Moss Arts Center 2017-2018 Season Guide by Moss Arts Center, Virginia Tech

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Chamber Expressions

Theatre + Words

Third Coast Percussion, Lyrical Geometry (pg. 3)

Cheryl Strayed, A WILD Life (pg. 22)

Yo-Yo Ma, cello, and Kathryn Stott, piano (pg. 4)

Lucky Plush Productions,

Beo String Quartet (pg. 5)

Trip the Light Fantastic: The Making of SuperStrip (pg. 23)

The Tallis Scholars (pg. 5)

L.A. Theatre Works, The Mountaintop (pg. 23)

Awadagin Pratt, piano (pg. 6)

Sarah Koenig + Julie Snyder,

Dance + Motion Flip FabriQue, Catch Me! (pg. 8)

Binge-Worthy Journalism (pg. 24)

World Beats

Dorrance Dance, ETM: Double Down (pg. 8)

Tango Buenos Aires, The Spirit of Argentina (pg. 26)

Limรณn Dance Company (pg. 9)

Niyaz, The Fourth Light Project (pg. 27)

Circa, Carnival of the Animals (pg. 10)

Maria Schneider Orchestra (pg. 28)

Urban Bush Women, Hair and Other Stories (pg. 10)

Images + Sound

Visual Expressions Pia Fries (pg. 30)

Jenny Scheinman, Kannapolis: A Moving Portrait (pg. 12)

Order + Chaos (pg. 31)

Alarm Will Sound, 1969 (pg. 12)

Ray Kass (pg. 32)

Manual Cinema, Ada/Ava (pg. 13)

Orchestral Sounds Roanoke Symphony Orchestra, Masterworks Concert (pg. 17) Roanoke Symphony Orchestra, Holiday Pops (pg. 17) Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra (pg. 18) China National Symphony Orchestra, Chinese New Year Celebration (pg. 19) National Symphony Orchestra of Cuba (pg. 20)

Tickets go on sale

Subscriptions: May 9, 2017 | Single Tickets: August 8, 2017

“As musicians, we transcend technique in order to seek out the truths in our world in a way that gives meaning and sustenance to individuals and communities. That’s art for life’s sake.” —Yo-Yo Ma

Art for life’s sake. As we prepare for a new season ahead, we are reminded daily of why we do the work we do. From the public performances you will discover in the pages ahead, to the school-day matinees, gallery exhibitions, master classes, workshops, and experimentation with new creative forms, meaningful work is happening throughout the Moss Arts Center. Our work, fueled by artists, means the most when it is shared across our community—when people of all ages, backgrounds, and walks of life participate and find new ways to connect with one another and the world. We are excited about the year ahead, and we’re all in! We hope you will join us in celebrating the sustenance that the arts provide. With warm regards, Ruth Waalkes Associate Provost for the Arts and Executive Director, Moss Arts Center

CHAMBER

EXPRESSIONS

THIRD COAST PERCUSSION Lyrical Geometry

“...commandingly elegant.” —The New York Times

“Virtuosity and deft, precisely timed wit.” —The Washington Post

Chicago-based Third Coast Percussion has forged a unique path in the musical landscape with virtuosic, energetic performances that celebrate the extraordinary depth and breadth of musical possibilities in the world of percussion. Lyrical Geometry highlights the ensemble’s most exciting recent work, featuring music from their Grammy-winning 2016 album of Steve Reich’s work, new works written for the ensemble by acclaimed composers Glenn Kotche (band Wilco’s percussionist) and Augusta Read Thomas, and Third Coast Percussion’s own original music. Friday, October 6, 2017, 7:30 PM Street and Davis Performance Hall, Anne and Ellen Fife Theatre FRESH

Category A $45 | Category B $35 | Category C $20 $10 students with ID and youth 18 and under, 20%-30% subscription discounts available

chamber expressions | artscenter.vt.edu

YO-YO MA, CELLO KATHRYN STOTT, PIANO “Yo-Yo Ma is considered the world’s greatest living cellist, recognized as a prodigy since the age of five whose celebrity transcends the world of classical music.” —White House Presidential Medal of Freedom Announcement, 2010

With a discography of more than 100 albums, including 18 Grammy Award winners, Yo-Yo Ma has a multifaceted career that serves as a testament to his continual search for new ways to communicate with audiences and to his personal desire for artistic growth and renewal. Ma’s friend and musical collaborator for more than 30 years, British pianist Kathryn Stott, also shares a vast repertory, international connections, and a keen interest in contemporary music. Sunday, November 5, 2017, 3 PM Street and Davis Performance Hall, Anne and Ellen Fife Theatre TIMELESS

Category A $125 | Category B $75 | Category C $50 $10 students with ID and youth 18 and under, 20%-30% subscription discounts available

artscenter.vt.edu | chamber expressions

BEO

STRING QUARTET

“Easy-going, stylish, and vehemently precise: how music should always be and how the Beo [String] Quartet plays.” —Alejandro Rutty, University of North Carolina Greensboro

Thursday, November 16, 2017, 7:30 PM Street and Davis Performance Hall, Anne and Ellen Fife Theatre FRESH Category A $45 | Category B $35 | Category C $20 $10 students with ID and youth 18 and under, 20%-30% subscription discounts available

THE TALLIS

SCHOLARS

“The Tallis Scholars vocal ensemble seems to have a direct line to heaven inspiring reverence for the power of the human vocal chords to echo spiritual realms.” —Australian Stage

Ten a cappella voices combine to produce the beautiful sounds of Renaissance sacred vocal music. Founded in 1973 by director Peter Phillips, the Tallis Scholars bring Renaissance works to audiences throughout the world. Career highlights include tours of China in 1999 and 2014 and the privilege of performing in the Sistine Chapel in April 1994 to mark the final stage of the complete restoration of the Michelangelo frescoes. This concert program commemorates the 500-year anniversary of composer Heinrich Isaac’s death. Isaac was one of the leading and most prolific composers of the Flemish School in the late 15th century, renowned for his masses and sacred music. Wednesday, November 29, 2017, 7:30 PM Street and Davis Performance Hall, Anne and Ellen Fife Theatre TIMELESS, GLOBAL (United Kingdom) Category A $55 | Category B $40 | Category C $25 $10 students with ID and youth 18 and under, 20%-30% subscription discounts available

Four musicians, endlessly passionate about their art, share their dedication to the continued understanding, exploration, and love of music. The Beo String Quartet is a 21st–century music ensemble that performs the masterpieces of the string quartet repertoire, collaborates with living composers, and engages new listeners. Beo has developed a reputation for their enthusiasm and dedication to new music. This concert will include classic repertory juxtaposed with new compositions from the ensemble, as well as from Charles Nichols, assistant professor in Virginia Tech’s School of Performing Arts, Department of Music.

AWADAGIN PRATT, PIANO

“…Pratt played in the grand manner, employing large but convincing rubati and a huge range of tempo and dynamics; he commanded a staggering sound.” —The Boston Musical Intelligencer

Pianist Awadagin Pratt has achieved high acclaim for his musical insight and performances. At the Peabody Conservatory of Music he became the first student in the school’s history to receive diplomas in three performance areas—piano, violin, and conducting. Pratt won the 1992 Naumburg International Piano Competition and two years later received an Avery Fisher Career Grant. Since then he has played numerous recitals and orchestral performances across the U.S. He has recorded with the St. Lawrence String Quartet, Zuill Bailey, and the Harlem Quartet, in addition to solo recording projects. Pratt is professor of piano at the College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) at the University of Cincinnati, artistic director of the World Piano Competition in Cincinnati, and artistic director of the Art of the Piano Festival at CCM. Thursday, November 30, 2017, 7:30 PM Street and Davis Performance Hall, Anne and Ellen Fife Theatre TIMELESS

$20 general admission, $10 students with ID and youth 18 and under, 20%-30% subscription discounts available

artscenter.vt.edu | chamber expressions

DANCE +

MOTION

FLIP FABRIQUE Catch Me! “Flip FabriQue projects an irrepressible spirit of fun and, yes, it’s catching.” —The New York Times

Movement, strength, and gravity-defying athleticism are bound together by the deep friendships of the performers in Flip FabriQue. The company was created in 2011 by six graduates of Quebec City Circus School, who performed with esteemed companies around the world, such as Cirque du Soleil and Cirque Éloize. Their collaborative approach spotlights each performer’s qualities and strengths to create pure magic on stage. Catch Me! combines spectacular acrobatics, a one-of-a-kind trampowall, and humor in an evening of spellbinding fun. Leave your troubles behind and settle into an astonishing, lively show that will leave you smiling from ear to ear. Friday, October 20, 2017, 7:30 PM Street and Davis Performance Hall, Anne and Ellen Fife Theatre JOYFUL Category A $55 | Category B $40 | Category C $25 $10 students with ID and youth 18 and under, 20%-30% subscription discounts available

DORRANCE DANCE ETM: Double Down Michelle Dorrance, artistic director

“[F]resh and innovative… When ETM: Double Down is rocking, Dorrance Dance is one big band.” —The New York Times

The unique and powerful history of tap dance is presented in a new and dynamic context by Dorrance Dance, a company that upholds the tradition of tap, while simultaneously pushing it rhythmically, technically, and conceptually. ETM: Double Down is a collaboration between Dorrance and company member Nicholas Van Young. The show incorporates his electronic tap boards, which turn the entire stage into an instrument. ETM stands for “electronic tap music,” giving a nod to electronic dance music. Founded in 2011 by artistic director and 2015 MacArthur Fellow Michelle Dorrance, the company’s inaugural performance garnered a Bessie Award for “blasting open our notions of tap.” Since then, the company has received countless accolades and performed across the U.S. and in Europe. Friday, February 23, 2018, 7:30 PM Street and Davis Performance Hall, Anne and Ellen Fife Theatre FRESH Category A $55 | Category B $40 | Category C $25 $10 students with ID and youth 18 and under, 20%-30% subscription discounts available

LIMÓN DANCE COMPANY Colin Connor, artistic director

“All the performers have a beautiful understanding of Limón’s rich, strong style and the curving gestures that suspend—as in a caught breath—yet acknowledge the pull of the earth.” —The Village Voice

Acclaimed for its dramatic expression, technical mastery, and expansive, yet nuanced movement, the Limón Dance Company illustrates the timelessness of José Limón’s work and vision. The company has been in the vanguard of dance since its inception in 1946, distinguishing itself as the first dance group to tour internationally under the auspices of the State Department and the first modern dance company to perform at Lincoln Center in New York. The company is the living legacy of dance theatre developed by Limón and his mentors, Doris Humphrey and Charles Weidman, whose innovative works revolutionized American dance. Thematically, founder Limón possessed a social awareness that transcended distinct groups to address the search for commonality, earning him a special place in American culture. His works continue to influence the evolution of the art form more than 40 years after his passing. This program will feature the company’s historic repertoire by founders Humphrey and Limón. Saturday, March 3, 2018, 7:30 PM Street and Davis Performance Hall, Anne and Ellen Fife Theatre TIMELESS

Category A $55 | Category B $40 | Category C $25 $10 students with ID and youth 18 and under, 20%-30% subscription discounts available

dance + motion | artscenter.vt.edu

CIRCA Carnival of the Animals

Yaron Lifschitz, artistic director

The lines between movement, dance, theatre, and circus are beautifully blurred by the Circa carnival and its whimsical tales of creatures of land and sea, who tumble, fly, leap, and spin their way through the many wondrous worlds of the animal kingdom. Since 2004 the Australia-based Circa has been at the frontier of new circus, creating powerful works that challenge, thrill, and delight. Carnival of the Animals whisks you away on a thrilling escapade inspired by the music of Camille Saint-Saëns. A delightful salute to feathers, fur, and fins, Circa’s acrobats bring this classical music suite to life for a new generation of circus, music, and animal lovers. A work of sophisticated and delightful family entertainment, it is at once both contemporary and old world and amazes, amuses, and uplifts. Saturday, March 10, 2018, 2 PM Saturday, March 10, 2018, 7 PM Street and Davis Performance Hall, Anne and Ellen Fife Theatre JOYFUL, GLOBAL (Australia) $20 general admission, $10 students with ID and youth 18 and under, 20%-30% subscription discounts available

URBAN BUSH WOMEN Hair and Other Stories Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, artistic director

For more than 30 years, choreographer Jawole Willa Jo Zollar’s company has given expression to the vitality and boldness of African American women. Hair and Other Stories is a multidisciplinary work addressing matters of race, gender identity, and economic inequality in the lives of African American women. The company has made an indelible mark on the field with bold, innovative, demanding, and exciting works that challenge long-held assumptions about women, people of color, body types, movement styles, society, and history. The company weaves contemporary dance, music, and text with the history, culture, and spiritual traditions of African Americans and the African diaspora. Saturday, April 28, 2018, 7:30 PM Street and Davis Performance Hall, Anne and Ellen Fife Theatre DEEPER This program was made possible in part 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, with additional support from the National Endowment for the Arts. Category A $45 | Category B $35 | Category C $20 $10 students with ID and youth 18 and under, 20%-30% subscription discounts available

IMAGES +

SOUND

JENNY

SCHEINMAN

Kannapolis: A Moving Portrait “Scheinman [has] a distinctive vision of American music, suffused with plainspoken beauty and fortified all at once by country, gospel, and melting-pot folk, along with jazz and the blues.” —The New York Times

Captivating visuals from small towns in the 1930s and ’40s are set to an original live score created by composer, singer, and violinist Jenny Scheinman. Depression-era filmmaker H. Lee Waters documented more than 118 small towns in the southeastern United States between 1936 and 1942. He filmed regular people going about their lives—mill workers streaming out of factories, a mother and daughter dancing on a dirt road, an old man reading a wartime headline. Scheinman’s score of folk songs and fiddle music accompany this footage in a new film by director Finn Taylor. These iconic images set to Scheinman’s music speak deeply to any community today, as they did to the towns portrayed at the time. Friday, October 27, 2017, 7:30 PM Street and Davis Performance Hall, Anne and Ellen Fife Theatre DEEPER Category A $45 | Category B $35 | Category C $20 $10 students with ID and youth 18 and under, 20%-30% subscription discounts available

ALARM WILL SOUND 1969

“…a tightly scripted, continuously morphing collage of music, dialogue, and visual images that explores the compositional and political currents that swirled in the late 1960s and continue to resonate.” —The New York Times

Just over 45 years ago, the Beatles and composer Karlheinz Stockhausen were fabled to have arranged to meet in New York City to plan a joint concert. No such performance would ever take place, but its tantalizing promise is the departure point for Alarm Will Sound’s 1969. Told through their own words, music, and images, 1969 is the story of great musicians—John Lennon, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Paul McCartney, Luciano Berio, Yoko Ono, and Leonard Bernstein—striving for new music and a new world amidst the turmoil of the late 1960s. Alarm Will Sound is a 20-member band committed to innovative performances and recordings of today’s music. The versatility of the group allows it to take on music from a wide variety of styles ranging from the arch-modernist to the pop-influenced. Thursday, January 25, 2018, 7:30 PM Street and Davis Performance Hall, Anne and Ellen Fife Theatre DEEPER Category A $45 | Category B $35 | Category C $20 $10 students with ID and youth 18 and under, 20%-30% subscription discounts available

MANUAL CINEMA Ada/Ava

“…this Chicago troupe is conjuring phantasms to die for in an unclassifiable story of spectral beauty…” —The New York Times Critics’ Pick

The cinema experience is transformed, infused with liveliness, ingenuity, and theatricality by Manual Cinema, a performance collective, design studio, and film and video production company founded in 2010. They combine handmade shadow puppetry, cinematic techniques, and innovative sound and music to create immersive visual stories for stage and screen. Using vintage overhead projectors, multiple screens, puppets, actors, live feed cameras, multi-channel sound design, and live music, Manual Cinema presents Ada/Ava, the story of 70+ year old Ada who, bereaved of her twin sister Ava, solitarily marks time in the patterns of a life built for two. However, a traveling carnival and a trip to a mirror maze plunges her into a journey across the thresholds of life and death. Set in a landscape of the New England gothic, Ada/Ava uses a story of the fantastic and supernatural to explore mourning and melancholy, self, and other. Saturday, February 10, 2018, 7:30 PM Street and Davis Performance Hall, Anne and Ellen Fife Theatre FRESH

Category A $45 | Category B $35 | Category C $20 $10 students with ID and youth 18 and under, 20%-30% subscription discounts available

images + sound | artscenter.vt.edu

$5,000+

LEADERSHIP PATRONS AND FRIENDS

• Recognition in Moss Arts Center performance programs • Access to season preview and advance ticket sales • Special invitations to pre- and post-event activities, exhibition previews, and artist meetand-greets, as available • Recognition in Virginia Tech’s 1872 Society* • Personal behind-the-scenes tour of the Moss Arts Center** • Gift support acknowledged at one Moss Arts Center performance or one exhibition (varies)***

$1,000-$4,999

SUSTAINING PATRONS AND FRIENDS

up to $999

CONTRIBUTING PATRONS AND FRIENDS

• Recognition in Moss Arts Center performance programs • Access to season preview and advance ticket sales

* Virginia Tech’s 1872 Society recognizes gifts for current use or operational support at the following levels. The Grove Circle recognizes supporters who provide annual gifts of $25,000 or more. Burruss Hall Circle honors those who make annual gifts of $10,000 to $24,999. Drillfield Circle recognizes members who provide annual gifts of $5,000 to $9,999. ** Dates for personal and group tours (up to 10 people maximum) are subject to availability. *** Recognition at performances and exhibitions varies and is commensurate with giving levels. For more information on giving, please email givetoarts@vt.edu or call 540-231-0616. To give online, please visit: http://bit.ly/givetoMAC.

giving | artscenter.vt.edu

ORCHESTRAL

SOUNDS

ROANOKE

SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

Masterworks Concert

David Stewart Wiley, artistic director and conductor Jeffrey Biegel, piano

Celebrate the 2017-2018 season opening of the Roanoke Symphony Orchestra with this special appearance in Blacksburg. Under the baton of Maestro David Stewart Wiley, the orchestra performs Beethoven’s Piano Concerto no. 5 in E Minor and Beethoven’s Piano Concerto no. 5, Emperor, in E Minor, op. 73 with guest pianist Jeffrey Biegel. The second half of the evening features Brahms’ Symphony no. 4 in E Minor. Sunday, October 15, 2017, 3 PM Street and Davis Performance Hall, Anne and Ellen Fife Theatre TIMELESS Category A $55 | Category B $40 | Category C $25 $10 students with ID and youth 18 and under, 20%-30% subscription discounts available

ROANOKE

SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

Holiday Pops

David Stewart Wiley, artistic director and conductor The Roanoke Symphony Orchestra returns with everyone’s annual favorite, the Holiday Pops program. Gather your friends and family, and celebrate the season with a merry musical program for audiences of all ages. Saturday, December 9, 2017, 4 PM Street and Davis Performance Hall, Anne and Ellen Fife Theatre JOYFUL Presented in partnership with the New River Valley Friends of the Roanoke Symphony Orchestra Category A $75 | Category B $60 | Category C $40 $10 students with ID and youth 18 and under, 20%-30% subscription discounts available

HELSINGBORG SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Stefan Solyom, music director Catherine Manoukian, violin

“The Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra…play with an intensity untempered by discretion. Must be heard.” —Norman Lebrecht, sinfinimusic.com

Enjoy an all-Beethoven program performed by one of Sweden’s most venerated orchestras, the Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra. Founded in 1912, its principal conductors have included Sten Frykberg, John Frandsen, Okko Kamu, and Andrew Manze, who has recorded symphonies by Beethoven and Brahms with the orchestra. In addition to regular guest appearances on major Scandinavian stages, the Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra has had many successes at prominent European venues. Violinist Catherine Manoukian, who began her career at age 12 with a Vancouver Symphony debut, has been praised for her innate musicality and imaginative artistry on orchestral, chamber music, and recital stages. The Beethoven pieces featured in this program will include the Egmont Overture, op. 84; Violin Concerto in D Major, op. 61, featuring Manoukian; and Symphony no. 3, Eroica, op. 55. Saturday, February 3, 2018, 4 PM Street and Davis Performance Hall, Anne and Ellen Fife Theatre TIMELESS, GLOBAL (Sweden) Category A $75 | Category B $60 | Category C $40 $10 students with ID and youth 18 and under, 20%-30% subscription discounts available

artscenter.vt.edu | orchestral sounds

CHINA NATIONAL SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Chinese New Year Celebration Tan Dun, artistic director and conductor Sandy Cameron, violin Liu Wenwen, suona

“[Tan Dun’s] language, a mix of Hollywood grandeur and primal, percussive vitality, was consistent throughout the evening, yet each segment had its own distinct sound.” —Sydney Morning Herald

Celebrate the Chinese New Year at the Moss Arts Center with a vibrant performance by the China National Symphony Orchestra that blends sounds from East and West and includes imagery from multiple sources, such as the China National Shadow Puppet Theatre. Founded in 1956, this special evening with the orchestra features renowned composer, conductor, and Honorary Artistic Director Tan Dun on the podium. Dun has transcended stylistic and cultural boundaries to become one of the world’s most famous composers. Stravinsky’s Fireworks and The Firebird will serve as bookends to works by Guan Xia and Dun, including Dun’s The Martial Arts Trilogy, based on his Academy Award-winning scores for films The Banquet, Hero, and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Friday, February 16, 2018, 7:30 PM Street and Davis Performance Hall, Anne and Ellen Fife Theatre JOYFUL, GLOBAL (China)

Category A $75 | Category B $60 | Category C $40 $10 students with ID and youth 18 and under, 20%-30% subscription discounts available

orchestral sounds | artscenter.vt.edu

NATIONAL SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA OF

CUBA

Enrique Pérez-Mesa, conductor Featuring the 2017 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition Gold Medalist, piano

“The National Symphony Orchestra of Cuba can play symphonies… and play them well. But what is special is when the musicians make like a big dance band from the Tropicana… and play classical music with an Afro-Cuban beat.” —Tampa Bay Times

Direct from Havana, the National Symphony Orchestra of Cuba brings a Latin-flavored and dance-inspired program that includes Ravel’s Boléro; other great Latin works from de Falla, Farinas, and Roldan; and a piano concerto performed by the Cliburn gold medalist, to be named in May 2017. Since its inception in 1960 the NSO of Cuba has been instrumental in developing and introducing Cuban and Latin American music to the international classical music community. Wednesday, March 21, 2018, 7:30 PM Street and Davis Performance Hall, Anne and Ellen Fife Theatre TIMELESS, GLOBAL (Cuba)

Category A $75 | Category B $60 | Category C $40 $10 students with ID and youth 18 and under, 20%-30% subscription discounts available

artscenter.vt.edu | orchestral sounds

THEATRE +

WORDS

CHERYL STRAYED A WILD Life

“[Wild is] spectacular . . . at once a breathtaking adventure tale and a profound meditation on the nature of grief and survival, ...both a literary and human triumph.” —Dani Shapiro, New York Times Book Review

At 22, Cheryl Strayed thought she had lost everything. In the wake of her mother’s death, her family scattered and her own marriage was soon destroyed. With no experience or training, driven only by blind will, she would hike more than 1,000 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail— alone. Strayed describes this trek in her #1 New York Times bestselling memoir, Wild, which was the basis of the Oscar-nominated movie of the same name starring Reese Witherspoon and Laura Dern. Strayed will discuss what she learned about how to bear the unbearable, how to move from grief and anger to acceptance, and how to keep walking even when it seems impossible to stand. Strayed is the author of the New York Times bestsellers Tiny Beautiful Things and Brave Enough, as well as the novel Torch. Her essays have been published in The Best American Essays, the New York Times, the Washington Post Magazine, and Vogue. Strayed is the co-host, along with Steve Almond, of WBUR’s hit podcast Dear Sugar Radio. Thursday, September 28, 2017, 7:30 PM Street and Davis Performance Hall, Anne and Ellen Fife Theatre DEEPER

$25 general admission, $10 students with ID and youth 18 and under, 20%-30% subscription discounts available

artscenter.vt.edu | theatre + words

Presented in partnership with the Department of English Visiting Writers Series

LUCKY PLUSH

PRODUCTIONS

Trip the Light Fantastic: The Making of SuperStrip “Julia Rhoads is a master, crafting taut, generally nonlinear satires that come across onstage as improvised—essentially comedy improv with a social conscience....” —The Chicago Tribune

Follow a group of washed up superheroes as they try to reinvent themselves in a non-profit think tank for do-gooders with dance-theatre company Lucky Plush. The group brings its signature blend of nuanced dialogue, complex choreography, and off-the-cuff improvisation in Trip the Light Fantastic: The Making of SuperStrip. Drawing from classic pulp novels and comic books in a blend of dance, theatre, and visual design, the event moves between live performance and projected video. Recognized for complex choreography, surprising humor, and incisive commentary on contemporary culture, founder Julia Rhoads leads her dancers in expression that honors the vaudevillian humor and physical skills of a Keaton or Chaplin put to service for 21st-century audiences. Friday, October 13, 2017, 7:30 PM Street and Davis Performance Hall, Anne and Ellen Fife Theatre FRESH Category A $45 | Category B $35 | Category C $20 $10 students with ID and youth 18 and under, 20%-30% subscription discounts available

L.A. THEATRE WORKS The Mountaintop “It is a relationship that is breathtaking, hilarious, and heart-stopping in its exchanges and in its speedy ability to reveal character and pull the audience into the ring.” —The Independent, London

On the evening of April 4, 1968, Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated outside room 306 of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis. What happened inside room 306 the night before is a mystery. In this internationally acclaimed play, author Katori Hall imagines what may have transpired in the overnight hours between the legendary civil rights leader and a seemingly inconsequential hotel maid. Winner of the Olivier Award for Best New Play, The Mountaintop is rife with humor and political jabs, giving a glimpse at the human side of Martin Luther King Jr. Hours after his famed final speech, punctuated by the immortal line, “I’ve been to the mountaintop,” King reveals his hopes, regrets, and fears, creating a masterful bridge between mortality and immortality. The Mountaintop premiered in London in 2009 and subsequently ran on Broadway, starring Angela Bassett and Samuel L. Jackson. The program contains some mature language. Sunday, January 28, 2018, 4 PM Street and Davis Performance Hall, Anne and Ellen Fife Theatre DEEPER Category A $45 | Category B $35 | Category C $20 $10 students with ID and youth 18 and under, 20%-30% subscription discounts available

SARAH KOENIG + JULIE SNYDER Binge-Worthy Journalism “[Serial] was a true cultural phenomenon, and radio was once again front and center in our daily lives.” —Ewan McGregor

Award-winning podcast Serial has become an internet sensation, downloaded more than 260 million times since it launched in 2014. Sarah Koenig, host and co-creator of Serial, began her career as a newspaper reporter and in 2004 became a producer for the radio show, This American Life. Julie Snyder is co-creator of Serial and for many years was the senior producer of This American Life. In 2013 Snyder and Koenig decided to try something new: making a show that does not follow the usual format of a different story every week, but instead making a show that covers one story over the course of an entire season. The format meant they could use all the tools of narrative journalism to report an in-depth story that featured twists, turns, tangents, and suspense along the way. Serial has received several awards, including the Peabody, Edward R. Murrow, duPont-Columbia, Scripps Howard, and Silver Gavel Award for Media and the Arts. Saturday, March 24, 2018, 7:30 PM Street and Davis Performance Hall, Anne and Ellen Fife Theatre FRESH

$25 general admission, $10 students with ID and youth 18 and under, 20%-30% subscription discounts available

artscenter.vt.edu | theatre + words

WORLD BEATS

TANGO BUENOS AIRES SEASON OPENER

The Spirit of Argentina

“...repeatedly crafted swirling, fast-paced tapestries of movement, laced with proud postures and sensual couplings.” —The Washington Post

The alluring and distinctive movement of the tango captivates audiences with its grace and playfulness. Tango Buenos Aires is known throughout the Americas, Europe, and the Far East as the most authentic and uncompromising representative of the tango. One of Argentina’s greatest cultural exports, the ensemble’s 2017 tour features orchestra and dancers in a celebration and homage to “the King of Tango,” Carlos Gardel. One of the most prominent figures in the history of tango, Gardel died in an airplane crash at the height of his career, becoming an archetypal tragic hero mourned throughout Latin America. The program features a rich array of tango classics by numerous composers, from Gardel, himself, to Astor Piazzolla. Friday, September 22, 2017, 7:30 PM Street and Davis Performance Hall, Anne and Ellen Fife Theatre JOYFUL, GLOBAL (Argentina)

Category A $55 | Category B $40 | Category C $25 $10 students with ID and youth 18 and under, 20%-30% subscription discounts available

artscenter.vt.edu | world beats

NIYAZ The Fourth Light Project Azam Ali, vocals

“Their journey across oceans can be heard in their music...this is an interesting blend of modern electronica with traditional folk songs and Sufi mysticism...Los Angeles meets New Delhi meets Tehran.”

—NPR Weekend Edition

Music can be a universal line of communication, highlighting shared human values and a desire for unity. Iranian-Canadian ensemble Niyaz embraces this idea, connecting the East and the West through their music—serving as a sanctuary in the modern world of polarized ideologies and bridging the gap of understanding and tolerance. This groundbreaking new show, based on their album, The Fourth Light, is a live musical and sacred dance performance combined with interactive technologies and advanced projection and body-mapping techniques that respond to sound and movement in real time. Created in collaboration with interactive designer and visual artist Jerome Delapierre, The Fourth Light provides a unique narrative and an immersive, multi-sensory experience. Friday, November 3, 2017, 7:30 PM Street and Davis Performance Hall, Anne and Ellen Fife Theatre DEEPER, GLOBAL This program is part of the Moss Arts Center project, SALAAM: Exploring Muslim Cultures. This project is made possible by a grant from the Association of Performing Arts Professionals; Building Bridges: Arts Culture and Identity, a component of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation; and the Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art.

Category A $45 | Category B $35 | Category C $20 $10 students with ID and youth 18 and under, 20%-30% subscription discounts available

world beats | artscenter.vt.edu

MARIA SCHNEIDER ORCHESTRA “Maria Schneider is a national treasure.” —National Public Radio

The music of Maria Schneider blurs the lines between genres and is described as evocative, majestic, and magical. The recipient of two Grammy Awards in 2016 and one of very few artists to have received the award in both jazz and classical categories, Schneider’s commissioners are quite varied, stretching from Carnegie Hall Jazz Orchestra, Monterey Jazz Festival, Jazz at Lincoln Center, and the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra to her Grammy-winning collaboration with David Bowie. In 1994 she founded the 17-member Maria Schneider Orchestra, which features some of the finest jazz musicians today. Friday, May 4, 2018, 7:30 PM Street and Davis Performance Hall, Anne and Ellen Fife Theatre TIMELESS

Category A $55 | Category B $40 | Category C $25 $10 students with ID and youth 18 and under, 20%-30% subscription discounts available

artscenter.vt.edu | world beats

VISUAL EXPRESSIONS EXHIBITIONS

PIA FRIES

Pia Fries (Swiss; based in Dusseldorf, Germany) is internationally acclaimed as an undaunted and intrepid artist, whose exuberant paintings integrate silkscreened fragments of 17th century Baroque and Mannerist prints with the gestural rigor and emotional depth of Abstract Expressionism. Characterized by audacious color and thick, pulsating pigment applied with brushes, spatulas, and palette knives, Friesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; paintings represent a hybrid fusion of painting and printmaking, figuration and abstraction, and tradition with innovation. This exhibition presents a selection of paintings and prints from the renowned Pizzuti Collection; CRG Gallery in New York; CRG Gallery in New York; Christopher Grimes Gallery in Santa Monica, California; and Crown Point Press in San Francisco. September 14-December 9, 2017 Ruth C. Horton Gallery

artscenter.vt.edu | visual expressions

fahnenbild b, 2012 (detail) Oil and silkscreen on wood 47 x 66 inches Image courtesy of CRG Gallery, New York

ORDER + CHAOS

Two immersive works by artists Diana Thater (American, based in Los Angeles) and Talia Greene (American, based in Philadelphia) illuminate connections between human culture, conceptions of order, and nature through geometry, dimensionality, and movement as observed in the behavior of one of our planet’s most fascinating—and vulnerable—creatures: the honeybee. September 14–December 9, 2017 Miles C. Horton Jr. Gallery and Sherwood Payne Quillen ’71 Reception Gallery

Left: Diana Thater knots + surfaces, 2001 5 video projectors, 16 video wall monitors, 6 DVD players, 1 synchronizer, and 6 DVDs Installation view, Dia Center for the Arts, New York, 2001 Courtesy of David Zwirner, New York/London

Right: (detail) Talia Greene Cross Pollination, 2013 Wallpaper installation Installation view, The Print Center, Philadelphia, 2013 Courtesy of the artist

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RAY KASS

A prominent Virginia artist with a long record of national and international exhibitions, Ray Kass is well known not only for the quality and breadth of his art but as a pivotal, even catalytic figure who over the years brought luminaries of the art world, including John Cage, to our region and influenced generations of artists. This exhibition highlights exemplary work from Kassâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; prolific career, ranging from his large-scale, multi-panel Polyptch (1961-2003) paintings to his most recent Still Lifes (2015-2018), created with stencils in an inventive layering of water media, oil emulsion, and dry pigment on rag paper. January 18-April 1, 2018 All galleries

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Ray Kass Still Life, 2014 Water media, oil emulsion, and dry pigment on rag paper under beeswax mounted on panel 32 x 58 Â˝ inches Image courtesy of the artist

Seating chart Street and Davis Performance Hall, Anne and Ellen Fife Theatre These seating charts show the three levels and ticket pricing structure for most of our performances. Please contact the Moss Arts Center box office at 540-231-5300 with any questions.

AA29

AA1 10

BB29

BB1

CC30

CC1

DD26 A28

B29

F14

G14

H14

EVEN

G2 H2

J12

K12

S24

L10

T22

L2 M2

U18 V8

E116 F115

108

S2 T2 U2 V2

F101

G116

G101

H115

H101

J116

J101

K115

K101

L116

L101

M115

M101

N114 R2

E13

E101

P112

T125

V124

BX 331325

J11

K11

111

BX 206202

R25

S23

L1 M1 M5

T21

T101

U101 V101

T1 U1

A48

C48

D49

E48

BX 310316

BX 307301

BX 302308 A1

B51

C50

D49 E48

26 F1

F45

V106

ODD

BX 315309

A52

B49

U17 S1

BX 205201

ODD

R1 R101 S101

111

BX 323317

BX 318324

EVEN

H13

G1 J1

P101

R122 S125

U128 V129

G13

ODD

BX 207213

BX 214208

BX 107101

F13

N101 108

BX 221215

EVEN

E14

R26

BX 222216

D26

BX 108102

BX 326332

C30

BX 229223

BX 230224

DD1

25 26

Subscribe and save

With three ways to subscribe to 2017-2018 Moss Arts Center performances, there is a package that is right for everyone.

ORCHESTRA

Premier subscriptions

The greatest value, includes all 25 performances, ensures you will not miss a single exciting performance, and includes our deepest discount of 30 percent off ticket prices

Gold build your own subscriptions

Entitles you to 15 or more performances at a 25 percent MEZZANINE discount off ticket prices

BALCONY Silver build your own subscriptions

Entitles you to 5 to 14 performances at a 20 percent discount

Subscription sales begin Tuesday, May 9, 2017 at 10:00 a.m. Order online at artscenter.vt.edu, by phone at 540-231-5300, or in person at the Moss Arts Center box office.

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Directions from 1-81 (Northbound and southbound) Take exit 118B onto 460 West towards Virginia Tech. Continue for 8.5 miles to the Prices Fork Road exit for “Downtown.” The exit ramp will veer right. Continue on Prices Fork Road for 1.2 miles, and take a right onto Turner Street. This street leads you to the parking deck and the center. Parking will be on your left at North End Parking Garage. The Moss Arts Center will be ahead on the right.

Directions from 1-77 (Northbound) Take exit 32 onto 1-81 North. Continue for about 29 miles, then follow the directions above for 1-81 northbound.

Directions from 1-77 West Virginia Turnpike (Southbound) / 460 West (Eastbound) In West Virginia, take Exit 9, “U.S. 460-Princeton/Pearisburg, VA.” Turn left at the stoplight at the end of the ramp onto U.S. 460 East. Continue on U.S. 460 East for about 44.9 miles (11.6 in West Virginia, 33.3 in Virginia). Travel east for approximately 47 miles, then take the Prices Fork Road exit. At the top of the exit ramp, take a left. Continue on Prices Fork Road for 1.2 miles, and take a right onto Turner Street. This street leads you to the parking deck and the center. Parking will be on your left at North End Parking Garage. The Moss Arts Center will be ahead on the right.

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Box office hours

The box office in the Moss Arts Center is open for in person and phone ticket sales at 540231-5300 on Monday-Friday, 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.; Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.; and an hour and a half before performances. Tickets may also be purchased anytime online at artscenter.vt.edu.

Individual ticket sales

Individual tickets for all 2017-2018 season performances will be available for purchase on August 8, 2017.

Group ticket sales

Groups of 10 or more can receive a 10 percent discount; for more information, contact the box office at 540-231-5300.

Concessions

Beverages and snacks will be available for purchase before performances and during intermissions at most performances. Food and drink are not permitted inside the Anne and Ellen Fife Theatre.

Support

Every gift to the Moss Arts Center helps us raise the curtain on exciting new experiences in visual and performing arts and supports learning opportunities that encourage creativity, exploration, and expression. For information about ways to support the Moss Arts Center, please email givetoarts@vt.edu or call 540-231-0616. To give online, please visit http://bit.ly/givetoMAC, our secue giving page.

Parking

Parking is available in the North End Parking Garage on Turner Street. Event parking for visitors is $5 and may be purchased when entering the garage (cash only, free for Virginia Tech faculty and staff possessing a valid Virginia Tech parking permit). Visitors can park in the Virginia Tech faculty/staff street parking spaces and lots after 5:00 p.m. on weekdays and at any time on weekends. A limited number of accessible parking spaces are available in front of the Moss Arts Center at both the Alumni Mall and Turner Street entrances.

Accessibility

If you are an individual with a disability and desire an accommodation, please contact Kacy McAllister at 540-231-5300 or email kacy@vt.edu during regular business hours at least 10 business days prior to the event.

Inclement weather

Moss Arts Center performances and events will be canceled for inclement weather only in extreme cases. If a performance must be canceled due to inclement weather, we will send an email to all ticket holders and call patrons for whom we have no email address. Please check our website and call the box office at 540-231-5300 for timely information about closures. Programs are subject to change.

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540-231-5300 | artscenter.vt.edu

Season at a glance September

December

March

22 TANGO BUENOS AIRES, The Spirit of Argentina

28 CHERYL STRAYED, A WILD Life

January

ROANOKE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA, Holiday Pops

10 CIRCA, Carnival of the Animals

October

25 ALARM WILL SOUND, 1969

28 L.A. THEATRE WORKS, The Mountaintop

THIRD COAST PERCUSSION, Lyrical Geometry

13 LUCKY PLUSH PRODUCTIONS, Trip the Light Fantastic: The Making of SuperStrip 15 ROANOKE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA, Masterworks Concert

27 JENNY SCHEINMAN, Kannapolis: A Moving Portrait

November NIYAZ, The Fourth Light Project

YO-YO MA, cello KATHRYN STOTT, piano

HELSINGBORG SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

10 MANUAL CINEMA, Ada/Ava

20 FLIP FABRIQUE, Catch Me!

21 NATIONAL SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA OF CUBA

February 3

LIMÃ&#x201C;N DANCE COMPANY

16 CHINA NATIONAL SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA, Chinese New Year Celebration

24 SARAH KOENIG + JULIE SNYDER, Binge-Worthy Journalism

April 28 URBAN BUSH WOMEN, Hair and Other Stories

May 4

MARIA SCHNEIDER ORCHESTRA

23 DORRANCE DANCE, ETM: Double Down

16 BEO STRING QUARTET 29 THE TALLIS SCHOLARS 30 AWADAGIN PRATT, piano

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MOSS ARTS CENTER (0916) 190 Alumni Mall, Virginia Tech Blacksburg, VA 24061

NON-PROFIT U.S. POSTAGE PAID BLACKSBURG, VA 24060 PERMIT NO. 28