Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts

FREE AT THE KIMMEL Offerings Continue May to June 2012

MAY 3, 2012

Live From the Plaza Stage Sponsored by Coca-Cola

                                                & Janney Montgomery Scott

Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts continues the FREE AT THE KIMMEL offerings in May and June with Live from the Plaza Stage Saturday programming, monthly PNC Grow Up Great family-friendly series, monthly Sittin’ In Jam Sessions, and monthly Merck Arts Education Center panel discussions. Free at the Kimmel offerings continue to highlight Philly’s hottest up-and-coming talents with musical offerings for everyone, and invite the community to engage in the arts on multiple levels.

 

Live from the Plaza Stage continues every Saturday* until June 9 with a variety of FREE world, pop, jazz, and instrumental offerings from up-and-coming local musicians and artists. Happy hour specials, including $1 off beers and $2 off wines, will be served at the PECO and Annex Bars. Additionally, monthly raffle drawings with ticket giveaway winners to select Kimmel Center Presents and Broadway Season shows will be announced at the end of performances in the Commonwealth Plaza. (*except May 26)

 

The PNC Grow Up Great series offers family-friendly FREE entertainment each month made possible thanks to partnership funding through the nationally recognized PNC Grow Up Great initiative, a ten-year, $100 million investment in preparing children for success in school and life.

 

Sittin’ In Jam Sessions are a new monthly installment of FREE Wednesday night programming, curated by acclaimed jazz bassist and Director of the Kimmel Center's Creative Music Program Anthony Tidd. The night begins with resident DJ Phsh spinning music to warm up the crowd. Then, the house band takes the stage to perform a short set, followed by a second set showcasing selected talent from near and far, selected by the host of the night, to jam with the house band.

 

The Merck Arts Education Center panel discussions each month are facilitated by curator Homer Jackson, who invites community leaders to engage in a public dialogue on a hot topic of interest that relates to the arts, education, and thematic interplay of programming at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts.

 

Below are Free at the Kimmel program offerings for the months of May and June. Visit www.kimmelcenter.org/free for updated information on confirmed artists throughout the remainder of the season.

 

Free at the Kimmel

New Horizons Glee Club: Broadway Lights – Cabaret Nights

Saturday, May 5, 1 p.m.

Commonweath Plaza Stage

Step inside the glamour of 1940s New York City nightlife with an afternoon of showstoppers from the Golden Age of Broadway. The New Horizons Senior Glee Club performs selections from Kiss Me Kate, My Fair Lady, Hello, Dolly! and more.

 

Free at the Kimmel

Live from the Plaza Stage:

Emily Arin

Saturday, May 5, 6 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Wistful and delicate, Emily Arin is able to weave tales riddled with the heavy graces of the human experience. Arin has worked with noted producers, Brian McTear (Matt Pond PA, Sharon Van Etten) and Greg Weeks (Espers). Arin has crafted songs with a wide-ranging mix of influences, from Hank Williams and Memphis Minnie to Nick Drake, Caetano Veloso, Tom Waits, Sybille Baier and Gillian Welch on her debut studio album, Patch of Land. In 2009 she placed two songs in Greenland's first international feature film, 'Nuummioq,' alongside work from Giant Sand, Howe Gelb, and Matt Bauer. Arin performed these songs in support of the movie at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. Now based in Philadelphia, Arin is more poised than before.

 

 

Free at the Kimmel

Merck Arts Education Center

Everybody is a Curator:

The New Anthropology

Monday, May 7, 6p.m.

Anthropology is a social science that deals with the origins, social customs and beliefs of humankind. Now that technology puts a university's worth of knowledge at our finger tips within a matter of seconds, what happens to local, regional knowledge and artifacts? Who are the new anthropologists and how does one become one of the new anthropologists? Join Merck Arts Education Center curator Homer Jackson facilitate discussion with panelists King Britt, Philadelphia DJ/Producer; Brent Luvaas, Anthropology Professor; Amy Hillier, Professor of City Planning; Glen Muschio, Anthropologist and Filmmaker .

 

Free at the Kimmel

PNC Grow Up Great

The Little Farm Show Presented by NACL Theatre

Saturday, May 12, 11 a.m. to noon

Commonwealth Plaza Stage

The Little Farm Show is an all-ages musical extravaganza about farming, food, and the environment. From the inception of the solar system, to sunset on Millicent's farm, the Magnificent MacDonald twins give audiences a whirlwind tour of 'The Greatest Show on Dirt!' Created and performed by Tannis Kowalchuk and Brett Keyser, The Little Farm Show explodes with live music, dance, puppetry, and comic action.

 

Free at the Kimmel

Live from the Plaza Stage:

Caryn Lin

Saturday, May 12, 6 p.m. to 7 p.m.

While playing her 4, 5, & 6 string electric violins, innovative violinist Caryn Lin uses sound effects and looping to create short on-the-spot recordings of her violin, voice, percussion instruments, and other sounds. Layers of sound over deceptively simple melodies result in music that is both other worldly and totally catchy; mesmerizing and completely unique! Caryn has appeared everywhere from the Kimmel Center to the Crayola Crayon Factory to a monastery in the French Alps celebrating its 800th anniversary. She has released 5 studio albums and is currently working on her sixth.

 

Free at the Kimmel

Live from the Plaza Stage:

Korey Riker

Saturday, May 19, 6 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Saxophonist, composer, and producer Korey Riker is an esteemed local talent. He has worked with reigning musical artists The Roots, John Legend, Justin Timberlake, Amos Lee, and Esperanza Spalding to name a few. Riker's compositional and playing style are greatly influenced by his work in the fields of Neo-Soul, R&B, Gospel, and Hip-Hop. His debut album Posthumous released in 2010 and features eight original compositions supported by a cutting-edge ensemble. Lending their talents to the album are Luke O'Reilly on piano and Fender Rhodes, upright bassist Nimrod Speaks and the first studio recording from Branford Marsalis's new drummer, Justin Faulkner.

 

Free at the Kimmel

Sittin’ In

Hosted by Jeff Bradshaw

Wednesday, May 30, 8 p.m. to 11 p.m.

Commonwealth Plaza Stage

Join celebrity host Jeff Bradshaw as he leads a combination ensemble consisting of students, community players, and the house band with a powerful blend of Philly brass jazz and exuberant celebratory music reminiscent of his church music upbringing. The noted trombonist has worked with a variety of artists including Carol Riddick, Glen Lewis, Ndambi, Bilal, and Jill Scott. Philly360 featured Bradshaw recently, noting, “He has this way of pairing the perfect vocalist with the perfect song. Unlike other horn and vocal collabos you've heard, Jeff has a way of actually getting his horn to sing.”

 

Free at the Kimmel

Merck Arts Education Center

Performance and Dialogue:

Creating Sacred Music

Monday, June 4, 6 p.m.

In this session, Merck Arts Education Center curator Homer Jackson will facilitate a discussion on the creative process as it relates to developing sacred music used in worship or personal spiritual devotions.

 

Free at the Kimmel

PNC Grow Up Great

Celebrate the Sounds of the Organ!

Saturday, June 9, 11 a.m. to noon

Commonwealth Plaza Stage

Grow Up Great celebrates the 'King of Instruments' with a special program as part of the Kimmel Center's Organ Day! The Fred J. Cooper Memorial Organ, ranks as the largest mechanical-action concert hall organ in the United States. For this program we'll focus on what makes the organ so unique with music and activities that will entertain the whole family!

 

Free at the Kimmel

iConduct! Festival Concert

Friday, June 8, 6 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Commonwealth Plaza Stage

Join the Black Pearl Chamber Orchestra in their performance of Beethoven’s Symphony no 5 in C minor, Op. 67  for the 3rd concert in its iConduct! Festival- where the audience can join Maestra Jeri Lynne Johnson on stage and receive a mini-conducting lesson in front of a live world-class orchestra.

 

Free at the Kimmel

Fred J. Cooper Memorial Organ Day!

Saturday, June 9, beginning at noon

Verizon Hall

Join us in a half-day marathon of music Celebrating Sixth Anniversary of the Fred J. Cooper Memorial Organ! Organ Day features celebrated local organists from the Philadelphia Chapter of the American Guild of Organists, performing a range of repertoire showcasing the organ’s many styles and sounds. Michael Barone, radio host of American Public Media’s PIPEDREAMS will host the marathon and illuminate the audience with demonstrations, factoids, and what makes the organ such an incredible instrument!

 

Free at the Kimmel

Sittin’ In

Hosted by DJ Dozia & The Back 2 Basics Band

Wednesday, June 20, 8 p.m. to 11 p.m.

Commonwealth Plaza Stage

Philly phenomenon, Back 2 Basics, began its 14 year run at Silk City back in the early 90's. The brain child of DJ's King Britt & Dozia, the party infused early house, 70's funk, and Nu Soul Vinyl with improvised sets by the original renowned B2B band featuring Tim Motzer, Damon Bennett & Carlos Iziguirre. Now the B2B crew brings their party to Sittin' In at The Kimmel.

 

Free at the Kimmel

Creative Music Program Year End Concert

Saturday, June 23, 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Commonwealth Plaza Stage

Students in the Creative Music Program (CMP) perform their final concert of the Kimmel Center’s 10th Anniversary Season. The students showcase a selection of original works, composed throughout the year during their studies with band master, Steve Tirpak, and Kimmel Center CMP Director Anthony Tidd.

 

Free at the Kimmel

Philly Songwriters Project – 2012 Winners Showcase

Saturday, June 23, 8:30 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Commonwealth Plaza Stage

The Philly Songwriters Project will select and announce four winners for the 2012 Songwriters Competition. As part of their prize pack the winners will perform live on the Plaza stage, the first in a series of concerts to take place throughout the region. 

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Kimmel Center, Inc., a charitable, not-for-profit organization, owns, manages, supports and maintains The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, which includes Verizon Hall, Perelman Theater, Innovation Studio and the Merck Arts Education Center. Kimmel Center, Inc. also manages the Academy of Music, owned by the Philadelphia Orchestra Association, and the University of the Arts Merriam Theater. Kimmel Center, Inc.’s mission is to operate a world class performing arts center that engages and serves a broad audience which includes providing arts in education, community outreach and a rich diversity of programming. The 2011/2012 season is sponsored by Citi. For additional information, visit kimmelcenter.org.

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