Elling performance program

Sunday

APR 19 7:30 pm

Elling Swings Sinatra A celebration of Frank Sinatra’s 100th birthday

Tonight’s performance is sponsored by the hotels of The Olivia Collection — The Oread, The Eldridge and The Eldridge Extended — Memories Created.

Hospitality Defined. Enjoy the performance!

This event is sponsored, in part, by the Lied Performance Fund.

Please be mindful of the following in the auditorium: • Please silence cellular phones and electronic devices • No food or drink • No cameras or recording devices

Sponsored by

April 19, 2015

Elling Swings Sinatra Program will be announced from the stage.

There will be no intermission.

Elling Swings Sinatra

Kurt Elling Grammy winner Kurt Elling is among the world’s foremost jazz vocalists.

He has won every DownBeat Critics Poll for the last fourteen years and has been named “Male Singer of the Year” by the Jazz Journalists Association eight times in that same span. Every one of Elling’s ten albums has been nominated for a Grammy, and his rich baritone spans four octaves and features both astonishing technical mastery and emotional depth. His repertoire includes original compositions and modern interpretations of standards, all of which are springboards for inspired improvisation, scatting, spoken word and poetry.

The New York Times declared, “Elling is the standout male vocalist of our time.” The Washington Post added, “Since the mid-1990s, no singer in jazz has been as daring, dynamic or interesting as Kurt Elling. With his soaring vocal flights, his edgy lyrics and sense of being on a musical mission, he has come to embody the creative spirit in jazz.” Elling was the Artist-inResidence for the Singapore and Monterey Jazz Festivals. He has also written multi-disciplinary works for The Steppenwolf Theatre and the City of Chicago. The Obama Administration’s first State Dinner featured Elling in a command performance.

Elling is a renowned artist of vocalese—the writing and performing of words over recorded improvised jazz solos. The natural heir to jazz pioneers Eddie Jefferson, King Pleasure and Jon Hendricks, Elling has set his own lyrics to the improvised solos of Wayne Shorter, Keith Jarrett and Pat Metheny. He often incorporates images and references from writers such as Rilke, Rumi, Neruda and Proust into his work. The late poet and Bollingen Prize winner Robert Creeley wrote, “Kurt Elling takes us into a world of sacred particulars. His words are informed by a powerful poetic spirit.” Said Robert Pinsky, former Poet Laureate of the United States, “In Kurt Elling’s art, the voice of jazz gives a new spiritual presence to the ancient, sweet and powerful bond between poetry and music.”

Kurt Elling has toured vigorously throughout his career, thrilling audiences around the world. He has led his own ensemble and has collaborated with many of the world’s finest orchestras. Elling’s latest recording, 1619 Broadway – The Brill Building Project, honors and celebrates the locale that the London Telegraph called “the most important generator of popular songs in the Western world.” Elling’s interpretations and signature arrangements of songs like On Broadway, A House Is Not A Home and So Far Away make this record a must-have for those in search of current great singing. Even for the ceaselessly inventive Elling, 1619 Broadway is another unexpected step, and one guaranteed to further solidify his reputation for thrilling innovation and superb craftsmanship.

AprilSaturday 19, 2015

APR 25 7:30 pm

Pilobolus Dance Theater Singular style of modern dance

As seen on Oprah, Late Night with Conan O’Brien and the Academy Awards

lied.ku.edu | 785-864-2787

Tuesday

The Ugly Duckling & The Tortoise and The Hare

MAY 19 7:30 pm

Electroluminescent puppetry show

As seen on America’s Got Talent.

Sponsored by Marilyn & George

McCLEARY

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receive an invitation to this exclusive event.

Don’t miss the excitement as the Lied Center announces the 2015–16 performances at the Season Announcement Party on Sunday, April 26.

With your donation to the Friends, you can: • Purchase tickets prior to the public • Receive ticket discounts • Receive priority seating • Attend the Season Announcement Party and other exclusive events

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Current Friends, renew your 2015–16 donations now!

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SPRING 2015

APRIL

25

Pilobolus Dance Theater

MAY Ugly Duckling & 19 The The Tortoise and the Hare

Rent the Lied Center Are you looking for a unique space with dramatic flair?

We offer elegant spaces for conferences, meetings, receptions, dinners, lectures and more.

More information: lied.ku.edu/RenttheLied or 785-864-2774

UPDATE These individuals and businesses have become Friends since the original list was published.

INDIVIDUAL FRIENDS Patron ($500+) Anonymous Tyrone Duncan & Bozenna Pasik-Duncan Sponsor ($250+) Rolf & Laura Borchert Lewis & Laura Gregory Piersol Foundation, Inc. Ted & Nancy Haggart Andrea Mosher Jeannot & Todd Seymour Tim & Julia Shaftel

Contributor ($100+) Anonymous Hannes Combest Mary-Elizabeth Debicki, Phd Marilyn Dobski Joel & Diana Frederick Robert Friauf Barbara Gorman Linda & Rick Honeyman Barbara McCorkle Christopher & Julie Petr Siyuan Han & Sha Ma Graham & Ann Walker Sara Trautman-Yegenoglu & Ferit Yegenoglu

Advocate ($50+) Bill & Margaret Arnold Nadya & David Benson Jim & Yun Butler Mary & David Gage Dennis & Kristine Lane EJ Necefer Fred & Cathie Pawlicki Gavin & Raylene Young Jo Anne Zingo

BUSINESS FRIENDS Benefactor ($1,000+) Maceli’s Banquet Hall & Catering Sponsor ($250+) Sunlite Contributor ($100+) Edmonds/Duncan Advisors Yello Sub

Join the Friends of the Lied by calling Development Director Sue Mango at 785-864-2788 or visit lied.ku.edu/donate.