Performances

Everyone is invited to play, sing or just listen to the Bluegrass and Gospel Jam fans every Tuesday night. Join the guitars, banjos, mandolins, fiddles, harmonicas, dobros and of course, the melodious voices. A 15 minute break is enjoyed by all for some pot luck cookies and/or cakes. No charge for playing or listening. Great fun for all.

For more information, contact A. Scott Krug at askrug@comcast.net

See these classic alternative rockers live at the Tussey Mountain Amphitheater stage on Friday, July 27!

Tickets are limited, so get yours early to guarantee your spot at this amazing show. PLUS, tickets are on a huge pre-sale up through July 13, just $25! Don't get yours too late, after July 13 the tickets raise to $35... Save yourself ten bucks for tasty food and beverages!

Todd Rundgren is an American multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and record producer. Hailed in the early stage of his career as a new pop-wunderkind with the certified gold solo double LP Something/Anything? in 1972, Todd Rundgren’s career has produced a diverse range of recordings, both as a solo artist, and during the ‘70s and ‘80s with the band Utopia.

Born and raised in Philadelphia, Rundgren began playing guitar as a teenager, going on to found and front The Nazz, the quintessential ‘60s cult group. In 1969, he left the band to pursue a solo career, recording his debut offering, the legendary Runt. But it was 1972′s seminal Something/Anything?, on which he played all the instruments, sang all the vocal parts, and acted as his own producer, that catapulted Todd into the superstar limelight.

He has also been prolific as a producer and engineer on the recorded work of other musicians. Rundgren’s myriad production projects include albums by Patti Smith, Cheap Trick, Psychedelic Furs, Meatloaf, XTC, Grand Funk Railroad, and Hall And Oates. Rounding out his reputation as rock’s renaissance man, Rundgren composed all the music and lyrics for Joe Papp’s 1989 Off-Broadway production of Joe Orton’s Up Against It (the screenplay was commissioned by The Beatles for what was meant to have been their third motion picture). He has also composed the music for a number of television series, including Pee Wee’s Playhouse and Crime Story.

Rundgren Trivia: “Time Heals” (1981), the first music video to utilize state-of-the-art compositing of live action and computer graphics (produced and directed by Todd), became the second video to be played on MTV, immediately following the “Video Killed the Radio Star.”

See Rundgren performing his smash hit “I Saw the Light” below, or catch him live this May 27th at The State.

Cost: $49.00
Todd Rundgren is an American multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and record producer. Hailed in the early stage of his career as a new pop-wunderkind, supported by the certified gold solo double LP Something/Anything? in 1972, Todd Rundgren's career has produced a diverse range of recordings as solo artist, and during the seventies and eighties with the band Utopia.

Global Connections' international music program will feature music and dance from Russia on Thursday, May 31st at noon in the Downbrough Community Room. All performances will begin at 12:10.

Feel free to bring your lunch while you enjoy the music. There is a suggested donation of $3-$5 which will benefit Global Connections and Schlow Library.
Look for upcoming World Sounds at Noon performances each Thursday in June.

The Ballet Theatre of State College, the performing company of Performing Arts School of Central Pennsylvania, will perform their Spring Gala on Saturday, June 2 at Eisenhower Auditorium. There will be two opportunities to attend – 3:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

The Spring Gala is a unique opportunity for the audience to experience an array of ballets, including Swan Lake, Stars & Stripes, Le Corsaire, Paquita and Etudes. Each excerpt is masterfully performed with striking costumes and music. From the basics of Etudes to the intricate movement of Swan Lake, the Spring Gala is a must-see for all who enjoy this exceptional art form.

The Spring Gala is sponsored by www.visitstatecollege.com, Seko Med Tec, University Orthopedics Center and RTD Embedded Technologies, Inc.

Performances are Saturday, June 2 at 3:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. at Eisenhower Auditorium, located on the PSU campus. Tickets are available by calling 1.800.ARTS.TIX. Tickets cost $25/adults and $10/children and students (with ID).

For more information, please contact Sarah Kopac at 814.234.4961 or at skopac@pascp.org

The Ballet Theatre of State College, the performing company of Performing Arts School of Central Pennsylvania, will perform their Spring Gala on Saturday, June 2 at Eisenhower Auditorium. There will be two opportunities to attend – 3:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

The Spring Gala is a unique opportunity for the audience to experience an array of ballets, including Swan Lake, Stars & Stripes, Le Corsaire, Paquita and Etudes. Each excerpt is masterfully performed with striking costumes and music. From the basics of Etudes to the intricate movement of Swan Lake, the Spring Gala is a must-see for all who enjoy this exceptional art form.

The Spring Gala is sponsored by www.visitstatecollege.com, Seko Med Tec, University Orthopedics Center and RTD Embedded Technologies, Inc.

Performances are Saturday, June 2 at 3:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. at Eisenhower Auditorium, located on the PSU campus. Tickets are available by calling 1.800.ARTS.TIX. Tickets cost $25/adults and $10/children and students (with ID).

For more information, please contact Sarah Kopac at 814.234.4961 or at skopac@pascp.org

On Sunday, June 3rd, Emmy Award-winning trumpeter Chiz Rider will be performing at Nittany Bible Church during our normal worship service (10:45). You are invited to come and enjoy his amazing music and fellowship with our church family. We will have refreshments immediately following the service for you to enjoy. Please make plans to come to Nittany Bible Church for this special event!

JUNE 3 Zeropoint Big Band
JUNE 10 Nittany Knights & Anything Goes
JUNE 17 Keystone Society of Swing
JUNE 24 Jay T. Vonada Quartet
JULY 1 Bellefonte Community Band
JULY 8 Deacons of Dixieland
JULY 15 (no concert-Arts Festival)
JULY 22 State College Municipal Band
JULY 29 Tarnished 6
AUGUST 5 The Les Shaw Band
AUGUST 12 Heritage Brass
AUGUST 19 The Little German Band
AUGUST 26 Tommy Wareham & The Intrigues


Lazy summer evening…nothing
to do? Why not pack a picnic
supper and join us for a cool
summer evening of great music!
Picnic – 5 pm, Music – 6 pm

WHAT IS AVAILABLE:
Restrooms Drinking Fountain Great Entertainment (6-7:30 p.m.) Lemonade still 1₡ a glass!!

Global Connections' international music program will feature music and dance from Turkey on Thursday, June 7th at noon in the Downbrough Community Room. All performances will begin at 12:10.

Feel free to bring your lunch while you enjoy the music. There is a suggested donation of $3-$5 which will benefit Global Connections and Schlow Library.
Look for upcoming World Sounds at Noon performances each Thursday in June.

Summer Fridays in Lemont feature free concerts on the Village Green. Bring a picnic! 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.

June 8 Lockport Drifters - New to the Lemont Concert Series - Dale Haines, Phil Ponish and Phil Reeder, playing guitar. dobro and bass.

June 15 Carpal Tunnel String Band - John Lamancusa, John Letscher, and Mike Irvin, playing Appalachian Old Time Music, fiddle, banjo, guitar, and mandolin.

June 22 Bryan Homan and Doug Irwin - folk and bluegrass

June 29 Jim Colbert and Cynthia Mazzant - singers/ songwriters with a local flair.

July 6 Suzi Brown -

July 13 Michelle Katz singer/songwriter will join us for her twelfth appearance. She has a lyrical voice and finger style guitar.

July 20 OverheaD - Wendy Hanson, vocals; Kevin Fagley, vocals, guitar, bass; Eileen Christman, violin, keyboards, bass, and vocals; Rick Plut, drums and vocals; Tom Mallouk on guitar, bass, keyboard, and vocals

July 27 RICHARD SLEIGH - Amazing harmonica virtuoso will be playing for us for the first time.

August 3 RIVER ROAD BAND - Emily Wilkins, Russ Nesbitt, Dave Dunlap and Shirley Dunlap
new to the Village Green, but not to the local music scene.

August 10 JOHN I. THOMPSON, IV, JT - piano jazz extraordinaire.

August 17 Tussey Mountain Moonshiners - Steve Buckalew, Bryan Homan, Paul Brigman, and Gwen Stimely, playing bluegrass.

August 24 VALLEY STOMP Al Cook, banjo; Celia Millington-Wyckoff - bass, vocals; Chris Davis, guitar, vocals; and Kurt Kroeker, fiddle, mandolin, voice. - new to the Village Green

August 31 RIDGE AND VALLEY STRING BAND Mark Ralston, Fiddle; Tom Rosencrans - Banjo; and Dave Lau

The Covalts Annual Outdoor Gospel Sing will feature many Gospel Singing Groups over two days at the South Side Stage on the fairgrounds. Singers: The Covalts, Last Generation, Fishers, Segers, Victory Express, Tony Bates, Brungarts, Tim and LaDonna Bates, Kristina Cornell, The Richters and others. Food Available.
Plenty of parking and seating. Centre County's Largest Outdoor Gospel Sing.

Lac La Belle duo epitomizes the folk music scene. They have what they call a "future-rustic" sound that mixes accordion, mandolin, banjo, ukulele, resonator guitar and vocals into a beautiful melody. This band combines the musical talent of Jennie Knaggs and Nick Schillace.
They will open with a central PA group known as Chicken Tractor.
Enjoy some beautiful music underneath the summer night sky in lovely Sidney Friedman Park. It is family-friendly and free and open to the public.

FRIDAY, June 15, 6:30 PM, PURE CANE SUGAR
FRIDAY, June 22, 6:30 PM, BISCUIT JAM


Come and enjoy beautiful music at Millbrook Marsh Nature Center! All ages are welcome! Some concerts may be outdoors; some held in the barn. A $5 per person donation (kids 10 & under free) will be collected at the door to support the nature center and these great local musicians! Bring the family, a blanket, a chair, or a picnic! (Alcoholic beverages are prohibited on nature center property.) Free parking is available. In case of rain, call CRPR before 5 PM for information. More concerts are being planned, please check back.

Festival Orchestra Concert
Saturday, June 16, 2012
7:30 p.m.
(pre-concert talk at 6:30 p.m. – 110 Music I)
Serge Prokofiev – Symphony No. 1 (Classical)
Robert Schumann – Piano Concerto #2 in A minor
Christopher Guzman, pianist
Dr. Guzman has just won the prestigious 2012 Blanche Selva prize in Le Concours International de Piano d'Orléans. The winner's concert (and his Paris debut) was given at the Theatre des Bouffes du Nord on March 5th.
Ludwig van Beethoven – Symphony No. 8

TICKETS:
Family chamber music concert special: Purchase 1 adult ticket at $18 and all youth (18 and under) tickets are just $2 (no limit).

814-863-0255
1-800-ARTS-TIX
Reserved Seating

Festival package (all four concerts) $75/adult, $38/student
Single Festival Orchestra concert $28/adult, $15/student
Single Chamber concert $18/adult, $8/student

Esber Recital Hall
Music Building I
Penn State’s University Park Campus

Parking is available in the Nittany Parking Deck on Fisher Road near the Nittany Lion Inn. $5 per month evening and weekend parking pass available or hourly rates apply.

Summer Sounds from The Gazebo in Talleyrand Park are a staple in the Bellefonte summer activity menu. Nine free concerts every Sunday from June to August at 7:00 p.m. Musical styles include folk, pop, rock, and jazz. Lawn chairs or blankets are suggested.

June 17: Bellefonte Community Band

June 24: Acoustaphonics
featuring Halle Kate
Miley Cyrus-style music for teens, tweens
60's, 70's, 80's for young adults and young at heart

July 1: Nittany Knights

July 8, 6pm-7pm: State College Senior Citizens Band
7pm-8pm: Second Winds

July 15: Tommy Wareham
on piano and guitar
his 22nd straight year

July 22: Valley Stomp

July 29: John Thompson on Piano

August 1, Wednesday evening, 7pm: Guitar Man, Studio Summer Rock School Band

August 5: Callanish

August 12: Banjovial

Festival Orchestra Concert
Saturday, June 23, 2012
7:30 p.m.
(pre-concert talk at 6:30 p.m. – 110 Music I )
John Adams – The Chairman Dances
Opera Arias
Matthew Vickers, tenor
Dmitri Shostakovich – Symphony No. 9

TICKETS:
Family chamber music concert special: Purchase 1 adult ticket at $18 and all youth (18 and under) tickets are just $2 (no limit).

814-863-0255
1-800-ARTS-TIX
Reserved Seating

Festival package (all four concerts) $75/adult, $38/student
Single Festival Orchestra concert $28/adult, $15/student
Single Chamber concert $18/adult, $8/student

Esber Recital Hall
Music Building I
Penn State’s University Park Campus

Parking is available in the Nittany Parking Deck on Fisher Road near the Nittany Lion Inn. $5 per month evening and weekend parking pass available or hourly rates apply.

The 6th annual Summer's Best Music Fest returns! Come out for the day-long event filled with a wide variety of music genres performing on three stages located throughout the downtown. This year's event will be held on Saturday, June 30, 2012 from 10:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.

4 Day Bluegrass Festival in Reedsville, Pennsylvania. The event will feature over 25 acts including 8 National Touring Acts Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper, James King Band, Little Roy & Lizzy Show, Danny Paisley & Southern Grass, Lorraine Jordan & Carolina Road, Goldwing Express, Hillbilly Gypsies, and Remington Ryde. RV's welcome and rough camping available. Food and craft vendors on hand. Workshops held daily and lots of jamming throughout the grounds!

Don't miss the chance to enjoy your favorite Beatles classics with The CAST of Beatlemania at this year's summer concert. Grab your blankets, lawn chairs, and a few friends and head to Old Main Lawn for a reminiscent performance.

The CAST of Beatlemania pays a wonderful tribute to what is probably considered one of the most celebrated rock groups of all time.

The high lonesome sound of bluegrass meets the hot and lively jazz of New Orleans. In a new and thrilling collaboration, the Crescent City’s beloved Preservation Hall Jazz Band and the Appalachian-bred Del McCoury Band find a wealth of common musical ground. The bands got together to record American Legacies, a collection of instrumental and vocal gems. Now the iconic ensembles bring classics such as Hank Williams’ “Jambalaya,” the soulful “I’ll Fly Away,” and New Orleans standard “Milenberg Joys” — plus a rollicking hillbilly jazz original “Banjo Frisco” — to the concert stage. “American Legacies sounds exactly like you’d expect a joint album from Del McCoury Band and Preservation Hall Jazz Band to sound,” asserts a Glide Magazine reviewer. “It’s a riverboat full of rhythmically intoxicating Dixieland, blues, bluegrass, jazz, and gospel that draws heavily on standards.”

Adult $48
University Park Student $22
18 and Younger $39

“The KLR Trio’s performances stand with the finest chamber groups of our time,” writes a Miami Herald critic. Pianist Joseph Kalichstein, violinist Jaime Laredo, and cellist Sharon Robinson made their debut as a trio at President Carter’s inauguration. Since then six presidents have come and five have gone, but the Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio continues to dazzle audiences and critics. The trio members celebrated thirty-five years together by debuting three commissioned works, releasing the complete Franz Schubert trios on CD (Bridge Records), and touring extensively. The Penn State program features André Previn’s Piano Trio No. 2, a new work written for the ensemble and co-commissioned by the Center for the Performing Arts. The program also includes Ludwig van Beethoven’s youthful Piano Trio in B-flat, Johannes Brahms’ mature Piano Trio No. 1 in B Major (Revised), and Ellen Taaffe Zwilich’s 1987 composition Trio (also written for KLR).

Adult $42
University Park Student $15
18 and Younger $32

Wanting to belong is a powerful force. It drives us to search for love, strive for fortunes, rail against injustice, and embrace happiness. The Merchant of Venice, William Shakespeare’s provocative comedy, begins with Bassanio’s quest for Portia. Funded by an ill-conceived loan, the road to true love will not be smooth. When plans go awry, betrayal and anger face off against a cry for compassion and a cunning lawyer in disguise. In the end, all are left to question justice, love, and the length to which we will go to fit in. Renowned British actor Patrick Stewart founded Actors From The London Stage, one of the most respected touring Shakespeare companies. The players come from prestigious companies such as the Royal Shakespeare Company, Royal National Theatre of Great Britain, and Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre. Clever staging — using minimal props, costumes, and sets —showcases the talents of a five-member ensemble in which each actor portrays multiple characters while keeping the focus on Shakespeare’s timeless words.

Adult $32
University Park Student $16
18 and Younger $25

A Kansas City Star reviewer describes a Doug Varone and Dancers performance as “a feast of tens of thousands of individual moments.” The New York City company’s modern dance program features Oratorio, a new work set to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s La Betulia liberate. Oratorio delves into the libretto’s themes of heroism, mythmaking, duplicity, and conflict in a twenty-first century world of comic book-inspired imagery. The program also includes Lux, set to music by Philip Glass, and an excerpt from the evening-length Chapters from a Broken Novel. “Luxuriant. Lux is all about freedom,” writes a Washington Post critic. “It is what dancing really feels like, the kind of dancing I might dream about: loose and sweeping in a spirit of exultation.” A Boston Globe reviewer observes that “Chapters from a Broken Novel (2010) — with its shards of dreams and groping tenderness — cracks the human condition wide open.”

The presentation of Doug Varone and Dancers was made possible by the New England Foundation for the Arts’ National Dance Project, with lead funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and additional funding from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Adult $38
University Park Student $15
18 and Younger $31

Renowned for their unearthly vocal blend and virtuosic ensemble singing, the four women of Anonymous 4 celebrate their twenty-fifth anniversary together with a special concert featuring ancient, traditional, and modern chants and hymns. The program, with music chosen from the ensemble’s nineteen CDs, includes works that range in origin from the eleventh century to the present. Highlights include Anonymous 4’s first recorded song, “Gaude Virgo Salutata” from An English Ladymass; “Nicholai presulis” from the group’s first public performance, Legends of St. Nicholas; American folk songs; and a new work for Anonymous 4 by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer David Lang.

Adult $42
University Park Student $15
18 and Younger $32

“Pilobolus,” a Washington Post reporter asserts, “embodies a large part of what the best in contemporary dance is all about: discovery. Making something new with the same standard body parts the rest of us have.” Since 1971 Pilobolus Dance Theatre has been creating inventive, athletic, witty, and collaborative performance works using the human body as a medium for expression. Based in Connecticut, Pilobolus performs for stage, television, and online audiences across the globe. The troupe has performed live shows in more than sixty countries. “Classics or the brand-new, Pilobolus keeps delivering,” writes a Philadelphia Inquirer reviewer. “It’s as if,” a New York Times critic insists, “we’re being given a fleeting glimpse of the inner workings of the universe.”

A discussion among Pilobolus company members and the audience follows the performance.

Adult $38
University Park Student $15
18 and Younger $31

and Pete Wernick

Headlined by Béla Fleck and Tony Trischka, the 2006 Banjo Summit was one of the most memorable Center for the Performing Arts presentations of the twenty-first century. Fleck and Trischka return for more prime pickin’, joined for Banjo Summit 2 by Bill Keith, a trailblazer of melodic playing; Richie Stearns, who helped revive the old-time clawhammer style; Eric Weissberg, who performed “Dueling Banjos” for the Deliverance soundtrack; and Peter “Dr. Banjo” Wernick, a hot-picking force in bands such as Rize and Country Cooking. Fleck, generally regarded as the most accomplished master of the instrument, leads a concert that finds the banjo performed in conventional and unexpected ways. From solos and duets to full-tilt banjo blowouts with all six players, the performance features the banjo in traditional settings, including bluegrass and country, along with unconventional banjo genres such as jazz, classical, and rock.

Adult $48
University Park Student $19
18 and Younger $29

An adventure story in which three actors portray multiple characters, The Great Mountain inspires, entertains, and captures the imagination of children. Young Nuna hears things she doesn’t understand. Realizing Nuna has inherited the ability to hear the spirits of rushing rivers and soaring mountains, the girl’s grandmother takes her to the river and entrusts her to a boatman who guides her to where a glacier is melting and the spirit of a great mountain weeps. Does Nuna have the power to answer the mountain’s cry? Do young people recognize their capacity to address environmental issues? Inspired by the Northern Plains aboriginal story Jumping Mouse, Tracey Power’s action-packed play focuses on a girl who discovers the transformative power of nature and the importance of courage. Toronto’s Red Sky Performance is Canada’s leading company of world indigenous productions in dance, theatre, and music.

Adult $15
University Park Student $8
18 and Younger $15

A musician’s musician. That’s Ron Carter. In a career spanning more than half a century, the National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master has been so continually in demand that he’s performed on more than 2,000 albums. He’s not only one of the most prolific bassists in jazz, he’s also one of the most influential. Carter came to fame as a member of the second renowned Miles Davis Quintet, a 1960s group that included Wayne Shorter and Herbie Hancock. Since then he’s performed, as a leader and a sideman, with a multitude of first-rank players. Carter performs at Penn State with guitarist Russell Malone and pianist Donald Vega.

A discussion among the musicians and audience members follows the performance.

Adult $32
University Park Student $16
18 and Younger $25

Carrie Underwood will be coming to the BJC on November 13!

Last season the exuberant St. Lawrence String Quartet premiered a three-year Center for the Performing Arts program featuring all of Ludwig van Beethoven’s string quartets. The ensemble-in-residence at Stanford University returns to open the second season of Beethoven’s chamber masterworks. “These are fearless musicians,” writes a Washington Post critic, “whose spontaneity stretches past conventional interpretation and probes the music’s imaginative limits.” Violinist Geoff Nuttall and violist Lesley Robertson, founding members, are joined by cellist Christopher Costanza and violinist Scott St. John. The program includes the quartets in B-flat Major, Op. 18, No. 6; F Major, Op. 59, No. 1; and E-flat Major, Op. 127

Adult $42
University Park Student $15
18 and Younger $32

Embrace the spirit of the holiday season with Leahy, a Canadian whirlwind of eight siblings performing a triple-threat of fiddle-driven music, dance, and vocals—augmented by keyboards, guitar, and percussion—influenced by the family’s Irish and Scottish ancestry. The band’s Christmas concert highlights holiday favorites, original seasonal pieces, and the Leahy fare that has made the band one of Canada’s most appealing exports. The raven-haired Leahys grew up in Ontario, where their father educated each in the ways of the fiddle, while their mother, a champion step dancer from Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, taught them to sing, dance, and play the piano. A yearning to explore new sounds drew the musicians to a variety of genres and instruments. Leahy members continue to forge new paths with the group’s category-defying music, yet their Celtic-Canadian roots forever anchor them.

Adult $39
University Park Student $20
18 and Younger $31

The international sensation TAP DOGS is back! Created by Olivier Award-winning choreographer Dein Perry, with a construction site set by designer/director Nigel Triffitt, and a driving score by composer Andrew Wilkie, TAP DOGS is rough, tough, rocking theatrical entertainment. Winner of eleven international awards, TAP DOGS premiered at the Sydney Theatre Festival, moved on to London and New York City, and has been a howling success all across North America, Europe, Asia, South America, and Australia. “Exciting, athletically feisty, fun-loving, and often hilarious,” writes a Chicago Tribune reviewer. “It’s two shows in one,” asserts a critic for The New York Times. “It revels in both choreographed athleticism and the idealized masculine form.”

Adult $62, $53
University Park Student $44, $38
18 and Younger $54, $48

The Nittany Highland Pipe Band will participate in the First Night State College festivities by performing at the St. Paul's United Methodist Church at 7:30 pm.

Pianist Christopher O’Riley and cellist Matt Haimovitz explore the lyrical and virtuosic properties of their instruments in a collaboration that weaves in and out of classical and pop music genres. The program showcases their talents, while helping to define what it means to be a contemporary artist. Expect works by the likes of Johann Sebastian Bach and Giovanni Gabrieli, Radiohead and Arcade Fire, Astor Piazzolla and Igor Stravinsky. O’Riley, host of NPR’s From the Top, performs sublime interpretations of the classical canon and groundbreaking transcriptions of Radiohead, Elliott Smith, and Nick Drake. Haimovitz made his debut in 1984, at age 13, as a soloist with the Israel Philharmonic. At 17, he recorded his debut album with the Chicago Symphony. His Meeting of the Spirits earned a Grammy nomination for Best Classical Crossover Album.

Adult $42
University Park Student $15
18 and Younger $32

Soledad Barrio, one of the world’s most electrifying dancers, is the star of Spain’s Noche Flamenca. “Her dancing is invariably charged with intense drama — remarkably so, even by the standards of flamenco, itself an inherently dramatic form,” writes a New York Times critic. “In her stance, her rhythm, the way she addresses the light, and the way she opposes head to shoulders, she goes straight for the expressive tension that seems to be at flamenco’s very heart.” Famous for its transcendent performances, Noche Flamenca, directed by Barrio’s husband Martín Santangelo, is the most authentic flamenco company touring today. Santangelo, who formed the ensemble with Barrio in 1993, brings to the stage the essence, purity, and integrity of one of the world’s most complex and mysterious art forms. “This Spanish flamenco troupe unleashes an emotionally gripping night of theatrical improvisations,” raves a reviewer for The Times Picayune of New Orleans, “in which dancers, guitarists, and singers interact freely.”

Adult $38
University Park Student $15
18 and Younger $31

Two-time Country Music Association Female Vocalist of the Year Kathy Mattea makes her Center for the Performing Arts debut in a concert focused on music from her 2012 album Calling Me Home. The West Virginia native’s newest project celebrates the folk music and culture of Appalachia. Mattea, whose passionate alto vocals helped her collect fifteen consecutive top-ten hits and four number-one singles on the country charts from 1986 to 1991, has gathered songs of bravery, pride, and grief that speak of life in the world’s oldest mountains. Her Grammy-nominated 2008 release, Coal, was her first step toward discovering the vast trove of Appalachian music, much of it influenced by Celtic and English traditions, that album producer Marty Stuart says is “in her blood.” Mattea’s concert also includes her radio hits, such as “Eighteen Wheels and a Dozen Roses,” “Goin’ Gone,” and the Grammy-winning “Where’ve You Been?”

A discussion among Mattea and audience members follows the performance.

Adult $40
University Park Student $19
18 and Younger $31

The web-based It Gets Better Project shows young lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people the levels of happiness and potential their lives can reach if they just get through their challenging teen years. In a new collaboration among the project, the Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles, and Speak Theater Arts, It Gets Better becomes a nationally touring theatrical production. It Gets Better is upbeat, exciting, and funny with a narrative that includes moments of pain and pathos. The work develops from members of the chorus working with local performers, citizens, and community organizations. Together they build a performance, woven with local participants and content, responding to the issue of bullying. They imagine what “better” means for LGBT and other young people through stories, songs, and multimedia. With its unqualified support for all young people, It Gets Better creates and unites allies in solidarity against bullying and teen violence.

Adult $15
University Park Student $10
18 and Younger $15

Les Grands Ballets Canadiens enriches Montréal, and other destinations on tour, with its creativity and intercultural approach. Gradimir Pankov, who became artistic director in 2000, has brought innovation to the company. Italian Evening features two dances, The Four Seasons and Cantata, both choreographed by Italian Mauro Bigonzetti but quite different in style. “Bigonzetti is a passionate, flamboyant choreographer, and Les Grands is clearly born to dance his work,” writes a Dance International Magazine reporter. “The Four Seasons is preternaturally angular and airy, a balletic-based study of dancers as creatures with [recorded] music by the Venetian-born Antonio Vivaldi,” observes a Boston Globe reviewer. “Cantata is earthy and human, utilizing a hearty, sweaty, barefoot modern-dance vocabulary with live accompaniment by Gruppo Musicale Assurd, an all-female quartet who perform contemporary compositions and traditional music of southern Italy.”

Adult $48
University Park Student $20
18 and Younger $39

THE ADDAMS FAMILY is a smash-hit musical comedy that brings the darkly delirious world of Gomez, Morticia, Uncle Fester, Grandma, Wednesday, Pugsley, and, of course, Lurch to spooky and spectacular life. “A visually satisfying, rib-tickling, lunatic musical that will entertain you to death,” according to Toronto Post City. This magnificently macabre new musical comedy is created by Jersey Boys authors Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, Drama Desk-winning composer/lyricist Andrew Lippa (The Wild Party), choreographer Sergio Trujillo (Jersey Boys), and Olivier Award-winning director/designers Phelim McDermott and Julian Crouch (Shockheaded Peter) with production supervision by four-time Tony Award® winner Jerry Zaks. Come meet the family. We’ll leave the lights off for you.

Adult $62, $53
University Park Student $44, $38
18 and Younger $54, $48

Experience the ambience of a landmark jazz club when drummer Tommy Igoe and his orchestra recreate the excitement of an evening at New York City’s Birdland. A dynamic ensemble, The Birdland Big Band surpasses the traditional and sets the standard for a twenty-first-century jazz orchestra. Igoe and company infuse American jazz with a fresh perspective by exploring music from across the planet. “There isn’t another band like this anywhere. … a music experience you simply must witness,” writes a Time Out New York critic. “Tommy Igoe’s drumming defies the laws of physics,” observes a writer for the International Jazz Herald. Discover why the band, which performs on Fridays at Birdland, has become one of the Big Apple’s most popular weekly musical attractions.

Adult $48
University Park Student $22
18 and Younger $39

Best-selling author Melinda Long’s swashbuckling treasure hunt How I Became a Pirate comes to the stage in an Omaha Theater Company musical production. Spellbinding storytelling, irresistible songs, and bold choreography combine to take audiences on a “journey through the high seas.” The tale of young Jeremy Jacobs and his encounter with Captain Braid Beard brims with adventure as the lad embarks on a quest for buried treasure and learns about pirate customs. “One of the things that pirates represent for kids is a life free from care, a life of giddy abandon, where you can do whatever you want,” says the show’s director Rob Urbinati. “I want Pirate to have that kind of exuberance, and that’s what I want the audience — both children and adults — to experience.” One of the oldest, largest, and most respected children’s theatrical organizations in the United States, Omaha Theater Company was founded in 1949.

Adult $15
University Park Student $8
18 and Younger $15

Brentano String Quartet, ensemble-in-residence at Princeton University, returns for the second season of the Center for the Performing Arts presentation of the complete string quartets by Ludwig van Beethoven. “Make no mistake: the Brentanos are a magnificent string quartet,” writes a reviewer for The Times of London. “Their music making is private, delicate, and fresh,” observes a New York Times critic, “but by its very intimacy and importance it seizes attention.” Violinists Mark Steinberg and Serena Canin and violist Misha Amory founded the quartet in 1992. Cellist Nina Lee joined six years later. The program includes the quartets in G Major, Op. 18, No. 2; E-flat Major, Op. 74, Harp; and F Major, Op. 135.

Adult $42
University Park Student $15
18 and Younger $32

In a country in which outstanding classical music ensembles abound, Germany’s Beethoven Orchestra Bonn is among the best. Founded more than a century ago, the orchestra has become a pillar of cultural life in Bonn and the surrounding region. In addition to symphony concerts, domestic and international tours, and recording, the ensemble serves as the official orchestra of the Bonn Opera House. The orchestra, led by music director Stefan Blunier, specializes in the music of Ludwig van Beethoven. The all-Beethoven program at Penn State features the incomparable Symphony No. 5 in C minor. Canadian pianist Louis Lortie, who studied with Beethoven specialist Dieter Weber and American virtuoso Leon Fleisher, is celebrated for his interpretations of Beethoven compositions. He joins the ensemble for the Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat Major.

Adult $57
University Park Student $24
18 and Younger $39

Based on a novel by Jackie French and performed by Monkey Baa, a theatre for young people, Hitler’s Daughter tells the story of four children — Mark, Ben, Anna, and Tracey. As the friends wait for the school bus, Anna tells the imagined tale of Heidi, daughter of the most hated man in history. The play switches between Nazi Germany and contemporary Australia as Mark becomes engrossed in the story. Could Heidi have stopped the atrocities of war, genocide, and hate her father waged? Would Mark have acted differently in Heidi’s place? This intriguing play poses powerful questions about a frightening period in history and forces us to examine moral issues in relation to society’s fears and prejudices. Based in Sydney, Australia, Monkey Baa (as in monkey bar pronounced by an Aussie) has achieved critical acclaim and enjoys an international reputation for producing quality theatre programs for young audiences.

Recommended for ages 10 and older. Artistic Viewpoints, not Kids Connections, will be offered before the show.

Adult $15
University Park Student $8
18 and Younger $15

It isn’t far from Key West to Cuba. Just ninety miles or so. But when a trio of acclaimed American jazzmen jam with chief musicians from our island nation neighbor, the distance and differences between our countries seem even smaller. Vibraphonist Stefon Harris, trumpeter Nicholas Payton, and saxophonist David Sánchez headline a Cuban-American collaboration that defies political boundaries. “He swings,” a New York Times reviewer writes about four-time Grammy Award nominee Harris. “And when he plays, he makes you feel good.” New Orleans-born Payton stands shoulder to shoulder with the best trumpeters from a city that has nurtured the gold standard of horn players. A native of Puerto Rico, the Grammy-winning Sánchez ranks as one of the finest, most progressive sax players of his generation.

Adult $32
University Park Student $16
18 and Younger $25

The Public Theater’s new production of HAIR, winner of the Tony Award® for Best Revival of a Musical, is an electric celebration on stage! This exuberant musical about a group of young Americans searching for peace and love in a turbulent time has struck a resonant chord with audiences young and old. HAIR features an extraordinary cast and unforgettable songs, including “Aquarius,” “Let the Sun Shine In,” “Good Morning Starshine,” and “Easy to Be Hard.” Its relevance is undeniable. Its energy is unbridled. Its truth is unwavering. It’s HAIR, and it’s time. “Irresistible. The best version yet,” raves a Washington Post critic. “HAIR feels utterly of the moment in its power to move us,” writes a Bloomberg News reviewer. “There’s nothing like it.”

Parental discretion is advised. HAIR includes a dimly lighted 20-second scene with non-sexual nudity.

Adult $62, $53
University Park Student $44, $38
18 and Younger $54, $48

Journey to the meeting places of Baroque art and music. Using exquisite musicianship, gorgeous projected images, and inviting narration as your guides, venture through five European homes where works by Johann Sebastian Bach, George Frideric Handel, Antonio Vivaldi, and Marin Marais were played amid paintings by Johannes Vermeer, Canaletto, and Antoine Watteau. “Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra brought seventeenth- and eighteenth-century music on period instruments to Toronto three decades ago, but rather than become a museum curator of old masterworks, the organization continues to find new ways of connecting audiences to its art,” writes a Toronto Star critic. “Its latest creation, House of Dreams, … is much more than a concert. It … transcends its many components to create a special, all-encompassing experience that makes one forget time and place for two bliss-filled hours.”

Adult $42
University Park Student $15
18 and Younger $32

Canada’s premier Baroque opera/ballet company, Opera Atelier makes its Penn State debut in a heralded production of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s The Magic Flute. Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, like Opera Atelier from Toronto, provides live musical accompaniment for the performance of Mozart’s final and most beloved opera. Founded a quarter century ago and still guided by artistic directors Marshall Pynkoski and Jeannette Lajeunesse Zingg, Opera Atelier specializes in producing works from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. While drawing on the aesthetics and ideals of that age, the company goes beyond period reconstruction to infuse its productions with inventive theatricality that resonates with today’s audiences. The Magic Flute, a family-friendly tale of a prince out to rescue the daughter of a queen, is performed in English with English supertitles.

Adult $62
University Park Student $20
18 and Younger $41