The Performing Arts at Hamilton College announces an exciting roster of world-class professional performances for its 2002-03 season. From early music on period instruments to cutting-edge drama, the Classical Connections and Contemporary Voices and Visions Series have something that everyone will enjoy. All performances are general admission, begin at 8 p.m., and are held at Wellin Hall in the Schambach Center for Music and the Performing Arts on the Hamilton College campus, unless otherwise noted.
The Classical Connections Series opens with Maya Beiser, cello, and Anthony de Mare, piano, on Saturday, September 14. In the hands of Maya Beiser, the cello acquires an astonishing range of voices and dramatic characters. A passionate player who surpasses all technical difficulties with ease, the Israeli-born cellist has been a featured performer at major concert halls and alternative stages throughout the world—as has her partner in this musical journey, pianist Anthony de Mare. Recognized throughout the world for his dedication to the music of our time, de Mare is an award-winning pianist with an extraordinary ability to create theatrical worlds out of musical works. Together, Beiser and de Mare will perform selections from composer Astor Piazzolla's Oblivión as well as more adventurous selections from their repertoire.
Classical Connections continues with the return of I Musici de Montréal in a program titled Night Music on Saturday, Sept. 28. Lead by artistic director and conductor Yuli Turovsky, the program will feature Dvorák's Nocturne, Weber's Adagio and Rondo for Cello and Orchestra, and Mozart's Eine kleine Nachtmusik among other pieces. This world-class chamber orchestra is hailed internationally for their rich sound and unanimity of musical character and invention.
The acclaimed period instrument ensemble Hesperus continues the Classical Connections Series on Saturday, Oct. 12 with American Roots: Popular Music from 18th Century America. Soprano Rosa Lamoreaux is a special guest for this performance. An American treasure for two decades, The Washington Post describes Hesperus as having "Engaging stage presence, backed by programs put together with exceptional imagination." This concert will focus on the very beginnings of musical America, with songs influenced by traditions of the British Isles, France, Germany, Italy, and Africa. Colonial America was first a country of pioneers, and then a country of patriots. Its musical vitality lay in its topical ballads, cotillions, marches, play-party songs, and harsh-but-beautiful dissonances of the shape-note hymns that characterize the first American musical style.
Turning from music to dance, the Limón Dance Company takes the stage on
Friday, Nov. 8. One of the greatest companies performing today, the Limón Dance Company presents a spectrum of classic and cutting-edge choreography, performed by and ensemble of breath-taking dancers. The company has achieved international acclaim through tours and festival appearances that have taken the dancers around the globe including two White House performances. A major presence in dance for over 50 years, this versatile company will perform Psalm, the final component of the " Limón and Jazz" project. A recreation of a masterwork originally conceived in 1966, Psalm is an abstract ritual of rhythm and song, which premiered at the Cultural Olympics in Salt Lake City this past February. The sentiment of this spectacular performance is reflected on the words of José Limón, "The dance offers you a vision of your humanity: ennobled, winged, soaring."
The Classical Connections series concludes on Sunday, April 13, at 3 p.m. with the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra and guest soloist Olga Kern, piano. Under the direction of Daniel Hege, the Syracuse Symphony presents an all-Russian program featuring Tchaikovsky's Romeo and Juliet Overture, Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto, No. 3 with soloist Olga Kern, and excerpts from Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet Suites. Olga Kern was named a gold medalist of the Eleventh Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. She is the first woman to have achieved this distinction since 1969.
The Contemporary Voices and Visions series begins on Saturday, Sept. 21, with the wacky and irreverent Paul Zaloom in his latest one-man show, Velvetville. Imagine mixing a tablespoon of Marcel Duchamp with a soupçon of George Carlin, a dollop of Claus Oldenburg with a dash of Robin Williams, and a half-cup of Salvador Dali with a bowl of Soupy Sales. You'd end up with what The New York Times calls "one of the most original and talented political satirists working in the theater." Velvetville, is a puppet/object/shadow/junk/kitsch spectacle, wherein Zaloom uses large black velvet paintings, giant, odd ball projections, and a huge selection of rubbish in this gloriously low-tech, three ring circus. As he spoofs our uncivilized civilization and his complicity in its evils, the audience's faces will hurt from laughing as they also inevitably contemplate their own roles in the big, bad picture.
The Contemporary Voices Series continues in October with the Steve Wilson Jazz Quartet on Saturday, Oct. 26. "An artist of considerable accomplishment and promise," is what the Chicago Tribune labeled jazz artist Steve Wilson. Accomplished as a composer, saxophonist and flutist, Wilson's versatile talents have made in one of the most in demand sidemen, both in the studio and on the bandstand. Recently coming into his own as a leader, Wilson has established himself as an eclectic songwriter and leader with original material that reflects on the legacy of jazz greats as well as explores straight-ahead swing jazz and delves into strains of R&B, Afro-Cuban and Latin music. Known for his teaching talents, this performance is the culmination of a residency with the Hamilton Jazz Ensemble. Look for Hamilton's own jazz musicians to open for Wilson and his band.
The Mystical Arts of Tibet, Sacred Music Sacred Dance for World Healing, start off the new year on Saturday, Jan. 25. In recent years The Mystical Arts of Tibet tours, featuring the famed singers of Drepung Loseling monastery, have taken the world by storm. The group is endorsed by His Holiness the Dalai Lama as a means of promoting world peace and healing through sacred performing art. The Drepung Loesling monks are particularly renowned for their unique multiphonic singing, wherein three notes of a chord are simultaneously intoned. This performance also features traditional instruments such as 10-foot long dungchen trumpets, drums, bells, cymbals and gyaling horns. Rich brocade costumes and masked dances add to the exotic splendor.
Yin Mae Dance /Asunder continues the series on Saturday, Feb. 15.
/Asunder is Yin Mei's most powerful collaboration to date, featuring an unforgettable score by composer Robert Een and an installation by world renowned artist Cai Guo-Qiang that includes a flurry of a thousand arrows. /Asunder is a visual exploration of the struggle of opposites to reconcile with or recognize one another. Man, Woman. Image, Movement. "Downtown" dance, Tai Chi. Eastern tradition, Western innovation. This powerful work features four dancers, including Yin Mei, guest artist Miroto (from Indonesia), Jeanine Durning and Will Orzo. World-renowned poet Mark Strand contributed text for the piece.
The Contemporary Voices and Visions Series concludes on Friday, Feb. 21, with the world music group and percussion orchestra Spoken Hand. Composed of four percussion batteries that represent the traditions of Afro Cuban banta, Brazilian samba, North Indian tabla, and West African jembe, Spoken Hand is a powerful creative force that fosters cross-cultural appreciation and understanding.
"Pick Five" season subscription packages are available for either Classical Connections or Contemporary Voices and Visions. Individual tickets may also be purchased. Subscription packages are $50 for adults with discounts for seniors and students. Individual tickets are $15 for adults with discounts for seniors and students. For more information about any performance or to receive a free season brochure, call the box office at 859-4331. Box office hours are 1 – 4 p.m. weekdays while Hamilton College classes are in session.
