KU Presents! announces new season.
KU Presents!, the performing artist series at Kutztown University, has announced their 2016–2017 season. All shows begin at 7:30 p.m. in Schaeffer Auditorium. New subscriptions are available and single ticket sales begin Aug. 2. For more information, call the Box Office at 610-683-4092 or visit www.KutztownPresents.org.
The line up for this season is as follows:
Kelli O’Hara will perform Thursday, Sept. 15.
Kelli O’Hara has equivocally established herself as one of Broadway’s great leading ladies. A 2015 TONY award-winner for her portrayal of Anna in the critically acclaimed revival of “The King & I,” she has performed in one commercial success after another, receiving TONY, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Award nominations for her starring roles in “South Pacific,” “The Bridges of Madison County,” “The Light in the Piazza,” “The Pajama Game” and “Nice Work If You Can Get It.” Among her film and television credits, she was Mrs. Darling in NBC’s live telecast of “Peter Pan” and appeared in “Sex & The City 2,” “Blue Bloods,” “NUMB3RS” and “All My Children.” Her breathtaking voice can be heard on GRAMMY award-winning cast albums as well as her own solo projects, “Always” and “Wonder in the World.” O’Hara has sold out Carnegie Hall, received critical acclaim for her performances as the lead in the New York Philharmonic’s productions of “Carousel” and “My Fair Lady” and recently made her Metropolitan Opera debut in the production of “The Merry Widow” with Renee Fleming. Don’t miss this rare opportunity to see her in Schaeffer’s intimate setting.
Rosanne Cash, with John Leventhal, will perform Saturday, Oct. 22.
GRAMMY award-winner Rosanne Cash, one of the country’s pre-eminent singer/songwriters, is truly the hardest-working woman in music. Her credits include the release of 15 albums, which garnered four GRAMMY awards and 11 nominations; more than 20 top-40 hit singles, 11 of which reached Number 1; and the recent prestigious honor of being inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. Cash is the author of the best-selling memoir Composed, and has spoken before the Congressional Judiciary in her role as fervent advocate for artists’ rights - all the while maintaining a non-stop touring schedule with long-time collaborator and husband, John Leventhal.
Cash and Leventhal’s exciting show celebrates her highly-acclaimed and three time Grammy-winning album, “The River and the Thread,” a collection of original songs that connect and reconnect Rosanne to the American South, the place of her birth and the home of her ancestors. Inspired by the many musical styles associated with the SouthDelta blues, gospel, Appalachian folk, country, rock and others, the resulting musical works paint a vividly rich portrait of the tapestry of American life.
A special event will coincide with this performance, the showing of documentary film “The Winding Stream – The Carters, The Cashes, and the Course of Country Music.” The back story of all country music begins with these two iconic families. Interviews and performances by Johnny Cash, June Carter Cash, John Prine, the Carolina Chocolate Drops, George Jones, Kris Kristofferson and others contribute to making this a loving and comprehensive tribute to this timeless music. The film will be shown at 5:45 p.m. in Schaeffer Little Theatre.
The U.S. Army Field Band & Soldiers’ Chorus, in celebration of Veterans, will perform Monday, Nov. 14.
This is a free concert, but KU Presents! subscribers’ seats will be reserved.
Join the 94 member strong U.S. Army Field Band & Soldiers’ Chorus for a memorable night of classical, semi-classical and popular music selections honoring the members of the armed forces and our local veterans in celebration of Veterans Day. From Boston to Bagdad, Tampa to Tokyo, these Musical Ambassadors of the Army have been thrilling audiences of all ages across the country and around the world for more than half a century, performing a wide variety of music including military marches and patriotic favorites. Guest performers will include outstanding musicians from Kutztown University and local area high schools.
Elisabeth von Trapp, with the Carolian Brass, will perform “The Sound of Christmas” on Friday, Dec. 2.
For Elisabeth von Trapp, “the sounds of music” are part of her earliest memories. The granddaughter of the legendary Maria and Baron von Trapp, and inspired by her father Werner von Trapp’s guitar playing and singing, Elisabeth has carried on the legacy of the internationally renowned Trapp Family Singers to a new generation. Performing with the sensational Carolian Brass, her concert repertoire ranges from Bach to Broadway, Schubert to Sting, and will include songs from “The Sound of Music” as well as holiday classics. Selections “My Favorite Things” and “Do-ReMi” will feature Berks County’s own Berks Youth Chorus.
A Pilobous – Shadowland performance will be held Wednesday, Feb. 8.
Shadowland is a breathtaking spectacle of masterful dance and storytelling that incorporates multiple moving screens of different sizes and shapes, merging the use of projected images and front-of-screen choreography to create a uniquely stunning performance. Founded in 1971, world-renowned dance company Pilobolus Dance Theatre continually forms diverse collaborations that break down barriers between disciplines and challenge the way we think about dance. The story of Shadowland, a surreal journey of a young girl’s sensational world as she comes of age, does just that. Both intensely dramatic and comedic, Shadowland’s whirlwind creation of versatile characters, shapes and scenes all done through shadows is a universal and intimately emotional experience. Touring for the first time ever in North America, don’t miss this one-of-a-kind theatrical event when it makes its stop at Schaeffer.
A Dadan 2017 Kodo performance will take place Tuesday, March 7.
The world’s most celebrated Japanese drumming sensation, Kodo, continues to break new ground and explore the limitless possibilities of the traditional Japanese drum, the taiko. Kodo is the Japanese word for “heartbeat” and primal source of all rhythm. Performing this latest work by renowned Artistic Director Tamasaburo Bando, Dadan 2017 - or “drumming men” - offers a bold new exploration of Japanese drumming traditions, uniquely featuring solely young male Kodo performers with unusual percussive pieces like gongs, the O-daiko (big drum) and the Grantang (a bamboo instrument of Jegog from Bali, Indonesia). On this Kodo’s 35th Anniversary, these performers continue to be that rare combination of supreme artistry and physical endurance which creates a mesmerizing, riveting and spiritual experience enjoyed by millions around the world.
Finally, the Branford Marsalis Quartet with Special Guest Kurt Elling will perform Wednesday, April 19.
GRAMMY award-winner Branford Marsalis is a 21st century mainstay of artistic excellence. From his early acclaim as a saxophonist bringing new energy and new audiences to the jazz art, he has refined and expended his talents and his horizons as a musician, composer, bandleader and educator. His band, The Branford Marsalis Quartet, known for the telepathic communication among its members, has long been recognized as the standard to which other ensembles of its kind must be measured.
Marsalis’s tight-knit working band will be joined by GRAMMY winner Kurt Elling, one of the world’s foremost jazz vocalists, whose accolades include winning DownBeat Critic’s Poll for 14 consecutive years, being named “Male Singer of the Year” by Jazz Journalists Association eight times and whose 10 albums have each been nominated for a GRAMMY. Elling’s deep jazz vocabulary, technical versatility and outstanding intonation will enable the Quartet to perform a variety of material in new ways. nergized by the artistic promise of this collaboration – the meeting of jazz’s most intense band and one of jazz’s foremost singers will prove to be anything but standard.