Arts & Culture

The musicians of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra voted today to return to work without a contract.

Greg Bowens is the musicians spokesman:

"It was a very difficult, gut-wrenching decision; something we would have thought was unthinkable a week ago today, and that is they are trying to extend the hand of friendship in an effort to end the strike under the conditions management had previously imposed."

Bowens says the exact conditions under which the musicians would return will be revealed at a press conference this afternoon.

Management still has to agree to the idea.

The musicians have been on strike since October fourth.

Bowens wouldn't give details on why the musicians voted to go back to work without a contract, except to say this:

"Look, the Max M. Fisher Theater is spiraling out of control financially. Artists are turning down left and right the opportunity to perform there because they don't want to be a part of this strike.

The musicians understand that it's an important part of the economic engine for Midtown, and so they want to do everything they can in order to let the music play."

Welcome to part one of our web exclusive series, “Michigan on the Page.”

Over the following months, we will be talking with writers from all over Michigan about what books they think best represent the state.

Writers, like many of the state’s residents, have all kinds of opinions on what kinds of writing really speak to Michigan and its citizens.

Are there highlights? Tons. Way too many to list. But here’s a short selection of recent and all-time favorites:

Borders Books started in Ann Arbor as a small independent book store.

Tom and Louis Borders opened it in Ann Arbor, Michigan in 1971.

The first Borders bookstore was located at 209 State Street, north of the State Theater.

Eve Silberman was a graduate student in Ann Arbor when she got a job at the very first Borders Bookstore owned by the Borders brothers.

The company recently declared bankruptcy.

Silberman sat down to talk with public radio host Dick Gordon of The Story.

Silberman talked with Gordon about her memories of working at the first Borders bookstore (she described herself as "not a very good worker").

She recalled several things about the first Borders Bookstore:

• Joe Gable was the "shaper and caretaker" of the store (many thought Gable was a Borders).
• Gable saw the store as a "cathedral of books" and the workers were the "worshippers."
• Classical music played in the store.
• Potential employees had to take a test to get a job at the store.
• The store carried unique titles.
• The store's cash register was complex at the time.

Host Dick Gordon asked Silberman about the sense in Ann Arbor about the misfortunes of Borders.

As the fight between Detroit Symphony Orchestra management and musicians drags on for the fourth month, another fight of sorts is playing out on facebook.

Before the strike vs. now

The DSO  facebook fan page used to function like a typical fan page - stories about visiting conductors, upcoming concerts, and news about the orchestra’s Tiny Tots series.

But as the strike progressed, management has turned the DSO facebook fan page into a strike-update page, posting about negotiations and contract proposals. (The Detroit Symphony Orchestra musicians have their own facebook page and post their viewpoints there.)

Some, like DSO Executive director Anne Parsons, describe the DSO facebook fan page as "a pretty active place to be." DSO conductor Leonard Slatkin commented on the page's level of "vitriol" at one point in a Detroit News Article.

Your junk is definitely another man's treasure.

Artist Tyree Guyton wants your old shoes for a new Heidelberg Project installation.

A message was posted on the project's Facebook page:

The word is out! Seeking shoe donations for April's "Street Folk" installation -- more details on the project coming soon.

The Detroit News reports:

Old shoes may be brought to the Heidelberg Project office at 42 Watson in Detroit, MI 48201. The office is open 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., Monday to Friday. The shoe collection will continue through mid-to-late March.

The Heidelberg Project is two blocks of art installations along Heidelberg Street on Detroit's east side.

Starting in 1986, artist Tyree Guyton converted abandoned houses along his street into pieces of art by painting them and installing various pieces of junk on the houses and up and down the street.

The Heidelberg Project was first maligned by city officials (the city demolished some of the art in 1991), but is now celebrated.

The Detroit News reports that Tyree Guyton will be "honored with a 25-year retrospective of his work at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History. The display opens March 30."

Here's more about the project and Guyton:

The Motown sound will take center stage at the White House tonight.

More than 100 students will be at the special musical event, including several from the record label’s hometown of Detroit.

Detroit-native Augustine Cox loves music. The 17-year old says she's known she wants to go into the music business since she was in second grade; she wants to be a performer or a music producer.

When Cox, who goes to Birch Run High School, found out she was picked to go to Washington, D.C. for a Motown tribute concert at the White House, she was thrilled. She grew up listening to "the Jackson 5, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, the Marvelettes, Smokey Robinson." Cox says she listens to today's music, too, "but when I want to hear real music and real passion, I throw on a Motown CD."

Her current fave? The Best of Michael Jackson.