A Tony Award-winning playwright, a Grammy Award-winning soprano, art-making robots and a music composition performed on Google Glass are among the more than 40 events on tap for UGA’s 2014 Spotlight on the Arts festival.
The third annual festival is scheduled for Nov. 6-14 and will feature performances by British baroque quartet Red Priest, the Russian State Symphony Orchestra and Grammy Award-winning soprano Kathleen Battle. The 2014 Spotlight on the Arts festival also includes events featuring Academy and Tony award-winning playwright Alfred Uhry, who will be inducted into the Georgia Writers Hall of Fame. A University Theatre production of The Great Gatsby will run throughout the festival.
“Each year, the Spotlight on the Arts festival shines a light on the breadth and the quality of arts programming at the University of Georgia,” said Pamela Whitten, senior vice president for academic affairs and provost. “This year’s festival truly offers something for everyone, and it’s shaping up to be the best one yet.”
The festival, presented by the UGA Arts Council, kicks off on Nov. 6 with the first of many free curator-led tours of the Georgia Museum of Art as well a concert by the UGA Jazz Band and an opera performance of Hansel and Gretel. A free concert on College Square on Nov. 8 called Spotlight • Slingshot will feature five musical acts co-presented by the Willson Center for Humanities and Arts and the music business program of the Terry College of Business in association with the Slingshot festival of music, electronic art and technology. Other highlights include a family-friendly birthday celebration for the Georgia Museum of Art, a documentary film series, a book talk and dance performances.
In addition to the Google Glass performance of “Adwords/Edward” commissioned by Cynthia Johnston Turner, the Hugh Hodgson School of Music’s new professor of conducting and director of bands, the festival highlights the age of technology in two more events: a Skype conversation with documentary film director Jason Miller, whose film The Past is a Grotesque Animal was funded through a Kickstarter campaign, and a chance for the public to experiment with art-making machines called Artbots.
More information on the 2014 Spotlight on the Arts festival, including a schedule of events, can be found at www.arts.uga.edu as well as on the Arts Council Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/UGAarts) and Twitter feed (www.twitter.com/UGA_arts).
Many of the performances are free or discounted for students. Tickets for events presented by the Performing Arts Center, dance department, Hugh Hodgson School of Music and University Theatre will be available for purchase online at www.pac.uga.edu, at the box office or by phone at 706-542-4400, beginning in late August.