“When the New York Philharmonic brass joined the Michigan Marching Band on Oct. 10 for a special halftime show during the Michigan-Northwestern game, it was recognized by many as a great musical performance,” writes Ryan Stanton in Sunday’s (12/27) Ann Arbor News (Michigan). “The performance included excerpts from Tchaikovsky’s ‘Swan Lake,’ and ‘Ode to Joy’ from Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony…. It’s now considered one of the Top 5 best halftime shows put on by college marching bands during the 2015 football season,” along with performances by Ohio State University, University of Southern California, Clemson University, University of South Carolina, and Southern University. “ ‘The music is among the best you’ll hear on any football field,’ the NCAA says of the halftime performance during the Michigan Homecoming game. University Musical Society President Ken Fischer announced the honor to UMS faculty in an email on Sunday. He said the Oct. 10 show … featured the brass of the New York Philharmonic, the UMS Choral Union, Michigan Marching Band and its conductors, MMB alumni, instrumentalists of the School of Music, Theatre and Dance, and guest conductor Alan Gilbert.” Included is a video link to the ten-minute halftime show.
Posted January 4, 2016
