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Appalachian State University’s Office of Arts and Cultural Programs announces its 2010-2011 Performing Arts Series schedule. This season offers seven major cultural events representing the arts from all over the world throughout the academic year. All shows take place at 8pm at Farthing Auditorium on the campus of Appalachian State University.Tickets are on sale now at the Farthing Auditorium Box Office, 800-814-ARTS (2787) or 828-262-4046 and online at www.pas.appstate.edu. Individual tickets are $20 for the general public, $18 for seniors and staff and faculty at Appalachian and $10 for university students. Ticket prices increase at the door on show nights. Subscriptions are available to all, and offer a 10% discount and priority seating, and are available through September 17, 2010. The popular “Student Flex 4” pass is available again this year to Appalachian students, allowing a 10% discount as well as the convenience to choose events and seats up until show time. The Farthing Auditorium Box Office is open Monday-Friday from 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
Red Clay Ramblers Now in their 38th year, the Tony Award-winning Red Clay Ramblers are a North Carolina string band with international acclaim. The band’s repertoire reflects their roots in old-time mountain music, as well as bluegrass, country, rock, New Orleans jazz, gospel and the American musical. The New York Times calls their music-making “perfection,” and they have earned numerous awards for their work on Broadway, including two Drama Desk nominations, most recently for the Tony Award-winning Broadway hit Fool Moon. The Ramblers have been frequent guests on Garrison Keillor’s A Prairie Home Companion and over the years they have performed with such figures as Grammy-winner Shawn Colvin, (a former member of the Ramblers), Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys, Eugene Chadbourn, and Michele Shocked. *This is a Blue Ridge Parkway 75th Anniversary Celebration Event
American Legacies: Del McCoury got his start playing banjo over 50 years ago, making his big break with Bill Monroe’s Blue Grass Boys in 1963 and eventually forming The Del McCoury Band. Winning countless awards for their innovative sound, the band propelled to the top of the bluegrass charts in the 90s. The band now includes his sons Ronnie (mandolin) and Rob (banjo), Alan Bartram (bass) and Jason Carter (fiddle), and recently celebrated a 50-year legacy of brilliant, heartfelt music with the release Celebrating 50 Years of Del McCoury. With their name deriving from the venerable music venue Preservation Hall in the heart of New Orleans, the Preservation Hall Jazz Band has traveled worldwide spreading their mission to nurture and perpetuate the art form of New Orleans Jazz. Some of the founding members performed with jazz pioneers like Louis Armstrong, who says of the group, “Now that’s where you’ll find all of the greats.”
North Carolina Symphony Founded in 1932, the North Carolina Symphony is a vital and honored component of North Carolina’s cultural life. Under the gifted artistic leadership of Music Director Grant Llewellyn, the orchestra has grown in stature and sophistication. The orchestra has appeared at Carnegie Hall in New York, the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. and Orchestra Hall in Chicago. This performance is devoted to great classical masterworks, and showcases the full creative life of a hallmark of the Romantic canon: Brahms’ Variations on a Theme by Haydn. A timeless sample of the Brahms style -Third Symphony- with an influential rarity by Haydn and Bach’s Concerto for Violin and Oboe, make for an unforgettable concert experience.
LA Theatre Works: The Real Dr. Strangelove explores the fractionated relationship between Edward Teller, one of America’s most respected scientists who advocated for developing the H-Bomb, and J. Robert Oppenheimer, the father of the atom bomb who became the chief obstacle for Eisenhower and the Pentagon in the creation of a more destructive weapon. In this fully-staged production of a radio play, we witness the plan to widen America’s nuclear armory, which ultimately set our country on the path to becoming the strongest military nation on the planet - and living with the consequences. LA Theatre Works last appeared at Appalachian in 2009 performing The Great Tennessee Monkey Trials, and returns by popular demand. The foremost radio theater company in the United States for more than two decades, they have single-handedly brought the finest recorded dramatic literature into the homes of millions on NPR, the BBC, CBC and online at www.latw.org.
Balé Folclórico da Bahia The only professional folk dance company in Brazil, Balé Folclórico da Bahia was formed in 1988 and has achieved considerable success in its short history. Under the artistic direction of José Carlos Arandiba, the company’s many national and international tours have earned them a prestigious reputation that is reflected in the response of the public and critics alike. Based in Salvador in the northern state of Bahia, the 38-member troupe of dancers, musicians, and singers perform a repertory based on “Bahian” folkloric dances of African origin that includes slave dances, capoeira (a form of martial arts), samba and those that celebrate Carnival. The company presents the region’s most important cultural manifestations under a contemporary theatrical vision that reflects its popular origins.
Russian National Ballet: The Russian National Ballet was founded in Moscow during the transitional period of Perestroika in the late 1980s, when many of the great dancers and choreographers of the Soviet Union’s ballet institutions were exercising their new-found creative freedom by starting new, vibrant companies dedicated to the timeless tradition of classical Russian Ballet. Today, the Russian National Ballet is its own institution, with over 50 dancers, many of whom have been with the company since its inception. The company will perform Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare’s tragic story of struggle between love and the binding circumstances of family ties, and Chopiniana, which grew out of Chopin’s Seventh Waltz and premièred in 1907. The favorite composition of its creator, Mikhail Fokine, this work has now become standard repertoire for many of the world’s leading theatres.
Acoustic Africa Experience a fascinating musical journey focused on the richness of the African guitar tradition with Habib Koité, the Malian superstar whose exhilarating concerts have endeared him to audiences worldwide, Oliver “Tuku” Mtukudzi, best-selling Zimbabwean artist known for his soulful, husky voice and noted Malian guitarist, singer and composer Afel Bocoum, whose songs provide thoughtful commentary on the evolution of traditional Malian society. Together, these artists bring their own flavor and rhythm to traditional African guitar music. Oliver “Tuku” Mtukudzi began recording in the mid-1970s as a member of Wagon Wheels. His music is undeniably contagious with songs addressing social and economic issues of his Zimbabwean homeland. With remarkable subtlety and a sure talent, Afel Bocoum is a member of the group Alkibar, which means “messenger of the great river” in his native language of Sonrai, and he has proven that he is true to this namesake, actively keeping Malian music at the forefront of the international scene. Singer, songwriter and guitarist Habib Koité has a strong following in America, with his music reflecting the diverse musical traditions of his Malian homeland, mixed with a distinct, modern Western influence. Koité has appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman and has been featured in People and Rolling Stone magazines. His last performance at Appalachian was in 2005, when he received a standing ovation from an enthusiastic crowd. The 2010-11 Performing Arts Series is a presentation of Appalachian State University’s Office of Arts and Cultural Programs. The mission of the series is to support the teaching mission of Appalachian State University by presenting a diverse array of music, dance, and theatre events designed to enrich the cultural landscape of the campus and surrounding region. By creating memorable performance experiences and related educational and outreach activities, the series promotes the power and excitement of the live performance experience; provides a “window to the world” through the artistry of nationally and internationally renowned artists; and showcases some of the finest artists of Appalachian State University’s campus community and the surrounding region. For tickets or information, call the Farthing Auditorium Box Office at 800-841-ARTS (2787) or 828-262-4046, or visit www.pas.appstate.edu. You can also follow the Performing Arts Series on Facebook and Twitter, @AppalachianArts. (Images provided by Appalachian State.)
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