Pace Presents Announces Full Music, Dance, Art & Opera Line-Up for 2013-14 Season

The Michael SchimMel Center for the Performing Arts at Pace University today announced its 2013|2014 Pace Presents Season, under the Executive Direction of Martin I. Kagan, is a world-class performing arts series with an emphasis on music superstars from around the globe, charismatic and innovative dance performances, stunning opera stars in recital and spectacular contemporary cabaret. The Pace Presents season begins on September 21 with a big band tribute to the late, great lounge legend Esquivel from Mr. Ho's Orchestrotica, culminating onJune 1 with the reunion performance of Tina Croll and Jamie Cunningham'sdance/theatre piece From the Horse's Mouth.

Highlights include the brand new Pace Presents series VOCE at Pace: Rising Opera Stars in Recital supported by the Richard Tucker Music Foundation in honor of Dr. Agnes Varis,beginning Sunday, November 3 with the 2013 Cardiff Singer of the World Winner, Jamie Barton. Followed by Paul Appleby on January 26 and Nadine Sierraon February 9. The Gelsey Kirkland Academy's The Nutcracker celebrates the holiday season December 12 - 15. Several New York and US debuts are populating this season, including the US Debut of Romania's Maria T. Balanescu Quartet; the New York Debuts of Bharatanatyam artist Aparna Ramaswamy's Sannidhi, The Black Rock Coalition Orchestra's Deep Roots of Rock and Roll, led by Toshi Reagon, BrIan Sanders' experimental Dance Company, JUNK, as well as Flamenco dancer, IsraelGalván's La Curva, and Montreal's RUBBERBANDance Group. The Ravi Shankar Foundation and Kalapriya, Center for Indian Performing Arts bring an evening ofRAGAMALA: A Tribute to Ravi Shankar, and Jil Aigrot, who has won accolades for her vocal performance in La Vie en Rose, performs EDITH, an evening celebrating the late Ms. Edith Piaf.

Pace Presents is curated by Martin I. Kagan, Pace University's Executive Director of Cultural Affairs. Mr. Kagan's long career in the field of dance and performing arts, including stints at the executive director of The Paul Taylor Dance Company, the Alex Theatre in Glendale, California, Opera America, and LA's John Anson Ford Theatre, informs Pace Presents standard of excellence. Since 2011, Pace Presents has sought to enrich and engage audiences by bringing world-class talent to Lower Manhattan. The aim is to provide patrons with a culturally enriching experience and diverse programming that will captivate and inspire the minds of our community. With the full support and guidance of Pace University's President Stephen J. Friedman andProvost Uday Sukhatme, Pace Presents is a thriving home for the performing arts in Lower Manhattan. Pace Presents is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.

Located adjacent to The World Trade Center, Brooklyn Bridge and City Hall, Pace Presents' 670-seat Michael SchimMel Center for the Arts is readily and easily accessible by car, bus, subway and PATH train. The room offers ample space for groups but is small enough to provide flawless sightlines and truly intimate performances. Competitive ticket pricing is aimed at enticing New Yorkers of all types to visit and explore the best music, theatre and dance that the world has to offer. Student tickets, available to enrollees at any University, High School or Junior High School in the New York area, are only $5 for any performance in the Pace Presents season with a valid student ID.

PACE PRESENTS 2013/2014 SEASON

Saturday, September 21 2013
Pace Presents
Sonorama: The Lost Space Age Pop Music of Esquivel
Featuring MR. HO'S ORCHESTROTICA
Curated by Livesounds.org
at The Michael SchimMel Center for the Arts
Doors at 6:30pm, Show at 7:30pm
Tickets - $35

Mr. Ho's Orchestrotica is the world's only big band dedicated to performing the lost space-age pop music of Juan Garcia Esquivel. The Wall Street Journal calls it "deliciously demented and entertaining in equal parts." Led by Mr. Ho (Brian O'Neill), the 20+ orchestra has rescued the king-of-space-age-bachelor-pad's arrangements via meticulous by-ear transcriptions of Esquivel's recordings, which were known for exploiting the new sound called "stereo" of the 50s and 60s. The ensemble-an experimental big band augmented with atypical roles such as slide guitar, four singers, B3 organ, and three percussionists-recreates the Hollywood, easy Latin, crime jazz, and bachelor pad sounds of mid-century living room hi-fis live on the Schimmel stage.

This event is part of Celebrate México Now, a citywide festival of contemporary Mexican art and culture produced by CN Management.

Artist Website: http://orchestrotica.com/; Festival Website: http://www.mexiconowfestival.org

Saturday, September 28 2013
Pace Presents Django's Dream: A Gypsy Swing Festival
Featuring STEPHANE WREMBEL with
KAMLO and ALFONOSO PONTICELLI
with special guest
Dotschy Reinhardt, Django Reinhardt's granddaughter
Curated by LiveSounds.org
Part of The 9th Annual NY Gypsy Festival
at The Michael SchimMel Center for the Arts
Doors at 6:30pm, Show at 7:30pm
Tickets - $35

For one unforgettable night, this mini festival celebrates Gypsy swing of the 1930s in unexpected ways under the artistic direction of guitarist and composer Stephane Wrembel (Fontainebleu, France/NY). Wrembel, who has been called "a revelation" by Rolling Stone and who composed the music for Woody Allen's last two films will be joined by Kamlo (Nantes, France) who interprets Django via the Mediterranean, and Flamenco and Gypsy swing-style guitar master Alfonso Ponticelli (Chicago). The electrifying sounds of three of the world's leading Gypsy jazz artists - who each share a deep knowledge of Django's style yet express it in individual ways - will move effortlessly between beloved Gypsy jazz standards and stunning improvisations ending in a spectacular super jam finale.

Artist Website: http://stephanewrembel.com/; Artist Website: http://www.swinggitan.com/; Festival Website: http://www.nygypsyfest.com/

Thursday, October 3 2013
Pace Presents
Acoustic Underground - Session 1 - Artists TBA
at The Michael SchimMel Center for the Arts
Doors at 6:30pm, Show at 7:30pm
Tickets - $20

A brand new Pace Presents series! New York City's Singer/Songwriter scene is making its way to the Schimmel. Don't miss today's leading and up-and-coming talent in this special evening. Artists to be announced soon!

Saturday, October 5 2013
Pace Presents
Bharatanatyam master APARNA RAMASWAMY's
US Premiere of Sannidhi (Sacred Space)
Curated by LiveSounds.org
at The Michael SchimMel Center for the Arts
Doors at 6:30pm, Show at 7:30pm
Tickets - Gold Circle Orchestra Center: $40 / Orchestra: $35 / Balcony Center: $35 / Balcony: $25

Aparna Ramaswamy's choreography and performance have been described as "a marvel of buoyant agility and sculptural clarity" (Dance Magazine), "thrillingly three-dimensional," and "enchantingly beautiful," (The New York Times). Ms. Ramaswamy, a protégé of legendary Bharatanatyam artist Alamel Valli, will perform Sannidhi, illuminating the Divine Feminine and Divine Masculine whose timeless duality forms the continuous pulse of the universe. In five sections, this work weaves together music and movement, rhythm and lyric, spirit and emotion, creating an invisible link between dancer, musicians and audience.

The presentation of Sannidhi by Aparna Ramaswamy was made possible by the New England Foundation for the Arts' National Dance Project, with lead funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Artist Website: http://www.aparnaramaswamy.net

Wednesdays in October 2013
Pace Presents
Art History Alive with
DR. JANETTA REBOLD BENTON
France's Fascinating Art:
From the Great Medieval Cathedrals to Post-Impressionism
at The Michael SchimMel Center for the Arts
Doors at 10:00am, Talks begin at 11:00am
Tickets - $25 per lecture or full series for $80

France is unequaled for its range of artistic styles and accomplishment and always with unparalleled French elegance and sophistication. Travel vicariously through the ages with acclaimed scholar Dr. Janetta Rebold Benton as these richly illustrated lectures examine the highpoints of architecture, sculpture, painting, and decorative arts in France, from the late Middle Ages through Post-Impressionism (approximately 1000-1900).

Wednesday, October 9 2013
The Middle Ages

Romanesque and Gothic cathedrals, sculpture, and staiNed Glass. Romanesque, monsters, morals, and building methods from Autun to Vezelay. Gothic soaring cathedrals--Notre-Dame-de-Paris, Chartres, and Beauvais, too skeletal to avoid collapse.

Wednesday, October 16 2013
Renaissance and Baroque

Chateaux of the Loire Valley; Poussin, Louis XIV at Versailles. Join Renaissance and Baroque French royalty and enjoy life in the splendid chateaux and gardens of Chambord, Chenonceau, Versailles, and elsewhere.

Wednesday, October 23 2013
Rococo, Neoclassicism, Romanticism, & Realism

Boucher, David, Gericault, Manet. The pendulum swings from light Rococo pastel fluff, to austere severe Neoclassicism, to Romantic escapes, and finally to the everyday genre scenes of Realism.

Wednesday, October 30 2013
Impressionism and Post-Impressionism

Monet, Renoir, Degas, van Gogh, Gauguin, Cezanne, Seurat. Impressionist and Post-Impressionist artists depicted subjects from daily life, but while the Impressionists painted in terms of light and atmospheric conditions, the Post-Impressionists used color to express emotion and to analyze pictorial structure.

The conversation continues with a group lunch with the Lecturer following each talk for only $25. Limited space available. To purchase a series or lunch with the Lecturer, please call the Michael SchimMel Center for the Arts box office at (212) 346-1715.

Artist Website: http://www.janettareboldbenton.com/

Saturday, October 12 2013
Pace Presents
American Showstoppers
An Evening with Richard Rodgers
Featuring THE FRED BRTON ORCHESTRA
at The Michael SchimMel Center for the Arts
Doors at 6:30pm, Show at 7:30pm
Tickets - Orchestra Center: $45 /Orchestra: $35 / Balcony Center: $35 / Balcony: $25

Fred Barton, his 12-piece orchestra and star-studded cast of performers are back to celebrate the legendary Richard Rodgers! The extraordinary icon's career spanned six decades, during which he composed 40 Broadway musicals. Fred's tribute to the versatility of Richard Rodgers will prove a revelation to those familiar with his biggest hits: Oklahoma!, South Pacific, Carousel, and The Sound of Music. You'll hear Richard Rodgers from his razz-ma-tazz roots to his later masterworks, created with a number of star lyricists. Join us as we journey from Broadway to Hollywood and back, casting light on the incredible music and tales of Richard Rodgers.

Artist Website: http://fredbarton.blogspot.com/

Thursday, October 17 2013
Friday, October 18 2013 Saturday, October 19 2013
Pace Presents
Recuerdo Tango
with THE MARIELA FRANGANILLO COMPANY
Curated by LiveSounds.org
at The Michael SchimMel Center for the Arts
Doors at 6:30pm, Show at 7:30pm
Tickets - Gold Circle Orchestra Center: $55 / Orchestra: $40 / Balcony Center: $40 / Balcony: $30

A Tango tale in three parts, Recuerdo reflects on the present, past and everyday life through a series of vignettes. Featuring nine outstanding dancers, a quartet and vocalist under the direction of renowned dancer and choreographer Mariela Franganillo and Bob McAndrew, Recuerdo combines both early and modern expressions of tango to explore a variety of forms of memory -ranging in tone from passionate to comical and reaching the boundaries of tender to tormented. Rediscover the vitality of Tango in an evening of impassioned dance. The New York Times has complemented the company on the "real chemistry in their closely linked, swirling duos and their taut, whiplash footwork."

Friday, November 1 2013 and Saturday, November 2 2013
Pace Presents
EDITH
Performed by Jil Aigrot, the Voice of Edith Piaf in
the Award-Winning Film La Vie En Rose
Remembering the 50th Anniversary of the passing of Piaf
at The Michael SchimMel Center for the Arts
Doors at 6:30pm, Show at 7:30pm
Tickets - Gold Circle Orchestra Center: $45 / Orchestra: $35 / Balcony Center: $35 / Balcony: $25

This spectacular evening will begin in Paris's most famous artistic neighborhood, Montmartre. Ms. Aigrot will then entertain you with the 'music hall' period of Edith Piaf's career during which Piaf sang her most famous hits. On stage video will include never before seen images of Piaf's life. Jil Aigrot was discovered by Ginou Richer, Edith Piaf's close friend and personal secretary. Shortly after their meeting, Jil Aigrot was chosen to be the singing voice of the great Edith Piaf in Olivier Dahan's award-winning film, La Vie En Rose.

Sunday, November 3 2013
Pace Presents
Jamie Barton
Curated by Matthew A. Epstein
at The Michael SchimMel Center for the Arts
Doors at 2:00pm, Show at 3:00pm
Tickets: $35

The Guardian calls Barton, "a great artist, no question, with an imperturbable steadiness of tone, and a nobility of utterance that invites comparison not so much with her contemporaries as with mid-20th century greats such as Kirsten Flagstad or Karin Branzell." In her first recital performance since winning the prestigious 2013 Cardiff Singer of the World competition and Cardiff Singer of the World Song Prize,Jamie Barton will open VOCE AT PACE: Rising Opera Stars in Recital at the SchimMel Center. Ms. Barton is the winner of the 2007 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and a Grammy nominee. Jamie Barton is a 2012 Richard Tucker Career Grant Winner.

Supported by the Richard Tucker Music Foundation in honor of Dr. Agnes Varis.

Artist Website: http://www.jamiebartonmezzo.com/

Saturday, November 23 2013
Pace Presents
Deep Roots of Rock and Roll
with THE BLACK ROCK COALITION ORCHESTRA
Featuring TOSHI REAGON, Carl Hancock Rux, Nona Hendryx, more TBA
Curated by LiveSounds.org
at The Michael SchimMel Center for the Arts
Doors at 6:30pm, Show at 7:30pm
Tickets: $35

The Black Rock Coalition Orchestra, under the artistic and musical direction of the incomparable Toshi Reagon, explores the origins and deep roots of rock and roll with a multimedia journey that traces the music back to such progenitors as Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Little Richard, Chuck Berry, and Bo Diddley among others. Poet/performerCarl Hancock Rux is your radio DJ for the evening, in effect replicating the transmission of the culture along and across racial, generational and socioeconomic lines. With a killer backing band and an impressive parade of special guests, this exciting, soul-rousing, foot-tapping performance will forever recontextualize how we hear, see, and define rock and roll. The BRC Orchestra is the official performance arm of the Black Rock Coalition, founded in 1985 by Vernon Reid, Greg Tate and Konda Mason.

Artist Website: http://blackrockcoalition.org/

Sunday, November 24 2013
Pace Presents
YAMATO THE DRUMMERS OF JAPAN
20th Anniversary Show - Rojyo: The Beat on the Road
at The Michael SchimMel Center for the Arts
Doors at 6:30pm, Show at 7:30pm
Tickets - Gold Circle Orchestra Center: $45 / Orchestra: $35 / Balcony Center: $35 / Balcony: $25

Yamato the Drummers of Japan are sure to take you on a wild ride! Yamato was founded by Masa Ogawa in 1993 in Nara, 'the land of Yamato' which is said to be the birthplace of Japanese culture. With a motto that calls "to make the world a little more happy," Yamato travels all over the world with Japan's traditional Wadaiko drums, putting its very souls into the unusual instruments, whose sound stirs the hearts of people everywhere.

Artist Website: http://www.yamatodrummers.com/

Pace Presents
Tchaikovsky's THE NUTCRACKER
Featuring THE Gelsey Kirkland BALLET
Production by Michael Chernov
at The Michael SchimMel Center for the Arts
Thursday, December 12 2013 - Doors at 6:30, Show at 7:30pm
Friday, December 13 2013 - Doors at 6:30, Show at 7:30pm
Saturday, December 14 2013 - Doors at 1:00, Show at 2:00pm
Saturday, December 14 2013 - Doors at 6:30, Show at 7:30pm
Sunday, December 15 2013 - Doors at 3:00, Show at 4:00pm
Tickets - Gold Circle Orchestra Center: $55 / Orchestra: $40 / Balcony Center: $40 / Balcony: $30

Join us for the holidays as the Gelsey Kirkland Academy Ballet brings their version of the perennial holiday classic to the Schimmel. Set to Tchaikovsky's iconic and emotional score, The Nutcracker is a richly symbolic story about a young girl's journey through fear and darkness to the light of love, guided by her godfather, Drosselmeyer. Marie's transformation from child to princess to marriage with the ideal prince begins with an unlikely gift from her godfather at a Christmas Eve party: an ugly doll that cracks hard nuts. Follow Marie as she is menaced by dark forces and ultimately rescued by the Nutcracker who leads her up the Christmas tree into the land of snow and into his kingdom.

Artist Website: http://www.gelseykirklandballet.org/

Thursday, December 20 2013
Pace Presents
THE BALANESCU QUARTET
The US Debut of Maria T.
Curated by LiveSounds.org
at The Michael SchimMel Center for the Arts
Doors at 6:30pm, Show at 7:30pm
Tickets: $35

The Balanescu Quartet with a worldwide cult following is led by Romanian virtuoso violinist and composer Alexander Balanescu. Pushing the limits of a string quartet Balenscu has collaborated with Lounge Lizard John Lurie, Jack de Johnette, Ornette Coleman, Philip Glass, Michael Nyman, David Byrne, the Pet Shop Boys, Spiritualized, Kate Bush, Pina Bausch and Kraftwerk. This performance, inspired by the legendary Romanian singer, Maria Tanase (1913 - 1963), expresses the synergy between classical and traditional music, using computer technology to create a geographical and cultural bridge between the Quartet and Maria Tanase as well as through the unique digital video and stage design of Klaus Obermaier and Steve Arguelles on percussion.

Artist Website: http://www.balanescu.com/

Sunday, January 26 2014
Pace Presents PAUL APPLEBY
Curated by Matthew A. Epstein
at The Michael SchimMel Center for the Arts
Doors at 2:00pm, Show at 3:00pm
Tickets: $35

Paul Appleby is quickly emerging as one of the world's most inspiring young voices. Mr. Appleby, winner of the 2011 Richard Tucker Career Grant, is one of the most exciting and admirable vocalists of his generation. Opera News calls Mr. Appleby a "promising tenor with a good deal of warmth and agility."

Supported by the Richard Tucker Music Foundation in honor of Dr. Agnes Varis.

Artist Website: http://imgartists.com/artist/paul_appleby

Sunday, February 9 2014
Pace Presents Nadine Sierra
Curated by Matthew A. Epstein
at The Michael SchimMel Center for the Arts
Doors at 2:00pm, Show at 3:00pm
Tickets: $35

Rising young soprano Nadine Sierra is currently debuting at the Teatro di San Carlo in Naples as Gilda in Rigoletto and at the San Francisco Symphony in concerts with Michael Tilson Thomas. Ms. Sierra is the winner of the 2013 Richard Tucker Career Grant. The South Florida Classical Review calls Ms. Sierra, "The complete package. [She] has the looks, the charisma and most importantly, the voice to become an operatic star."

Supported by the Richard Tucker Music Foundation in honor of Dr. Agnes Varis.

Artist Website: http://www.opus3artists.com/artists/nadine-sierra

Wednesdays in February and March 2014
Pace Presents
Art History Alive with
DR. JANETTA REBOLD BENTON
The Great Masters Series
at The Michael SchimMel Center for the Arts
Doors at 10:00am, Talks begin at 11:00am
Tickets: $25 per lecture or full series for $80

This spring the Great Masters Lecture Series continues with four of the greatest artists of all time. Join Dr. Janetta Rebold Benton for a richly illustrated examination of four artistic geniuses who represent four different countries and style of art and architecture.

Wednesday, February 19 2014
Raphael (1483-1520) and the Italian Renaissance
Although Raphael lived only 37 years, he is considered the paradigm of the High Renaissance because his style most closely approximates that of classical Greek. Known for his maternal Madonnas and endearing chubby children as well as his frescoes in the Vatican, including the celebrated School of Athens, Raphael epitomized the Renaissance ideals of harmony, balance, and clarity of meaning. The Renaissance gentleman, handsome Raphael did it all with ease. Visit Raphael's childhood home in Urbino.

Wednesday, February 26 2014
Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919) & French Impressionism

Viewers might like to be invited to enter Renoir's happy scenes in which women (always pretty) and men (always handsome) enjoy themselves in pleasurable activities such as dancing, boating, and dining. Working with natural light and bright color, throughout his life Renoir's favorite subject was the female figure, preferably nude. His zest for life persisted even in his later years when he was crippled by arthritis. Visit Renoir's home "Les Collettes" in Cagnes-sur-Mer.

Wednesday, March 5 2014
Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959) & Modern US Architecture

Considered the greatest architect of the 20th century, Wright used the term "organic" to describe his architecture. He designed a wide range of buildings, from private homes, such as Fallingwater in Bear Run, PA, to museums, as the circular spiraling Guggenheim in Manhattan. His complicated and controversial life included three wives, police arrest, and much more. Wednesday, March 12 2014
Frida Kahlo (1907-1954) and Personal Realism in Mexico
Kahlo's many self-portraits simultaneously record her appearance and her pain, which was both physical (polio and a bus accident) and emotional (her husband Diego Rivera). Although called a Surrealist, she said she was painting her own reality. Her subjects reveal the intimacies of her life; her very personal paintings provide viewers with a visual autobiography of a riveting personality and life.

The Conversation continues with a group lunch with the Lecturer following each talk for only $25. Limited space available. To purchase a series or lunch with the Lecturer, please call the Pace Presents box office at (212) 346-1715.

Artist Website: http://www.janettareboldbenton.com/

Thursday, February 27 2014
Pace Presents
Acoustic Underground - Session 2 - Artists TBA
at The Michael SchimMel Center for the Arts
Doors at 6:30pm, Show at 7:30pm
Tickets: $20

A brand new Pace Presents series! New York City's Singer/Songwriter scene is making its way to the Schimmel. Don't miss today's leading and up-and-coming talent in this special evening. Artists to be announced soon!