The Wallis Presents 'An Evening With Nathan And Julie Gunn'
By: Julie Musbach Feb. 28, 2018

American baritone Nathan Gunn and pianist Julie Gunn, partners in life and often on stage, will make their debut at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in an evening of cabaret by iconic composers ranging from Leonard Bernstein and Cole Porter to Billy Joel and Tom Waits. The evening concert from an eclectic American Songbook joins Bernstein at 100, the worldwide celebration of the 100th birthday of Leonard Bernstein, one of the most prodigiously talented and successful musicians in American history. An Evening with Nathan and Julie Gunn takes place Thursday, March 15, 2018 at 7:30pm in the Bram Goldsmith Theater at The Wallis.
"An Evening with Nathan and Julie Gunn joins our varied musical programming this month," said Paul Crewes, The Wallis' Artistic Director. "Their cabaret style performance will feature an eclectic roster of composers including the great Leonard Bernstein who we salute on his 100 birthday."Nathan Gunn has made a reputation as one of the most exciting and in-demand baritones of the day. He has appeared in internationally renowned opera houses such as the Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Royal Opera House, Paris Opera, Bayerische Staatsoper, Glyndebourne Opera Festival, Theater an der Wien, Teatro Real in Madrid, and the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie. His many roles include the title roles in Billy Budd, Eugene Onegin, Il Barbiere di Siviglia, and Hamlet; Guglielmo in Cosí fan tutte, the Count in Le Nozze di Figaro, Malatesta in Don Pasquale, Belcore in L'Elisir d'Amore, Ottone in L'incoronazione di Poppea, Tarquinius in The Rape of Lucretia, Danilo in The Merry Widow, and The Lodger in The Aspern Papers.
Julie Gunn is a pianist, educator, and music director. She has performed on many of North America's most prestigious recital series, including the Aspen Festival, Boston's Celebrity Series, the Carnegie Hall Pure Voice Series, the Cincinnati Chamber Music Society, the Cliburn Foundation, the Dallas Opera, the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, Lincoln Center Great Performers, Manhattan's Café Carlyle, the Metropolitan Opera Summerstage, Notre Dame's DeBartolo Center, the Ravinia Festival, St. Paul's Schubert Club, San Francisco Performances, the Sydney Opera House, Toronto's Roy Thomson Hall, University of Chicago Presents, Washington's Vocal Arts Society, the 92nd Street Y, and the United States Supreme Court. She has been heard in recital with William Burden, Richard Croft, Elizabeth Futral, Isabel Leonard, Stefan Milenkovich, Kelli O'Hara, Mandy Patinkin, Yvonne Gonzales Redman, Michelle De Young, the Pacifica and Jupiter Quartets, and her husband and artistic partner Nathan Gunn. In the upcoming season she looks forward to recitals and cabarets at the Interlochen Center for the Performing Arts, the DeBartolo Center, Vanderbilt University, Thomasville, GA, Western Michigan University and the McCallum Theater for the Performing Arts. Director of Lyric Theatre Studies at the University of Illinois, she produces three mainstage operas or musical theatre works a year at the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts. A faculty member at the School of Music, she enjoys teaching singers, pianists, chamber musicians and songwriters, and conducting new works and musical theatre. She has given master classes at universities and young artists' programs all over the United States, including the Aspen Festival, the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, the Houston Grand Opera Studio, the Interlochen Center for the Arts, the Metropolitan Opera Guild, Opera Theatre St. Louis, the Ryan Young Artists' Program, the Santa Fe Opera, Ravinia's Steans Institute. She enjoyed tenures as artist-in-residence at Cincinnati Opera and the Glimmerglass Festival. She is the founder of the Illinois School of Music Academy, a program for talented pre-college chamber musicians and composers. Dr. Gunn enjoys working at the intersection of different disciplines and collaborates with artists in the fields of theatre, dance, and design whenever possible. She has served as a coach or conductor at Chicago Opera Theater, Highlands Opera Studio, the Metropolitan Opera Young Artist Program, Opera North, Opera Theater St. Louis, Southern Methodist University, Theaterworks!, and Wolf Trap Opera. Gunn is committed to new works and in recent seasons has been part of several world premieres, as a co-producer, a pianist, or as a conductor: Twilight Butterfly(Thomas), Dooryard Bloom (Higdon), Polly Peachum (Scheer/Van Horn), Variations on a Summer's Day (Meltzer,) Letters from Quebec to Providence in the Rain (Gill,) and Bhutto (Fairouz.) She works with Beth Morrison Projects and American Opera Projects to produce workshops and academic premieres of new operas. A member of ASCAP, she is the author of many arrangements of songs for chamber groups and orchestras. Her arrangements have been heard at Carnegie Hall, Chicago's Symphony Center, the DeBartolo Center, Ithaca College, Interlochen, the Kennedy Center, the Krannert Center, London's Queen Elizabeth Hall, and in Sun Valley, Idaho. About The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts
Since opening its doors in October 2013, The Wallis has produced or presented more than 250 dance, theatre, opera, classical music and family programs to an ever-expanding audience. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Paul Crewes and Managing Director Rachel Fine, The Wallis brings audiences world-class theater, dance and music, performed by many of the world's most talented and sought-after artists. Featuring eclectic programming that mirrors the diverse landscape of Los Angeles and its notability as the entertainment capital of the world, The Wallis offers original and revered works from across the U.S. and around the globe. The mission of The Wallis is to create, present and celebrate unique performing arts events and educational programs that reflect the rich cultural diversity of our community. Nominated for 47 Ovation Awards, four L.A. Drama Critic's Circle Awards and the recipient of six architectural awards, The Wallis is a breathtaking 70,000-square-foot venue that celebrates the classic and the modern and was designed by Zoltan E. Pali, FAIA of Studio Pali Fekete architects. The building features the restored, original 1933 Beverly Hills Post Office (on the National Register of Historic Places) that serves as the theater's dramatic yet welcoming lobby, and houses the 150-seat Lovelace Studio Theater, GRoW at The Wallis: A Space for Arts Education (a gift of Gregory Annenberg Weingarten and Family and the Annenberg Foundation) and the contemporary 500-seat, state-of-the-art Bram Goldsmith Theater. Together, these structures embrace the city's history and its future, creating a performing arts destination for L.A.-area visitors and residents alike. The Official Sponsors of The Wallis' 2017/18 Season include: Delta Air Lines (Official Airline Sponsor), Montage Beverly Hills (Preferred Hotel) Mercedes-Benz of Beverly Hills (Official Automotive Sponsor) and Meridith Baer Home (Official Décor Sponsor). For more information about The Wallis, please visit: TheWallis.org.
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Ticket Information:
What: An Evening with Nathan and Julie Gunn
Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts
Bram Goldsmith Theater
9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd, Beverly Hills, CA, 90210
When: Thursday, March 15 at 7:30pm
Tickets: Single tickets: $45-$95 (prices subject to change) Online - TheWallis.org By Phone - 310.746.4000 Box Office - Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts Ticket Service 9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd, Beverly Hills, CA, 90210

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