2022-23 Arts at Queens Membership & Season Brochure

TROMBONE SHORTY

TROMBONE SHORTY ROCKED THE HOUSE OF SANDRA LEVINE THEATRE LAST FALL.

ON THE COVER: SHEPARD FAIREY INSTALLED “EMBRACE JUSTICE” ON CAMPUS LAST FALL.

PHOTO CREDIT: TRICIA COYNE

DEAR FRIENDS,

Now in its fourth year, the Sarah Belk Gambrell Center for the Arts and Civic Engagement on the campus of Queens University of Charlotte is a destination where people come to experience the transformative power of the arts. We aim to create, educate, captivate, challenge and inspire. Whether it’s the Charlotte community, Queens students or guests, everyone is invited and welcome here.

Often, we hear students say that they chose Queens because it is a small school with big opportunities. We like to think that the model of Arts at Queens provides a similar appeal. In the Sandra Levine Theatre, you can enjoy a performance by internationally acclaimed musicians, vocalists and dancers in the intimate concert hall. At the recital hall, you can hear students showcase their latest repertoire or you can attend topical discussions from leading scholars and experts. In the classrooms and studios, visions are crafted, passions are discovered, and talents are demonstrated.

We hope that people, like Queens students when they graduate, leave our building and our events fortified with the best versions of themselves.

Along those lines, the 2022-2023 Arts at Queens Spotlight Series promises to be uplifting, captivating and bold while delivering a special connection for and with audiences. With continued support from our Arts at Queens Annual and Muse Circle Members, we look ahead to a bright future.

We can’t wait to see you there!

SARA HENLEY DIRECTOR OF

ARTS AT QUEENS

Queens University of Charlotte

WELCOME. SUPPORT. LIFT UP.

ARTS AT QUEENS ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP

JULY 1, 2022 – JUNE 30, 2023 $1,500 for two adults ($1,125 tax-deductible)

Support from our annual members extends far beyond the galleries and theaters. Our members make it possible for students to experience exceptional engagement and learning opportunities including master classes, one-on-one interactions and Q&A sessions with professionals representing the visual, literary and performing arts. Thank you for your support!

MEMBERSHIP BENEFITS:

SPOTLIGHT SERIES

Four evenings at the Gambrell Center

• Two tickets for all four performances in Sandra Levine Theatre with reserved seating.

• Option to select your seats for the season before tickets go on sale to the public.

• Attend the members-only reception prior to each performance.

• Exclusive reserved parking easily accessible to the Gambrell Center (available on a first-come, first-served basis).

• Recognition in the printed program for all performances.

ACCESS AND CONNECTIONS

• Invitation to the Arts at Queens Preview annual party announcing Spotlight Series artists and other programs for the upcoming season.

• Join us for special occasions with guest performers and artists, faculty and students throughout the year.

EXHIBITION OPENINGS

• Invitation to two Bank of America Gallery and Loevner Gallery art exhibition openings.

VIP PARKING

• Receive your own reserved parking space across from the theatre for all Arts at Queens member events throughout the year (available on a firstcome, first-served basis).

IMPACT IN ACTION

• Exclusive invitations to observe student learning opportunities made possible by Arts at Queens support.

• Special behind-the-scenes opportunities for study, reflection and engagement with Queens University arts scholars and faculty members.

INTERESTED IN BECOMING A MEMBER OF THE LEARNING SOCIETY?

Members of both Arts at Queens and The Learning Society receive 15% off additional tickets to lectures and performances.

The Star Tribune

The New York Times

“AS LONG AS AMERICA HAS NOVELISTS SUCH AS JESMYN WARD, IT WILL NOT LOSE ITS SOUL.”

“AN IMPORTANT CONTEMPORARY VOICE: A SENSITIVE, LYRICAL NARRATOR OF DIFFICULT STORIES FROM THE LAND OF FAULKNER AND WELTY.”

JESMYN WARD

Hailed as “the new Toni Morrison” by the American Booksellers Association, Jesmyn Ward is a MacArthur “Genius” Grant recipient and a two-time National Book Award-winner for her novels Where the Line Bleeds, Salvage the Bones (both in 2011) and Sing, Unburied, Sing (in 2017). She is also the editor of the anthology The Fire This Time: A New Generation Speaks About Race and the author of the memoir Men We Reaped, which was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award.

she was recognized among Time’s 100 Most Influential People.

Ward is currently a professor of creative writing at Tulane University. Her latest book, Navigate Your Stars, is an adaptation of her 2018 Tulane University commencement speech that champions the value of hard work and the importance of respect for oneself and others. In her talks, Ward shares her writing process and how her experiences growing up poor and Black in the South continue to influence her work.

Ward was a Stegner Fellow at Stanford University, a John and Renée Grisham Writer in Residence at the University of Mississippi and was selected for the Strauss Living Award by the American Academy of Arts and Letters. In 2018,

CHARLOTTE CONCERTS’ LEGACY CONTINUES AT QUEENS

CELEBRATE!

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2022

@ 5:30 PM

Itinerary includes:

Dinner with Celebration Program

Young Dining Hall

Yunchan Lim Concert Sandra Levine Theatre

Post-Concert Champagne Reception Salvin Atrium

As part of their membership, Arts at Queens members receive two tickets to the concert and post-performance toast; members may purchase dinner tickets.

For more information, please call 704.337.2559 or email thearts@queens.edu.

Sam and Carolyn McMahon serve as honorary chairs of this soiree.

2022 CLIBURN GOLD MEDALIST IN CONCERT

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2022 @ 8 PM

Two concert tickets are included with each Arts at Queens membership

Yunchan Lim, a South Korean musician, was named the 16th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition Gold Medalist. At age 18, Lim is the youngest to win in the competition’s history. Lim will perform a solo recital in Sandra Levine Theatre as the centerpiece to a celebration of more than 90 years of Charlotte Concerts.

Widely considered one of the preeminent international music contests, the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition exists to share

excellent classical music with the largest international audience possible and to launch the careers of its winners. Building on a rich tradition that began with its 1962 origins in honor of Van Cliburn and his vision for using music to serve audiences and break down boundaries, the Cliburn seeks to achieve the highest artistic standards while utilizing contemporary tools to advance its reach. The world’s top 18- to 31-year-old pianists compete for gold in front of a live audience in Fort Worth, Texas, as well as a global online viewership of over 10 million.

This performance is presented by The Charlotte Concerts Legacy Fund

YUNCHAN LIM, 18, SOUTH KOREA

The Academy of St Martin in the Fields is one of the world’s finest chamber orchestras, celebrated for fresh, brilliant interpretations of the greatest orchestral music. The Academy is currently led by music director and virtuoso violinist Joshua Bell. With more than 500 releases in a much-praised discography and extensive international touring, the Academy is well-known and loved by audiences throughout the world. The ensemble is also famed for recording the soundtrack for the multiple

Oscar-winning film Amadeus with its founder Sir Neville Marriner in 1984.

In this special concert, the Academy will be joined by German-Canadian cellist Johannes Moser. Moser has performed with the world’s leading orchestras. He won top prize at the esteemed 2002 Tchaikovsky Competition, and he was awarded with the prestigious Brahms Prize in 2014. Moser plays on an Andrea Guarneri Cello from 1694 from a private collection.

This performance is presented by The Charlotte Concerts Legacy Fund.

CONTRA-TIEMPO

SATURDAY, MARCH 25, 2023 @ 8 PM

CONTRA-TIEMPO is a bold, multilingual activist dance theater company based in Los Angeles. Through the combination of Salsa, Afro-Cuban, hip-hop, and contemporary dance with theater, compelling text, and original music, the group brings dynamic and nontraditional storytelling experiences to the concert stage.

CONTRA-TIEMPO provides

entertaining and electrifying performances that challenge the audience to open their hearts and minds, and actively engage with others and their own humanity.

It is that notion of “us” that is at the heart of the group’s work, joyUS justUS. By and about people of color, joyUS justUS takes themes such as social injustice, resistance

“THE ENSEMBLE’S WORK IS A BRASH RE-IMAGINING OF TRADITIONAL FORMS THAT FEELS URGENT AND VERY MUCH ALIVE.” CLTure

“A JOYOUS CELEBRATION OF COMMUNITY.”

San Francisco Bay Guardian

PRESENTS JOY US JUST US

and immigration and presents them through a new lens that joyously celebrates and uplifts. The true stories, as told by CONTRATIEMPO with their unique blend of performance, inspire audiences through immersive sights, sounds, movement and words.

At Queens, joyUS justUS will engage students and faculty across arts and humanities disciplines and bring together local Charlotte visual artists working on civic engagement. joyUS justUS is an experience guaranteed to leave you feeling connected, elated, strong and alive.

INDIGENOUS VOICES OF THE CAROLINAS

SEPTEMBER 12-DECEMBER 9, 2022

IN THE BANK OF AMERICA AND LOEVNER GALLERIES

Indigenous Voices of the Carolinas features art by and about Indigenous Peoples from the Lumbee, Eastern Band of Cherokee, Catawba, Coharie, and Haliwa-Sapponi tribal nations.

Photography, basketry, ceramics, and other media give voice to the vibrant tribal nations whose origin stories, histories and lived experiences are a vital part of the Carolina landscape. This exhibition celebrates the Carolinas’ Indigenous Peoples and honors their rich history and culture.

CO-CURATED BY NANCY FIELDS

Director of The Museum of the Southeast American Indian at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke

SIU CHALLONS-LIPTON, D.PHIL.

Executive Director of Art, Design & Music

Carolyn G. & Sam H. McMahon Professor of Art History at Queens University of Charlotte

Etched ceramic by Senora Lynch (Haliwa-Saponi, 1963-)

Rachael and Kay Ensing (Haliwa-Saponi, Halifax County, NC, 1997): archival pigment by Carolyn DeMeritt (American, 1946-)

ASPIRE. CONNECT. UPLIFT.

At Queens, we believe that no matter what degrees or skills are sought, a well-rounded education includes the arts. Elevating the student experience is a central goal of Arts at Queens. The Sarah Belk Gambrell Center for the Arts and Civic Engagement houses multiple performance halls, a music center, art galleries, studios, classrooms and faculty offices. Through master classes, speaking engagements, panel discussions and other activities which often take place in conjunction with the Spotlight Series and galleries exhibits, students learn from practicing arts professionals. Through Arts at Queens, students encounter worldrenowned musicians, vocalists, authors, and visual artists—in unique, on-campus opportunities.

Ryan Nelson Stevens ’22, on his experience at An Evening with Chris Thile last fall.

There is no shortage of artistic talent on campus and there are plenty of ways to find inspiration. In October, for example, Queens hosted A Conversation with Shepard Fairey after the artist completed his custom mural “Embrace Justice,” which was painted on the side of the Gambrell Center.

Mike Wirth, Associate Professor, Art, Design & Music Department

“THIS MURAL IS A CALL TO ACTION OF THE HARD WORK WE STILL HAVE TO DO... I’M THANKFUL THAT OUR STUDENTS GET TO EXPERIENCE ART AS ACTIVISM IN A CENTER DEDICATED TO CIVIC ENGAGEMENT.”

“EASILY ONE OF THE GREATEST MUSICAL MOMENTS OF MY LIFE.”

Malek Jandali ’97 (above, with President Lugo and students) is Queens’ Carolyn G. McMahon Composer-in-Residence.

Malek Jandali ’97 is Queens’ Carolyn G. McMahon Composer-in-Residence.

At the foundation of Jandali’s work as composer-in-residence is the composition of major symphonic works commissioned by Queens. In 2021, coinciding with the first anniversary of the Gambrell Center, Jandali released his 11th album, “Piano Concerto No. 1.”

Recorded in London with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, it was the first album commissioned by Queens University since Jandali’s appointment.

Last September, Jandali’s nonprofit organization Pianos for Peace joined forces with Queens and the international cultural exchange

initiative Qatar-USA Year of Culture to commemorate the International Day of Peace. To celebrate, Pianos for Peace launched its annual outdoor festival and public arts program in Charlotte by displaying four pianos in public spaces in Charlotte (including two on campus) for anyone to play. After the festival, the pianos were donated to Charlotte public schools and area nursing homes where Queens students, local artists and volunteers are invited to engage with the recipients in musical programs.

Stay tuned for more ways to engage with Malek Jandali in 22-23!

ARTS AT QUEENS MEMBERS

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Mary Edith Alexander

Amy Blumenthal

Kim Brattain

Siu Challons-Lipton

Howard Freese Claudia Heath Jerald Melberg Ulrike Miles Ann Tarwater

Joan Zimmerman

MUSE CIRCLE MEMBERS 21-22

Jeanie and Tom Cottingham Kathie and Bill Grigg

Carolyn and Sam McMahon

ANNUAL MEMBERS 21-22

Mary Edith Alexander

Jamie Ashworth and Stancel Riley III

Natascha Bechtler

Georgia and Bill Belk

Amy and Philip Blumenthal

Jennifer L. Boone

Kim Brattain and Allison Clark Sally Gambrell Bridgford and Brian Bridgford

Jan and Ed Brown Kathy and Peter Browning Mary Irving Campbell Frances Campbell Siu Challons-Lipton and Jordan Lipton Gina and Herb Clegg Sallie and Derick Close

Pat and Richard Crull Donna and Al de Molina Frances and Donald Evans Jerusha and Murray Fadial Dorlisa and Peter Flur Eileen Friars and Scott Pyle Daphne and Eric Solomon Audean and Berkley Godehn Barbara Karro and Bill Gorelick Joy Greene Jerry and Gaile Greenhoot

Suzy and Steve Hannon Lucy and Hooper Hardison

Claudia and Andy Heath Linda and Charlie Henley Elizabeth and Mark Hindal

Joye D. Blount and Jessie J. Knight Jr. Barbara L. Laughlin Sandra and Leon Levine Mary and Bob Long Phyllis and John Mahoney Kathy and Bill McCollum Susan McConnell and Josephine Hicks Lydia and Jack McNeary Ulrike and Alex Miles

Janet and Lowell Nelson Suzanne and Bill Nichols Nancy and Ron Norelli Amy and Joseph Norman Kay and Robert Norris

Dale and Larry Polsky

Mary Margaret and Fritz Porter Tamea G. Price

John and Sara Reid M.A. Rogers Susan and Bob Salvin

Emily Seelbinder and Lydia Edsell

Eric and Lori Levine Sklut Jennifer and Eric Steigerwalt Ann and Michael Tarwater

Kathylee and Ken Thompson Sandi and Ben Thorman Dorothy and Will Trotter Cynthia Haldenby Tyson Rita and Bill Vandiver Mary Claire and Dan Wall Dorothea F. West Martha and Chip Whitfield

Gail Brinn Wilkins and Howard Freese Jo DeWitt Wilson Joan H. Zimmerman

Membership listing current as of May 31, 2022. Please inform us of any changes at thearts@queens.edu.

An Evening with Chris Thile photographed by Tricia Coyne