The University Musical Society Announces the 2014-2015 UMS Artists in “Residence”

The University Musical Society (UMS) is proud to announce the 2014-2015 UMS Artists in "Residence."

2014-2015 UMS Artists in "Residence"

- Literature: Robert James Russell

- Visual Arts: Carolyn Reed Barrett

- Performing Arts/Literature: Emilio Rodriguez

- Performing Arts: Leslie Rogers

- Performing Arts: Nicholas Gable

The UMS Artists in "Residence" program is a public engagement project whereby applications were solicited from regional artists wanting to take "residence" at UMS performances. Out of a pool of over 50 applicants, five artists were selected to use UMS experiences as a resource to support the creation of new work or to fuel an artistic journey.

Residents will receive complimentary tickets to select UMS performances; a $250 stipend; gatherings with fellow residents; and behind-the-scenes access to UMS staff and artists, when available. In return, the 2014-2015 residents will share their artistic journeys via residency entrance and exit interviews; participate in select UMS Education & Community Engagement events; and have the

chance to share artistic work generated during the residency at the UMS 15-16 Season Announcement Party in late April 2015. Rights to all artistic work produced as a result of the residency will remain entirely with the artists. For more information and for profiles of the residents in the coming weeks, please visit umslobby.org.

"While UMS brings incredible performing artists from around the globe to Ann Arbor, we're also deeply committed to the creative community right here in Michigan," said Ken Fischer, UMS President. "UMS Artists in 'Residence' ensures that artists creating work right here in our own backyard have access to everything they need to inspire, fuel, and inform their projects. Artists play a vital role in our communities - they inspire us, they challenge us, they provide alternate perspectives. We're just doing our part to ensure that Ann Arbor and Southeast Michigan continues to be a place where artists are supported and can happily call home."

2014-2015 UMS Artists in Residence Bios

CAROLYN REED BARRITT - Visual Art

Carolyn Reed Barritt exhibits her work in group shows throughout the nation, including the recent Works on Paper exhibition at the Jeffery Leder Gallery in New York. She also gives private drawing lessons and is an art mentor. She lives and works in Ann Arbor. Learn more: carolynreedbarritt.wordpress.com

NICHOLAS GABLE - Performing Arts

Nicholas Gable was born and raised in Ann Arbor. In 2011, he graduated from the University of Michigan Honors Program with a degree in Ancient History. He received a full-ride scholarship to the Indiana University Maurer School of Law, from which he graduated this year after having spent a semester of his final year as an exchange student at the Universite? Panthe?on-Assas in Paris. Aside from his interest in music and the piano, Gable has continued to pursue his interest in ancient languages, especially Greek and Latin, and he enjoys participating in amateur boxing. Gable has been studying the piano with Waleed Howrani for six years and will be playing Sergei Rachmaninoff's Second Piano Concerto with the Grosse Pointe Symphony Orchestra on October 26, 2014.

Learn more: https://www.linkedin.com/pub/nick-gable/46/aa/83a

LESLIE ROGERS - Performing Arts

Leslie Rogers is an interdisciplinary artist working in sculpture, performance, and video beginning a three year appointment as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Michigan Society of Fellows. She holds an MFA in Sculpture & Extended Media from Virginia Commonwealth University, and a BFA in Fine Art from the Maryland institute College of Art. Over four years in Philadelphia, she organized and curated gallery shows and touring performances as a member of Little Berlin Art Gallery and Puppet Uprising, and founded PuppeTyranny, a touring DIY theater troupe. She has exhibited at the Institute for Contemporary Art in Philadelphia, Vox Populi, Extra Extra, Bodega, International House, and Little Berlin. In New York, she has been exhibited at Monkeytown, Secret Project Robot, and St. Anne's Warehouse as part of Great Small Works' bi-annual Temporary Toy Theater Museum, in Baltimore at Current Gallery and the Trans Modern performance art festival, and at Black Iris in Richmond, VA.. Learn more: http://www.leslierogers.net/

EMILIO RODRIQUEZ - Performing Arts / Literature

Emilio Rodriguez is a playwright, actor, director, and teaching artist living in Detroit. His
plays Awake! and Fairy Tale Family Vacation have been fully produced in Southeast Michigan and he has also had several readings of his other plays. He seeks to create roles for actors of color to showcase their underrepresented voices in a non-stereotypical manner with the goal of ultimately bridging the gap between what is defined as "Urban Theatre" and what is defined as simply "Good Theatre."
Learn more: https://www.playscripts.com/playwrights/bios/1409

ROBERT JAMES RUSSEL - Literature

Robert James Russell is a Pushcart Prize-nominated author and founding editor of the literary journals Midwestern Gothic and CHEAP POP. He is the author of Sea of Trees (Winter Goose Publishing, 2012). His work has appeared in a range of journals, both print and online. He currently teaches at the University of Michigan. Find him online at robertjamesrussell.com.
Learn more: http://www.robertjamesrussell.com/

The University Musical Society is an independent non-profit affiliated with the University of Michigan, presenting over 70 music, theater, and dance performances by professional touring artists each season. One of the oldest performing arts presenters in the country, UMS is committed to connecting audiences with performing artists from around the world in uncommon and engaging experiences. With a program steeped in music, dance, and theater, UMS contributes to a vibrant cultural community by presenting approximately 60-75 performances and over 100 free educational activities each season. UMS also commissions new work, sponsors artist residencies, and organizes collaborative projects with local, national, and international partners.

For more information, please visit ums.org or umslobby.org.

Photo Courtesy of The Unviersal Musical Society's Website

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