College of Musical Arts

Bang on a Can All-Stars

Friday, October 9, 1998

Appearance is in conjuction with the 19th Annual New Music & Art Festival.

“Fabulous players…young, personable, exceedingly gifted, image conscious and versatile” – The Boston Globe

Since its inception in 1989, the Bang on a Can All-Stars has established both a national and international reputation as a premier pioneer of music from the cutting edge. During the past decade the group has enjoyed an upward spiral of fame with the release of several CDs, tours throughout the United States, Europe, New Zealand and Australia, as well as appearances at international music festivals and on Lincoln Center’s “Great Performers” series. Part classical ensemble, part rock band and part jazz band, the Bang on a Can All-Stars has a flexibility that represents a wide range of music from a new generation of composers.

Dawn Upshaw, soprano

November 9, 1998

“Upshaw achieves what the best singers have always striven for: the sense that a song springs directly from the mysterious promptings within her.” – Time Magazine

One of the most celebrated singers of our time, Dawn Upshaw stands out as an artist of uncommon gifts and imagination. On the opera and recital stages, as a proponent of new music and musical theater, and in television and recording, she reaches the core and text of the music, earning her the devotion of an exceptionally diverse audience throughout the world. Applauded in the opera houses of New York, Paris, Salzburg and Vienna for her portrayals of the great Mozart roles, Upshaw is equally at home on the recital stage. The Grammy Award-winning artist is also deeply involved in the music of our time, bringing it to a wider public than perhaps any other singer of her generaiton.

Nokuthula Ngwenyama, violist

Saturday, February 13, 1999

The Louise F. Rees Memorial Concert

“An assured player with a dazzling technique, a sweet, centered tone, warmth and intensity.” – The New York Times

Nokuthula Ngwenyama, pronounced “No-koo-tóo-la En-gnew-y´-ma,” is a name to remember. The 22-year-old American violist is already considered by many to be a rising star in classical music. At the age of 17 she won the 1994 Young Concert Artists International Auditions, becoming the first solo violist to win in 14 years. Ngwenyama has appeared as a soloist with major orchestras throughout the United States and has presented recitals at The Louvre in Paris, Suntory Hall in Tokyo, Merkin Concert Hall in New York and at the Kennedy Center. Featured on CBS Sunday Morning and in the PBS program “Sound of Strings” in The Musical Encounter series, she also performs regularly on chamber music concerts at Spoleto Festival USA and at the Marlboro and Banff Festivals. Ngwenyama also joins the Festival Series for a University and community mini-residency.

Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo

Thursday, March 18, 1999

“Remains one of the great comic creations of hte American stage.” – The San Francisco Chronicle

Dancing the fine line between high art and high camp, Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo has delighted audiences arond the globe. Since its inception in 1974, this all-male ensemble of professional dancers has established itself as a major dance phenomenon. Performing the full range of the ballet and modern dance repertoire, the company parodies classical works from Swan Lake to Giselle and the choreography of Isadora Duncan, George Balanchine and Martha Graham. The humorous sight of male bodies delicately balancing in toe shoes as swans, sylphs and water sprites—the gleeful leaps, poses and plunges—enchant, amuse and serve the Trocks’ original purpose: to bring the pleasure of dance to the widest possible audience.

Gene Harris

Saturday, April 17, 1999

The Kobacker Concert

“Gene Harris remains one of the world’s most exciting blues-based pianists.” – The London Times

Throughout his 40 years of performing and recording, Gene Harris has developed a reputation as one of the most consistent of all jazz performers. Considered one of the greatest jazz pianists in the world, Harris brings to the Festival Series a brilliant mix of soulful secular and religious songs. A former member of The Three Sounds, one of the most popular jazz groups of the 1960s, Harris is renowned for his swinging, bluesy and accessible piano style. A Concord recording artist since 1985, Gene Harris has shared his joyous music-making with audiences here and abroad, including appearances in Russia, Japan, Scotland, Paris and London.