Cornish College of the Arts Announces Spring 2012 Calendar

Cornish College of the Arts has announced its spring 2012 events calendar.  The spring schedule of events features a diverse schedule of exhibitions, music, theater and dance performances.

To purchase tickets or for more information, please visit www.cornish.edu/events

CORNISH MUSIC SERIES
All Music Series events occur at Cornish College’s PONCHO Concert Hall, 710 East Roy Street, Seattle.

Mara Gearman and Friends
January 20, 8 pm
Cornish faculty violist Mara Gearman invites fellow Seattle Symphony Orchestra members Elisa Barston (violin), Efe Baltacigil (cello), and Brittany Boulding (violin), along with Paige Stockley Lerner (cello), Oksana Ezhokina (piano), Paul Taub (flute) and Eric Garcia (percussion) to join her in this concert of classic and contemporary chamber music featuring the viola including Mozart’s Divertimento in E-flat major for String Trio (1788), Hindemith’s Sonata for Viola and Piano op. 11, No. 4 (1919), and Morton Feldman’s The Viola in My Life, Part II (1970).
Tickets: $20 general; $15 seniors; $10 Cornish community w/ID

Bobby Previte
January 24, 12:30 pm
Masterclass: Free and open to the public.
New York-based drummer Bobby Previte has worked with an unlikely array of leading lights in music over the past thirty years that includes John Adams, Johnny Copeland, Lejaren Hiller, Lenny Kaye, John Lurie, Michael Tilson Thomas, Tom Waits, Zeena Parkins, and So Percussion. Join us for this very special presentation.

Seattle Modern Orchestra
January 27, 8 pm
For the second year in a row, Cornish hosts the exciting new Seattle Modern Orchestra, an orchestra devoted to playing seldom-heard jewels from the contemporary chamber orchestra repertoire. Join us for layers of time, a concert featuring Piece No. 2 for small orchestra (1986) by Conlon Nancarrow, Eight Lines (1983) by Steve Reich, and Talea (1986) by Gérard Grisey.
Tickets: $20 general; $15 seniors; $10 Cornish community w/ID

Bill Frisell
February 1, 12 pm
Masterclass: Free and open to the public.
One of the most sought-after guitarists in contemporary music today, Seattle-based Bill Frisell has collaborated with a staggering array of artists from around the globe that includes John Zorn, Elvis Costello, Ginger Baker, Bono, Brian Eno, Jon Hassell, Marianne Faithful, John Scofield, Jan Garbarek, Lyle Mays, Vernon Reid, Julius Hemphill, the Frankfurt Ballet, and film director Gus Van Sant, among others.

Tom Varner Nonet
February 4, 8 pm
Tom Varner, award-winning composer and French hornist, premieres “Nine Surprises” and other works from his recent CD release Heaven and Hell, as well as selected earlier works scored for this innovative nine-piece ensemble comprised of some of Seattle’s best improvisers including Thomas Marriott, David Marriott, Mark Taylor, Eric Barber, Jim DeJoie, Phil Sparks, and Byron Vannoy.
Tickets: $20 general; $15 seniors; $10 Cornish community w/ID

Wayne Horvitz’s “Smokestack Arias”
February 7, 12:30 pm
Masterclass: Free and open to the public.
Join composer Wayne Horvitz, soprano Maria Mannisto, pianist Cristina Valdes and librettist Robin Holcomb, for this special presentation and discussion about “Smokestack Arias” Horvitz’s latest music-theater work to be presented at ACT based upon the historical events surrounding the 1916 labor protests referred to as the “Everett Massacre.”

Chris Acquavella
February 18, 2 pm
Masterclass: Free and open to the public.
Join classical mandolinist Chris Acquavella for this workshop on classical mandolin repertoire and mandolin left and right-hand technique. Come learn from this year’s 2011 Mandolin Symposium and Classical Mandolin Society of America featured instructor.

Cyndia Sieden, Stephen Stubbs and Maxine Eilander
February 18, 8 pm
An evening of 19th Century song repertoire featuring soprano Cyndia Sieden accompanied by harpist Maxine Eilander and guitarist Stephen Stubbs on period instruments.
Tickets: $20 general; $15 seniors; $10 Cornish community w/ID

Sachal Vasandani
February 24, 12 pm
Masterclass: Free and open to the public.
Join 2010 Downbeat magazine “Rising Star” award-winning vocalist, lyricist and bandleader Sachal Vasandani as he presents this jazz vocal masterclass with Cornish jazz vocal students.

Sachal Vasandani
February 24, 8 pm
With his breakthrough debut release Eyes Wide Open in 2007 jazz vocalist Sachal Vasandani immediately established himself as a promising new voice in modern jazz. Two subsequent releases since then and a 2010 Downbeat “Rising Star” award have only confirmed that Vasandani is one to hear.
Tickets: $20 general; $15 seniors; $10 Cornish community w/ID

Ilia Radoslavov
February 25, 8 pm
Grand-prize winner at the 2009 Seattle International Piano Competition Ilia Radoslavov returns to Seattle and presents a piano recital that includes Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 30 in E major, Op. 109 (1820), Bulgarian composer Pancho Vladigerov’s Improvisation and Toccata, Opus 36, No. 4 and No. 5 (1941), and Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition (1874).
Tickets: $20 general; $15 seniors; $10 Cornish community w/ID

Nicole Mitchell
March 2, 12 pm
Masterclass: Free and open to the public.
Named “Top Flutist” in Downbeat magazine’s Critics Polls for three years running, Mitchell has emerged as a jazz flutist with her own distinctive voice.

Nicole Mitchell & The Cornish Contemporary Big Band
March 3, 8 pm
Flutist and composer Nicole Mitchell joins the Cornish Contemporary Big Band, under the direction of trumpeter Jay Thomas, in this concert featuring Mitchell’s own compositions. Named “Top Flutist” in Downbeat magazine’s Critics Polls, her compositions integrate new ideas with jazz, gospel, and African percussion to create a fascinating synthesis of “postmodern jazz.”
Tickets: $20 general; $15 seniors; $10 Cornish community w/ID

The Dawn Clement Quartet
March 24, 8 pm
Pianist and composer Dawn Clement leads her outstanding quartet in an evening of Clement’s original compositions.
Tickets: $20 general; $15 seniors; $10 Cornish community w/ID

Janet See
March 25, 7 pm – Note Early Start Time!
One of the leading performers on Baroque and early Classical flutes in the world today, Janet See presents a program of works by Handel, Vivaldi, and Bach accompanied by fellow Cornish faculty members Byron Schenkman, harpsichord, and Margriet Tindemans, viola da gamba.
Tickets: $20 general; $15 seniors; $10 Cornish community w/ID

The Corigliano Quartet
March 30, 8 pm
Masterclass: Free and open to the public.
One of the leading string quartets devoted to performing contemporary American music in the world today, the Corigliano Quartet concludes their weeklong residency at Cornish with an open reading of new compositions for string quartet by Cornish student composers.

The Corigliano Quartet
March 31, 8 pm
The Corigliano Quartet—Michael Jinsoo Lim and Elisa Barston, violins; Melia Watras, viola; and Amy Sue Barston, cello—present a program of both classic and contemporary compositions for string quartet.
Tickets: $20 general; $15 seniors; $10 Cornish community w/ID

Rudresh Mahanthappa and Cornish Jazz Ensemble
April 7, 8 pm
One of the most innovative young musicians working in jazz today, Guggenheim fellow and Downbeat International Critics Poll Winner Rudresh Mahanthappa leads a handpicked ensemble of Cornish students in this special concert concluding his visiting artist residency at Cornish this spring.
Tickets: $20 general; $15 seniors; $10 Cornish community w/ID

Wolter Wierbos, Masterclass
April 13, 12 pm
Legendary Dutch trombonist Wolter Wierbos brings his own distinctive style of creative improvised music to Cornish for this trombone masterclass.

Cristina Valdes
April 14, 8 pm
The phenomenal pianist Cristina Valdes presents Mano a Mano: an evening of contemporary piano music by Latin American composers including seldom performed works by Carlos Sanchez-Gutierrez, Orlando Garcia, Jorge Grossman, Mario Lavista, and German Caceres.
Tickets: $20 general; $15 seniors; $10 Cornish community w/ID

THEATER
Fifth of July
By Lanford Wilson
Directed by Roger Benington
March 1-2, 8 pm
March 3, 2 pm & 8 pm
March 4, 2 pm
A major work by one of the American theater’s most important and celebrated writers, Fifth of July explores family ties, political activism, the aftermath of war and the challenges of finding success as a performing artist. Set in rural Missouri, it is filled with what the New York Times called “the boundless empathy that is Mr. Wilson's hallmark as a dramatist, presenting a … sober but … affectionate creed of acceptance of human failings.”

Produced by the Theater and Performance Production Departments

Skinner Theatre at Raisbeck Hall
2015 Boren Avenue
$15 General Admission, $5 Cornish community w/ ID and Senior Citizens

The Mystery of Edwin Drood
By Rupert Holmes
Directed by Richard Gray and Kathryn Van meter
Music Direction by David Close
April 10-14, 8 pm
April 14, 2 pm
Join the denizens of London’s Music Hall Royale, as they perform Charles Dickens’ unfinished novel, The Mystery of Edwin Drood.  You are invited to solve the mystery yourself by choosing one of several ingenious resolutions.  The only Broadway show in which the audience decides the ending, Drood won five Tony awards in 1986, including Best Score, Best Book and Best Musical.

Produced with the Performance Production Department

Intiman Playhouse
Seattle Center
$15 General Admission, $5 Cornish community w/ ID and Senior Citizens

The Bacchae
April 20 and 27, 3:30 pm, April 21, 22, 28 at 2 pm, April 29 at 12 pm
By Euripides, new version by C.K. Williams
Directed by J. Richard Smith
Fevered female protesters occupy Athens! The followers of Dionysus are giving the patriarchal authorities of Athens fits, while the rulers deny the divine inspiration. Explore the perils of angering the gods with the Cornish Theater Junior class, performed in the new outdoor plaza on the Amazon campus.

Van Vorst Plaza on the Amazon campus
410 Terry Avenue North
Free and open to the public

Romeo and Juliet
April 20, 27 at 3:30 pm, April 21, 22, 28, 29 at 2 pm
By William Shakespeare
Directed by Makaela Pollack
"These violent delights have violent ends
And in their triumph die, like fire and powder,
Which as they kiss consume."
Join the Cornish Theater Juniors, as they present one of Shakespeare’s most thrilling, lyrical and heartbreaking works in the lovely sylvan surroundings of Seattle’s Volunteer Park.

Volunteer Park
Free and open to the public

Two Generative Pieces
By The Sophomore Ensemble
Directed by Tom Wiseley and TBD
Ensemble I performs April 24, 26, 28 at 8 pm, April 29 at 2 pm
Ensemble II performs April 25, 27, at 8 pm, April 28 at 2 pm, April 29 at 7 pm
Theater without a net! Two ensembles of second-year performers create original works of theater through investigation, improvisation, and playwriting under the guidance of a professional director.

Produced by the Theater and Performance Production Departments

Skinner Theater at Raisbeck Hall
2015 Boren Avenue
$10 General Admission, $5 Cornish community w/ ID and Senior Citizens

dANCE
BFA Dance Concerts 2012
Program 1: February 16-17, 8 pm
Program 2: February 18, 2 pm & 8 pm
Program 3: February 23-24, 8 pm
Program 4: February 25, 2 pm & 8 pm
The 2012 BFA Dance Concerts showcase the choreography and performance work of the Dance Department’s class of 2012. An eclectic array of dance styles and viewpoints will be represented, ranging from modern dance to contemporary ballet, jazz and screendance, with some dances performed to live music. The concert series will also include performances of works commissioned from professional guest choreographers.

Broadway Performance Hall, 1625 Broadway
Free and open to the public (ticket required for entry)
Tickets: cornish.edu/events

Terpsichore’s Landing 2012
April 15, 3 pm and 8 pm
Choreography by Dance Department students

PONCHO Concert Hall, 710 East Roy Street
Free and open to the public

Cornish Dance Theater Spring 2012 Concert
April 27, 8 pm
April 28, 2 pm & 8 pm
The Dance Department’s student performance ensemble, Cornish Dance Theater, presents work by faculty and visiting professional choreographers.  The Spring Concert will feature choreography by Rhonda Cinotto, Iyun Harrison, Cyrus Khambatta, José Limón and Deborah Wolf.

Broadway Performance Hall, 1625 Broadway
$10 general admission, $5 Cornish Community (w/ID) and seniors

Cornish Junior Dance Company Spring Concert 2012
Presented by the Cornish Junior Dance Company
May 19, 3 pm & 7:30 pm
May 20, 3 pm
The Cornish Junior Dance Company offers intermediate and advanced students enrolled in the Preparatory Dance Program at Cornish College of the Arts the opportunity to work with choreographers and perform a variety of dance styles.

Erickson Theater, 1524 Harvard Avenue
$16 general admission, $12 seniors, students, alumni (w/ID)

EXHIBITIONS
Art Faculty Show
January 18 – February 15
Opening Reception: January 18, 5 – 8 pm
This biennial exhibition brings together video, painting, sculpture, print, photo, installation, and mixed media works, reflecting the range and depth of artwork and inquiry, demonstrated by Cornish Art Faculty.

Cornish Main Gallery
Free and open to the public

Jon Gierlich: Currents
February 21 – March 21
Opening Reception: February 21, 5 – 8 pm
Currents is a retrospective of work by the late Cornish Design Professor, Jon Gierlich.  This exhibition is aimed at remembering him through his artwork, as a thoughtful mentor, artist, friend, and beloved member of the Cornish community for 22 years.

Cornish Main Gallery
Free and open to the public

Art & Design BFA Show 2012
May 11 – 26
Opening Reception: May 11, 5 – 9 pm
The Cornish BFA Show is the annual introduction of the graduating seniors from Art and Design, as emerging artists and designers.  This expansive exhibition features a wide range of work that represents the culmination of the techniques and concepts developed throughout their experience at Cornish.

Cornish Main Gallery
Free and open to the public