Single Tickets Go on Sale Monday, August 15 for Entire Kimmel Center Presents 2005/06 Season
August 1, 2005
(Top row) Von Freeman, Black Watch, Maura O'Connell, Leif Ove Andsnes; (middle row) Sylvia McNair, Lang Lang, Hilary Hahn, Chick Corea; (bottom row) Taj Mahal, Danilo Perez and the Vienna Choir Boys, Angelique Kidjo
The Roots & Friends; Kiki & Herb; Max Raabe & The Palast Orchester; Emmylou Harris; Medeski, Martin & Wood; and Cesaria Evora With Keren Ann
Additional Performers Added To Kimmel Center Presents Shows:
Lila Downs added to Mariza; Dixie Hummingbirds added to Richard Smallwood
Single tickets to all Kimmel Center Presents 2005-06 Season performances go on sale to the general public on Monday, August 15. The Kimmel Center’s fifth season of programming is highlighted by a diverse line-up of performers with something for all musical tastes, including, jazz, world, pop, classical, and new music, as well as dance and a two-week long festival marking the inaugural performances of one of the largest concert hall organs in the country, the new Dobson organ in Verizon Hall in May 2006.
In addition, since the 2005-06 season was originally announced in the spring, six new shows have been added to the Sovereign Bank World Pop Mix line-up, including:
- Hip-hop and neo-soul sensation The Roots make their Kimmel Center debut with several musical guests in Verizon Hall (September 16, 2005);
- Septuagenarian chanteuse Kiki and her long-suffering accompanist Herb make their Kimmel Center debut with their genre-bending and unconventional form of cabaret in the Perelman Theater (October 15, 2005);
- Max Raabe and the 12-piece Palast Orchester perform dance and film music of Cole Porter, George Gershwin, Franz Lehar and more from the golden age of songwriting in Germany and the United States in the Perelman Theater (December 1, 2005);
- Emmylou Harris, eleven-time Grammy winner and innovative folk-pop-country-alternative vocalist, makes her debut in Verizon Hall (March 7, 2006);
- With influences ranging from old-school jazz and funk to hip hop and rock, Medeski, Martin & Wood return in Verizon Hall (April 7, 2006);
- Cesaria Evora brings her unique blend of soulful Afro-Latin music from her native Cape Verde back to the Kimmel Center, filtered through her tough but exultant life. Also on the bill will be Paris/New York based singer-songwriter Keren Ann, whose second English-language release Nolita has been taking America by storm (Verizon Hall, April 13, 2006).
Tickets can be purchased by calling 215-893-1999, online at www.kimmelcenter.org or at the Kimmel Center box office, open daily from 10am to 6pm and later on performance evenings. (Additional fees may apply). Single ticket buyers who purchase tickets to three or more performances at one time save 10% and are entitled to benefits normally afforded subscribers. For group sales call 215-790-5883.
A limited number of $10 tickets are available for every Kimmel Center Presents performance at the Kimmel Center. Tickets go on sale the day of the event and can be purchased at the Kimmel Center box office beginning 2 ½ hours prior to curtain time. Limit one ticket per person.
The Kimmel Center Presents 2005-06 Season continues its rich tradition of diverse programming, with 14 different series encompassing classical, jazz, pop, dance and world music genres, including major orchestras on U.S. and world tours; individual classical instrumentalists and vocalists performing solo recitals and chamber music; numerous jazz masters and up-and-coming jazz artists performing straight-ahead jazz concerts; world music performers from ten countries; pop artists; pre- and post-performance “Artist Chats;” the Fresh Ink and See Hear! series, presenting some of the most unusual and adventurous artists and programming in classical music today, and educational concerts and events. In addition, the Kimmel Center will unveil its new Dobson pipe organ with a special two-week organ festival and dedication in May 2006. Series Subscriptions at even greater discounts are still available.
Artists and ensembles in the Kimmel Center Presents 2005-06 season include:
MELLON JAZZ FRIDAYS
The 2005-06 Kimmel Center Presents season opens with An Evening With Tony Bennett (9/15).
Other jazz greats include Chick Corea and Touchstone (10/14); the Third Annual Philly All-Star Night with Odean Pope’s Saxophone Choir and the Christian McBride Quintet (note that previously announced artist Michael Brecker will not be appearing) (11/18); and former Berklee College of Music President and long-time master vibraphonist Gary Burton shares the bill with pianist Brad Mehldau (1/27).
Pianist Marcus Roberts is joined by drummer Jason Marsalis and bassist Roland Guerin and The San Francisco Jazz Collective performs with Bobby Hutcherson, vibes; Joshua Redman and Miguel Zenon, saxes; Nicholas Payton, trumpet; Renee Rosnes, piano; Bob Hurst, bass; and Eric Harland, drums (3/24); the Dizzy Gillespie Alumni All-Star Band with Paquito D’Rivera, James Moody, Jimmy Heath, Frank Wess, Gary Smulyan, Antonio Hart, saxes; Randy Brecker, Claudio Roditi, Greg Gisbert, Frank Greene, trumpets; Steve Davis, Jason Jackson, Jay Ashby, Doug Purviance, trombones; Mulgrew Miller, piano; John Lee, bass; Marty Ashby, guitar; Dennis Mackrel, drums; and Roberta Gambarini, vocals (4/21).
Pulitzer Prize-winning musician, composer and educator Wynton Marsalis leads The Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra in a performance of Duke Ellington’s Harlem Nutcracker (12/11).
MELLON JAZZ UP CLOSE: ONE NATION UNDER JAZZ
In his third season as Artistic Advisor of the Kimmel Center Presents’ Mellon Jazz Up Close Series, Danilo Pérez focuses on a grand tour of American cities including Chicago with tenor sax legend Von Freeman and iconic Philly drummer Mickey Roker (10/29); a New Orleans piano-duo evening with Ellis Marsalis and Philadelphia’s own Orrin Evans (11/19); a Detroit evening with pianist Geri Allen and former Philadelphian Wallace Roney (2/11); and Boston is represented by Roy Haynes joined by Philadelphia’s adopted son Danilo Perez (4/1).
SOVEREIGN BANK WORLD POP MIX
Continuing its tradition of presenting music from cultures the world-over, the Kimmel Center Presents Sovereign Bank World Pop Mix Series is highlighted by some of the most diverse artists and ensembles. Soul pioneer Solomon Burke will be joined by special guests Gamble and Huff’s MFSB Band (9/17); Los Lobos performs with special guest Alejandro Escovedo (10/2); reigning fado queen Mariza explores the music of Portugal and Brazil and is joined on the same program as Lila Downs (10/9); gospel composer, arranger, pianist and vocalist Richard Smallwood brings his unique blend of gospel music to Verizon Hall accompanied by his band Vision and share the bill with the legendary Dixie Hummingbirds celebrating their 75th anniversary (11/4); the Queens of World Music is highlighted by vocalists Emeline Michel, Eva Ayllon and Angelique Kidjo (11/6); A Woman’s Heart will see Mary Black, Cara Dillon, Maura O’Connell and Sharon Shannon joining forces (11/13); Tony-winning dancer and choreographer Savion Glover in a program called Classical Savion (11/15); The Vienna Choir Boys, return to Verizon Hall (12/10); The Pipes, Drums and Highland Dancers of The 1st Battalion of Scotland’s Black Watch joins the Band of the Welsh Guards for an afternoon of music and pageantry (1/15); The Paco Peña Flamenco Ensemble brings its authentic flamenco performance to Verizon Hall (1/29); international cabaret star Sylvia McNair performs on Valentine’s Day (2/14); Ladysmith Black Mambazo combines forces with South African composer and vocal virtuoso, Vusi Mahlasela, in “Long Walk To Freedom” (2/19); Gospel legend Mavis Staples and blues veteran Taj Mahal share a program (3/11); and The Chieftains return to Verizon Hall for a St. Patrick’s Day celebration (3/12).
Philadelphia institution Jerry Blavat performs his first ever Kimmel Christmas show, A Very Geator Christmas, featuring Al Martino (12/22); and in April celebrates the best music of the 1970s with Geator Gold (4/15).
GREAT ORCHESTRAS ON TOUR SERIES
The series begins with the New York Philharmonic led by Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos with pianist André Watts (12/9); Daniel Barenboim leads and performs with the Berlin Staatskapelle in an all-Mozart program (2/8); the Boston Symphony Orchestra, with new music director James Levine, performs with soprano Lorraine Hunt Lieberson (3/10); Grammy-winning conductor Leonard Slatkin makes his Kimmel Center debut with Washington D.C.’s National Symphony Orchestra and pianist Emanuel Ax (4/5); the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, led by German conductor Manfred Honeck, help inaugurate the Kimmel Center’s new concert pipe organ with Bryn Mawr organist Jeffrey Brillhart (5/25).
VERIZON HALL ORGAN FESTIVAL AND DEDICATION
In May 2006, The Kimmel Center unveils its brand new completed pipe organ by builder Lynn Dobson with an organ festival comprised of 14 events over 2 weeks. The Dobson organ, Op. 76, will rank as one of the largest concert hall organs in the world when complete, with 6,938 pipes, three blowers, 300 levels of memory, 111 stops, pipe sizes ranging from that of about the size of a drinking straw up to two feet square by 32 feet in length, and a total weight of app. 32 tons. Performances include a marathon of short recitals by local and regional guest organists, The Philadelphia Singers, led by conductor David Hayes, will join forces with the Mannes College of Music Orchestra (5/14); family performances by the Mum Puppettheatre with Wanamaker organist Peter Conte (5/20); silent films by Charlie Chaplin and Douglas Fairbanks, Sr., accompanied by organist Tom Trenney (5/21); and a performance by the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra led by German conductor Manfred Honeck (5/25).
MASTER MUSICANS SERIES
The Master Musicians series includes violinist and Curtis School of Music graduate Hilary Hahn and pianist Natalie Zhu (11/20); violinist-conductor Gil Shaham and The Academy of St. Martin In The Fields (2/28); two of the most popular violinists of our time, Itzhak Perlman and Pinchas Zukerman, join forces (4/23); pianist Leif Ove Andsnes and the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra (1/17); piano virtuoso Yefim Bronfman (4/9); Lang Lang makes his only Philadelphia appearance in the 2005-06 season in a Verizon Hall solo recital (4/18); celebrated American baritone Thomas Hampson in a program of all-American song sponsored by the Library of Congress (1/8); charismatic Russian baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky (5/10); The Philadelphia Singers, led by conductor David Hayes (5/14).
KEYBOARD CONVERSATIONS® WITH JEFFREY SIEGEL
New this year as a highlight of the Kimmel Center’s ongoing Mondays at the Merck adult education program is a series of three concerts with conversation led by internationally acclaimed pianist and music educator Jeffrey Siegel, focused on the music of Beethoven (11/7), Mozart (2/20), and Chopin (3/20).
FRESH INK SERIES
The Kimmel Center Presents’ Fresh Ink Series continues to present the new and unusual in contemporary music with both established and younger artists with three presentations this year in the Perelman Theater. Highlights include Wu Man, a virtuoso of the ancient Chinese lute known as the pipa (11/10); Mozart: Reloaded, curated by award-winning composer Andrea Clearfield (1/21); and violinist Midori (4/22).
SEE HEAR! SERIES
The second season of the SEE HEAR! series is made up of innovative performers using a range of performance media, including, video, film and computer technology as well as traditional instruments and actors, including Tony-winning dancer and choreographer Savion Glover in a program called Classical Savion (11/15); Marc Mostovoy’s A Colonial Holiday returns to bring families back in time on a journey to Colonial Philadelphia (12/8-9); Mozart: Reloaded, with Andrea Clearfield (1/21); and POP G, the Philadelphia Orchestra Percussion Group, make their Kimmel Center Presents debut (5/5).
WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION
The genius of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) will be celebrated in a variety of performances in recognition of the 250th Anniversary of the composer’s birth (January 27, 1756) during the months of January and February 2006. Pianist Leif Ove Andsnes and the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra perform a program that includes Mozart Piano Concerto Nos. 14 and 20 (1/17); the Fresh Ink series will include Mozart: Reloaded, curated by award-winning composer Andrea Clearfield (1/21); Daniel Barenboim leads the Berlin Staatskapelle and performs as piano soloist in an all-Mozart program (2/8); the Keyboard Conversations series with pianist Jeffrey Siegel includes There’s More to Mozart than Amadeus; and Violinist-conductor Gil Shaham will be joined by one of the finest chamber orchestras in the world, The Academy of St. Martin In The Fields in a program that includes Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 5 (2/28).
PHILADANCO Sponsored by American Express Company
Philadelphia’s acclaimed modern dance company Philadanco continues its residency at the Kimmel Center with two sets of performances: a new and expanded version of Xmas Philes (12/16-18); and a spring residency (5/18-21) featuring two world-premieres from choreographers Christopher L. Huggins and Carmen DeLavallade.
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Sponsors of the 2005-2006 Kimmel Center Presents season include University of Pennsylvania Health Care System, Mellon Financial Corporation, Sovereign Bank, The American Express Company, and Verizon Pennsylvania, Inc. American Airlines is the Official Airline of Kimmel Center Presents. Toyota is the Official Vehicle of Kimmel Center Presents.
Fresh Ink 2005-2006 is made possible by a grant from the Philadelphia Music Project, an Artistic Initiative of The Pew Charitable Trusts, administered by The University of the Arts.
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. The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts and the Academy of Music serve as home to eight Resident Company performing arts organizations, including The Philadelphia Orchestra, Opera Company of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Ballet, Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, American Theater Arts for Youth, PHILADANCO, Philadelphia Chamber Music Society and Peter Nero and the Philly Pops®. Kimmel Center, Inc.’s mission also includes arts in education, community outreach and a rich diversity of programming through its Kimmel Center Presents and Broadway at the Academy series of performances.
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