The Performing Arts Center has announced the roster of artists for the 2006-2007 season. The upcoming season will include 30 performances in seven series: Music Series I, Music Series II, Showtime, Dance Festival, Traditions, the Ramsey Concert Hall Series and the Franklin College Chamber Music Series.
“We are beginning our second decade of service to the university and to the community, and this season will continue our tradition of presenting the finest performers available,” says Timothy A. Bartholow, director of the Office of Performing Arts. “Our performers will help us celebrate two birthday milestones this season: the 250th anniversary of Mozart’s birth in 1756 and the 125th anniversary of Stravinsky’s birth in 1882. We will be emphasizing great orchestras as we celebrate these birthdays throughout the year, with a total of six internationally renowned orchestras gracing the Hodgson Hall stage during the season.”
Music Series I will feature the acclaimed period-instrument orchestra, The English Concert, performing several works by Mozart, including his Symphony No. 40. Also appearing on that series will be the BBC National Orchestra of Wales paying tribute to Stravinsky with his Pétrouchka suite. The Swiss vocal group Ensemble Corund will return to Athens in a performance of Bach’s Lutheran Masses, and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra will close the series in April with guest violinist Gil Shaham and the Ladies of the ASO Chorus in a performance of Elgar’s Violin Concerto and Holst’s The Planets.
The Atlanta Symphony will open Music Series II in October with a program of all-Stravinsky and Mozart music, with Stravinsky’s Concerto Dumbarton Oaks and his revolutionary ballet score, The Rite of Spring, along with Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 17, featuring guest pianist Garrick Ohlsson. The Moscow State Symphony Orchestra and the Hungarian Symphony Orchestra also will appear in that series, along with Opera Verdi Europa in a concert version of Puccini’s Turandot.
The Showtime series will present the Hodgson Hall debut of the Grammy Award-winning African-American female a cappella ensemble Sweet Honey In The Rock. The Showtime series also will include a first for the Performing Arts Center: a Saturday family matinee featuring the Fred Garbo Inflatable Theater Co. Cabaret star Andrea Marcovicci will showcase the music of Fred Astaire, and Frank Ferrante will return with his hilarious tribute to Groucho Marx.
Bonnie Rideout’s A Scottish Christmas highlights the Traditions series, along with bluegrass band Kentucky Reign and a performance by Welsh triple harpist Robin Huw Bowen. The Dance Festival will feature the Atlanta Ballet, the Hungarian State Folk Ensemble and the Moscow Festival Ballet performing Don Quixote.
The Ramsey Concert Hall Series will present the best and brightest rising superstars in classical music, and the Franklin College Chamber Music Series will continue the university’s tradition of offering free chamber music concerts for the community.
The Performing Arts Center also will begin its ninth year of recording concerts for broadcast on National Public Radio’s Performance Today, heard by 1.5 million listeners across the country. With the support of UGA’s Office of the Vice President for Public Service and Outreach, the Performing Arts Center will continue its educational programs, offering master classes and lecture/demonstrations to public school students throughout the state of Georgia.
Subscriptions to the 2006-2007 season are on sale now. Subscribers save up to 25 percent off single ticket prices and are entitled to flexible exchange privileges if they are unable to attend one of their regularly scheduled concerts.
For a free brochure, contact the Performing Arts Center box office by phone [(706) 542-4400, toll free at (888) 289-8497] or e-mail (ugaarts@uga.edu).
