UMS

A WEMU alumni returns to the area this weekend with Michael Feinstein. Michael Jewett visited with Feinstein's assistant and tour manager, Brad McNett. The two discuss the upcoming show presented by UMS this Sunday at the Hill Auditorium featuring Michael Feinstein and Jean-Yves Thibaudet.

The University Musical Society is bringing Detroit-based saxophonist Marcus Elliot and his seven-piece band to Ypsilanti this weekend. His upcoming concerts will be a celebration of Ypsilanti's history of being a refuge for Black Americans going all the way back to the 1830's. Elliot gives a preview of his performance in a conversation with WEMU's Michael Jewett.

The University Musical Society, or UMS, has a new goal of engaging the Ypsilanti community in the arts in their neighborhoods. The effort will kick off with a week-long program of music, art and dance coming to Ypsilanti's Freighthouse in April. The program will be filled with singers, dancers, graffiti artists, orchestral and African-inspired music -- all with performances that encourage audience participation. WEMU's Cathy Shafran brings all of the details with Concentrate Media's Rylee Barnsdale and UMS vice president of learning and engagement Cayenne Harris.

For the first time ever, the University Musical Society is bringing composer/conductor Maria Schneider and her orchestra to Ann Arbor this weekend. But, first, Schneider took time out of her busy schedule to talk to WEMU's Michael Jewett about the concert, her new album "Data Lords," and what drives her to create music after nearly 30 years.

A plastic bag store will opening in Ann Arbor today. It's actually not selling plastic bags. It's part of an art installation focused on the environment and a culture of overconsumption. The University Musical Society is sponsoring the plastic bag exhibit and other art programs focused on the environment, climate change, and forced immigration. WEMU's Cathy Shafran talks to UMS President Matthew VanBesien about art with a message.

Few things make Sara Billmann happier than a sold-out auditorium or event with an audience responding with enthusiasm. As UMS’s marketing and communications V.P., Sara is known as one of, if not THE best, arts marketer in the country. Sara joins creative:impact host Deb Polich, and they talk about how innovative, data-driven target marketing drives UMS on this edition of "creative:impact."

It's Public Radio Music Day and who better to talk to about it than the man who helped create one of the greatest cultural partnerships with WEMU? Ken Fischer served as head of the University Musical Society for 30 years and is now president emeritus of UMS. He joined WEMU's David Fair to talk about the impact these two organizations have had on the jazz scene in Washtenaw County and Southeast Michigan.

"Wynton Week" on 89.1 Jazz wraps up today, but that's not the end of celebrating the great Wynton Marsalis. WEMU's Michael Jewett talks all about Marsalis's upcoming week-long residency at the University of Michigan with University Musical Society president Matthew VanBesien.

We're getting closer and closer to back-to-school time. Still, the movies are here to keep you entertained. WEMU's David Fair is joined by Michigan Theater Foundation executive director Russ Collins to give you a full rundown of the latest cinematic offerings. Plus, they take time to remember Ann Arborite Virginia Patton Moss, who starred in the classic film, "It's a Wonderful Life."

There's still a little bit of summer left, so why not catch a good movie in in the cool of a theater? WEMU's David Fair and Russ Collins got together to offer a preview of what the world of cinema has to offer in our area this week.