Wynton Marsalis and Warde Manuel

Wynton Marsalis sits down with UM Director of Athletics Warde Manuel to explore art, athletics, and the creative process. These two successful New Orleans natives come together in a conversation moderated by Christopher Audain, Managing Director of the Arts Initiative.

Wynton Marsalis is a world-renowned trumpeter, bandleader and composer, and a leading advocate of American culture. He presently serves as Managing and Artistic Director of Jazz at Lincoln Center and Director of Jazz Studies at The Juilliard School. Born in New Orleans, Louisiana in 1961, Marsalis began his classical training on trumpet at age 12, entered The Juilliard School at age 17, and soon thereafter joined Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers. He recorded more than 103 jazz and classical recordings, which have won nine GRAMMY® awards. In 1983, he became the first and only artist to win both classical and jazz GRAMMYs® in the same year, repeating the distinction the following year. Today, Wynton is the only artist ever to win Grammy Awards® in five consecutive years (1983−1987). In 1997, Wynton became the first jazz artist to be awarded the prestigious Pulitzer in Music for his oratorio Blood on the Fields. Marsalis has received honorary doctorates from over 25 of America’s top academic institutions including Columbia, Harvard, Howard, Princeton and Yale. In 2001, he was appointed Messenger of Peace by United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan. In 2005 Wynton received The National Medal of Arts, the highest award given to artists by the United States government.

Warde Manuel is the Director of Athletics at the University of Michigan. He was a high school All-American football player, and played for the University of Michigan under Schembechler. After graduating, Manuel was coordinator of U‑M’s Wade H. McCree Jr. Incentive Scholarship program from 1990 to 1993, which helps students prepare for higher education at public universities in Michigan. Afterward, Manuel served in several roles within Michigan’s athletic department, and was named associate athletic director with oversight responsibility for operation facets of the university’s athletic program. He also oversaw Michigan’s football and men’s basketball programs. In 2012, Manuel became the director of athletics at the University of Connecticut. UConn teams won six NCAA national championships under Manuel’s leadership. Manuel returned to U‑M following his four-year run at UConn. His return to Ann Arbor brings him full-circle from an accomplished student-athlete and athletic administrator at U‑M to a distinguished career as an athletic director and back again.

This conversation will be moderated by Christopher Audain, Managing Director of the Arts Initiative. The University of Michigan Arts Initiative seeks to illuminate and expand human connections, inspire collaborative creativity, and build a more just and equitable world through the arts.

In partnership with the University Musical Society (UMS) as part of a weeklong residency with Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra.

Series presenting partners: Detroit Public Television and PBS Books. Media partner: Michigan Radio.