Category: Uncategorized

Pro Musica of Detroit

Pro Musica of Detroit Presents Sphinx Soloists Unplugged: From Davos to Detroit

The concert stars cellist Sterling Elliott, winner of the 2019 Sphinx Competition Senior Division, and violinist Hannah White, winner of the 2015 Sphinx Competition Junior Division.

DETROIT, Feb. 21, 2019 – Continuing its 91-year tradition of presenting the finest music, Pro Musica of Detroit is proud to announce cellist Sterling Elliot and violinist Hannah White will perform a concert program entitled, “Sphinx Unplugged: From Davos to Detroit” on Friday, March 15 at the Max M. and Marjorie S. Fisher Music Center in Detroit. The concert performance begins at 7:30 p.m. in the Peter D. and Julie F. Cummings Cube at The Max.

The artists will perform solo works and duets that range from the Baroque to the contemporary eras. Joining the artists in the program is virtuosa pianist Yuki Mack, who will accompany them on “One Foot in the Dark,” a new work by Detroit composer Harriet Steinke among other pieces.

The performance marks the first Pro Musica appearance for Elliott, 1st Prize Laureate of the 2019 Sphinx Competition Senior Division, and White, Laureate of the 2015 Sphinx Competition Junior Division. The pair recently returned to compete in the 2019 Sphinx Competition, held Feb. 2 in Detroit, after a performing at the 2019 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

Individual concert tickets are available for $45 for cabaret seating and $25 for theatre seating. Student tickets are free when accompanied by a paying adult.Tickets can be purchased online at promusicadetroit.com as well as by telephone through the Detroit Symphony Orchestra Box Office at (313) 576-5111.

Sterling Elliot was named First Place Laureate of the 22nd annual Sphinx Competition, held earlier this month in Detroit.  In addition to the Robert Frederick Smith prize presented to the Senior Division winner, Mr. Elliot received the Audience Choice Award, sponsored by Mercedes-Benz Financial Services. Mr. Elliot is a student at The Juilliard School and has toured with the Sphinx Virtuosi, performed as a soloist with orchestras around the country, and played as a substitute cellist with the New York Philharmonic. He also has soloed with the Cleveland Symphony, Virginia Symphony, the New World Symphony, the Buffalo Philharmonic, the San Francisco Chamber Orchestra and other leading ensembles.

Hannah White is a 1st Place Laureate from the Sphinx Competition 2015 Junior Division. She has been a member of the Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra String Orchestra, Philharmonia, and made the rare jump to Senior Symphony at age 11. She currently is a fellow at the Music Institute of Chicago’s Academy, a pre-college training program for highly gifted musicians. She has performed solo with many orchestras, including the Madison Symphony, Sphinx Symphony, and the Oistrakh Symphony of Chicago.

Joining Sterling and Hannah is Detroit composer Harriet Steinke. She currently organizes the Detroit Composers’ Project, a musical collaboration centered on facilitating performances of new music in the city of Detroit among area-based performers and composers.

In addition to Steinke’s One Foot in the Dark, the evening will include performances by Sterling and Hannah of pieces by J.S. Bach, Spanish cellist Gaspar Cassadó, Norwegian violinist Johann Halvorsen, Belgian violinist Eugène Ysaÿe, and Hungarian composer Zoltán Kodály, whose work was performed by Béla Bartók during the very first Pro Musica of Detroit concert on Feb. 19, 1928.

Pro Musica’s Next Concert

Completing the 2018-2019 Pro Musica of Detroit concert season is the Joel Peterson Ensemble on May 10, 2019. A composer, musician, and art facilitator based in Detroit, Joel Peterson has explored and encompassed methods of music-making from traditional and popular forms to experimental and classical works. Mr. Peterson’s compositions have been performed by members of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the Michigan Opera Theatre and New Music Detroit, which performed in 2017 for Pro Musica of Detroit. This season’s program features works by Mr. Peterson for classic chamber ensembles, including his 2011 work, Freedom of Assembly.

About Pro Musica of Detroit                                          

Now in its 92nd season, Pro Musica of Detroit is the city’s oldest presenter of chamber music. Past artists have included some of the most well-known names in classical music including: composers Béla Bartók, Maurice Ravel, Aaron Copland, William Bolcom and Michael Daugherty; and musicians Joshua Bell, Jessye Norman, Amit Peled, Benjamin Grosvenor, and Michigan’s own emerging classical star, Ivan Moshchuk.

The Pro Musica experience represents a unique part of Detroit’s cultural heritage connecting audiences directly with musicians since 1928. With the intimate venue of The Cube, audience members are able to sit in cabaret style seating that is in close proximity to the performer. Also unique to Pro Musica is that artists are encouraged to speak directly to the audience about the works and composers they are performing. Afterwards, audience members enjoy the opportunity to mingle with the artists and other audience members at an Afterglow reception. For more information, please visit promusicadetroit.com.

Michigan Community Resources

Michigan Community Resources Presents Pro Bono Legal Service on National Day of Service

DETROIT, January 28, 2019 – Nine Michigan nonprofits are now better prepared to deliver their services after receiving pro bono financial and legal review services through a legal clinic presented by Michigan Community Resources (MCR). On January 24 MCR joined with providers in seven other cities across the nation, from San Francisco to New York and Washington D.C., to present the free legal consultations to nonprofit organizations serving children, families, and other vulnerable populations  as part of a National Day of Service for pro bono legal service providers.

“This clinic is all about the power of pro bono service,” Shamyle Dobbs, Chief Executive Officer for MCR, said. “Staying on top of all processes including reporting, governance, and legal compliance can be difficult for many nonprofits due to limited resources. Having the ability to sit down with attorneys further demonstrates to donors and funders that these organizations have the financial systems in place to be in compliance and exhibit fiscal responsibility. And not all nonprofits can afford to pay the going rate for an attorney.”

Regulatory and other legal burdens make it challenging for nonprofit managers to assess their financial transparency and fiscal oversight procedures. The clinic was developed collaboratively by Exponentum™, a national network of business law pro bono providers including MCR, to help nonprofits improve their financial transparency and related compliance practices. 

Nonprofit clinic participants each received counsel from highly skilled attorneys providing their services pro bono. A total of 20 attorneys from firms including Miller Canfield, Paddock and Stone, P.L.C., Butzel Long, Dykema, General Motors Co. and Ford Motor Co. provided assistance to the nine participating nonprofits. Attorneys from some of the oldest and most well-established firms in Michigan worked collaboratively with General Motors and Ford Motor lawyers to provide trusted guidance and support to a dynamic group of participants using the Nonprofit Financial Reporting and Tax-exempt Compliance Assessment Tool, developed by Exponentum.

Lack of knowledge and lack of resources can be the two greatest barriers to nonprofits being legally compliant, Kirsten Pederson, Corporate Counsel at General Motors said. Pederson and Ryan Warsh, Attorney at Miller Canfield provided pro bono counsel to Latisha Johnson of MECCA Development CDC and worked with Johnson to complete the compliance assessment tool on behalf of MECCA Development.

Working with the pro bono attorneys “helped me get through some of the concerns that I had to know that moving forward, I’m doing everything right,” Daniel Washington of the nonprofit Original Creativity said, “everything from filing my taxes to making sure that I have my bylaws really tight and right so that there’s no question or concern moving forward.”

In addition to pro bono legal counsel, representatives from Apparatus Solutions and UHY, LLP, presented a lunchtime workshop for 11 nonprofits that dove deeper into financial practices that can be critical for nonprofits. Representatives from Apparatus and UHY also volunteered their time.

The clinic was hosted by Co.act Detroit and was made possible by funding from the Access to Justice Fund of the Michigan State Bar Foundation. An additional grant from the Association of Corporate Counsel provided food and other support. The clinic could not have been accomplished without the generous commitment to pro bono service of the attorneys and other professionals involved. The clinic demonstrates the many ways MCR leverages the support of volunteer attorneys to provide transactional legal services to qualified nonprofits.

There was a great deal of interest in the clinic and more organizations applied than were able to be scheduled. Future programs for nonprofits scheduled by MCR include workshops on real property issues faced by nonprofits in partnership with the Real Property Section of the State Bar of Michigan; other legal and organizational guidance workshops (topics and dates TBA); and a series of workshops providing legal and journalistic guidance on the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) in partnership with the Detroit Free Press in the summer. There will be other legal compliance clinics announced through the year. These are in addition to MCR ‘s regular Legal Pro Bono Referral Program, direct legal services, and Office Hours programs. Details are available at www.mi-community.org.

About Michigan Community Resources

Michigan Community Resources provides a comprehensive array of consulting and organizational capacity building services for nonprofit and community organizations in Southeast Michigan, with distinct services available statewide. MCR is the only organization of this kind in the state that supports and empowers community organizations through pro bono legal and organizational capacity building services. Since its founding in 1998, MCR has provided more than $16 million in free legal assistance to more than 1,200 nonprofits throughout Michigan. Each year, MCR serves 400 nonprofit organizations across all MCR programs. In turn, each organization serves countless others as they deliver on their missions.

MCR participates in the Access to Justice Campaign and encourages support through the ATJ Fund. The ATJ Campaign is a collaborative centralized campaign, administered by the Michigan State Bar Foundation in partnership with the State Bar of Michigan, to increase resources for seven regional and eight statewide civil legal aid programs in Michigan. For more information, please visit www.mi-community.org.

About Exponentum

Exponentum™ is a national network of business law pro bono providers dedicated to improving the quality of life in low-income and disadvantaged communities by expanding the availability and quality of pro bono business legal services for nonprofits that serve those communities. Exponentum partners with law firms and corporations to implement national responses to challenges faced by the nonprofit sector by delivering expert legal assistance and educational programs to nonprofits.Members serve geographic regions throughout the United States and share a goal of making nonprofits more effective in serving their communities. More information is available at  www.exponentum.org.     

# # #

615 Griswold, Suite 805, Detroit, MI 48226 T: 313 962 3171 I F: 313 962 0797

info@mi-community.org I www.mi-community.org

Kramer’s Bed, Bath & Window Fashions

NEWS FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                     Melissa Bunker (313) 886-9074

KRAMER’S BED BATH & WINDOW FASHIONS ANNOUNCE
RETIREMENT AND CLOSING SALE

GROSSE POINTE, Mich., Nov. 20, 2018 –  After 36 years, Mike and Joann Kramer have announced the closing of Kramer’s Bed, Bath & Window Fashions in The Village. The store will be open through end of December and all in-store items are discounted to sell.

In close to four decades, the Kramers have carved a niche for themselves in the home furnishings sector through offering the highest quality and personalized service and have succeeded in building a loyal customer base despite changes in retail and the growth of online shopping.

Kramer’s has been a destination for their list of exclusive lines that reads like a veritable who’s who in the home fashion industry including Yves Delorme, Sferra, Matouk, Peacock Alley for bed, as well as Casafina, Pine Cone Hill and Creative Bath. For bath and home fragrances and personal care items, Kramer’s carries items from Thymes, Crabtree & Evelyn and Hillhouse Naturals and others.

Among their fashions for the bed are down comforters, duvet covers, blanket covers, sheets, pillows, mattress pads, mattress covers and blankets.  Bath fashions include towels, bath rugs, bath accessories, shower curtains, wall hardware, pictures, mirrors and luxurious bathrobes. They also carry kitchen linens and napkins that make ideal for holidays gifts from stocking stuffers to hostess gifts.

Mike and Joann Kramer are proud to have been an integral part of The Village and the Grosse Pointe community, actively participating and taking leadership roles in local events and the designers’ show houses. They strongly advocate for independent retailing and the flexibility, responsiveness and expertise that it provides the consumer.

They have received numerous awards including Certified Windows Fashions Professional, Master Level, City of Grosse Pointe Beautification Awards, the Michigan Retailers Association and the Grosse Pointe Chamber of Commerce. They have also

served in pivotal roles in the community, including the Grosse Pointe Village Association and the Grosse Pointe Village Downtown Development Authority.

The store is located at 16906 Kercheval Avenue, Grosse Pointe, MI 48230. Hours are Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday 9:30 – 6 p.m. and Thursdays until 8 p.m. Weekend hours are Saturdays, 9:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. More information is available at www.kramersbbwf.com and by phoning (313) 881-9890.

Music on the Plaza Celebrates 30 Years in The Village

 

Presented by St. John Hospital & Medical Center

GROSSE POINTE, Mich., May 11, 2017 – Recognized as “Grosse Pointe’s original summer music series,” Music on the Plaza opens its 30th concert season on Thursday, June 8 with a spectacular double header program that features concert performances by the Grosse Pointe North High School jazz band and the Grosse Pointe South High School jazz band.

The Music on the Plaza concert series is produced by the Grosse Pointe Village Downtown Development Authority and sponsored by St. John Hospital & Medical Center with support from individuals and organizations of the community.

Concerts take place on Thursday evenings from June 8-August 3 on an outdoor stage, located at the corner of Kercheval Avenue and St. Clair Avenue, from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. There will be no concert on July 27 in order to accommodate The Village Sidewalk Sale, which takes place Friday, July 28 and Saturday, July 29.

Music on the Plaza concerts celebrate many of the best loved artists in metropolitan Detroit’s music community and highlights musicians from the region. This season incorporates a variety of musical styles from jazz to country and blues. Grosse Pointe resident Devin Scillian and his band Arizona Son make their Music on the Plaza debut thanks to sponsorship from Ray Laethem.

For nearly three decades, the corner of St. Clair and Kercheval avenues has become Grosse Pointe’s meet-up spot on Thursday evenings during summer. Highlighting the special sense of a “walkable community,” residents of all ages come to The Village on foot, riding bikes, and pushing strollers. The evening concerts make a great time to catch up with old friends and to establish new friendships as Grosse Pointers dine in Village restaurants before and after the concerts.

The Music on the Plaza series of eight family friendly concerts are free of charge and open to the public. Concert-goers are encouraged to bring lawn chairs. The performances take place, rain or shine. In the event of rain, the concerts will be held at Maire Elementary School, 740 Cadieux Road, two blocks west from the normal site. Venue changes due to weather and other notifications will be posted online via Facebook, www.facebook.com/thevillagegrossepointe, on the evening of the concert.

Scheduled bands and performance dates are as follows:

  • June 8 – GP North Jazz Band & GP South Jazz Band
    Award-winning jazz bands made up of students from Grosse Pointe North and South High Schools.
    Sponsored by Dirty Dog Jazz Cafe
  • June 15 – Rhythm Society Orchestra
    Grosse Pointe Farm’s own Paul King croons with the swinging 15 piece big band, Rhythm Society Orchestra, authentically re-creating the sights and sounds of the swing era.
  •  June 22 – Alvin Waddles & Friends
    A true “Detroit Original,” the pianist leads an iconic trio celebrating the music from the first half of the 20th century.
  • June 29 – Devin Scillian with Arizona Son
    An accomplished musician, songwriter and WDIV Channel 4 News Anchorman, Devin Scillian has released four albums of original songs. Sponsored by Ray Laethem
  • July 6 – The Millionaires
    Swing, Jump Blues and Latin Jazz from long-time area favorites.
  • July 13 – Scott Gwinnell Group
    Scott Gwinnell is a multi-award winning jazz pianist/composer who leads an ensemble comprised of some of the top jazz musicians in Detroit.
  • July 20 – Marge’s Bar Band
    Now in its 48th year, the six-piece ensemble delivers vintage jazz & swing pioneered by Louis Armstrong, Bix Beiderbecke, Bessie Smith and the greats.
  • Aug 3 – The Sun Messengers
    It wouldn’t be summer without Grosse Pointe’s favorite dance band, a perfect cap to the series.

Note in Schedule: There is no concert July 27, the week of The Village Sidewalk Sale.

Produced by the Grosse Pointe Village Downtown Development Authority, the Music on the Plaza jazz concert series is made possible through corporate and community support.

St. John Hospital & Medical Center returns as the official title sponsor. In addition, sponsors and supporters include Jazz Lovers: Ray Laethem, State Farm Insurance, Adlhoch & Associates/Flagstar. Jazz Master: Sunrise Senior Living, Stifel. Partner Sponsor: Grosse Pointe Geek, Wayne County Community College District . Presenting Artist:  Devin Scillian and Arizona Son- Ray Laethem, GP North & South High School Jazz Bands Dirty Dog Jazz Cafe. Series Sponsor: TCBY and Sanders. Series Supporters: Bikes, Blades and Boards, Massage Green and Old Pony Martini Bar. Providing promotional support are media sponsors, Grosse Pointe News, Grosse Pointe Times, Pointe Magazine, and WRCJ 90.9 FM.

Additional information about the series and The Village, downtown Grosse Pointe, is available at www.thevillagegp.com.

# # #