Weill Hall and the Green Music Center Announce 2015-16 Season - Lang Lang, Joshua Bell, Kristin Chenoweth and More!

Weill Hall and the Green Music Center (GMC) at Sonoma State University (SSU) announced its 2015-16 season today, with concerts in Weill Hall, Schroeder Hall, and through the summer at Weill Hall + Lawn. The season comprises the MasterCard Performance Series - 39 concerts on the stage of the 1,400-seat Weill Hall, featuring a roster of internationally renowned stars from the genres of classical music, 2 world music, jazz and pop - leading off with a Gala Opening Night performance by piano superstar Lang Lang; the Summer 2015 MasterCard Performance Series, which takes place with seating both indoors in Weill Hall and on the spacious Weill Lawn featuring an array of contemporary music; and 24 concerts in 240- seat Schroeder Hall, including the popular Sundays At Schroeder series plus three new offerings - a fiveday, nine-concert GMC ChamberFest 2015, led by Jeffrey Kahane, a new Saturday Cabaret four-concert series, and four performances with Musicians from Valley of the Moon Music Festival, featuring early music performed on period instruments by leading Bay Area musicians.

"The 2015-16 season is truly remarkable for the wide variety and outstanding quality of artists who will be performing," said Co-Executive Director Zarin Mehta. "We have internationally known soloists and ensembles coming from Africa, India, Spain and Great Britain bringing their signature music and dance to our stages as well as an outstanding lineup of award-winning classical artists. Our jazz, folk and pop offerings represent the best of those worlds. And we also have some artists - true originals - who simply transcend labels and categories." "A concert here is first and foremost an artistic event, but is so much more," said Co-Executive Director Larry Furukawa-Schlereth. "From the acoustical perfection to the unforgettable experience of enjoying a concert while picnicking on Weill Lawn, a visit - whether as a regular or a casual visitor - is a memorable experience. The tremendous and growing support of patrons, friends and enthusiastic audiences is a testimony to how the community has embraced Weill Hall and the Green Music Center in just the few short years since we opened our doors."

"Having Weill Hall and Green Music Center as part of our university has been a long-held vision; the reality has been far surpassed and it gets better each year," said Sonoma State University President Ruben Armiñana. "Weill and Schroeder Halls are not only wonderful places to experience a concert, but also invaluable platforms for lectures, seminars and educational activities. We are especially grateful to Don and Maureen Green and Sandy and Joan Weill, as well as our Weill Hall and Green Music Center Board of Advisors, and many other generous friends, who made this possible and who support the growth of this remarkable addition to our campus and the community." "My wife Joan and I couldn't be more thrilled with the excitement Weill Hall and the Green Music Center has brought to the Bay Area," said Board Chairman Sandy Weill. "Although still in its infancy, this has quickly become a world class performing arts venue. With their vision and ability to attract and showcase terrific talent, Co-Executive Directors Zarin Mehta and Larry Furukawa-Schlereth are building a performing arts venue where world-class performers want to appear. Weill Hall is an important cultural destination in the Bay Area and we hope it will continue to transform Sonoma State University." 2014-15

MASTERCARD PERFORMANCE SERIES IN WEILL HALL The 2015-16 season's 39-concert MasterCard Performance Series in Weill Hall kicks off with a Gala Opening Night concert by superstar pianist Lang Lang, performing Bach, Tchaikovsky and Chopin (Oct. 3). This is one of three special non-subscription concerts. The others are a recital by violinist Joshua Bell (Oct. 17) and a joint appearance by jazz pianist Chick Corea and banjo master Béla Fleck (Apr. 21).

ORCHESTRAL CONCERTS / INSTRUMENTAL RECITALS In addition to Lang Lang and Bell, the season features a lineup of the world's greatest classical music superstars in recital, including pianists Jean-Yves Thibaudet (Nov. 6) playing a varied program, such as his signature Ravel; Marc-André Hamelin (Jan. 22) with a program showcasing his skills as an interpreter and composer; André Watts (Apr.1) performing Liszt and Schubert; Peter Serkin (Apr.10) mixing it up with Mozart, Beethoven, Sweelinck and Reger; and Yuja Wang (May 6) essaying Bach, Schoenberg and Chopin. Violinist James Ehnes and pianist Orion Weiss will perform works by Ravel, Beethoven, Schubert and Copland, (Mar. 19) and Midori will play Bach, Prokofiev and Brahms (Apr. 23). For something completely different, there's Punch Brothers founder and virtuoso mandolin player Chris Thile in a solo appearance (Nov. 14), playing Bach as well as his own compositions, and organ wizard Cameron Carpenter performing on his custom-built electronic international touring organ (Feb. 12). Other classical performances in 2015-16 include the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields Chamber Ensemble with an evening including the Schubert Octet (Oct. 24); Orpheus Chamber Orchestra with guest 3 violin soloist Augustin Hadelich (Nov. 29); and the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal conducted by California native Kent Nagano and featuring pianist Daniil Trifonov playing Prokfiev's blazing Piano Concerto No. 3 (Mar. 25). The San Francisco-based Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra also returns with three allHandel performances featuring vocal soloists (Dec. 20, Feb. 14, May 14).

CHAMBER ENSEMBLES Smaller chamber and vocal ensembles appearing in the 2015-16 season at Weill Hall include the renowned Juilliard String Quartet with a program of Mozart, Schubert and Debussy (Nov. 13); the Pacifica Quartet with pianist Menahem Pressler (Dec. 13); the Kahane-Swensen-Brey Trio, three renowned soloists who've joined forces and will perform Mozart, Schumann and Ravel (Jan. 16); members of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center in a program that includes Richard Strauss's Sextet for Strings from Capriccio (Apr. 8); and flutist Sir James Galway with Lady Jeanne Galway and the Galway Chamber Players (Mar. 18) playing a potpourri of classical and pop works, including Mozart, Debussy, Mancini and Claude Bolling.

VOCAL RECITALS AND SOLOISTS This season's vocal offerings include acclaimed opera stars such as bass-baritone Eric Owens with a program of lieder by composers including Wolf, Schumann and Ravel (Nov. 1); tenor Lawrence Brownlee performing works by Liszt, Ginastera and others, along with his signature interpretations of African American spirituals (Mar. 11); baritone Matthias Goerne, with pianist Alexander Schmalcz, singing Schubert's riveting song cycle Die Schöne Müllerin (Apr. 24); Chanticleer, the San Francisco-based, 12-voice male ensemble which calls itself "an orchestra of voices" (Apr. 16); and the beloved male vocal sextet The King's Singers (Feb. 19). In addition, the GMC welcomes appearances by Susan Graham, Anne Sofie von Otter and Andreas Scholl, appearing with San Francisco-based Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra. The Baroque ensemble, led by Nicholas McGegan, makes three appearances this season at the GMC, performing Handel's Messiah to celebrate the holiday season (Dec. 20), an all-Handel program with Graham (Feb. 14), and a celebratory concert marking McGegan's 30-year tenure with the ensemble, featuring Handel arias with Von Otter and Scholl as well as a newly arranged work by acclaimed Estonian composer Arvo Pärt (May 14).

WORLD MUSIC AND DANCE World music and dance are represented by the Bollywood Masala Orchestra and Dancers of India, a 17- member ensemble of musicians, acrobats and dancers (Oct. 16); Compañia Flamenca led by Artistic Director José Porcel (Nov. 22); Soweto Gospel Choir with stirring gospel music for the holidays (Dec. 19); the Band of the Royal Marines featuring the Pipes, Drums and Highland Dancers of the Scots Guards with signature music of the British Isles (Feb. 26); Ireland's beloved Paddy Moloney and the Chieftains (Feb. 27); Acoustic Africa featuring two legendary singers, Habib Koité and Vusi Mahlasela (Mar. 30); renowned sitarist and global musician Anoushka Shankar (Apr. 16); and Zap Mama, the Congolese-based vocal quintet helmed by Marie Daulne (Apr. 22). JAZZ Jazz and Latin music are well-represented in 2015-16 by a stellar group of GRAMMY® Award-winning artists: Chucho Valdés, celebrating the 40th anniversary of his band, Irakere, shares the stage on the same night as the Pedrito Martinez Group (Oct. 25); the legendary salsa king Eddie Palmieri and his Latin Jazz Band perform on the same evening as the Pete Escovedo Latin Jazz Ensemble (Jan. 23); and Lisa Fischer, best known for her duet with Mick Jagger in "Gimme Shelter," appears with her band Grand Baton (Feb. 6).

SUBSCRIPTION PACKAGES FOR WEILL HALL: Available to MasterCard cardholders and subscribers beginning today, April 14, 2015 at 10:00 a.m. Available to the general public beginning Tuesday, April 21, 2015 at 10:00 a.m. (PST) SINGLE TICKETS FOR WEILL HALL: Single tickets for Weill Hall will be available beginning August 11, 2015. Call 1.866.955.6040 or visit us online at gmc.sonoma.edu.

To post a comment, you must register and login.