Single Tickets Go On Sale for Entire Kimmel Center Presents Sponsored by Citi 2007-08 Season On Monday, August 20
August 1, 2007
Yo-Yo Ma, Nnenna Freelon, Paquito D'Rivera, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (photo by Andrew Eccles), and Dame Kiri Te Kanawa.
Single tickets to all Kimmel Center Presents Sponsored by Citi 2007/08 Season performances go on sale to the general public on Monday, August 20 beginning at 10am. This new season of Kimmel Center Presents performances features a diverse line-up of performing artists to satisfy all musical tastes, including jazz, dance, world, pop, organ recitals, classical and new music, beginning in September 2007.
In addition, since the 2007/08 subscription season was originally announced in the spring, several new Special additional shows have been added to the line-up, including:
- Multi Grammy®-Award winner k.d. lang performs in Verizon Hall on February 24
- With the release of their new album "Hey Eugene" Pink Martini makes their Verizon Hall debut on March 4
- In partnership with The Curtis School of Music and the Opera Company of Philadelphia, Osvaldo Golijov’s opera Ainadamar on March 14-16
- One of the greatest singers in Bollywood history, Asha Bhosle, debuts in Verizon Hall on April 6
- The "Geator with the Heater" brings his Doowop Reunion to Verizon Hall on April 13
- Dan Zanes & Friends return with a "Pajama Party" to Verizon Hall on May 16
- Peter, Paul & Mary, a favorite of Philadelphia audiences, returns to the Kimmel Center on June 7
- With the release of their new album "Hey Eugene" Pink Martini makes their Verizon Hall debut on March 4
In addition, the Kimmel Center Presents new online digital media player allows patrons the opportunity to hear audio clips of all artists in the series before they buy, and is located at www.kimmelcenter.org/player. (Available after August 7, 2007.)
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 2.5 hours prior to curtain time. Limit one ticket per person.
In addition, Kimmel Center Presents ticket buyers have the opportunity to purchase tickets as part of a "Choose Three" program offering further savings as well as the ability to mix and match with select Cadillac Broadway shows.
Kimmel Center Presents Sponsored by Citi also offers more than fifty free community performances during the 2007/08 season. These include Free in the Plaza with local artists performing classical, jazz, pop, country, world, dance and family fun on the Commonwealth Plaza stage, as well as artist chats with Kimmel Center Presents performers, education events and organ postludes in Verizon Hall.
The Kimmel Center Presents 2007/08 Season includes major orchestras on world tours, individual classical instrumentalists performing solo recitals, chamber music; numerous jazz greats as well as up and coming jazz performers performing in a variety of styles; performers from 28 different countries; pop artists from numerous genres; pre- and post-performance artist chats; the Fresh Ink Series; an organ recital series with The Fred J. Cooper Memorial Organ, with additional organ postludes following other concerts; family friendly presentations; an expanded dance series; and educational concerts and events. In all there are more than 70 performances on nine series, with 40 artists and ensembles making their debut performances in Kimmel Center performance venues. In addition, most Verizon Hall performances are preceded by a Free in the Plaza performance on the Commonwealth Plaza stage, one of a series of Free at the Kimmel events.
Kimmel Center Presents Sponsored By Citi 2007/08 Season
September 16, 2007 - June 7, 2008
Great Orchestras On Tour Series
This series begins with Filarmonica della Scala, led by conductor Riccardo Chailly, with tenor Ben Heppner on Friday, October 12; The Kirov Orchestra, led by one of the most passionate and busiest conductors working today, Valery Gergiev, on Friday, November 30; The Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, with Murray Perahia in both the roles of conductor and piano soloist, on Wednesday, April 9; Orchestre National de France, led by Kurt Masur, will be joined by young French pianist David Fray on Tuesday, April 29.
Master Musicians Recital Series
This year’s Master Musicians Recital Series brings legendary soprano, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa to Philadelphia for her farewell tour accompanied by pianist Warren Jones, on Wednesday October 24; virtuoso cellist Yo-Yo Ma makes his solo recital Verizon Hall debut on Tuesday, November 13 with pianist Kathryn Stott; world-renowned young piano virtuoso Lang Lang gives his only Philadelphia performance of the season in Verizon Hall on Sunday, March 16; and for his final Philadelphia appearance of the 2007-08 season, Philadelphia Orchestra Music Director Christoph Eschenbach will gather some of his dearest musical colleagues for a recital of solo and chamber music in Verizon Hall on Sunday, May 18 titled Christoph Eschenbach and Friends.
The Fred J. Cooper Memorial Organ Series
The Fred J. Cooper Memorial Organ, completed in May 2006 and inaugurated with a two-week long Organ Festival which gathered audiences and music critics from around the world, is the largest concert hall organ in the country with nearly 7,000 pipes and 125 ranks. This second season of organ recitals begins with a performance by organist Todd Wilson on Saturday, October 20; Hector Olivera performs on Saturday, February 16; and concludes on Saturday, April 12 with a performance by Dame Gillian Weir.
Sing-Along Messiah
Already a highly anticipated event after only one year, Kimmel Center Presents’ Sing-Along Messiah returns to Verizon Hall on Friday, December 7, 2007. Led by local organist and conductor Jeffrey Brillhart, with 18 year-old organist Nathan Laube at the console, the Sing-Along Messiah will include Philadelphia’s own Singing City Choir and renowned soloists. Ticket buyers wishing to participate in this performance are asked to bring their own music.
Keyboard Conversations® with Jeffrey Siegel
With his third season of Keyboard Conversations®, Jeffrey Siegel returns to the Kimmel Center’s Monday’s at the Merck series with three new presentations in Perelman Theater. Keyboard Conversations® begins on Monday, November 5 with Franz Schubert: On Wings Of Song; Festive French Fare!: The Music of Debussy, Ravel, Faure, and Saint-Saëns on Monday, February 4; and Franz Liszt: The Devil Made Me Do It! on Monday, April 28.
Fresh Ink Series
The Kimmel Center’s Fresh Ink Series in Perelman Theater returns this season with yet more serious adventure for adventurous audiences who wish to experience the new and unusual both in repertoire and performers. Fresh Ink begins with Ethel on Saturday, October 13 performing selected works from their new CD Light; So Percussion makes their Philadelphia debut on Saturday, February 2 with a program which includes David Lang’s "The So Called Laws of Nature." "Fear And Loathing," The Music of Phil Kline, takes place on Saturday, April 5 and includes the composer’s "Zippo Songs."
The Fresh Ink Series 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.
Fresh Ink Series Add-On Concerts
Christopher O’Riley brings his unique piano transcriptions of the music of Radiohead, Nick Drake and Elliott Smith to this Fresh Ink series Add-On event on Friday, February 29.
The Philadelphia premiere of Osvaldo Golijov’s Ainadamar "Fountain of Tears" takes place March 14-16 in Perelman Theater with artists from Curtis Opera Theatre in association with Opera Company of Philadelphia and Curtis Institute of Music.
Each of the concerts on the Fresh Ink Series will be recorded by WRTI-FM for delayed broadcast and will conclude with an "Artist Chat" featuring that evening’s artists and Kimmel Center Director of Programming, Thomas Warner, during which performers speak about their music making as well as take questions from the audience.
Mellon Jazz Fridays
Opening the Mellon Jazz Fridays series is six-time Grammy® Award-nominee Nnenna Freelon as she teams up with the world famous Count Basie Orchestra on Friday, September 28, and The Paquito D’Rivera Quintet, with band members pianist Alon Yavnai, trumpeter Diego Urcola, bassist Oscar Stagnaro, and drummer Mark Walker, shares the bill with Ms. Freelon.
Two styles of guitar-based jazz come together in a single evening when legendary jazz guitar virtuoso Django Reinhardt is remembered and celebrated with a performance by Djangofest On Tour on Friday, November 2. Also on the program is the John Pizzarelli Trio with The Swing Seven performing selections from his latest CD release Dear Mr. Sinatra.
The influence of bassist and band leader Charles Mingus lives on long after his death in 1979 with the The Mingus Big Band which comes to the Kimmel Center on Friday, February 22. Yet more jazz history and innovation is on the program with T.S. Monk Sextet performing "Monk On Coltrane." The evening will begin with an "Artist Chat" featuring Charles Mingus’ widow, Sue Mingus, and Kimmel Center VP of Programming Mervon Mehta, as well as New York Times jazz writer Ben Ratliff discussing his new biography of John Coltrane: Coltrane—The Story of a Sound.
Grammy® Award-winning The Wayne Shorter Quartet featuring Danilo Perez, piano, John Patitucci, bass and Brian Blade, drums, returns to Verizon Hall on Friday, March 28; Trumpeter and Temple University Associate Professor of Jazz Terell Stafford brings his Quartet to open the evening.
Take Five with one of jazz’ great innovators as the Dave Brubeck Quartet returns to the Kimmel Center on Wednesday, April 16; adding to the evening is Nat ‘King’ Cole’s younger brother Freddy Cole who opens the show.
Mellon Jazz Series Add-On Concerts
Big River Project Celebrating New Orleans comes to the City of Brotherly Love on Sunday, December 2. Begun in St. Louis in 2006, The Big River Project celebrates New Orleans’s unique culture and music with some of today’s most talented jazz artists with deep roots in the music of the Big Easy, including Ellis Marsalis, piano; Don Vappie, guitar; Reginald Veal, bass; Peter Martin, piano; Herlin Riley, drums; Wess "Warmdaddy" Anderson, saxophone; Victor Goines, saxophone; and Jeremey Davenport, trumpet.
Regarded by many as one of the most important feature and documentary filmmakers of our time, Spike Lee has collaborated with composer/trumpet player Terence Blanchard on numerous film projects. Together they come to Philadelphia for a program which premiered at New York’s Carnegie Hall, The Movie Music of Spike Lee and Terence Blanchard on Saturday, April 19, 2008. Highlights will include selections from Bamboozled, Malcolm X, Mo’ Better Blues, Jungle Fever and the recent award-winning hurricane Katrina documentary When the Levees Broke. Spike Lee serves as master of ceremonies for the evening which will include Terence Blanchard’s Quintet and a chamber- size orchestra.
Mellon Jazz Up Close Goes Global
For the 2007/08 Mellon Jazz Up Close season, which again includes five presentations, Panamanian pianist Danilo Pérez, artistic advisor for the series, and the Kimmel Center will take audiences on a musical journey around the world, sampling some of the best performers from a variety of cultures in a series titled Mellon Jazz Up Close Goes Global. Hear and see how America’s music has influenced so many others.
The Mellon Jazz Up Close Goes Global series begins with "Japan" on Saturday, November 17 with jazz trumpeter Toru "Tiger" Okoshi; "Canada" on Saturday, December 1, with Toronto soprano saxophonist, flutist and bandleader, Jane Bunnett; "Africa" on Saturday, March 1; with Cameroonian bassist-vocalist-composer Richard Bona and Beninian guitarist, Lionel Loueke; "Eastern Europe" on Saturday, March 29; with Hungarian pianist Daniel Szabo and Czech vocalist Marta Topferova; and closes with "Western Europe" on Saturday, May 3 with Danilo Pérez and flamenco guitarist, Gerardo Núñez and bassist John Pattitucci.
Each of the five concerts in the Mellon Jazz Up Close series will be recorded live by WRTI-FM for delayed broadcast and features an intermission Artist Chat led by Danilo Pérez and Mervon Mehta, along with the musicians performing that evening, and explores the music heard in concert that evening as well as their musical styles and influences. Funding for the series, as well as for the Mellon Jazz Fridays series, is provided by The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation.
World & Pop Series
Johnny Mathis, one of the most popular male pop vocalists of the past five decades, returns to open the Kimmel Center Presents Sponsored by Citi 2007/08 season on Sunday, September 16; Ballet Folklórico de México de Amalia Hernández on Sunday, October 14; Tango Buenos Aires, on Sunday, October 21; Peruvian singer/guitarist Tania Libertad returns to the Kimmel Center on Saturday, October 27, 2007; Relive 1920s cabaret in Berlin when Max Raabe and Palast Orchester return to Perelman Theater Saturday, November 3; Salzburg Marionettes, come to the Kimmel Center November 8-10; with their productions of Mozart’s Magic Flute and Rodgers and Hammerstein’s The Sound of Music; Senegalese performer Youssou N’Dour makes his Kimmel Center debut on Tuesday, November 20; the Polish dance ensemble Mazowsze makes their Philadelphia debut on Saturday, November 24; Vienna Boys’ Choir return for the holidays on Saturday, December 1; The flair and flavor of Astor Piazzola Argentina’s comes to the Kimmel Center on Saturday, December 8 with Pablo Ziegler and his Trio For New Tango; The Blind Boys Of Alabama bring their Christmas Show, Go Tell It On The Mountain to the Kimmel Center on Sunday, December 9, and joining The Blind Boys on this program from New Orleans is The Dirty Dozen Brass Band, whose latest CD is a reworking of Marvin Gaye’s classic LP What’s Going On.
Other performances on the World & Pop Series include award-winning Philadelphia bass player and afternoon host on WJJZ, Gerald Veasley in Verizon Hall on Tuesday December 11 with special guests Kim Waters, alto sax; Chuck Loeb, guitar; and British vocal sensation Maysa; the Band of the Coldstream Guards and the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards invade Verizon Hall with all of their pomp and circumstance on Saturday, January 12; Ladysmith Black Mambazo returns to the Kimmel Center on Sunday, January 20; Philadelphia favorite living legend, DJ Jerry Blavat "The Geator with the Heater," gives two of his famously Philadelphia performances with surprise special guests on Saturday, January 26 and April 13; legendary guitarist Paco Peña returns with his Flamenco Ensemble on Sunday, January 27; Armenia’s foremost cultural export, Shoghaken Ensemble performs on Saturday, February 9; Sibling pianists The 5 Browns make their Kimmel Center debut on Saturday, February 23; k.d. lang returns to the Kimmel on February 24; Pink Martini makes their Kimmel Center Debut on March 4; The Chieftains return to the Kimmel Center to celebrate all things Irish on Saturday, March 15; Bollywood star Asha Bhosle debuts on April 6; Dan Zanes Pajama Party on May 16, for which all are encouraged to wear their pajamas; and Peter, Paul & Mary return to the Kimmel on June 7.
Movers And Shakers Dance Series
Philadelphia’s own modern dance company in residence at the Kimmel Center, Philadanco, will present both a winter and spring series of performances in Perelman Theater, including Xmas Philes, December 13-16; and a spring production, May 8-11 to include favorite repertory works as well as two world premieres, including: Talley Beatty’s Such Sweet Morning Songs; Gene Hill Sagan’s Ritornello; and new works by choreographers Christopher Huggins and Hinton Battle.
Artist Chats will be held following the first performance of each of the two Philadanco sets of performances in December and May with Artistic Director Joan Myers Brown, dancers and choreographers from the evening, and Kimmel Center Presents Director of Programming Thomas (to be consistent with Fresh Ink paragraph) Warner.
One of America’s most revered modern dance companies, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater celebrates its 50th Anniversary and comes to Philadelphia for three performances in the Academy of Music April 25-26, 2008.
The highly innovative Shen Wei Dance Arts thrilled audiences with their unique athletic and graceful style as part of the Philadelphia Fringe Festival in 2004, and returns to Philadelphia February 15-17, 2008 with a program of two Philadelphia premieres, Map and Re— in Perelman Theater.
These Shen Wei Dance Arts performances are supported in part by a grant from Dance Advance, funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts, administered by The University of the Arts.
Kimmel Center Presents 2007/08 Sponsors
Kimmel Center Presents’ 2007/2008 Season is sponsored by Citi. Support for the Mellon Jazz Series comes from The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation. The Great Orchestra Series is supported by ARCWheeler. American Airlines is the Official Airline of Kimmel Center Presents. In-kind support is generously provided by Deloitte. NBC-10 is a Media Partner for Kimmel Center Presents, and additional media sponsors include WHYY, WRTI, WJJZ, Afro-Pop, WXPN and WXPN's Kids Corner 20th Anniversary.
Free in the Plaza programming and subsidized tickets offered to the community and social service groups for $10 are made possible through the Wachovia Gateway to the Arts Community Access Program, supported by a generous grant from Wachovia Foundation.
The Kimmel Center is the recipient of 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. Funding gives support to the Kimmel Center’s early childhood program "Bop and Swing," an arts program designed to promote literacy development and an appreciation for American culture.
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 Cadillac Broadway Series of performances.
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