The Newman Center for Performing Arts at the University of Denver is continuing their tradition of bringing eclectic, unique and world class performers to the beautiful stage of June Swaner Gates Concert Hall.. The 2009-10 Season is sure not to disappoint!
The 2009-10 season will focus on bringing the community together, by using the arts to connect our neighbors and new friends from continents away. The arts give us confidence in our ability to create and to make sense of our complex world; this season will highlight the arts’ ability to strengthen bonds between people.
New Season Subscriptions are available May 15; please call the box office 303.871.7720 for more information. Single tickets go on sale June 15 and range from $18-$88 (including parking) and will be available at the Newman Center Box Office or Ticketmaster.com
Please feel free to post comments about our upcoming season.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Keigwin + Company “Bolero Colorado”
Keigwin + Company
“Bolero Colorado” (a collaboration with EcoArts Connections and the Denver School of the Arts)
Saturday, September 26, 2009
The professional dancers of Keigwin + Company from New York City and up to 50 members of the Colorado community will create “Bolero Colorado” under the direction of choreographer Larry Keigwin. This large-scale dance event will reflect the aspirations and visions of the community participants for the future of Colorado. What does an inclusive, sustainable future community in Colorado look like? If you would like to participate, please let us know!
In addition to “Bolero Colorado,” Keigwin + Company will perform several works from their amusing, provocative, and entertaining repertoire.
“The kinetic delight of Keigwin’s high-powered dancing is infectious, and he doesn’t shy away from the ‘e’ word: entertainment.” Gus Solomons, Dance Magazine
www.keigwinandcompany.com
www.ecoartsonline.org
http://dsa.dpsk12.org/
The Laramie Project, 10 Years Later… an Epilogue
The Laramie Project, 10 Years Later… an Epilogue
by Moises Kaufman
Tectonic Theater Project
Monday, October 12, 2009
On October 6, 1998, Matthew Shepard, a gay student at the University of Wyoming, was beaten and left tied to a fence in the outskirts of Laramie. He died in a Fort Collins hospital on October 12. A month after the murder, the members of the Tectonic Theater Project led by Moises Kaufman traveled to Laramie and interviewed people of the town. From those interviews they wrote the play “The Laramie Project,” which later became an HBO movie. In 2008, the Tectonic Theater Project returned to Laramie and re-interviewed the same people. Has the murder had a lasting effect on Laramie? Has Laramie changed as a result? Has America changed?
The Epilogue Project will be presented in scores of communities across America on the evening of the 11th anniversary of Shepard’s murder. By joining together this way, the participants in each separate community, and collectively across the nation, engage to consider the conditions which led to this tragic event and to raise awareness about matters of civil rights, violence and bigotry.
A member of the Tectonic Theater Project will work with the University’s Theater students in a two-day residency using Kaufman’s “Moment Work” process to prepare them for a public reading. The cast, including both students and others from the community, will present the reading of the Epilogue in Gates Concert Hall.
“In returning to Laramie, Wyo., 10 years after the murder of Matthew Shepard, the pressing question for all of us was: how has the town changed since 1998? But soon a different question arose: how do we measure that change?” Moises Kaufman, Newsweek
www.tectonictheaterproject.org
by Moises Kaufman
Tectonic Theater Project
Monday, October 12, 2009
On October 6, 1998, Matthew Shepard, a gay student at the University of Wyoming, was beaten and left tied to a fence in the outskirts of Laramie. He died in a Fort Collins hospital on October 12. A month after the murder, the members of the Tectonic Theater Project led by Moises Kaufman traveled to Laramie and interviewed people of the town. From those interviews they wrote the play “The Laramie Project,” which later became an HBO movie. In 2008, the Tectonic Theater Project returned to Laramie and re-interviewed the same people. Has the murder had a lasting effect on Laramie? Has Laramie changed as a result? Has America changed?
The Epilogue Project will be presented in scores of communities across America on the evening of the 11th anniversary of Shepard’s murder. By joining together this way, the participants in each separate community, and collectively across the nation, engage to consider the conditions which led to this tragic event and to raise awareness about matters of civil rights, violence and bigotry.
A member of the Tectonic Theater Project will work with the University’s Theater students in a two-day residency using Kaufman’s “Moment Work” process to prepare them for a public reading. The cast, including both students and others from the community, will present the reading of the Epilogue in Gates Concert Hall.
“In returning to Laramie, Wyo., 10 years after the murder of Matthew Shepard, the pressing question for all of us was: how has the town changed since 1998? But soon a different question arose: how do we measure that change?” Moises Kaufman, Newsweek
www.tectonictheaterproject.org
Hubbard Street Dance Chicago
Hubbard Street Dance Chicago
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Critically acclaimed for its exuberant and athletic dancers, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago presents challenging and engaging performances drawn from an eclectic and continually evolving repertory by master American and international choreographers. In its 30 plus years of performing, the company has appeared in celebrated dance venues in 44 states and 19 countries. As Chicago’s leading contemporary dance company, Hubbard Street Dance serves as an emblem of the city’s international cultural profile. HSDC’s program for Denver is scheduled to include “Lickety-Split” by Alejandro Cerrudo, “Gimme,” by Lucas Crandall, a new work by Jorma Elo and “Gnawa” by Nacho Duato.
www.hubbardstreetdance.com
Mariza
Mariza
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Mariza sings the Portuguese soul. Mariza has in a few short years gone from singing in the backroom of a Lisbon bar to being recognized the world over as the queen of the Portuguese musical style know as fado. “I fell in love with the sound of the Portuguese guitar coming up through the floor of our family tavern and I started to sing fado when I was five years old,” Mariza recalls. From those early roots, her dedication to this musical heritage of her country took her to international awards, including being elected the Best European Artist by BBC Radio 3 in 2001, 2005, and 2006, and being named a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador in 2005. In 2006, the Portuguese President awarded Mariza the Order of Henry the Navigator.
“Fado is the traditional music of Portugal - proud, austere and deeply melancholic. Mariza is the music's biggest star for a reason: She sings it not as musty nostalgia but as exuberant twenty-first-century pop, with a low, mesmerizing alto that's as commanding as any pop singer today...remaking fado's ancient sadness into a majestic modern sound." Rolling Stone
www.mariza.com
Rebel, Ensemble for Baroque Music
Rebel, Ensemble for Baroque Music
Special guests:
Marta Almajano, Soprano
Richard Savino, Spanish guitar
“Kingdoms and Viceroys: Music of Spain and its Dominions”
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, Spain ruled over a vast region that stretched from Italy, across the Mediterranean and Atlantic, to Central and South America. In its territories, cathedrals and courtly life demanded an active musical scene, and in the case of the Americas, indigenous peoples were drawn into the arts. The musical result was an intoxicating style that bears the imprint of folk music. Rebel and its Special Guests will perform vocal and instrumental works by Durón, Falconieri, Castellanos, Nebra, Orejón y Aparicio, de Salazar, and Vivaldi.
Hailed by The New York Times as “sophisticated and beguiling” and praised by the
Los Angeles Times for their “astonishingly vital music-making,” the New York-based Baroque ensemble Rebel (named after a French Baroque composer and pronounced “Re-BEL”) has earned an impressive international reputation, enchanting audiences with their virtuosic, highly expressive and provocative approach to the Baroque and Classical repertoire. Rebel is currently in residence at historic Trinity Church, Wall Street in New York City.
www.rebelbaroque.com
Special guests:
Marta Almajano, Soprano
Richard Savino, Spanish guitar
“Kingdoms and Viceroys: Music of Spain and its Dominions”
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, Spain ruled over a vast region that stretched from Italy, across the Mediterranean and Atlantic, to Central and South America. In its territories, cathedrals and courtly life demanded an active musical scene, and in the case of the Americas, indigenous peoples were drawn into the arts. The musical result was an intoxicating style that bears the imprint of folk music. Rebel and its Special Guests will perform vocal and instrumental works by Durón, Falconieri, Castellanos, Nebra, Orejón y Aparicio, de Salazar, and Vivaldi.
Hailed by The New York Times as “sophisticated and beguiling” and praised by the
Los Angeles Times for their “astonishingly vital music-making,” the New York-based Baroque ensemble Rebel (named after a French Baroque composer and pronounced “Re-BEL”) has earned an impressive international reputation, enchanting audiences with their virtuosic, highly expressive and provocative approach to the Baroque and Classical repertoire. Rebel is currently in residence at historic Trinity Church, Wall Street in New York City.
www.rebelbaroque.com
Cantus
Cantus
“All Is Calm”
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Cantus, which appeared in Newman Center Presents’ first season, returns with a program inspired by actual historical events during the First World War on Christmas, 1914. Out of the violence came a silence, then a song. A young German soldier stepped into No Man’s Land singing Stille Nacht (Silent Night). Thus began an extraordinary night of camaraderie, music, and brief peace. Re-live this remarkable true story through the words and songs of the men who lived it. This collaboration between Cantus and Theater Latté Da is done in the style of a radio musical drama. After intermission, Cantus will sing traditional holiday fare.
Recognized as one of America's finest professional male vocal ensembles, Cantus enjoys a vigorous schedule of national tours, concerts in its home of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, educational outreach programs, and recording. The Washington Post hails the ensemble's sound as having both "exalting finesse" and "expressive power," and refers to their music-making as "spontaneous grace." The ensemble is known for adventurous programming spanning many periods and genres, including chant, Renaissance music, contemporary works, art song, folk, spirituals, world music, and pop.
www.cantusonline.org
Vanguard Jazz Orchestra
Vanguard Jazz Orchestra
Friday, January 15, 2010
The legendary Vanguard Jazz Orchestra began life as the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Orchestra in 1966 and has performed continuously ever since. Their current name comes from the fact that they are booked at the Village Vanguard in New York City every Monday. Several of the current key members played for Thad, so the original precepts of sound and swinging are proudly held and displayed while the other original precepts of creativity and experimentation are nurtured and encouraged.
www.vanguardjazzorchestra.com
Pilobolus
Pilobolus
Tuesday, January 26, 20140
Pilobolus is a unique American arts organization of international influence, having created one of the most popular and varied bodies of work in the history of dance. Pilobolus arose out of a Dartmouth College dance class in 1971. What emerged was a collaborative choreographic process and unique weight-sharing approach to partnering that gave the young company a non-traditional but powerful new set of skills with which to make dances. Their performances have long been characterized by a strong element of physical interaction between the bodies of the performers, and exaggerations or contortions of the human form (or other anthropomorphic forms), often verging on gymnastics. Their creativity was on full display during the 2007 television broadcast of the 79th Academy Awards.
www.pilobolus.com
Russian National Orchestra
Russian National Orchestra
Patrick Summers, conductor
Yuja Wang, piano soloist
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Returning to the Newman Center after their wildly successful appearance in 2008, the Russian National Orchestra returns! Twenty-two year old Chinese superstar pianist Yuja Wang will perform Beethoven’s “Emperor” Piano Concerto.
The 100-member RNO has been in demand throughout the music world since its debut in Moscow in 1990. Maestro Patrick Summers is Music Director of the Houston Grand Opera and a regular guest conductor of leading orchestras such as the Metropolitan Opera, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Born in Beijing in 1987, pianist Yuja Wang has already made a stunning worldwide career as piano soloist. She won the piano competition at the Aspen Music Festival in 2002, her first year of attendance. She won the prestigious Gilmore Young Artist Award for 2006.
“An awe-inspiring experience; should human beings be able to play like this?” Gramophone
“At 20, Wang has both the energetic, fearless imagination of youth and the probing sensitivity that in most artists comes only with maturity.”
San Francisco Chronicle
www.russianarts.org/rno/
Ladysmith Black Mambazo
Ladysmith Black Mambazo
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
For more than thirty years, Ladysmith Black Mambazo have married the intricate rhythms and harmonies of their native South African musical traditions to the sounds and sentiments of Christian gospel music. The result is a musical and spiritual alchemy that has touched a worldwide audience representing every corner of the religious, cultural and ethnic landscape. The name is an amalgam of Ladysmith, the rural hometown of group founder Joseph Shabalala, Black, a reference to strong oxen, and Mambazo, the Zulu word for axe, a symbol of the group’s ability to “chop down” any singing rival who might challenge them. They were honored with the 2008 Grammy Award for Best Traditional World Music CD
www.mambazo.com
Marcus Tardelli
Marcus Tardelli
Brazilian guitar
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Brazil is “the nation of the guitar,” and Marcus Tardelli has risen quickly to be one of its greatest stars. Composer and guitarist Guinga, one of the greatest names in Brazilian music, was one of the first to recognize his genius, saying: “It is like Rubinstein at the piano. There are certain musicians who are beyond mere technical judgment, who have a relationship with the unfathomable. God touched the heart of this boy.” A revolutionary in his playing technique, Tardelli has developed an orchestral approach to his instrument. “I started out self-taught,” he says, “playing everything by ear, and I always heard more recordings of orchestras than of guitar. To reproduce the sounds I heard, my hands began to develop a form uncommon in the traditional technique for the instrument.” Marcus gave his debut U.S. performance at the Spoleto Festival USA in June 2006, and returns to the U.S. for the first time since then with his performance at the Newman Center.
The program he has designed for the Newman Center, reflective of his unique approach to playing, includes works by Alexander Scriabin, Guinga, Villa Lobos, Baden Powell, Antonio Carlos Jobim, and Claude Debussy.
“Marcus Tardelli is the greatest acoustic guitar player that Brazil produced in history and technically revolutionary with the acoustic guitar.” Guinga (Brazilian composer and guitarist)
www.marcustardelli.com
Brazilian guitar
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Brazil is “the nation of the guitar,” and Marcus Tardelli has risen quickly to be one of its greatest stars. Composer and guitarist Guinga, one of the greatest names in Brazilian music, was one of the first to recognize his genius, saying: “It is like Rubinstein at the piano. There are certain musicians who are beyond mere technical judgment, who have a relationship with the unfathomable. God touched the heart of this boy.” A revolutionary in his playing technique, Tardelli has developed an orchestral approach to his instrument. “I started out self-taught,” he says, “playing everything by ear, and I always heard more recordings of orchestras than of guitar. To reproduce the sounds I heard, my hands began to develop a form uncommon in the traditional technique for the instrument.” Marcus gave his debut U.S. performance at the Spoleto Festival USA in June 2006, and returns to the U.S. for the first time since then with his performance at the Newman Center.
The program he has designed for the Newman Center, reflective of his unique approach to playing, includes works by Alexander Scriabin, Guinga, Villa Lobos, Baden Powell, Antonio Carlos Jobim, and Claude Debussy.
“Marcus Tardelli is the greatest acoustic guitar player that Brazil produced in history and technically revolutionary with the acoustic guitar.” Guinga (Brazilian composer and guitarist)
www.marcustardelli.com
“The Secret Life of Bees”
“The Secret Life of Bees”
Literature to Life Program
American Place Theatre
Saturday, April 10, 2010
In this New York Times bestseller by Sue Monk Kidd set in the American South during the Civil Rights Movement, a young girl's search for the truth about her mother leads her to three beekeeping sisters and the discovery of the real meaning of family. The American Place Theatre has adapted the novel for performance by a single extraordinary actress. Each performance is preceded by an interactive discussion between the audience and a professional teaching artist. Each performance is followed by a talk-back with the actress.
The American Place Theatre and the Newman Center will also be collaborating with area middle and high school students on residency work that builds literacy, discovery, and imagination through reading and performance. Those students will also see a performance of the play in the University’s Byron Theatre.
www.americanplacetheatre.org
Literature to Life Program
American Place Theatre
Saturday, April 10, 2010
In this New York Times bestseller by Sue Monk Kidd set in the American South during the Civil Rights Movement, a young girl's search for the truth about her mother leads her to three beekeeping sisters and the discovery of the real meaning of family. The American Place Theatre has adapted the novel for performance by a single extraordinary actress. Each performance is preceded by an interactive discussion between the audience and a professional teaching artist. Each performance is followed by a talk-back with the actress.
The American Place Theatre and the Newman Center will also be collaborating with area middle and high school students on residency work that builds literacy, discovery, and imagination through reading and performance. Those students will also see a performance of the play in the University’s Byron Theatre.
www.americanplacetheatre.org
Martha Graham Dance Co.
Martha Graham Dance Co.
“Essential Graham – Prelude and Revolt”
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Martha Graham was one of the foremost pioneers of modern dance. She invented a new language of movement, and used it to reveal the passion, rage, and ecstasy common to human experience. She danced and choreographed for over seventy years, and during that time was the first dancer to perform at The White House, the first American dancer to travel abroad as a cultural ambassador, and the first dancer to receive the nation’s highest civilian award, the Medal of Freedom.
This special performance, including archival film clips, still photos, and narration interwoven with dancing from Graham’s prodigious body of work offers a kind of guided tour of Graham's revolutionary and long creative career. “Essential Graham” includes part of Helios and Conversation of Lovers from Acts of Light, and excerpts from some of Graham’s larger works such as Clytemnestra and Appalachian Spring, along with the following dances: Denishawn solo montage: Gnossienne, Tanagra, Incense, Serenata Morisca, Lamentation, and Spectre.
Martha Graham Dance’s Essential Graham – Prelude and Revolt was made possible by the National Endowment for the Arts’ American Masterpieces: Dance Initiative, administered by the New England Foundation for the Arts.”
www.marthagraham.org
American Bluegrass Masters
American Bluegrass Masters
Saturday, May 8, 2010
For the first time in 50 years, the American Bluegrass Masters Tour unites Grammy Winner JD Crowe and Grand Ole Opry legend Bobby Osborne with the hottest bluegrass singers and pickers on the planet. JD and Bobby, among the founding fathers of bluegrass, embody the spirit, sounds and lore of the rural American South. Hailing from Kentucky, they pass the torch of America’s folk musical heritage to the prodigious talents of the next generation. Old-timey tradition meets youthful energy in a concert of vibrant front-porch twang and infectious rhythms that define the American spirit.
Bobby Osborne, mandolin
JD Crowe, banjo
Dean Osborne, banjo and guitar
Bobby Osborne Jr., bass and guitar
Richard Bennett, guitar
Curtis Burch, Dobro® (resophonic/steel guitar)
JP Mathes, multi-instrumentalist (banjo, guitar, bass)
Kentucky School of Bluegrass and Traditional Music (KSBTM) Ensemble
Obadiah (Obe) Golding, banjo
Andrew DeKemper, resophonic/steel guitar
Katherine Boggess, fiddle
www.opus3artists.com/artists/american-bluegrass-masters-tour
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