Musco Center for the Arts at Chapman University Announces Initial Wave of Programs for its Inaugural Season, October 2016 to May 2017 Visiting Artists & Companies include Dianne Reeves, Béla Fleck, Ahn Trio, Peter Serkin, Aaron Neville, Vince Gill, Rita Moreno, LA Opera Off Grand, and More

Tickets On Sale Now at www.muscocenter.org

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ORANGE, Calif., June 21, 2016 –The Marybelle and Sebastian P. Musco Center for the Arts at Chapman University today announced the initial schedule of Visiting Artists & Companies for its Inaugural Season, October 2016 to May 2017, according to William Hall, Musco Center’s founding dean and artistic director.

“The Musco Center is already being broadly lauded as one of the finest acoustic performing spaces in the West,” said Dean Hall. “Our six-week Opening & Preview Season, which we just completed, showed it off beautifully, with more than 15,000 people in attendance. We couldn’t be happier.”
“With more than 80 academic and professional events, we fully expect the Inaugural Season to launch the Musco Center into high-earth orbit, “said Richard T. Bryant, Musco Center executive director. “This is just the first of our programming announcements,” he added. “Working with Dean Giulio Ongaro and the distinguished faculty of the College of Performing Arts, we will soon announce 25 or more student performances of music, dance and theater. Also in store will be further announcements of professional contemporary dance, fine arts recitals in association with LA Opera Off Grand, a choral presentation by Pacific Chorale with Pacific Symphony, and a second international festival with performances indoors and out.”

Included in today’s Inaugural Season announcement is an illustrated lecture by new science hero, NASA astronaut Scott Kelly, who recently broke the American record for the longest stay in space; concerts by jazz diva Dianne Reeves, iconic New Orleans vocalist Aaron Neville, classical music greats Peter Serkin and the Ahn Trio, and new classical piano sensations Julia Hsu and Louis Schwizgebel. Banjo virtuosos Béla Fleck & Abigail Washburn will also perform, as will the contemporary dance company BODYTRAFFIC, and a phalanx of magicians from the hit television series “Masters of Illusion.” Broadway legend Rita Moreno will also appear as part of the Arts & Lecture Series.  Please see detailed schedule below.

In its first engagement with Musco Center, the Philharmonic Society of Orange County will present violin phenomenon Ray Chen and an ensemble of strings from the Berlin Philharmonic (during the orchestra’s first visit to Orange County in 15 years), and the boundary-breaking Kronos Quartet, with a concert featuring music from the Kronos’s acclaimed Fifty for the Future commissioning project. Los Angeles Opera will bring the LA Opera Orchestra to the Musco Center stage for a special Halloween presentation of the 1922 horror film “Nosferatu,” with the orchestra performing a new score composed and conducted by Matthew Aucoin. The audience is invited to come in costume.
Following its highly successful festival of Mexican culture this past spring, Musco Center’s World CAFE (Cultural Arts Festivals and Events) will close the season with a free daytime festival of Hawai’ian music and dance, followed by an evening performance in Musco Center by the Masters of Slack Key Guitar and the thrilling dancers of Na Lei Hulu I Ka Wēkiu.  A second World CAFE for the 2016-2017 season will be announced soon.
Performances by the student music, dance, and theatre ensembles of Chapman’s College of Performing Arts also will take place in Musco Center, with the 2016-17 schedule to be announced at a later date.
Tickets for the visiting artists’ performances are on sale now at the Musco Center box office and on its website, www.muscocenter.org.

 

MUSCO CENTER FOR THE ARTS

INAUGURAL SEASON 2016-2017 SCHEDULE

 

Tuesday, October 4, 7:30pm

The Time Jumpers

featuring Vince Gill, Kenny Sears and “Ranger Doug” Green

Country legend Vince Gill and his superstar instrumentalist pals are Western swing artists of the highest order. What started out as a jam band of top session and sidemen has become “a Nashville institution,” says The New York Times, playing Americana roots music that’s real, true and from the depths of their souls.

 

Wednesday, October 5, 7:30pm

Peter Serkin & Julia Hsu

An artist of passionate integrity, the iconic American pianist Peter Serkin is a supreme interpreter of the classical repertoire. He’s joined by young piano sensation Julia Hsu in a keyboard four-hands tour-de-force featuring the music of Beethoven, Brahms, Bizet and Schubert.

 

Saturday, October 8, 7:30pm

Ahn Trio

These three sisters — born in Korea, Juilliard-educated — are now classical music’s hottest ensemble. Named to People’s Most Beautiful list, they balance artistic unanimity and individuality in a spirit that is at the heart of chamber music. “Exacting and exciting musicians,” says the Los Angeles Times.

 

Saturday, October 15, 7:30pm

BODYTRAFFIC 

Praised for its “confident, hard-hitting” (LA Weekly) execution in a wide range of styles, BODYTRAFFIC has been named one of Dance Magazine’s “25 to Watch.” Showcasing technical brilliance and boundless energy, blended with quirky humor, this young company has surged to the forefront of the concert dance world.

 

Friday, October 28, 7:30pm

L.A. Opera Off Grand

Nosferatu

Members of the LA Opera Orchestra accompany the 1922 classic horror film

New score composed, curated and conducted by Matthew Aucoin

One of the greatest horror films ever made – F.W. Murnau’s supremely creepy vampire thriller Nosferatu – is accompanied live by the L.A. Opera Orchestra performing a new score. Drenched in the silvery shadows of German Expressionism, this 1922 silent masterpiece stars Max Schreck as the pallid and deadly Count Orlok.

 

Wednesday, November 16, 7:30pm

Arts & Lecture Series

An Evening with Scott Kelly, NASA Astronaut

Scott Kelly made history in 2016 by completing the longest-duration American space flight ever, a record-breaking 340 days aboard the International Space Station.  He’ll speak about his experience, share his beautiful photos of our blue planet, and discuss how the human body reacts to long-term space flight — and the implications of this for travel to Mars and beyond.

 

Thursday, November 17, 7:30pm  

Masters of Illusion

You’ll believe the impossible as the stars of the hit television series “Masters of Illusion” materialize on the Musco Center stage in the largest touring magic show ever produced. You’ll see grand illusions, levitation, appearances and vanishings, escapes, comedy magic, sleight-of-hand and beautiful dancers; everything you could possibly imagine — and some things that you never even dreamed of!

 

Friday, November 18, 8:00pm

Philharmonic Society of Orange County Presents

Ray Chen and Members of the Berlin Philharmonic

Enjoy an evening of light French and French-influenced fare, including new arrangements of orchestral favorites, as internationally acclaimed violinist Ray Chen joins the Berlin Philharmonic’s top string players at Musco Center. Widely regarded as one of the greatest orchestras in the world, the Berlin Philharmonic is making its first West Coast appearance in 15 years, presented at Segerstrom Concert Hall by the Philharmonic Society. Here’s your chance to hear a small ensemble of these sublime musicians in an intimate setting.

Sunday, December 11, 7:30pm

Aaron Neville Holiday Concert

With an utterly inimitable vocal style – smooth and elastic, lyrical and with a remarkable range from bass to falsetto — Aaron Neville can do it all.  One of the greatest jazz singers of all time brings you one of the most memorable Christmas concerts you’ll ever hope to hear, with favorite songs of the season New Orleans-style, all done up in the ribbons and bows of his astonishing vocal art.

 

Saturday, January 21, 8:00pm

Philharmonic Society of Orange County Presents

Kronos Quartet 

Part of the Eclectic Orange series sponsored by Judith and Howard Jelinek

The boundary-busting Kronos Quartet has revolutionized the string quartet world over the past 40-plus years, performing every style from classical and jazz to tango, rock and experimental. The Grammy-winning ensemble has premiered more than 800 new works and has sold more than 2.5 million recordings. Its adventurous, eclectic approach to programming and cross-cultural collaboration has garnered fans throughout the world. For its Musco Center debut, the Kronos performs a program of works by composers from its Fifty for the Future commissioning project.

 

Sunday, February 5, 7:30pm

Distinguished Piano Series Concert featuring

Louis Schwizgebel

Born in Geneva in 1987, Swiss-Chinese pianist Louis Schwizgebel has been described as “a pianist with a profound gift” performing with “poise and power” (The Guardian). His Musco Center program will include Beethoven’s Piano Sonatas No. 13 and 14, Chopin’s Ballades No. 2 and 3, and Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition.

 

Saturday, March 11, 7:30pm

Arts & Lecture Series

Rita Moreno

Oscar, Emmy, Grammy and Tony winner Rita Moreno is a force of nature, a pioneering quadruple-threat performer who first won acclaim for her role as Anita in West Side Story and went on to become a bona fide national treasure. She’ll reminisce about her remarkable life on stage and screen and speak about her active career today in acclaimed television roles.

 

Thursday, March 16, 7:30pm

Béla Fleck and Abigail Washburn

Husband-and-wife banjo virtuosi Béla Fleck and Abigail Washburn have mastered the deceptively intricate art of the duet. Their performances embrace a diversity almost unbelievable coming from just two banjos and one voice. Washburn’s beguiling playing and singing blend with 15-time Grammy winner Fleck’s riveting, boundary-breaking musicianship to create an explosion of driving, melodic white heat.

Friday, March 17, 7:30pm

Dianne Reeves

“The most admired jazz diva since the heyday of Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday” (New York Times), Dianne Reeves sings it and swings it as no one else can. Fearless, flawless, supremely confident in styles ranging from operatic jazz to gospel, Latin and reggae, Reeve’s purity of tone and phrase linger in the ear. “One of the most creative and technically accomplished female vocalists working today…the essence of jazz,” hailed the Chicago Tribune.

Saturday, April 8 — Musco Center World Café Presents

Island Soul: A Celebration of Hawai’ian Music and Culture

Featuring Na Lei Hulu I Ka Wēkiu and Masters of Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar

Enjoy a day-long festival of Hawai’ian culture and music, with free outdoor performances and events all afternoon featuring acclaimed local Hawai’ian musicians and dancers, craft booths, food and fun for all ages. In the evening, the Masters of Slack Key Guitar join the thrilling dancers of Na Lei Hulu I Ka Wēkiu for a dazzling theatrical experience that blends traditional and contemporary Hawai’ian music and dance.

Artists, dates and programs are subject to change.

ABOUT MUSCO CENTER FOR THE ARTS

Since its opening this past March 2016, Marybelle and Sebastian P. Musco Center for the Arts at Chapman University has taken its place among the nation’s top university arts education and performance venues, offering students and distinguished faculty the opportunity to achieve the highest standard of arts-related education through hands-on, real-world production and performance experience.  At Musco Center, the surrounding community enjoys large-scale opera and theatre productions, touring dance companies, symphonies, chamber performances, jazz concerts, popular music and much more.

For more information about Musco Center, a full schedule of events and to purchase tickets, visit www.muscocenter.org.

ABOUT CHAPMAN UNIVERSITY

Consistently ranked among the top universities in the West, Chapman University provides a uniquely personalized and interdisciplinary educational experience to highly qualified students. Our programs encourage innovation, creativity and collaboration, and focus on developing global citizen-leaders who are distinctively prepared to improve their community and their world. Visit www.chapman.edu.

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