Texas Performing Arts Announces The 2018-19 ESSENTIAL SERIES

Continuing a long tradition of presenting world-class performances to The University of Texas at Austin and the Central Texas community, Texas Performing Arts unveils the 2018-19 Essential Series season. This is the 10th since the renovation of Bass Concert and changing our name to Texas Performing Arts.

Highlights of the 2018-19 Essential Series include Taylor Mac's abridged version of his epic piece, A 24-Decade History of Popular Music, that wildly interprets the social history of the United States; Dance performances by Ragamala Dance Company, Dorrance Dance, and Rennie Harris' Puremovement Dance Company; and, Blackstar, An Orchestral Tribute to David Bowie, featuring cellist Maya Beiser, conductor and composer Even Ziporyn, and a 28-piece orchestra for a performance of Ziporyn's arrangement of David Bowie's entire last album Blackstar

Texas Performing Arts offers three, four, and five (or more) show packages, with the option to include a Broadway performance (excluding HAMILTON) and substantial subscriber ticket discounts. Subscriber tickets start as low as $25. For information and subscriptions to the 2018-19 Essential Series, visit texasperformingarts.org or call 512.471.4454.

The 2018-2019 Lexus Broadway in Austin seven-show season includes: THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG, LOVE NEVER DIES, WAITRESS, ANASTASIA, FIDDLER ON THE ROOF, CATS, and HAMILTON. For more information, patrons can visit BroadwayInAustin.com or call Broadway in Austin at 800-731-SHOW (7469); from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.

A tax-deductible Texas Inner Circle membership offers access to the best seats in the house, free parking, an exclusive members-only lounge, opportunities to purchase tickets before the public, and other unique benefits. It also provides financial support for student tickets and educational programs. For more information, visit texasperformingarts.org/support or call 512.232.8567.

2018-19 ESSENTIAL SERIES

VOCA PEOPLE

September 12, 2018| Bass Concert Hall

After a yearlong run Off Broadway and successful world tours since 2009, VOCA PEOPLE make their much-anticipated Austin debut at Bass Concert Hall! VOCA PEOPLE is a thrilling and original musical adventure unlike anything you've experienced before. Full of energy and bursting with comedy and fun, this international hit features more than 80 all-time favorite hits including Madonna, Michael Jackson and even Mozart. No instruments, no sound effects - just eight incredible, talented singer-comedians.

Reduced Shakespeare Company

The Complete Works of William Shakespeare

(abridged) [revised)

September 14, 2018 | McCullough Theatre

Since its pass-the-hat origins in 1981, the Reduced Shakespeare Company has created ten world-renowned stage shows, two television specials, several failed TV pilots, and numerous radio pieces, all of which have been performed, seen, and heard the world over.

The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) [revised] is the original and timeless classic from the Reduced Shakespeare Company. Experience all 37 plays in 97 minutes! This is an irreverent, fast-paced romp through the Bard's plays. It was London's longest-running comedy, playing nine years in the West End at the Criterion Theatre. The show has been seen at the Kennedy Center, Off-Broadway, and from sea to shining sea. Join these madcap men in tights as they weave their wicked way through all of Shakespeare's comedies, histories, and tragedies in one wild and memorable ride that leaves audiences breathless and helpless with laughter.

In the spirit of Shakespeare himself, RSC shows contain some occasional bawdy language and mild innuendo. All children (and parents) are different, so RSC has chosen to rate this show PG-13: Pretty Good If You're Thirteen.

Fred Hersch Trio

September 21, 2018 | McCullough Theatre

A select member of jazz's piano pantheon, Fred Hersch is an influential creative force who has shaped the music's course over more than three decades as an improviser, composer, educator, bandleader, collaborator, and recording artist.

A ten-time Grammy Award nominee, Hersch has collaborated with an astonishing range of artists throughout the worlds of jazz (Joe Henderson, Charlie Haden, Art Farmer, Stan Getz, Bill Frisell); classical (Renée Fleming, Dawn Upshaw, Christopher O'Riley); and Broadway (Audra McDonald).

Hersch's 2016 release, Sunday Night at the Vanguard, was nominated for two 2017 Grammy Awards for Best Jazz Instrumental Album and Best Improvised Jazz Solo, and is a definitive statement by his long-running trio with bassist John Hébert and drummer Eric McPherson

Taylor Mac

A 24-Decade History of Popular Music (Abridged)

September 28, 2018 | McCullough Theatre

Playwright, actor, singer-songwriter, performance artist, director, producer, and "Critical darling of the New York Scene" (New York Magazine), Taylor Mac has performed in hundreds of venues across the globe. Named "one of the most exciting theater artists of our time" by Time Out New York, Mac creates extravagant performance events that provoke and embrace diverse audiences.

Join Mac as he escorts you through an abridged version of his epic piece that was originally performed as a one-time 24-hour event and was recognized on The New York Times 2016 lists of Best Performances, Best Theater, and Best Music. A 24-Decade History of Popular Music (Abridged)interprets the social history of the United States-all 240 years and counting-through popular songs ranging from murder ballads to disco, Walt Whitman to David Bowie, and beyond. The show is a dazzling experience that reflects our nation's diverse and sometimes dysfunctional story so as to bolster a uniquely American sense of possibility.

Yekwon Sunwoo, piano

October 5, 2018 | Bates Recital Hall

Gold medalist of the 2017 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, 28-year-old pianist Yekwon Sunwoo has been hailed for "his total command over the instrument and its expressiveness" (San Francisco Examiner). The first Korean to win Cliburn gold, Mr. Sunwoo is a powerful and virtuosic performer, who in his own words, "strives to reach for the truth and pure beauty in music," which he hopes to convey to audiences. Born in Anyang, South Korea, Sunwoo studied at the Curtis Institute of Music, The Juilliard School, and received his artist diploma at the Mannes School of Music under Richard Goode.

Ragamala Dance Company

Written in Water

October 18, 2018 | Bass Concert Hall

Minneapolis-based Ragamala Dance Company "is providing some of the most transcendent experiences that dance has to offer," (The New York Times) and have created a genre of performance that brings together a contemporary Western aesthetic with an Indian ethos. Sharing the South Indian classical dance form of Bharatanatyam with audiences for over 25 years, Ragamala brings their multidisciplinary work Written in Water to the Bass Concert Hall stage.

Inspired by the second century Indian board game, Paramapadham (the precursor to Snakes and Ladders) and the 12th century Sufi poem, "A Conference of Birds," Written in Water explores parallels between ecstasy and longing in Hindu and Sufi thought. With original artwork and a score by composer Amir ElSaffar, Written in Water brings together internationally celebrated artists and features a live music ensemble with a unique alchemy of Iraqi, jazz, and Carnatic instruments.

Blackstar

An Orchestral Tribute to David Bowie

November 1, 2018 | Bass Concert Hall

Israeli-born cellist Maya Beiser has captivated audiences worldwide with her virtuosity, eclectic repertoire, and relentless quest to redefine her instrument's boundaries. The Boston Globe declares, "With virtuoso chops, rock-star charisma, and an appetite for pushing her instrument to the edge of avantgarde adventurousness, Maya Beiser is the post-modern diva of the cello," while Rolling Stone calls her a "cello rock star."

For this performance, Beiser joins composer and conductor Evan Ziporyn and a 28-piece orchestra for a performance of Ziporyn's arrangement of David Bowie's entire last album Blackstar.

Jordi Savall

The Routes of Slavery

November 8, 2018 | Bass Concert Hall

Renowned early music interpreter and performer Jordi Savall returns to TPA with the Austin premiere of his new multicultural program, The Routes of Slavery.

This unique performance explores the history and music from the three continents involved in the trade in African slaves and their exploitation in the New World. They are brought together through the early music of the colonial period, the musical traditions of Mali, and the oral traditions of the descendants of slaves in Madagascar, Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico. From the musical traditions of medieval Europe to negro spirituals, Savall sheds light on one of human history's most painful chapters.

Performed by Savall and a large ensemble of guest performers, including Grammy Award-winning gospel group The Fairfield Four, this 'musical memoir' is accompanied with historical texts on slavery, beginning with the early chronicles of 1444 and concluding with texts written by Nobel Peace Prize-winner Martin Luther King, Jr. shortly before his assassination in 1968.

Pavel Urkiza & Congri Ensemble

The Root of the Root

November 9, 2018 | McCullough Theatre

Cuban guitarist and composer Pavel Urkiza leads his Congri. Ensemble through an evening of skillfully interpreted classic Cuban songs composed between 1851 and 1941. The Root of the Root is an exploration of the ancestral connections of music with songs that are part of Latin American popular heritage, learned and transmitted from generation to generation. Presented in a chamber format and accompanied by visuals from the era and historical narration, the pieces are performed on period acoustic instruments such as the romantic guitar, the mutto cornet, baroque flutes, and upright bass.

C!RCA

Humans

November 13, 2018 | Bass Concert Hall

By popular demand, Australia's award-winning contemporary circus ensemble, Circa, returns to Bass Concert Hall with a new program. Ten acrobats take us on a stirring journey of what it means to be human and how our bodies, our connections, and our aspirations all form part of who we are. Exploring the physical limits of their bodies as they are pushed to the extreme, they question how much we can take as humans. How much weight can we carry? Who can we trust to support our load? With incredible strength and integrity, they connect each moment seamlessly with the next in a thrilling and heart-stopping performance.

Texas Theatre and Dance presents

The Merchant of Venice

By William Shakespeare

November 14 - December 2, 2018 | Oscar G. Brockett Theatre

A Jewish businesswoman, hated for her religion, tries to break into the clique of rich men that run Venice. A wealthy closeted merchant seeks to buy the love of a young man. A sheltered heiress attempts to escape her dead father's will. One of Shakespeare's most controversial and misunderstood plays, The Merchant of Venice tackles, head-on, the topics of anti-Semitism, misogyny and homophobia in society. Part scathing social satire, part romantic comedy, part revenge thriller, The Merchant of Venice defies expectations and asks us to examine what hatred we hold in our hearts.

Verdant Productions & Pemberley presents

Private Peaceful

By Michael Morpurgo

Directed and Adapted for the Stage by Simon Reade

November 16, 2018 | McCullough Theatre

To commemorate the 100-year anniversary of the conclusion of World War I, Private Peaceful is a timely reminder of the heroic sacrifices that were made by those involved in the conflict. Following the worldwide success of Michael Morpurgo's best-selling book, film, and stage play, War Horse, Simon Reade adapted this stage version of Morpurgo's award-winning book, Private Peaceful. This riveting one-man play relives the life of Private Tommo Peaceful, a young soldier awaiting the firing squad at dawn. During the night, he looks back at his short but joyful past growing up in rural Devon: his exciting first days at school; the accident in the forest that killed his father; his adventures with Molly, the love of his life; and the battles and injustices of war that brought him to the front line. Don't miss this moving, funny, and heart-breaking play.

Michelle Dorrance Dance

ETM: Double Down

January 30, 2019 | Bass Concert Hall

Founded in 2011 by artistic director and 2015 MacArthur Fellow, Michelle Dorrance, Dorrance Dance is an award-winning New York-based tap company whose work presents the beautiful history of America's original dance form in a fresh, dynamic, and compelling context. ETM: Double Down celebrates the extreme mobility of the percussive body, combining rhythm with interactive electronic music technology in a perfect fusion of movement and sound.

ETM: Double Down features eight dancers and three musicians working together to create a dazzling symphony of rhythmic nuances. Don't miss Dorrance Dance's exciting visual and auditory extravaganza that seamlessly merges modernity with tradition.

Berlin Philharmonic Wind Quintet

February 5, 2019 | McCullough Theatre

Texas Performing Arts welcomes back the ensemble that has virtually redefined the sound of the classical wind quintet. Founded in 1988, during the tenure of conductor Herbert von Karajan, the Berlin Philharmonic Wind Quintet is the first permanently established wind quintet in the famous orchestra's rich tradition of chamber music. Their repertoire covers the spectrum of the wind quintet literature, and the ensemble's stellar reputation has led to collaborations with legendary conductors such as Leonard Bernstein, Bernard Haitink, Riccardo Muti, James Levine, and Daniel Barenboim.

Songs of Freedom

Ulysseu Owens, Jr, Music Director

Featuring Theo Bleckmann, René Marie,

and Alicia Olatuja

February 8, 2019 | McCullough Theatre

Under the direction of Grammy Award-winning drummer, Ulysses Owens Jr., the 1960s are explored through the work of three prolific artists: Joni Mitchell, Abbey Lincoln, and Nina Simone-all of whom shaped the music and culture of the 1960s through their artistry. Each artist expressed freedom in various ways. Joni composed and sang about the freedom of love, Abbey expressed freedom of her individuality and race through her lyricism, and Nina demanded political freedom through song.

Ulysses Owens Jr. leads a jazz ensemble and a trio of extraordinary featured vocalists including classically-trained jazz artist Alicia Olatuja, Grammy Award-nominated Theo Bleckmann, and vocalist/composer/theatrical performer René Marie, in a celebration of the impact and vast repertoire of three musical changemakers.

A Thousand Thoughts

A Live Documentary with Kronos Quartet

Written and Directed by Sam Green and Joe Bini

March 27, 2019 | Bass Concert Hall

Oscar-nominated filmmaker Sam Green and Grammy-winning Kronos Quartet have teamed up for a wildly creative multimedia performance piece that blends live music and narration with archival footage and filmed interviews with such prominent artists as Philip Glass, Tanya Tagaq, Steve Reich, Wu Man, and Terry Riley. As Green tells the multi-decade and continent-spanning story of the groundbreaking string quartet, Kronos revisits its extensive body of work, performing music by George Crumb, Laurie Anderson, John Cage, and many others. Together on stage, Green and Kronos craft an important record and exploration of late 20th-and early 21st-century music. Transcending the typical live music and film event, this collaboration quickly becomes a meditation on music itself-the act of listening to it closely, the experience of feeling it deeply, and the power that it has to change the world.

Teatro Línea de Sombra

Amarillo

March 29, 2019 | McCullough Theatre

Amarillo tells the story of a man who departs Mexico for a land of dreams: Amarillo, Texas - but vanishes before reaching his destination. Far away, a woman reconstructs his journey, imagining what might have transpired not only for him, but for the other thousands of faceless men and women who have taken the same path and for those who were left behind. Combining stunning multimedia projections, visceral imagery, and poetic storytelling, this renowned theater company from Mexico City creates a rich, poignant meditation on the harsh realities faced by immigrants and their families. Amarillo is performed in Spanish with projected English surtitles.

Terence Blanchard E-Collective

Rennie Harris Puremovement Dance Company

Caravan: A Revolution on the Road

Andrew Scott, projections & installations

April 11, 2019 | Bass Concert Hall

Multiple Grammy-winning composer/trumpeter Terence Blanchard and his E-Collective quintet join forces with hip-hop choreographer Rennie Harris' dance company, Puremovement, and sculptor/projection-mapping artist Andrew Scott in this multi-disciplinary performance that transcends racial and social boundaries and breathes life into conversations on personal and collective identity in relation to social and political structures.

Caravan is a captivating new program that explores black lives in the 21st-century through Blanchard's fusion of jazz, R&B, blues, funk, and soul, interwoven with Harris' African American dance styles, and Scott's conceptually-based visual projections and installations, which are rooted in African and African American art and culture.

The University of Texas

Jazz Orchestra with

Joe Lovano

April 13 2019 | Bates Recital Hall

Grammy-winning saxophonist, composer, and producer Joe Lovano joins the UT Jazz Orchestra as part of the Butler School of Music's annual Longhorn Jazz Festival. Joe Lovano's impressive career has found him touring with jazz greats such as the Woody Herman Thundering Herd, Dr. Lonnie Smith, McCoy Tyner, John Scofield, and Jack DeJohnette. Lovano has also created a body of work for his own large ensembles including strings, woodwinds, his horn-rich Nonet, and more recently, his newest iteration of the classic quartet. Directed by Professor Jeff Hellmer, the UT Jazz Orchestra is the Butler School of Music's premier jazz ensemble. In recent years, the Jazz Orchestra has performed with such luminaries as Michael Brecker, Maria Schneider, Stefon Harris, Joshua Redman, Cyrus Chestnut, and Conrad Herwig.

Trey McLaughlin

& The Sounds of Zamar

April 11, 2019 | Bass Concert Hall

Hailing from Georgia, Trey McLaughlin & The Sounds of Zamar are known for their expressive vocals and intricate arrangements of classic gospel hymns, transcending cultural boundaries with fresh adaptations of contemporary gospel, pop, and musical theater hits. The group has performed with gospel greats, such as William McDowell, Kierra "Kiki" Sheard, Richard Smallwood, Earnest Pugh, and James Fortune, and their viral videos have garnered millions of loyal YouTube viewers.

TEXAS PERFORMING ARTS (TPA) is situated on the main campus of one of the largest and most prestigious research universities in the country. TPA serves The University of Texas at Austin campus and the Austin community at large through a diverse season of world-class fine arts performances, educational activities, and collaborative partnerships. TPA presents an international season of music, theatre, dance, and conversation in our multiple venues, as well as the best in touring Broadway productions and concert attractions. As a university-based arts center it is also committed to serving the academic mission of the College of Fine Arts by supporting the work of its students, faculty and staff on its stages, classrooms, studios, and production shops; and in the educational outreach programs it provides for the Austin community.

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