My favorite moment of “different people see and think differently” was after watching a film short at the Ann Arbor Film Festival a few years ago with my husband. It used a Chopin piano solo as the soundtrack, and the video was close-up shots of a bicycle.

I thought the piece was brilliant – the bicycle images lined up in brightness and complexity with exactly the notes you heard. The louder the music, the brighter the image. The more notes in the chord, the more parts you saw. Technically fascinating. I was able to “see” exactly what I “heard”.

My husband, a pianist, detested the film. He knows the piece well, and thought that the image completely destroyed the intent of the music. He was physically disturbed just watching the five-minute long piece.

To him, it was not “what it should be”. To me, I took it for what it was.

Now, I didn’t see the piece at Hill on Sunday, so I cannot comment on the particular “mashup” as it were. But I did learn that pieces such as this can create intense discussion, as evidenced by the plethora of comments here, and maybe that’s the best part of what arts & culture bring to us. My husband and I still talk about the Chopin piece to this day!

The moral was really that no one view of a piece is ever right or wrong. Maybe, just maybe – “the *discussion’s* the thing!”

Beth Gilliland, UMS

Actually, the (not full frontal) nudity lasted less than 10 seconds – the laughs lasted 2 1/2 hours! The show was so great on Saturday night that I brought my mom back to see it on Sunday. (I can’t imagine doing that if it had been “full nudity”!!)

– Beth Gilliland, UMS Administration

I have been looking forward to this concert *all year* – mostly because I have a 2 year old at home that loves music AND dancing, and its not always easy to find a show that someone that age can attend. This one was fun for kids AND parents!

When they started playing a salsa version of “Wheels on the Bus”, my daughter had the most amazed look on her face! But the most priceless moment was when they allowed the kids onstage for the last song – she hopped up there without looking back and danced her little heart out! At the end of the song, she ran to the edge of the stage, waved a “hi” to daddy, and bowed. Precious. 🙂

Working at UMS allows me access to many fabulous performances, but as a mother and a resident of Ann Arbor, I really have to shout out a huge THANKS to UMS for offering these types of concerts to the community – a place where we can go with our little ones for great music and a great time!! Keep these concerts going – I recommend them to all the parents I meet!

Beth – UMS Staff

I am so so so so sad I can't go to this!! My family are rabid Colts fans, so I'll be at home today. Guess that's a good and bad thing. 🙂 Can't wait to hear what people have to say about the show, though. I hope there are more coming!! (and I can find a babysitter!)