FUMC Music Ministry Fundraiser
Sunday, September 29, 2019 – 3:00 p.m.
FUMC opened its 2019-2020 Green Wood Chamber Series with two favorite artists: popular local folk singer Katie Geddes and gospel singer/keyboardist David Vaughn. Two consummate artists, both Katie and David are known for their inspiring musical performances – Katie’s “musical story telling” and compelling vocal sound and David’s spirit-filled gospel praise. They graciously dedicated this performance as a fundraiser for the FUMC Music Ministries and many thanks are in order.
FUMC is also grateful to others who help through their love, support, encouragement and donations to bring creative, dynamic music throughout worship services and provide musical opportunities for all ages and musical backgrounds. Thanks also to Maria and Evans Koukios for producing this audio recording with a kaleidoscopic touch!
Ann Arbor Photographic Arts recorded all concerts of the 2018-2019 FUMC Green Wood Chamber Music Series. For the season finale The Modern Harp Quartet shared their talents with “GOING BAROQUE”, works composed during or inspired by the Baroque era. This program was a perfect blend of the ancient and modern with a baroque flair.
Members of the quartet include Lynne Aspnes, Lydia Cleaver, Maurice Draughn and John Wickey–seasoned alumni from the harp studios of Cass Tech, Wayne State University and the University of Michigan. The idea of forming the quartet was spurred by the well-received performance of the Cass Tech Alumni Harp Ensemble at the 2008 American Harp Society National Conference in Detroit.
Today they promote the modern harp as a versatile instrument, capable of producing a vast array of tone colors and effects through performances and workshops. Click on the videos to hear and be inspired by their modern arrangements of Bach, Stravinsky, Ravel, Rameau and Respighi, with the unique sounds of these four harps and these four harpists. Enjoy.
At the worship services of the Ann Arbor First United Methodist Church on Sunday, May 19, 2019, its Chancel Choir was joined by orchestra under the direction of Dr. Ann Marie Koukios to sing “Come Into the Light”, Morten Lauridsen’s Lux Aeterna. Based on a theme of “Light”, this much-beloved work was written in 1997 and was embraced by the entire global choral community. Written in a personal response to his mother’s final illness, Lauridsen found the ancient Latin texts centering on light to be a source of great comfort.
This work by a gifted composer was woven into the worship services to uplift our souls through musical images of light. “The light shines in darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” [John 1:5]
This beautiful service, with Prelude music Bach’s Air on a G String, Offertory Music and Time of Meditation music Barber’s Adagio for Strings and Postlude Dubois’ Fiat Lux (Let There be Light) was video recorded by Ann Arbor Photographic Arts as an historical record in the life of this progressive and loving congregation.
This year, Easters fell one week apart on the two different Christian calendars. On April 21, 2019, the Easter service at the Ann Arbor First United Methodist Church was video recorded in 4K by a2photographic, while the Resurrection Vigil and Holy Pascha Divine Liturgy was streamed live and recorded from Saint Mark’s Greek Orthodox Church in Boca Raton, Florida, April 28, 2019.
Both were uploaded to youtube servers and now shared from a2photographic.com, informing us of the changes in civilization for communicating photographic and video arts today, connected by the new internet infrastructure. People around the world can visit Ann Arbor and hear the messages of pastors Nancy Lynn, Nick Berlanga and Tim Kobler. They can hear the choirs, bells and brass directed by Dr. Ann Marie Koukios. Likewise, the ambitious live streaming in Florida gives us access to Rev. Father Mark Leondis , the chanters, choirs, parishioners and pageantry in an Orthodox church steeped in historical tradition.
So we can now live in a virtual world. We have upped the way of interacting with each other. Christos Anesti!
Ann Arbor Photographic Arts recorded all concerts of the 2018-2019 FUMC Green Wood Chamber Music Series. For the season finale The Modern Harp Quartet shared their talents with “GOING BAROQUE”, works composed during or inspired by the Baroque era. This program was a perfect blend of the ancient and modern with a baroque flair.
Members of the quartet include Lynne Aspnes, Lydia Cleaver, Maurice Draughn and John Wickey–seasoned alumni from the harp studios of Cass Tech, Wayne State University and the University of Michigan. The idea of forming the quartet was spurred by the well-received performance of the Cass Tech Alumni Harp Ensemble at the 2008 American Harp Society National Conference in Detroit.
Today they promote the modern harp as a versatile instrument, capable of producing a vast array of tone colors and effects through performances and workshops. Click on the videos to hear and be inspired by their modern arrangements of Bach, Stravinsky, Ravel, Rameau and Respighi, with the unique sounds of these four harps and these four harpists. Enjoy.
At the worship services of the Ann Arbor First United Methodist Church on Sunday, May 19, 2019, its Chancel Choir was joined by orchestra under the direction of Dr. Ann Marie Koukios to sing “Come Into the Light”, Morten Lauridsen’s Lux Aeterna. Based on a theme of “Light”, this much-beloved work was written in 1997 and was embraced by the entire global choral community. Written in a personal response to his mother’s final illness, Lauridsen found the ancient Latin texts centering on light to be a source of great comfort.
This work by a gifted composer was woven into the worship services to uplift our souls through musical images of light. “The light shines in darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” [John 1:5]
This beautiful service, with Prelude music Bach’s Air on a G String, Offertory Music and Time of Meditation music Barber’s Adagio for Strings and Postlude Dubois’ Fiat Lux (Let There be Light) was video recorded by Ann Arbor Photographic Arts as an historical record in the life of this progressive and loving congregation.
This year, Easters fell one week apart on the two different Christian calendars. On April 21, 2019, the Easter service at the Ann Arbor First United Methodist Church was video recorded in 4K by a2photographic, while the Resurrection Vigil and Holy Pascha Divine Liturgy was streamed live and recorded from Saint Mark’s Greek Orthodox Church in Boca Raton, Florida, April 28, 2019.
Both were uploaded to youtube servers and now shared from a2photographic.com, informing us of the changes in civilization for communicating photographic and video arts today, connected by the new internet infrastructure. People around the world can visit Ann Arbor and hear the messages of pastors Nancy Lynn, Nick Berlanga and Tim Kobler. They can hear the choirs, bells and brass directed by Dr. Ann Marie Koukios. Likewise, the ambitious live streaming in Florida gives us access to Rev. Father Mark Leondis , the chanters, choirs, parishioners and pageantry in an Orthodox church steeped in historical tradition.
So we can now live in a virtual world. We have upped the way of interacting with each other. Christos Anesti!
Justine and Ellen, both hailing from New Your City, have found themselves united here in Ann Arbor, both pursuing degrees in Music Performance at the University of Michigan. They appeared on the Greenwood Music series of the Ann Arbor First United Methodist Church April 7, 2019, where a2photographic.com video recorded their exquisitely performed recital for flutes and piano. Selections included improvisations, works by Bach, Chopin, Varese, and Debussy.
Justine and Ellen are members of Red Shoe Company, a collective which creates multi-genre events in venues ranging from traditional concert halls to gather spaces of all types. Their versatile capabilities as soloists bring Justine and Ellen to a wide variety of venues, performing freely improvised music alongside standard repertoire.
View and hear the concert on a2photographic’s youtube channel by clicking to the left, and go to a2photographic’s gallery store to see the photo design art of selected images from their concert by clicking on the slideshow or the button below.
Very special things happen in Ann Arbor and on November 18, 2016. a new play by author-actor Kelly Hale, starring the highly-acclaimed New York soprano Risa Renee Harman, came to town. It is the story of the most famous singer in the world in the 19th century, about Jenny Lind’s American Tour of 1850-52. This musical play was written by the opera professor at the University of Cincinnati’s College Conservatory of Music (CCM) and featured him at the keyboard and playing multiple roles during the performance.
Ann Arbor Photographic Arts was on hand and is now able to reproduce that memorable evening at the First United Methodist Church of Ann Arbor. It was a very moving performance as soprano Harman sings a rich collection of some of the most popular and exquisite soprano operatic arias sung during the course of Lind’s American adventure tour, sponsored by none other than showman P.T. Barnum. It’s history well worth remembering in artistic circles throughout the ages.
View our youtube “live recording” and visit our gallery store for more images from the evening’s performance.
Ann Arbor Camerata Chamber Recital
Sunday, March 24, 2019 – 3:00 p.m.
The Ann Arbor Camerata returned to the Green Wood Chamber Series of First United Methodist Church with a recital featuring three Masters students from the University of Michigan. Natsuko Takashima played violin, Isabel Dimoff was on cello, and Hyerim Lee on piano.
They performed the Piano Trio in A minor by Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) and the Sonata for Cello & Piano in C Major, Op. 119 by Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953).
Click on the “live concert” links to view our recordings of this exquisitely performed repertoire by these Camerata, U of M musicians. We have been covering and recording concerts in Ann Arbor for over ten years. Contact us for your video recording and editing needs.
And click on the button below to go to our photo gallery store with more great photography from this event.
Ann Arbor First United Methodist Church hosted a special Christian theater company from Cincinnati, Ohio and on March 3, 2019, brought their theatrical skills and original works to Ann Arbor Photographic Arts as well. The group normally travels in teams of three and in the past thirty-eight years has performed plays and conducted workshops in thousands of locations from Anchorage to Beijing. Tom Long is the director, playwright, and chief storyteller who came with accomplished actors Jocelyn Sluka and Colleen Scheid.
We had a chance to interview all three, do a portrait photoshoot, record their workshop messages in the Sunday services and finally record a very special production of their work, “Meet Me in the Air”. Tom Long was the playwright who recreated the sounds and sights of a radio station in the 70’s. A2photographic.com then added its video recording skills to create a “live view” of this wonderfully staged audio and visual production. Experience the action “up close”. It’s the “best seat” in the house for this special broadcast of WJCN.
Time to vlog about a very special Ann Arbor-Washtenaw County group, The Town Band. Click to play A2photographic’s “live” youtube performance of their complete concert, February 17, 2019. Then click button below to see our photo and video galleries for this concert.
The Town Band is a 20-piece vintage music group that plays only music from the 1880s to 1920s, in period-appropriate costume, and with period-appropriate instruments. It recreates the sounds and atmosphere of the popular town band concerts of the World War I era.
“Professor” Jerry Robbins is the conductor and mastermind of this ensemble and we are tremendously pleased to have recorded this at the Greenwood Chapel of the First United Methodist Church.
Extras include a barbershop performance of the “Full Value” Quartet from Huron Valley Harmonizers, the “Tappen Teen” wiz kid Mr. Connor Casey tap dancing, and the Village Dancers waltzing and doing the Tango!
It was a grand old day for the Grand Old Flag. Sousa is political activism at its finest. Feel great again about our country, its culture and history.
Click below to play our youtube recordings of 1) Hispanic and 2) Arab parts of the evening's concert 3) the dinner speakers on immigration and 4) Rev. Paul Perez delivering his sermon message "Blessing or Curse".
Each year the First United Methodist Church of Ann Arbor plans activities around global awareness and this year’s theme was “Joy in Diversity & Grace Through Immigration – A Celebration of Arab and Hispanic Cultures.
On Feb 9, 2019 dinner was provided by Chela’s Mexican restaurant and Oasis Mediterranean Cuisine. Speakers were 18th District State Senator Jeff Irwin; Sonja Luna, Methodist Missionary for Hispanic Ministries; and Victoria Booker, Justice for Our Neighbors & Immigrant Hospitality.
The evening concert featured the Chancel Choir under the Direction of Dr. Ann Marie Koukios, included music of Hispanic and Arab cultures and Michael Ibrahim of the National Arab Orchestra. Sunday morning, Rev. Paul Perez of the UMC Conference gave the sermon message on diversity and immigration, “Blessing or Curse”.
In Concert - U of M's Brass Faculty
The Music and Arts Concert Series of A2 First United Methodist Church presented the distinguished University of Michigan’s Brass Faculty, January 20, 2019. Video was recorded by A2 Photographic Arts and included:
Concerto for Horn and Orchestra, Georg Philipp Telemann
Showdown at the Hoedown, Charles Reskin
Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5, Heitor Villa-Lobos
Fury II for Solo Tuba, James Grant
Summer Dances for Brass Quintet, Charles Reskin