Music, Theatre, and the Arts
On Campus
The University Musical Society hosts approximately 75 performances and provides more than 150 educational events each season. Visiting performers or artists in residence scheduled for the 2007-08 season include the San Francisco Symphony, Yo-Yo Ma, Madeleine Peyroux, Youssou N’Dour, Bobby McFerrin, Wynton Marsalis, Caetano Veloso, and the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet. Please visit the University Musical Society's website (www.ums.org) for a complete schedule and information about student discounts. Other annual events in the city include Handel's Messiah in December and the Summer Festival, a month of live dramatic, dance, and musical performances along with nightly cinema under the stars.
The University's Office of Major Events books many national performers, including such diverse acts as Smashing Pumpkins, Bill Maher, Blues Traveler, Morrissey, Chris Rock, BB King, George Clinton, Ani DiFranco, Bruce Springsteen, and the annual Ann Arbor Folk Festival. The office also handles a wide variety of dance concerts, dramatic presentations, and recitals that are produced by both students and professionals within the University.
The School of Music offers many free concerts by orchestras, choirs, bands, and faculty and student chamber ensembles and soloists.
Other University theatre groups include the Residential College Players, which is an independent student dramatic group; the University of Michigan Department of Theater and Drama, performs four to five dramatic works or comedies per season; the University of Michigan Gilbert and Sullivan Society, organizational meetings at the start of fall and winter terms; and the University of Michigan Musical Theater Program, which performs two musicals per season.
An array of jazz greats visit campus under the auspices of the University Activities Center's Eclipse Jazz student organization. Recent visiting artists have included Art Blakey, George Winston, Bobby McFerrin, and Maceo Parker.
The University's Museum of Art sponsors frequently changing exhibitions, as well as a chamber music series. Other museums and collections on the campus include the Kelsey Museum of Ancient and Medieval Archaeology; the Museum of Paleontology, Anthropology, and Zoology; the Stearns Collection of Historic Musical Instruments; the Eva Jessye Collection of Afro-American Music; the Clements Library of Americana; and the Matthaei Botanical Gardens.
Off Campus
Ann Arbor's performing arts groups offer professional dance, theatre, and music. The Performance Network not only sponsors dance, music, and dramatic performances but also shows works of art in its gallery. The Kerrytown Concert House features regionally and nationally known classical, jazz, and avant-garde artists. Chelsea's Purple Rose Theatre Company mainly produces new works by western writers, performed by members of the Actors Guild. And, Ypsilanti's Riverside Art Center hosts numerous theatrical events as well as dance, drum, and yoga classes. The Ann Arbor Civic Theater offers a range of popular Broadway shows and welcomes Michigan law students as cast members. The Brecht Company produces experimental drama. The Ann Arbor Symphony produces an exciting season each year, often with guest artists, and Ars Musica, the city's baroque orchestra, performs both locally and nationally. Local nightspots feature nationally known jazz and blues artists. The Ark, the oldest nonprofit folk music club in the country, brings folk music, blues, jazz, and women's music to Ann Arbor.
The city's many galleries and museums exhibit shows of variety and depth. Artists from New York, Chicago, and other cities show their work; local artists are also represented. Several galleries exhibit avant-garde pieces that challenge thought and vision. One gallery devotes itself entirely to Eskimo art. A short drive from town brings one to the Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village; a few miles farther lies the Detroit Institute of Arts, which holds one of the nation's largest and finest collections of visual arts and sponsors exciting film and performance art presentations.
Ann Arbor boasts numerous movie theaters and film cooperatives, which show first-run, "cult," and classic films. The Michigan Theater, owned by the city, is an exquisite golden movie palace restored to its original Silent Era splendor. A Wurlitzer organ rises dramatically out of the floor for recitals between shows. Each year, the theater hosts the 8mm Film Festival, which brought director Lawrence Kasdan, among others, his first public notice when a student at the University. The theater also sponsors a drama series and brings a variety of performing artists to its stage.
Movie Theaters in the Ann Arbor Area
This listing highlights a hand-full of the movie theaters in the Ann Arbor Area.
Comedy Clubs in the Ann Arbor Area
Ann Arbor Comedy Showcase
Be sure to visit the Ann Arbor Comedy Showcase, a local stop on the national comedy circuit hailed by Rolling Stone as the best comedy club between the coasts.
Improv Inferno
Improv Inferno features various improv theme events along with student competitions.
Second City Detroit
Second City Detroit offers a hilarious blend of sketches, songs, and improvisation -- an evening at The Second City Detroit always contains a mix of local satire and comedy pulled straight from national headlines.
Festivals in the Ann Arbor Area
Ann Arbor Art Fair
Be sure to visit the Ann Arbor Art Fair which takes over the streets of Ann Arbor for four days each year in late July. Media represented include printmaking, painting, ceramics, woodworking, leather, stained and blown glass, fiber and fabric, jewelry, photography, sculpture, and metals. The Art Fair, really a collaboration of four art fairs, attracts artist from many countries as well as visitors from around the world.
Ann Arbor Blues and Jazz Festival
The Ann Arbor Blues and Jazz Festival is a weekend in September of great music in a variety of venues, centered around open-air shows at Gallup Park.
Ann Arbor Film Festival
Established in 1963, this internationally-renowned festival is the oldest of its kind in North America. The Ann Arbor Film Festival is held annually in early March at the Michigan Theater and usually receives approximately 1000 entries.
Ann Arbor Summer Festival
The Ann Arbor Summer Festival is held annually during the middle of June and runs until early July. Top of the Park is a free, outdoor music series on top of the Fletcher street parking structure, showcasing Michigan's finest bands and Hollywood's favorite movies. National theater, dance, and comedy performers as well as famous personalities entertain the crowds over at the Power Center.
Ann Arbor Winter Art Fair
If you like to give art as gifts for the holidays, the art fair is the place to shop. Local artists have their work for sale and many provide demonstrations.
Plymouth International Ice Sculpture Spectacular
This event, which has delighted the area for more than 20 years, showcases some 150 block ice sculptures. Sculptures line the sidewalks in the central downtown area and there are demonstrations at Kellogg Park, also in the central town area.
North American International Auto Show
If you like cars, this is the event for you. This auto show, held at Cobo Hall in Detroit, had its beginnings in 1907 with 17 exhibitors showing 33 vehicles. The 2006 show is the 18th international show. Attendees can expect to see 700 vehicles in the show.
Ann Arbor Pow Wow
Join in the celebration of Native-American culture and heritage, including traditional music and dance. Some 12,000 visitors gather in Ann Arbor along with Native Americans from the Great Lakes area of the United States and Canada. The Pow Wow is sponsored by the University of Michigan Office of Multi-Ethnic Student Affairs.
There are numerous festivals and events for students and families to enjoy all year round. To see a complete list of seasonal events please visit www.arborweb.com.
Galleries in the Ann Arbor Area
This listing highlights a hand-full of the galleries in the Ann Arbor Area.
Museums in the Ann Arbor Area
The list of links below is just a hand-full of the museums in the Ann Arbor Area catering to the vast interests of the students and residents in the community.