Matt Smith News

WHAT:          Smuin Ballet concludes its 22nd Season with Dance Series Twofeaturing Oasis, a world premiere by acclaimed choreographer Helen Pickett, set to an original score by “House of Cards” composer Jeff Beal. With water scarcity and abundance as her theme and inspiration, Pickett's powerful new work will be both timely and universal. Pickett's work was last seen in San Francisco when Smuin Ballet presented her work “Petal,” which received critical acclaim. The series includes the highly anticipated return of Ji?í Kylián's Return to a Strange Land. The piece, set on six dancers, combines classical ballet and swiftly-changing geometric poses in a meditation on loss, healing, and hope, created as a tribute to Kylián's mentor John Cranko. Also on the bill is Val Caniparoli's spirited Tutto Eccetto il Lavandino (everything but the kitchen sink), which marries his trademark style and physicality with the music of Antonio Vivaldi. Caniparoli's work celebrates the versatility of the Smuin dancers, blending high-energy athleticism with wit and elegance.

Millions of fans flocked to theaters to see him as the "God of Thunder" in the Thor and Avengers franchise blockbusters

Chattanooga, TN – The Chattanooga Symphony & Opera (CSO) and the CSO Youth Orchestras (CSOYO) present a unique event, featuring not only two of the youth orchestras in concert (Symphony and Philharmonic), but also the CSO Orchestra and the CSOYO Symphony combined. Giving students the chance to play alongside professional musicians provides invaluable musical education opportunities for the up-and-coming musicians. This event will provide CSOYO students a chance to learn more about their craft by working alongside the CSO musicians on classical masterworks by popular composers such as Rossini and Liszt. Featured in the program are the top two winners of the 2015 CSOYO Concerto Competition, Hannah Eitzen and Sasha Hitachi-Kizziah. Josh Holritz, CSO Associate Concertmaster and CSOYO alumnus, will also be featured.

February 8, 2016 – Richmond, Virginia Hear all of your favorite pop hits including “Boogie Wonderland,” “Shining Star,” “Billie Jean,” “Beat It” and more during an unforgettable night that will make everyone want to get up and dance! Join the Richmond Symphony and Jeans 'n Classics for the music of Earth, Wind & Fire and The King of Pop Michael Jackson on Saturday, February 27 at 8pm at the Carpenter Theatre Dominion Arts Center. The concert features Jeans 'n Classics artist, Gavin Hope (lead vocals) and will be led by Associate Conductor, Chia-Hsuan Lin. Hope is a natural born performer who will light up the stage with his dance floor skills and phenomenal voice.

CHICAGO – The Joffrey Academy of Dance, Official School of The Joffrey Ballet, and the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago present four World Premieres in the sixth annual “Winning Works” program, the culmination of Joffrey's 2016 Winning Works Choreographic Competition. This year's Competition winners - Jeffrey Cirio, Christian Denice and Mariana Oliveira each choreographed a work, along with a fourth by Joffrey Academy Artistic Director Alexei Kremnev, titled Coco + Igor. All four works are performed by dancers from the Joffrey Studio Company and the Joffrey Academy Trainee Program. The Joffrey Academy of Dance's “Winning Works” program is presented at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago's Edlis Neeson Theater, 220 E. Chicago Avenue, over three performances only: Saturday, March 5, at 3:00 PM and 7:30 PM and Sunday, March 6 at 3:00 PM. 

The Poets' Theatre is proud to announce its upcoming production of Nobel Laureate Dario's Fo comic masterpiece "Mistero Buffo" at Suffolk University's Modern Theatre from March 18th to 26th, 2016, as part of a festival celebrating Fo's 90th birthday.  The production features acclaimed actors Remo Airaldi, Benjamin Evett, and Debra Wise, and is directed by Bob Scanlan. The new American translation is by Bob Scanlan and Walter Valeri.

Visit several contemporary art exhibits in galleries in Manhattan's central skyscraper district. We find and explain that week's most fascinating exhibits, in areas of painting, sculpture, electronic media, and photography. Led by Rafael Risemberg, Ph.D.

This Sunday, February 7, 2016, Larry Beckwith helms the Canadian Premiere of Salieri's FALSTAFF, leading the recently Juno-nominated Aradia Ensemble, cast and as always Robert Cooper C.M. leads the VOICEBOX: Opera in Concert Chorus.  

Sarasota, FL – Sarasota Opera is proud to announce the launch of its new website,http://www.verdicycle.org/, dedicated to the company's 28-year Verdi Cycle. Started in 1989 with a production of Verdi's Rigoletto, The Verdi Cycle is the company's commitment to perform all the works of Giuseppe Verdi, both operatic and non-operatic, intended for performance. The Verdi Cycle is due to be completed at the close of the company's 2016 Winter Festival Season on March 20, 2016, making Sarasota Opera the only company in the world to have performed every note of Giuseppe Verdi.

On Site Opera announces a partnership with The Atlanta Opera's Discoveries Series to bring Mozart's The Secret Gardener (La finta giardiniera) to life in a new site-specific co-production. Performances, which will take place in the spring of 2017, mark a bi-city first for both companies. Written by an 18-year-old Mozart, The Secret Gardener is a story of love, madness, and redemption that unfolds in the lush setting of a beautiful garden.

Its separate, incongruous elements should make a mash-up like Austen and zombies fun. Unfortunately, the keyword there is should. PRIDE AND PREJUDICE AND ZOMBIES is decidedly lacking in the fun department.

Orange County, Calif.—Feb. 3, 2016—Pacific Symphony partners with South Coast Chinese Cultural Center/Irvine Chinese School to present the “2016 Lantern Festival” commemorating the end of the Lunar New Year celebration. This free, family-friendly Lantern Festival—featuring the traditional dragon dance, riddles and lantern making usually associated with the end of the Lunar New Year—takes place Saturday, Feb. 20, from 3-6 p.m., in the lobby of the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, prior to the Symphony's opera production of Puccini's “Turandot.” Musical highlights include string quartet performances by Pacific Symphony and Pacific Symphony Youth Orchestra, as well as Chinese folk dance and customary Chinese songs sung by the Irvine Chinese Chorus. Lanterns on display are curated by artist and curator Trinh Mai and include lanterns created by Irvine Chinese School students, as well as seniors from Nguoi Viet who are part of the Bowers Museum Treasures program. 

Brevard, NC and Aspen, Colo.—Lady Gaga won't be the only one in the musical spotlight at Super Bowl 50. This Sunday, Brevard Music Center and Aspen Music Festival -- two of the country's most prestigious music institutions and summer festivals -- are putting their batons down, and fists up, to defend the honor of their respective football teams, the Carolina Panthers and Denver Broncos. 

CANTON, OHIO (February 4, 2016) – The Canton Youth Symphonies, under the direction of Canton Symphony Orchestra Associate Conductor Rachel L. Waddell, will be very busy in the second half of their season.  The Canton Youth Symphonies consist of three groups – The Canton Youth Strings, Canton Youth Symphony (CYS), and Canton Youth Symphony Advanced Orchestra (CYSAO).

WALNUT CREEK, CA (February 4, 2016) – Beethoven's Symphony No. 7, and a performance by California Symphony Principal Clarinetist Jerome Simas and Principal Bassoonist Douglas Brown in R. Strauss's rarely-heard double concerto Duett-Concertino, highlight the California Symphony's “Textbook Classics” program on Sunday, March 20. The Orchestra performs the overture from Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro to open the concert, led by guest conductor Leif Bjaland. The concert is at 4 pmat the Lesher Center for the Arts in Walnut Creek, with a free pre-concert talk with Bjaland beginning at 3 pm.

Toronto, ON (February 3, 2016) - Opera Atelier's 30th Anniversary Season continues with a new production of Mozart's Lucio Silla, a Canadian premiere which offers Toronto audiences the opportunity to enjoy the staging and choreography that won international acclaim for Opera Atelier co-artistic directors Marshall Pynkoski and Jeannette Lajeunesse Zingg at the Mozartwoche and Salzburg Festival in Austria, Bremen Music Festival in Germany and at the famed Teatro alla Scala (La Scala) in Milan, Italy. This new production features stars from the European production alongside Canadians making their role debuts, Tafelmusik playing Mozart's first great masterpiece for the first time, and sets and costumes by Canadian designer Gerard Gauci. Lucio Silla runs Apr. 7-16, 2016 at the Elgin Theatre.

In 2015, the National Art Center Tokyo, the Mori Art Museum, and the Japan Foundation Asia Center teamed up to launch the "SEA PROJECT: Contemporary Art from Southeast Asia - 1980 to Now." This joint project conducts studies focused on the ASEAN-10 countries, building to a jointly-organized exhibition scheduled for summer 2017. With the research process by which "SEA PROJECT" conducts its studies considered an important element, the project website has been launched. There will also be some pre-exhibition events continuously taking place for the purpose of sharing this process with the public from an early stage. We are pleased to announce that, as the first edition of such events, Symposium entitled "How Has Japan Engaged with Contemporary Art in Southeast Asia?" is to be held on Saturday, February 27, 2016.

Lexington, KY—University Press of Kentucky author Brian Taves has been named the winner of the Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association's 2016 John G. Cawelti Award for the Best Textbook/Primer in Popular Culture for his book Hollywood Presents Jules Verne: The Father of Science Fiction on Screen. It shares this year's award with Seeing Green: The Use and Abuse of American Environmental Images by Finis Dunaway. The PCA/ACA is a group of scholars and enthusiasts who study popular culture. The PCA/ACA offers a venue to come together and share ideas and interests about the field or about a particular subject within the field.

Lexington, KY—Appalachia is known for its distinct voice and unique culture, and its long tradition of folk art, storytelling, and music has made the region a creative hotbed. Collectors have long sought work from the weavers of the Appalachian Craft Revival as well as from modern potters and glass blowers from towns like Berea and Asheville. Appalachia's strong oral tradition, where rhymes and stories continue to be passed from one generation to the next, has led to a flourishing literary community boasting best-selling novelists like Lee Smith, Silas House, Ron Rash, and Sharyn McCrumb. Likewise, Appalachia's influence on music ranges from the “Mother of Folk” Jean Ritchie to the “Father of Bluegrass” Bill Monroe.

(WASHINGTON)—Washington National Opera (WNO) continues its 60th anniversary season with Leah Crocetto in Recital, featuring the celebrated star of last season's Dialogues of the Carmelites, on Friday, February 26, 2016 at 7 p.m. in the Kennedy Center Terrace Theater. Accompanied by acclaimed pianist Mark Markham, Ms. Crocetto will perform art songs by Strauss, Duparc, and Barber, as well as popular opera arias and a few of her favorite jazz standards.