university musical society - Ann Arbor District Library

large spiral staircases leading from the orchestra
level to the balcony and the well-known mirrored
glass panels on the exterior. The lobby of the
Power Center presently features two hand-
woven tapestries: Modem Tapestry by Roy
Lichtenstein and Volutes (Arabesque) by Pablo
Picasso.
The Power Center seats approximately
1,400 people.
Rackham Auditorium
Seventy years ago, chamber music concerts in
Ann Arbor were a relative rarity, presented in an
assortment of venues including University Hall
(the precursor to Hill Auditorium), Hill
Auditorium, and Newberry Hall, the current
home of the Kelsey Museum. When Horace H.
Rackham, a Detroit lawyer who believed strong­
ly in the importance of the study of human his­
tory and human thought, died in 1933, his will
awarded the University of Michigan the funds
not only to build the Horace H. Rackham
Graduate School, which houses Rackham
Auditorium, but also to establish a $4 million
endowment to further the development of
graduate studies. Even more remarkable than
the size of the gift is the fact that neither he nor
his wife ever attended the University of
Michigan.
Designed by architect William Kapp and
architectural sculptor Corrado Parducci,
Rackham Auditorium was quickly recognized
as the ideal venue for chamber music. In 1941,
UMS presented its first chamber music festival
with the Musical Art Quartet of New York per­
forming three concerts in as many days, and the
current Chamber Arts Series was born in 1963.
Chamber music audiences and artists alike
appreciate the intimacy, beauty, and fine
acoustics of the 1,129-seat auditorium, which
has been the location for hundreds of chamber
music concerts throughout the years.
St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church
Dedicated in 1969, St. Francis of Assisi Catholic
Church has grown from 248 families when it
UMS; Annals P/23
first started to more than 2,800 today. The pres­
ent church seats 1,000 people and has ample
free parking. In 1994, St. Francis purchased a
splendid three manual "mechanical action"
organ with 34 stops and 45 ranks, built and
installed by Orgues Letourneau from Saint
Hyacinthe, Quebec. Through dedication,
a commitment to superb liturgical music, and
a vision to the future, the parish improved the
acoustics of the church building, and the rever­
berant sanctuary has made the church a gather­
ing place for the enjoyment and contemplation
of sacred a cappella choral music and early
music ensembles.
University of Michigan Museum of Art
The University of Michigan Museum of Art
(UMMA) is a dynamic meeting place for the arts
that bridges visual art and contemporary cul­
ture, scholarship and accessibility, and tradition
and innovation. With the addition in March
2009 of the 53,000-square-foot Maxine and
Stuart Frankel and the Frankel Family Wing and
the restoration of historic Alumni Memorial Hall,
UMMA ushered in a new era, a reimagining of
the university art museum as a "town square"
for the 21st century. With dramatically expand­
ed galleries, special exhibition spaces that soar
with new life, "open storage" galleries, and a
range of lively educational and event spaces,
UMS periodically presents events in multiple
spaces throughout the museum.
Burton Memorial Tower
Seen from miles away, Burton Memorial Tower
is one of the most well-known University of
Michigan and Ann Arbor landmarks. Designed
by Albert Kahn in 1935 as a memorial to U-M
President Marion Leroy Burton, the 10-story
tower is built of Indiana limestone with a height
of 212 feet. The carillon, one of only
23 in the world, is the world's fourth heaviest
containing 55 bells and weighing a total of
43 tons. UMS has occupied administrative
offices in this building since its opening.