

Nora Holt (1885- 1974): An accomplished singer, composer, and music critic, she was the first African-American to receive a master’s degree in the United States.

Florence Price (1887-1953): The first African-American woman to be recognized as a symphonic composer, and have a composition played by a major orchestra. In 1932 she composed Symphony in E minor and in 1933 it was performed by Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

Shirley Graham Du Bois (1896-1977): The first African American woman to compose an opera for a major professional opera company. Tom Tom: An Epic of Music and the Negro was written and performed by The Stadium Opera Company in 1932.

Margaret Bonds (1913-1972): One of the first African-American composers and performers to gain national recognition in the United States. Some of her pieces include The Negro Speaks of Rivers (1942), and Shakespeare in Harlem (1959).

Julia Amanda Perry (1924-1979): Composer and teacher known for her fusion of black spiritual music and a neoclassical compositional style. Some of her compositions include Stabat Mater (1951) and The Cask of Amontillado (1954). Julia Perry’s Short Piece for Orchestra was recently performed by the Michigan Philharmonic as part of their Women Composer Series. 

The last composer in the series will be Alice Gomez. Her compositions integrate both ethnic tradition with the universal language of classical music. Mixing extrinsic ideologies and culture with classical music is a technique used by many composers in history who helped reshape what classical music is today. The Michigan Philharmonic will be performing the World Premier of Alice Gomez’s 112 Degrees on April 1, 2017 as part of their Phil-Palooza Concert at 7:30 in the Plymouth Arts and Recreation Complex Gym in Plymouth. 

And join us at The Village Theater at Cherry Hill in Canton this upcoming Saturday, February 11, at 7:30 for Couch Potato Pops (Favorite TV tunes) in celebration of Valentine’s weekend.  

Uke Can't Be Serious - Jim Beloff's Ukelele Concert

Discover the wonders of American Music at the Uke Can't Be Serious a Michigan Philharmonic concert held on November 12, 7:30 pm at The Village Theater at Cherry Hill in Canton.

This concert will bring various elements together that define the identity of American music. Henry Cowell's American and Irish heritage set combines folk, western and American music. Aaron Copland's Four Dance Episodes from Rodeo score demonstrates the reason he was acclaimed as a leader at defining American music.

Jim Beloff's Ukelele concert will delight and surprise you with his part in symphony music. Richard Rodgers contributions helped define the American music world by actively participating in the musical theater scene.
As a part of Michigan Philharmonic's Women Composer Series, we are featuring Julia Perry's Short Piece for Orchestra (1965). Julia Perry’s Short Piece for Orchestra is a powerful demonstration of confrontational tunes that captivates and surprises the audience. Fortunately, this piece was recorded by the New York Philharmonic in May of 1965 under conductor William Steinberg, unlike many other Perry's works that have been lost or never performed due to the many racial and prejudice issues women and African-American composers face in the musical world. Julia Perry achieved many awards overcoming many prejudices.
Let's be serious and attend "Uke Can't Be Serious", make sure to bring your Ukelele along for a strumming surprise.
"Uke Can't Be Serious"
November 12, 7:30 pm
Pre-Concert Talk at 6:45 pm
Cherry Hill Village Theater
Tickets: 734.451.2112
 

Philharmonic Phright Night

Our Annual Halloween Concert Fun

The second concert of the 2016 - 2017 season is on Saturday, October 22nd at 7:30 pm in the PARC Gym, Plymouth. This concert is guaranteed to be fun and will set the tone for your Halloween festivities.

Wear your favorite costumes, bring your children, enjoy free pop-corn and join in the fun!

Our Music Director and Conductor, Nan Washburn will once again surprise and haunt us with "scary classics" and movie sound tracks. From Bach, Berlioz, Gould to Williams, Danny Elfman and Ray Parker Jr. Maestra Nan Washburn has created a concert that features music that represents some of the best tunes used in scary and not-so scary movies. As Maestra Washburn has said before: "orchestral music for movies give composers the freedom to interpret the images and story the movie will talk about"; indeed music speaks first. A family treat for everyone.    

Don't miss this one. For tickets call us 734.451.2112 or visit www.michiganphil.org

2016 - 2017 Season "Celebrating Women Composers"

Creating a new season requires a process of creativity. The combination of theme, music, compositions, entertainment, and education are taken into consideration to shape the season. Under the leadership of Music Director and Conductor Nan Washburn, the Michigan Philharmonic has included many performances and compositions by women composers. To this date, Nan Washburn has included many performances and compositions by women composers.

The Michigan Philharmonic is proud to present our 2016-2017 Season ‘Empowering Women through music featuring Women Composers’. Opening our new season is Beethoven and Blue Jeans on Saturday October 8 at 7:30 pm, at the Village Theater on Cherry Hill Rd. in Canton. This curated concert blends joyful expectations and a connection with nature that permeates through the melodies of the three-featured pieces. Starting with Glinka’s Kamarinskaya where the traditional Russian dance folklore sets the tones for festivities. The celebration continues with Katherine Hoover’s Four Winds Flute Concerto, a piece that explores breath as the essential part of living depicting the wind at different times of the year, and is performed by our own Michigan Flute Star, Amy Porter. Closing this fantastic music experience with everyone’s favorite Beethoven’s Sixth Symphony; as Beethoven said the Sixth Symphony is "more the expression of feeling than painting".

Feel the breeze of fall with this warm bucolic season opener featuring Katherine’s Hoover Four Winds Flute Concerto.

For tickets, call 734.451.2112 or visit www.michiganphil.org

Hektor, Jane, and the Michigan Philharmonic Youth Orchestra

"My father was the first inspiration. He was a pro trumpet player” says Hektor Qyteti, our Principal second violin. He started in a musical family that inspired him to continue the music world footsteps. For Hektor, music has been part of his life since he can remember. At a very young age, Hektor wanted to play the trumpet as his father did, but at such young age, 6 ½ years old, it’s practically impossible, so he took the violin. For Hektor playing violin has been fun and he enjoys playing any note, any music and at any concert. Music is his world.

Hektor is native from Albania where he was the Concertmaster of Korce Philharmonia Orchestra, during which time he performed as soloist in the Mendelssohn, Tchaikovsky, Beethoven and other major concertos. For 10 years in Albania, he was the Music Director of the Board of Education at the prestigious Korce Tefta Tashko K-12 and High School.

Hektor also conducts the Michigan Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, “Its fun to direct the Youth Orchestra and teaching them (the children) privately". Hektor is a busy musician; he also plays the Assistant Concertmaster of the Grosse Pointe Symphony as well as other orchestras in the region such as Dearborn Symphony, Warren, Rochester and Pontiac.

It is exciting to witness how much a young person can achieve in a short period of training. “It thrills me to hear how much they accomplish in such a short period and Hektor is a great musician, who engages with the youth with so much care that the kids like to work with him”, affirms Jane Libbing, Manager of the Michigan Philharmonic Youth Orchestra and Education Coordinator. It is important for an orchestra organization to be able to channel the need of the community. The youth orchestra was created to satisfy the demand of our Plymouth Canton community. According to Libbing, “the schools were not providing enough opportunities for children to experience and make music. The demand was big”.

The League of American Orchestras and the Arts Education Partnership (AEP) have provided many researches on the topic of how music education is beneficial for children. Certainly, music is a catalyst for imaginative expression and prepares students to learn, facilitating concentration practices. According to the Arts Education Partnership (AEP) study, “music education enhances fine motor skills, improves recall and retention of verbal information, advances math achievement, improves average SAT scores, and strengthens perseverance”. For the Michigan Philharmonic organization, it is very important the realization of young children as musicians, not just as a part of another check list item, but truly the satisfaction of success that benefits our community in the long run.

The Michigan Philharmonic started its Youth Orchestra many years ago with a handful of children. Today the Orchestra hosts more than 100 children. “The need is big in our community for Youth Orchestras and ours provides the space, the energy and the quality to our youth” says Libbing. Jane has been a long time resident of Plymouth and has been very active with the Youth Orchestra since its beginning. In 2004, the Michigan Philharmonic hired her as the Education Coordinator to administer the CLASSical Music Outreach program in the schools and to manage the Michigan Philharmonic Youth Orchestra.

As Hektor experienced as a child, music can be the world.

The Michigan Philharmonic Youth Orchestra Winter Concert will be on December 8 at 7 pm at Canton’s Village Theater. For tickets call 734.451.2112 or visit www.michiganphil.org.

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Up Next:

Holiday Pops with the Phil, December 10, 6 and 8 pm at Penn Theater in Plymouth.

You can find more on Music Education at www.americanorchestras.org and www.aep-arts.org