ANN ARBOR – The University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance will be presenting three concerts to honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. 50 years after his April 4, 1968, assassination.
All performances are free and open to the public.
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Wednesday, April 4
7:05 p.m.
MLK50 Bell Toll
Burton Memorial Tower
Tiffany Ng, university carillonist and assistant professor of carillon at the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance, will perform Rev. Dorsey's "Take My Hand, Precious Lord," on the Burton Memorial Tower carillon on April 4. (Photo: Michael Pihulic)
"Burton Memorial Tower will join the National Civil Rights Museum of Memphis and bell towers across the country and world to honor the Martin Luther King Jr. 50th Anniversary Commemoration with 39 tolls of its great 12-ton bourdon bell."
After the bell tolls, Dr. King's favorite gospel hymn, Rev. Dorsey's "Take My Hand, Precious Lord" will be performed by Tiffany Ng, U-M's carillonist.
Friday, April 6
8 p.m.
The University Symphony Band led by Michael Haithcock
Hill Auditorium
The University of Michigan Symphony Band in Hill Auditorium, conducted by Michael Haithcock (Photo: Peter Smith, courtesy U-M School of Music, Theatre & Dance)
Concertgoers can attend a dialogue in the lower lobby ahead of the performance at 7:15 p.m.
"The program includes Oskar Morawetz's 'Memorial to Martin Luther King,' which will feature professor Anthony Elliott on cello. The work uses King's favorite spiritual (according to the composer), and in five sections traverses his life's journey."
"In paying tribute to Dr. King through this concert, I hope the power of the arts to touch the human spirit in a different way than Dr. King was able to do through the power of his words will do him justice," said Haithcock in a press release.
The University of Michigan Symphony Band in Hill Auditorium, conducted by Michael Haithcock (Photo: Peter Smith, courtesy U-M School of Music, Theatre & Dance)
Friday, April 13
8 p.m.
The University Symphony Orchestra led by Kenneth Kiesler
Hill Auditorium
This concert will be the orchestra's final concert of the season.
Concertgoers can attend a lecture in the lower lobby ahead of the performance at 7:15 p.m.
"The concert opens with 'Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman,' composed by Pulitzer Prize-winner Joan Tower. In addition to Schwantner's 'New Morning for the World,' the USO program also includes Aaron Copeland's 'Symphony No. 3,' which is considered one of the greatest symphonic creations of American music. It was written in 1942 following then Vice President Henry Wallace's famous speech that proclaimed the dawning of the 'Century of the Common Man.'"
In pictures: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. visits University of Michigan in 1962