In This Issue
Item One: The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Item Two: Library of Congress Announces 2011-2012 Concert Season
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
announces its
2011–2012 Season (WASHINGTON, D.C.)—The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts today announced the 2011-2012 seasons for the Kennedy Center, National Symphony Orchestra and Washington National Opera. In wide-ranging programming that covers theater, dance, classical music, jazz, and productions for young people, the Kennedy Center continues its commitment, as the nation’s center for the performing arts, to producing and presenting the best of national and international arts.
![]() Kennedy Center Chairman David M. Rubenstein stated, ―The Kennedy Center’s 41st season will provide audiences with more access than ever before in a wide breadth of creative programming. The Center will present an international festival focused on the music of Budapest, Prague, and Vienna; the incomparable ballet season will host a multitude of world-class companies; and the ever-busy jazz season will include a festival of swing music. An entirely free street arts festival will feature performances throughout the city and Washington audiences will see a continuation of the remarkable relationship between the National Symphony Orchestra and Music Director Christoph Eschenbach. We also welcome the wonderful talents of Steven Reineke, the new National Symphony Orchestra Principal Pops Conductor and the first affiliated season for Washington National Opera. The Kennedy Center also announced today a five-year, $10 million pledge from David M. Rubenstein. The donation will help support programming, education and outreach at the Kennedy Center. Further information about this generous donation may be found in the supporting season announcement materials. Highlights of the 2011–2012 season include:Funded by Kennedy Center Chairman David M. Rubenstein, the Rubenstein Arts Access Program expands the Center’s efforts to make the arts accessible to children, young adults and to people who have little or limited ability to attend and enjoy the performing arts. At the heart of this Center-wide effort is programming that excites and engages the 18- to 30- year-old demographic, including free and ticketed performances by mainstream and popular artists such as John Legend and The Roots; edgy and quirky performances including those on the Millennium Stage Lab; artists that are of their own generation such as Nellie McKay; performances in unique and non-traditional settings as in Look Both Ways: Street Arts Across America; and interactive participation, whether in-person or by digital means, like the KC Dance Hall for Swing, Swing, Swing. The Center’s MY-TIX initiative is designed to increase access to performances for young people, the underserved, and members of the armed services. MY-TIX kicks off with a major free ticket giveaway September 10, 2011 in celebration of the Center’s 40th birthday. From February 25 to March 29, 2012, the Kennedy Center will present The Music of Budapest, Prague, and Vienna, a one-month festival that highlights the rich musical heritage of three European cities whose contributions to the arts world have been appreciated for centuries. The festival will debut with Washington National Opera’s Cosě fan tutte and will include the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, presented by Washington Performing Arts Society in conjunction with the Kennedy Center, the Prague Philharmonia conducted by Jiří Bělohlávek, six programs by the National Symphony Orchestra, several offerings from the Fortas chamber series, a chamber music marathon by the Center’s Conservatory Project and a theater production by Hungary’s Katona Józef Theatre which focuses on gypsy music. ![]() The Theater Season will include a new Kennedy Center production of Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart’s Pal Joey, which will feature a new book by Terrence McNally, as well as Broadway hits such as Billy Elliot the Musical, Memphis, La Cage aux Folles, The Addams Family, and the 25th anniversary production of Les Misérables. The theater season will also include the Sydney Theatre Company production of Uncle Vanya starring Cate Blanchett and Hugo Weaving, a 10th anniversary concert of the Center’s Sondheim Celebration, and the Mabou Mines production of Dollhouse. Barbara Cook will return to perform in the fifth season of her Spotlight series. Look Both Ways: Street Arts Across America will support the timeless tradition of street art and shed light on artists and companies who are producing extraordinary work in non-traditional spaces. The festival will offer entirely free programming at the Kennedy Center as well as at locations around Washington, D.C., featuring contemporary visual arts, large-scale spectacles, street musicians, parade culture, flash mobs, puppetry, circus arts, and clowning. Part of the Rubenstein Arts Access program, the festival will focus on artists from across the country such as Nick Cave, Project Bandaloop, Bread and Puppet Theater, Mass Ensemble, The Midnight Circus, Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, Nana Projects, and more. The National Symphony Orchestra will present the season’s Opening Night with Joshua Bell, conducted by Music Director Christoph Eschenbach. The Orchestra will host several well-known choral works such as Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Orff’s Carmina Burana, and Dvořák’s Stabat Mater, and continue its focus on Beethoven, performing five of the composer’s nine symphonies. The NSO will also host the world premiere of a new work by Bill Banfield to be performed by Sweet Honey in the Rock and the D.C. premiere of an NSO co-commission of Golijov’s Sidereus. The season will include performances by Joshua Bell, Matthias Goerne, Midori, and Peter Serkin, among many others. ![]() The Contemporary Dance Season features performances by Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Ballet Preljocaj, Beijing Dance Theater, Jo Kanamori’s Noism, Keigwin + Company, Mark Morris Dance Group, and Merce Cunningham Dance Company as part of the company’s Legacy Tour. Washington National Opera will embark on its first season as an affiliated company with the Kennedy Center with five productions that are new to Washington audiences: Puccini’s Tosca, Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor, Mozart’s Cosě fan tutte, a new production of Verdi’s Nabucco, and Massenet’s Werther. The company will also present concerts with Deborah Voigt and Angela Gheorghiu and once again offer its free ―Opera in the Outfield‖ simulcast, this year a live broadcast of Tosca on September 22.![]() The Jazz Season will feature a two-week festival of Swing music entitled Swing, Swing, Swing which will include Jazz on the Elevens: A Tribute to Billy Taylor, featuring Ramsey Lewis, Toshiko Akiyoshi and Danilo Pérez. The festival will also include The Manhattan Transfer with special guest Jon Hendricks, and An Unforgettable Tribute to Nat King Cole by George Benson and the NSO Pops. The Center will build a dance floor in the Grand Foyer and invite the public to dance to swing music performances at the Millennium Stage. The Jazz Season will also include dozens of artists, including Roy Haynes and the Fountain of Youth Band, Django Reinhardt Festival All-Stars, Grace Kelly and Phil Woods, Jane Monheit, Dianne Reeves, Nicholas Payton, A Jazz New Year’s Eve with Patti Austin, and many others. Performances for Young Audiences will premiere three new Kennedy Center− commissioned works: The Space-capades of Dr. Wonderful (and her dog!) with book and lyrics by Lauren Gunderson and music by Brian Lowdermilk, The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg, and The Wings of Ikarus Jackson, adapted by Jerome Hairston from the book by Christopher Myers. The National Symphony Orchestra and Washington National Opera will also present diverse programming for young people and their families. ![]() VSA, the international organization on arts and disability and an affiliate of the Kennedy Center, will present performances, exhibitions, and educational programming both nationally and abroad. Such programming includes the VSA Playwright Discovery Program, the VSA International Young Soloists Program, and the VSA Teaching Artist Fellowship. The 34th Kennedy Center Honors will celebrate extraordinary individuals whose artistry have contributed significantly to the cultural life of this nation and will be broadcast on CBS in late December. The Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, in its 14th year, will continue to recognize recipients who have had an impact on American society in ways similar to the distinguished 19th century novelist. The presentation will be broadcast nationally. ABOUT THE KENNEDY CENTER The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, overlooking the Potomac River in Washington, D.C., is America’s living memorial to President Kennedy. Under the guidance of Chairman David M. Rubenstein and President Michael M. Kaiser, the nine theaters and stages of the nation’s busiest performing arts facility attract audiences and visitors totaling three million people annually; Center-related touring productions, television, and radio broadcasts welcome 40 million more.![]() Opening its doors on September 8, 1971, the Center presents the greatest performances of music, dance, and theater; supports artists in the creation of new work; and serves the nation as a leader in arts and arts management education. With its artistic affiliate, the National Symphony Orchestra, the Center’s achievements as a commissioner, producer, and nurturer of developing artists have resulted in more than 300 theatrical productions, and dozens of new ballets, operas, and musical works. Each year, more than 11 million people nationwide take part in innovative and effective education programs initiated by the Center, including performances, lecture/demonstrations, open rehearsals, dance and music residencies, master classes, competitions for young actors and musicians, and workshops for teachers. These programs have become models for communities across the country. The Center’s Any Given Child program works with selected local school districts and seeks to provide a comprehensive arts education to children K-8. The Center also has been at the forefront of making the performing arts accessible to persons with disabilities, highlighted by its affiliation with VSA, with which it shares programs and resources. The Kennedy Center is a leader in arts management education. Through its DeVos Institute of Arts Management at the Kennedy Center, advanced training is provided for arts administrators at varying stages of development, working with arts leaders throughout the United States and in nearly 70 countries. As part of the Kennedy Center’s Performing Arts for Everyone outreach program, the Center and the National Symphony Orchestra stage more than 400 free performances of music, dance, and theater by artists from throughout the world each year on the Center’s main stages, and every evening at 6 p.m. on the Millennium Stage.For more information about the Kennedy Center visit www.kennedy-center.org. Please visit facebook.com/kennedycenter for behind-the-scenes news, special offers, advance notice of events and other related Kennedy Center Facebook pages. Follow @kencen on Twitter for up-to-the-minute news, offers and more. Library of Congress Announces 2011-2012 Concert Season
Highlights Include Franz Liszt Bicentenary Project, BachFest, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz Celebration, and the Inauguration of a New Fund for Contemporary MusicThe 2011-2012 season of concerts from the Library of Congress presents a 30-event roster of stellar classical, jazz, pop, country, folk and world music. Concerts kick off on Saturday, Oct. 15 at 8 p.m., with an exciting opening-night show celebrating two great American entertainers, comedienne Lucille Ball and composer and bandleader Desi Arnaz. "BABALU! Celebrating the Library’s Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz Collection" is an homage to two of America’s legendary entertainers and icons of American popular culture. Featuring their children Lucie Arnaz and Desi Arnaz, Jr., the evening spotlights orchestrations of the Desi Arnaz Orchestra and salutes both Lucille Ball’s 100th birthday and the 60th anniversary of one of the best-loved shows in television history. The Franz Liszt Bicentenary Project showcases the Library’s substantial Liszt holdings. A season-long BachFest brings exceptional artists for memorable performances and master classes, including a marathon day of concerts, instrument demonstrations and performance practice sessions with the Juilliard School’s resident early music ensemble, Juilliard Baroque. Continuing an 86-year tradition of strong support for contemporary music, the Library announces a new endowment, the Dina Koston and Roger Shapiro Fund for New Music. Two special concerts inaugurate the fund: a theater-and-music evening incorporating a play by Samuel Beckett and a chamber-music evening featuring pianist Leon Fleisher. To mark the John Cage centennial, violinist Irvine Arditti and pianist Stephen Drury perform another Library commission, Cage’s "Two4." The Cygnus Ensemble will premiere a new Library of Congress McKim Fund commission by Harold Meltzer, founder of the Sequitur ensemble. The Library continues its residence at the Atlas Performing Arts Center with a trio of exciting jazz and world music concerts: Gretchen Parlato shares the stage with Gerald Clayton; Nguyęn Lę’s Saiyuki Trio imagines an "Asia without borders"; and singer José James deconstructs the definitions of jazz, hip-hop and performance art. The Library’s concert series is presented free of charge to the public but requires tickets for admission. Tickets are distributed by TicketMaster at (202) 397-7328, (410) 547-7328 and (703) 573-7328. Each ticket carries a nominal service charge, with additional charges for phone orders and handling. Tickets are also available at TicketMaster outlets and online at www.TicketMaster.com. Although the supply of tickets may be exhausted, there are often empty seats at concert time. Interested patrons are encouraged to come to the Library by 6 p.m. on concert nights to wait in the standby line for no-show tickets. Tickets for events at the Atlas Performing Arts Center will be available through the Atlas Box Office, 202-399-7993. For further information on concerts, call the Concert Information Line at (202) 707-5502 or visit www.loc.gov/concerts/.
2011-2012 SEASONUnless otherwise noted, all concerts will be held at 8 p.m. in the Coolidge Auditorium located on the ground floor of the Thomas Jefferson Building, 10 First Street, S.E., Washington, D.C. Pre-concert presentations will be at 6:15 p.m. in the Whittall Pavilion unless otherwise noted, and these presentations do not require tickets. All programs are subject to change without notice. Saturday, Sept. 10, at noon Saturday, Oct. 1, from 1 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. 3:30 p.m.: Tenor Reginald Bouknight sings arrangements of spirituals by Henry Burleigh, as well as other fragments of African-American music that Dvořák encountered during his years in America, with commentary by Beckerman. Saturday, Oct. 15 Wednesday, Oct. 19 *Pre-concert presentation: Mathieu Deflem of the University of South Carolina, Denise Gallo of the Music Division and Robert Aubrey Davis of WETA present a panel discussion titled "On the Nature of Celebrity: Franz Liszt, Niccolň Paganini, Lady Gaga." Saturday, Oct. 22 *Pre-concert presentation: Music Division curator Raymond White introduces a display of Liszt manuscripts, letters, photographs and memorabilia. Tuesday, Oct. 25 *Pre-concert presentation: Karoly Dan, consul general of Hungary, discusses Liszt, Bartók, and music in modern Hungarian culture. Friday, Oct. 28 Saturday, October 29, at 2 p.m. Saturday, October 29 *Pre-concert presentation: Denise Gallo of the Music Division presents "Franz Liszt: Staging Opera at the Keyboard." Friday, Nov. 4 Saturday, Nov. 5 at 2 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 16 Friday, Dec. 2, Atlas Performing Arts Center *Pre-concert conversation: Gretchen Parlato and Gerald Clayton talk with Larry Appelbaum, Music Division specialist and jazz curator. Saturday, Dec. 17 *Pre-concert presentation: Violinist Nicholas Kitchen talks with composer Gunther Schuller. Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012, at 2 p.m. Friday, Feb. 3, 2012 *Pre-concert presentation: Harold Meltzer talks about his new work with Cygnus founder William Anderson. Saturday, Feb. 4, 2012, Atlas Performing Arts Center Saturday, Feb. 18, 2012, at 2 p.m. Friday, Feb. 24, 2012, Atlas Performing Arts Center *Pre-concert presentation: The Music Division’s Larry Appelbaum dialogues with the members of the Saiyuki Trio. Wednesday, March 7, 2012 *Pre-concert presentation: Joy Zinoman talks about Samuel Beckett and the genesis of the Library’s special production of "Ohio Impromptu." Thursday, March 8, 2012 *Pre-concert presentation: Leon Fleisher and soprano Phyllis Bryn-Julson talk about their long friendship with Dina Koston and the history of the Theater Chamber Players. Friday, March 9, 2012 Part I – harpsichord Part II – fortepiano *Pre-concert presentation: The Music Division’s Daniel Boomhower discusses chamber music in Berlin, ca. 1750. Monday, March 19, 2012 *Pre-concert presentation: Alberto Manai, director of the Italian Cultural Institute, is the featured guest speaker. Friday, March 23, 2012 Wednesday March 28, 2012 *Pre-concert presentation: Daniel Walshaw and Barbara Karpetova of the Embassy of the Czech Republic present "Czech Music Then and Now." Tuesday, April 10, 2012, at 7 p.m. Friday, April 13, 2012 Saturday, April 14, 2012 *Pre-concert performance, Coolidge Auditorium: Marimbist Pius Cheung. No tickets required for this one-hour performance. Friday, April 20, 2012 *Pre-concert presentation: Martin Sandhoff, flutist and artistic director of Concerto Köln, is featured guest speaker. Saturday, April 28, 2012 Part II: 3 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. *Pre-concert presentation at 2 p.m.: Daniel Boomhower of the Music Division presents "The Many Rooms of Bach’s Suites." Saturday, May 5, 2012, at 2 p.m. Saturday, May 12, 2012, at the Atlas Performing Arts Center *Pre-concert presentation: José James talks with Larry Appelbaum of the Music Division. Saturday, May 19, 2012 at 2 p.m.
THURSDAY NOONTIME LECTURESPresented at noon in the Whittall Pavilion, unless otherwise noted. No tickets required. Oct. 6 Nov. 3 Nov. 17 Feb. 9, 2012 Feb. 23, 2012 March 8, 2012 March 22, 2012 March 29, 2012, in the Coolidge Auditorium April 5, 2012 April 19, 2012 May 3, 2012
FILMS AT THE PICKFORD THEATER7 p.m., Mary Pickford Theater, 3rd Floor, James Madison Building, 101 Independence Ave., S.E., Washington, D.C. No reservations are required for Music Division film screenings. Free tickets will be distributed on the night of each screening on a first-come, first served basis. Seating is limited and patrons are encourage to arrive early. Programs are subject to change without notice. Wednesday, April 11, 2012 American Musical Theater at the Library of Congress Film Series: Thursday, April 5, 2012 Thursday, April 12 Thursday, April 19 ![]() |
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