Philadelphia, PA—The Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, one of the nation's preeminent urban performing arts centers on a major university campus, celebrates 40 years of presenting world-renowned and emerging artists and companies during the 11/12 season. The home of Dance Celebration, the Philadelphia International Children's Festival, and the very stage where legendary Broadway directors Harold Prince and Joseph Papp premiered award-winning theatre productions, the Annenberg Center has brought some of the world's greatest musicians, dance troupes and theatre productions to millions of Philadelphians since opening its doors in 1971.
Featuring seven distinct performance series that juxtapose tradition with the cutting edge, the 11/12 season pays homage to the Annenberg Center's rich history of presenting artists from all corners of the globe, and marks the introduction of Asian and Latin Roots series. The upcoming season includes 75 performances plus the Philadelphia International Children's Festival and runs from September 16, 2011—May 19, 2012. Subscriptions to the 11/12 season are on sale now and can be purchased online by visiting AnnenbergCenter.org, over the phone by calling 215.898.3900 or by visiting the Annenberg Center Box Office. Single tickets will be on sale in September.
“This is a beacon year for the Annenberg Center and all that it has stood for and achieved over the past four decades as one of Philadelphia's cultural treasures," notes Managing Director, Dr. Michael J. Rose. “With a dedication to excellence and innovation in the performing arts, to new forms of audience engagement, and to support for a diverse and thriving cultural community, the Center proudly reaffirms its core belief in the power of the arts to transform lives. Emphasizing unity in diversity, tradition and innovation, and the integration of arts and ideas, the new season features brilliantly talented artists and thought-provoking work from across the nation and around the world to challenge and inspire new and returning audiences and connect the University with its great city."
JAZZ
One of the best places in the city to hear jazz, the Annenberg Center once again features a stellar array of jazz performances. Sophisticated complexity contrasts with refined simplicity when Brad Mehldau, one of today's most adventurous jazz pianists, teams up with prodigious tenor saxophonist Joshua Redman (October 14, 2011). The two first performed together in Redman's acclaimed quartet during the '90s. Since that time, both Grammy® Award nominated musicians have reached international and critical acclaim, while forging their own distinctive voices as modern jazz icons.
Jazz pianist and composer Hiromi has electrified audiences and critics on both hemispheres with a creative energy that defies the conventional parameters of jazz. Heralded as one of the brightest new lights on today's piano jazz landscape, she has at just 26 years of age performed with jazz greats including Chick Corea and Stanley Clarke and released five albums. Audiences will not want to miss this “forceful presence on any stage" (New York Times), when she makes her Annenberg Center debut (November 12, 2011).
The second son of John and Alice Coltrane, Ravi Coltrane has made a name for himself as a critically acclaimed and Grammy®-nominated tenor and soprano saxophonist, bandleader and composer. He has played alongside a who's who of jazz, including his father's accompanists in the 1960s—Elvin Jones, McCoy Tyner and Pharoah Sanders—as well as Carlos Santana, Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, John McLaughlin, Branford Marsalis, and many others. Coltrane will be joined on stage by the Ravi Coltrane Quartet, a dynamic band whose members include pianist Luis Perdomo, bassist Drew Gress and drummer E.J. Strickland (January 14, 2012).
The youngest son of New Orleans's first family of jazz, Jason Marsalis has been leading his vibes quartet for three years now, not only performing his new compositions, but also using the group to help expose audiences to classic pieces and music by new composers that he finds sorely underperformed. Their combined musical feats, with both the old standards and new gems, connect the bandstand with the audience in a way the Chicago Tribune describes as “deeply satisfying." The second half of the program features another performer who is a descendant of famous musical lineage. Simone, daughter of famed vocalist Nina Simone, is a highly-praised live performer in her own right whose impressive resume includes starring roles on Broadway in such acclaimed musicals as Rent and Aida. This special double bill performance takes place on March 17, 2012.
Celebrate the music of Old Blue Eyes during an evening accented with richly told stories of a fascinating moment in time by one of the world's foremost jazz vocalists Kurt Elling in Kurt Elling Swings Sinatra (April 28, 2012). The Washington Post raves, “Since the mid-1990s, no singer in jazz has been as daring, dynamic or interesting as Kurt Elling. With his soaring vocal flights, his edgy lyrics and sense of being on a musical mission, he has come to embody the creative spirit in jazz."
AFRICAN ROOTS
Still Black, Still Proud: An African Tribute to James Brown (November 20, 2011) celebrates the lasting legacy of the “Godfather of Soul," while exploring the deep relationship between soul, funk and modern African music. Interspersing traditional African music with Brown's extensive back catalogue, the band, featuring original James Brown band members led by Pee Wee Ellis and featuring a host of stars including Maceo Parker, Vusi Mahlasela and Cheikh Lo, will bring the house down with interpretations of classics like “I Got You (I Feel Good)" and “Say It Loud: I'm Black and Proud."
Cultural ambassadors and advocates for Uganda's 2.4 million orphans, the internationally renowned ensemble Spirit of Uganda presents an exciting and uplifting program of traditional East African music, song, stories, and dance (March 16, 2012). Returning to the Annenberg Center for the first time since 2008, these outstanding young performers, aged 8 to 18, combine drums and other percussion instruments, stirring call-and-response vocals, vibrant and colorful traditional costumes, and incredible, high-energy dancing.
Kenge Kenge is an eight-person ensemble from Nairobi, Kenya, that specializes in benga, a traditional folk rhythm that dates to the 1940s. Most recognizable in the United States for their YouTube performance of the song “Obama for Change" that went viral during the 2008 Presidential election, the group makes its Annenberg Center debut with a performance featuring hand-made acoustic instruments and a sound that is compulsively danceable and exhilarating (May 4, 2012). Kenge Kenge will also perform as part of the Philadelphia International Children's Festival (May 3-5, 2012).
LATIN ROOTS
Two jazz legends unite under one roof when the Annenberg Center presents a very special double bill performance by Omar Sosa Afreecanos Quartet and Jerry Gonzalez and the Fort Apache Band (October 28, 2011). One of the most versatile jazz artists on the scene today, Omar Sosa is a highly recognized composer, arranger, producer, pianist, percussionist and bandleader. He fuses a wide range of world music and electronic elements with his native Afro-Cuban roots to create a fresh and original urban sound—all with a Latin jazz heart. Legendary trumpet player Jerry Gonzalez and the Fort Apache Band have dedicated themselves to the mission of playing uncompromised Afro-Caribbean Jazz and have become one of the most respected and exciting ensembles in modern music. The San Francisco Examiner proclaims, “Fort Apache's music is great listening, great jazz, and great fun. They don't hardly make 'em like this any more."
Celebrate the holidays in true Latin style with the thrilling 13-piece, Grammy® award-winning salsa band Spanish Harlem Orchestra (December 3, 2011). Performing a unique repertoire of salsa music inspired by its 20th century roots, the Spanish Harlem Orchestra—named for a little slice of New York City that gave rise to jazz great Tito Puente—revives salsa rhythms and melodies using an incredible percussion section, unbelievable horns and powerful singers. Using both original compositions and arrangements of salsa classics, world-renowned pianist, arranger, producer and bandleader Oscar Hernández will put the group's signature Latin flair on traditional classics in this family-friendly event.
Nine-time Grammy® Award winner Eddie Palmieri has a musical career that spans over 50 years as a groundbreaking pianist, composer/arranger, and bandleader of celebrated Salsa and Latin jazz orchestras, as well as smaller ensembles. The Annenberg Center honors the charismatic power and bold innovative drive of the Latin jazz legend in a special one-night-only 75th Birthday Celebration performance (February 4, 2012). A true powerhouse of brilliance, known for his astute arranging skills and historic compositions, Palmieri has shown that time is infinite with respect to his repertoire as he continues to thrill audiences throughout the world with his legendary style.
ASIAN ROOTS
Indian classical dancer Shantala Shivalingappa (November 5, 2011) makes her Annenberg Center debut in Shiva Ganga, an evening-length work exploring the balance between the energies of the Hindu god Shiva and the goddess Ganga. One of the world's preeminent interpreters of Kuchipudi, a 2,000-year-old classical Indian dance style, Shivalingappa has capitivated audiences worldwide with the vibrant, precise storytelling embodied in her performances and has been praised as “divinely gifted" and “intoxicating" by the New York Times. Shivalingappa will be accompanied on stage by four master musicians who will perform on Nattuvangam (cymbals), Mridangam (percussion), flute and chant. This performance is co-presented by Sruti, the India Music and Dance Society of Philadelphia.
World-renowned tabla (North Indian concert drum) musician Zakir Hussain has brought the tabla to the mainstream through his brilliant and exciting collaborations with international artists, such as Yo-Yo Ma, Béla Fleck and the Grateful Dead. A national treasure in his own country of India, and widely considered the chief architect in the world music movement in the West, Hussain makes his long-awaited Annenberg Center debut (April 7, 2012). Masters of Percussion is an outgrowth of Hussain's celebrated tabla duet tours with his father, the legendary Ustad Allarakha, and has been presented in the West by Hussain since 1996. It features a changing feast of drummers and musicians from India who are both his longtime and recent collaborators.
Featuring seven distinct performance series that juxtapose tradition with the cutting edge, the 11/12 season pays homage to the Annenberg Center's rich history of presenting artists from all corners of the globe, and marks the introduction of Asian and Latin Roots series. The upcoming season includes 75 performances plus the Philadelphia International Children's Festival and runs from September 16, 2011—May 19, 2012. Subscriptions to the 11/12 season are on sale now and can be purchased online by visiting AnnenbergCenter.org, over the phone by calling 215.898.3900 or by visiting the Annenberg Center Box Office. Single tickets will be on sale in September.
“This is a beacon year for the Annenberg Center and all that it has stood for and achieved over the past four decades as one of Philadelphia's cultural treasures," notes Managing Director, Dr. Michael J. Rose. “With a dedication to excellence and innovation in the performing arts, to new forms of audience engagement, and to support for a diverse and thriving cultural community, the Center proudly reaffirms its core belief in the power of the arts to transform lives. Emphasizing unity in diversity, tradition and innovation, and the integration of arts and ideas, the new season features brilliantly talented artists and thought-provoking work from across the nation and around the world to challenge and inspire new and returning audiences and connect the University with its great city."
JAZZ
One of the best places in the city to hear jazz, the Annenberg Center once again features a stellar array of jazz performances. Sophisticated complexity contrasts with refined simplicity when Brad Mehldau, one of today's most adventurous jazz pianists, teams up with prodigious tenor saxophonist Joshua Redman (October 14, 2011). The two first performed together in Redman's acclaimed quartet during the '90s. Since that time, both Grammy® Award nominated musicians have reached international and critical acclaim, while forging their own distinctive voices as modern jazz icons.
Jazz pianist and composer Hiromi has electrified audiences and critics on both hemispheres with a creative energy that defies the conventional parameters of jazz. Heralded as one of the brightest new lights on today's piano jazz landscape, she has at just 26 years of age performed with jazz greats including Chick Corea and Stanley Clarke and released five albums. Audiences will not want to miss this “forceful presence on any stage" (New York Times), when she makes her Annenberg Center debut (November 12, 2011).
The second son of John and Alice Coltrane, Ravi Coltrane has made a name for himself as a critically acclaimed and Grammy®-nominated tenor and soprano saxophonist, bandleader and composer. He has played alongside a who's who of jazz, including his father's accompanists in the 1960s—Elvin Jones, McCoy Tyner and Pharoah Sanders—as well as Carlos Santana, Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, John McLaughlin, Branford Marsalis, and many others. Coltrane will be joined on stage by the Ravi Coltrane Quartet, a dynamic band whose members include pianist Luis Perdomo, bassist Drew Gress and drummer E.J. Strickland (January 14, 2012).
The youngest son of New Orleans's first family of jazz, Jason Marsalis has been leading his vibes quartet for three years now, not only performing his new compositions, but also using the group to help expose audiences to classic pieces and music by new composers that he finds sorely underperformed. Their combined musical feats, with both the old standards and new gems, connect the bandstand with the audience in a way the Chicago Tribune describes as “deeply satisfying." The second half of the program features another performer who is a descendant of famous musical lineage. Simone, daughter of famed vocalist Nina Simone, is a highly-praised live performer in her own right whose impressive resume includes starring roles on Broadway in such acclaimed musicals as Rent and Aida. This special double bill performance takes place on March 17, 2012.
Celebrate the music of Old Blue Eyes during an evening accented with richly told stories of a fascinating moment in time by one of the world's foremost jazz vocalists Kurt Elling in Kurt Elling Swings Sinatra (April 28, 2012). The Washington Post raves, “Since the mid-1990s, no singer in jazz has been as daring, dynamic or interesting as Kurt Elling. With his soaring vocal flights, his edgy lyrics and sense of being on a musical mission, he has come to embody the creative spirit in jazz."
AFRICAN ROOTS
Still Black, Still Proud: An African Tribute to James Brown (November 20, 2011) celebrates the lasting legacy of the “Godfather of Soul," while exploring the deep relationship between soul, funk and modern African music. Interspersing traditional African music with Brown's extensive back catalogue, the band, featuring original James Brown band members led by Pee Wee Ellis and featuring a host of stars including Maceo Parker, Vusi Mahlasela and Cheikh Lo, will bring the house down with interpretations of classics like “I Got You (I Feel Good)" and “Say It Loud: I'm Black and Proud."
Cultural ambassadors and advocates for Uganda's 2.4 million orphans, the internationally renowned ensemble Spirit of Uganda presents an exciting and uplifting program of traditional East African music, song, stories, and dance (March 16, 2012). Returning to the Annenberg Center for the first time since 2008, these outstanding young performers, aged 8 to 18, combine drums and other percussion instruments, stirring call-and-response vocals, vibrant and colorful traditional costumes, and incredible, high-energy dancing.
Kenge Kenge is an eight-person ensemble from Nairobi, Kenya, that specializes in benga, a traditional folk rhythm that dates to the 1940s. Most recognizable in the United States for their YouTube performance of the song “Obama for Change" that went viral during the 2008 Presidential election, the group makes its Annenberg Center debut with a performance featuring hand-made acoustic instruments and a sound that is compulsively danceable and exhilarating (May 4, 2012). Kenge Kenge will also perform as part of the Philadelphia International Children's Festival (May 3-5, 2012).
LATIN ROOTS
Two jazz legends unite under one roof when the Annenberg Center presents a very special double bill performance by Omar Sosa Afreecanos Quartet and Jerry Gonzalez and the Fort Apache Band (October 28, 2011). One of the most versatile jazz artists on the scene today, Omar Sosa is a highly recognized composer, arranger, producer, pianist, percussionist and bandleader. He fuses a wide range of world music and electronic elements with his native Afro-Cuban roots to create a fresh and original urban sound—all with a Latin jazz heart. Legendary trumpet player Jerry Gonzalez and the Fort Apache Band have dedicated themselves to the mission of playing uncompromised Afro-Caribbean Jazz and have become one of the most respected and exciting ensembles in modern music. The San Francisco Examiner proclaims, “Fort Apache's music is great listening, great jazz, and great fun. They don't hardly make 'em like this any more."
Celebrate the holidays in true Latin style with the thrilling 13-piece, Grammy® award-winning salsa band Spanish Harlem Orchestra (December 3, 2011). Performing a unique repertoire of salsa music inspired by its 20th century roots, the Spanish Harlem Orchestra—named for a little slice of New York City that gave rise to jazz great Tito Puente—revives salsa rhythms and melodies using an incredible percussion section, unbelievable horns and powerful singers. Using both original compositions and arrangements of salsa classics, world-renowned pianist, arranger, producer and bandleader Oscar Hernández will put the group's signature Latin flair on traditional classics in this family-friendly event.
Nine-time Grammy® Award winner Eddie Palmieri has a musical career that spans over 50 years as a groundbreaking pianist, composer/arranger, and bandleader of celebrated Salsa and Latin jazz orchestras, as well as smaller ensembles. The Annenberg Center honors the charismatic power and bold innovative drive of the Latin jazz legend in a special one-night-only 75th Birthday Celebration performance (February 4, 2012). A true powerhouse of brilliance, known for his astute arranging skills and historic compositions, Palmieri has shown that time is infinite with respect to his repertoire as he continues to thrill audiences throughout the world with his legendary style.
ASIAN ROOTS
Indian classical dancer Shantala Shivalingappa (November 5, 2011) makes her Annenberg Center debut in Shiva Ganga, an evening-length work exploring the balance between the energies of the Hindu god Shiva and the goddess Ganga. One of the world's preeminent interpreters of Kuchipudi, a 2,000-year-old classical Indian dance style, Shivalingappa has capitivated audiences worldwide with the vibrant, precise storytelling embodied in her performances and has been praised as “divinely gifted" and “intoxicating" by the New York Times. Shivalingappa will be accompanied on stage by four master musicians who will perform on Nattuvangam (cymbals), Mridangam (percussion), flute and chant. This performance is co-presented by Sruti, the India Music and Dance Society of Philadelphia.
World-renowned tabla (North Indian concert drum) musician Zakir Hussain has brought the tabla to the mainstream through his brilliant and exciting collaborations with international artists, such as Yo-Yo Ma, Béla Fleck and the Grateful Dead. A national treasure in his own country of India, and widely considered the chief architect in the world music movement in the West, Hussain makes his long-awaited Annenberg Center debut (April 7, 2012). Masters of Percussion is an outgrowth of Hussain's celebrated tabla duet tours with his father, the legendary Ustad Allarakha, and has been presented in the West by Hussain since 1996. It features a changing feast of drummers and musicians from India who are both his longtime and recent collaborators.
