Friends,

If you have the luxury — or the need — to hear music in the upcoming weeks, I’m grateful to have some good ones on the way.

My new piece In Search of Softer Selves features an all-star lineup of Detroit’s finest musicians and was commissioned by Edgefest, Kerrytown Concert House’s annual festival of avant-garde jazz. It was also generously supported by the Foundation for Contemporary Arts.

The band is pictured below: from L-R, Marcus Elliot, Allen Dennard, myself, Zekkereya El-magharbel, Wendell Harrison, Ben Willis, Marion Hayden, Jonathan Barahal Taylor, Kaleigh Wilder, Vincent Chandler.

Saturday October 21, Bethlehem UCC, 423 S. 4th Ave., Ann Arbor, MI 48104

$17-34 for just the evening; $75 for a whole day pass

Then, in November, immerse yourself in what Zara Teicher and I have been devising. Retreat, a concert-length collaborative work that invites us (and you) to step into the sound and out of the world for about an hour. At the majestic St. Anthony’s Catholic Cathedral on Detroit’s east side. A production of my concert series, Other Tones.

Many of us are walking through these days with heavy hearts. Music is wholly insufficient for this moment. In spite of that, if you’re in the right frame of mind for it, I’d be so grateful to share your company.

Take care of yourselves, friends. I love you all, and I pray for your safety, thriving, and freedom; for soft hearts, loving awareness, and joyful noises; for your shrewd insights and diffuse wisdoms; for your lives.

With love,

-Michael