Saturday Evening,Michigan April Theater 14, 2018 at 8:00 Ann Arbor SORROW Alto and Bass ;Mezzo-Soprano Contrabass Violin Megan Stetson / / Amanda Lo / Violin Caleb Burhans / / Tenor andTenor Baritone , Saxophones, Clarinet Clarinet Dan Bennett / Guitars Andrew BishopGrey Mcmurray / /Guitars Ryan FerreiraKeyboards, / EVI Justin Walter / Synthesizers Shahzad Ismaily / Drums Greg Fox /

85th Performance of the 139th Annual Season This evening’s performance is funded in part by the Building Audiences for Sustainability initiative of The Wallace Foundation. Media partnership provided by Metro Times and WEMU 89.1 FM. Special thanks to Paul Feeny, Michael Gould, Jonathan Kuuskoski, Ingrid Racine, Caitlin Taylor, U-M EXCEL, and the U-M Center for World Performance Studies for their participation in events surrounding this evening’s performance. Sorrow appears by arrangement with The Billions Corporation. In consideration of the artists and the audience, please refrain from the use of electronic devices during the performance. The photography, sound recording, or videotaping of this performance is prohibited. PROGRAM

Sorrow — A Reimagining of Górecki’s Third Symphony

Henryk Górecki Symphony No. 3, “Symphony of Sorrowful Songs” Lento — Sostenuto tranquillo ma cantabile Lento e Largo — Tranquillissimo Lento — Cantabile-semplice

This evening’s concert is performed without intermission.

3 THE SPACE WHERE YOU USED TO BE by Doyle Armbrust

I don’t want to write these words. and he opened it up. Or, conversely, when I knew I’d be Columbine was the defining school covering Colin Stetson this season, tragedy of my childhood. Ever since I was over the moon. Forgive the then, the voices of the victim’s caveat, but as a music journalist, parents have always haunted me my mailbox is jammed with dozens well beyond the moment the story of albums every week…but Colin’s escapes the news cycle. Though records remain at or near the top of the brave speeches and interviews the pile, ever since I laid hands on a with surviving students at Stoneman copy of his New History of Warfare, Douglas offer a glimmer of hope that Vol. 1 (2008). maybe this time it will be different, So I finally get the opportunity to and that change is peeking out from cover an artist whose creativity cuts its dark cell, it’s the parents — those glass — that continues to startle and most acutely left behind — that level inspire me. me. Tributes and policy change are And then Stoneman Douglas sends vital…but there remain those that will us all reeling. live out the rest of their years with a At this point in our country’s history, blank space that a child was meant UMS could have thrown a dart at the to fill. calendar when considering a piece about the loss of children and it Movement 1: “Lento — Sostenuto would have coincided with a mass tranquillo ma cantabile” shooting. That’s not what prompted this concert, or this re-imagining of “To be honest, it seems to be getting Górecki’s iconic Third Symphony, harder. I keep looking for him. I reach out but I’ll bet that I’m not the only one for him. I keep thinking he’s here and can’t reckoning with this excruciating understand why he’s not.” reality as we encounter this exquisite —mother of six-year-old Sandy Hook piece. Elementary School victim Why, in 1992, did the Nonesuch Records release of this symphony Even if your religious beliefs trend miraculously sell a million copies? elsewhere, or not at all, there is Maybe because pain is the one something universal uncovered in existential element we are all assured the story of the mother, Mary, and of sharing in this lifetime. Maybe fated son, Jesus, which provides the because one thing we can all agree launch point for Górecki’s lament. The upon is that there is no analogue moment of intimacy between them, for the loss of a child. Those that as he staggers under the burden of have experienced it cannot possibly his crucifix, is so movingly captured translate its depth, and yet those that in Haydn’s Seven Last Words of Christ, have not have no trouble empathizing but here we enter more tenebrous with it. Górecki just found the vein, emotional territory. Colin’s sooty

4 reeds moan into view, ushering in low Górecki’s Third, and perhaps the most strings and woodwinds to this dirge. heartbreaking. There is something There is a solemnity evident here, so hopeful about an ascending major and yet the steady progression of the third, and something equally resigned assembling voices reveals that this is about its settling back a step lower. not the first time this song has been Hope seems so dangerous in this sung. The pain is singular — the tears realm, but also so necessary if we are unlike any that have ever flowed — but to carry on. When they emerge, Colin’s the tune is unfortunately a familiar one. sax and the synths embody an almost One detail of Colin’s records that Angelo Badalamenti-esque aesthetic, draws me in is that his human-ness magnifying the potency of this dire is left intact. His breath is a feature, supplication to Mary. Rich vibrations rather than something to be deleted in the guitar and strings provide the by an engineer, which brings the foil for the incremental rises and falls listener closer to live performance in the doleful vocal line before the than albums typically allow. The music, and our thoughts return to the vulnerability of this Third Symphony expectant ‘E’ – ‘G-sharp’ – ‘F-sharp,’ — what makes it so captivating and with it, a propulsive beat from — is honored by his ensemble’s the percussion. Perhaps there is interpretation, even enhanced with catharsis to be found amidst all this the dramatics of splashing cymbals despair. and sublimated blast beats in the drums. Though illuminated through Movement 3: “Lento — these interpretive filters, Górecki’s Cantabile-semplice” reverential economy of means is undisturbed. This writing, and “One of the hardest things to accept, for this reinvention, move beyond the me, is that this horrible way of feeling is liturgical to something altogether the new normal.” more beautifully crude. More raw, and —mother of 31-year-old Pulse nightclub more riveting, and Colin’s coda is pure victim scorched earth. It was understandably assumed Movement 2: “Lento e largo — that Górecki’s Third Symphony was Tranquillissimo” instigated by the horrors of the for Gérard Lemaître Second World War. According to the composer it wasn’t, but neither “I am broken as I write this trying to figure was this project born out of our too- out how my family gets through this… frequent mass slayings of students. hold your children tight.” It just fits, because loss of this —father of 14-year-old Marjory magnitude is a possibility, or current Stoneman Douglas victim reality, for us all. This third movement is in some The rising ‘E’ – ‘G-sharp’ descending ways the most transformed of the to ‘F-sharp’…to my mind, this is three, in Colin’s interpretation. the most memorable figure from The drums again shift forward in

5 the orchestration, building to a frenetic intensity before the arrival of the revelatory key of A Major that concludes the piece. “And you, God’s little flowers / May you blossom all around / So that my son / May sleep happily,” implores the soprano. This is real life. This is a winsome spring morning seen trickling through the sieve of rapacious grief. It is beauty, attenuated, but beauty nonetheless. It is the best we can hope for.

Doyle Armbrust is a Chicago-based violist and member of the Spektral Quartet. He is a contributing writer for WQXR’s Q2 Music, Crain’s Chicago Business, Chicago Magazine, Chicago Tribune, and formerly, Time Out Chicago.

6 ARTISTS

Colin Stetson (alto and bass saxophones; and /pop cultural spheres: contrabass clarinet) was born and “pure revelation” according to All About raised in Ann Arbor, spent a decade in Jazz, the album was shortlisted for the San Francisco and honing his , and landed on year- formidable talents as a horn player, and end lists at , Tiny Mix Tapes, eventually settled in in 2007. SPIN, and the Village Voice. His frequent Over the years he has worked extensively appearances on stages at SXSW, All live and in-studio with a wide range Tomorrow’s Parties, and countless stops of bands and musicians including Tom on the international jazz festival circuit Waits, , , TV On The cemented his reputation as a versatile Radio, Feist, , , and virtuosic player while bringing Bill Laswell, , The Chemical his solo work to a broad international Brothers, , Hamid audience. April 2013 saw the release of Drake, LCD Soundsystem, The National, New History Warfare Vol. 3: To See More , Fink, and David Gilmore. Light via Constellation, completing the Meanwhile, he has developed an utterly conceptual and narrative arc of the series unique voice as a soloist, principally on and constituting a definitive realization saxophones and , his intense of his unparalleled musicianship and technical prowess matched by his stunning skill as a composer. It has been exhilarating and emotionally gripping skills received with exemplary recognition and as a songwriter. Mr. Stetson’s astounding was shortlisted for the Polaris Music Prize. physical engagement with his instruments April 2015 saw the release of the first (chiefly bass and alto saxophones) recording of his duo project with long-time produces emotionally rich and polyphonic collaborator . Never Were compositions that transcend expectations the Way She Was charts an expansive of what solo horn playing can sound like. sonic trajectory with a multiplicity of Mr. Stetson is equally at home in the avant structures and voicings that belies the jazz tradition of players who have pushed fundamental economy of two acoustic the boundaries of the instrument through instruments combining in real time. The , embouchure, etc. (i.e. resulting musical chronicle powerfully Evan Parker, Mats Gustafsson) and at the establishes its own spatial and temporal nexus of noise/drone/minimalist music horizon; Mr. Stetson and Ms. Neufeld offer that encompasses genres like dark metal, up an impressively immersive integration post-rock, and contemporary electronics of composition, performance, timbre, and (i.e. , Ben Frost — both of texture. Never Were the Way She Was is whom have mixed or remixed Mr. Stetson’s a sum quite definitively and thrillingly recordings). greater than its parts. In 2008 Aagoo Records released Mr. Stetson’s debut, the first in his New History Currently residing in the San Francisco Warfare album cycle. New History Warfare Bay Area, Megan Stetson (mezzo-soprano) Vol. 2: Judges arrived via Constellation in is an active performer nationally and spring 2011. The album met with universal internationally in the classical realm, as acclaim from critics across a spectrum of well as in musical theater and dance.

7 She has performed over 25 lead and Rebecca Foon (cello) is a Montreal-based supporting operatic and musical roles, cellist, best known as co-founder of including the title role of Bizet’s Carmen contemporary chamber group and the role of Princess Betsy in the US and member of Thee Silver Mt. Zion, West Coast premiere of Anna Karenina , and most recently by David Carlson. Saltland. Ms. Foon has also collaborated with the likes of , Islands, Amanda Lo (violin) is a multi-genre , , Land acoustic and electric violinist currently Of Kush, and , and played based between New York and . concerts alongside , Warren She moved to New York in 2007 to attend Ellis, and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. New York University and study with She is also a co-founder along with Jesse Stephanie Chase, earning her bachelor’s Paris Smith of Pathway to Paris, a series of degree in violin performance in 2011. She concerts highlighting the importance of has collaborated with artists including establishing a legally binding agreement Andrew Bird, Bill Whelan, Björk, The on climate in the lead-up to the United Dillinger Escape Plan, Efterklang, Guards, Nations climate talk in Paris in December Goldfrapp, Harry Connick Jr., JJ Lin (林俊 2015. 傑), Judith Hill, Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin, Mono, Natalia Lafourcade, Paul Simon, Dan Bennett (tenor and baritone Pink, Pink Martini, Ra Ra Riot, Rihanna, and saxophones, clarinet) is a saxophonist Sufjan Stevens. She has also appeared currently residing in Ann Arbor. He has on America’s Got Talent, The Late Show toured extensively in the US and Europe with Stephen Colbert, Mozart in the Jungle, with the band Nomo and is an active Saturday Night Live, and The Tonight Show member of the Ann Arbor/Detroit music Starring Jimmy Fallon. community. Currently, he performs and records regularly in Ann Arbor, Detroit, and Called “New York’s mohawked Mozart” Chicago with various artists as well as by Time Out New York, Caleb Burhans leading his own ensembles. (violin) is a composer and performer. His commissions include , Andrew Bishop (clarinet and tenor , Library of Congress, and saxophone) is a versatile multi- the . In 2009 he became an instrumentalist, composer, improviser, Annenberg Fellow recipient. Mr. Burhans educator, and scholar comfortable in is a founding member of , many musical idioms. He maintains an itsnotyouitsme, Ensemble Signal, Wordless international career and serves as an Music Orchestra, and is also a member of associate professor and chair of jazz ACME and Newspeak. In 2013 his debut and contemporary improvisation at the album Evensong was one of NPR’s “Top University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Mr. 10 Classical Albums of the Year.” As a Bishop’s three recordings as a leader conductor, he has worked with the have received widespread acclaim Sinfonietta and the Wordless Music from national and international journals. Orchestra. As a composer and arranger, he has received over 30 commissions, numerous residencies and awards, and recognition

8 from the American Society of Composers, Although known primarily as a bass Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP); the player, Shahzad Ismaily (synthesizers) Chicago Symphony Orchestra; the Andrew plays a variety of instruments, including W. Mellon Foundation; the National electronic and double bass, guitar, banjo, Endowment for the Arts; and a nomination accordion, ,percussion, and electronic from the American Academy of Arts and instruments such as Moog synthesizers. Letters. He earned five degrees in music He is a member of the band Ceramic Dog including a DMA in music composition by , and , and from the University of Michigan. Mr. Bishop has collaborated with Laurie Anderson, is a Conn-Selmer and Vandoren artist. Lou Reed, John Zorn, Jolie Holland, Laura Veirs, Bonnie Prince Billy, Faun Fables, Grey Mcmurray (guitars) has performed Elysian Fields, Shelley Hirsch, Will Oldham, and recorded with the likes of Meshell , Bill Frisell, Guillermo E. Brown, Ndegeocello, Tyondai Braxton, Graham Haynes, David Krakauer, and Billy John Cale, Gil Scott Heron, the BBC Martin. He recently opened the beautiful Symphony Orchestra, and the American Figure 8 Studios in Brooklytn, where Contemporary Music Ensemble. He co- Sorrow was recorded. leads itsnotyouitsme with Caleb Burhans, and Tongues In Trees with Samita Sinha Greg Fox’s (drums) prolificacy is only and Sunny Jain. He is also a frequent eclipsed by his adaptability; from the collaborator of Sō Percussion. His ambition American black metal torchbearer, Liturgy, is to provoke joyful tears in strangers’ eyes to the minimalist soundscapes of Ben everyday. Frost’s A U R O R A, Mr. Fox’s malleable style always comes across confident and Ryan Ferreira (guitars) has played with on-point. Mr. Fox’s drumming adds raw, Ralph Alessi, Sam Amidon, Bill Frisell, concussive energy, reminiscent of Alarm Will Sound, Aaron Parks, Dave King, John Bonham or Keith Moon in their Loren Stillman, and Ted Poor. He has been heyday, while his avant-garde instinct a regular part of Tim Berne’s bands for the adds complexity and fluidity throughout last few years and is also a regular part of any recording. His eclectic discography is Chris Dingman’s band. He has played on probably due to the duality of his nature. over 40 recordings and recently recorded His demeanor is both relaxed and intense. with David Torn. He released his first solo His playing is calculated, yet free-form. In record in 2011 and now lives in Seattle. short, Mr. Fox is an enigma — a force of percussive nature. Justin Walter (keyboards, EVI) was born and raised in Ann Arbor. His most recent musical explorations are centered around the Electronic Valve Instrument, a rare wind- controlled analog synthesizer. He performs regularly as a jazz trumpeter, and records and releases music that encompasses his love of acoustic and electronic sounds, most recently the album Lullabies and Nightmares, on the Kranky label.

9 UMS ARCHIVES

This evening’s performance marks U-M alumnus and Ann Arbor native Colin Stetson’s third UMS appearance, following his UMS debut in January 2014 in the Arthur Miller Theatre. Justin Walter makes his fourth UMS appearance this evening and Dan Bennett makes his second UMS appearance this evening, following their UMS debuts in April 2010 in the Michigan Theater with Nomo, as the opening band for Baaba Maal. Mr. Walter most recently appeared under UMS auspices in January 2014 with Colin Stetson. Andrew Bishop makes his second UMS appearance this evening, following his UMS debut in November 2010 as part of the ONCE Festival in Rackham Auditorium. UMS welcomes the rest of this evening’s artists as they make their UMS debuts tonight.

10

TONIGHT'S VICTOR FOR UMS:

The Wallace Foundation

Supporter of this evening’s performance of Sorrow.

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Tickets available at www.ums.org.

ON THE EDUCATION HORIZON…

4/19 UMS 101, Dance/Theater: Cold Blood (Power Center Green Room, 5:30 pm) Paid registration required; please visit bit.ly/UMSClasses to register.

4/19 Post-Performance Q&A: Cold Blood (Power Center, 121 Fletcher Street) Must have a ticket to that evening’s performance to attend.

Educational events are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted.