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  • October 06

    8:00 PM
    Performance:Contemporary Directions Ensemble
    Tuesday, October 6, 8:00 PM EDT

    Jayce Ogren, conductor PROGRAM *Four Folk Songs*, Gabriela Lena Frank *Chamber Concerto No. 3: Divergence for 5 musicians*, Huang Ruo *Phonotopographie*, Zosha Di Castri *Aventures*, György Ligeti *This Land Sings*, Michael Daugherty

    • 2 hr
    Chamber Music Concert Ensemble Livestream
  • October 08

    8:00 PM
    Performance:Chamber Choir
    Thursday, October 8, 8:00 PM EDT

    Join us for a choral program showcasing U-M composers, performers, and creative partnerships. Eugene Rogers, conductor Kenneth Sieloff, graduate student conductor (Chatman) Andy Milne, piano (Milne) Jeffrey Lyman, bassoon (Recio) PROGRAM *Try to Fly*, Andy Milne Title TBA (world premiere), 2026 Brehm Composition Prize Winner *Espial*, Matthew Recio, poetry. Aminata R. Sei *It will not change*, Stephen Chatman Mass in D major, Antonín Dvořák ––– *Parking / Traffic alert for attendees:*

    • 2 hr
    Chamber Music Livestream Piano Bassoon Chorus
    10:00 PM
    Performance:Organ Encore!
    Thursday, October 8, 10:00 PM EDT

    *Organ Encore!* recitals feature the historic Frieze Memorial Organ in Hill Auditorium following select ensemble concerts. Organ faculty and students will offer 20-minute programs that elaborate upon the theme or concept of the preceding concert. On October 8, Professors Caroline Robinson and Nicole Keller will continue the Chamber Choir’s celebration of University of Michigan composers with a program featuring works of William Albright and William Bolcom, who wrote for the instrument in Hill Auditorium.

    • 20 min
    Chamber Music Concert Ensemble Livestream Recital Organ Chorus
  • October 11

    7:00 PM
    Performance:Orpheus Singers
    Sunday, October 11, 7:00 PM EDT

    The Orpheus Singers, joined by the University of Michigan Baroque Chamber Orchestra, present *Mortal Flesh, Eternal Light*, an evening exploring mortality, devotion, and transcendence through two compelling works of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Conducted by members of the graduate choral conducting studio, the program features excerpts from Dieterich Buxtehude’s deeply expressive *Membra Jesu Nostri, BuxWV 75*, alongside Joseph Martin Kraus’s dramatic *Requiem in D minor*. PROGRAM Excerpts from *Membra Jesu Nostri, BuxWV 75* Dieterich Buxtehude *Requiem in D minor* Joseph Martin Kraus

    • 2 hr
    Chamber Music Livestream Voice Orchestra Chorus
    7:00 PM
    Performance:Symphony Band Chamber Winds
    Sunday, October 11, 7:00 PM EDT

    The Symphony Band Chamber Winds presents an eclectic collection of 20th and 21st century music for a diverse array of wind, brass and percussion instruments. From new music by Rubén Gómez, Stephen Elsinger, and Kevin Day to mid-century classics by Francis Poulenc and Robert Washburn, this program explores the wide variety of musical colors offered by the instruments of the Symphony Band. Conducted by members of the graduate band conducting studio. PROGRAM *Concertino*, Robert Washburn *Portraits of Whimsy*, Stephen Elsinger *Siempre Hay Primera Vez*, Rubén Darío Gómez *Suite française*, Francis Poulenc *Symphony Basquiat*, Kevin Day

    • 2 hr
    Band Brass Chamber Music Livestream Percussion Symphony
  • October 15

    7:30 PM
    Performance:Baroque Chamber Orchestra
    Thursday, October 15, 7:30 PM EDT

    The University of Michigan’s Baroque Chamber Orchestra studies and performs repertoire from the late Renaissance, Baroque, and the early Classical periods. While directed by faculty members Aaron Berofsky, baroque violin, and Joseph Gascho, harpsichord/organ, many performances are led by the students themselves. Using period instruments and replicas from the university’s growing Stearns Collection, the musicians gain vital hands-on experience and learn about the history and context of early music and performance practice.

    • 1 hr 30 min
    Chamber Music Violin Orchestra Organ
  • October 22

    12:15 PM
    Performance:Division Street Pipes
    Thursday, October 22, 12:15 PM EDT

    SMTD's Baroque Chamber Orchestra, led by Professor Joseph Gascho, performs Cantata BWV 169 \"Gott soll allein mein Herze haben” featuring University Organist and Professor Nicole Keller, organ. Division Street Pipes concerts features talented students and faculty of the U-M Organ Department on Thursdays at 12:15pm on the Richards-Fowkes organ at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church. These 30-minute performances are free and open to the public, and audience members are invited to enjoy their lunch while listening. The series is co-sponsored by the University of Michigan Organ Department and St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in an effort to bring organ music to local audiences while connecting U-M organ students with the wider community. Concerts offer attendees the opportunity to hear the versatility of the pipe organ beyond a worship setting. *There is no recital on November 26.*

    • 30 min
    Chamber Music Concert Recital Orchestra Organ
  • October 23

    8:00 PM
    Performance:Concert Band Chamber Winds
    Friday, October 23, 8:00 PM EDT

    Join the Concert Band for its annual chamber winds concert, titled \"Painted in Fire.\" With a program featuring chamber works for brass, woodwinds and percussion, these works come together to create an electric concert including a world premiere by student composer Peter Cohn (BM '27, composition). Courtney Snyder, conductor and graduate student conductors Jennifer Hepp, Detrich Morrison-Jones, Sean Hogan, and John Mange. PROGRAM *Fanfare Canzonique*, Brian Balmages *Embers in the Black*, Kevin Poelking *Soundpainting* *Extinguish Thou My Eyes*, David Biedenbender *Fireworks* (world premiere), Peter Cohn *Double Wind Quintet*, Alfred Reed

    • 2 hr
    Band Brass Chamber Music Concert Livestream Woodwind Percussion Quintet
  • October 25

    3:00 PM

    Experience the return of the landmark 53-bell Charles Baird Carillon, which went silent this summer for replacement of the 30 largest clappers as well as a restoration of the great steel frame from which the 43 tons of bells are suspended. Guest artist Jonathan Lehrer, University Carillonist of Grand Valley State University and Michigan State University, will perform the rededication recital, beginning with the first full performance of \"The Victors\" on the Baird Carillon since the 2017 U-M Bicentennial as a duet with U-M University Carillonist Tiffany Ng. \"The Victors\" will also be livestreamed to SMTD's YouTube channel. Lehrer's program includes \"To The Sun,\" an interactive 10-minute performance for carillon and audience cell phones celebrating data from NASA's Parker Solar Probe. The U-M Frankel Detroit Observatory will coordinate a solar observation station at the base of the carillon throughout the recital, weather permitting. Their solar telescope provides magnificent views of sunspots, prominences, and more. The outdoor audience listening space is Ingalls Mall, and listeners are advised to dress for the weather. Tours of the bell chamber will begin after the conclusion of the recital around 4:00 pm. The bell chamber may be accessed via a combination of elevator and stairs, and is not ADA accessible. *This event is supported by an Arts Initiative Project Support (AIPS) grant.* GUEST ARTIST BIO JON LEHRER is the sixth University Carillonist of Michigan State University and the second University Carillonist of Grand Valley State University. A laureate of five international competitions for carillon (including the Queen Fabiola, the Nederlandse Klokkenspel Vereniging, and the Alexius Julien Baroque competitions), he is now a prolific soloist on the global stage, with a CV that includes touring overseas on behalf of the Canada Council for the Arts, teaching masterclasses at Universities across the nation, and performing hundreds of shows on the North American renaissance festival circuit. Jon studied carillon with Geert D’Hollander, Eddy Marien, Koen Cosaert, and Ellen Dickenson and holds degrees from Yale University and the Royal Carillon School of Belgium. Having recently retired from data science and cancer research, he is focused on creating moments of beauty for busy university communities, growing the carillon art, and helping to train the next generation of expressive carillon virtuosi. Jon lives in Michigan with his partner Christy and their two cat-café adoptees, Henry and Juliet.

    • 1 hr
    Chamber Music Livestream Recital Carillon
  • October 26

    7:30 PM
    Performance:Octubafest
    Monday, October 26, 7:30 PM EDT

    Octubafest is a three day celebration of music for the tuba and euphonium. The recitals for these three evenings will feature solo and chamber music performances by members of the University of Michigan Tuba Euphonium studio.

    • 1 hr 30 min
    Chamber Music Recital Tuba Euphonium
  • October 27

    7:30 PM
    Performance:Octubafest
    Tuesday, October 27, 7:30 PM EDT

    Octubafest is a three day celebration of music for the tuba and euphonium. The recitals for these three evenings will feature solo and chamber music performances by members of the University of Michigan Tuba Euphonium studio.

    • 1 hr 30 min
    Chamber Music Recital Tuba Euphonium
  • October 28

    7:30 PM
    Performance:Octubafest
    Wednesday, October 28, 7:30 PM EDT

    Octubafest is a three day celebration of music for the tuba and euphonium. The recitals for these three evenings will feature solo and chamber music performances by members of the University of Michigan Tuba Euphonium studio.

    • 1 hr 30 min
    Chamber Music Recital Tuba Euphonium
  • October 30

    5:00 PM
    Performance:String Showcase
    Friday, October 30, 5:00 PM EDT

    A monthly performance series featuring our outstanding SMTD string students as soloists and in chamber music ensembles. These young artists are selected by the faculty to perform at this prestigious event.

    • 1 hr 30 min
    Chamber Music Ensemble Livestream Strings Group
    7:30 PM
    Performance:Telegraph Quartet
    Friday, October 30, 7:30 PM EDT

    Join us for \"Movie Night\" featuring a screening of the 1924 Buster Keaton silent film, *Sherlock Jr.*, with a film score by composer Stephen Prutsman performed live by the Telegraph Quartet with recent U-M doctoral graduate, pianist Takeshi Nagayasu. The program also includes two other works influenced by film or staged works – Dimitri Shostakovich’s *Elegy* and *Polka*, and Erich Wolfgang Korngold’s String Quartet No. 3 in D Major, Op. 34. Shostakovich wrote *Elegy* and its companion piece *Polka* in a single night in 1931. *Elegy* is the transcription of a haunting aria from his opera *Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk*, while *Polka* is a version of a comical dance from his soccer-inspired ballet *The Golden Age*. These short pieces were lost for many years and not rediscovered until the 1980s when they were made available by the USSR State Copyright Agency. Korngold’s String Quartet No. 3 was his last chamber music work, completed in 1945. Korngold was one of the most influential composers in Hollywood, and in his third string quartet he quoted from his scores for films including *Between Two Worlds* (1944), *The Sea Wolf* (1941), and *Devotion* (1943). A stylistically versatile composer, Prutsman has written scores to accompany several of Buster Keaton’s silent films – many of which are decidedly comedic. For this story, which involves a dream sequence, a secret theft, a wild villain chase, and pining after a love interest, Prustman turns to an assortment of tones, rhythms, and musical techniques in order to emphasize the emotional stakes throughout the film. ABOUT TELEGRAPH QUARTET The Telegraph (Eric Chin and Joseph Maile, violins; Pei-Ling Lin, viola; Jeremiah Shaw, cello) formed in 2013 with an equal passion for standard and contemporary chamber music repertoire; they rose quickly, winning the prestigious 2016 Walter W. Naumburg Chamber Music Award and the Grand Prize at the 2014 Fischoff Chamber Music Competition. Today, they perform across the United States and abroad, at venues including New York City’s Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and Town Hall; San Francisco’s Herbst Theatre; the Philharmonie de Paris; and at festivals including the Chautauqua Institute, Music in the Vineyards in Napa Valley, and the Emilia Romagna Festival in Italy. The Telegraph Quartet released its celebrated debut album *Into the Light* in 2018 and is currently recording an extensive three-album series titled *20th Century Vantage Points* for Azica Records, exploring string quartets of the 20th century. The first volume, *Divergent Paths* (2022), features two works that (to the best of the Quartet’s knowledge) have never been recorded on the same album before: Maurice Ravel’s String Quartet in F Major and Arnold Schoenberg’s String Quartet No. 1 in D minor, Op. 7. In August 2025, the Telegraph released the second volume, *Edge of the Storm*, which examines the turbulent years of war and its aftermath from 1941-1951 through string quartets by Grażyna Bacewicz, Benjamin Britten, and Mieczysław Weinberg. Volume three will be released in fall 2027. In addition, the Telegraph released a recording of the string quartets of Robert Sirota in summer 2026 (Azica Records) and will release a recording of Kenji Bunch string quartets in spring 2027 (Phenotypic Records). Beyond the concert stage, the Telegraph Quartet seeks to spread its music through education and audience engagement. The Quartet has given master classes, served as artists-in-residence, and launched ChamberFEAST!, a chamber music workshop in Taiwan. In fall 2020, Telegraph launched an online video project called TeleLab, in which the ensemble collectively breaks down the components of a movement from various works for quartet. In the summers of 2022 and 2024, the Telegraph Quartet traveled to Vienna to work with Schoenberg expert Henk Guittart in conjunction with the Arnold Schoenberg Center, researching all of Schoenberg's string quartets.

    • 1 hr 30 min
    Chamber Music Concert Dance Ensemble Livestream Piano Strings Group Quartet Viola Violin Voice Cello
  • November 13

    8:00 PM

    Duo Dolce presents an all-American program celebrating 250 years of American music, featuring works by composers including George Gershwin, Amy Beach, and Aaron Copland, alongside music shaped by immigrant and multicultural experiences. Together, these works create an American mosaic that reflects the country’s diverse cultural heritage, voices, and musical traditions. PROGRAM Antonín Dvorák: *Silent Woods op. 68 no. 5* (1891) Aaron Copland: *Old American Songs* (1952) - *Simple Gifts*, *I Bought Me a Cat*, *At the River* Harry Bulow: *Taegeuk* for solo cello (2024) Allen McCullough: Trilogette for solo cello (2025) - *Homage - J.S.B.*, *Night Song*, *Perpetuum Mobile* Erich Korngold: Romance Impromptu in E-flat major op. posth. (1946) Chen-Yi: Romance of Hsiao and Ch’in (1995) George Gershwin (arr. Ka-Wai Yu): Three Preludes (1926) - *Allegro ben ritmato e deciso*, *Andante con moto e poco rubato*, *Allegro ben ritmato e deciso* William Grant Still: *Summerland* (1935) Elliott Bark: *An-Nyoung: Goodbye/Hello* for cello and piano (2026) Amy Beach: Romance, Op.23 (1893) ABOUT THE GUEST ARTISTS KRISTEN YEON-JI YUN is a Clinical Professor in the Department of Music in the Patti and Rusty Rueff School of Design, Art, and Performance at Purdue University. She is an active soloist, chamber musician, scholar, and clinician. She has toured internationally, performing and giving master classes in countries including Malaysia, Mexico, Spain, France, Germany, and Taiwan. Her CD *Summerland* has received excellent reviews from *New Classics UK* and *American Record Guide* and was broadcast nationwide by major radio stations such as WQXR, WCNY, WBAA, and NPR’s *Sonatas and Soundscapes*. She earned her Doctor of Music degree in cello performance in 2012 from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, where she studied with the world-renowned cellist János Starker. Yun plays a 1766 Guersan cello. PHOENIX PARK-KIM, Professor of Piano at Indiana Wesleyan University, has performed throughout the United States and internationally across Asia, Europe, and Latin America. A prizewinner in numerous competitions, she has appeared as a soloist with orchestras including the Korean Philharmonic and Atlantida Orchestra (Spain), performing concertos by Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Rachmaninoff, Hummel, and Florence Price. A passionate advocate for African-American composers, she has received a Lilly Research Grant and special congressional recognition. Dr. Park-Kim is a sought-after clinician and adjudicator whose students have earned regional and national honors, including MTNA National Competition finalist placements.

    • 1 hr 30 min
    Chamber Music Concert Piano Voice Cello Orchestra
  • November 15

    4:00 PM

    These ensembles are part of the Michigan Youth Ensembles program, which brings together exceptional high school and middle school students for weekly rehearsals at SMTD. The Michigan Youth Chamber Singers (MYCS) is a select SATB choir composed of outstanding vocalists from across the region. Students interact with U-M SMTD faculty and graduate students to perform challenging standard chamber choir repertoire. MYCS is open to advanced high-school aged singers. Matthew Abernathy, conductor The Michigan Youth Treble Singers (MYTS) is a select treble choir composed of outstanding middle school vocalists from across the region. Students interact with U-M SMTD faculty and students to perform repertoire from a wide variety of styles and time periods. MYTS is open to middle-school aged singers with unchanged voices. Julie Skadsem, conductor PROGRAM (MYCS): *Underneath the Stars*, arr. Clements *The King Shall Rejoice* (movement 1), Handel *Adinu*, Abu-Khader *Look Down, Fair Moon*, Mari Esabel Valverde *Tres Cantos Nativos dos Indios Krao*, Marcos Leite

    • 1 hr 30 min
    Chamber Music Ensemble Voice Chorus
  • November 17

    8:00 PM

    WORLD PREMIERE Composer Theodore Wiprud and librettist Richard Wesley have created an oratorio examining a widespread expression of racism in America, documented in the landmark book *Sundown Towns* by the late sociologist and historian James Loewen. Conducted by Director of University Choirs Eugene Rogers, *Don’t Let the Sun*, for chorus, vocal soloists, and orchestra, will run approximately 90 minutes (plus intermission). It tells the story of “sundown towns” where residents drove out or actively excluded specific groups from residing there (from being in a town after sunset) through ordinances, signs, and acts of violence. Sundown towns excluded Black people, and in some cases, Chinese Americans, Jewish people, Native Americans, Latinas/os and other racialized groups. Since the 19th century these towns have been prevalent throughout the U.S. and especially in the Midwest, West, and East. These policies did not completely disappear over time. The attitudes that drove them morphed into housing “covenants,” redlining, discrimination within the post-war FHA and discrimination in the granting of bank loans. The results of these decisions and policies haunt our country to this very day. *Don’t Let the Sun* will shine a light on this difficult chapter in America’s ever-expanding history, and help audiences engage productively with “hard” histories. Mr. Loewen’s *Sundown Towns: A Hidden Dimension of American Racism* is the definitive history of these phenomena. Another source is the “History and Social Justice” website launched by Dr. Loewen, which has had nearly one million visitors over the last three years, and continues to amass cases and first-hand accounts. Librettist Richard Wesley’s text is inspired by the voices of individuals impacted by sundown towns and more recent policies, examining the harm experienced by both the excluded and the excluders; and recent efforts by many sundown towns to reckon with their past and shape a better future. ––– *Parking / Traffic alert for attendees:* ABOUT THE GUEST ARTISTS THEODORE WIPRUD is a composer, an educator, and a researcher on the musical community’s work toward equity and inclusion. Many of his works address social issues, including vocal works like *American Journal* (Robert Hayden) and *A Georgia Song* (Maya Angelou); and orchestral works like his Violin Concerto *“Katrina”; Wind of Many Voices*, responding to the troubled history of South Dakota; and a second Violin Concerto *“on the brink”* exploring climate grief and climate action. RICHARD WESLEY is a playwright and screenwriter whose many plays deal with social-historical moments. He wrote the libretto for Anthony Davis’ Pulitzer Prize-winning opera *Central Park Five*. Mr. Wesley has received numerous awards including the NAACP Image Award for Best Picture (for *Uptown Saturday Night*) and the National Black Theater Festival’s August Wilson Playwright Award. He teaches at New York University.

    • 2 hr
    Chamber Music Concert Violin Voice Orchestra Chorus
  • November 19

    7:30 PM
    Performance:Baroque Chamber Orchestra
    Thursday, November 19, 7:30 PM EST

    The University of Michigan’s Baroque Chamber Orchestra studies and performs repertoire from the late Renaissance, Baroque, and the early Classical periods. While directed by faculty members Aaron Berofsky, baroque violin, and Joseph Gascho, harpsichord/organ, many performances are led by the students themselves. Using period instruments and replicas from the university’s growing Stearns Collection, the musicians gain vital hands-on experience and learn about the history and context of early music and performance practice.

    • 1 hr 30 min
    Chamber Music Violin Orchestra Organ
  • November 21

    7:30 PM
    Performance:Telegraph Quartet
    Saturday, November 21, 7:30 PM EST

    Acclaimed Telegraph Quartet, now in residency at the School of Music, Theatre & Dance, performs a recital. ABOUT TELEGRAPH QUARTET Erin Chin & Joseph Maile, violins Pei-Ling Lin, viola Jeremiah Shaw, cello The TELEGRAPH QUARTET formed in 2013 with an equal passion for standard and contemporary chamber music repertoire. Described by the *San Francisco Chronicle* as “…an incredibly valuable addition to the cultural landscape” and “powerfully adept… with a combination of brilliance and subtlety,” the Telegraph Quartet was awarded the prestigious 2016 Walter W. Naumburg Chamber Music Award and the Grand Prize at the 2014 Fischoff Chamber Music Competition. The quartet is currently the quartet-in-residence at the University of Michigan. The quartet has performed in New York City’s Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, San Francisco’s Herbst Theatre, the San Francisco Conservatory of Music’s *Chamber Masters Series*, and at festivals including the Chautauqua Institute, Kneisel Hall Chamber Music Festival, and the Emilia Romagna Festival. They have collaborated with pianists Leon Fleisher and Simone Dinnerstein; cellists Norman Fischer and Bonnie Hampton; violinist Ian Swensen; and the St. Lawrence Quartet and Henschel Quartett. A fervent champion of 20th- and 21st-century repertoire, the Telegraph Quartet has premiered works by Osvaldo Golijov, John Harbison, Robert Sirota, and Richard Festinger. In 2023, the Telegraph Quartet released *20th Century Vantage Points: Divergent Paths*, the first in a trilogy of recordings on Azica Records exploring the string quartets of the first half of the 20th century – an era of music that the group has felt especially called to perform since its formation. *Divergent Paths* features two works that (to the best of the quartet’s knowledge) have never been recorded on the same album before: Maurice Ravel’s String Quartet in F Major and Arnold Schoenberg’s String Quartet no. 1 in D minor, op. 7. The quartet’s new album, *20th Century Vantage Points: Edge of the Storm* is out now on Azica Records.

    • 2 hr
    Chamber Music Dance Livestream Piano Recital Strings Group Quartet Viola Violin Cello
  • November 22

    7:00 PM
    Performance:Orpheus Singers
    Sunday, November 22, 7:00 PM EST

    The Orpheus Singers performs a program of choral works conducted by members of the graduate choral conducting studio. The concert concludes with *The Promise of America*, presented in collaboration with the Department of Musical Theatre. *The Promise of America* is a song cycle written for choir, soloists, and chamber orchestra by Kim D. Sherman (music/ vocal arrangements) and Christine Toy Johnson (words) that illuminates the impact of various constitutional amendments on the American people. Aiming to inspire the upholding of the U.S. Constitution as the cornerstone of American democracy, included are reflections on the freedom of speech, marriage equality, public school funding, prohibition, voting rights, Presidential term limits, due process, ramifications of the Second Amendment, and more. PROGRAM *I Can Tell the World*, arr. Moses Hogan *Plain-Chant for America*, William Grant Still *Frostiana*, Randall Thompson *The Promise of America*, Christine Toy Johnson, Kim D. Sherman

    • 2 hr
    Chamber Music Concert Voice Orchestra Chorus
  • December 01

    8:00 PM
    Performance:Chamber Music Recital
    Tuesday, December 1, 8:00 PM EST

    Students perform a chamber music recital, presented by the Department of Chamber Music.

    • 1 hr 30 min
    Chamber Music Livestream Recital
  • March 21

    4:00 PM
    Performance:Michigan Youth Chamber Singers
    Sunday, March 21, 4:00 PM EDT

    The Michigan Youth Chamber Singers (MYCS) is a select SATB choir composed of outstanding vocalists from across the region. Students interact with U-M SMTD faculty and graduate students to perform challenging standard chamber choir repertoire. MYCS is open to advanced high-school aged singers as part of the Michigan Youth Ensembles program.

    • 1 hr 30 min
    Chamber Music Ensemble Voice Chorus