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| Michael Bolton visits Strathmore March 2, 2014 |
From our friends at Strathmore...
Strathmore today announces its 2013-2014 season, anchored by the distinguished and virtuosic voices of women at the pinnacle of their craft—from stage to film, television and literature. Booming voices from Broadway will fill the acoustically pristine Music Center, including Sutton Foster, Maureen McGovern, Donna McKechnie, Andrea McArdle and Faith Prince. Fellow stage and television luminary Olympia Dukakis reads from the one-woman play, Rose. A vital and innovative presence in the music culture of Washington, the beloved Sweet Honey in the Rock celebrates the group’s ruby anniversary with Sweet Honey in the Rock 40th Anniversary Celebration: Forty and Fierce! Jazz chanteuse Dianne Reeves takes the stage solo to share her Grammy-winning R&B and jazz vocals. Beloved author Amy Tan shares the intimate stories that inform the writing and creative process behind her best-selling books, including her newest novel, The Valley of Amazement, providing a fascinating glimpse of her personal life beyond the page. A leading voice of flamenco music, Estrella Morente puts her passion center stage as part of the GW Lisner Auditorium’s 11th Annual Flamenco Festival.
Click here to download Strathmore's season brochure.
Strathmore’s historic Mansion continues to incubate exceptional emerging musicians and grow new audiences through its intimate concert experiences, residencies and education outreach. With 30 performances, the 2013-2014 season is the largest of Strathmore’s hallmark Music in the Mansion concert series to date. The season also introduces two new concert series to the Mansion. The new Say it in a Song series invites cabaret artists to engage in a collaborative relationship with the arts center, crafting performances that reveal their depth, creative vision and hidden artistic passions. These include: Gabriel Kahane performing original songs with Rob Moose (Bon Iver), Julia Nixon, the beguiling Nellie McKay and multiple Helen Hayes Award winner Natascia Diaz. The retrospective AIR Alumni concert series, in which Strathmore looks back at its touchstone Artist in Residence education program during its ninth anniversary season, includes performances by Laura Burhenn, Kush Abadey, Jamie Salazar, Loren Westbrook-Fritts and The Mancuso-Suzda Project.
Premieres by Aaron Grad, Jeremy Gill, David Ludwig, Justin Boyer, Stephen Gorbos, Gabriel Kahane and Louis Andriessen affirm Strathmore’s commitment to commissioning and exposing audiences to new music by contemporary classical composers. Each composer will be present during the performance of his works.
Banjo innovator Jayme Stone also unveils his Lomax Project, a week-long residency in which Stone leads fellow artists Julian Lage, Bruce Molsky and Margaret Glaspy in studying and re-imagining the field recordings of famed American folklorist Alan Lomax, while also engaging local schools in education outreach.
Strathmore also partners with the Atlas Performing Arts Center as a featured presenter in the citywide festival, Andriessen 75, celebrating composer Louis Andriessen with a performance by soprano Cristina Zavalloni.
STRATHMORE PERFORMING ARTS
CLASSICAL
Classical performances in the Music Center begin with a meticulous eye for detail and unwavering dedication to authenticity when renowned mezzo-soprano superstar Stephanie Blythe joins the stellar Canadian chamber music ensemble, Les Violons du Roy, performing selections by Telemann, Haydn, Bach and Handel in the stylistic manner most appropriate to the era of each piece. At the close of the Year of Italian Culture in the United States, Strathmore brings the best of Milan’s La Scala Academy, the Teatro alla Scala Academy Orchestra, to the Music Center in a program that includes classics by Verdi and music by 20th century Italian composer Nino Rota.
Washington premieres by Aaron Grad, David Ludwig, Jeremy Gill, Justin Boyer, Stephen Gorbos, Gabriel Kahane and Louis Andriessen will bring new sounds to Mansion audiences. Strathmore facilitates a richer concert-going experience by ensuring that the composers will be in attendance at their respective concerts to meet with audience members. For his performance, Aaron Grad will debut a new Strathmore-commissioned work as well as a new instrument, the electric theorbo, which he invented. A two-day celebration of Jeremy Gill includes the composer performing a world premiere piece during a concert with violist Peter Minkler, as well as a performance by the Parker Quartet, featuring the Washington premiere of the new Gill composition, Capriccio. In their mid- Atlantic debut, Chicago’s Spektral Quartet will share an East Coast premiere from Stephen Gorbos. Strathmore Artist in Residence alumnus, clarinetist Rob Patterson, performs the Washington, D.C. premiere of David Ludwig’s haunting Flowers in the Desert, among other works, with Maria Lambros, viola and Audrey Andrist, piano.
A presenting member of the citywide celebration Andriessen 75, convened by the Atlas Performing Arts Center and celebrating minimalist Dutch composer Louis Andriessen, Strathmore showcases soprano and Andriessen muse Cristina Zavalloni. She performs with violinist Monica Germino and accompanist Andrea Rebaudengo, pairing Andriessen works with compositions by Igor Stravinsky as well as John Lennon and Paul McCartney.
Making their Mansion debuts are the Aeolus Quartet in a performance of Brahms G major quintet and other works; pianist Orion Weiss performing Alessandro Scarlatti and Enrique Granados; Maurice Steger Trio, leading a devoted resurgence of the Baroque recorder with a period repertoire that includes Antonio Vivaldi, Arcangelo Corelli, Giovanni Battista Fontana and Giovanni Adolfo Hasse; the Lawler and Fadoul Duo bringing classical virtuosity, commentary and theatricality to their repertoire, which spans from classics to new pieces written especially for their unusual flute and marimba instrumentation; guitar/violin duo Duo Sonidos, exploring the diversity of Ibero-American music; Inscape with clarinetist Evan Solomon and baritone James Rogers, performing the Brahms clarinet quintet and a world premiere from Justin Boyer; and First Prize winner of the 2011 Young Concert Artists International auditions, violinist Paul Huang, with pianist Jessica Osborne, in a dazzling showcase of music by Antonio Vivaldi, Ottorino Respighi, Igor Stravinsky, Alexander Glazunov, Dmitri Shostakovich and Karol Szymanowski.
Also making their Mansion and Washington, D.C. debut is the London-based female a cappella trio, Voice, performing sacred and secular music from the medieval music of Hildegard von Bingen to 21st century commissions and folk songs from around the world during their first U.S. tour.
DANCE
Extraordinary and beloved dance company Pilobolus brings its signature style, eerily beautiful and witty formations, contortionist gymnastics and endlessly inventive works to the Music Center. The sizzling Forever Tango’s Tony-nominated Broadway run was extended again and again, garnering rave reviews—the production brings its all-Argentine cast of 14 dancers and an 11-piece orchestra to Strathmore to trace the history of tango through music, dance and dramatic vignettes. After its phenomenally successful run, Forever Tango is heading back to Broadway, bound for the Walter Kerr Theatre. The Krasnoyarsk National Dance Company of Siberia brings the art and influences of this expansive region to the Music Center with a performance that draws on centuries of tradition, from leaping, twirling Cossack soldiers to brightly clad peasant dances.
FOLK/INSTRUMENTAL
Virtuosic Grammy-winning mandolinist, composer, Punch Brother and MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship winner Chris Thile shares his new explorations of Johann Sebastian Bach, along with his own compositions. Acknowledged as a pre-eminent guitarist and queen of the classical concert hall, Grammy Award winner Sharon Isbin reignites the intrepid spirit of her 2011 album Guitar Passions, experimenting with jazz, rock and world music to create new sounds in a show with jazz fusion guitarist Stanley Jordan and Brazilian guitarist Romero Lubambo.
A highlight of the 2013-2014 Music in the Mansion series is the Lomax Project, a weeklong residency led by banjo innovator Jayme Stone, in which he and fellow artists jazz guitarist Julian Lage, fiddler Bruce Molsky and guitarist Margaret Glaspy will revive and re-imagine the field recordings of famed American folklorist Alan Lomax. The group will mine the Alan Lomax archives for inspiration and source material, and will also engage local schools in education outreach as part of their Strathmore residency.
JAZZ
Four-time Grammy Award winner Dianne Reeves entertains Music Center audiences with her divine lyrical interpretations and expert vocal improvisations. Twenty-time Grammy winner Pat Metheny’s new supergroup of jazz masters— Chris Potter, Antonio Sanchez, Ben Williams and Giulio Carmassi—come to Strathmore hot on the heels of their 2014 album release. Cuba’s most famous artist, pianist, composer and band leader, Chucho Valdés, has won five Grammy Awards and three Latin Grammy Awards over a lifetime that has defined the Afro-Cuban sound. Backed by the Afro-Cuban Messengers, Valdés shares works from his newest album, Border-Free, melding his Cuban roots with American jazz and Native American traditions.
Additionally, three rising jazz musicians make their Mansion debut as part of Strathmore’s 2013- 2014 Music in the Mansion Series. Winner of DownBeat Magazine’s Rising Star poll, composer, arranger and crooner Sachal Vasandani brings his quartet and renditions of timeless jazz standards to Strathmore. At home on the vibraphone, marimbas, piano, drums and all forms of percussion, dynamic Baltimore performer Warren Wolf is a jazz whiz—he brings his band, the WOLFPACK, along for a new album release concert. Bassist and composer Ben Allison, a star of the New York underground jazz scene, gathers guitarists Steve Cardenas and Brandon Seabrook with drummer Allison Miller, for the debut of The Ben Allison Band in the Mansion.
POPULAR MUSIC
An homage to the eponymous “Kings of Cool,” Sandy Hackett’s Rat Pack Show transports audiences to the hippest show on the Vegas Strip, delivering such classic songs as “My Way,” “Mack the Knife,” “That’s Amore” and more. Grammy Award-winning, platinum record-selling country star Travis Tritt balances the grit and pathos of ballads with the infectiously hummable tunes of such hits as “It’s a Great Day to Be Alive” in an evening of the crooner’s smash hits and personal favorites from a long-lived career in country music. With multiple Grammys for Best Pop Male Vocalist and more than 53 million recordings sold, legendary singer, songwriter and People Magazine’s “Sexiest Man Alive,” Michael Bolton, has fans melting with his soulful four-octave range and a repertoire that spans from soft rock to Sinatra and Motown.
Strathmore’s new AIR Alumni series kicks off with, perhaps, one of the most visible graduates of the Artist in Residence program to date, singer-songwriter Laura Burhenn. With a growing fan base and rave reviews for her indie band The Mynabirds, Burhenn returns to the Mansion to debut a selection of new material just after getting off the road from a national tour with supergroup The Postal Service. Jaime Salazar blew the roof off the Mansion during his 2008-2009 Strathmore residency with his fiery South American influences. He returns to the Mansion with his upbeat, Latin-fusion band Rock cellist Loren Westbrook-Fritts blends classical cello with Led Zeppelin, the Beatles, Metallica and more. His band, Primitivity, thrills listeners with power chords, speeding riffs and blistering solos, unveiling the band’s second album, Evolution, during a homecoming CD release concert. Serendipitously connected through Craigslist, the Mancuso-Suzda Project joins Italian-born classical percussionist Simone Mancuso and jazz saxophonist Jeff Suzda. The youngest-ever Artist in Residence, jazz drummer Kush Abadey, made his Mansion debut when he was 14 years old. After a full-scholarship to Boston’s famed Berklee College of Music, Abadey is back on stage as a bandleader and drummer.
VOICE
Booming voices will fill Strathmore’s acoustically pristine concert hall in the 2013-2014 season, with more vocal performances at the start of the season than ever before. Tony-winning Broadway darling and star of ABC Family’s Bunheads, Sutton Foster kicks off the season’s vocal performances. Four dynamic, award winning musical stars from Broadway, film, TV and recordings come together for one night in 4 Girls 4. Maureen McGovern, always remembered for The Morning After theme from The Poseidon Adventure, is “a musical tour de force” (Los Angeles Times); Donna McKechnie’s “bright and brassy” voice (The New York Times) lit up the stage in A Chorus Line; Andrea McArdle was the youngest Tony Award nominee ever when she charmed audiences as the original Annie—just the beginning of a fabled career; and Faith Prince, who breathed new life into Broadway revivals of Guys & Dolls and Bells Are Ringing.
Inspired by the region’s deep gospel tradition, Strathmore celebrates this genre with the Make a Joyful Noise: Best of Maryland Gospel concert, featuring the James E. Jordan Choir of Riverdale, MD and the Tribe of Judah Choir of Bowie, MD, winners of the 2011 How Sweet the Sound competition in Washington, D.C. In conjunction with the GW Lisner Auditorium 11th Annual Flamenco Festival, Strathmore presents superstar Estrella Morente, a leading voice of flamenco music. Internationally renowned a cappella ensemble Sweet Honey in the Rock has been a vital and innovative presence in the music culture of Washington, D.C. since 1973—Strathmore is honored to present these dear friends on the occasion of their 40th anniversary in Sweet Honey In The Rock 40th Anniversary Celebration: Forty and Fierce!
Strathmore’s new Mansion series, Say it in a Song, provides an outlet in Washington for cabaret artists to engage with audiences in an intimate way, revealing their true artistic passions and inspirations. Gabriel Kahane performs his original songs with friend and confidante Rob Moose, a member of the Grammy-winning band Bon Iver. Beltway favorite and friend of Strathmore Julia Nixon sings in tribute to prolific songwriter and recent recipient Carole King. After enchanting Broadway in 2013’s Old Hats, Nellie McKay brings her wry humor and wicked cabaret to the Mansion for her first solo performance. Multiple Helen Hayes Award winner Natascia Diaz has appeared on Broadway in Man of La Mancha, Seussical and Carousel, and is beloved by Washington fans for turns at Metro Stage, Signature Theatre and the Kennedy Center—at Strathmore she belts all the musical numbers she wishes she’d had the chance to sing center stage.
STRATHMORE FINE ART
The beauty, harmony and theatricality of calligraphy’s swooping lines, flourishes and letter weight is explored in A Fine Line: Calligraphy, Language & Symbol (September 21 – November 9, 2013) by observing the international influences on different styles of calligraphy and where the art of beautiful writing becomes a fine art form. Fine art goes beyond the brush with What’s Up: New Technologies in Art (January 11-March 1, 2014), a showcase of the vast possibilities that technology gives artists. The exhibit features new processes and materials such as laser design, light painting, resins, fiber optics and electronics, which are yielding new types of art and concepts—including interactive communication-based artwork and interactive, continually evolving abstract animation, called “electric sheep.” A Shared Universe: The Art of Comic Books (April 12 –June 7, 2014) rips the plastic cover off comic book art to explore the development of this narrative tool, art form and pop culture phenomenon, from caped crusaders and intergalactic battles to illustrative interpretations of real world events and struggles.
A Strathmore institution returns for a monumental anniversary—the 80th Annual Exhibition of Fine Art in Miniature (November 23, 2013 – January 4, 2014). The multi-media exhibition features hundreds of works in sculpture, drawing and painting meticulously rendered at a microscopic scale, with intricacies so subtle they must be viewed through a magnifying glass. Community members can support the wealth of talented artisans in the D.C. metropolitan community during New: The 23rd Annual Strathmore Artists Juried Exhibition (March 8 – April 5, 2014), where works in a multitude of mediums by Strathmore’s exceptional crop of more than 300 Artist Members will be on view, exploring a theme of “new” ideas, statements, artistic expressions, materials and methodologies.
Strathmore is supported by a grant from the Maryland State Arts Council, an agency dedicated to cultivating a vibrant cultural community where the arts thrive. An agency of the Department of Business & Economic Development, MSAC provides financial support and technical assistance to non-profit organizations, units of government, colleges and universities for arts activities. Strathmore is also supported in part by the Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County.
Tickets and Information
(301) 581-5100 www.strathmore.org
