Tickets On Sale May 17 for Summer Events at Wesleyan University's Center for the Arts
Summer Events to Include Performances by
Kenny Barron Trio, Trey McIntyre Project,
Pablo Mayor's Folklore Urbano Orchestra, and
Marc Bamuthi Joseph / The Living Word Project
Tickets On Sale Tuesday, May 17
Middletown, Conn., May 10, 2011— Wesleyan University’s Center for the Arts, under the direction of Pamela Tatge, has announced their summer series, which includes appearances by Kenny Barron Trio (July 7), Marc Bamuthi Joseph / The Living Word Project (July 14), and Trey McIntyre Project (July 21 & 22); free performances by Pablo Mayor’s Folklore Urbano Orchestra (June 30), Abraham.In.Motion: Live! The Realest MC (July 12), Neely Bruce Plays the Piano Music of William Duckworth (July 12), and They Might Be Gypsies (July 19); and free noontime talks James Grashow: Art and Cardboard (June 28) and Susan Campbell: Telling Your Own Story (July 26). Please see full event listings below.
Tickets for Kenny Barron Trio, Marc Bamuthi Joseph / The Living Word Project, and Trey McIntyre Project go on sale Tuesday, May 17, 2011. Tickets will be available online at www.wesleyan.edu/cfa, by phone at (860) 685-3355, or in person at the Wesleyan University Box Office, located in the Usdan University Center, 45 Wyllys Avenue, Middletown, CT. Tickets may also be purchased at each event beginning one hour prior to the performance, subject to availability. The Center for the Arts accepts cash, checks written to “Wesleyan University”, and all major credit cards. Groups of ten or more may receive a discount – please call (860) 685-3355 for details. No refunds, cancellations, or exchanges.
All programs, artists and dates are subject to change. Outdoor events will be moved indoors in the event of rain. All Center for the Arts facilities are air-conditioned. Summer at the Center for the Arts is co-sponsored by the Capital Regional Education Council’s Center for Creative Youth. Artist residencies are made possible by the Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism.
Summer at the Center for the Arts (June 28-July 26, 2011)
Type: Art Talk
Title of Event: James Grashow: Art And Cardboard
Location: CFA Hall
Date: Tuesday, June 28, 2011 at Noon
Fee: Free
Phone: 860-685-3355
Website: www.wesleyan.edu/cfa
Description: Connecticut artist James Grashow has been creating works that address themes of man, nature and mortality since his first sculpture show at the Allan Stone Gallery in 1966. He will discuss his current work, Corrugated Fountain, inspired by the Roman fountains of the Baroque sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini.
“You don’t need to go to Rome to see the Trevi Fountain anymore.”
—New York Daily News
Type: Music
Title of Event: Pablo Mayor’s Folklore Urbano Orchestra
Location: CFA Courtyard (Rain location: Crowell Concert Hall)
Date: Thursday, June 30, 2011 at 7pm
Fee: Free
Phone: 860-685-3355
Website: www.wesleyan.edu/cfa
Description: Composer, arranger, and pianist Pablo Mayor’s Folklore Urbano Orchestra redefines modern Colombian music, fusing the danceable swing of traditional percussion rhythms with the contemporary jazz harmonies of his group’s soaring vocalists and blistering horn section.
“This 12-piece Colombian groove band plays [music] that is at the same time danceable, festive, and intriguing.”
—National Geographic
Type: Music
Title of Event: Kenny Barron Trio
Location: Crowell Concert Hall
Date: Thursday, July 7, 2011 at 8pm
Fee: $20 general public, $18 senior citizens, Wesleyan faculty/staff, $10 students
Phone: 860-685-3355
Website: www.wesleyan.edu/cfa
Description: Grammy-nominated pianist Kenny Barron‘s elegant playing, sensitive melodies and infectious rhythms have been heard over thepast five decades with Dizzy Gillespie, Yusef Lateef, Ron Carter, Stan Getz,Charlie Haden, and many other artists. Named a National Endowment for the Arts “Jazz Master” in 2010, Mr. Barron will perform with bassist Kiyoshi Kitagawa and drummer Johnathan Blake.
"One of the top jazz pianists in the world."
—The Los Angeles Times
Type: Dance
Title of Event: Abraham.In.Motion: Live! The Realest MC
Location: Crowell Concert Hall
Date: Tuesday, July 12, 2011 at Noon
Fee: Free
Phone: 860-685-3355
Website: www.wesleyan.edu/cfa
Description: Choreographer Kyle Abraham and his ensemble Abraham.In.Motion present excerpts from Live! The Realest MC, a new work that re-imagines the classic Pinocchio in an urban environment. Inspired by the duality of Pinocchio's plight to be a "real boy", the darkly humorous, abstracted narrative investigates gender roles in the black community, and societal perspectives of the quest for acceptance in the world of hip hop celebrity. Kyle Abraham is the 2011 Danspace / Institute for Curatorial Practice in Performance Artist in Residence.
“The best and brightest creative talent to emerge in New York City in the age of Obama.”
—Out magazine
Type: Music
Title of Event: Neely Bruce Plays the Piano Music of William Duckworth
Location: Crowell Concert Hall
Date: Tuesday, July 12, 2011 at 7:30pm
Fee: Free
Phone: 860-685-3355
Website: www.wesleyan.edu/cfa
Description: Wesleyan University Professor of Music and American Studies Neely Bruce revisits his 1980 recital of piano music composed by William Duckworth, which included his Walden Variations as well as the premiere of The Time Curve Preludes, considered the first work of post-minimalism.
"That [The Time Curve Preludes] isn’t more widely recognized as one of the 20th century’s major piano works is puzzling."
—The New York Times
Type: Theater
Title of Event: Marc Bamuthi Joseph / The Living Word Project
Location: CFA Theater
Date: Thursday, July 14, 2011 at 8pm
Fee: $15 general public, $13 senior citizens, Wesleyan faculty/staff, $10 students
Phone: 860-685-3355
Website: www.wesleyan.edu/cfa
Description: One of the brightest lights in hip hop theater, Marc Bamuthi Joseph will combine dance, poetry, music and visual art as he performs excerpts from Word Becomes Flesh, documenting letters from a young single father to his unborn son, as well as the work-in progress red, black and GREEN: a blues (rbGb), about the eco-equity movement towards green collar jobs in black neighborhoods.
“Marc Bamuthi Joseph belongs to the rare breed of artists who can kindle political and cultural awareness while delivering a highly entertaining performance. “
—The Philadelphia Inquirer
Type: Music
Title of Event: They Might Be Gypsies
Location: Crowell Concert Hall
Date: Tuesday, July 19, 2011 at Noon
Fee: Free
Phone: 860-685-3355
Website: www.wesleyan.edu/cfa
Description: The high-energy Vermont-based band They Might Be Gypsies, led by the duo of Greg Ryan and his 15 year-old son Aidan, is inspired by the 1930s jazz of Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli, as well as modern influences from Argentina to Barcelona.
"Intense, thoughtful and spirited music.”
—Times Argus (Vermont)
Type: Dance
Title of Event: Trey McIntyre Project
Location: CFA Theater
Date: Thursday, July 21 & Friday, July 22, 2011 at 8pm
Fee: $22 general public, $19 senior citizens, Wesleyan faculty/staff, $10 students
Phone: 860-685-3355
Website: www.wesleyan.edu/cfa
Description: The Trey McIntyre Project, a contemporary ballet company from Boise, Idaho founded in 2004, presents the New England premiere of works set to music by the Preservation Hall Jazz Band - Ma Maison (2008), depicting a joyful New Orleans funeral procession/street party, and The Sweeter End (2011), inspired by the ongoing recovery from Hurricane Katrina.
“Trey McIntyre has emerged over the past decade as one of the hottest choreographers in the dance world.”
—The Boston Globe
Type: Writing Talk
Title of Event: Susan Campbell: Telling Your Own Story
Location: CFA Hall
Date: Tuesday, July 26, 2011 at Noon
Fee: Free
Phone: 860-685-3355
Website: www.wesleyan.edu/cfa
Description: An award-winningcolumnist at the Hartford Courant.Susan Campbell won a 2010 Connecticut Book Award for her memoir Dating Jesus: A Story of Fundamentalism, Feminism, and the American Girl. She has appeared on NPR and the BBC, as well as CBS’ Sunday Morning.
"Her writing is striking for the compassion with which she views her younger self, a fledgling believer confined in a cage of man-made rules."
—More magazine