PERFORMING ARTS
2016-2017 SEASON
Joey Alexander TRIO
FALL 2016 | VOL. V | ISSUE I
16/17
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Congratulations to Opening Nights on its 19th Season of presenting outstanding creative experiences for our community. Capital City Bank is proud to have supported the festival since its inception and to present “An Evening of Classic Lily Tomlin” during the 2016-2017 Season. Here’s to a fantastic season and many more opening nights!
402.7500 l www.ccbg.com 4
Opening Nights Performing Arts
16/17
CONTENTS
AGENTS OF CHANGE
ROOMFUL OF TEETH
RAGAMALA DANCE COMPANY
ANNIE
BIRDMAN LIVE WITH ANTONIO SÁNCHEZ
MIPSO
NUTS!
DONALD CRIED
JOE PUG
JOEY ALEXANDER TRIO
THE HOT SARDINES
COVER PHOTO COURTESY
Carol Friedman 2016 Fall Program 5
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Florida State University John Thrasher, President Opening Nights Performing Arts Staff Christopher Heacox Director
Bethany Atwell Artistic & Administrative Coordinator
Sarah Howard Bozeman Marketing & Communications Coordinator Kelly-Ann Fasano Development Officer
Calla MacNamara Education and Engagement Manager Amanda Hartsfield Multimedia Design Specialist
Rodney Johnson Senior Web & New Media Design Specialist Opening Nights Performing Arts Advisory Board Mike Pate, Chair Gus Corbella, Chair-Elect Ruth Akers, Ph.D. Teresa Atkins Carmen Butler Kimberly Criser Nan Nagy Michael Obrecht Eva Nielsen-Parks John Schultz Susan Stratton Marjorie Turnbull Wendy Walker Ed West Rep. Alan Williams Florida State University Office of the President College of Arts and Sciences College of Fine Arts College of Motion Picture Arts College of Music Askew Student Life Cinema Donald L. Tucker Civic Center Museum of Fine Arts Fine Arts Ticket Office Florida State University Foundation University Communications
Welcome to the fall program of the 2016-2017 season of Opening Nights Performing Arts at Florida State University. We’re thrilled to co-commission and present the world premiere of Ragamala Dance Company’s stunning Written in Water program on October 5 and again on October 6. We’re deeply grateful for Ragamala’s partnership and interest in being a repeatOpening Nights performer as well as a Maggie Allesee National Center for Choreography (MANCC) resident, and we’re so excited to finally view this exquisite work right at home. Our fall program brings back more fantastic Southern Circuit Film Tour screenings, co-presented by the Askew Student Life Cinema and provided through South Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts. Please join us for Agents of Change (September 14), Donald Cried (October 12), and NUTS! (November 9). All three films have vastly different storylines, and all will feature a Q&A session with their respective filmmakers at the conclusion of each screening! We hope you particularly enjoy our fall Director’s Choice events: Grammy-winning vocal ensemble Roomful of Teeth (October 13) and the screening of Birdman with live simultaneous performance by lauded composer and jazz drummer Antonio Sánchez (November 1). Witness jazz prodigy Joey Alexander’s stunning performance in Ruby Diamond Concert Hall (November 22) as well as everyone’s favorite Broadway musical – Annie – at the Donald L. Tucker Civic Center (November 23). We’ll end our 2016 run of performances on December 8 with The Hot Sardine’s upbeat Holiday Stomp concert in Opperman Music Hall. Don’t miss it! Scores of engaging and educational opportunities are offered throughout the fall– so be sure to check out our website for more information. We’re excited to announce that we’ll be presenting the North Florida School Tour again this season: Mipso, a fantastic North Carolinian ensemble specializing in Americana, bluegrass, and pop, will be visiting several area schools in mid-October to teach K-12 students about music appreciation, arts advocacy, and more thanks to our partnership with Leon County Schools via the John F. Kennedy Center Partners in Education program. Thanks so much for your ongoing support of Opening Nights Performing Arts. We sincerely hope that enjoy our exceptional fall performances!
All the best,
Christopher J. Heacox Director, Opening Nights Performing Arts 2016 Fall Program 7
2016-2017 MEMBERS A S O F 9 / 2 3 / 2 0 1 6 Producer’s Circle
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2016 Fall Program 9
2016-2017 MEMBERS CONTINUED
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10
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South Arts Southern Circuit Film Tour
Agents of Change WEDNESDAY 9/14 | ASKEW STUDENT LIFE CINEMA | 7:30 P.M. PRESENTED BY OPENING NIGHTS PERFORMING ARTS AND THE ASKEW STUDENT LIFE CINEMA Filmmakers: Frank Dawson & Abby Ginzberg From the well-publicized events at San Francisco State in 1968 to the image of black students with guns emerging from the takeover of the student union at Cornell University in April 1969, the struggle for a more relevant and meaningful education, including demands for black and ethnic studies programs, became a clarion call across the country in the late 1960s. Through the stories of these young men and women who were at the forefront of these efforts, Agents of Change examines the untold story of the racial conditions on college campuses and in the country that led to these protests. The film’s characters were caught at the crossroads of the civil rights, black power, and anti-Vietnam war movements at a pivotal time in America’s history. Today, over 45 years later, many of the same demands are surfacing in campus protests across the country, revealing how much work remains to be done. Agents of Change links the past to the present and the present to the past - making it not just a movie but a movement.
2016 Fall Program 13
THE MOST EXPERIENCED
WEATHER TEAM IN OUR AREA
ROB NUCATOLA
MIKE McCALL
BRITTANY BEDI
WCTV tv Coverage You Can Count On!
Ragamala Dance Company World Premiere of Written in Water, Co-commissioned by Opening Nights Performing Arts & The Arts Center at NYU Abu Dhabi
WEDNESDAY 10/5 & THURSDAY 10/6 NANCY SMITH FICHTER DANCE THEATRE | 8:00 P.M. Under the direction of Ranee Ramaswamy and Aparna Ramaswamy, Ragamala Dance Company has been hailed by The New York Times as “providing some of the most transcendent experiences that dance has to offer.” In Written in Water, the dancers activate the space by negotiating snakes and ladders — which represent the heights of ecstasy and the depths of longing in Hindu and Sufi thought. The performance unfolds upon large-scale projections of original paintings by Chennai-based visual artist Keshav, projected on the stage floor. Featuring an ensemble of dancers and musicians, Written in Water is composed by Amir ElSaffar, known for his distinctive alchemy of contemporary jazz trumpet and Iraqi Maqam, and renowned south Indian composer Prema Ramamurthy. Continued on pg. 35
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Original Artwork by Ed Bock
WCTV tv
2016 Fall Program 15
Mix & Mingle The show goes on at W XYZ® bar Close out Opening Nights in the vibrant social scene at W XYZ® bar. Enjoy specialty cocktails, delicious bites, and live entertainment from local artists. Relax in the Re:mixSM lounge or kick back in our spacious backyard. Open daily from 5 PM — 12 AM
W XYZ® bar @ Aloft Tallahassee Downtown 200 North Monroe Street Tallahassee, Florida 32301
1 850 513 0313
©2015 Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Preferred Guest, SPG, Aloft and their logos are the trademarks of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc., or its affiliates.
South Arts Southern Circuit Film Tour
Donald Cried WEDNESDAY 10/12 | ASKEW STUDENT LIFE CINEMA | 7:30 P.M. PRESENTED BY OPENING NIGHTS PERFORMING ARTS AND THE ASKEW STUDENT LIFE CINEMA
Filmmaker: Jesse Wakeman Peter Latang left working class Warwick, Rhode Island to reinvent himself as a slick, Wall Street mover and shaker. Fifteen years later, when he’s forced to return home to bury his grandmother, he loses his wallet. Stranded, the only person he can think of to help him out is his next-door neighbor and former childhood friend, Donald Treebeck. Donald hasn’t changed a bit, and what starts as a simple favor turns into a long van ride into their awkward past. Continued on pg. 41
2016 Fall Program 17
Photo by Bonica Ayala
DIRECTOR’S CHOICE
Roomful of Teeth THURSDAY 10/13 | OPPERMAN MUSIC HALL | 7:30 P.M.
Roomful of Teeth is a Grammy-winning vocal project dedicated to mining the expressive potential of the human voice. Through study with masters from singing traditions the world over, the eight-voice ensemble continually expands its vocabulary of singing techniques and, through an ongoing commissioning process, forges a new repertoire without borders. Founded in 2009 by Brad Wells, the group gathers annually at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA) in North Adams, Massachusetts, where they’ve studied Tuvan throat singing, yodeling, belting, Inuit throat singing, Korean P’ansori, Georgian singing, Sardinian cantu a tenòre, Hindustani music, and Persian classical singing with some of the world’s top performers and teachers. Commissioned composers include Rinde Eckert, Judd Greenstein, Caleb Burhans, Merrill Garbus (of tUnEyArDs), William Brittelle, Anna Clyne, Fred Hersch, Wally Gunn, Sarah Kirkland Snider, Missy Mazzoli, Michael Harrison, Sam Amidon, Ambrose Akinmusire, and Ted Hearne. Continued on pg. 43
Sponsored by
Partita for 8 Voices I. Allemande II. Sarabande III. Courante IV. Passacaglia Caroline Shaw High Done No Why To William Brittelle Suonare/To Sound Eric Dudley Dumas’ Riposte Toby Twining Render Brad Wells Otherwise Brad Wells
2016 Fall Program 19
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Sponsors of The North Florida Educational Tour featuring Mipso
We support arts and education for students of all ages WALMART.COM
Mipso TUESDAY 10/18 | 7:30 P.M. THE CARRIAGE HOUSE AT GOODWOOD MUSEUM & GARDENS
“Lush and moving songs that feel as fresh as a warm spring rain.” - The Guardian Influenced by the contradiction of their progressive home of Chapel Hill, North Carolina and the surrounding rural southern landscapes, Mipso explores and mixes the complexities of traditional bluegrass with modern instrumentation and smart pop melodies. The result is an intoxicating, distinctly unique blend of modern-day Americana. With over 400 shows under their belt so far, Mipso continues to expand their sonic resources while doubling down on their experimentation with string band tradition. Band members are: Jacob Sharp (mandolin, vocals), Wood Robinson (bass, vocals), Joseph Terrell (guitar, vocals), and Libby Rodenbough (fiddle, vocals). Continued on pg. 47
Sponsored by
2016 Fall Program 21
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DIRECTOR’S CHOICE
Birdman Live with Antonio Sánchez TUESDAY 11/1 7:30 P.M. & 10:00 P.M. ASKEW STUDENT LIFE CINEMA
“Audiences, meet Antonio Sánchez, the other star of Birdman.” - Vanity Fair Alejandro G. Iñárritu contacted friend and jazz drummer Antonio Sánchez in January 2013, inviting him to compose the score for Birdman. Drum sections comprise the majority of the score, and Iñárritu explained the choice by saying they helped to structure scenes and that “the drums, for me, was a great way to find the rhythm of the film... in comedy, rhythm is king, and not having the tools of editing to determine time and space, I knew I needed something to help me find the internal rhythm of the film.” Iñárritu also wanted a score that “wouldn’t cater to an audience’s expectations,” which the drums, being more abstract, provided. Sánchez summarized the process by saying, “The movie fed on the drums and the drums fed on the imagery.” Continued on pg. 47
Sponsored by
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South Arts Southern Circuit Film Tour
NUTS! WEDNESDAY 11/9 | ASKEW STUDENT LIFE CINEMA | 7:30 P.M. PRESENTED BY OPENING NIGHTS PERFORMING ARTS AND THE ASKEW STUDENT LIFE CINEMA
Writer: Thom Stylinski | Director: Penny Lane NUTS! is the mostly-animated, mostly-true story of John Romulus Brinkley, a small-town Kansas doctor who discovers that he can cure impotence by transplanting goat testicles into men in 1917. From there, the story only gets stranger. Using hand-drawn animated reenactments, interviews, archival footage, and a seriously unreliable narrator, NUTS! traces Brinkley’s rise from poverty and obscurity to the heights of celebrity, wealth, and influence in Depression-era America. Continued on pg. 49
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Carlton Fields is pleased to sponsor the 2016-2017 season of Opening Nights Performing Arts Series and Festival. We celebrate the arts as an essential cornerstone of creativity and innovation.
www.carltonfields.com Atlanta • Hartford • Los Angeles • Miami • New York • Orlando Tallahassee • Tampa • Washington, D.C. • West Palm Beach Carlton Fields practices law in California through Carlton Fields Jorden Burt, LLP.
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Joe Pug TUESDAY 11/15 | 7:30 P.M. THE CARRIAGE HOUSE AT GOODWOOD MUSEUM & GARDENS
Joe Pug first made a name for himself when he left the University of North Carolina where he was studying to be a playwright for Chicago to pursue songwriting full-time. As so many musicians have had to do, Pug took an innovative approach to getting his music to his fans: he mailed out free copies to anyone who asked. More than 15,000 did. This led a record deal with Nashville indie label Lightning Rod Records (Jason Isbell, Billy Joe Shaver) and 400+ shows – including stops at Lollapalooza, Bonnaroo, and The Newport Folk Festival – and Pug’s success continues to evolve and grow each year. One of Pug’s more recent achievements was a live performance at The Luck Reunion at Willie Nelson’s ranch in Luck, TX (which also led to a Back Porch Session by Garden & Gun). Continued on pg. 51
Sponsored by
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Ken Kato and Nan Nagy & Charles and Amy Newell Proud Supporters of Opening Nights Performing Arts AND SPONSORS OF THE JOEY ALEXANDER TRIO
Photo by Carol Friedman
Joey Alexander Trio TUESDAY 11/22 | RUBY DIAMOND CONCERT HALL | 7:30 P.M. J O E Y A L E X A N D E R piano
D A N I E L C H M I E L I N S K I bass
U L Y S S E S O W E N S J R . drums
Joey Alexander taught himself to play piano by listening to classic jazz albums with his father. An amateur musician, Alexander’s father soon recognized his son’s gift for jazz as his technique and ability to grasp complicated musical concepts was beyond someone of his years. Due to the lack of jazz education where he lived, Alexander began attending jam sessions with senior musicians. From there, his musical intuition flourished, as did his love of playing jazz. In recognition of his talent, UNESCO invited Alexander to play solo piano in honor of his jazz idol Herbie Hancock, who provides enthusiastic support of Alexander’s budding career. Through festival appearances and awards for his improvisational brilliance, the world has taken notice of this phenomenal and exciting pianist with astonishing technique and soulful sound. Alexander’s debut album, My Favorite Things, received a Grammy nomination for Best Instrumental Jazz Album, and his interpretation of “Giant Steps” earned a Grammy nomination for Best Improvised Jazz Solo. Continued on pg. 53
Sponsored by
KEN KATO & NAN NAGY AND CHARLES & AMY NEWELL 2016 Fall Program 29
performance that
moves you
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Annie WEDNESDAY 11/23 | DONALD L. TUCKER CIVIC CENTER | 7:30 P.M. CO-PRESENTED BY OPENING NIGHTS PERFORMING ARTS AND THE DONALD L. TUCKER CIVIC CENTER
“Spectacular on every count.” - Newsweek Leapin’ lizards! The world’s best-loved musical returns in time-honored form this fall. Directed by original lyricist and director Martin Charnin and choreographed by Liza Gennaro, this production of Annie will be a brand new incarnation of the iconic original. Featuring book and score by Tony Award®-winners Thomas Meehan, Charles Strouse, and Martin Charnin, Annie includes such unforgettable songs as “It’s the Hard Knock Life,” “Easy Street,” and “I Don’t Need Anything But You,” plus the eternal anthem of optimism, “Tomorrow.”
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Bank of America applauds Opening Nights for bringing the arts to all
David Montrois, John Clark, Bobby Dick, Mark Webb, & Kim Dixon
When members of the community support the arts, they help inspire and enrich everyone. Artistic diversity can be a powerful force for unity, creating shared experiences and a desire for excellence. Bank of America recognizes Opening Nights for its success in bringing the arts to performers and audiences throughout our community. Visit us at bankofamerica.com/local
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The Hot Sardines Holiday Stomp
THURSDAY 12/8 | OPPERMAN MUSIC HALL | 7:30 P.M.
“Unforgettably wild” and “consistently electrifying... a live music powerhouse.” - Conor Kelley, PopMatters It’s a great American success story worthy of the cinema: a born-and-bred NYC actor meets a Parisian-born writer at an open jazz jam over a noodle shop in Manhattan, and before you could say, “Bourbon Street Parade,” the Hot Sardines were bringing their contagious brand of joy to audiences all over the world. Bandleader Evan “Bibs” Palazzo and lead singer “Miz Elizabeth” Bougerol combine with the Sardine ensemble of powerhouse musicians – and their very own tap dancer – to play “hot jazz” as it was in the era when live music was king: with a little glamour, a little grit, and a lot of passion. Even while giving voice to the history-defining jazz of the 1920s, ‘30s, and ‘40s, the Hot Sardines’ vibrant performances bridge generations and captivate 21st century audiences. Vanity Fair applauds their “unique repertoire and a sound and style that are distinctly their own,” and Forbes Magazine calls them “one of the best jazz bands in NYC today.” Continued on pg. 57 Sponsored by David Montrois, John Clark, Bobby Dick, Mark Webb, & Kim Dixon
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What a season! Opening Nights, you’ve got our standing ovation!
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Ragamala Dance Company
VIDEO DIRECTOR
Continued from pg. 15
The Arts Center at NYU Abu Dhabi (Lead Commissioner and Developmental Partner) Opening Nights Performing Arts at Florida State University, Tallahassee
WRITTEN IN WATER (WORLD PREMIERE) RAGAMALA DANCE COMPANY Ranee Ramaswamy and Aparna Ramaswamy, Artistic Directors
CONCEPT AND CHOREOGRAPHY Ranee Ramaswamy and Aparna Ramaswamy
CHOREOGRAPHIC ASSOCIATE Ashwini Ramaswamy
MUSICAL COMPOSITION Prema Ramamurthy and Amir ElSaffar
DEVELOPMENT OF THE MUSICAL SCORE Amir ElSaffar, Aparna Ramaswamy, and Ranee Ramaswamy, with the musical ensemble
VISUAL ART Original paintings by Keshav Additional design by Nathan Christopher Historical image provided by the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Cambridge
DANCERS Aparna Ramaswamy, Ranee Ramaswamy, Ashwini Ramaswamy, Tamara Nadel, Jessica Fiala
MUSICAL ENSEMBLE Amir ElSaffar (trumpet, santur, and vocal), Preethy Mahesh (vocal), Rajna Swaminathan (mridangam), Anjna Swaminathan (violin), Kasi Aysola (nattuvangam)
LIGHT DESIGN Jeff Bartlett
SOUND ENGINEER Maury Jensen
LIGHTING SUPERVISOR/ PRODUCTION MANAGER Mat Terwilliger
Rob Simmer
COMMISSIONERS
CREATED IN RESIDENCE AT The Maggie Allesee National Center for Choreography (MANCC) at Florida State University in Tallahassee, FL The Arts Center at NYU Abu Dhabi The Yard in Martha’s Vineyard, MA (NPN residency) The Cowles Center for Dance and the Performing Arts in Minneapolis, MN
SPECIAL THANKS TO Dr. Vasudha Narayanan at the University of Florida Dr. Mark Elliott, Senior Curator at the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology at the University of Cambridge Dr. Savitri Puram (bhakthadasi.blogspot.com)
FROM THE CHOREOGRAPHERS In Written in Water, we explore the concept of spiritual ascension through the 2nd century Indian board game Paramapadam (upon which Snakes & Ladders is based), the 12th century Sufi text The Conference of the Birds, and the Hindu mythological story Ksheerabthi Madanam - the churning of the ocean of milk. The game board serves as a physical and metaphorical framework for a world of psychological complexity in which dancers and musicians move freely between composition and improvisation. On this metaphysical map, the seekers/dancers activate the space by negotiating snakes and ladders as they journey through the seven valleys (or states of being) central to The Conference of the Birds. In developing Written in Water, we played the game hundreds of times, using the floor as the board and our bodies as the game pieces. The projected images are from original paintings by Chennai-based visual artist Keshav, specially commissioned by Ragamala
for this work. Written in Water was developed through an ongoing collaboration in which choreography, music, and visual art were constructed simultaneously in a constant artistic dialogue that spanned two years. We would like to thank Christopher Heacox of Opening Nights Performing Arts, Carla Peterson and Ansje Burdick of the Maggie Allesee National Center for Choreography (MANCC), and all of our friends and partners at FSU for their support in the creation of Written in Water. —Ranee Ramaswamy and Aparna Ramaswamy
ABOUT RAGAMALA DANCE COMPANY Under the direction of Ranee Ramaswamy and Aparna Ramaswamy, Ragamala creates work that conveys a sense of reverence, of unfolding mystery, of universal celebration. Now in its 24th season, Ragamala has been hailed by The New York Times as, “soulful, imaginative and rhythmically contagious.” Ragamala has toured extensively, highlighted by the Kennedy Center (Washington, D.C.), Lincoln Center (New York), Walker Art Center (Minneapolis), American Dance Festival (Durham, NC), Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, International Festival of Arts & Ideas (New Haven, CT), Arts Center at NYU Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates), Just Festival (Edinburgh, U.K.), Bali Arts Festival (Indonesia), Sri Krishna Gana Sabha (Chennai, India), and National Centre for Performing Arts (Mumbai, India). For upcoming tour dates in the U.S. and abroad or to subscribe to Ragamala’s e-newsletter, please visit, ragamaladance.org Exclusive representation by Laura Colby, Director, Elsie Management elsieman.org
ARTISTS’ BIOGRAPHIES RANEE RAMASWAMY and APARNA RAMASWAMY are Artistic Directors, Choreographers, and Principal Dancers of Ragamala Dance Company, founded by Ranee in 1992. As dancemakers and performers, they explore the dynamic tension between the ancestral and the contemporary, making dance landscapes that dwell in opposition — secular and spiritual life, inner and outer worlds, the human and the natural, rhythm 2016 Fall Program 35
HELP US CELEBRATE! JOIN US AT: September 29 - October 1 and October 6-8
TCC! presents “The Curate Shakespeare: As You Like It” Theatre TCC Fine and Performing Arts Center
October 13 - December 15
50 Years of Great Art at TCC: Art by eight outstanding TCC Alumni TCC Fine and Performing Arts Center
October 17
Capital City Band of TCC and the TCC Jazz Band Fall Concert TCC Fine and Performing Arts Center
October 28
TCC 50th Celebration Downtown GetDown
November 9 November 17-19 and December 1-3 December 3 December 10
TCC Jazz Band at the North Florida Fair Theatre TCC! presents “The Crucible” TCC Fine and Performing Arts Center Capital City Band of TCC Holiday Concert, Tallahassee Winter Festival TCC African Drum & Dance Ensemble: End of Semester Show TCC Fine and Performing Arts Center
Find a full list of TCC 50th anniversary events and more at www.tcc.fl.edu/50
Photo by Darial Sneed and stillness — to find the transcendence that lies in between. As mother and daughter, each brings her generational experience to the work — the rich traditions, deep philosophical roots, and ancestral wisdom of India meeting and merging with their hybridic perspectives as Indian-American artists. As protégés and senior disciples of legendary dancer and choreographer Alarmél Valli, known as one of India’s greatest living masters, Ranee and Aparna’s training in the South Indian classical dance form of Bharatanatyam is the bedrock of their creative aesthetic.
(the Magee Allesee National Center for Choreography), at NYU Abu Dhabi, and during an NPN residency at The Yard.
Ranee and Aparna’s work is supported by the National Endowment for the Arts, National Dance Project, MAP Fund, The McKnight Foundation, the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, New Music/USA, USArtists International, and the Japan Foundation, and has been commissioned by the Walker Art Center (Minneapolis), Lincoln Center Out of Doors (New York), the Krannert Center (University of Illinois), the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center (University of Maryland), Opening Nights Performing Arts (Florida State University), the Arts Center at NYU-Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates), and the American Composers Forum. Ranee and Aparna were jointly named “2011 Artist of the Year” by the Minneapolis Star Tribune. They have developed work in residence at the MANCC
Aparna is recipient of a 2016 Doris Duke Performing Artist Award and a 2016 Joyce Award. Described by The New York Times as “thrillingly three-dimensional…rapturous and profound,” she has received three McKnight Artist Fellowships for Dance and Choreography and a Bush Fellowship for Choreography, and she was selected as one of Dance Magazine’s 25 to Watch for 2010. Her solo work, presented with live music, has toured the U.S. and India - with support from the National Dance Project and USArtists International - most recently at Narada Gana Sabha (Chennai), the National Centre for Performing Arts (Mumbai, India), and The Joyce Theater (New York). Aparna is an empaneled artist with the Indian Council for Cultural Relations and serves on the Board
Ranee currently serves on the National Council on the Arts, appointed by President Barack Obama. She is a 2014 recipient of the Doris Duke Performing Artist Award. Among her many honors are 14 McKnight Artist Fellowships for Choreography and Interdisciplinary Art, a Bush Fellowship for Choreography, a 2011 McKnight Distinguished Artist Award, and a 2012 United States Artists Fellowship.
of Trustees of Dance/USA. AMIR ELSAFFAR is a trumpeter, santur player, vocalist, and composer who has distinguished himself with a mastery of diverse musical traditions and a singular approach to combining Middle Eastern musical languages with jazz and other styles of contemporary music. A recipient of the 2013 Doris Duke Performing Artist Award, ElSaffar has been described as “uniquely poised to reconcile jazz and Arabic music without doing either harm,” (The Wire) and “one of the most promising figures in jazz today” (Chicago Tribune). He currently leads several critically-acclaimed ensembles: Two Rivers, which combines the musical languages and instrumentation of Iraqi Maqam and contemporary jazz; the Amir ElSaffar Quintet, performing ElSaffar’s microtonal compositions with standard jazz instrumentation; Safaafir, the only ensemble in the U.S. performing and preserving the Iraqi Maqam in its traditional format; The Alwan Ensemble, the resident ensemble of Alwan for the Arts, specializing in classical music from Egypt, the Levant, and Iraq; and his newest project, the Rivers of Sound ensemble, featuring 17 musicians from a broad spectrum of traditions from Maqam to American jazz. In addition, he has worked with jazz legend Cecil Taylor and prominent jazz musicians such as Mark Dress2016 Fall Program 37
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er, Gerry Hemingway, Marc Ribot, Henry Grimes, and Oliver Lake. ElSaffar has appeared on numerous recordings and has released six under his own name: Maqams of Baghdad (2005), Two Rivers (2007), Radif Suite (2010), Inana (2011), Alchemy (2013), and Crisis (2015). amirelsaffar.com SMT. PREMA RAMAMURTHY has been an outstanding vocalist and composer for more than four decades. She was initiated into music by her parents, the Late Sri S. Nagaraja Iyer and Smt. Jayalakshmi, and her grandfather, Sri S. Srinivasa Iyer. Ms. Ramamurthy has had further intensive training under the great Maestro “Padmavibhushan” Dr. Mangalampalli Balamurali Krishna. She has also specialized in the art of ‘Pallavi singing’ from Vidwan Sri T. V. Gopalakrishnan and has learned the art of singing “Padams & Javalis” from the veteran musician Mrs. T. Muktha. Ms. Ramamurthy is an A-TOP Grade Artist of All India Radio and Doordarshan TV. She has won critical acclaim as a composer and has performed in many of the top venues and festivals of India, the U.S., Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Australia, Mexico, and South Africa. KESHAV has had a passion for drawing since childhood. He does not have formal training in art. He learned from museums and art books and was influenced by the Renaissance masters and the impressionists. After seeing the work of the Indian Master Ravi Varma, his interest turned toward Indian art. In 1983, he began contributing his drawings to Ananda Vikatan – a vernacular magazine that was a guiding light for all artists/cartoonists in South India – and sketching performing musicians at the Music Academy in Chennai. In 1987, he began contributing cartoons to the national daily newspaper The Hindu. He eventually joined the staff at The Hindu as cartoonist, where he has remained for over 28 years. Meanwhile, he continued with his passion for the arts. His quest in Indian art led him to discover the treasures in temples and the symbolism used in the Indian epics, and he started to see Indian art and what it communicated in a new light. This led him into the world of Krishna. He began a journey into symbols, fascinated with the way abstract ideas could be com-
municated in simple metaphors that have stood the test of time. In 2006, his one-man show “Krishna Leela” was presented in Chennai and later in Bangalore. He paints in oil, watercolor, acrylics, charcoals, and pastels. For the past several years he has been painting a Krishna a day (#krishnafortoday) and sharing it on his blog and social media. Keshav has a master’s degree in Commerce from Madras University. “Cartooning is my profession, painting is my passion.” kamadenu.blogspot.com ASHWINI RAMASWAMY has studied Bharatanatyam with Ragamala’s Artistic Directors Ranee Ramaswamy and Aparna Ramaswamy—her mother and sister—since the age of five. She now has the honor of study-
College. She currently serves on the board of Arts Midwest. TAMARA NADEL is a disciple of Ranee Ramaswamy and Aparna Ramaswamy and a founding member of Ragamala Dance Company. She has toured extensively with Ragamala, highlighted by Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center, American Dance Festival, Chicago Museum of Contemporary Art, Walker Art Center, Arts Center at NYU Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates), Just Festival (Edinburgh, U.K.), National Centre for Performing Arts (Mumbai, India), and Sri Krishna Gana Sabha (Chennai, India). Tamara is a 2006 McKnight Artist Fellow in Dance and is a recipient of grants from the Minnesota State Arts Board, Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, Minneapolis Jewish Federation, Rimon: the Minnesota Jewish Arts Council, and a Travel Study Grant from the Jerome Foundation. She is currently working with choreographer Ranee Ramaswamy on a solo work rooted in the poetry of the Sephardic Jewish writers of medieval southern Spain. Tamara is Ragamala’s Development & Outreach Director and holds a degree in religious studies and dance from Macalester College. She served on the City of Minneapolis Arts Commission from 20082010 and currently serves on the Board of Directors of Minnesota Citizens for the Arts.
... Ragamala creates work that conveys a sense of reverence, of unfolding mystery, of universal celebration. ing under Bharatanatyam legend Alarmél Valli, one of the greatest living masters of the form. The New York Times describes Ashwini as “imbuing her refined, sculptural muscularity with a tranquility that contrasts with the springy exuberance of her feet…there is a continual flow of energy coursing through her limbs.” She has toured extensively with Ragamala, performing throughout the U.S. and in Russia, Taiwan, Indonesia, Japan, the U.K, and India. Ashwini is a McKnight Artist Fellow for Dance as well as the recipient of two Minnesota State Arts Board Artist Initiative grants, a Metropolitan Regional Arts Council Next Step Fund grant, and a Jerome Foundation Travel Study Grant. She is an emerging choreographer whose work has been presented by the Ritz Theater (Minneapolis, MN), the Red Eye Theater (Minneapolis, MN), and Triskelion Arts (Brooklyn, NY). Ashwini is Ragamala’s Director of Publicity and Marketing and holds a degree in English Literature from Carleton
JESSICA FIALA has been studying with Ranee Ramaswamy and Aparna Ramaswamy since 2006 and has toured with Ragamala throughout the U.S. and to India, the U.K., and the UAE. She is a teacher at the Ragamala School and has led and supported outreach activities across the United States, as well as teaching a 2013 workshop in Bangkok, Thailand. Jessica holds an interdisciplinary master’s degree from the University of Minnesota in Museum Studies & Cultural Studies, and her writing has ranged from Bharatanatyam to museum history and public art. She has presented research at conferences at the University of Naples “l’Orientale” (2013), the University of Shanghai (2016), and the University of Pittsburgh (2016). This fall, she will participate on a debut panel for the conference Beyond Authenticity and Appropriation, organized by the Society of Dance History 2016 Fall Program 39
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Scholars. Her writing on museums is included in the anthology The Ruined Archive (2014), and she was Research Coordinator for the 2015 International Award for Public Art. Jessica is a Program Coordinator at Forecast Public Art and a Research Associate at Lutman & Associates. REETHY MAHESH has been accompaP nying eminent dancers since 2003. She belongs to the traditional school of music initiated by respected guru Sangitha Kalanidhi Shri D.K. Jararaman, and later came under the tutelage of Tanjore Shri S. Kalyanaraman. She is a graded artist of All India Radio. She has several recordings to her credit, many in collaboration with dancer Smt. Priyadarsini Govind. She has toured widely as an accompanist to many of India’s most renowned dancers, performing at prestigious festivals and venues around the world with such performers as Alarmél Valli, Vyjayanthimala Bali, Priyadarsini Govind, Revathi Ramachandran, Rukmini Vijaykumar, Shobana, and the Dhanajayans. She is the recipient of the Best Dance Vocalist award from Sri Krishna Gana Sabha (Chennai, India), and the Bharatalaya Trust honored her with the title Gana Kokilam. RAJNA SWAMINATHAN is an accomplished young artist in the field of South Indian classical percussion – mridangam. She is a disciple and protégé of mridangam maestro Umayalpuram K. Sivaraman. Rajna has accompanied many renowned musicians widely in North America and India, including her mentor and acclaimed Carnatic vocalist T.M. Krishna. Rajna has also performed extensively in the December Music Festival in Chennai. Over the past few years, she has been collaborating and studying with distinguished artists in New York City’s jazz and creative music scene, including saxophonist Steve Coleman and pianist Vijay Iyer. Rajna also tours regularly with the acclaimed Ragamala Dance Company.bShe frequently presents workshops on the South Indian rhythmic perspective, most notably at the Banff International Workshop in Jazz and Creative Music and the Percussive Arts Society International Convention. Rajna holds degrees in anthropology and French from the University of Maryland (College Park) and is currently pursuing a PhD in music at
Harvard University. rajnaswaminathan.com ANJNA SWAMINATHAN is an emerging artist in the field of Carnatic violin. A disciple of the late violin maestro Parur Sri M.S. Gopalakrishnan and Mysore Sri H.K. Narasimhamurthy, she has been trained in both Carnatic classical and Western classical styles. She frequently takes part in interdisciplinary collaborations, often developing scores and providing musical accompaniment for dancers and dance companies, most notably, Ragamala Dance Company as well as Ragamala’s principal dancer and soloist Aparna Ramaswamy. Anjna was commissioned to compose original music for playwright/performer Anu Yadav’s one-woman-play Meena’s Dream. In the summer of 2014, she was a participant at the celebrated Banff International Workshop in Jazz and Creative Music in Alberta, Canada. Anjna recently came under the tutelage of acclaimed Carnatic vocalist and scholar T.M. Krishna. Anjna holds a bachelor’s degree in theatre from the University of Maryland (College Park). anjnaswaminathan.com KASI AYSOLA is a Bharatanatyam dancer and choreographer who trained under Viji Prakash for over ten years. Kasi has been privileged to work with leading exponents of Bharatanatyam throughout his dance career such as: Guru C.V. Chandrasekhar, Bragha Bessel, Ajith Bhaskaran Dass, Harikrishna Kalayanasundaram, and Mythili Prakash. Kasi has performed as a soloist in the U.S. and India and has toured extensively with the Shakti Dance Company across the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. A versatile dancer, Kasi has performed fusion works with Dakshina/ Daniel Phoenix Singh and the Blue13 Dance Company. He is currently the co-founder/ co-artistic director of Prakriti Dance, an innovative professional company that uses the traditional Bharatanatyam movement vocabulary to explore human experience and philosophy. JEFF BARTLETT has been honored to light Ragamala Dance Company since A Canticle of Mary in 1994. He has lit many of the company’s signature works, including: Song of the Jasmine, Sacred Earth, 1,001 Buddhas: Journey of the Gods, Yathra/Journey, The Transposed Heads, Body and Soul, Bhakti, Sthree, and Ihrah. A dance lighting specialist based in
Minneapolis, Jeff has lit scores of artists in hundreds of productions over more than two decades. A 2008 Artist of the Year in City Pages Magazine, his design work has also been recognized with a 2015 St Paul Cultural Star award, a 2014 Knight Arts Challenge Grant, 2010 and 2005 Sage Awards for Dance, and a 2003 McKnight Theater Artist Fellowship. Jeff is Production Manager and resident lighting designer at the Weitz Center for Creativity at Carleton College. Support for the creation of Written in Water was provided by a 2016 Joyce Award from the Joyce Foundation, the Doris Duke Performing Artist Awards program, and grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, New Music/USA (made possible by annual program support and/ or endowment gifts from Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Mary Flagler Cary Charitable Trust, Baisley Powell Elebash Fund, Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation), the Association of Performing Arts Presenters (with support from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation), the Carolyn Foundation, The McKnight Foundation, Target, the General Mills Foundation, the voters of Minnesota through a Minnesota State Arts Board Operating Support grant (thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund), and the generous support of Ragamala’s “Rasika Circle,” including Caroline Amplatz Giving, The Goodale Family Foundation, the Dale Schatzlein and Emily Maltz Fund of The Minneapolis Foundation, Ranee Ramaswamy and David McKay, María and Mark Nadel, and Wallace and Margaret McKay.
Donald Cried Continued from pg. 17
FILMMAKER STATEMENT “The genesis of Donald Cried came from the earlier short version with the same characters. The short focused on their awkward dynamic as childhood friends and Peter’s dilemma dealing with his grandmothers’ death and was essentially what the first act of the feature ended up being. 2016 Fall Program 41
Michael Sheridan & Judy Wilson Sheridan Proud Supporters of Opening Nights Performing Arts AND SPONSORS OF
RICHARD THOMPSON & THE BLIND BOYS OF ALABAMA
THE ASLC ASKEW STUDENT LIFE CENTER
FREE MOVIES, GAMES, & EVENTS FOR FSU STUDENTS FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT MOVIES.FSU.EDU
For the feature, we were all interested in bringing our own personal experiences into the story. For me specifically, it had a lot to do with the guilt of how I treated people in high school and the guilt I carried with me. Jesse and Kyle come from the same really small town in Northern California and brought elements of their experience going home. All the Rhode Island elements, the people the neighborhoods, were very specific to my experience growing up there in the ‘80s. Although the main storyline isn’t a direct reference to my life, it’s my experience with my own insecurities that served as the inspiration. There is a persistent guilt I carry about the person I was and the actions of my youth, and it’s this that I’m reminded of when I interact with a person or place of the past. It was important for us to keep the pendulum of whom you related to and sympathized with to swing back and forth so the audience could relate to both characters’ points of view depending on each new circumstance. It was always a struggle to find the balance of becoming too plot heavy versus the experiential nature of what a real 24 hours of coming home might be like.” – Kris Avedisian
CAST & CREW DIRECTED BY Kris Avedisian
STARRING Jesse Wakeman, Kris Avedisian, Louisa Krause, Ted Arcidi
STORY BY Kris Avedisian, Kyle Espeleta, Jesse Wakeman
CO-PRODUCERS Caitlin Mehner & Jon Read
CINEMATOGRAPHY BY Sam Fleischner & Trevor Holden
EDITED BY Frank Heath
COSTUME DESIGNER
PRODUCERS
Matt Anthony, Steve Skoly, Sean Lamb, Kris Avedisian, Jesse Wakeman, Kyle Espeleta
clude her solo debut with the Seattle Symphony, a recital of Handelian opera arias in Baltimore, soprano solos in Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass with Bach Collegium San Diego, the world premiere of a song cycle by Andrew
Eugene and University of Kansas City, Mis-
Kia Davis
SOUND Micah Bloomberg The Southern Circuit Tour of Independent Filmmakers is a program of South Arts. This screening is supported in part by a grant from South Arts in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts.
teaching residencies at University of Oregon, souri, and tours with Roomful of Teeth to Sweden and throughout North America.
MARTHA CLUVER Vocalist and Roomful of Teeth founding member Martha Cluver has been praised by The New York Times for her “fluid, dark-hued” and “soulful” soprano voice. As a soloist, she has performed and recorded with ensembles such as Trinity Baroque Orchestra, Janáček Philharmonic, Remix Ensemble, Prague Modern, Rebel Baroque, ICE, ACME
Roomful of Teeth
(American Contemporary Music Ensemble),
Continued from pg. 19
Symphonie-Orchester Berlin. Chamber music
Projects in 2016-2017 include The Colorado, a music-driven documentary film that explores water, land and survival in the Colorado River Basin (featuring former Kronos Quartet cellist Jeffrey Zeigler and Wilco’s Glenn Kotche); collaborations with A Far Cry and Nick Zammuto of The Books; appearances at new music festivals in the US, Canada and Sweden; and partnerships with nearly two dozen higher education institutions across the country.
Members
Kyle Martin
rary repertoires. Highlights of 2016-17 in-
PRODUCTION DESIGNER
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS
PRODUCED BY
as a stylish interpreter of early and contempo-
McIntosh with Yarn/Wire in New York,
Sam Fleischner Allison Carter
Kris Avedisian
no Estelí Gomez is quickly gaining recognition
David Talbert
Lead sponsorship for Roomful of Teeth’s 2016-2017 season is generously provided by Sharon Banker, the Lenore S. & Bernard A. Greenberg Fund, The Aaron Copland Fund for Music and New Music USA. Additional support provided by Herb Allen, Katie Schmidt, Virginia Philhower, Pacific Harmony Foundation, the Amphion Foundation, and the Cheswatyr Foundation.
SCREENPLAY
young years” (Kansas City Metropolis), sopra-
Fifth House Ensemble, and Deutsches collaborations include groups such as Alarm Will Sound, Ensemble Signal, So Percussion, NEXUS, Axiom, Trio Mediaeval, Novus New York, Dogs of Desire, Wordless Music Orchestra, and Tenet. Cluver is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music (bachelor’s degree in Music Performance, Viola, 2003) and studied with John Graham.
CAROLINE SHAW Caroline Shaw is a New York-based musician. She is a Grammy-winning singer in Roomful of Teeth and a violinist in ACME (American Contemporary Music Ensemble), and in 2013, Caroline became the youngest ever winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Music for her enigmatic composition Partita for 8
Voices. She was the inaugural musician in residence at Dumbarton Oaks (2014-2015)
and continues her residency with Vancouver’s Music on Main through 2016. Recent and current projects include commissions for the Cincinnati Symphony, the Guggenheim
ESTELÍ GOMEZ
Museum Works & Process Series, and the
Praised for her “clear, bright voice” (The New York Times) and “artistry that belies her
with Kanye West.
Folger Library as well as collaborations
2016 Fall Program 43
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VIRGINIA WARNKEN Mezzo-soprano Virginia Warnken Kelsey has been hailed by The New York Times as an “elegant,” “rich-toned alto” with “riveting presence” and is becoming well-known throughout the American Early Music community for her heartfelt interpretations of the sacred works of Bach and Handel. A lifelong lover of both solo and chamber ensemble repertoire in the Early Music genre, Ms. Warnken can be heard as a soloist and ensemble member with the Carmel Bach Festival, renowned Trinity Wall Street Choir, TENET, Clarion Music Society, Musica Sacra, Oratorio Society of New York, Green Mountain Project, and Vox Vocal Ensemble. In recent seasons, she has appeared as a soloist numerous times on in Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and various venues in New York City.
ERIC DUDLEY Eric Dudley leads a multi-faceted musical career as a conductor, singer, pianist, and composer. Following distinguished tenures as assistant conductor for the Cincinnati and Princeton Symphony Orchestras, his recent conducting engagements include New York’s International Contemporary Ensemble, Ojai Festival, the National Symphony Orchestra, Hartford Symphony Orchestra (CT), Ensemble Signal and TENET Ensemble (NY), and the Bendigo Festival and Melbourne International Arts Festival in Australia. He served for four years on the conducting faculty of Mannes College/The New School for Music in New York and begins a new assignment as Music Director of the San Francisco Conservatory Orchestra for the 2016/17 season. He is a member of the Grammy Award-
winning vocal octet Roomful of Teeth, a performer with Seraphic Fire, Ekmeles, and several other ensembles, and has written works for Roomful of Teeth, Quey Percussion, and the Hartford Symphony Orchestra.
AVERY GRIFFIN Avery Griffin is a baritone, sound engineer, music educator, and composer from Weehawken, New Jersey. He has worked with a wide variety of musicians and other artists including conductors Simon Carrington, Jane Glover, Andrew Megill, and Andrew Parrot, composers Martin Amlin, Jon Deak, Jon Magnussen, and Joseph Maneri, and choreographer Mark Morris. He has participated in several distinguished concert series including the Spoleto USA and Mostly Mozart Festivals in the United States and the Golden Mask Festival in Moscow. He is currently a member of the Festival Chorale at the Carmel Bach Festival in Carmel, CA. A composer himself, Avery’s music has been performed by prestigious ensembles including the Choir of Trinity Church, Wall Street. In addition to his work with Roomful of Teeth, Avery is also a Teaching Artist with the New York Philharmonic’s Very Young Composer Program and serves as sound engineer and website manager for Saint Thomas Church Fifth Avenue in midtown Manhattan.
DASHON BURTON Bass-baritone Dashon Burton is a native of Bronx, NY. Praised for his “nobility and rich tone,” (The New York Times) and hailed as “excellent” (Akron Beacon Journal) and “robust,” (Cleveland Plain Dealer), he is active in a wide range of repertoire and feels privileged to have worked with artists and ensembles
all across the U.S. as well as in Cameroon, Canada, Italy, and Germany. Recent collaborations include Pierre Boulez, Masaaki Suzuki, and Steven Smith. He began his professional studies at Case Western Reserve University and graduated from the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music. Immediately upon graduation, he was invited to join Cantus, a professional men’s classical vocal ensemble based in Minneapolis. The nine member ensemble travels across the United States performing concerts, teaching clinics about ensemble singing to students of all ages, and collaborating with renowned organizations and artists including the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Minnesota Orchestra, the Boston Pops, James Sewell Ballet, and Bobby McFerrin. He appears on albums recorded with the ensemble, including the eponymous album, Cantus, which was singled out by National Public Radio as a top ten recording of 2007. After completing his tenure with Cantus in 2009, Dashon completed his Master of Music at Yale University’s Institute of Sacred Music, studying voice with Professor James Taylor.
CAMERON BEAUCHAMP Grammy Award-winning bass Cameron Beauchamp is in demand throughout the country as a soloist, chamber musician, and clinician. Currently living in Austin, he regularly sings with Conspirare, Boston’s Blue Heron, and Roomful of Teeth. Cameron is the artistic director of the Austin-based Convergence, music director of TEDxAustin, and was named Best Singer in the 2013-2014 Austin Critics’ Table Awards. Cameron has been an artist in residence as performer and clinician at numerous universities and museums around the U.S., including Stanford University, Yale University, Princeton University, the University of North Texas, Williams College, Harvard University, the University of Oregon, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Cleveland Museum of Art, and Mass MoCA. He has recorded on Harmonia Mundi, New Amsterdam Records, 4AD, Pro Organo, GIA, Edition Lilac, Klavier, and PBS. He has performed on two Grammy Award-winning albums with Roomful of Teeth and Conspirare, seven Grammy-nominated albums, and one Downbeat award-winning album. 2016 Fall Program 45
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Mipso Continued from pg. 21
Following their critically acclaimed debut record, 2013’s Dark Holler Pop, Mipso released Old Time Reverie in fall 2015 to rave reviews from critics and fans alike. The record shot up the Billboard charts, where it landed at number one on the Billboard Bluegrass Chart and in the Top 25 of the Billboard Heatseakers Chart. With songwriting hailed as “smartly written, hewing surprisingly close to gospel and folk while still sounding modern and secular” (Acoustic Guitar), Mipso’s Old Time Reverie was named among the Best Records of the Year by The Guardian. With over 400 shows under their belt so far, and with the permanent addition of band mate Libby Rodenbough, Old Time Reverie is a reflection of Mipso’s musical and personal growth. Mipso’s gripping, mature sophomore release finds the quartet expanding their sonic resources while doubling down on their experimentation with string band tradition.
Birdman Live with Antonio Sánchez Continued from pg. 23
ANTONIO SÁNCHEZ Five-time Grammy Award winner Antonio Sánchez is considered by many critics and musicians alike as one of the most prominent drummers, bandleaders and composers of his generation.
and recorded with some of the biggest names in jazz, including Chick Corea, Michael Brecker, Charlie Haden, Gary Burton, and Toots Thielmans. Sánchez has been the drummer of choice for twenty-time Grammy winner Pat Metheny and has been a part of virtually every project that the famed guitarist has put together since 2000. They’ve recorded eight albums together, and three of them have been awarded with Grammys. He regularly collaborates with some of the today’s most prominent jazz musicians, such as Joshua Redman, Chris Potter, Christian McBride, John Patitucci, Donny McCaslin, Danilo Perez, David Sánchez, Paquito D’Rivera, Kenny Werner, Marcus Roberts, Avishai Cohen, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Dianne Reeves, Miguel Zenon, Scott Colley, Dave Samuels, Luciana Souza, Billy Childs, and Claudia Acuña - just to name a few. Sánchez‘s continuous search as an artist has pushed him to compose and lead his own bands and ensembles. He has released four critically acclaimed albums under his name. His first one, Migration, was called “one of the best new releases of 2007” by All About Jazz and features a star-studded cast, which includes Pat Metheny, Chick Corea, Chris Potter, David Sánchez, and Scott Colley. His second solo effort, Live in New York, was recorded during a four-day run at the prestigious Jazz Standard in New York City and features saxophone greats David Sánchez and
Miguel Zenon as well as bassist Scott Colley. Sánchez‘s 2013 album, New Life, was made entirely of his own compositions and was widely well received by critics all over the world. It featured Thana Alexa on vocals, and it was the winner of the prestigious German Echo Jazz Award in 2014. Downbeat Magazine said, “New Life is that rare combination of great composing, great players, and great musicianship.” 2015 saw the release of two very distinct projects that are important milestones in Sánchez’s solo career: Three Times Three, a double album which features three stellar trios: Brad Mehldau and Matt Brewer, John Scofield and Christian McBride, and last, but not least, Joe Lovano and John Patitucci. This record includes six original compositions and three standards arranged by Sánchez. The Meridian Suite, the second 2015 release, highlighted Migration, Sánchez’s working band since 2011. This edition of the band featured Seamus Blake on saxophone, John Escreet on piano, Matt Brewer on bass, and Thana Alexa on vocals, and the album boasted sixty-minute long piece written by Sánchez, which pushed his compositional skills in a way that no other project has done before. The Meridian Suite is Sánchez’s most adventurous work to date. Sánchez’s writing was featured on two of Gary Burton’s latest releases; Common Ground and Guided Tour include four of Sánchez’s Photo by Bógar Adame Mendoza
Born in Mexico City on November 1st, 1971, he started playing drums at the age of 5 and began performing professionally early in his teens. Sánchez pursued a degree in classical piano at the National Conservatory in Mexico, and in 1993, he moved to Boston to enroll at Berklee College of Music and the New England Conservatory. He graduated Magna Cum Laude in Jazz Studies. Since his move to New York City in 1999, Sánchez has become one of the most sought-after drummers in the international jazz scene. His playing is featured on over one hundred albums, and he has performed 2016 Fall Program 47
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original compositions, and the former album was named after his tune of the same name. In 2013, Antonio was invited by acclaimed filmmaker Alejandro G. Iñárritu (Amores Perros, 21 Grams, Babel, Biutiful) to create the original film score for his 2014 release Birdman (Fox Searchlight) which starred Michael Keaton, Edward Norton, Naomi Watts, and Emma Thompson. This was an extremely unique project that featured Sánchez’s drumming as the main musical ingredient. The film won the Sound Stars Award for best Film Score at the 2014 Venice Film Festival, and Birdman was also nominated for the 2014 Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score, the 2015 British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA), and the 2014 Hollywood Music in Media Award for Best Original Film Score. Sánchez’s interest in education has taken him around the globe, performing for clinics, drum festivals, and master classes. Festivals include the Modern Drummer Festival Weekend, Zildjian Day, and the Montreal Drum Festival among many others. He was also a professor at the prestigious New York University from 2006-2009 but had to stop due to his hectic touring schedule. Sánchez has been the featured cover artist for some of the most widely read drum and jazz magazines in the industry: Modern Drummer (USA and Brazil), Percussioni, JazzIt, and Drumset (Italy), Drums and Percussion (Germany), and Musico Pro (USA). Sánchez won the Modern Drummer Reader’s Poll for Best Jazz Drummer in 2013 and has been a top contender since the early 2000s. He’s also been among the top ranked drummers on Downbeat’s critic’s and reader’s polls since 2004. Sánchez is endorsed by Yamaha Drums, Zildjian Cymbals and Sticks (Antonio Sanchez Signature model), Remo Drumheads, and LP Percussion. He’s made New York City his home since 1999.
BIRDMAN Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance), commonly known simply as Birdman, is a 2014 American satirical black comedy-drama film directed by Alejandro G. Iñárritu. It was written by Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris Jr., and
Armando Bo. The film stars Michael Keaton with a supporting cast of Zach Galifianakis, Edward Norton, Andrea Riseborough, Amy Ryan, Emma Stone, and Naomi Watts. The story follows Riggan Thomson (Keaton), a faded Hollywood actor best known for playing the superhero “Birdman,” as he struggles to mount a Broadway adaptation of a short story by Raymond Carver. The film covers the period of previews leading to the play’s opening, and with a brief exception appears as if filmed in a single shot, an idea Iñárritu had from the film’s conception. Emmanuel Lubezki, who won the Academy Award for his cinematography in Birdman, believed that the recording time necessary for the unique long take approach taken in Birdman could not have been made with older technology. The film was shot in New York City during the spring of 2013 with a budget of $16.5 million jointly financed by Fox Searchlight Pictures, New Regency Pictures, and Worldview Entertainment. It premiered the following year in August where it opened the 71st Venice International Film Festival. Birdman had a limited theatrical release in the United States on October 17, 2014, followed by a wide release on November 14, grossing more than $103 million worldwide. The film won the Academy Award for Best Picture, along with Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Cinematography. It also won Outstanding Cast in a Motion Picture at the 21st Screen Actors Guild Awards, as well as Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy for Keaton and Best Screenplay at the 72nd Golden Globe Awards.
Filmmaker Penny Lane (Our Nixon) has skill-
fully borrowed a page from her subject– charming viewers into believing the unbelievable, building their trust and excitement, until the final chapter bares the painful truth and reveals the doctor for what he truly was. NUTS! reminds us that our love of (and need for) compelling narratives is exactly what makes us so endlessly susceptible to being conned.
FILMMAKER STATEMENT “NUTS! is not a film that allows us to sit back and laugh at the dummies who fell for Brinkley’s bullsh*t. Instead, it’s a film that shows we are all those dummies. Unlike Brinkley, however, I seduce you, and then I show you how I did it. Brinkley’s story is not presented as the object of a neutral nonfiction gaze, but as an opportunity for viewers to actively wrestle with the ethical and epistemological issues central to the narrative nonfiction form.” – Penny Lane, Director
AWARDS & FESTIVALS Sundance 2016 Winner of Special Jury Prize for Editing 2016 film festival screenings: Sundance, Rotterdam, Hot Docs, Full Frame, San Francisco, Ashland, Sarasota, Calgary Underground, Cleveland, BAFICI, and the Holland Animation Film Festival.
CREDITS DIRECTED BY Penny Lane
WRITTEN BY
NUTS! Continued from pg. 25
Thom Stylinski
PRODUCED BY James Belfer, Caitlin Mae Burke, Penny
FILM SYNOPSIS
Lane, & Daniel Shepard
Inventive and wildly fun, NUTS! follows John Romulus Brinkley as he transplants thousands of goat testicles, amasses an enormous fortune, is (sort of) elected Governor of Kansas, invents junk mail and the infomercial, builds the world’s most powerful radio station, and generally annoys the heck out of the establishment.
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS Dan Cogan & Elias Savada
CO-PRODUCERS David Armillei & Kara Janeczko
ASSOCIATE PRODUCER Gene Tognacci 2016 Fall Program 49
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Opening Nights
Musical Associates
School of Dance
Allies for Art
621 Gallery
ANIMATION
ADDITIONAL MUSIC WRITING
Chapter 1: Drew Christie, Dane Herforth
Kurt Ballou
Chapter 2: Julia Veldman C
CINEMATOGRAPHERS
Chapter 3: Michael Pisano Chapter 4: Krystal Downs Chapter 5: Ace & Son Moving Picture Co., LLC Chapter 6: Rose Stark Epilogue: Hazel Lee Santino, Krystal Downs
CONCEPT ART & CHARACTER DESIGN
Hallie Kohler, Penny Lane, Joseph Victorine, Mark Walley, Angela Walley
SUPERVISING SOUND EDITOR & RE-RECORDING MIXER Tom Paul
SOUND DESIGN Andrea Bella
ADDITIONAL SOUND DESIGN
Kansas State Historical Society Library Of Congress National Archives And Records Administration National Library Of Medicine Prelinger Archive Whitehead Museum
DISTRIBUTION ADVISOR, NORTH AMERICA: Josh Braun, Submarine Entertainment
ARCHIVAL RESEARCH Rich Remsberg
Jesse Stiles
COPYRIGHT RESEARCH
EDITED BY
SOUND PRODUCTION ASSISTANT
Penny Lane & Thom Stylinski
Kristian Tchetchko
LEGAL REPRESENTATION
ADDITIONAL EDITING
DIALOGUE EDITOR
Hazel Lee Santino
Heather Capps
Michael Feuser
THE NARRATOR
FOLEY ARTIST
Gene Tognacci
Leslie Bloome
VOICE ACTORS
FOLEY MIXER
Andy Boswell, John Causby, Kelly Mizell, Jeff Pillars, Thom Stylinski, & Fran Taylor
INTERVIEWS Pope Brock, Gene Fowler, James Reardon, & Megan Seaholm
ORIGINAL MUSIC Brian McOmber
MUSICAL PERSONNEL
Ryan Collison
FOLEY ASSISTANT Jonathan Fang
ONLINE EDIT & COLOR CORRECTION RCO
Elias Savada Shatzkin & Mayer, P.C.
SUPPORT PROVIDED BY Creative Capital TFI Documentary Fund New York State Council on the Arts Colgate University Research Council
COPYRIGHT 2016 Gland Power Films LLC The Southern Circuit Tour of Independent Filmmakers is a program of South Arts. This screening is supported in part by a grant from South Arts in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts.
COLORIST (RCO) Seth Ricart
Joe Pug
Guitars: Kurt Ballou
COLORIST PRODUCER (RCO)
Bass Guitar: Brian Betancourt
Marcus Lansdell
Continued from pg. 27
COLOR ASSIST (RCO)
The relentless grind of four years of nonstop touring took its toll on Pug, and by late 2013 he was ready to call it quits. His tour that fall was a runaway success, but his personal and creative lives were a different story. ”It was this surreal dichotomy. Everyone kept congratulating me on how well the tour was going, and the mood was probably the best it had ever been on the road. We finally got two hotel rooms in each city instead of one. We’ve got this incredible group of die-hard fans that somehow make each show bigger than our previous trip through town. Meanwhile my relationship was in shambles, and creatively I was at a dead end. There was absolutely no joy left in playing music. So
Flute: Dave Gossage Accordion: Samuel Reider Cello: J.C. Lizotte Viola: Thomas Quail Violin: Josh Zubot
Tom Byrnes
TITLES DESIGN (RCO) Laura Alejo
STRING ARRANGER
TITLES ANIMATION (RCO)
Nick Lavigne
Andreina Restrepo
RECORDING ENGINEER
PRODUCTION ASSISTANTS
Kurt Ballou
STRING ENGINEERS
Andrew Aaronson, Daniel Kwartler, & Virginia Moore
Alan Joosoo Han, Gintas Norvila
ARCHIVAL FOOTAGE AND SOUND
MUSIC MIXERS
Aaron Mintz Radio And TV Archive
Kurt Ballou, Brian Mcomber
Geary County Museum
2016 Fall Program 51
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GOES GREEN! Opening Nights is committed to providing unique experiences for our patrons and artists by supporting environmental best practices during our events with help from Campus Sustainability. We invite you to participate with us! Make an evening of it and support a locally owned restaurant before the show. Carpool with friends to the performance venue. Recycle your beverage cans and bottles before taking your seat. Recycling bins are located in the lobby of each venue. Please return programs to the box by each exit after the show so they can be reused.
ward. We wanted to capture the music just the way we play it, with minimal production. It was a very back-to-basics approach because ultimately that’s what I love about music, and that’s what I love about making music. I wanted to record these songs the way they were written and put them out in the world.” The result is a collection of songs that are as close as we’ve gotten to a road map of Pug’s ambitions. He has collected plenty of the requisite Dylan comparisons over his young career, but on this record it’s easier to hear the sway of more contemporary influences like Josh Ritter, Ryan Adams, and M. Ward.
we walked off stage after a particular show when I played terribly, and I pulled my manager aside in the green room and told him to cancel the rest of the tour dates and that I was essentially through.” But studio time was already scheduled and deadlines had been set for a new record, so after a few weeks, Pug was back to the business of writing songs. “In retrospect, I was in a very unhealthy place. I was sitting in a room with the blinds shut and a notebook, forcing out words that weren’t there and drinking astonishing amounts of bourbon. I was looking at it as a job…as a business obligation…and that is a very slippery slope.” At that point, he decided to make good on his promise from the previous tour. The album was put on indefinite hold. “I just needed to start behaving like a human being again. I needed to reconnect with my girlfriend. I needed to eat healthy food. I needed to go enjoy live music as a fan. I really needed to make sure I still loved making music - because I really had my doubts at that point.” The resulting layoff paid dividends in spades. When Pug set up camp in Lexington, KY in 2014 to record, he did so with some of the best songs he has ever written. The agenda was much simpler than those for previous albums. “The aim on this one was very straightfor-
The theme of resilience plays a central role throughout Windfall. “I never really write songs with a specific narrative in mind,” Pug explains. “When you’re sort of pushing through a dark period of your life, it’s probably inevitable that some of that is going to find its way onto the page. But in the same way, by the time we were in the studio the process had become very effortless and joyful. And hopefully you can hear a lot of that on the record as well.” This duality appears perhaps most overtly in the album-closing stunner “If Still It Can’t Be Found,” which features Pat Sansone of Wilco guesting on mellotron: If it’s not around this corner it’s around the next If it’s not beyond this river it’s beyond the next And if still it can’t be found It’s prob’ly for the best As the saying goes, “All’s well that ends well.” Joe Pug didn’t call it quits after all. He’s now married and still drinks bourbon on occasion. Windfall was released in 2015 on Lightning Rod Records in the United States and Loose Music in Europe.
Joey Alexander Trio Continued from pg. 29
JOEY ALEXANDER Born on June 25, 2003 on the island of Bali, pianist Joey Alexander originally learned about jazz from his dad, who exposed his son to a variety of classic albums from his extensive collection. At the age of six, Joey began
teaching himself to play piano using a mini electronic keyboard given to him by his father. He was immediately able to pick out the melody of Monk’s “Well, You Needn’t,” but he didn’t stop there. Joey’s dad nurtured his gift of swing and improvisation by taking him to jam sessions with veteran musicians in Bali and Jakarta. Joey’s musicianship and grasp of jazz fundamentals developed at a remarkable pace, and at age eight UNESCO invited him to play solo piano for an elated Herbie Hancock during the piano great’s visit to Indonesia. Joey later remarked to Hancock, “You told me that you believed in me, and that was the day I decided to dedicate my childhood to jazz.” At nine, Joey won the grand prize at the first Master-Jam Fest, an all-ages competition in Ukraine which included 200 competitors from 17 countries. By 10, he was performing at jazz festivals in both Jakarta and Copenhagen. An invitation from Wynton Marsalis led to his U.S. debut appearance at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Rose Hall in 2014 where he amazed the audience with his musicality, followed by appearances before the Jazz Foundation of America at the Apollo and the Arthur Ashe Learning Center at Gotham Hall. Wishing to encourage the continued development of Joey’s prodigious playing, his parents sold the family business in Jakarta and relocated to the United States. Success did not arrive overnight, however. Promoters were skeptical that an 11 year-old could drive substantial ticket sales and captivate discerning jazz audiences, but soon recognized his ability to absolutely delight audiences, despite the challenges associated with learning a new language. Joey experienced a major stroke of luck when he received an invitation from impresario George Wein to perform on two stages at the prestigious Newport Jazz Festival. Joey took full advantage of the opportunity and brought audiences to their feet with his playful musicality and keen sense of swing. Over the past two years Joey has been paying his dues and honing his craft: learning what it means to be a bandleader, keeping material fresh after repeated performances, and seeking out sidemen who are also collaborators. Along the way, The Joey Alexander Trio has performed at well-known venues 2016 Fall Program 53
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thing about his playing – his rhythm, his confidence, his understanding of the music.” Now, as he enters his teen years, Joey takes another step in charting his artistic direction with the release of Countdown. “You know, I love both creating music in the studio and performing for people onstage,” he says, “but I have to admit there’s something special about getting a crowd excited by playing jazz live. In most situations I try to be calm, but I love the intense energy that happens between me and the audience. When they express their appreciation in this way, I am inspired to go deeper as a person and musician, improve my craft and create exciting new sounds.”
and major festivals across the United States and around the globe, including tour dates in Tel Aviv, Marciac, Montréal, Abu Dhabi, Singapore, Bern, Prague, Vienna, Perugia, and his native Indonesia. Media interest in Joey has resulted in appearances and interviews for The Today Show, 60 Minutes, CNN, The New York Times, and a host of other television, radio and print media. This has fueled a rare level of public notoriety for Joey as a jazz musician, entirely unheard of for one his age, both within the jazz community and among the public at large. His 2015 debut album for Motema Music, My Favorite Things, garnered two Grammy Award nominations for “Best Jazz Instrumental Album” and “Best Improvised Solo” for his performance of John Coltrane’s “Giant Steps”, making him the youngest jazz artist ever nominated for a Grammy. His performances on the 58th Annual Grammy Awards broadcast – far more magical than what was expected - received standing ovations from the star-studded audience, bringing his talent to the attention of music lovers everywhere, mesmerizing long-time industry professionals, and inspiring other young musicians to pursue their own dreams. Through all this Joey has remained humble, focused on developing as a player and pur-
suing his growing interest in composing. His highly-anticipated sophomore album Countdown (released in September 2016 on Motema Music) showcases Joey’s remarkable development as a contemporary jazz bandleader and promise as a composer. He develops fresh takes on well-known tunes, combining them seamlessly with his own original compositions in a way which invites both new and seasoned listeners in, and reflects the true emotional heart and soul of his musical personality. Joey says that his growth as a composer is due to the hours he spends practicing piano in between his school, media and touring commitments – and his rare moments of free time in which he enjoys doing “regular kid things” like watching movies, playing games, swimming, and tennis. “Sometimes, when I’m just practicing or playing something, new melodic and rhythmic ideas come to me, and I realize that I’m actually starting to compose a song,” he says. “I think that writing memorable tunes comes from listening to so much music from composers and artists I like. I actually find it harder to interpret other people’s songs than to write my own, because I have to figure out and feel what the song is about and find a way to make it my own.” Wynton Marsalis says of Joey, “There has never been anyone that you can think of who could play like that at his age. I love every-
Building upon the swing and improvisational style that made his first project a critical and popular success, Countdown is a reflection of the growth and maturity of Joey Alexander as an artist, and a confident next step toward a limitless future.
DANIEL CHMIELINSKI Dan “Chimy” (shim-ee) Chmielinski began his love affair with the bass at the young age of 3 and never looked back. Now 21, Dan is an accomplished bassist who has traveled the world performing with Etienne Charles, Bryan Carter, the Joey Alexander Trio, Sammy Miller and the Congregation, The Kyle Athayde Dance Party, and the New York Jazz Symposium. Chmielinski is currently in his fourth year of the Jazz Studies program at The Juilliard School, led by world-renowned trumpet player and jazz educator Wynton Marsalis. Chmielinski has been continuously inspired and mentored by some of the world’s greatest jazz musicians and classical bassists, including Richard Davis, Ben Wolfe, and Jay Anderson, and he is currently studying under the great Ron Carter. Prior to attending The Juilliard School, Chmielinski attended Glenbrook South High School, participating in their Grammy Award-winning arts program. He also performed with the Midwest Young Artists Big Band (2009-2012) and Symphony Orchestra (2008-2012), the Fatum Brothers Jazz Orchestra (2008-2010), and with various other ensembles in New York and Chicago. 2016 Fall Program 55
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Bride’s famed big band. His 2009 debut recording, It’s Time For U, featured several original compositions and arrangements. In 2012, he released a second album, Unanimous (Criss Cross), featuring Christian McBride, Nicholas Payton, Jaleel Shaw, Michael Dease, and Christian Sands. Onward and Upward was released in 2014 on the D-Clef Record Label. As co-leader of New Century Jazz Quintet, Owens has released two albums with the Japanese record label Spice Of Life: Time is Now and In Case You Missed Us.
In the summer of 2012, Chmielinski was one of 15 musicians selected to participate in Ravinia’s prestigious Steans Institute, where he collaborated with jazz masters David Baker, Nathan Davis, Curtis Fuller, and Rufus Reid. In 2014, he was selected to receive Juilliard’s Ron Carter Scholarship. Chmielinski is also well-studied in composition - specifically film scoring - and has worked with composers Philip Lasser and Kendall Briggs. He recently scored NYU filmmaker Connor Smith’s first feature-length film, Smoke in the Air. In addition to his studies, Chmielinski teaches private lessons and educates students through Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Jazz For Young People Program, Juilliard’s Educational Outreach Program, and Juilliard’s jazz summer programs.
ULYSSES OWENS JR. Ulysses Owens Jr. is an artist “who takes a backseat to no one” (The New York Times), a label that seemingly describes his remarkable ascent as one of today’s premier drummers, or perhaps, his evolution as a producer, composer, educator, and entrepreneur. Owens is steadily establishing himself as a leader in his generation of jazz artists, admired for his sensitive, fiery, and complex playing, vivid display of textural nuance, and gift for propelling a band with charisma and integrity. Both humble in person and imposing behind a kit, Owens is a two-time Grammy Award winner who has earned his stripes as a member of bassist Christian McBride’s acclaimed trio and the driving force of Mc-
Owens received his first Grammy award in 2010 for his performance on Kurt Elling’s Dedicated To You album, and his second Grammy award for the Christian McBride Big Band album The Good Feeling. He has also received four Grammy nominations for additional work with Christian McBride and Joey Alexander, and he has toured and recorded alongside Wynton Marsalis, Diane Schuur, Renee Fleming, Monty Alexander, Russell Malone, Mulgrew Miller, and more. As an entrepreneur and curator, Ulysses served as Artistic Director for The Abyssinian Baptist Church’s Jazz Vesper Series for three seasons, presenting a vast array of artists from Regina Carter to Cyrus Chestnut, and many others. Upon the conclusion of that concert series, Owens was tapped by International Restaurateur Alexander Smalls to be the Artistic Music Curator for the fall 2015 music series at the Legendary Minton’s Jazz Club in Harlem, programming over 85 shows in three months. In addition to his educational duties at Don’t Miss A Beat, Owens’ own organization, Owens was asked by Wynton Marsalis, and Aaron Flagg to join the Faculty at The Juilliard School, serving as Small Ensemble Coach in the Jazz Studies Program and working with some of the most gifted students in the world. In the summer of 2015, he was recommended by Wynton Marsalis and Jazz at Lincoln Center to compose a work for the Museum of Modern Art Summer-Garden Series, and he premiered “Stages Of Us”, a sevenmovement suite, at their sculpture garden. Additional accolades include a 2015 Jazz At Lincoln Center Swing Award, a 2014 Global Music Award, a 2013 ASCAP Plus Award, being designated as a 2014 Downbeat Rising Star, and appearing as a TEDXJacksonville
performer. He continues touring extensively and remains in demand for new projects.
The Hot Sardines Continued from pg. 33
Quality is timeless – just ask The Hot Sardines. In the talented hands of the New York-based ensemble, music first made famous decades ago comes alive through their brassy horn arrangements, rollicking piano melodies, and vocals from a chanteuse who transports listeners to a different era with the mere lilt of her voice. On French Fries & Champagne, The Hot Sardines’ new album for Universal Music Classics, the jazz collective broadens its already impressive palette, combining covers and originals as they effortlessly channel New York speakeasies, Parisian cabarets, and New Orleans jazz halls. Bandleader Evan Palazzo and lead singer Elizabeth Bougerol met in 2007 after they both answered a Craigslist ad about a jazz jam session above a Manhattan noodle shop. The unlikely pair — she was a London School of Economics-educated travel writer who grew up in France, Canada, and the Ivory Coast, and he was a New York City-bornand-raised actor who studied theater at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia — bonded over their love for Fats Waller. Influenced also by such greats as Dinah Washington, Louis Armstrong, and Billie Holiday, they began playing open mic nights and small 2016 Fall Program 57
* Fall under our spell*
Tallahassee symphony orchesTra s 2016-17 concerT season all concerTs Take place in ruby DiamonD concerT hall
Season Opener: Roberts and Romeo Saturday, September 17, 2016 s 8:00p.m. s Marcus Roberts, piano
ROBERTS Untitled Concerto for Jazz Trio and Orchestra s BERNSTEIN Symphonic Dances from West Side Story TCHAIKOVSKY Romeo and Juliet Overture—Fantasia s GERSHWIN Rhapsody in Blue
Bohemian Rhapsody Saturday, October 22, 2016 s 8:00p.m. s Corinne Stillwell, violin
TSINTSADZE Five Georgian Miniatures s TCHAIKOVSKY Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 35 s DVORAK Symphony No. 8 in G major, Op. 88
HolidayMagic! Saturday, December 17, 2016 s 8:00p.m. | Sunday, December 18, 2016 s 2:30p.m. Mozart in theJungle
Saturday, January 21, 2017 s 8:00p.m.
MOZART Symphony No. 25, K. 183 s MOZART set of arias, TBD s MOZART Symphony No. 41, K. 551, the “Jupiter”
Earth, Wind, and Fire Saturday, May 6, 2017 s 8:00p.m. s R. Carlos Nakai, Native American Flute
MARQUEZ Danzón No. 2 s NAKAI Selections for Native American Flute and Orchestra s STRAVINSKY The Rite of Spring
W W W .T A L L A H A S S E E S Y M P H O N Y. O R G
gigs. By 2011, they headlined Midsummer Night Swing at New York’s Lincoln Center. The Hot Sardines’ self-titled debut album, named by iTunes as one of the best jazz albums of 2014, spent more than a year on the Billboard Jazz Chart, debuting in the top 10 alongside Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga. Accolades began pouring in for the band: Downbeat called The Hot Sardines “one of the most delightfully energetic bands on New York’s ‘hot’ music scene,” while The London Times praised their “crisp musicianship” and “immaculate and witty showmanship,” declaring them “simply phenomenal.” “We found ourselves in the perfect place at the perfect time,” says Palazzo. “As we explored this 100 year-old jazz, we began to look at it as a journey forward, not so much as a look back. This is music for today, not a museum piece.” Indeed, “People Will Say We’re In Love” from the Rodgers & Hammerstein musical Oklahoma! gets reinvented as a tart tango. Jazz standard “Comes Love” starts as a minuet 58
Opening Nights Performing Arts
before vocalist Bougerol, singing in her native French, conjures up spirits of 1930s Paris. The Hot Sardines even upend Robert Palmer’s 1985 classic “Addicted To Love” with Bougerol’s cool vocals and hot horn arrangements.
we loved it,” Bougerol says. “Cut to a few years later and we were invited to play with the Boston Pops. We came up with the idea of half of the album being lushed out with strings, and on the other half, going back to our roots.”
Alan Cumming pairs with Bougerol for a mischievous take on “When I Get Low, I Get High,” a song popularized by Ella Fitzgerald. The Emmy-winning actor (The Good Wife) came to mind as Bougerol, Palazzo and producer Eli Wolf (Elvis Costello, Al Green, Norah Jones) conceptualized the album. “When I saw him in the revival of Cabaret, I knew we had to ask him,” Bougerol says. “Turns out he was already a fan of the band, and he said yes right away. It was so much fun and a real honor.”
The name is also a reflection of the times, as lines blur between high and low culture, luxury and comfort. “The old rules — that champagne goes with caviar, or couture and takeout don’t mix –- are out the window. You see it everywhere — fashion, travel, food,” says Bougerol. “Just be yourself and do what you like,” adds Palazzo. “Which is really how we approach playing music.”
The album title celebrates the duality of The Hot Sardines, reflecting both their glamorous and gritty sides. “When we started out as a band, we played illegal parties in these secret spots in Brooklyn. Down and dirty, and that was one of the reasons
The title track is a reminder that when the going gets tough, a little decadence is a balm for the soul. About the pair’s original song, Bougerol says, “I wanted to write something that could be taken as the end of a love affair, but with a second layer that expressed what we’re all feeling,” she says. “These are uncertain times. When everything seems hopeless, throw a party.”
... when the going gets tough, a little decadence is a balm for the soul. It’s one of several originals on the album, including Palazzo’s instrumental homage to his old neighborhood, “Gramercy Sunset,” and “Here You Are Again,” a woozy, country-leaning track written by Bougerol about “that person in your life who you can’t seem to break up with,” she says. “I got to play a little bit of Hammond organ on that track,” adds Palazzo. “It was in the corner of the studio, and it called me over.” Among the album’s other highlights is a high-voltage version of “Running Wild,” a song from the ’20s that film buffs will recognize from director Billy Wilder’s 1959 classic Some Like It Hot. The new arrangement allows each of The Hot Sardines’ accomplished musicians to stretch out. “It also has some Ray Charles moves, which I love to explore,” Palazzo says.
On this record, Palazzo and Bougerol tapped a few members of the ensemble to create and collaborate on specific arrangements, including trumpet Jason Prover, drummer Alex Raderman, saxophone and clarinet Nick Myers, and trombone and cornet Mike Sailors. “Though we all mesh, each member of the band really has his own style, his own wheelhouse. We wanted to draw that out more on this album,” says Bougerol. The Hot Sardines played more than 100 shows last year, taking their act from their familiar confines of New York across the country. And, to no one’s surprise but their own, they were greeted by music lovers everywhere. “It never really occurred to me that anyone was listening to us outside of New York City. To show up in a town and have people say, ‘I love this song. I love this video’ is mind-blowing to me,” says Boug-
erol, who adds she remembers the towns by the food, seeking out “whatever that region does really well — we’re constantly in the tour van, researching mom-and-pop places in the next town.” In New York City, The Hot Sardines draw a young audience. Throughout the rest of the country, multi-generations come to enjoy the music. “We’ll see daughters, mothers, and grandmothers coming to our show together,” Palazzo says. “In Long Island, a young girl came up to Bougerol with a can of sardines to sign. She was 7!” In the hot jazz movement, The Hot Sardines stand apart for the innovation, verve, and sheer joy they bring to music, both new and old. “It’s a really cool time to be making music,” Bougerol says. “Especially if you’re making music that started its life 100 years ago.” 2016 Fall Program 59
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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS WHERE DO I PARK? Parking options vary from venue to venue, but general parking is available for the majority of performances in the garages on the corner of Pensacola and Copeland Streets (St. Augustine Garage) and Call and Macomb Streets (Call Street Garage). To learn more about parking specific to each venue, please visit our website at openingnights.fsu.edu.
ONLINE openingnights.fsu.edu $3.00 Ticket Office processing fee per ticket
WHEN DO DOORS OPEN? Venue doors open 30 minutes prior to a performance. Guests are encouraged to arrive at least 15 minutes before a performance begins.
WHAT HAPPENS IF I ARRIVE LATE TO A PERFORMANCE? Latecomers to events will be seated at the discretion of the house manager or ushers and in accordance with artist preferences at a suitable break in the performance.
WHAT IF I’VE LOST MY TICKETS?
BY PHONE 850.644.6500 $3.00 Ticket Office processing fee per ticket
Lost or misplaced tickets may be reprinted. Contact the FSU Fine Arts Ticket Office at tickets@fsu.edu or 850.644.6500 for details.
CAN I REFUND MY TICKETS? Opening Nights does not issue refunds for tickets.
MAY I BRING FOOD OR DRINKS INTO THE VENUE? Most Opening Nights venues prohibit food and drinks unless otherwise noted. Please visit our website to find out if food and/or beverages are permitted at your event of interest.
CAN I BRING MY CHILDREN?
IN PERSON Florida State University Fine Arts Ticket Office No processing fee per ticket 530 W. Call Street Tuesday–Saturday, 11:00 am–4:00 pm
We offer many events enjoyable to audiences of all ages. Children must have tickets regardless of age and must be able to sit quietly throughout a performance. Children (and adults) who cause any disturbances will be politely asked to leave.
ARE EVENTS ACCESSIBLE TO PATRONS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS? We are committed to ensuring our performances are accessible and enjoyable to all patrons. Disabled parking spots are available at all venues on a first-come first-serve basis. Accessible seats are available in all price ranges in all venues. Please contact the Fine Arts Ticket Office at 850.644.6500 to purchase tickets. Seats for visually impaired patrons are reserved for each performance. Please contact the Fine Arts Ticket Office at 850.644.6500 to purchase tickets. Assistive listening devices (ALDs) are available at many venues, including Ruby Diamond Concert Hall, the Nancy Smith Fichter Dance Theatre, and the Richard G. Fallon Theatre. Please ask a house manager at the performance about acquiring an ALD.
STUDENT TICKETS AV AILABLE F OR MOST P E RFORM ANC ES
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HOW CAN I VOLUNTEER MY TIME TO HELP OPENING NIGHTS? Please visit our website to fill out a registration form. 2016 Fall Program 61
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Opening Nights Performing Arts
UPCOMING PERFORMANCES WINTER 2017
JANUARY 17
Branford Marsalis Quartet with Kurt Elling
FEBRUARY 1
Shake ‘Em on Down (Film)
FEBRUARY 3
Amy Helm & The Handsome Strangers with Matt Andersen
FEBRUARY 10
FEBRUARY 13
JANUARY 23
FEBRUARY 4
FEBRUARY 6
Nora Jane Struthers & The Party Line with Kelsey Waldon
Chris Botti
Upcoming 2017 shows – The Wayne Shorter Quartet, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Manual Cinema, Patti LuPone, & more!
Marc Maron
Vocalosity
FEBRUARY 8
Twyla Tharp Dance
FEBRUARY 12
Smokey Robinson
FEBRUARY 14
JANUARY 24
Tom Segura
FEBRUARY 11 & 12
Lily Tomlin
Richard Thompson & The Blind Boys of Alabama
JANUARY 22
Jeanne Robertson
Mandolin Orange
FEBRUARY 15
Lang Lang
FEBRUARY 23
Pablo Sáinz Villegas
850.644.6500 openingnights.fsu.edu