www.kenyasafariacrobats.com
Thursday, September 20, 2012, 7 p.m.
College Activities Center
Hailing from the heart of Africa, the Kenya Safari Acrobats offers a unique cultural experience. This awe-inspiring and dynamic dance troupe takes acrobatics to exhilarating extremes. The group members learned acrobatics as children on the beaches of Kenya as a means to break free from an impoverished country. Now they serve as artistic ambassadors for Kenya as they travel the globe, entertaining and inspiring audience of all ages. The Kenya Safari Acrobats perform a non-stop ride of gravity-defying human pyramids, balancing, tumbling, limbo dancing, hurling through hoops, and breathtaking contortions, all while clapping to a joyful Benga Beat. A unique and eye-popping blend of traditional arts and circus skills in classic African style, these performers combine artistry with humor and playfulness. The Kenya Safari Acrobats have performed in Tanzania, Japan, Canada, Mexico, and throughout the United States including the White House, Walt Disney World, the Super Bowl, and at Atlantic Hawks, Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat, and Orlando Magic games.
Join us for this family friendly event!
www.daedalusquartet.com
Thursday, October 25, 2012, 7 p.m.
College Activities Center
Mozart: String Quartet in F Major, K. 590
Joan Tower: White Water
Beethoven: String Quartet in E-flat minor, op. 127
Samuel Barber: Adagio for Strings
Praised by The New Yorker as "a fresh and vital young participant in what is a golden age of American string quartets," the Daedalus Quartet has received plaudits for the security, technical finish, interpretive unity and sheer gusto of its performance. The ensemble has concertized around the world including Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center in New York, the Cite de la Musique in Paris, the Mozarteum in Salzburg, and the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. Recognized for its adventurous exploration of contemporary music, the quartet has premiered many new works by today’s most respected composers.
The Parkersburg concert will include a new work by award winning composer Joan Tower, premiered by the Daedalus Quartet in April, paired with Samuel Barber’s string quartet with its familiar Adagio for Strings, concluding with a masterwork by Ludwig van Beethoven.
This tour engagement of the Daedalus Quartet is funded through the American Masterpieces program of the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, with financial support from the West Virginia Division of Culture and History, with approval from the West Virginia Commission on the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Voices from the Heartland
The Music of George Crumb
Thursday, November 8, 2012, 7 p.m.
College Activities Center
FREE
The Distinguished Performance Series will present the music of Pulitzer prize-winning West Virginia composer George Crumb. American Songbook: Voices from the Heartland will be performed by Crumb’s daughter soprano Ann Crumb and baritone Patrick Mason with members of Philadelphia’s Orchestra 2001, an ensemble dedicated to performing and promoting music of the 20th and 21st centuries. This unique work for singers and large battery of percussion instruments draws its inspiration from American hymns, spirituals, folksongs, and Native American chant. Although Crumb’s music abounds in its use of exotic sounds and instruments and unusual sonic devices, his West Virginia roots are evident in his music, especially his seven American Songbooks.
For more information visit: www.georgecrumb.net or www.orchestra2001.org.
THE ACTING COMPANY performing
John Steinbeck’s
OF MICE AND MEN
www.theactingcompany.org
Tuesday, February 19, 2013, 7 p.m.
College Activities Center
The best laid plans of mice and men… Nobel and Pulitzer Prize-winner John Steinbeck’s tale of two drifters is one of the most widely read stories in America. Written as both a novella and the script for a play, Of Mice and Men tells the tragic story of two California migrant ranch workers during the Great Depression. Director Ian Belknap notes: “John Steinbeck stands alone as the 20th century’s biographer of the worker. He writes of dirt and straw – a life that looks beautiful in a photograph and is ugly to inhabit…Unlike his contemporaries, Steinbeck knew migrant farm workers that drifted to a dreamy California where fruit was ripe to pick, only to find their dreams scorched in the sun.” Founded in 1972 by the legendary producer/director/actor John Houseman and current producing director Margot Harley with members of the first graduating class of Julliard’s Drama Division, The Acting Company has given a generation of actors the opportunity to master their craft. Alumni include Kevin Kline, Patti LuPone, and David Ogden Stiers. The company has been honored with multiple Obie, and Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle awards and was a TONY Honoree for Excellence.
Subject matter may not be appropriate for young audiences.
This tour engagement of The Acting Company is funded through the Mid Atlantic Tours program of the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, with financial support from the West Virginia Division of Culture and History, with approval of the West Virginia Commission on the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
WEST VIRGINIA'S PREMIERE MOUNTAIN STRING BAND
Saturday, April 6, 2013, 7 p.m.
College Activities Center
Free and open to the public
The Distinguished Performance Series presents West Virginia’s premiere mountain string band Gandydancer as part of the college’s West Virginia Sesquicentennial Celebration. Featuring five highly respected musicians (Dave Bing, Jim Martin, Gerry Milnes, Ron Mullennex, and Mark Payne), each a champion multi-instrumentalist and with almost 200 years of combined experience, Gandydancer performs a fascinating repertoire of some of the country’s purest American music. Selections include twisty old-time fiddle and banjo tunes, seldom heard West Virginia fokd songs, traditional bluegrass, a cappella vocal harmonies, poignant ballads, and driving instrumental numbers. Gandydancer has been featured at the Library of Congress and Kennedy Center, and throughout West Virginia including the Vandalia Gathering, Augusta Heritage Center, and Mountain Stage. Gandydancer has been described as “ a trove of West Virginia traditions.”
Presented with financial assistance from the West Virginia Sesquicentennial Commission, this performance is part of a month long sesquicentennial celebration at WVU Parkersburg.
TICKETS: Tickets for the Distinguished Performance Series are available beginning Sept. 1 in the college business office. (8 am - 4 pm) For tickets by mail, call 304.424.8223, email bjwilson@mail.wvu.edu, or write Performing Arts Tickets, 300 Campus Drive, Parkersburg, WV 26104. Adults $10, Students $5. WVU Parkersburg students may purchase special advance tickets for themselves and one guest for $2 each in the business office. All tickets at the door will be regular price.
