bravo! concert series

The Brigham Young University BRAVO! Professional Performing Arts series presents Kelli O’Hara, Tony Award—winning Broadway star of “The King and I,” in the de Jong Concert Hall on Friday, Sept. 4, at 7:30 p.m.Tickets are $25-55, with discounts available for alumni, seniors and students.

The BYU Arts 2015-16 season will feature a variety of performances and events, including concerts by the Department of Dance and the School of Music as well as guest performances by professionals from the Metropolitan Opera and Broadway. For these upcoming events patrons have the opportunity to reserve tickets in advance with the artsPASS, a custom season ticket package. Jeffrey Martin, producer of performing arts for the College of Fine Arts and Communications and presenter of the BRAVO! series, said the artsPASS saves time and effort while ensuring the best available seats. “Sometimes events sell out quickly and it is harder to get the seats if you wait,” Martin said. The artsPASS allows arts patrons to create a custom ticket package for the season in advance by choosing five or more performances from the BYU School of Music, Dept. of Dance, Dept. of Theatre and Media Arts, and BRAVO!: Professional Performing Arts. The artsPASS goes on sale July 13 at the BYU Ticket Office in the Harris Fine Arts Center or Marriott Center, by phone (801) 422-2981, or online at byuarts.com. Those who purchase the artsPASS receive their tickets before the individual performances go on sale, approximately one month before the event, giving them the best available seats. The price of the artsPASS depends on which performances are selected. Some performances for 2015-16 include The King’s Singers, eviDANCE, Celebration of Christmas, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, and many more. Create a custom artPASS here.

Three leading female soloists across three different fields of music – Renee Fleming, Kelli O’Hara and Nnenna Freelon – will headline the BYU Bravo! 2015-16 Performing Arts series.

Theatre-makers, dancers and musicians from across the globe will come to Brigham Young University next season as the BRAVO! series launches a new lineup featuring a dynamic roster of celebrated guest artists including Renée Fleming, The Kings Singers, Chris Thile and the National Dance Company of Siberia, showcasing an eclectic mix of work from across the world. From Broadway to Vienna, the 2015-16 season welcomes to campus one of the most exciting groups of dancers, theatre performers and musicians in recent history. Jeffrey Martin, BRAVO! series producer, looks forward welcoming the guest artists to campus. “We work to present a diverse lineup of performances not only to enhance our own lives but also to expose our students and community to those artists currently functioning at the very highest levels of the performing arts today,” said Martin. “We are geographically isolated from some of the nation’s cultural centers, but we make it a priority for our patrons to be able to experience world-class performances right here at home.” Most performances will begin at 7:30 p.m. Individual tickets will be available in person at the BYU Ticket Office (Harris Fine Arts Center and Marriot Center) by calling 801.422.4322 or online at byuarts.com/tickets. Season ticket packages will be available for purchase beginning May 11 for renewals and June 1 for new orders. View the 2015-16 Schedule For more information, contact Jeff Martin, 801.422.6340 or visit byuarts.com.

The Brigham Young University School of Music presents renowned cellist Lynn Harrell in concert with the BYU Philharmonic Orchestra Tuesday, Mar. 17, at 7:30 p.m. in the de Jong Concert Hall, and Wednesday, Mar. 18, at 8:00 p.m. in Abravanel Hall, Salt Lake City. Tickets for the Mar. 17 performance are $15, with discounts available for seniors, alumni and students, and can be purchased in person at the BYU Ticket Office in the Harris Fine Arts Center or Marriott Center, by phone 801.422.2981 or online at byuarts.com. Tickets for the Mar. 18 concert are free and will be available in the Abravanel Hall lobby the evening of the performance. Lynn Harrell is a Grammy Award-winning American classical cellist who has played as a special guest with orchestras in Chicago, New York, Philadelphia and San Francisco. Harrell received his training at the Curtis Institute of Music and the Juilliard School before going on to play with the Cleveland Orchestra, the Royal Academy of Music in London and teaching at the USC Thorton School of Music. Harrell currently tours the globe as a soloist, chamber musician, conductor and teacher. Harrell and the Philharmonic Orchestra will perform “Overture to Benvenuto Cellini” from Hector Berlioz, “Don Juan” from Richard Strauss and “Cello Concerto in B Minor” from Antonin Dvorak. The Philharmonic Orchestra, directed by Kory Katseanes, plays compositions from all musical periods, focusing on the romantic period but also including 20th- and 21st-century music. Nearly 100 of the university's finest musicians bring these great symphonic works to life. The performance is sponsored by BRAVO! Professional Performing Arts at BYU, the university’s concert series that plays host to many world-renowned guest artists from across the globe. For more information, contact Ken Crossley at 801.422.9348 or ken_crossley@byu.edu. Tickets and Show Details Performance Dates: March 17, 2015 Times: 7:30 p.m. Location: de Jong Concert Hall, Harris Fine Arts Center, BYU Price: $15 (discounts available for students, alumni and seniors) Tickets: Available at the BYU Ticket Office in the Harris Fine Arts Center or Marriott Center, by phone 801.422.2981 or visit byuarts.com

The Brigham Young University BRAVO! Professional Performing Arts Series presents an evening with The King’s Singers in the de Jong Concert Hall on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 27 and 28, at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $25-40, with discounts available alumni, seniors and students. Tickets can be purchased in person at the BYU Ticket Office in the Harris Fine Arts Center or Marriott Center, by phone 801.422.2981 or online at byuarts.com. The group will perform songs from the great American songbook, featuring the works of Cole Porter, Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart, Harold Arlen, George Gershwin and others. A few of the classics they will present include “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot,” “The Best Is Yet to Come,” “Cheek to Cheek” and “I’ve Got The World On a String.” The King’s Singers, recent inductees to the Gramophone Hall of Fame and winners of multiple Grammy Awards, have been considered one of the highest-caliber a cappella groups since the group’s formation at King’s College, Cambridge, in 1968. Now comprised of countertenor David Hurley, countertenor Timothy Wayne-Wright, tenor Julian Gregory, baritone Christopher Bruerton, baritone Christopher Gabbitas and bass Jonathan Howard, The King’s Singers continue to be one of the most sought-after and critically acclaimed vocal ensembles in the world. The King’s Singers are touring across the globe and have recently performed at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, the Washington National Cathedral, the Grand Philharmonic Hall of St. Petersburg and are scheduled to perform later this year in the major halls of Berlin, Milan, Turin, Venice, Rome, Amsterdam and Cambridge. The group also performed with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir in 2007 and in 2002 as part of the Winter Olympic Games Cultural Olympiad in Salt Lake City. The performance is sponsored by BRAVO! Professional Performing Arts at BYU, the university’s concert series that plays host to many world-renowned guest artists from across the globe. Tickets and Show Details Date: Feb. 27-28, 2015 Time: 7:30 p.m. Location: de Jong Concert Hall, Harris Fine Arts Center, BYU Price: $25-40 (discounts available for students, alumni and seniors) Tickets: Available at the BYU Ticket Office in the Harris Fine Arts Center or Marriott Center, by phone 801.422.2981 or visit byuarts.com Source: BYU News

The BYU artsPASS enables fans of music, theatre, and dance the opportunity to secure tickets in advance to any of the performances presented by the BYU School of Music, Dept. of Dance, Dept. of Theatre and Media Arts, and BRAVO!: Professional Performing Arts at BYU before tickets for individual performances are available to the general public. The artsPASS goes on sale July 7 at 9:00 a.m. at the BYU Ticket Office in the Harris Fine Arts Center or Marriott Center, online at www.byuarts.com, or by calling (801) 422-2981. The artsPASS gives purchasers the option of selecting five or more performances to attend during the 2014-15 season. Those who purchase the artsPASS enjoy not having to wait in line when individual tickets go on sale four weeks in advance of each event. artsPASS holders also get the best available seats and will receive all of their tickets before the season begins. Jeffrey Martin, producer of performing arts for the College of Fine Arts and Communications and presenter of the BRAVO! series, said the artsPASS is a great option not only for parents and alumni, but for current BYU students. “The arts can enrich anyone’s college experience. By attending live performances, students gain exposure to both traditional and unfamiliar art forms, expand their world view and learn about stories and ideas in a different way,” Martin said. “These experiences also give them an opportunity to enjoy things at an affordable price before going out into the world where these things are far more expensive.” To create your custom artsPASS starting July 7, click here.

Photo by Michael G. Handley. BYU Arts, the umbrella organization in the BYU College of Fine Arts and Communications that produces and presents live performances, finished its 2013-2014 season on June 14 with final showings of The Selfish Giant, a play featuring extensive puppetry work, and The Elixir of Love, an Italian opera. The total number of individual music, theatre and dance performances presented during the season numbered more than 460. Each year, BYU Arts makes hundreds of performances available to BYU and local audiences. These include shows put on by students and staff, as well as visiting professionals. Jeffrey Martin, producer of the BRAVO! guest artist series, said the performances from this last season wouldn’t be possible without collaborative efforts by those on stage and behind the scenes. “Everyone works so hard. The choirs and orchestras rehearse multiple times each week, students involved in theatre, dance or opera performances rehearse all semester, but people don’t usually hear about that,” Martin said. “It really does take a lot of people and resources to put these programs together. We couldn’t do it without everybody’s support and participation.” Students performed in several notable productions, including BYU Theatre Ballet’s full-length production of Swan Lake, the Department of Theatre and Media Arts’ new staging of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, and the BYU Philharmonic’s concert with acclaimed guest pianist Marc-André Hamelin. In addition to the student performances, BRAVO! brought more than a dozen professional artists to campus to perform and instruct students. Audiences enjoyed shows by Broadway performer Audra McDonald, Grammy-nominated composer Frank Wildhorn, and TV and filmstar John Lithgow. OFF THE MAP: BYU International Theatre Festivalalso made its debut, receiving extremely positive reviews from attendees. Martin mentioned how visiting performers prove to be invaluable in their contributions to the lives of CFAC students. “We want our students to interact with professionals who are at the highest level in their careers right now,” Martin said. “I want our students to experience them live in performance and in workshops, so they can ask questions, get to know them and be inspired to do great work themselves.” Martin shared how the arts and the gospel are intertwined with BYU’s aims and mission. “It’s the fundamental beliefs of how to create art that inspires and brings light to the world,” Martin said. “We hope that is always reflected in our performances themselves. We’re constantly looking at how we can train our students to be the very best in their disciplines, but bring the light of the gospel into their work.” As the Franklin S. Harris Fine Arts Center celebrates its 50th anniversary next season,BYU Arts programming will help celebrate BYU accomplishments in the arts. “We’ll have special performances, exhibitions and lectures all throughout the year, focusing on the legacy of those who got us here and how we’re going to move forward in the future,” Martin said. “I think this new season will provide even more artistic development in our students than the last.”

The BRAVO! series’ upcoming season will feature a Tony Award-nominated actress, a world-renowned English a capella group, two dancing jugglers from France, and the Royal Ballet of Cambodia. These world-class artists will sing, dance, perform and instruct students and attendees.

BRAVO! PROFESSIONAL PERFORMING ARTS AT BYU PRESENTS: JOHN LITHGOW in STORIES BY HEART Following his triumphant appearances at New York’s Lincoln Center and London’s National Theatre, Tony, Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning actor, John Lithgow, offers a touching and humorous reflection on storytelling as the tie that binds humanity. Invoking memories of his grandmother and father before him, Mr. Lithgow traces his roots as an actor and storyteller, interspersing his own story with two tales that were read aloud to him and his siblings when they were children. These are “Uncle Fred Flits By” by P.G. Wodehouse and “Haircut” by Ring Lardner. In the first, a fretful young Englishman is taken on a wild afternoon’s escapade in suburban London by his irrepressible uncle. In a hilarious tour de force, Lithgow performs with zany abandon, portraying ten distinct, outrageous characters (including a parrot). By contrast, “Haircut” is a darkly comic look at Midwestern American implacability. It is a captivating yarn told by a gossipy barber in small-town Michigan as he gives a shave and a haircut to a stranger in town. Stories by Heart provides ample evidence of the power of storytelling, the magic of theatre, and the talents of one of our greatest actors.

The Diavolo Dance Theatre, internationally renowned for the unique way in which it reinvents dance, reimagines theatre and redefines thrills, visits Brigham Young University with “Transit Space” and “Trajectoire,” Wednesday, March 19, in the de Jong Concert Hall. Tickets start at $20 ($10 off with BYU or student ID and $3 off for senior citizens or BYU alumni) and can be purchased at the Fine Arts Ticket Office, (801) 422-2981, or at byuarts.com/tickets. The Diavolo Dance Theatre is part of BYU’s BRAVO! Professional Performing Arts Series, and takes movement, athletics and daring to the extreme, creating abstract narratives about the human experience through surreal tableaux. The company has an extensive performance history in its home city of Los Angeles, as well as throughout the U.S., Europe, Asia and Latin America. In more than 14 seasons of touring, Diavolo has performed for hundreds of thousands of concertgoers worldwide, as well as millions more on television. “Architecture in motion—a unique and fascinating approach to making dance—is the perfect way to describe this unique and fascinating dance company,” said BYU professor Jeffrey Martin, presenter of The Diavolo Dance Theatre. “However, even calling Diavolo a dance company imposes unwanted limits and restrictions upon its work; as you will soon experience, it seems to reach beyond that somehow.” The cast crew consists of Jacques Heim as artistic director, Jennifer Cheng as executive director and Dusty Alvarado, Ana Brotons, Leandro Damasco Jr., Alicia Garrity, Brandon Grimm, Shauna Martinez, Ezra Masse-Mahar, Chelsea Pierce, Rick Santizo, Amy Tuley and Garrett Wolf as performers. Founded in 1992 by Jacques Heim, choreographer of Cirque du Soleil’s KA, Diavolo has developed a reputation for stunning, innovative movement on oversized surrealistic sets and everyday structures. Diavolo performs a distinct style of Architecture in Motion that uses abstract and recognized structures to explore the relationship between the danger of our environment and the fragility of the human body. The dance theatre is a fusion of many different movement vocabularies such as everyday movement, ballet, contemporary, acrobatics, gymnastics, martial arts and hip-hop. For more information contact Ken Crossley at (801) 422-9348 or ken_crossley@byu.edu. Source: BYU News

China’s Golden Dragon Acrobats visits Brigham Young University with “Cirque Záva,” a technically innovative show featuring a large athletic cast and spectacular scenic and lighting elements, Thursday through Saturday, Feb. 6-8, in the de Jong Concert Hall. Tickets start at $20 ($7 off with BYU or student ID and $3 off for senior citizens or BYU alumni) and can be purchased at the Fine Arts Ticket Office, (801) 422-2981, or at byuarts.com/tickets. “Cirque Záva” is part of BYU’s BRAVO! Professional Performing Arts Series. With superb artistic merit, high production values and a solid commitment to cultural exchange, “Cirque Záva” demonstrates why the Golden Dragon Acrobats have been recognized as the preeminent Chinese acrobatic company touring the United States. Filled with contemporary music, impressive acrobatics, theatrical enhancements and Chinese traditional dance, “Cirque Záva” promises to thrill the young and the young at heart. The Golden Dragon Acrobats hail from Cangzhou, Hebei province, in the People’s Republic of China, and have toured the United States continuously since 1978. Its members are athletes, actors and artists who have studied and trained in their craft since early childhood. The group averages 200 performances each year and has toured through all 50 states and in more than 65 countries across the world. In 2005, their Broadway debut and seven-week run at the New Victory Theatre earned two prestigious New York Drama Desk Awards nominations for Best Choreography and Most Unique Theatrical Experience. The performance is produced by Asian Artists Productions, Inc., featuring Danny Chang, artistic director, Randy Williamson, technical director and Tony Tucci, lighting director. For more information contact Ken Crossley at (801) 422-9348 or ken_crossley@byu.edu. Source: BYU News

Will perform “The Sound of Music” and “Hansel and Gretel”Austria’s historic Salzburg Marionette Theatre will bring its 100th Anniversary Tour to Brigham Young University to present “The Sound of Music” Friday, Nov. 1, at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, Nov. 2 at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. in the de Jong Concert Hall.

Multi-Grammy and Tony Award-nominated composer and producer Frank Wildhorn will present “Frank Wildhorn and Friends” at Brigham Young University Thursday, Oct. 3, at 7:30 p.m. in the de Jong Concert Hall. Tickets start at $20 ($10 off with a student ID, $3 off for senior citizens and BYU alumni) and can be purchased at the Fine Arts Ticket Office, (801) 422-2981, or at byuarts.com/tickets. “Frank Wildhorn and Friends” will take the audience on a concert journey through Wildhorn’s celebrated catalog of music paying homage to his greatest songs in a personal and thrilling way. The group features Wildhorn, piano, a three-piece band and the vocal talents of Broadway’s Jackie Burns (“Wicked”), Darren Ritchie (“Wonderland” and “Little Shop of Horrors”) and Adrienne Warren (“Bring It On” and “Dreamgirls”). In 1999, Wildhorn became the first American composer in 22 years to have three shows running simultaneously on Broadway, including “The Scarlet Pimpernel,” “Jekyll & Hyde” and “The Civil War.” His other Broadway work includes “Wonderland” and “Bonnie & Clyde.” Outside of Broadway, other artists to record and perform his work include Whitney Houston, Natalie Cole, Kenny Rogers, Sammy Davis Jr. and Hootie & the Blowfish. Wildhorn wrote Whitney Houston’s No. 1 international hit “Where Do Broken Hearts Go?” and “Gold,” for the opening ceremony of the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympic Games. This concert is a part of BYU’s new performing arts series, “BRAVO!” — a new season that features a dynamic roster of celebrated guest artists. For more information, visit www.frankwildhorn.com, contact Jeff Martin, (801) 422-6340 or visit byuarts.com. Source: BYU News

Five-time Tony Award-winning actress and singer Audra McDonald will bring her acclaimed concert to Brigham Young University for the first time Thursday and Friday, Sept. 5 and 6, at 7:30 p.m. in the de Jong Concert Hall. Tickets start at $40 ($10 off with a student ID, $3 off for senior citizens and BYU alumni) and can be purchased at the Fine Arts Ticket Office, (801) 422-4322, or at byuarts.com/tickets. The performance will be 70 to 90 minutes long with no intermission. She will be accompanied in the performance by music director Andy Einhorn, bassist Mark Vanderpoel and drummer Gene Lewin. McDonald is unparalleled in the breadth and versatility of her artistry as both a singer and an actress. Blessed with a luminous soprano and an incomparable gift for dramatic truth-telling, she is equally at home on Broadway and opera stages as she is on film and television. With a record-tying five Tony Awards, two Grammy Awards and a long list of other accolades to her name, she is among today’s most highly regarded performers. New York Timesonce praised her for her “devastating theatrical impact, it’s hard to imagine any hurricane matching the tempest that is the extraordinary Audra McDonald.” Most recently the star of the Broadway revival of The Gershwins’ “Porgy and Bess” in New York and featured on the ABC television series “Private Practice,” McDonald’s resume of acclaimed Broadway performances also includes “Carousel,” “Master Class,” “Ragtime,” “A Raisin in the Sun,” “The Secret Garden” and “110 in the Shade.” In addition to her theatrical work, she maintains a major career as a concert and recording artist, regularly appearing on great stages throughout the world, including an appearance as the featured guest soloist with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square in December 2004. This concert is the first event of the BYU’s new performing arts series, “BRAVO!” — a new season that features a dynamic roster of celebrated guest artists. For more information, contact Jeff Martin, (801) 422-6340 or visitbyuarts.com. Return to BYU News page.

The 2013-2014 Brigham Young University Performing Arts Series launches a new season with a new name – BRAVO! – featuring a dynamic roster of celebrated guest artists, as well as a new contemporary theatre initiative – OFF THE MAP – showcasing an eclectic mix of work from across the globe. From the theatre scene in Iran to the music of New York City’s famed Carnegie Hall, the 2013-14 season welcomes to campus one of the most exciting groups of dancers, theatre performers and musicians in BYU history. Most performances will begin at 7:30 p.m. Individual tickets will be available at the Fine Arts Ticket Office, (801) 422-4322 or at byuarts.com/tickets. Season ticket packages will be available for purchase beginning Tuesday, May 28; new subscribers may also submit order forms at this time. Ticket orders will be filled beginning May 28 in the order they are received. The BRAVO! schedule: Fall 2013 Audra McDonald, renowned singer and actress with unparalleled breadth and versatility, will start off the season Thursday and Friday, Sept. 5-6, in the de Jong Concert Hall. Winner of five Tony Awards and two Grammy Awards, she is one of today’s most highly regarded performers. Blessed with a luminous soprano and an incomparable gift for dramatic truth-telling, she is equally at home on Broadway and opera stages as on film and television. Single ticket sales begin July 25. Hexnut, a modern band of five soloists, comes to BYU to present “Wrench — A Choreography Between Music and Image” Wednesday, Sept. 25, in the de Jong Concert Hall. Hexnut mixes the styles, sounds and playing techniques of contemporary classical, jazz, metal, improvisation and cartoon music. “Wrench” will blend a program of new music and the images of award-winning photographer Edward Burtynsky into a performance of integrated sound and projected image. The compositions by Jan-Bas Bollen, David Dramm, Anthony Fiumara, Ned McGowan, Mayke Nas, Seung-Ah Oh, Felipe Waller and BYU music professor Steve Ricks combine into a single set without pause. Admission is free. Also “Edward Burtynsky: The Industrial Sublime,” an exhibition of the artist’s work, will be on display at the BYU Museum of Art through Nov. 16, 2013. Admission is free. Frank Wildhorn, pop music songwriter and Broadway composer (“The Scarlet Pimpernel,” “Jekyll & Hyde,” “The Civil War,” “Wonderland” and “Bonnie & Clyde”), will take the audience on a concert journey through his celebrated catalog of music Thursday, Oct. 3, in the de Jong Concert Hall. A trio of Broadway and recording artists with Wildhorn at the piano, “Frank Wildhorn and Friends” will celebrate the man’s greatest songs in a personal and thrilling way. This multi-Grammy and Tony Award-nominated composer and producer's work spans popular, theatrical and classical music. Artists who have recorded and performed Wildhorn’s music include Whitney Houston (the international hit'Where Do Broken Hearts Go?'), Natalie Cole, Kenny Rogers, Sammy Davis Jr., Liza Minnelli, Julie Andrews, Freddie Jackson and more. Single ticket sales begin Aug. 26. The Zagreb Saxophone Quartet from Croatia will perform Wednesday, Oct. 30 in the Madsen Recital Hall. With a repertoire ranging from Bach to Gershwin and Mozart to Bernstein, Croatia’s esteemed classical woodwind ensemble has become a premier interpreter of new and established works for saxophone. The Zagreb Saxophone Quartet is renowned for their exceptional musicality, interpretative focus and technical supremacy and has performed in more than 20 countries since the quartet’s formation in 1989. After a five-year absence, the group returns to BYU with special guest and master saxophonist Eugene Rousseau. Single ticket sales begin Sept. 30. Austria’s Salzburg Marionette Theatre will present “The Sound of Music” Friday and Saturday, Nov. 1-2 and “Hansel and Gretel” Saturday, Nov. 2, in the de Jong Concert Hall. To experience the Salzburg Marionettes is to witness the beauty and magic of a group rarely seen outside of Europe. For 100 years the company has performed dramatic presentations utilizing the remarkable life-like movements of its elaborate costumed, two-foot tall, string-manipulated puppets on lavish backdrops set to beautiful recorded music. Featuring a skilled ensemble of behind-the-scenes professional puppeteers, the performance presents the charm and wonder of a long-standing European tradition in a fresh, exciting way. Single ticket sales begin Sept. 30. Joshua Bell, whom the Boston Herald praised as “the greatest American violinist active today,” will perform Thursday, Nov. 14, in the de Jong Concert Hall. Often referred to as the “poet of the violin,” Bell is one of the world’s most celebrated violinists. His restless curiosity, passion, universal appeal and multi-faceted musical interests have earned him the rare title of “classical music superstar.” Bell has played recitals in the most esteemed venues across the globe, including his Carnegie Hall debut at the age of 17. He can be heard on numerous recordings, including his latest release “French Impressions” and film scores, including the 2009 film “Angels and Demons”. In 2007, Bell performed incognito in a Washington, D.C. subway station for a Washington Post story by Gene Weingarten examining art and context. The story earned Weingarten a Pulitzer Prize and sparked an international discussion about perception and priorities. Single ticket sales begin Oct. 14. Winter 2014 The Utah Symphony returns to BYU with a program of classical masterworks featuring guest conductor Matthias Pintscher and pianist Inon Barnatan Thursday, Jan. 9, in the de Jong Concert Hall. The symphony will play Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4, Dvorak’s Symphony No. 8, and Matthias Pintscher’s “Towards Osiris.” Single ticket sales begin Dec. 9. China’s Golden Dragon Acrobats visits BYU with “Cirque ZÁva,” a technically innovative show featuring a large athletic cast and spectacular scenic and lighting elements, Thursday through Saturday, Feb. 6-8, in the de Jong Concert Hall. With superb artistic merit, high production values and a solid commitment to cultural exchange, “Cirque ZÁva” demonstrates why the Golden Dragon Acrobats have been recognized as the preeminent Chinese acrobatic company touring the United States. Filled with contemporary music, impressive acrobatics, theatrical enhancements and Chinese traditional dance, “Cirque ZÁva” promises to thrill the young and the young at heart. Single ticket sales begin Dec. 9. John Lithgow, world-renowned actor, presents “Stories by Heart,” featuring works by P.G. Wodehouse and Ring Lardner Friday, Feb. 28, in the de Jong Concert Hall. Following his triumphant appearances at New York’s Lincoln Center and London’s National Theatre, the Tony, Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning actor offers a touching and humorous reflection on storytelling as the tie that binds humanity. Invoking memories of his grandmother and father before him, Lithgow traces his roots as an actor and storyteller, interspersing his own story with two tales that were read aloud to him and his siblings when they were children — 'Uncle Fred Flits By' by P.G. Wodehouse and 'Haircut' by Ring Lardner. In the first, a fretful young Englishman is taken on a wild afternoon escapade in suburban London by his irrepressible uncle. In a hilarious tour de force, Lithgow performs with zany abandon, portraying ten distinct, outrageous characters (including a parrot). By contrast, 'Haircut' is a darkly comic look at Midwestern American implacability. Single ticket sales begin Dec. 9. The Diavolo Dance Theater will perform Wednesday, March 19, in the de Jong Concert Hall. Internationally renowned for the unique way in which it reinvents dance, reimagines theatre and redefines thrills, Diavolo Dance Theater takes movement, athletics and daring to the extreme, creating abstract narratives about the human experience through surreal tableaux. The company has an extensive performance history in its home city of Los Angeles, as well as throughout the U.S., Europe, Asia and Latin America. In more than 14 seasons of touring, Diavolo has performed for hundreds of thousands of concertgoers worldwide, as well as millions more on television. For its BYU debut, the company will present two of its most celebrated and exciting pieces, “Transit Space” and “Trajectoire.” Single ticket sales begin Feb. 18. The OFF THE MAP BYU International Theatre Festival schedule: Winter 2014 Iran’s Leev Theater Group will present “Hamlet, Prince of Grief” Thursday through Saturday, Jan. 23-25, in the Margetts Theatre. Household objects and children’s toys are used to play out a domestic and political history of betrayal and death as Shakespeare’s tragic hero comes to terms with his violent fate through an obsessive retelling of the moments preceding the tragedy. “Hamlet, Prince of Grief” was first presented in Iran by Leev Theater Group, featuring acclaimed Iranian actor Afshin Hashemi. It was chosen as Iran’s Best Theater Group by the Critics and Writers Association of Iran’s Theater House and was named Tehran’s Best Theater Group by the Dramatic Arts Center. Single ticket sales begin Dec. 9. The Theatre Ad Infinitum will perform “Translunar Paradise” Thursday through Saturday, Jan. 23-25, in the Pardoe Theatre. “Translunar Paradise” takes audiences on a journey of life, death and enduring love. After his wife, Rose, passes away, William escapes to a paradise of fantasy and memories, a place far from the reality of his grief. Returning from beyond the grave, Rose revisits her widowed companion to perform one last act of love: to help him let go. With live accordion accompaniment, this exquisite piece of mask and movement theatre was a multi-award winning, critically acclaimed sellout at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2011. Theatre Ad Infinitum is an award-winning international ensemble based in London, developing new and original theatre for a multi-cultural audience. Single ticket sales begin Dec. 9. Australia’s Perth Theatre Company will present “Alvin Sputnik: Deep Sea Explorer” Thursday through Saturday, Jan. 23-25, in the Nelke Theatre. This multi-award-winning one-man micro-epic puppet show melds technology and multimedia into a touching story of enduring love and the end of the world. Creator and performer, Tim Watts employs a unique blend of mime, puppetry, live and recorded music, and live animation to present an exploration of the oldest and next frontier: the deep blue sea. The seas have risen, billions of people have died and those who are left live on farms on mountaintop skyscrapers. The scientists have tried everything. Floating islands sank, space probes found nothing, and the giant sponges, visible from the moon, are now rotting icons of failure. Now science and humanity are turning to the oceans. A last ditch effort to save the human race requires journeying down through the mysterious depths of the deep blue sea to find a new place to live. These are the dire circumstances that surround the tale’s central hero, Alvin Sputnik. Having just lost his wife, Alvin accepts this perilous mission to follow her soul down to the underworld to be with her once more. Single ticket sales begin Dec. 9. For more information, contact Jeff Martin, (801) 422-6340 or visit byuarts.com. Source: BYU News