The Gershwin Centennial Concert will celebrate the achievements of George and Ira Gershwin from 1925. The University Philharmonia Orchestra under Jayce Ogren will perform the rarely heard overture of the musical Song of the Flame, composed by George and Herbert Stothart, and George's Concerto in F, his most ambitious composition to date and the first of his concert works that he orchestrated himself, featuring soloist Tzu-Yin Huang. Students from SMTD's exemplary Musical Theatre Department, accompanied by the Gershwin Initiative's own Jacob Kerzner, will perform excerpts from the Gershwin Broadway musicals from 1925: Song of the Flame, the only Gershwin collaboration with Oscar Hammerstein II (with co-lyricist Otto Harbach), and two of George and Ira's shows, Tip-Toes and Tell Me More (the latter with co-lyricist Buddy DeSylva).

The concert also will have a celebration of Ira, featuring songs he wrote with Milton Schwarzwald, Kurt Weill, and Harold Arlen, in addition to remarks from Michael Owen, author of the newly published Ira Gershwin: A Life in Words, the first biography of the more unassuming member of the Gershwin duo. As a bonus, a rediscovered song from La, La, Lucille, George's first musical (written with DeSylva and Arthur Jackson), will be performed for the first time in nearly a century.

Presented by the University of Michigan Gershwin Initiative and Marquee Arts; sponsored by Arbor Brewing and Michigan Medicine.

Tickets $27-$52 via marquee-arts.org
Tickets only $8 plus fees for Students (w/Valid ID) in Price Tiers 2, 3, & 4