Arts & Culture
Performing Arts series promises variety
The Pointer
kshan945@uwsp.edu
The annual Performing Arts Series features a variety of internationally acclaimed and coming performing artists who come to the Stevens Point area showcasing their talents. This years’ series will feature everything from the poetry of Yevgeny Yevtushenko to the Harlem Gospel Choir.
The Performing Arts Series has been running for 30 years. The main purpose is to give students and the community an opportunity to experience a selection of accomplished artists. This years’ series focuses on specific genres of art and goes in-depth to what these art forms are all about. Students interested in the arts and arts management get to take part in this series by providing Public Relations and backstage help.
“Many performing arts series acts historically were selected from classical music and theatre, but in recent years the series has been expanded to include jazz, folk, gospel and popular dance and theatre artists,” said College of Fine Arts and Communication Public Relations Intern Molly VanHoorn. “Student input in this program includes student interns from arts management and communication who help to promote the series and technical support from students working in the Centers who help to stage the productions.”
This year the Performing Arts Series offers a wide variety of performers. Starting off the series on Monday, Oct. 19, is NPR humorist and author, David Sedaris. Sedaris is known for writing about his teenage years experimenting with drugs and battling Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. His award-winning works include “Barrel Fever,” “Naked,” “Holidays on Ice,” and “Me Talk Pretty One Day.”With his love of “s-less” words, due to his lisp, Sedaris tries to show that being normal is overrated when there are so many other things to be. Sedaris’ performance is already sold out.
On Tuesday, Nov. 3, Russian poet Yevgeny Yevtushenko will perform his poetry relating to his stance on bureaucracy and Stalinism in the late 1950s and 60s. Yevtushenko is known as the best Russian poet of the post-Stalin generation but he is also a novelist, essayist, dramatist, screenwriter, actor, editor and a director of several films.
The Prairie Song Project, made up of former University of Iowa students, mezzo-soprano vocalist Katherine Goeldner, flutist Amy Morris and pianist Michael Heaston, will be performing on Tuesday, Nov. 17. Their project celebrates their love of their Midwest roots, music, friendship and the talents of other artists from the Midwest.
“I am really looking forward to this performance. It’s cool to see and hear some people that love music and have a similar background as myself when it comes to the arts. All the performances of the Perfoming Arts Series have my attention; why pass up good music?” said music major Alex Miller.
The second semester will start off with the Harlem Gospel Choir on Thursday, Feb. 4. The choir is considered the most famous gospel choir in America. The choir is known for bringing music to people worldwide and raising money for children’s charities. Beyond its charitable actions, the Harlem Gospel Choir strives to give audiences a better understanding of African American culture.
On Tuesday, Feb. 23, Dansaq, or “dance” in the Quechua language of the Incas, will be performing the work of South American composers. This show prides itself on the performances’ sensuality, technical expertise and inventiveness.
The award-winning concert pianist Sara Davis Buechner, a witty and gregarious speaker whose personality leaps from the stage to connect with the audience, will be performing on Monday, March 15. Her extensive classical repertoire spans over 100 different concertos from Bach to current composers and some of her personally composed pieces.
The last performer of the year is Grammy nominee Alex de Grassi, considered the world’s best finger-style steel-string guitarist. His performance on Wednesday, April 14, will be a creative piece with orchestrated sound, which he integrates with melody, bass, harmony, and rhythm. He was the first artist-in-residence at the nation’s first finger-style guitar degree program at the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee.
“I love the diversity that the Performing Arts Series offers. Students are being given what may be a once in a lifetime chance to see some very prominent artists. The series presents a great opportunity for both students and community members,” says VanHoorn. Get your tickets and experience these exciting and once in a lifetime performances.
