Our distinguished guest will be Miss Heather Kendrick, Miss Michigan (2017-18) and Executive Director of M-Prize, the University of Michigan’s annual competition that spotlights the virtuosity of today’s young musicians. An accomplished violinist and Interlochen scholar, Miss Kendrick will also recount her journey through the pageant world; a journey that brought her Michigan’s highest beauty crown, and even to Atlantic City, where she competed to become Miss America.

More at: Miss America

World-renowned Egyptologist, Dr. Bob Brier, will join us to highlight his latest book, Cleopatra’s Needles: The Lost Obelisks of Egypt, published by Bloomsbury. Admired by his peers and the public as “Mr. Mummy’, Dr. Brier is a Senior Research Fellow at Long Island University-Post (Brookville, New York), and one of the world’s foremost experts on mummification. If you’re fascinated with the art and civilization of ancient Egypt, don’t miss this interview.

More at: Bloomsbury

Join Ed as he welcomes back Dr. Gary Tinterow, Director of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. Gary will be our guide for an on-air tour of the new exhibition, Michelangelo and the Vatican. How did the Renaissance polymath collaborate with the popes to create his supreme frescoes, architecture, and sculpture? We’ll find out, and learn also about his working methods, competitors, and loyal patrons during one of the most sublime periods in art history.

More at: mfah.org

Join Ed as he welcomes new University Musical Society president, Matthew VanBesien, who will describe UMS’ sublime 2018 season as well as its deep cultural partnership with the University of Michigan, a partnership that dates back to 1880. A native of St. Louis, Mr. VanBesien comes to Ann Arbor after having served as president of The New York Philharmonic. While at The Phil, he was responsible for innovative music programs that dynamically engaged New Yorkers, reacquainting them, in fact, with their ‘home town’ orchestra. No doubt he will accomplish the same in our community. Welcome to Ann Arbor, Matthew VanBesien!

More at: UMS.org

 

Award-winning historian Diana Preston returns to highlight her new book, Paradise in Chains: The Bounty Mutiny and the Founding of Australia, published by Bloomsbury. Miss Preston, a good friend of the show, describes in her inimitable way the weaving of personalities (Arthur Phillip, William Bligh, Fletcher Christian, etc.), the quest for empire and scientific knowledge, and the needs of commerce that built to a stunning climax in 1788-89.

More at: Bloomsbury

Ed welcomes Christopher de Hamel, world-renowned authority on medieval manuscripts. Mr. de Hamel will make the art of the illuminated manuscript (pre-printing press) come alive as he describes his latest book, Meetings with Remarkable Manuscripts: Twelve Journeys into the Medieval World, published by Penguin Books.

Penguin Editions

In celebration of philanthropist Paul Mellon’s centenary, Ed welcomes acclaimed historian, Sir David Cannadine, who will describe his monumental new book, Mellon: An American Life. Father of Paul, Andrew W. Mellon was a fantastically successful industrialist, investor, art collector, and treasury secretary to three presidents, whose vision and colossal drive resulted in the establishment of the National Gallery of Art in 1941. Sir David will also highlight how Mellon’s spirit of philanthropy was assumed by his children, to the cultural enrichment of the nation.

Looking for the perfect book for the holidays? Your search is over. Award-winning architect and author, Duo Dickinson, will share his immense knowledge of historic houses and how their styles are being adapted in domestic architecture today. Duo, a practicing architect in Connecticut, co-wrote his summa, A Home Called New England, with Steve Culpepper. Engagingly written and sumptuously illustrated, the book establishes a new standard for the study and appreciation of traditional American architecture.

More at: duodickinson.com

Renowned speaker and poet, Art Holst, returns to share his insights about serving in Gen. Patton’s Third Army during the invasion of Germany, his distinguished career as an NFL official (including being a referee in two Superbowls), and his tireless support for the building of a Fisher House for veterans in Michigan.

Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra Music Director and Conductor, Arie Lipsky, returns with Orchestra Executive Director Mary Steffek Blaske to highlight the new dynamic season, including the A2SO’s numerous school concerts and instrument ‘petting zoos’ that introduce young people to the delights of playing music.More at: a2so.com