The University Musical Society has announced its 2010-2011 music and dance offerings, giving local consumers of these lively arts a good idea of next season’s rich diet. The events — part of a 65-performance season that includes theater offerings previously made public — provide something for every palate and a sampling of new tastes as well as familiar ones.

You’ll find the complete lineup below, but here are some ideas about themes and highlights.

Leonard Slatkin

AP

• It’s a great year for orchestras. The UMS Choral Union Series opens with the Mariinsky Orchestra, directed by Russian superstar Valery Gergiev, and includes concerts (in alphabetical order) by the Cleveland Orchestra under Franz Welser-Most; the Detroit Symphony Orchestra under Leonard Slatkin; Russia’s St. Petersburg Philharmonic under Yuri Temirkanov; and the Venice Baroque Orchestra with violinist Robert McDuffie in the “Four Seasons” you know (by Vivaldi) and the one you don’t (“The American Four Seasons” by Philip Glass).

• It’s a great year for pianists. Perennial favorite Murray Perahia returns in recital; we hear the 2nd and 3d Rachmaninoff concerti with soloists making UMS debuts, Denis Matsuev and Nicholai Lugansky; and Chopin Competition winner RafaÅ‚ Blechacz makes our acquaintance in recital and with chamber orchestra.

Takacs Quartet

Ellen Appel

• It’s a great year for Schubert. The Takács String Quartet, which this season appeared as the Takács Trio when violinist Karoly Schranz had to undergo rotator cuff surgery, is back in full foursome, and with friends — like pianist Jeffrey Kahane — in tow. Quartets, quintets, the last piano sonata — you’ll find them all on the Takacs’ 3 concerts, and the Berlin Scharoun Ensemble (players from the Berlin Philharmonic) joins to complete the Schubert bliss with the composer’s great string octet.

Renée Fleming

• With the day’s reigning soprano, Renée Fleming, coming to town for a UMS recital January 16, you might say it’s a great season for singers. But don’t overlook the chance to hear Brahms’ “Liebeslieder Waltzes” and “Neue Liebeslieder Waltzes” with a divine quartet of singers headlined by baritone Thomas Quasthoff and 2 superb pianists, Malcolm Martineau and Justus Zeyen, on April 23, 2010. And the “Divine Voices” series, focused on early music, brings England’s Tallis Scholars, France’s Sequentia and Spain’s Jordi Savall, among others.

• It’s a great year for return visits. The spectacular Jerusalem String Quartet is back; so is the spectacular violinist Christian Tetzlaff, this time with his string quartet, which includes his cellist sister Tanya, a magnificent player herself.

Wynton Marsalis

• It’s a great year for anniversaries. On the classical side, Schumann’s birth and Mahler’s death beget performances of their music. On the avant-garde side, Ann Arbor’s “Once” festival — a hotbed of ‘60s musical radicalism, makes a 50th anniversary return, for 1 night, with the UMS “Once.More Festival.” On the jazz side, UMS celebrates jazz legend Django Reinhardt’s 100th birthday with a joint appearance by the the Hot Clubs of San Francisco and Detroit, on its jazz series. And speaking of welcome returns, Wynton Marsalis is back again, with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra.

• Enough about music. Let’s talk about dance. Next season, the UMS Dance Series, in its 20th year, is particularly rich in modern dance’s old masters. The Paul Taylor Dance Company makes a welcome and overdue return; the company of the late Merce Cunningham arrives in Ann Arbor on its “Legacy Tour;” and UMS, in cooperation with the Detroit Opera House at its Detroit venue, offers patrons tickets (and transportation possibilities) to see the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Brazil’s Grupo Corpo returns, as does Japan’s Sankai Juku.

Carolina Chocolate Drops

• Some events fall into UMS series, but not these UMS debuts to savor: singer Rosanne Cash, reprising an appearance at January's Ann Arbor Folk Festival, performing “The List,” a collection of 12 essential country music songs compiled by her father, the incomparable country music superstar Johnny Cash; Tony award-winning singer/songwriter/playwright Stew (“Passing Strange”) and collaborator Heidi Rodewald, performing with their acclaimed band, The Negro Problem; the popular folk-revival band the Carolina Chocolate Drops; and 1 of today’s most revered Native American singers and songwriters, Joanne Shenandoah, blending her own compositions with the ancient songs of the Iroquois. Also watch for Blues at the Crossroads: The Robert Johnson Centennial Concert, which brings together blues legends Big Head Todd & The Monsters, 94-year-old David “Honeyboy” Edwards, Hubert Sumlin and Cedric Burnside & Lightnin’ Malcolm. Fans of Afrobeat and Fela Kuti will want to catch Kuti’s legendary drummer Tony Allen and his band as the UMS season draws to a close in April.

And what would a UMS season be without “Messiah,” performed by the UMS Choral Union? That’s where it all began, and it continues next season, with performances at Hill Auditorium December 4 and 5.

UMS offers tickets both by subscription series (including a do-it-yourself “Monogram” series) and individually. Current subscribers receive renewal forms in early May. On May 10, subscription sales open to the general public. Individual tickets go on sale to the general public online (at UMS.org) on August 23 and in person (at the Michigan League Ticket Office) and by phone on August 25. For more information, or to be added to the UMS mailing list, call UMS at 734-764-2538 or visit the UMS web site.

For a complete schedule of the UMS 2010-2011 season, view these PDFs, which also include the previously announced theater season: Chronological | All series

Susan Isaacs Nisbett is a free-lance writer who covers classical music and dance for AnnArbor.com.