Local musician, teacher, and actor Emily Slomovits will be performing in a highly-anticipated show at The Ark on Tuesday, October 29, “Emily Slomovits and Friends.”
“I am excited and honored to be joined by some of my favorite musicians and people around: Billy King, Marlene Inman, Peter Madcat Ruth, Sandor Slomovits, Jen Sygit and Tim VanRiper,” Slomovits said.
She has been playing music for 23 years, 22 of them professionally. While Emily has performed numerous times at The Ark, this is her first headliner performance there.
“It’s a wonderful opportunity for me to sing and play a wide range of music that I love, from folk to jazz, from musical theatre to klezmer, from classic country to classical, and so much more,” Slomovits said.
Not only is Slomovits from Ann Arbor, but she also comes from a supportive musical family that is very well known in Ann Arbor.
“My dad San and uncle Laz, from the duo Gemini, have always been hugely influential to me, of course,” Slomovits said. “Because of them, I grew up surrounded by music and was shown what a life in the arts could look like if I wanted it. From the moment I expressed an interest in making a career out of music, my dad, Laz, and my mother, Brenda, were incredibly supportive and encouraging.”
Slomovits also credits the local Ann Arbor music community for its support.
“Getting to play music with Gemini and others in this amazing local music community – Billy King, Jen Sygit, Peter Madcat Ruth, Annie and Rod Capps, Judy Banker, Jay Stielstra, and Chris Buhalis, to name just a few – has taught me everything I know about being a professional, and I’m so grateful,” Slomovits said.
Other varied and eclectic musical influences and inspirations Slomovits credits include: Joni Mitchell, John Gorka, Richard Thompson, Rhiannon Giddens, Shawn Colvin, Joan Baez, The Beatles, Julie Andrews, Gillian Welch, Tracy Chapman, Glen Hansard, Simon and Garfunkel, The Milk Carton Kids, Nanci Griffith, Sara Bareilles, The Avett Brothers, Kelli O’Hara, Audra McDonald and Gavin Creel.
Last year, Emily did a fantastic tribute to Joni Mitchell, joined by other musicians.
“Joni Mitchell has influenced and inspired me for so many years, but I never learned any of her songs until I happened upon a Zoom class offered through Club Passim in 2022 called ‘The Songs of Joni Mitchell,’” Slomovits said. “Honestly, I was intimidated by the various adventurous guitar tunings she uses and her amazing vocal range, but the woman who taught the class, Janet Feld Greene, did such an amazing job demystifying Joni’s songs! My friends Billy King and Jen Sygit and my dad and I had so much fun working out arrangements that fit with our different voices and instrumental skill sets – we needed multiple instruments and voices to properly pay tribute to what Joni could do by herself! We will absolutely be including several of her songs in the ‘Emily and Friends’ show.”
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Slomovits is not only a performer but a teacher as well.
“I feel so lucky to be able to combine so many of my interests in my career,” Slomovits said. “My strong musical foundation has made it possible for me to teach several instruments to students of all ages and many levels, and I absolutely love how much creativity I get to use as a teacher. That creativity and problem-solving have carried into my performing life too — I’m able to think on my feet and switch gears more easily if an approach doesn’t seem like it’s working.”
In addition to making music and teaching it to students, she is an active member of the local theater community as a actor and a teacher.
“Spinning Dot Theatre, the global repertory theatre company I’m part of as an actor and teacher, is celebrating its 10th anniversary, and we’re putting on several shows in November and December, as well as a fundraiser performance at Cobblestone Farms on November 8,” Slomovits said. “I’m proud and grateful to be part of such a kind, daring and lovely company of theatre artists who are making brave, exciting work.”
Performing at The Ark
“My dad and uncle have a tradition of playing a show for families at The Ark on the Sunday after Thanksgiving as a fundraiser for the U of M C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital where I was born, and so we’ll get to do that again this year on December 1,” Slomovits said. “In the last few years, they’ve also started celebrating their birthday at the Ark in January, and that’s happening on January 5. It’s so much fun to play music with them, and I’m very excited for both of those shows.”
She remains grateful to The Ark, her life-long home of Ann Arbor and her collaborative listeners.
“The Ark is a musical home for me,” Slomovits said. “I’ve had the honor of performing there a few times a year since I was a kid, and it’s truly a magical space. Real listening rooms are so rare these days, and to have such a historic, beautiful and intimate listening room right in the heart of Ann Arbor is such a gift for performers and audiences alike. Whenever I perform there or come to see a show, I feel that everyone in the room is having a collective experience. We’re all contributing to the feeling of the show. Some of my favorite moments of my life have happened there, and I strive never to take it for granted.”
Donna Marie Iadipaolo is a writer, journalist, and State of Michigan certified teacher, since 1990. She has written for national publications like The Village Voice, Ear Magazine of New Music, Insurance & Technology, and TheStreet.
She is now writing locally for many publications, including Current Magazine, Ann Arbor Family, and the Ann Arbor Independent. Her undergraduate degree is from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, where she graduated with an honors bachelor’s degree and three teacher certificate majors: mathematics, social sciences, English. She also earned three graduate degrees in Master of Science, Master of Arts, and Education Specialist Degree.
