Renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma returns to University of Michigan campus to preview new piece

Renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma views this week as a homecoming.

“Returning to Ann Arbor always feels like coming home,” said Ma. “It is a particular pleasure to be doing so with my dear friends Kayhan Kalhor and Carlos Miguel Prieto, to make music with wonderful young musicians from across the continent."

On Tuesday, June 11, The University of Michigan’s University Musical Society (UMS) will present a performance by Ma, kamancheh (spiked fiddle) virtuoso Kayhan Kalhor, conductor Carlos Miguel Prieto and The Orchestra of the Americas at U-M’s Hill Auditorium.

"I am grateful to UMS for continuing its long tradition of serving as an extraordinary cultural host, devoted not only to community and creativity, but also to fostering the next generation of cultural citizens,” the cellist said.

The Orchestra of Americas is composed of university-level musicians who are fellows from the OAcademy Music Conservatory; a group of students from the U-M School of Music, Theatre & Dance (SMTD); and Mexico’s Escuela Superior de Musica y Danza Monterrey. Tuesday’s concert is the culmination of a weeklong residency in which they will debut Kalhor’s new Double Concerto for Cello and Kamancheh, as well as Respighi’s “Roman Festivals” and “Pines of Rome,” and Gabriela Ortiz’s “Téenek.”

“Hill (Auditorium) is one of the sacred venues for classical music in the U.S.,” said conductor Prieto, “a place that combines history, beauty and education.”

UMS President Matthew VanBesien is enthusiastic about bringing all the elements together in the name of learning and creative exploration.

“This is a great opportunity for UMS to work differently with a group of extraordinary artists, a group of young talented people from far and wide, and to be able to host them here in Ann Arbor on the University of Michigan campus for a very special and life-affirming experience,” VanBesien said.

SMTD Director of Percussion Doug Perkins shared in VanBesien’s excitement about bringing together young musicians from myriad countries and backgrounds to make music in their community.

“The project is even more amazing,” he said, “because SMTD students will be performing in the orchestra. This (has been) a week of incredible growth and aspiration for everyone involved and will have reverberations for years to come in Ann Arbor and all over the world. The musical connections made here in this residency will have lasting impacts far beyond the last note of the concert.”

One of the students involved in the residency is Laika P. Choi, a fifth-year percussion performance major in SMTD. Choi said she’s excited about “gaining first-hand experience playing with some of the world’s finest musicians and learning from each individual, regardless of their instrument.”

Tuesday’s concert begins at 7:30 p.m. For tickets and information, visit ums.org.

Contact Free Press arts and culture reporter Duante Beddingfield at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma returns to Ann Arbor to preview new piece