Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Chicago Symphony to perform in Ann Arbor March 9th - Special hotel rates available

Hill_auditorium
The University Musical Society (UMS)  has announced that they will present the Chicago Symphony Orchestra on March 9th with violinist Pinchas Zuckerman in Hill Auditorium.  The Lamp Post Inn will offer special hotel rates for those attending the concert.
The University Musical Society press release notes that:
It will be led by the orchestra’s principal conductor Riccardo Muti, the program features two works by Brahms: the Violin Concerto in D Major and his Symphony No. 2 in D Major.

Founded in 1891, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra enjoys an enviable position in the music world with performances greeted by enthusiastic audiences both at home and abroad. The Orchestra has made over 200 appearances under the auspices of UMS since its debut in 1892; the orchestra last performed in Hill Auditorium in 2010. Ricardo Muti conducted the Vienna Philharmonic’s Hill Auditorium performance in 2006, although this will be his first time performing with the CSO under UMS auspices.

Violinist Pinchas Zukerman, recognized as a phenomenon for nearly four decades, returns to UMS for a performance of the Brahms Violin Concerto. “Youth sticks with some people… Zukerman seems the forever-young virtuoso: expressively resourceful, infectiously musical, technically impeccable, effortless. As usual, it was a joy to be in his musical company.” (Los Angeles Times)

Conductor Riccardo Muti made his debut with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at the Ravinia Festival in July 1973. In September of 2007—for the first time in more than 30 years—he appeared with the CSO in a month-long residency that included two weeks of remarkable subscription concerts, a sold-out opening night gala, and a triumphant European tour, which marked the Orchestra’s first performances in Italy in more than 25 years. In May 2008, the CSO announced Muti’s appointment as its 10th music director, a post he assumed with the beginning of the 2010/11 season.

Born in Naples, Italy, Riccardo Muti studied piano at the Conservatory of San Pietro a Majella under Vincenzo Vitale, graduating with distinction. He subsequently received a diploma in composition and conducting from the Verdi Conservatory in Milan, where he studied with Bruno Bettinelli and Antonino Votto.

The Chicago Symphony Orchestra will appear at Hill Auditorium on May 9th.  The nearby Lamp Post Inn will offer special rates for those attending the concert.  Use promo code

Monday, February 27, 2012

Royal Shakespeare Company coming to Ann Arbor - Special hotel rates

The University of Michigan and the University Musical Society have announced that members of Britain's Royal Shakespeare Company (see wikipedia)  will again visit Ann Arbor next month for a number of events open to the public.  The site annarbor.com highlighted a number of the events to occur during the visits.  As noted in Annarbor.com 

The University Musical Society have enjoyed a long-term partnership with the prestigious company.

This visit will take place March 10-20 and focus on the development of two plays.

"Creating and conveying the arts to inspire, captivate and educate is part of our mission," said U-M President Mary Sue Coleman.

"Creative Residency 2012"

The following is a schedule of public events during RSC's visit. Admission is free to all public events.
Monday, March 12: (8 a.m.-4 p.m.) Confucius Institute Symposium at Rackham Amphitheatre (By invitation only)
Tuesday, March 13: (5 p.m.) "James Fenton Reading", Location to be announced (Open to public)
Friday, March 16: (4 p.m.) "The Orphan of Zhao" presentation at Blau Auditorium at the Ross School of Business (Open to public)
Saturday, March 17: (4 p.m.) "Bringing 'Creative Project 2010' to the Stage: The Dramaturg and Director" at Blau Auditorium at the Ross School of Business (Open to public)
Sunday, March 18: (4:30 p.m.) "Drama in Translation" (a round-table discussion) and "A Conversation with Michael Boyd, RSC Artistic Director, and Ralph Williams" at Blau Auditorium at the Ross School of Business (Open to public)
Monday, March 19: (4:30 p.m.) "Boris Godunov Reading" at Blau Auditorium at the Ross School of Business (Open to public)

The Lamp Post Inn has announced a special hotel rate for those attending the Royal Shakespeare Company workshops or creative sessions March 10-20th at the University of Michigan.  Reservations may be made at The Lamp Post Innusing the special promo code. HILLEV.  

Saturday, February 18, 2012

University of Michigan Football Coaches Clinic - Special hotel Rates

Each spring we are proud to welcome back a number of high school coaches that stay with us annually during theUniversity of Michigan Football Coaches Clinic.  This year the clinic will be held March 29-31.   This is the same weekend as the Ann Arbor Film Festival so it would appear to be a blockbuster weekend in Ann Arbor as well as at theLamp Post Inn.

For our long time coaching friends, please go onto our website and use the booking code COACH or call me personally to secure your bookings.  It is going to be a really busy weekend and we want all of our returning friends to have their "home at the Inn".

Some of the important details from the announcement made by the athletic department included.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- University of Michigan head football coach Brady Hoke and the Wolverines coaching staff will host the annual Michigan Football Coaches Clinic Thursday through Saturday, March 29-31.

"The clinic is always a great time because you're surrounded by other coaches who enjoy teaching football and whose passion it is to help develop our youth," said Hoke. "This year's clinic lineup features some of the region's best high school and college football coaches, and our entire staff is available in chalk talk sessions and on-the-field demonstrations."

The clinic includes three days of Wolverines spring practices starting Thursday, March 29. The clinic will begin in Schembechler Hall on Thursday and continue in the U-M Indoor Track Building on Friday, with practices being held in Glick Field House. Saturday's clinic will be held in the Junge Family Champions Center and will conclude with practice at Michigan Stadium. Practice locations will be dictated by weather conditions.

On Thursday, members of the Michigan coaching staff will hold breakout sessions following practice. On Friday, select high school coaches will speak prior to lunch, and following a strength and conditioning overview by Aaron Wellman and breakout sessions with members of the video, equipment and athletic training staffs, members of the Michigan coaching staff will speak and run field demonstrations. Friday evening will include presentations by Michigan defensive coordinator Greg Mattison and offensive coordinator Al Borges and will conclude with chalk talks with the entire Michigan coaching staff.

The Lamp Post Inn will offer a special promotional hotel rate for all coaches attending the Michigan Coaches Clinic. Use the promo code COACH at the Lamp Post Inn website.

Friday, February 17, 2012

Wynton Marsallis to perform at Hill Auditorium - Special hotel rates available

Join the 50th birthday celebration for Wynton Marsalis February 22 at Hill Auditorium.  The Lamp Post Inn will feature special rates using promo code HILLEV.  

The University of Michigan Musical Society (UMS) has proudly hosted Mr. Marsalis for many years but this year's performance is bound to be one of the best ever.  Scheduled for February 22, 2012, the concert is a tribute to Mr. Marsalli's 50th birthday. 

As posted on the University Music Society's web page 

Under Wynton Marsalis’ direction, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra (JLCO) performs a repertoire across the full jazz spectrum — from the music’s New Orleans roots to bebop to modern jazz. By creating and performing an expansive range of brilliant new music for quartets to big bands, chamber music ensembles to symphony orchestras, tap dance to ballet, Wynton has expanded the vocabulary for jazz and created a vital body of work that places him among the world’s finest musicians and composers. On this new tour and to celebrate Wynton’s 50th birthday, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra will showcase a retrospective of Wynton’s music written for big band. The JLCO may also perform the unique repertoire for which it is renowned worldwide: modern jazz renditions of traditional favorites, including tunes by Thelonious Monk; classic Blue Note Records selections by Herbie Hancock, Joe Henderson, Jackie McLean, Lee Morgan, and Joe Henderson; and modern compositions and arrangements by jazz contemporaries. “The audience was weak from applauding and shouting and jumping up and down with the joy of the great music it had heard.” (El Universal/The Herald)

The Lamp Post Inn is located less than 2 miles from Hill Auditorium and will offer special rates for those attending the concert.  Please go directly to the web site at The Lamp Post Inn and use the promo code HILLEV

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Men's Lacrosse Team to play at Big House - April 14 - Special hotel rates at Lamp Post Inn

The_big_house

The Michigan men's varsity lacrosse team will play at The Big House on April 14.  A nearby local hotel, The Lamp Post Inn will provide special hotel rates for the event.  The lacrosse game will immediately follow the University of Michigan Spring football game at The Big House.

Thie is the first near that the sport has enjoyed varsity status.  In May 2011 the University of Michigan Athletic Deparment announced that they were elevating both men's and women's lacrosse to a varsity sport,

Michigan is the first Bowl Championship Series (BCS) conference school to add men's lacrosse since Notre Dame added the sport in 1980 and started competition in 1981. Michigan will join Ohio State and Penn State as the only schools in the Big Ten Conference to sponsor men's lacrosse.

U-M's club-varsity program claimed three of the last four Men's Collegiate Lacrosse Association (MCLA) national championships (2008, '09, '10) and won Central Collegiate Lacrosse Association (CCLA) conference crowns in 11 of the past 13 seasons. The club program began in 1940 and was halted before World War II, but it restarted in 1965 and has been competing ever since. The program was elevated to club-varsity status in 2001.

The Lamp Post Inn is located less than 2 miles from The Big House and fans should go directly to the Lamp Post Inn website and use the promo code SPRINGGAME to receive special overnight rates.   

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Encore Theater in Dexter, Michigan produces Smokey Joe's Cafe

 Ann Arbor has a wonderful diversity of entertainment locations but sometimes my spouse and I like to get out of town and check out some of the smaller venues.  One of our favorites is the Encore Theater in Dexter, Michigan (less than 20 minutes from the Lamp Post Inn). Small, less that 100 seats, the theater specializes in musical comedies and frankly they are unbelievably good.    How a small theater can put on Sweeney Todd, Light in Piazza, Oklahoma and a couple of dozen other ones with full choreography and song is beyond me but they do it.  The theater combines seasoned Broadway performers with local standouts and the results are amazing.  And the price is right as well.  Never a performance over $30.00 and most of the time you can find a seat well below that level.

This week I had the chance to see their newest show - Smokey Joe's Cafe.  While certainly not their highest profile musical it is a throw back to the rock and roll days and features nearly 40 different songs, primarily Leiber and Stoller.  The Encore has certainly done glitzier productions but this one is pure enjoyment and the choreography is particularly dramatic since so many numbers are involved.  Not much of a story line, but pure musical entertainment.  I had never seen Smokey Joe's Cafe' and I am glad I caught the performance.

Below is a clip from the Encore Theater's website that summarizes the show.  If you want a simple entertainment evening, take the short drive to Dexter, have dinner at one of a handful of restaurants within several hundred feet of the theater, enjoy the free parking, and have a great night out.

Leiber and Stoller, as much as anyone, virtually invented rock ‘n’ roll, and now their songs provide the basis for an electrifying entertainment that illuminates a golden age of American culture. In an idealized 1950’s setting, the classic themes of love won, lost and imagined blend with hilarious set-pieces and slice-of-life emotions. Featuring nearly 40 of the greatest songs ever recorded (On Broadway, Love Potion #9, Jailhouse Rock, and more), Smokey Joe’s Café isn’t just great music – it’s compelling musical theatre.

For additional information regarding The Lamp Post Inn, Ann Arbor, Michigan please visit our website at http://www.lamppostinn.com or call us on our toll free number at 877 971 8001.

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Wolverine Spring Football Game Announcement - Special hotel rates

 

The Wolverines Spring  football schedule has been announced.  Special hotel rates are available at The Lamp Post Inn using promo code SPRINGGAME.

The University of Michigan announcement made on the mgoblue.com website indicates that in addition to the traditional spring game to be held at 12:00 PM on Saturday, April 14,  two other activities will take place at the stadium that day - the annual alumni flag football game at 10:00 AM and the intercollegiate lacrosse match between Michigan and Ohio State.  The announcement also highlights several other events that weekend, including www.thebighousebigheart.com">The Big House Big Run for charity on April 15. 

As released by the University of Michigan

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The 2012 University of Michigan Spring Football Weekend promises to be an action-packed two days (April 14-15) of athletic competition for sports fans of all kinds. The 2012 Mott Spring Football Scrimmage sponsored by PNC Bank anchors the weekend festivities along with the inaugural men's lacrosse match-up with Ohio State immediately following the football scrimmage.

Team 133 will take the field for its annual spring scrimmage at noon EST on Saturday, April 14. Prior to the football team's debut, the Victors Classic Alumni Flag Football Game will be held at 10 a.m. inside the Big House.

Following the football scrimmage at 2:30 p.m. will be the "Battle in the Big House," which pits Michigan's first-year varsity men's lacrosse team against Ohio State.

Admission to all of the events Saturday at Michigan Stadium is free to the public. Fans can make a donation of choice to C.S. Mott Children's Hospital upon entering the gates of Michigan Stadium.

 

Monday, February 13, 2012

Bonnie Raitt to perform May 25th in Ann Arbor - Special hotel rates available

Bonnie Raitt will perform May 25th at Hill Auditorium.  The nearby Lamp Post Inn will offer special hotel rates.

The Ann Arbor Summer Festival has announced that Bonnie Raitt will perform at Hill Auditorium on May 25th.  This will be a "pre-festival" event for the Summer Festival.   The full schedule of performances will be announced at a later date but this pre-event will certainly get the festival off to a fabulous start.

The Lamp Post Inn will offer special overnight rates for those attending the Bonnie Raitt concert.   To obtain the special pricing please use the promo code HILLEV when placing your housing request for May 25th on our website Lamp Post Inn (http://www.lamppostinn.com)

The Ann Arbor Summer Festival this year will officially be from June 14th to July 8th and as usual will include nearly a dozen main stage events as well as the Top of the Park activities which normally include live outdoor music performances, live outdoor movies, and a picnic area area including pre-arranged kids activities.

The Lamp Post Inn is located less than 1 1/2 miles from the center of the Ann Arbor Summer Festival activities and will feature several different specials for the various events.  Please check out blog regularly to see events and specials as they become available.

The announcement at the Ann Arbor Summer Festival website is shown below.

Bonnie Raitt: The Slipstream Tour
With special guest Marc Cohn
Description
More than just a best-selling artist, respected guitarist, expressive singer, and accomplished songwriter, Bonnie Raitt has become an institution in American music. With a unique style that blends blues, R&B, rock, and pop, this nine-time Grammy winner and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee returns to Ann Arbor in a special pre-season festival concert. Raitt, who was recently named one of the top 100 guitarists of all time by Rolling Stone, releases her nineteenth album, Slipstream, on April 10. This special pre-season show is not to be missed.

For additional information regarding The Lamp Post Inn, Ann Arbor, Michigan please visit our website at http://www.lamppostinn.com or call us on our toll free number at 877 971 8001.

Friday, February 10, 2012

Big Heart Run scheduled for April 15 – Special hotel rates

The Big House Big Heart event will move from it’s traditional date in October to April 15th. This event will be in conjunction with the Spring Football Game to be played the previous day at The Big House (University of Michigan Stadium). The race is sponsored by the Champions for Charity. The funds raised by the event are used by several area non-profits including ALS research at the University of Michigan and the UM Cardiovascular Center at C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital and Women’s Hospital.

The Lamp Post Inn is 1 1/2 miles from the stadium and will offer special overnight rates to those attending either the spring football game of the Big House Big Heart event. In order to obtain the special hotel rates go to The Lamp Post Inn website and use the promo code SPRINGGAME.

 

The official race site notes that:

The race starts and finishes at the University of Michigan’s famous football stadium–The Big House. It is the largest stadium in the country seating over 107,000 spectators. This chip-timed 5K starts in the parking lot east of The Big House and the run takes you through the University of Michigan’s beautiful campus with a spectacular finish–a run through the Big House tunnel and onto the field. You’ll finish on the 50 yard line and watch yourself on the Big House Big Screen!

 

Bh-stadium

Big Heart Run scheduled for April 15 – Special hotel rates

The Big House Big Heart event will move from it’s traditional date in October to April 15th. This event will be in conjunction with the Spring Football Game to be played the previous day at The Big House (University of Michigan Stadium). The race is sponsored by the Champions for Charity. The funds raised by the event are used by several area non-profits including ALS research at the University of Michigan and the UM Cardiovascular Center at C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital and Women’s Hospital.