Some big names will be performing at Stanford in 2018-19 arts season.
Music, dance and theater works exploring themes of life, love and loss fill Stanford Live’s 2018-19 season, announced last week by executive director Chris Lorway.
The season opens Sept. 21 with an 80th birthday tribute to legendary jazz saxophonist Charles Lloyd, in concert with the Marvels and special guest Lucinda Williams, and concludes May 11, 2019, with “Bing Fling: the History of Frost Amphitheater,” a nostalgic trip through the heyday of the historic venue, which is set to reopen next summer.
Season highlights include Esa-Pekka Salonen conducting the London Philharmonia Orchestra with soprano Ana María Martinez in “Dreamer,” a new oratorio by composer Jimmy López and librettist Nilo Cruz. Appearances by Branford Marsalis, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra and Wynton Marsalis mark the 300th birthday of New Orleans, and “The Routes of Slavery,” featuring Catalan gambist and conductor Jordi Savall, traces music spanning three continents.
Additional music events include two programs featuring composer Meredith Monk and her Vocal Ensemble; the Australian Chamber Orchestra, presenting the U.S. premiere of Samuel Adams’ Concerto Grosso; and “Frankenstein” by Viennese composer H.K. Gruber, performed by the St. Lawrence String Quartet and special guests. Bass Eric Owens and tenor Lawrence Brownlee will appear in a joint recital.
The season also includes David Bowie’s “Blackstar,” with cellist Maya Beiser and the Ambient Orchestra; “Dystopian Dream” featuring dance duo Wang Ramirez; “Oscar, with Love,” a tribute to the late jazz pianist Oscar Peterson; and the choral group Conspirare in “Considering Matthew Shepard,” based on the hate crime death that inspired a sea change in LGBT rights.
Rounding out the schedule are Tel Aviv’s Batsheva Dance Company, the Australian acrobatic ensemble Circa, and “Ghost Rings” by Tina Satter and Half Saddle, about two young women in an imaginary band. The holiday season brings programs by jazz diva Dianne Reeves, the men’s chorus Chanticleer and mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade with the Sonos Handbell Ensemble.
Stanford Live is introducing an annual membership program, which phases out season subscriptions; memberships start at $250. Single tickets go on sale May 24. For more information, call 650-724-2464, or go to live.stanford.edu.