UCSB Arts & Lectures - Fall Program 2022

Fall Program

other photos:

A festive and fun night was had by all, enjoying art, architecture, and the artistry of Patti Smith at Hill House on September 12. This exciting event – Where Art Meets Architecture – celebrated Arts & Lectures and provided support for the hundreds of programs and activities we bring to the community.

“Art is by nature optimistic. Art is optimistic because it is alive.” – Patti Smith

Guests

Arts & Lectures remains committed to addressing issues of social justice. Marking our third season illuminating a wide spectrum of systemic injustice, the Justice for All programming initiative looks to today’s great minds and creators and to the courageous leaders across the globe who are forging a new path forward. Join us as we learn from those confronting uncomfortable questions, solving difficult problems, and guiding us all toward a more equitable world.

Oct 6

Delivering an urgent musical message from Ukraine

2

Gospel Choir

artists fighting for civil rights and social justice

Nov 15

T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company

Harnessing the power of art to effect social change

Jan 19 Maria Ressa

for freedom against authoritarianism

Coming in Winter Coming in Winter

Mar 14

Kidder

compassionate care for vulnerable populations

Additional events will be added throughout the season. Join our email list to stay in the know.

Presented in collaboration with UCSB Campus Partners

JUSTICE FOR ALL Faculty Advisory Committee

Gerardo Aldana, Ingrid Banks, Charles Hale, Susannah Scott, Sharon Tettegah, Kim Yasuda

Arts & Lectures’ Thematic Learning

At a time of seismic cultural and political shifts, we look to innovators who show us that the impossible is truly attainable. We look to visionaries who point the way toward a peaceful and prosperous future. And we look to those who came before to guide our leaders of tomorrow. Join us as we examine leadership and vision from the personal to the global, to help us move forward with strength, determination and hope.

Book Giveaways

Fall SpringWinter

FREE copies of Hearts Touched with Fire were distributed via Arts & Lectures’ Campbell Hall Box Office at UCSB, the Santa Barbara Public Library (40 E. Anapamu St.) and Goleta Valley Library (500 N. Fairview Ave.). Winter and spring book giveaway dates coming soon. Books available while supplies last.

thanks to our visionary partners, Lynda Weinman and Bruce Heavin, for their support of the Thematic Learning Initiative

the conversation

the stage

the community, enriching lifelong learning

initiating dialogue and

book

Dear Friends,

The 2022-2023 season is here, and there are many great ways to share the excitement of Arts & Lectures.

Our fall events bring together artists and personalities from a breathtakingly broad spectrum of pursuits. Rock out with teen sensation The Linda Lindas . Go big with big-wave surfing pioneer Laird Hamilton and dive in to the deeply personal songs of Latin Grammy Award-winner Carla Morrison .

The much-loved Speaking with Pico series returns with the profoundly thoughtful and wide-ranging conversations that curious audiences have come to expect. Pico Iyer starts the series with Jennifer Egan , the Pulitzer-winning author of A Visit From the Goon Squad .

Our Thematic Learning Initiative features community-wide book giveaways, free events and discussions around this season’s theme of Leadership and Vision . Through your participation, what happens on stage can leave a lasting impact on our community.

We are especially proud to continue our Justice for All programming initiative addressing systemic injustice. By facing these complex issues together, we forge new paths toward equality.

You’ll notice a common thread throughout our season. Come along with us as we take inspiration from innovators who show us what is possible when we ask more of our leaders, each other and ourselves.

Community Partners

Celesta M. Billeci Miller McCune Executive Director

The Joffrey Ballet’s Artistic Director Ashley Wheater with Celesta M. Billeci

The Linda Lindas

Sat, Oct

Lucia de la Garza, guitar Eloise Wong, bass Mila de la Garza, drums Bela Salazar, guitar

Presented in association with Girls Rock Santa Barbara

The Linda Lindas first played together as members of a pickup new wave cover band of kids assembled by Kristin Kontrol (Dum Dum Girls) for Girlschool LA in 2018 and then formed their own garage punk group just for fun. Sisters Mila de la Garza (drummer, now 12) and Lucia de la Garza (guitar, 15), cousin Eloise Wong (bass, 14), and family friend Bela Salazar (guitar, 18) developed their chops as regulars at all-ages matinees in Chinatown, where they played with original LA punks like The Dils, Phranc and Alley Cats; went on to open for riot grrrl legends Bikini Kill and architect Alice Bag as well as DIY heavyweights Best Coast and Bleached; and were even tually featured in Amy Poehler’s movie Moxie

When the pandemic put a pause on shows, The Linda Lindas went on to self-release a four-song EP, make their own videos (including a get-out-the-vote effort with friends such as Tony Reflex from Adolescents, Adam Pfahler from Jawbreaker, Tae Won Yu from Kicking Giant, Allison Wolfe, Lois Maffeo, Money Mark and Mike Watt), and grow a following beyond Los Angeles. But they never expected or could have even dreamed that their performance of “Racist, Sexist Boy” for the Los Angeles Public Library in May 2021 would take them from punk shows to television shows.

A month later, when the school year ended and summer began, The Linda Lindas got to work on their first fulllength LP. Having written a mountain of new material individually while sheltering in place and attending class virtually, the band was more than ready to enter the studio where Mila and Lucia’s dad (and Eloise’s uncle and Bela’s “uncle”) Carlos de la Garza oversaw recording and production. The Grammy-winning producer’s work in cludes Paramore, Bad Religion, Best Coast and Bleached.

A product of generations of underground music in LA and beyond, The Linda Lindas’ debut channels classic punk, post punk, power pop, new wave and other sur prises into timelessly catchy and cool songs sung by all four members – each with her own style and energy.

Special Thanks

photo: Zen Sekizawa

Laird Hamilton in Conversation with Rory Kennedy

Laird Hamilton

Laird Hamilton is best known as an American big-wave surfer and innovator in the world of action water sports. In addition to his affinity for the water, Hamilton is an inventor, author, stunt man, model, producer, television host, fitness and nutrition expert, husband, father and adrenaline junkie.

At 6'3" and 215 pounds, Hamilton is unique in the way that he balances flexibility and strength. A renowned innovator and guiding genius of crossover board sports including tow-in surfing, stand-up paddle boarding and hydrofoil boarding, he is the quintessential waterman, skilled in multiple aquatic disciplines and continuously pushing the limits and expanding all possibilities.

Over the last decade, Hamilton has transcended surfing to become an international fitness icon and nutrition expert. As co-founder and chief innovator of Laird Superfood, he has been able to take his nutrition exper tise and create delicious, plant-based food products that are accessible to all. Many of today’s top professional athletes and celebrities look to Hamilton for training guidance, including instruction in his unique under water resistance workouts. Partnering with his wife, professional volleyball player and television personal ity Gabrielle Reece, he created Extreme Performance Training (XPT), a program featuring unique water workouts, performance breathing, recovery methods, high-intensity and endurance training for people of all fitness levels and backgrounds.

Hamilton released his first book in 2008, Force of Nature: Mind, Body, Soul, and, of Course, Surfing, which has become the go-to manual for those seeking inspiration for leading a healthy lifestyle. The book hit the New York Times bestseller list within two weeks of publication. In 2017 he released Fuel Up, his first cookbook, sharing healthy and exotic recipes garnered from a lifetime of far-out travels. From the Wild Coast of South Africa to the Gold Coast of Australia, Hamilton’s novel take on food and life is synthesized in a cookbook that invites readers to master both themselves and the world, through the art of fueling up.

Liferider: Heart, Body, Soul, and Life Beyond the Ocean was released in 2019. Based on extensive conversations between Hamilton and his co-author Julian Borra – with additional insights from Hamilton’s wife – Liferider takes on human resilience, relationships, business, technol ogy, risk-taking and the importance of respecting the natural world.

Hamilton was also a contributing editor for Men’s Journal, where he wrote about his own fitness, health and nutrition philosophies.

The entertainment industry has also called on Hamilton, who has appeared in a number of feature films and surfing documentaries including Radical Attitude, Wake Up Call, Step into Liquid and Riding Giants, for which he also served as executive producer. He performed as a

Athletics and

Dept of Recreation’s Adventure

stunt man and surfer in The Descendants, Waterworld, Die Another Day and Point Break (2015). In addition to his film work, Hamilton has appeared on numerous televi sion shows such as Oprah’s Master Class, Charlie Rose, 60 Minutes, Chelsea Lately, Late Night with Conan O’Brien, The Colbert Report and The Ellen DeGeneres Show.

When Hamilton is not busy surfing the biggest waves in the world, inventing new water toys and appearing in Hollywood features, he is a philanthropist. He has always had a great passion for helping others live a hap py, healthy life, as exhibited through his work with non profit organizations such as the Surfrider Foundation, Heal the Bay, Race Across America, Pipeline for a Cure for Cystic Fibrosis, RainCatcher, Muscular Dystrophy and City of Hope.

Rory Kennedy

Academy Award-nominated, Emmy-winning documentary filmmaker Rory Kennedy’s work deals with some of the world’s most pressing issues – poverty, political corruption, domestic abuse, drug addiction, human rights and mental illness. A dedicated activist, Kennedy shares her unique viewpoint of living American history. Her devotion to tak ing on the world’s most pressing social and human rights issues serves as a call to action for audiences.

Kennedy’s most recent feature documentary is Downfall: The Case Against Boeing. Made for Netflix, the film exam ines the prelude and aftermath of the two tragic Boeing 737-MAX crashes. It premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2022.

Kennedy is one of America’s most prolific documentary filmmakers. She has made over thirty films, including Last Days in Vietnam, Ethel and Take Every Wave, all of which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. Her films have appeared on the major streamers and broadcast networks, including Netflix, HBO, National Geographic and PBS. Her work has been profiled in The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Los Angeles Times, and she has appeared on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, The Today Show, CNN and NPR.

Take Every Wave is an intimate portrait of legendary bigwave surfer Laird Hamilton that had its world premiere at Sundance and was distributed theatrically through IFC and streamed on Hulu. In 2014, Kennedy’s PBS/American Experience feature documentary Last Days in Vietnam premiered at Sundance, went into wide theatrical release in the fall of that year, and garnered an Academy Award

nomination for Best Documentary Feature. In 2012, her HBO feature documentary Ethel chronicled the extraordi nary life of her mother, Ethel Kennedy. The film premiered at Sundance and was nominated for five Primetime Emmy Awards.

In 2011, Kennedy produced Killing in the Name, which garnered an Academy Award nomination for Best Documentary Short. In 2009, she executive produced Street Fight, which earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Documentary Feature. In 2007, her HBO film Ghosts of Abu Ghraib premiered at Sundance and went on to win a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Nonfiction Special. Other recent projects include Above and Beyond: NASA’s Journey to Tomorrow for the Discovery Channel and The Fence, which opened the Sundance Film Festival and was broadcast on HBO.

Kennedy is currently partnered with Netflix, Imagine Entertainment and Appian Way on a feature documentary examining the devastating 2019 eruption of New Zealand’s White Island volcano, a popular tourist destination. The film is executive produced by Leonardo DiCaprio, Ron Howard and Brian Grazer. She is also directing an independent ly-financed feature documentary that explores how the international community has responded to refugees since World War II.

Kennedy recently served two terms as governor of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. She is the founder of the Malibu Foundation, which supports local nonprofits impacted by the Woolsey fire, and the Climate Emergency Fund, which supports activists protesting cli mate change.

Funded in part by the Community Events & Festivals Program using funds provided by the City of Santa Barbara in partnership with the Santa Barbara County Office of Arts and Culture

Special Thanks

Artistic Director/Choreographer/Sound Design: Surupa Sen

Music Composer: Pandit Raghunath Panigrahi

Rhythm Composers: Dhaneswar Swain (India), Presanna Singakkara (Sri Lanka), Surupa Sen

Dancers (Nrityagram): Pavithra Reddy, Abhinaya Rohan, Anoushka Rahman, Rohini Banerjee, Daquil Miriyala

Dancers (Chitrasena): Thaji Dias, Amandi Gomez, Kushan Dharmarathna, Geeth Premachandra

The Nrityagram Dance Ensemble

Āhuti in Collaboration with The Chitrasena Dance Company

Wed, Oct 19 / 8 PM / Campbell Hall

Presented in association with UCSB Dept of Theater and Dance, and UCSB MultiCultural Center Running time: Approx 100 min., including intermission

Musicians (India): Jateen Sahu, lead vocal, hawum Rohan Dahale, chants, mardala (percussion) Parshuram Das, bamboo flute Siba Nayak, violin

Musician (Sri Lanka): Koshan Mapatuna, Kandyan drum Assistant Choreographer: Heshma Wignaraja (Chitrasena)

Master Tailor: Ghulam Rasool

Executive Producer/Technical Director/ Lighting Designer: Lynne Fernandez

Nrityagram - The Dance Village

www.nrityagram.org lynne@nrityagram.org

Exclusive USA Tour Representation

Pentacle

Sandy Garcia sandyg@pentacle.org www.pentacle.org

Āhuti

(Sanskrit: Invoking | Pali: Offering)

Sankirtanam (a prayer)

Wandering minstrels sing and dance in praise of Lord Krishna… The lotus-eyed lord with the flute in his hands and a peacock feather in his hair. The eternal lover, the yogi, the last refuge. Protector of the universe, he is the purest of all beings. The only truth.

Dancers: Abhinaya Rohan, Anoushka Rahman, Rohini Banerjee, Pavithra Reddy, Daquil Miriyala

Poornāratī

In most South Asian traditions, the arts serve as a medi um to attain the highest state of being. Temple rituals integrate dance as an essential medium of worship to invoke and propitiate the powers that govern the natural order of the universe.

Poornāratī, which means complete offering, seeks to invoke the principles of the Universe, both male and female, that we may dance in their presence.

Odissi Dancers: Pavithra Reddy, Abhinaya Rohan, Anoushka Rahman, Rohini Banerjee

Kandyan Dancers: Thaji Dias, Amandi Gomez, Kushan Dharmarathna, Geeth Premachandra

- Intermission -

Invoking Shiva

Attributed to Ravana, Sri Lanka’s great warrior king, who was a devotee of Shiva, the God of dance and destruction.

Shiva!

From the forest of your matted locks descends the celestial river Ganga. A mighty serpent

garlands you lovingly, the glittering gem in his magical hood radiates brilliance, that anoints the faces of the four-directions with a delicate hue. Adorned only by the sky, a new-born moon jewels your locks and your forehead smoulders with the fire of your third eye. Your ceaseless drum song pervades the universe, as you dance your fearsome Tandava. Perfect consort to Himalaya’s daughter, you are the ever-compassionate destroyer of evil. Opening your third eye you burnt to ashes the God of Love The five-arrowed Kamadeva, disrupter of your meditation. You are the Universe. Invincible. Infinite. Eternal. On you I meditate. Dance on the funeral pyres in my heart and release me from this universe.

Dancers: Thaji Dias, Pavithra Reddy

Ālāp

The Kandyan and Odissi dance traditions meet in space, to challenge, combine and embrace each other through musical conversation and rhythmic dialogue.

Dancers: Pavithra Reddy, Rohini Banerjee, Thaji Dias, Amandi Gomez, Anoushka Rahman, Abhinaya Rohan, Daquil Miriyala, Kushan Dharmarathna, Geeth Premachandra

About the Dance Forms

Kandyan Dance

Kandyan dance comes from Kandy, an area in the Central Hills region in Sri Lanka. According to legend, the ori gins of the dance lie in an exorcism ritual known as the Kohomba Kankariya, which was performed by shamans from India who came to the island at the request of a king suffering from a mysterious illness. After the per formance of the ritual, the illness vanished and the local people adopted the dance.

Originally performed by dancers who were identified as a separate caste and aligned to the Temple of the Tooth, the dance declined when support from the Kandyan kings ended in the colonial period.

Kandyan dance was adapted for the stage in the 1940s by Chitrasena. His wife and dance partner, Vajira, was the first professional female Kandyan dancer, and together they established Kandyan dance as a performance art. Their popularity helped to reduce the caste barriers sur rounding the dance and made it accessible to an urban, contemporary audience.

Odissi

For centuries, a temple has looked out at a turbulent sea, its walls dancing a prayer to the rising sun. Magnificent ruins like these, in Odisha in Eastern India, confirm that Odissi was performed as far back as 200 BCE. Originally a sacred ritual dedicated to the gods, Odissi is one of the oldest dance traditions in the world. Its sinuous forms, languorous limbs and rapt expressions frozen in stone tell of a past rich in dance, music, myth and legend.

Odissi speaks of love and union between human and di vine, transporting viewers to enchanted worlds of magic and spirituality. Its sensuousness and lyricism reflect both the motifs of Odisha temple sculpture as well as poetry from the deep wellsprings of Oriya music.

About the Companies

The Chitrasena Dance Company

Founded by Guru Chitrasena with a vision to inspire and exhilarate through the traditional dances and drums of Sri Lanka, the Chitrasena Dance Company has always been at the forefront of transforming the traditional arts landscape of the island. Chitrasena is recognized for rescuing the traditional dances that were confined to village settings and presenting them to audiences in Sri

Lanka and across the world. The company was founded in 1943 and initially nurtured under the creative genius Chitrasena, and later together with his wife, Vajira. They worked tirelessly for decades to carefully distill ancient rhythmic rituals by reviving and refining elements of them while staying firmly rooted in the old and develop ing an authentic dance language.

For over seven decades, the Chitrasena Dance Company has given life to compelling performances ranging from a rich repertoire of dance and drumming pieces to acclaimed original ballets and productions inspired by ancient rituals and contemporary culture. Karadiya (1961), Nala Damayanthi (1963), Nrithanjali (1965), Kinkini Kolama (1978), Shiva Ranga (1984), Chandalika (1996) and Bera-Handa (2001) are some of the most renowned productions. More recently, the Chitrasena Dance Company has brought to the stage The Art of Chitrasena (2006), Kumbi Kathawa (2007), Dancing for the Gods (2010), Devanjali (2015) and Guru Gedara Festival (2018). The creative partnership and the first collabora tive production, based on an invitation extended to the Chitrasena Dance Company by Nrityagram, led to the much-acclaimed production Sa hāra (2012).

The Chitrasena Dance Company celebrated its 75th year in 2018, and the third generation is led by Heshma Wignaraja, artistic director and eldest granddaughter of Chitrasena and Vajira, who continues to advance the legacy of her grandparents. Experimenting without com promise and using traditional dance language and form to push boundaries, the new work offers a fresh perspec tive, while upholding Guru Chitrasena’s philosophy that “the new is but an extension of the old.”

Nrityagram

Nrityagram (which means dance village) is located out side Bangalore, India. It was founded in 1990 by Odissi dancer Protima Gauri, who converted ten acres of farm land into a setting for the study, practice and teaching of dance.

Nrityagram is dedicated to creating excellence in Odissi through the traditional method of learning, the GuruShishya Parampara, a unique and sacred relationship between mentor and disciple, referred to as mentorship in modern times.

Nrityagram’s dance pedagogy is inspired by the Gurukula, an ancient Indian residential teaching para digm where students and teachers live together in an integrated environment of practice, theory and disci

pline. Learning is a way of life and students have a rare opportunity to imbibe the spirit of the Guru by living with them and observing them at work.

Conceived this way for almost thirty years, Nrityagram imparts not only technique in dance but nurtures a phi losophy of being that embraces holistic practice, mindful living and the pursuit of excellence. The daily schedule includes a unique, scientific body conditioning and train ing program that is sourced from yoga, Natyashastra, Kalaripayattu, Western fitness methods and Odissi body conditioning exercises. This training method is designed to increase the performance lifespan of a dancer and is sought after by accomplished dance and movement professionals from different disciplines.

With a student enrollment of over 200, Nrityagram pro vides an environment that fosters the artistic, intellectual and personal growth of its dancers and prepares them for successful and productive lives as artists and citizens, as well as to become leaders in their professions.

The aim is to prepare dancers for careers that combine performance with teaching, community outreach and leadership. To enrich their practice, dancers are taught yoga, meditation and martial arts along with Sanskrit and ancient dance scriptures. Choreographers, musi cians, writers and theater practitioners from all over the world visit to perform and conduct workshops and seminars in their area of practice.

This unique blend of traditional knowledge with contem porary understanding and application makes Nrityagram the only institution of its kind in the world and strength ens its position as a groundbreaking institution.

The Nrityagram Dance Ensemble is regarded as one of the foremost dance companies of India. Led by Artistic Director Surupa Sen, the company has achieved world wide critical acclaim, performing across the globe includ ing an annual tour to the United States.

The company is devoted to bringing Odissi – one of the oldest dance traditions in the world – to audiences worldwide. Performed as far back as 200 BC as a sacred ritual dedicated to the gods, Odissi speaks of love and union between human and divine, transporting viewers to enchanting worlds of magic and spirituality. Its lush lyricism reflects both the motifs of Odisha temple sculp ture as well as poetry from the deep wellsprings of Oriya music.

Although steeped in and dedicated to ancient practice, the ensemble is also committed to carrying Indian dance into the 21st century. Enabled by grants, Nrityagram’s dancers not only explore creative expansions of tradition but are also able to commission fresh compositions from leading Indian classical musicians.

Nrityagram has presented seven full-length ensemble shows Śrī: In Search of the Goddess (2001), Ansh (2005), Sacred Space (2005), Pratimā: Reflection (2008), Śriya (2010), Sa hāra (2012) and Āhuti (2019); two full-length duet shows Sa yoga (2012) and Songs of Love and Longing (2013) and two solo shows Yadunandana (2017) and Vinati: Songs From the Gita Govinda (2021). All cho reographed by Surupa Sen.

Who’s Who in the Company

Surupa Sen (Artistic Director, choreographer) was the first student to graduate from Nrityagram. She began her Odissi training with the architect of Odissi, Guru Kelucharan Mahapatra. She also studied Odissi with Guru Protima Gauri, and Abhinaya (expressional dance) with Guru Kalanidhi Narayanan.

For over two decades, Sen has researched and expand ed the dance vocabulary of Odissi, and developed an aesthetic style that distinguishes the dancers from the Nrityagram Gurukula (School). Attracted to choreogra phy from childhood, Sen has focused on making new dances using an expanded Odissi language rooted in tra ditional Odissi and the Natyashastra. She has a keen in terest in music and rhythm composition and has worked closely with Pandit Raghunath Panigrahi since 1999.

Sen has choreographed seven full-length ensem ble shows for Nrityagram, which are Śrī: In Search of the Goddess (2000), Ansh (2004), Sacred Space (2006), Pratimā: Reflection (2008), Śriya (2010), Sa hāra (2012) and Āhuti (2019); two full-length duet shows Sa yoga (2012) and Songs of Love and Longing (2013) and two fulllength solo shows Yadunandana (2017) and Vinati: Songs From the Gita Govinda (2021). She has also created two virtual shows: Vinati, a solo for World Music Institute’s Dancing the Gods Festival and Upadāna: An Offering for the Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival.

Sen received the Raza Foundation Award in 2006, the Yagnaraman Award from Sri Krishna Gana Sabha (Chennai) in 2008, the prestigious Nritya Choodamani from Sri Krishna Gana Sabha (Chennai) in 2011 and the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award 2018 – the highest honor

for the performing arts in India. Sen is artistic director and choreographer at Nrityagram.

Pavithra Reddy (Odissi dancer) belongs to a neighbor ing farm and started her Odissi training in Nrityagram’s rural outreach program in 1990. She was the first student to graduate from Nrityagram’s rural outreach program. She learned Odissi under the tutelage of Surupa Sen and has worked with dancers and movement specialists from across the globe. Reddy joined the Nrityagram Dance Ensemble in 1993 and has performed solo and with the ensemble at some of the most prestigious venues across India and the world. In addition to being a full-time performer, Reddy is also one of the primary teachers at Nrityagram.

Abhinaya Rohan (Odissi dancer) initially trained in Bharatnatyam before enrolling at Nrityagram to learn Odissi. She has been part of the day scholar program and has studied under the tutelage of Surupa Sen. Rohan has performed with the ensemble since 2018.

Anoushka Rahman (Odissi dancer) initially learned Odissi in Kolkata, where she also completed a postgrad uate degree in Odissi dance. She joined Nrityagram 2018 and has studied under the tutelage of Surupa Sen. This is her first international tour with Nrityagram.

Rohini Banerjee (Odissi dancer) is a senior disciple of Guru Sharmila Biswas, who trained her from the age of 12. She has toured extensively in India and abroad as a part of her Guru’s company and recently started her journey as a soloist. Banerjee was selected to be part of Nrityagram’s Āhuti in 2021. This is her first tour with Nrityagram.

Daquil Miriyala (Odissi dancer) joined Nrityagram’s Village Outreach Program in 2010 and became a residen tial student in 2011, where she trained in dance while continuing her academic studies. She has learned Odissi under the tutelage of Gurus Surupa Sen and Pavithra Reddy. In 2021 she was selected to be a part of the Nrityagram Dance Ensemble and included in Āhuti. This is her first tour with Nrityagram.

Thaji Dias (Kandyan dancer) is the principal dancer of the Chitrasena Dance Company and youngest grand daughter of Sri Lanka’s eminent dance duo, Chitrasena and Vajira. She started learning Kandyan dance from her aunt Guru Upeka Chitrasena at age 7 and began touring with the dance company at 12, when she re ceived the opportunity to perform along with Upeka

Chitrasena at the prestigious Théâtre du Soleil, Paris as a guest of Ariane Mnouchkine. Since then, she has performed with the Chitrasena Dance Company in Sri Lanka, India, East and Southeast Asia, the United States, Europe and Australia. She also teaches at the Chitrasena Kalayathanaya (School).

Kushan Dharmarathna (Kandyan dancer) joined the Chitrasena Kalayathanaya in 2000 as a scholar in Guru Vajira’s Preserve the Dance program. He has been a part of the Chitrasena Dance Company since 2002 and has performed in most of the company’s productions locally and internationally. Dharmarathna holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Visual and Performing Arts, Sri Lanka and is currently doing a Masters in Performing Arts at the University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka.

Geeth Premachandra (Kandyan dancer) joined the Chitrasena Dance Company in 2000 and has been with the company ever since, performing extensively in productions both locally and internationally. He has a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Kelaniya and a Master’s in Performing Arts from the University of Visual and Performing Arts in Sri Lanka. He also completed diplomas in Education as well as Education Management at the National Institute of Management, which enabled him to pursue his passion of teaching dance as a lecturer. This is his first tour with Nrityagram.

Amandi Gomez (Kandyan dancer) has learned Kandyan dancing at the Chitrasena Kalayathanaya since she was 7 years old and has performed in numerous productions of the Chitrasena Dance Company since 2013, including as a lead character in the acclaimed children’s ballet, Kumbi Kathawa, in 2015. Gomez holds a Bachelor of Law degree from the University of London. This is her first tour with Nrityagram.

Jateen Sahu (lead vocal, harmonium) learned Odissi singing under the tutelage of Guru Ramahari Das at The Music College, Odisha. He lives in Mumbai and has worked with Nrityagram since 2008. He is also a concert singer.

Rohan Dahale (mardala - percussion) began his training with Guru Kelucharan Mahapatra and has continued to learn from Guru Banamali Maharana for the past 12 years. He lives in Mumbai and accompanies Odissi dancers from the region. At present, he is percussionist at the dance village and travels and performs with the ensemble.

Parshuram Das (bamboo flute) is a disciple of Pandit Mohini Mohan Pattnaik. He graduated from The Music College, Odisha, and in addition to freelancing as a music accompanist, he teaches at Utkal University of Culture, Bhubaneswar. He has been with the Nrityagram Dance Ensemble since 2002.

Siba Nayak (violin) has a postgraduate degree in Hindustani Violin from the Utkal University of Culture, Bhubaneswar. He freelances as a music accompanist and has worked with the Nrityagram Dance Ensemble since 2018.

Koshan Mapatuna (Kandyan drum) has been a part of the Chitrasena Dance Company since 2019. He has performed with his drumming guru Prasanna Rupatillaka as a member of the Prasanna Ru Dancing Academy since 2014. Koshan has a Bachelor of Performing Arts degree from the University of Visual and Performing Arts, Sri Lanka and is currently a guest lecturer at the same uni versity in the Percussion and Music Department. This is his first tour with Nrityagram.

Lynne Fernandez (lighting designer, technical direc tor, executive producer) has worked as an actress and lighting designer with many notable directors includ ing Barry John, Joy Michael, Ranjit Kapoor and Lillete Dubey and was one of the first professional lighting designers in India. Her theater work has been presented at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, in the West End and off-Broadway. She came to Nrityagram in 1993 as pro duction and technical consultant to the newly-founded ensemble. She stayed on as technical director and in 1997 was appointed executive director of the Nrityagram Village, School and Ensemble. As executive director, she is responsible for administration, fundraising and project development. Her recent projects include Kula, a residence where arts practitioners can live and create new work, and a performing arts center comprised of a theater, exhibition space and rehearsal studios. She has also overseen the emergence of the ensemble in the international arena.

Carla Morrison

Thu, Oct 27 / 8 PM / Campbell Hall

Carla Morrison, lead vocals, guitar Alejandro Jiménez, guitars, keyboards, programming, backing vocals

Daniel Fraire, keyboards, guitars, backing vocals

Samuel Felix, drums, percussion

Acclaimed singer-songwriter Carla Morrison has come back to music brand new. These past few years, she’s intentionally centered herself – learning who she’s been and who she wants to be, and culling empowerment from both. This choice was critical; patiently refocusing may have saved her life.

Raw retellings of emotional, personal heartbreaks are the bedrock of Morrison’s material, and this honest approach earned her multiple Grammy nominations and Latin Grammy wins over the course of five albums.

Snowballing from her 2010 debut Mientras Tú Dormías, onto 2012’s Déjenme Llorar and the 2016 release of Amor Supremo, her success grew rapidly. Taking the out door stage at Coachella, sharing a bill with rock giants Enjambre at Mexico City’s Palacio de los Deportes and headlining the city’s famed Auditorio Nacional and a sold-out stretch of U.S. shows followed.

“It’s just kind of the Latino way,” the Tecate, Baja California-born musician says. “You always feel so grate ful, and you always feel so guilty. You don’t feel like you’re entitled to rest.”

Today, she’s still making music on her own terms – only now, those terms have changed.

In 2017, there came a point when an inner voice of fear was all Morrison could hear. Following an amalgam of persistent opinions and criticism from both the indus try and listeners, her own gut feelings – those internal

nudges toward one direction or another, the inner validation that you’re doing the right thing – had been silenced altogether.

“For the longest time, I questioned the purpose of my existence, when I was in the middle of my success,” she says. “I would find myself thinking very often that I want ed to die. Being a highly sensitive person, it was just a lot. It felt overwhelming.”

Addressing her collapsing mental and emotional state was a life-or-death matter. She needed a chance to find herself again, and so she intentionally paused everything – social media, music-making, touring.

In 2018, Morrison considered how a change of scenery might shift her outlook. A wholly unfamiliar place would demand growth, right? Morrison went big on this hope –she relocated to Paris.

“I was living to everybody’s expectations, but not mine,” she recalls. “I didn’t even have a personal life. I didn’t even have hobbies. My hobbies were music, and then that safe place eventually wasn’t safe anymore.”

To say the City of Lights illuminated the path to a rebirth isn’t quite accurate, though, because it was Morrison her self who put in the work necessary to grow. Could it have been any city? Maybe. What’s most important is that the time and space apart from her home country afforded her room to think and to grow.

photo: Chris Cruz

The early days of studying French helped: “You can’t really have a conversation. So I was in silence a lot, and I heard a lot of my thoughts. A lot was coming to mind.” Taking jazz singing classes at a music conservatory was a jolt of humility she didn’t know she needed; the impro visation techniques she mastered became central in shaping vocals for her new material.

In this period of taking personal inventory, she gained strength in her own self-image, and finally came to believe that she is beautiful. Exploring the museums of Paris led to a study of Renaissance era paintings; in Botticelli’s “The Birth of Venus,” she saw herself.

“That’s when everything hit me,” she says. “That’s what I’m becoming now: a more mature, intelligent woman, who knows she can fail, but is also beautiful, and can be herself.”

Before this journey, Morrison worried she couldn’t ex plore new sounds or styles. The inner fear persisted. With a laugh, she remembers thinking: “If I get too Dora la Exploradora, I’m going to get in trouble.”

Collaborating over the years with other artists, from Lila Downs to Calexico, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, Morrison had ventured out stylistically before, but she hadn’t strayed too far from those perpetually looming expectations. An invite from Colombian reggaetonero J Balvin – creating an ethereal intro for his 2018 album Vibras – was another important step toward more open exploration.

But it’s really the perspective earned in the space she cleared for herself – this concerted effort to reflect and heal – that’s emboldened her instincts. Rather than cater to anyone else’s expectations, she’s now creating music to meet her own. What Carla Morrison wants today is to be happy, and for her listeners to find happiness for themselves, too.

Welcoming a long-standing love of R&B and pop into the mix – styles she used to shut out for fear of alienating fans – was a boon to the process. “I wanted to put more rhythm, more sassiness, in the music,” she says, adding that a universal appeal was also a goal.

Unexpected opportunities have since rolled in, like pair ing with Ricky Martin on “Recuerdo” for his recent Pausa EP. And surprisingly, “Disfruto,” from her 2012 album, was remixed into a club hit and remains a favorite of EDM DJs throughout Latin America and Europe.

While retaining the intimacy and reflection she’s always expressed, there’s a welcome undercurrent of joy to the music she’s making now. It’s a new era for Carla Morrison, and she’s strutting confidently into it, head held high. The sound is new, because so is she.

“I feel like I finally learned who I was, and that’s one of the things that helps you navigate life in a better way,” she says. “That was my rebirth – for my mind and my soul.”

With her newfound sharpness of self comes an accep tance that perfection isn’t possible, but unabashedly being yourself is the closest thing to it. Standing in that knowledge, nobody can shake Carla Morrison’s self-con fidence now.

“I now know better who I am,” she says. “Knowing yourself gives you the tools to navigate life. It’s not just a moment but a constant reminder that happiness is not a place you arrive at, but a journey – a learning experience.”

In 2020, Morrison made her explosive return to the spot light with her powerful track “Ansiedad,” which captured the fragile state of being of the world during a global pandemic. The track received acclaim from The New York Times, Rolling Stone, Billboard, MTV, CNN and others.

Shortly after, Morrison released a series of striking songs, “No Me Llames,” “Obra de Arte” and “Contigo,” that served as a precursor to her highly-anticipated studio album, El Renacimiento. The album, released in April 2022 via her longtime independent label, Cosmica, solidified Morrison’s rightful position as a pioneer and an ever-present force in music to this day.

Special Thanks

Soweto Gospel Choir

Presented

Running

The Choir

Nobuhle Dhlamini, Philisiwe Faya, Phello Jiyane, Shimmy Jiyane, Bongani Mabaso, Warren Mahlangu, Jeanette Mazibuko, Siyabolela Mkefa, Thabang Mkhwanazi, Nersia Mofokeng, Jabulile Mola, Zinhle Mpofu, Hlengiwe Msomi, Mary Mulovhedzi, Bongani Ncube, Diniloxolo Ndlakuse, Magdeline Ndindwa, Sipho Ngcamu, Zanele Ngwenya, Phumla Nkhumeleni, Xholani Ntombela, Fanizile Nzuza, Linda Sambo, Vusi Shabalala, Hlamarisa Sidum

Program

Traditional: “Melodies”

Wathint’ abangasokufa, Wathinta thina: “Nonkonyane Kandaba”

Welcome Duru: “Umandela”

Traditional: “Bawo Xandilahlekayo”

Sipho Gumede: “Judgment Day”

Traditional: “Litshonile Lilanga”

Vuyisile Mini: “Pasopa Verwoerd”

Traditional: “Joh Lefifi”

Mbongeni, Hugh Masekela and Stanley Myers: “Sechaba”

Traditional: “Umhlaba Wonke”

R. Khemose, S. Khemose, C. Khemose, M. Muguni, O. Beggs: “Mbayi Mbayi”

Traditional: “Jikijela”

- Intermission -

Traditional: “Opening Dance and Chant”

Curtis Mayfield, Johnny Pate: “Amen”

Sam Cooke: “A Change Is Gonna Come”

Ronald Miller: “Heaven Help Us All”

Alvertis Isbell: “I’ll Take You There”

Ottis Redding: “Respect”

Mike Rutherford and B.A. Robertson: “The Living Years”

Marvin Gaye, Renaldo Benson, Al Cleveland: “What’s Going On”

Joshuah Campbell, Cyntha Echumuna-Erivo: “Stand Up”

Ben E. King, Jerry Leiber & Mike Stoller: “Stand By Me”

photo: Henry Engelbrecht

Artist Note

HOPE – It’s Been a Long Time Coming offers a heartfelt message of hope to all people. It combines South African struggle songs sung by communities fighting the op pressive apartheid regime and the songs of America’s Civil Rights Movement. These are the songs of a people all praying for a better life. They are songs of resistance. They come from the soul. Theirs is a heartfelt message of both resilience and of hope. We trust that this powerful music will not only reach you and cheer you, but will give you inspiration that we can rise above all ills, that we can climb the mountain and emerge from the darkest valleys and into the sun, victorious.

– Soweto Gospel Choir

About the Choir

Hailing from Soweto (South West Township), a township outside of Johannesburg and home of Nelson Mandela and South Africa’s democratic movement, Soweto Gospel Choir inspires audiences around the world with their powerful blend of African gospel, freedom songs and international classics. They are three-time Grammy Award winners, including 2019 Best World Music Album for Freedom.

Comprising a lineup of some of South Africa’s best vo calists, these uplifting performers have shared the stage and collaborated with the biggest names in contem porary music including Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, Beyonce, U2, Diana Ross, Peter Gabriel, Chris Martin, John Legend, Pharrell Williams, Jimmy Cliff, Ben Harper, Angélique Kidjo, Robert Plant, Celine Dion, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Hugh Masekela and Josh Groban.

Soweto Gospel Choir was formed in 2003 at the end of the apartheid era and during South Africa’s inspiring return to democracy. Taking part in some of the major historical events in the new democratic South Africa, Soweto Gospel Choir is proud to have performed on many occasions for the father of their nation, former President Nelson Mandela, and sadly at his state funeral in South Africa and the subsequent commemorative service at Westminster Abbey in London. They were sim ilarly invited to perform at the funeral service for the late president’s first wife, Winnie Mandela.

The choir acts as ambassadors for the Nelson Mandela Foundation.

Credits

Choir Master: Shimmy Jiyane

Musical Director: Diniloxolo Ndlakuse Management: Mary Mulovhedz, Shimmy Jiyane, Bongani Ncube

Production Manager/Stage Manager: Allan Maguire Tour Managers: Toni Rudov, Madge Fletcher

Set and Lighting Design: Zachary Ciaburri Audio Engineer: Chet Nordskog

Touring Lighting Designer: Tyler Goddard

Senior Producer/Company Manager: Toni Rudov

Producer: Andrew Kay Tour Marketing and PR: SoloShoe Communications, LLC Tour Agency:

Dean Shultz, Senior Vice President Tour and Artist Management (212) 994-3533 | dshultz@imgartists.com

North & South America

IMG Artists | 7 West 54th Street | New York, NY 10019 | USA | Tel: +1 212 994 3500 | www.imgartists.com

Tour Management and General Enquiries: Andrew Kay and Associates

Toni Rudov | toni@akaaustralia.com.au

HOPE – It’s Been a Long Time Coming was commissioned by the University of Iowa Hancher Auditorium

Special Thanks

When Jack E. Davis’ history of the Gulf of Mexico was published in March 2017, it was met with resounding praise. Hailed as a “nonfiction epic” (Dallas Morning News) and a “cri de coeur about the Gulf’s environmental ruin” (The New York Times), The Gulf went on to win the Pulitzer Prize for history. Davis’ new book, The Bald Eagle, is an astonishing work of cultural and natural history that, once more, forces us to reconsider the story of America through the lens of our relationship to the natural world.

As Davis reveals, no other animal in American history, certainly no avian one, has been the simultaneous object of such adoration and cruelty as the bald eagle – first beloved and hailed as an emblem of the rarefied nat ural environment of North America, then hated, and, finally, revered and protected. For centuries, Americans have celebrated the bald eagle as majestic and noble, yet savaged the living bird behind the national symbol as a malicious predator of livestock and, falsely, even a snatcher of babies. Taking us from before the nation’s founding, when Indigenous peoples lived peacefully beside the eagle, through two nearly inconceivable resurgences in the 20th century when it was – not once, but twice – nearly brought to extinction by hunting and DDT, Davis recounts a panoramic history of the bird and the icon, unearthing nothing less than the story of the nation and its tenuous relationship to the environment through nearly five centuries.

The Bald Eagle does more than tell the story of the fate of a particular species. In resurrecting the voices of environ mental prophets who warned against DDT; the efforts

Jack E. Davis

The Bald Eagle: The Improbable Journey of America’s Bird

of a remarkable cast of bird advocates and rescuers who – state by state, nest by nest – climbed trees, rescued eggs and reintroduced fledges into the wild; and finally, charting the ecological redemption born from biparti san legislation, Davis reveals the glimmer of a potential path forward as we grapple with environmental peril on a larger scale. The Bald Eagle is, too, Davis notes, a tale of American values and while patriotism and environmen talism may seem at odds today, “in the American histori cal context they are complementary at their core.”

Jack E. Davis is a professor of history and the Rothman Family Chair in the Humanities at University of Florida, specializing in environmental history and sustainabil ity studies. In April 2019, Davis was the recipient of an Andrew Carnegie Corporation fellowship, which helped support the writing of The Bald Eagle. He is currently writ ing a book on the history of environmental successes.

Books are available for purchase and a signing follows the event

Co-presented with Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History and Santa Barbara Audubon Society

photo: Debbie Thomas

Program

Johann Sebastian Bach: Goldberg Variations , BWV 988

Jean Rondeau

Described as “one of the most natural performers one is likely to hear on a classical music stage” by The Washington Post, Jean Rondeau is a veritable global am bassador for his instrument. His outstanding talent and innovative approach to keyboard repertoire have been critically acclaimed, marking him out as one of today’s leading harpsichordists.

Rondeau’s 2022-2023 season begins with the completion of his extensive tour of J.S. Bach’s Goldberg Variations Having met with acclaim in several dozen major European venues throughout spring 2022, Rondeau rounds off the European portion of his tour with appear ances in Spain and Germany before crossing the Atlantic for highly-anticipated performances in Washington D.C., Boston, Michigan, Santa Barbara, Vancouver and New York’s Carnegie Hall. Rondeau’s schedule also includes numerous performances of Poulenc’s Concert Champêtre with Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Rotterdam’s Philharmonisch Orkest, Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi, Tapiola Sinfonietta and Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, as well as engagements with Freiburger Barockorchester and The English Concert in programs dedicated to J.S. Bach,

Jean Rondeau, harpsichord

with Rondeau directing from the harpsichord. A notable season highlight is Rondeau’s upcoming artist portrait at the Wiener Konzerthaus, featuring him as a soloist with Radio-Symphonieorchester Wien under Marin Alsop, as a chamber musician alongside his fellow co-founders of the Nevermind Quartet and as a recitalist with his new solo program, Gradus ad Parnassum. Rondeau also per forms this new program in multiple halls across Europe including the Philharmonie de Paris, Wigmore Hall, the Tonhalle Dusseldorf and other venues across Germany and Spain, to coincide with the eponymous album’s upcoming release by Erato in spring 2023. Rondeau also continues various chamber music projects with longterm collaborators such as Nicolas Altstaedt, with whom Rondeau shares the stage at the Royal Concertgebouw Amsterdam, and the Nevermind Quartet.

In June 2022, Rondeau unveiled the world premiere of UNDR at La Grange au Lac d’Evian. Inspired by the Goldberg Variations and composed by Rondeau in collaboration with percussionist Tancrède Kummer, this new creation conceived around two pianos and percussion will also be performed in 2022-2023 at the Konzerthaus Berlin and the Musikfest Stuttgart. UNDR is Rondeau’s latest foray into the world of new music, following the 2016 premiere of his first original film score for Christian Schwochow’s Paula at Locarno Film Festival. Contemporary music is important for Rondeau; in 2018, he performed the world premiere of Eve Risser’s Furakèla for solo harpsichord at the BBC Proms.

Rondeau is signed to Erato, with whom he has recorded

photo: Mathias Benguigui

several albums championing ancient music. His 2022 re lease of J.S. Bach’s Goldberg Variations with its brand-new approach to the harpsichord masterpiece was met with international critical acclaim, described by Gramophone (U.K.) as “mesmerizing,” and earned a 5-star review from BBC Music Magazine. His previous album Melancholy Grace (2021) was heralded as “soulful [...] varied, [and] wonderful” by The New York Times and “sublime” by Le Devoir. Barricades (2020), recorded with Thomas Dunford, likewise garnered widespread critical acclaim, as did his 2019 Scarlatti Sonata recording, which won that year’s Diapason d’Or de l’Année. Earlier publications include his debut album Imagine (2015, winner of the Choc de Classica), Vertigo (2016, winner of that year’s Diapason d’Or), and Dynastie (2017).

In addition to his engagements as a soloist, recitalist and conductor, Rondeau is in high demand as a teacher and has given master classes worldwide from the Gstaad Academy to the University of Hong Kong. Jean Rondeau returns to The Juilliard School in New York for a master class as part of his North American tour at the beginning of the 2022-2023 season.

Rondeau studied harpsichord with Blandine Verlet at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique in Paris, followed by training in continuo, organ, piano, jazz and improvisation and conducting. He completed his musi cal training at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. In 2012, he became one of the youngest performers ever to take first prize at the International Harpsichord Competition in Bruges (MAfestival 2012), aged 21.

Jennifer Egan

Jennifer Egan is the author of the 2011 Pulitzer Prizewinning novel A Visit From the Goon Squad. Published in 2010, the book soared to the top of many publications’ Best of 2010 lists, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, Time, Slate, Salon and People. In addi tion to being awarded the Pulitzer Prize for fiction, A Visit From the Goon Squad won the National Book Critics Circle award for fiction, and was a finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction, the IMPAC/Dublin Literary Award and the Irish Book Award.

Her latest novel, The Candy House, is a “sibling novel” to A Visit From the Goon Squad – an electrifying, deep ly moving work about the quest for authenticity and meaning in a world where memories and identities are no longer private.

Jennifer Egan’s previous novel, Manhattan Beach, was a New York Times bestseller that the Boston Globe heralded as “Egan’s most remarkable accomplishment yet.” Her first historical novel, it delved into World War II-era New York with the story of a young woman who becomes the first female diver in the Brooklyn Naval Yard, navigating a world populated by gangsters, sailors, bankers and union men. Manhattan Beach was awarded the 2018 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction.

Jennifer Egan is also the author of The Invisible Circus, a novel that became a feature film starring Cameron Diaz; Look at Me, a finalist for the National Book Award

Jennifer Egan in Conversation with Pico Iyer

in fiction in 2001; Emerald City and Other Stories and The Keep, which was a national bestseller. Her short sto ries have appeared in The New Yorker, Harper’s, Granta, McSweeney’s, and other magazines. She is a recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship in Fiction and a Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Fellowship at the New York Public Library.

Her nonfiction articles appear frequently in The New York Times Magazine. Her 2002 cover story on homeless chil dren received the Carroll Kowal Journalism Award, and her article “The Bipolar Kid” received a 2009 Outstanding Media Award for Science and Health Reporting from the National Alliance on Mental Illness. Jennifer Egan was the President of PEN America and Artist-in-Residence at the University of Pennsylvania.

Speaking with Pico Series Sponsors: Martha Gabbert, Siri & Bob Marshall, and Laura & Kevin O’Connor

photo: Pieter M. Van Hattem photo: Derek Shapton

Pico Iyer

Pico Iyer is the author of 15 books, translated into 23 languages, and dealing with subjects ranging from the XIVth Dalai Lama to Islamic mysticism and from globalism to the Cuban Revolution. They include such long-running sellers as Video Night in Kathmandu, The Lady and the Monk, The Global Soul and The Art of Stillness

He has also written the introductions to more than 70 other books, the liner notes for many Leonard Cohen CDs and Criterion Collection movies and a screenplay for Miramax. Since 1986 he has been a regular essayist for Time, The New York Times, Harper’s, The New York Review of Books and many others.

His four talks for TED have received more than 11 million views so far, and he has been featured in program-length interviews with Oprah, Krista Tippett and Larry King, among others.

Born in Oxford, England in 1957, he was a King’s Scholar at Eton and was awarded a Congratulatory Double First at Oxford, where he received the highest marks of any student on English Literature at the university. He received a second master’s degree at Harvard and was recently a Ferris Professor at Princeton.

Based since 1987 in western Japan, he travels widely, and his forthcoming book, The Half Known Life, describes experiences in Iran, North Korea, Kashmir, Sri Lanka, Jerusalem and inner Australia.

Books are available for purchase in the lobby and a signing follows the event

Special Thanks

Ian Bremmer

The Power of Crisis: How Three Threats – and Our Response – Will Change the World

Thu, Nov 10 / 7:30 PM / Granada Theatre

Ian Bremmer is a political scientist who helps business leaders, policy makers and the general public make sense of the world around them. He is president and founder of Eurasia Group, the world’s leading political risk research and consulting firm, and GZERO Media, a company ded icated to providing intelligent and engaging coverage of international affairs. Bremmer is an independent voice on critical issues around the globe, offering clearheaded insights through speeches, written commentary and even satirical puppets.

A prolific writer, Bremmer is the author of 11 books including the New York Times bestseller Us vs Them: The Failure of Globalism, which examines the rise of populism across the world. His latest book, The Power of Crisis: How Three Threats – and Our Response – Will Change the World, details a trio of looming global crises (health emergencies, climate change and technological revolution) and outlines how governments, corporations and concerned citizens can use these crises to create global prosperity and oppor tunity.

He serves as the foreign affairs columnist and edi tor-at-large for Time magazine and is the host of GZERO World with Ian Bremmer, which airs weekly on U.S. national public television. Bremmer is also a frequent guest on CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, the BBC, Bloomberg and many others globally.

He teaches at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs and previously was a pro fessor at New York University.

Find him on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and regularly tweeting from @IanBremmer.

Funded in part by the Community Events & Festivals Program using funds provided by the City of Santa Barbara in partnership with the Santa Barbara County Office of Arts and Culture

photo: Richard Jopson

Nigella Lawson in Conversation with KCRW’s Evan Kleiman

Nov 12 / 7:30 PM / Granada Theatre

Nigella Lawson

Nigella Lawson is an internationally-renowned food writer and television cook whose successful television programs have made her a household name around the world.

Lawson read Medieval and Modern Languages at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford and went on to become deputy literary editor of The Sunday Times at the age of 26. This was followed by a successful career as a critic and op-ed columnist, writing for a range of newspapers including The Times and The Guardian.

In 1998 she published her first cookbook, How to Eat: The Pleasures and Principles of Good Food. She now has twelve bestselling books to her name, including her latest, Cook, Eat, Repeat: Ingredients, Recipes and Stories. Her books have sold over 12 million copies worldwide.

Her first television series, Nigella Bites, aired in 2000, followed by a string of successful series broadcast in the U.K., U.S., Australia and beyond. Lawson was a judge on the three seasons of The Taste, which broadcast in the U.K. and U.S. in 2013 and 2014. She has made several appearances on MasterChef Australia.

Lawson was voted author of the year at the 2001 British Book Awards (Nibbies), and Best Food Personality 2014 at the Observer Food Monthly Awards

Evan Kleiman

Longtime chef and restaurateur Evan Kleiman is a culinary multitasker. Her life centers around her radio/ podcast show Good Food, which airs on the NPR station KCRW, 89.9 FM in Southern California. She has done thousands of interviews since 1998 as the host of Good Food. She focuses on human life, politics, art, psychology, economics and culture, through the prism of food.

Pre-signed books are available for purchase in the lobby

Funded in part by the Community Events & Festivals Program using funds provided by the City of Santa Barbara in partnership with the Santa Barbara County Office of Arts and Culture

Special Thanks

photo: Matt Holyoak

Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company

What Problem?

Tue, Nov 15 / 8 PM / Granada Theatre

Dance Series Sponsors:

Margo Cohen-Feinberg & Bob Feinberg, Audrey & Timothy O. Fisher, Ellen & Peter O. Johnson, Barbara Stupay, and Sheila Wald

Presented in association with UCSB Dept of Theater and Dance, and UCSB Global Engagement, as part of International Education Week

Bill T. Jones, Co-founder and Artistic Director Janet Wong, Associate Artistic Director

The Company

Barrington Hinds, Jada Jenai, Shane Larson, s. lumbert, Danielle Marshall, Marie Lloyd Paspe, Jacoby Pruitt, Nayaa Opong, Huiwang Zhang with Bill T. Jones

Musicians

Phillip Bullock, Shaq Hester, Stacy Penson, Dev

What Problem?

Conceived and Directed by: Bill T. Jones

Choreography: Bill T. Jones with Janet Wong and current and former Company members Original Composition: Nick Hallett

Electronic Score: HPrizm aka High Priest, Rena Anakwe and Holland Andrews Music Direction: Stacy Penson

Lighting Design: Robert Wierzel* Costume Design: Liz Prince Dramaturgy: Mark Hairston

Text: Bill T. Jones and Mark Hairston

*Denotes Member of the United Scenic Arts Union (USA) Visual environment, video projection and lighting design conceived by Elizabeth Diller (DS+R) and Peter Nigrini for Deep Blue Sea have been adapted for the staging of What Problem?

Text excerpts from:

W.E.B. Du Bois: The Souls of Black Folk Martin Luther King, Jr.: “I Have a Dream” Kendrick Lamar: “Never Catch Me” Herman Melville: Moby Dick

Musical excerpts from:

“Get Right Church” (traditional), performed by Empire Jubilee Quartet; courtesy of Document Records

“Black Gal (I Don’t Want No Jet Black Woman)” (traditional), performed by prisoners of the Mississippi State Penitentiary, recorded by Alan Lomax

photo: Jim Coleman

Programming & Production Staff

Kyle Maude, Producing Director

Hillery Makatura, Director of Production

Megan Dechaine, Production Stage Manager

Serena Wong, Lighting Supervisor

Shay Watson, Sound Engineer

Charles Cobbertt, III, Assistant Stage Manager

Jada Jenai, Company Manager

Adapted from Deep Blue Sea which was originally commissioned by Park Avenue Armory and Manchester International Festival in collaboration with Holland Festival and first performed on September 28, 2021. Additional commissioning support provided by The Mann Center for the Performing Arts with original support for Deep Blue Sea provided by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage, Philadelphia. What Problem? Commissioning support provided by Carolina Performing Arts, Lumberyard Center for Film and Performing Arts, Indiana University Auditorium, George Mason University and Dancers’ Workshop. Rehearsal support provided by Mana Contemporary and Bethany Arts Community. What Problem? was made possible by the New England Foundation for the Arts’ National Dance Project, with lead funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

The creation of new work by Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company is made possible in part by the company’s Partners in Creation: Anonymous (2), Anne Delaney, Zoe Eskin, Eleanor Friedman, Ruth & Stephen Hendel, Michael P.N.A. Hormel in Loving Memory of Jim Hormel, Suzanne Karpas, Ellen Poss, Jane Bovingdon Semel, in memory of Linda G. Shapiro, Slobodan Randjelović & Jon Stryker.

Support for New York Live Arts is provided by the Arnhold Foundation, Blanchette Hooker Rockefeller Fund, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Ed Bradley Family Foundation, The Brant Foundation, Inc., Joseph and Joan Cullman Foundation for the Arts, Dance/NYC, Ford Foundation, Howard Gilman Foundation, Mertz Gilmore Foundation, Harkness Foundation for Dance, Marta Heflin Foundation, Alex Katz Foundation, Lambent Foundation, Alice Lawrence Foundation, Samuel M. Levy Family Foundation, The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Mellon Foundation, Muriel Pollia Foundation, National Performance Network, New England Foundation for the Arts, New York Community Trust, The Poss Family Foundation, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Jerome Foundation, Jerome Robbins Foundation, The Fan Fox & Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, San Francisco Foundation, The Semel Charitable Foundation, Scherman Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, Tides Foundation.

Public support for New York Live Arts is from Humanities New York, National Endowment for the Arts, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council member Erik Bottcher, Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine, and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature.

Corporate support for New York Live Arts includes Con Edison, Google, Tito’s Handmade Vodka.

We at New York Live Arts acknowledge and offer deep gratitude to Lenapehoking, where New York Live Arts sits-the land, and waters of the Lenape homeland.

About the Program

“For the problem of the Twentieth Century is the problem of the color-line… the relation of the darker to the lighter races of men… And yet, being a problem is a strange experience, – peculiar even for one who has never been anything else.” –W.E.B. Du Bois, The Souls of Black Folk (1903)

I have long accepted Dr. King’s immortal words “We Shall Overcome” mixed with the scripture of our democracy as formed and shaped by we the people. And yet there’s always been an uneasy recognition of the truth at the base of the great W.E.B. Du Bois statement concerning “the Problem.” The “Color Line” for Du Bois represented the epitome of oth erness, yet we now understand this is much more complex. In our fractious era, I am compelled to elaborate on this “line” in terms of sexual politics, gender identity, class struggles, and especially at this moment in time, immigration.

These ideas collide in my mind and my creative self like tectonic plates. Tectonic activity creates land formations, volcanic eruptions and rearranging of whole continents. What Problem? is the latest result of this social/political/ spiritual grinding and reformation.

Are you a problem? And what does it mean to be a problem?

All of my work is in pursuit of the “we.” What Problem? is the notion of “WE THE PEOPLE.”

– Bill T. Jones

The Hymn

Text: Herman Melville

Melody: Chanel Howard

Part I Performed by: Danielle Marshall and Vocalists

Part II Performed by: Danielle Marshall, Marie Lloyd Paspe and Jada Jenai

The ribs and terrors in the whale Arched over me a dismal gloom While all God’s sunlit rays rolled by And left me deepening down to doom

I saw the opening maw of hell, With endless pains and sorrows there; Which none but they that feel can tell –Oh, I was plunging to despair.

Education and Community Engagement

How do we build a more connected, thoughtful and compassionate community?

We do it with opportunities that are accessible to all. Through Access for ALL – Arts & Lectures’ Learning programs –inspirational, dynamic learning experiences are possible for students and lifelong learners across classrooms, our community and the UCSB campus.

Access for ALL serves more than 30,000 students and community members annually.

Here’s how we’re impacting our community:

• Assemblies in elementary and secondary schools

• Workshops and conversations with artists and speakers

• Ticket subsidies for students at all levels

• The Thematic Learning Initiative’s lifelong learning opportunities

• Matinee field trips for K-12 students at The Granada Theatre

• Lecture-demonstrations and artist panels in University classes

• Master classes for students and community members

• Post-show Q&As with audiences of all ages

• Free family performances in under-resourced neighborhoods

Please consider a contribution to A&L’s award-winning education programs. Call Director of Development Elise Erb at (805) 893-5679 to learn more.

David

Arturo O’Farrill coaches a master class for UCSB Jazz Ensemble students

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893-3382.

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ensure our exciting programs continue for future generations. We are pleased to acknowledge

Judy & Bruce Anticouni

Helen Borges*

Ralph H. Fertig*

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Georgia Funsten*

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Arts & Lectures Endowments

Fund for Programmatic Excellence

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Meghan Bush, Associate Director

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Marisa Balter, Financial Analyst

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Stacy Cullison, Senior Director of Development & Special Initiatives

Carmela Marie Distura, Assistant Ticket Office Manager Charles Donelan, Senior Writer/Publicist

Matthew Elkins, Chief Financial & Operations Officer

Elise Erb, Director of Development

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Loribeth Gregory-Beck, Director of Education & Community Engagement Sophia Jeffe, Membership Coordinator Nina Johnson, Interim Marketing Manager

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Elizabeth Owen, Programming Manager James Reisner, Manager of Ticketing Operations

Julianna Swilley, Arnhold Education Associate Shane Terenzi, Special Events Executive Producer & COVID Compliance Consultant

Angelina Toporov, Marketing Specialist

Laura Wallace, Finance & HR Manager Eliot Winder, Production Manager

About the Company

Over the past 40 years the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company has shaped the evolution of contemporary dance through the creation and performance of over 140 works. Founded as a multicultural dance company in 1982, the company was born of an 11-year artistic col laboration between Bill T. Jones and Arnie Zane. Today, the company is recognized as one of the most innovative and powerful forces in the modern dance world. The company has performed its ever-enlarging repertoire worldwide in over 200 cities in 40 countries on every major continent. In 2011, the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company merged with Dance Theater Workshop to form New York Live Arts, of which Bill T. Jones is the artistic director and Janet Wong is the associate artistic director.

The repertory of the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company is widely varied in its subject matter, visual imagery and stylistic approach to movement, voice and stagecraft and includes musically driven works as well as works using a variety of texts. Some of its most celebrated creations are evening-length works including Last Supper at Uncle Tom’s Cabin/The Promised Land (1990, Next Wave Festival at the Brooklyn Academy of Music); Still/Here (1994, Biennale de la Danse in Lyon, France); We Set Out Early… Visibility Was Poor (1996, Hancher Auditorium, Iowa City, Iowa); You Walk? (2000, European Capital of Culture 2000, Bologna, Italy); Blind Date (2006, Peak Performances at Montclair State University); Chapel/Chapter (2006, Harlem Stage Gatehouse); Fondly Do We Hope… Fervently Do We Pray (2009, Ravinia Festival, Highland Park, IL); Another Evening: Venice/Arsenale (2010, La Biennale di Venezia, Venice, Italy); Story/Time (2012, Peak Performances); A Rite (2013, Carolina Performing Arts at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill); Deep Blue Sea (2021, Park Avenue Armory).

New York Live Arts

Home of Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company (BTJ/AZ), Live Arts is a commissioning and presenting center of diverse artists notable for their conceptual rigor, for mal experimentation and active engagement with the sociocultural currents of our time. Artists at all stages of their careers are supported through residencies, com missions and artist services. BTJ/AZ, founded in 1982 by Bill T. Jones and Arnie Zane (1948-1988), is recognized as an innovative force, having performed in over 200 cities and 40 countries.

About the Directors

Bill T. Jones (artistic director/co-founder/choreogra pher: Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company; artistic director: New York Live Arts) is recipient of the 2022 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Choreography for Black No More; 2014 Doris Duke Performing Artist Award; 2013 National Medal of Arts; 2010 Kennedy Center Honors; a 2010 Tony Award for Best Choreography of the critically ac claimed Fela!; a 2007 Tony Award, 2007 Obie Award and 2006 Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation Callaway Award for his choreography for Spring Awakening; the 2010 Jacob’s Pillow Dance Award; 2007 USA Eileen Harris Norton Fellowship; 2006 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Choreography for The Seven; 2005 Wexner Prize; the 2005 Samuel H. Scripps American Dance Festival Award for Lifetime Achievement; 2005 Harlem Renaissance Award; 2003 Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize; and a 1994 MacArthur “Genius” Award. In 2010, Jones was recognized as Officier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French government, and in 2000, The Dance Heritage Coalition named Jones “An Irreplaceable Dance Treasure.” He was nominated for the 2022 Tony Awards for his work on Paradise Square.

Jones choreographed and performed worldwide with his late partner, Arnie Zane, before forming the Bill T. Jones/ Arnie Zane Dance Company in 1982. He has created more than 140 works for his company. Jones is artistic di rector of New York Live Arts, an organization that strives to create a robust framework in support of the nation’s dance and movement-based artists through new ap proaches to producing, presenting and educating.

Arnie Zane (co-founder/choreographer) (1948-1988) was a native New Yorker born in the Bronx and edu cated at the State University of New York (SUNY) at Binghamton. In 1971, Arnie Zane and Bill T. Jones began their long collaboration in choreography and in 1973 formed the American Dance Asylum in Binghamton with Lois Welk. Zane’s first recognition in the arts came as a photographer when he received a Creative Artists Public Service (CAPS) Fellowship in 1973. Zane was the recipient of a second CAPS Fellowship in 1981 for cho reography, as well as two Choreographic Fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts (1983 and 1984). In 1980, Zane was co-recipient, with Bill T. Jones, of the German Critics Award for his work, Blauvelt Mountain. Rotary Action, a duet with Jones, was filmed for television, co-produced by WGBH-TV Boston and Channel 4 in London.

About the Performers

Barrington Hinds (performer) is from West Palm Beach, Florida. He began his training at the School of Ballet Florida under the direction of Marie Hale. Hinds holds a B.F.A. in dance from SUNY Purchase College and has worked professionally with VERB Ballets, Northwest Professional Dance Project and the national tour of Twyla Tharp’s Broadway show, Movin’ Out. In 2011 Hinds was honored as a finalist for the Clive Barnes Award for young talent in dance. He has worked with leading choreogra phers including Laurie Stallings, Edgar Zendejas, Sarah Slipper, Helen Pickett, Thaddeus Davis and Cherylyn Lavagnino to name a few. Hinds has also danced with the Stephen Petronio Company and has freelanced in com mercial, television and print work. In addition Hinds is also a choreographer and teacher. His work has been shown at Purchase College, Dixon Place, Warwick Summer Festival, Arts On Site and The Tank. Hinds has been a performer with the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company since 2017. You can follow him @bar_hinds and his website www.bar ringtonhinds.com

Jada Jenai (performer/company manager) was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. She has worked professionally with A.I.M by Kyle Abraham, Helen Simoneau, Peridance Contemporary Dance Company and Wyckoff Collective. Jenai earned a B.F.A. in Dance from SUNY Purchase Conservatory of Dance, study ing under Jonathan Ridel, Kyle Abraham, Kevin Wynn, Dylan Crossman and Jean Freebury (Merce Cunningham Change of Address). She also studied at Western Australia Academy for Performing Arts and Springboard Danse Montreal, working with Jonathan Alsberry and Shamel Pitts. Jenai attended Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School and is a freelance model. This is her first season with the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company.

Shane Larson (performer) was raised in Minnesota, where he received his early training at the St. Paul Conservatory for Performing Artists. He graduated from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, with a B.F.A. in Dance. He also stud ied at SEAD in Austria. Since living in New York City, he’s branched out to collaborate with punk musicians, film makers, improvisational music ensembles and site-specific visual artists. He is also a multimedia video artist who makes collage-based work about memory. Larson joined the company in 2015.

s. lumbert (performer) is a transgender dance artist cur rently based in Lenapehoking (Brooklyn, N.Y.). s. is com mitted to a practice of navigating how to be in zis body as a person who experiences chronic illness, and is interested

in cultivating accessible spaces in dance. s. collaborates in live performance and in film with Marie Lloyd Paspe and musi cian Treya Lam, rehearses with and performs for Huiwang Zhang in collaboration with zimself and Nayaa Opong, and has been in process with and performed for Marion Spencer. s. has been working with the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company since 2018.

Danielle Marshall (performer) is a native of Atlanta, Ga. She received her early dance training from DeKalb School of the Arts, Phusion Performing Arts Alliance and City Gate Dance Theater. In 2019, she graduated summa cum laude from the Ailey/Fordham B.F.A. program, studying Dance and Pre-Health for Physical Therapy. During her time at Ailey/ Fordham, Marshall had the opportunity to perform works by her colleagues and notable choreographers such as Adam Barruch, Amy Hall Garner and Maxine Steinman. Marshall is also a certified Horton instructor. She is grateful to begin her first season with the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company.

Marie Lloyd Paspe (performer) is originally from Bellingham, Mass. and Mississauga, Canada, currently based in Brooklyn, N.Y. Paspe received her B.F.A. from the Ailey/Fordham Program in 2016, studying abroad in Israel with Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company in 2015 and Springboard Danse Montreal in 2017. She toured with Carolyn Dorfman Dance and worked with choreographers Peter Chu, Renee Jaworski and Rami Be’er. Her choreography, vocal work and movement direction for stage and film were presented in the Philippines, Berlin, Israel and across the U.S. Paspe joined the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company in 2018.

Jacoby Pruitt (performer) began his dance training in Miami, Fla. where he attended New World School of the Arts. He is a graduate of NYU’s Tisch School of Dance and is a recipient of the Martha Hill Dance Fund’s Young Professional Award. He has worked professionally with Ailey II, Company XIV, Sean Curran Company and the Metropolitan Opera Ballet among various other freelance projects. His television and film credits include Good Morning America, Comedy Central’s Alternatino and the In the Heights film. Pruitt joined the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company in 2021.

Nayaa Opong (performer) is from Cherry Hill, New Jersey. She began her dance training at The Bowman School of Dance and later continued at Eleone Dance Unlimited. Opong chose to further her studies at Mason Gross School of the Arts - Rutgers University, where she earned a B.F.A. in Dance and was able to spend a semester at The Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance. Since graduating in May 2019, she performs with Hysterica Jazz Dance and has begun work ing with the BIRDHOUSE artist collective. Opong joined the company in 2019.

Huiwang Zhang (performer) has been a member of the company since 2017. He was nominated an Outstanding Performer by the Bessies for his performance of Our Labyrinth directed by Lee Mingwei and Bill T. Jones at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. He earned his M.F.A. from the University of Utah under the mentorship of Stephen Koester.

Philip K. Bullock (vocalist) is a native of Washington D.C. and has been featured in operas, recitals and concerts throughout the United States and Europe. Most recently, Bullock made his debut with the Atlanta Opera in Porgy & Bess and returned to Cincinnati Opera for their production of Puccini’s Tosca. Bullock has been seen in concert perfor mances of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony and Kurt Well’s Seven Deadly Sins with National Music Festival Orchestra.

Shaq Hester (vocalist) Off Broadway: Antigone in Ferguson (Swing Soloist). Regional: The View Upstairs (Wes), Five Guys Named Moe (Little Moe). Hester has appeared with the Bronx Opera and Trilogy Opera. He was a featured vocalist in the Pyer Moss “Sister” runway show. He also produced and performed live vocal arrangements with 22Gz for the Pyer Moss “Watt U Iz” couture fashion show. Hester was fea tured vocalist in Ari Grooves’ “Message From a Wanderer” at Feinstein’s/54 Below. Artist collaborations include Aloe Blacc and Jason Michael Webb. Hester is a graduate of Indiana University Jacobs School of Music and University of South Carolina School of Music

Stacy Penson (vocalist/music director), a classically trained musician, has worked in New York, across the U.S. and all over the world performing a variety of styles of music. He has performed the roles of Don Giovanni (Don Giovanni, W. Mozart) and Don Alhambra (Gondoliers, A. Sullivan) as well as collaborations with Kathleen Battle, Marilyn Horne, Patti LaBelle, Angie Stone, Brain McKnight and Alicia Keys. Penson is also an accomplished pianist and conductor and has been music director for many Broadway/Off-Broadway Shows.

Dev (vocalist) holds a Masters of Music degree with a concentration in Musical theater from NYU Steinhardt where they studied under Dr. Scott Murphree, Alexander Gemingani and Erin Ortman. A native Detroiter, they also hold a BA in Commercial Music Performance from the Detroit Institute of Music Education, studying voice under Kisma Jordan-Hunter and DeAnna Johnson. Performing everything from classical, pop, jazz and musical theater to country, gospel, R&B and even rock, Dev has a sound that is truly unique. Living by the words of Jimi Hendrix – “when the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace” – they are a passionate voice for social justice movements; one that just keeps getting louder.

About the Collaborators and Guest Artists

Rena Anakwe (electronic score) is an interdisciplinary artist and performer working primarily with sound, visuals and scent. Exploring intersections between traditional healing practices, spirituality and performance, she creates works focused on sensory-based, experiential interactions using creative technology. Most recently, she was awarded a 2021-2022 MacDowell Fellowship for Interdisciplinary Arts and a 2022 Jack Nusbaum Artist Residency at BAM. Anakwe has collaborated, produced and shown work at New York City institutions including: En Garde Arts/Brookfield Place, Weeksville Heritage Center, Dia Foundation, Fridman Gallery, Knockdown Center, Lincoln Center, MoMA PS1, CultureHub, Pioneer Works and Montez Press Radio. She is based in Brooklyn, New York, by way of Nigeria and Canada.

Nick Hallett (composer and music director) is a musician, artist and curator. His scores for the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company include Deep Blue Sea (2021), What Problem? (2020), the Analogy Trilogy (2015-2017), A Letter to My Nephew (2015) and Fishkill/Movements 1-45 (2014). He has served as vocalist, multi-instrumentalist and music director for the international tours of these works. Hallett received a 2017 Bessie Award with Ishmael Houston-Jones and Miguel Gutierrez for Variations on Themes From Lost & Found; Scenes From a Life and Other Works by John Bernd. In 2020, his opera collaboration with artist Shana Moulton, Whispering Pines 10, premiered in digital form at www.whispering pines10.com. His music and transdisciplinary projects have been presented in New York at MoMA, the Whitney, the Guggenheim, Hayden Planetarium, BAM, Performa, New Museum, The Kitchen, Danspace, Roulette and ISSUE Project Room. Hallett is on the faculties of The New School and School of Visual Arts.

A native of Washington, D.C., Mark Hairston (dramaturg) is a director, performer and educator with a primary focus on American theater and theater of the African diaspora. He is particularly drawn to classical works, innovative literary adaptations and theater for community develop ment. His recent directing highlights include Julius Caesar, The Escape; or, A Leap for Freedom, King Lear, The Cherry Orchard and The Henry Dumas Project. Along with direct ing, Hairston has worked extensively as a professional actor with some of the nation’s leading theater compa nies. He is a graduate of the M.F.A. Directing program at Columbia University School of the Arts, received his B.F.A. in Acting from Rutgers University, and was classically trained at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in London. He is an assistant professor of Directing and Acting at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Hprizm Aka High Priest (electronic score) is an American avant-garde artist, composer, new-media art ist and performer whose work spans performance art, pop music and multimedia projects. Formally trained as a visual artist, Hprizm later developed from the axis of poetry, hip hop and the experimental arts commu nity of the Lower East Side in the early ’90s. Prizm is the founding member of the Antipop Consortium and a cited figure in the Afrofuturist canon. Prizm has shared stages with The Roots, Radiohead, MF Doom, Matthew Shipp, Vijay Iyer, Steve Lehman and others. His musical compositions have been presented at the Whitney, the Guggenheim, the Walker and The New Museum, as well as MoMA PS1, CalArts and the Mazzoli Gallery. At his PRIZMLABS, his clients include Kehinde Wiley, Simone Leigh, Moor Mother, Ursula Rucker, The Barnes Center, Bahamadia, The Banff Centre, Meredith Monk and Sō Percussion, among others.

Holland Andrews (musician) is an American vocalist, composer, improviser and performance artist whose work is based on emotionality in its many forms. Frequently highlighting themes surrounding vulnera bility and healing, Andrews arranges music with voice and clarinet, harnessing the innate qualities of these instruments’ power and elegance to serve as a vessel for these themes. As a vocalist, their influences stem from a dynamic range of musical stylings including contem porary opera, free jazz and musical theater, as well as ambient, drone and noise music. In addition to creating solo work, Andrews develops and performs the sound scapes for dance, theater and film, and their work is still touring nationally and internationally. Andrews has gained recognition from publications such as The New York Times, Uncut Magazine, Electronic Sound, NPR and more. Andrews is currently based in New York City and performs solo music under the stage name Like a Villain.

Liz Prince (costume designer) designs costumes for dance, theater and film and has had the great plea sure of designing for Bill T. Jones since 1991. Her work has been exhibited at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, 2011 Prague Quadrennial of Performance Design and Space, Cleveland Center for Contemporary Art, Rockland Center for the Arts and Snug Harbor Cultural Center. She received a 1990 New York Dance and Performance Award (Bessie) and a 2008 Charles Flint Kellogg Arts and Letters Award from Bard College. She teaches costume design at SUNY Purchase College, Manhattanville College and Sarah Lawrence College.

Robert Wierzel (lighting designer) has worked with artists in theater, dance, new music, opera and museums on stages throughout the country and abroad. He has worked with choreographer Bill T. Jones and his company since 1985. Projects include Blind Date, Another Evening: I Bow Down, Still/ Here, You Walk?, Last Supper at Uncle Tom’s Cabin/The Promised Land, How To Walk An Elephant and We Set Out Early… Visibility Was Poor. Other works with Bill T. Jones include projects at the Guthrie Theatre, Lyon Opera Ballet, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Boston Ballet, Boston Lyric Opera, the Welsh dance company Diversions and London’s Contemporary Dance Trust. Wierzel has also worked with choreographers Trisha Brown, Doug Varone, Donna Uchizono, Larry Goldhuber, Heidi Latsky, Sean Curran, Molissa Fenley, Susan Marshall, Margo Sappington, Alonzo King and JoAnn Fregalette-Jansen. Additional cred its include national and international opera companies, Broadway and regional theater. Wierzel is currently on the faculty of New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts and the Yale School of Drama.

Janet Wong (associate artistic director) was born in Hong Kong and trained in Hong Kong and London. Upon gradua tion she joined the Berlin Ballet where she first met Bill T. Jones when he was invited to choreograph on the company. In 1993, she moved to New York to pursue other interests. Wong became rehearsal director of the Company in 1996, associate artistic director in August 2006 and associate artistic director of New York Live Arts in 2016.

Funded in part by the Community Events & Festivals Program using funds provided by the City of Santa Barbara in partnership with the Santa Barbara County Office of Arts and Culture

Special Thanks

Allison Russell

Wed, Nov 16 / 8 PM / Campbell Hall

Allison Russell, vocals, clarinet, banjo Joy Clark, guitar, vocals Elizabeth Pupo-Walker, drums

Elenna Canlas, keyboard, vocals Ganessa James, bass, vocals

Presented in association with UCSB Global Engagement, as part of International Education Week

Born and raised in Montreal, poet, singer, songwriter, ac tivist and multi-instrumentalist Allison Russell (co-found er of Our Native Daughters and Birds of Chicago) imbues her music with the colors of her city – the light, the landscape, the language – but also the trauma that she suffered there. Outside Child, her acclaimed debut album, is a heartbreaking reflection on a childhood no one should have to endure, and at the same time a powerful reclamation – asserted from a place of healing, of moth erhood, of partnership – and from a new home made in Nashville.

The record features contributions from many of the artistic family members she has found there including producer Dan Knobler, Erin Rae, Jamie Dick, Joe Pisapia, The McCrary Sisters, Ruth Moody, Yola, and her partner JT Nero. “It was about making these songs live and breathe in the most honest way,” Russell says. “We were laughing, we were crying. And the communion between musi cians, I hope people can hear that on the record. It felt like magic.”

Outside Child, says Russell, “is about resilience, survival, transcendence, the redemptive power of art, community, connection and chosen family.”

In the end, the album is not only a radical reclamation of a traumatic childhood and lost home, but also a lantern light for survivors of all stripes – a fervent reminder of the eleventh-hour, resuscitative power of art.

“Outside Child draws water from the dark well of a violent past,” says poet and songwriter Joe Henry. “The songs themselves – though iron-hard in their concerns – are exultant: exercising haunted dream-like clean bedsheets snapped and hung out into broad daylight, and with the romantic poet’s lust for living and audacity of endurance.”

Honors and awards for Russell and Outside Child in clude three 2022 Americana Award nominations, two International Folk Music Awards, a Juno Award for Contemporary Roots Album of the Year, three Canadian Folk Music Awards, two U.K. Americana Music Awards and three Grammy Award nominations.

Russell has also been profiled in The New York Times, Vanity Fair, Rolling Stone and on NPR and has appeared on Jimmy Kimmel LIVE!, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Ellen, CBS Saturday and PBS’ Austin City Limits.

An acclaimed performer, Russell tours regularly in the U.S. and around the world, headlining and supporting contemporaries such as Brandi Carlile, Nathaniel Rateliff and Jason Isbell. In 2023, Russell and Flatiron Books will release her debut novel, a memoir based on her life and the material that inspired Outside Child

Special Thanks

photo: Marc Baptiste

Matthew Whitaker

Thu, Nov 17 / 8 PM / Campbell Hall

Matthew Whitaker, piano, Hammond B3 organ Marcos Robinson, guitar Karim Hutton, electric bass

Jazz Series Lead Sponsor: Manitou Fund

Born in 2001 in Hackensack, N.J., Matthew Whitaker grew up surrounded by music. His love for playing music first began at the young age of 3 after his grandfather gave him a small Yamaha Keyboard.

At 9, Whitaker began teaching himself how to play the Hammond B3 organ. Four years later, he became the youngest artist to be endorsed by Hammond in its 80-plus year history. Whitaker has had years of music instruction, studying classical piano and drums at The Filomen M. D’Agostino Greenberg Music School in New York City. It is the only community music school for the blind and visually impaired in the U.S.

He has previously studied at The Harlem School of the Arts and was a member of both the Jazz House Big Band and the Organ Messengers at Jazz House Kids in Montclair, N.J. Whitaker also attended the Manhattan School of Music’s Precollege Jazz Program and is current ly attending The Juilliard School in New York City.

Whitaker has received the Outstanding Soloist Award from Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Charles Mingus High School Competition & Festival and the Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition & Festival. He was recog nized by the Harlem International Film Festival, which named him Most Remarkable Young Person on Screen.

He’s toured both in the U.S. and abroad, performing before the Youth Assembly at the United Nations head quarters in New York City, and on other world-renowned stages, including Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts,

the Apollo Theater, Carnegie Hall and Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City; SFJAZZ Center in San Francisco; the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.; The Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts, Monterey Jazz Festival, Newport Jazz Festival, and at international venues in France, Italy, Germany, Indonesia, the U.K., Australia, Switzerland, Portugal, Japan, Spain, Morocco and South Korea.

Whitaker has performed with an array of outstanding musicians: Ray Chew, Christian McBride, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Rhoda Scott, Cameron Carpenter, Regina Carter, Jason Moran, Jon Batiste, Cory Henry, Marc Cary, Arturo O’Farrill, James Carter, Roy Ayers, D.D. Jackson, The New York Pops Orchestra, EFG London Jazz Orchestra and with Hamiett Bluiett and his Bio-Electric Ensemble.

In 2010, Whitaker was a winning participant in the Child Stars of Tomorrow competition, as part of Amateur Night at the Apollo. A year later, at just 10 years old, he was invited to perform at Stevie Wonder’s induction into the Apollo Theater’s Hall of Fame. He returned to the Apollo for FOX TV’s revival of Showtime at the Apollo in 2016, where he won the audience over with his rendition of Stevie Wonder’s classic “I Wish.” Whitaker’s television appearances include The Today Show, where he was one of three young men featured in their “Boys Changing the World” series, The Harry Connick, Jr. Show and an appear ance on the syndicated television talk show Ellen. In the spring of 2020, Whitaker was featured on CBS’ 60 Minutes, in an episode which aired an unprecedented four times throughout the year.

Presented

Ivan Llanes, percussion

John Steele, drums

photo: Jacob Blickenstaff

Having composed several originals, Whitaker’s artistic influences include organists Dr. Lonnie Smith, Jimmy Smith, Jimmy McGriff and Rhoda Scott; pianists Stevie Wonder, Herbie Hancock, Oscar Peterson, Art Tatum, Ahmad Jamal, Thelonious Monk, Bud Powell, Chick Corea, Jon Batiste, Cory Henry, Marc Cary, Jason Moran, D.D. Jackson, Chopin and Bach; and drummers Roy Haynes, T.S. Monk, Herlin Riley, Otis Brown III, Otis Brown, Jr. and Johnathan Blake.

In 2017, he was named one of the 17 people to watch in New Jersey by The Record, one of New Jersey’s largest newspapers, and was added to Crain’s New York Business breakout list of 20 Under 20 as a performing artist.

In 2018 The Root added Whitaker to its list of 25 Young Futurist Leaders. In 2019 and 2020, Whitaker received the Herb Alpert Young Jazz Composers Award for his original compositions “Emotions” and “Underground.”

Whitaker’s first release, Outta the Box, debuted in March of 2017 and his second project, Now Hear This, came out on the Resilience Music Alliance record label in August 2019. Connections, also on Resilience, was re leased in August 2021 and serves as a bold declaration of Whitaker’s maturity as a player, composer and band leader, and as a statement of musical connection – and re-connection.

Matthew Whitaker is a Yamaha Artist.

Yamaha CFX concert grand piano provided by Yamaha Corporation of America.

Watkins Family Hour

Tue, Nov 29 / 8 PM / Campbell Hall

Sean Watkins, acoustic guitar, vocals

Sara Watkins, fiddle, vocals Margaret Glaspy, guitar, vocals Rich Hinman, band member, pedal steel

When Sara and Sean Watkins first began playing Watkins Family Hour shows at Los Angeles’ beloved Largo, the siblings and musicians had little idea just how far the collaborative variety show would go. Twenty years, two studio albums and hundreds of performances later, the two are taking stock of the ever-evolving community of musicians and music lovers the project helped build.

As part of that reflection, Watkins Family Hour released its third studio album, Vol. II. The collection features a num ber of longtime friends of the show joining Sean and Sara across 11 tracks that encapsulate where Watkins Family Hour started, how the project grew and where it could be headed in the future. Guests on the album are Fiona Apple, Jon Brion, Jackson Browne, Madison Cunningham, Lucius, Gaby Moreno, Benmont Tench and Willie Watson.

“During the pandemic, we crossed the 20-year mark,” Sara says. “And we wanted to celebrate that. I am kind of amazed that we’re still doing it. It doesn’t feel like it’s been 20 years. But when I think about the number, I think, ‘Wow, there were so many transitions that happened in that period where the Family Hour work could have just petered away. And we kept choosing to do it.’”

Vol. II follows the band’s sophomore album Brother Sister, which they released as the COVID-19 pandemic began taking hold of the globe and, in turn, shut down the live music industry. That record was, serendipitously, a quieter affair, showcasing the musical interplay between Sara and Sean that keeps the Family Hour heart beating. In many ways it’s also a successor to Watkins Family Hour,

the self-titled 2015 album that introduced the band to a broader audience and sent them, along with some of their closest collaborators, out on the road to tour.

Sean and Sara recorded Vol. II in January of 2022. The sib lings and their guests recorded the entire LP in just three days, decamping at the historic East West Studio in Los Angeles with producers David Boucher and Tyler Chester. While plotting the project, the pair had a deep roster of past Family Hour guests to choose from, a process that also contributed to song selection for the album.

“A lot of the strategy was marrying the songs to the guests that we wanted to be part of the record,” Sara says. “So we knew, for example, that Willie Watson was some body who we wanted to have on the record, because we have such a long history with him specifically. So we did the Jim & Jesse song ‘She Left Me Standing on the Mountain’ with Gabe Witcher and Willie, who are both part of the foundation of the Family Hour.”

Vol. II opens with ‘The Way I Feel Inside,” a Zombies song Sara and Sean reimagined alongside indie pop band Lucius. Sean plays a rubber bridge baritone guitar on the track, adding a percussive, melodic structure for the group’s heavenly vocal harmonies to float through, with the low richness of Sara’s violin offering striking counter point to one of her more dynamic vocals.

Frequent collaborator and, as Sean puts it, “Largo mas cot” Jon Brion joins the group on the Ernest Tubb song “Thanks a Lot,” taking the twangy heartbreak of the

photo: Jacob Boll

original and marrying it to Brion’s eclectic, virtuosic musical vision, with a delightfully elastic guitar solo from Brion at the song’s bridge. Fiona Apple, who joined the Family Hour on earlier tours and has been a longtime fixture at Largo, lends her singular voice to Dean Martin’s “(Remember Me) I’m the One Who Loves You,” with honky-tonk piano from Benmont Tench and gossamer pedal steel from none other than Greg Leisz. Madison Cunningham, who appears across the album, joins on Elliott Smith’s “Pitseleh,” a song the Family Hour hadn’t played often but was formative to both Sara and Sean.

Sean and Sara tackle two tracks on their own, the propul sive “Hypnotized,” a song by the art-pop outfit Tune-Yards, and Tom Brosseau’s “We Were Meant to Be Together.” “Hypnotized,” especially, is a testament to the siblings’ ability to make a song their own, as the pair arranged their take on the track on the fly while in the studio recording. Sean’s guitar work is at its finest, creating a moody soundscape atop which Sara’s crystalline, almost mysterious vocals can shine.

The album’s closing track is a reverent take on Glen Phillips’ “Grief and Praise,” complete with an all-star choir of Watkins Family Hour friends and collaborators: In addi tion to the album’s featured guests, Phillips, Dan Wilson, Joey Ryan, Kenneth Pattengale, Sebastian Steinberg, Ed Helms, Liz Vice and more lend their voices. Lyrically, the song encourages listeners to ‘sing loud while you’re able, in grief and in praise,” for a song that, while written years earlier, speaks compassionately to the collective grief we’ve all experienced over the last two years.

“It’s a great reminder to appreciate what we have,” Sean says. “And in a way, it encapsulates the idea behind this album, which is appreciating what we have while know ing that nothing lasts forever, but recognizing that, at this point, things are as strong as ever with the Family Hour.”

While Vol. II is certainly a celebration of the show itself, it’s also a tribute to Largo, the beloved Los Angeles venue that first hosted them and is an essential hub of the city’s creative community. “We wanted to capture what we’ve done over the years, but also capture the process that is continually at work, which is this intermingling of the musical community here in Los Angeles that surrounds Largo.”

“Another interesting aspect of the Family Hour is that it enables us to do songs that might be overdone,” Sean adds. “‘Tennessee Waltz,’ with Benmont Tench, is a beau tiful song, but we’re not going to go to the Station Inn in

Nashville and play it. But at Largo, it’s a whole different thing.”

As both Sean and Sara continue to work on their own solo music, as well as with their other bands like Nickel Creek and I’m With Her, Watkins Family Hour remains an invaluable resource and respite for them both, offering a familiar but ever-evolving space to test new ideas, meet new collaborators and, most importantly, have a good time doing what they love.

“It’s been really exciting to be part of this thing that is happening and growing and enables us to dig deep into this musical community,” Sean says. “The consistency has been invaluable to both of us, as musicians.” Sara adds, “But also, in life, the Family Hour has been and continues to be a huge part of making us feel anchored in the crazy city of Los Angeles.”

Margaret Glaspy

On Margaret Glaspy’s long-awaited second album, Devotion, this highly acclaimed young artist reaffirms her status as one of the most sharp-eyed singer-songwriters of her generation while managing to audaciously rein vent her sound. She fearlessly defies expectations – and the results are exhilarating. Coming home after nearly three years on the road in support of her 2016 debut album Emotions and Math and the 2018 follow-up EP Born Yesterday, Glaspy was eager to challenge herself as an artist and start to make a new album with a clean aesthet ic slate. Her bold experimentation has paid off, with tunes that are her most melodically confident, rhythmically compelling and often incredibly romantic.

For Glaspy, Devotion is more about evolution than total transformation. The distinctive personality that marked Emotions and Math is still very much in evidence here. Devotion is like a series of hard-earned life lessons. Glaspy’s evolution over the last few years has been both musical and personal, which makes the album that much more compelling: “I’m learning that life is painful but you take the bad with the good; that love is hard but if you love someone, you make yourself available; that life is short and it’s okay to be sincere. I’m starting to be able to write about these things and it’s a feat for myself as an artist and growth for me as a person.”

Special Thanks

Jake Shimabukuro

in Hawai‘i

Jake Shimabukuro, ‘ukulele Jackson Waldhoff, bass

Justin Kawaika Young, guitar Herb Ohta, Jr., ‘ukulele

Granada Theatre

Jake Shimabukuro

Over the past two decades, Jake Shimabukuro has proved that there isn’t a style of music that he can’t play. While versatility for any musician is impressive, what’s remarkable about Shimabukuro’s transcendent skills is how he explores his seemingly limitless vocab ulary – whether it’s jazz, rock, blues, bluegrass, folk or even classical – on perhaps the unlikeliest of instru ments: the ‘ukulele. Responding to the urgent calls of his fervent imagination, the Hawai‘i-born virtuoso has taken the ‘ukulele to points previously thought impossi ble, and in the process he’s reinvented the applications for this tiny, heretofore underappreciated four-string instrument, causing many to call him the Jimi Hendrix of the ‘ukulele.

Shimabukuro’s incredible journey has taken him from local phenom to YouTube sensation, from playing tiny clubs to headlining the world’s most prestigious concert venues like the Hollywood Bowl, Lincoln Center and the Sydney Opera House. He’s performed on the biggest TV shows and has released a string of award-winning, chart-topping albums. Just recently, he was nominated by President Joe Biden to serve as a member for the National Council on the Arts.

It’s fair to say that Shimabukuro has picked up more than a few admirers – millions of them, actually – but it wasn’t until he began his latest album that he discov ered how many of his fans were, in fact, his very own musical heroes.

Two years in the making, Jake & Friends started out with a modest idea of featuring perhaps two or three guest stars, but the concept quickly grew into an album comprised of Shimabukuro, at times backed by his regular band mem bers (bassist Nolan Verner and guitarist Dave Preston), working with a different guest artist on each track. “Sometimes we recorded an original tune, and other times we did a cover of something the guest wanted to do,” he says. “And other times, we did a new version of one of their own songs, which was incredibly thrilling.”

Willie Nelson, Bette Midler, Jimmy Buffett, Kenny Loggins, Michael McDonald, Vince Gill and Amy Grant, Jon Anderson, Ziggy Marley, Moon Taxi, Warren Haynes, Jack Johnson, Jesse Colin Young, Ray Benson and Asleep at the Wheel, Sonny Landreth, Lukas Nelson, Billy Strings – Shimabukuro’s own head spins when looking over his high-wattage guest list. “I have to pinch myself when I see those names on my own album,” he says. “It’s like, ‘Did that really happen?’ Making the album was a real challenge, but I’m deeply honored that all of the artists agreed to record with me.”

Humbly, the good-natured musician, who first picked up the instrument at the age of 4, says, “from the time I start ed playing, I was just doing what came naturally and what felt like fun. I love all types of music, so I never thought, ‘Oh, I can’t play that on the ‘ukulele.’” He laughs and adds, “If you don’t know the rules, you don’t need to follow them, and then nothing can hold you back.”

Jackson Waldhoff

Jackson Waldhoff is a bass player from Honolulu, Hawai‘i. He grew up in Kyoto, Japan and moved to Hawai‘i in 2010. Waldhoff started playing guitar and bass as a way to make friends while learning English. In 2018, Waldhoff graduat ed from audio engineering school and worked as an audio engineer with Jake Shimabukuro on several projects, including Trio, Jake & Friends, and a track for Alan Parsons. Jackson Waldhoff and Jake Shimabukuro started touring together in 2018, and perform concerts around the world.

Justin Kawika Young

Justin Kawika Young is a singer-songwriter from Hawai‘i. In addition to his own notable career, Young has also been the lead guitar player and background vocalist for Colbie Caillat as well as a member of the American country pop group, Gone West.

Herb Ohta, Jr.

Herb Ohta, Jr., also from Hawai‘i, is the son of the legendary 'ukulele master, Ohta-san, who was recognized by many as the world’s most diversified 'ukulele player – from traditional Hawaiian to classical, pop, jazz and other genres. Herb Ohta, Jr. is recognized as a distinct contemporary 'ukulele master in his own right.

Funded in part by the Community Events & Festivals Program using funds provided by the City of Santa Barbara in partnership with the Santa Barbara County Office of Arts and Culture

Mariachi Sol de México

About the Group

Part of the romance of Mariachi songs is that all things are possible. The humor, the spirit and even the bitter sweet inspire us to a world where we live out our dreams.

In that same way, much of the excitement of Jóse Hernández’ Mariachi Sol de México is that all things mariachi are possible. While his family tree is rooted in five generations of mariachi musicians that hail from La Sierra del Tigre region of Jalisco, Hernández built on that foundation to grow mariachi music in new lands, in new musical genres and in the hearts of new audiences.

Unprecedented, unrivaled and uninhibited, the impact of José Hernández and his Sol de Mexico on mariachi and all music is undeniable. After forming Mariachi Sol de México in 1981, Hernández’ charismatic arrange ments and signature trumpet playing made the group an instant and lasting success: Sol de México has played to sold out halls from New York’s Lincoln Center to Viña del Mar in Santiago, Chile. Not only were they the first mariachi group to play concerts in Beijing, China and Pyongyang, North Korea; the shows were sold out! They have also played for four U.S. presidents (Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush), including performances at the White House!

Right from the start, Hernández has been an innovator, as evidenced by creating a cohesive collaboration with symphonies throughout the United States. The mar riage of the styles is so seamless that it seems natural

now. “Everybody in Latin America serenades their girlfriend or their wife with mariachi music – because they see it in the movies. But it has evolved so much over the last 20 years it’s almost like a classical art form,” Hernández says.

Indeed, the theatrical aspect of Sol de México’s per formances has been an attraction to Hollywood for soundtracks, where Hernández has provided music since the 1980s. The group’s music was recently fea tured in the movie Glory Road and in the Academy Award-nominated film Seabiscuit.

Also under Hernández’ guiding hands, the art form has taken on many other successful, fun and creative styles – bringing more generations into the mariachi family. He created Mariachi Reyna de Los Angeles, America’s first all-female mariachi ensemble. In 1991 he formed a children’s music foundation, the Mariachi Heritage Society, because the importance of maintaining the spirit of culture is only equaled by the importance of giving children the tools for success in any endeavor.

The versatility of Sol de México to expand to new audi ences has led to fabulous, unexpected collaborations, such as with the Beach Boys and Willie Nelson. Within the world of Latin music, Sol de México has played alongside stars such as Vicente Fernandez, Selena, Jose Feliciano and a record-breaking concert tour with the one and only Luis Miguel. Hernández’ records have

been nominated for multiple Grammy awards, and it is a tribute to his impact that Sol de México was invited to play at the inaugural Latin Grammy Awards.

But more than awards and credits, it is the passion and love of the mariachi tradition that courses through Hernández’ veins into audiences’ hearts. Although he has played for heads of state, it is not surprising to see Hernández perform at his famous mariachi restaurant, Cielito Lindo. Arranging and writing mariachi music is a legacy that he respects and loves.

“I am a fifth-generation mariachi musician – my dad came here in the 1940s when there was one place in Los Angeles that had mariachi music and the band had to pay the restaurant owner 25 cents per song to make up for the lost jukebox quarter. But my father always said that the day mariachi music is work is the day you die.”

…Que Viva Mariachi indeed!

www.soldemexicomusic.com facebook.com/mariachisoldemexicodejosehernandez twitter.com/JoseSoldeMexico

Jóse Hernández, Director

José Hernández envisioned a mariachi ensemble to reflect the passion of the rich cultural heritage to which he belonged. When he created Mariachi Sol de México in 1981, he set the Latin musical world afire with new original rhythms, sounds and ideas. Activating this vi sion has enabled him to truly live as a link to the maria chi medium.

An internationally recognized musician, composer and educator, José Hernández continues to break boundar ies in the world of mariachi.

A fifth generation mariachi, Hernández brings the plea sure of mariachi music to audiences all across the globe. He is the founder of two world-famous mariachi bands: Mariachi Sol de México and Reyna de Los Angeles, America’s first all-female professional mariachi band.

Hernández continues to advance the art of mariachi with daring new compositions and arrangements. He has composed, arranged and provided music for 15 Sol de México albums. He sings and plays trumpet, violin, guitarrón and vihuela, and has performed in some of the most renowned venues around the world.

He has recorded with the most respected and recog nized names in the industry, including Selena, Vicente Fernandez, Luis Miguel, Bryan Adams and the Beach Boys, and has received four Grammy nominations.

Hernández’ musical inspirations are rich and diverse, ranging from Leonard Bernstein to Augustine Lara; Glenn Miller to José Alfredo Jimenez. One of his proudest achievements is establishing the Sol de México sympho ny orchestra, bringing this powerful and vibrant sound to mariachi lovers around the world.

Hernández is an impassioned ambassador of mariachi music. He is working hard to inspire and empower the next generation of musicians through the educational initiatives he has developed: the Mariachi Nationals and Summer Institute and the Mariachi Heritage Society.

His humble endeavor is to remain a voice and medium for mariachi, to reflect the treasured cultural heritage through the pages of mariachi and to express his soulful vision of mariachi without end – this to Hernández, is the Passion of Mariachi.

Funded in part by the Community Events & Festivals Program using funds provided by the City of Santa Barbara in partnership with the Santa Barbara County Office of Arts and Culture

Special Thanks

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