South African Ensemble Soweto Gospel Choir and Banjo Master Béla Fleck & the Flecktones Perform Their Own Twist on Holiday Classics at the Kimmel Center this December
November 18, 2008
Soweto Gospel Choir
Festive holiday fare takes on global dimensions this season with African gospel, bluegrass, folk, jazz and klezmer-infused performances by world renowned artists at the Kimmel Center in December.
Click on the name of the artist below for more information on each Kimmel Center performance:
- "Spirited and spectacular" (New York Times), South African ensemble Soweto Gospel Choir offers an uplifting concert of African gospel and holiday classics (December 10, 2008).
- Banjo-driven jam band Béla Fleck & the Flecktones performs selections from their first holiday album, Jingle All The Way, with special guest clarinetist Andy Statman (December 16, 2008).
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.) 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 2.5 hours prior to evening curtain time and 11:30am for matinees. Limit one ticket per person.
Soweto Gospel Choir
Wednesday, December 10, 2008 | 8pm
Verizon Hall
Price: $29-61
"Dressed in a sunburst of colors, they danced, clapped, drummed and even whistled through a fast-paced program, building song after song to heart-stopping pitches of intensity."
Rich harmonies, earthy rhythms and vibrant garb evoke holiday spirit as the internationally-acclaimed Soweto Gospel Choir performs seasonal favorites on Wednesday, December 10, 2008 at 8pm in Verizon Hall. This majestic choir has spread South Africa’s rich musical heritage worldwide in performances for Nelson Mandela and former president Bill Clinton, and in collaborations with U2’s Bono, Celine Dion and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, among many others. The ensemble will perform works from its most recent Grammy®-winning album African Spirit, as well as holiday classics, accompanied by a four-piece band and percussion section.
The 26-member Soweto Gospel Choir hails from in and around Soweto, South Africa. In 2002, Australian producers Andrew Kay, David Vigo and Clifford Hocking decided to create a "super choir" of powerhouse singers and a capella talent from Mulovhedzi’s own Holy Jerusalem Choir, as well as various Soweto churches and the general public. Since then, the Soweto Gospel Choir has toured internationally to much critical acclaim, including sold-out tours in Australia, Europe, Singapore and the United States. Soweto Gospel Choir’s American debut, Voices From Heaven (2005), topped Billboard’s World Music Charts. The ensemble’s second album, Blessed, won the 2006 Grammy® Award for Best Traditional World Music Album. Most recently, Soweto Gospel Choir received a Grammy® Award in February 2008 for its third international release, African Spirit (2007).
Inspiring audiences with a powerful message of hope, the Soweto Gospel Choir performed alongside Diana Ross and Christina Aguilera in South Africa at the "Unite Of The Stars" concert in 2005 that benefited Nelson Mandela’s Children’s Fund and the Unite Against Hunger charities. The choir is also recognized for their charitable donations and commitment to helping the less fortunate. The choir serves as Ambassadors for Nelson Mandela’s AIDS awareness initiative, 46664, and formed Nkosi's Haven Vukani, which supports families and organizations that receive little or no government aid.
"Resplendent in a rainbow of robes and pattern textiles, with group moves for every song, the choir was constantly in motion and rich in harmony."
Wednesday, December 10, 2008 | 6:30pm
Commonwealth Plaza | Free at the Kimmel
Swaray African Safari Ensemble
In Partnership with the African Cultural Alliance of North America
Join us for a free musical performance by the Swaray African Safari Ensemble
in the Commonwealth Plaza prior to the ticketed performance by Soweto Gospel Choir in Verizon Hall. The Swaray African Ensemble will lift spirits with their soulful voices of African praise.
Béla Fleck & the Flecktones
Tuesday, December 16, 2008 | 8pm
Verizon Hall
Price: $32-59
"Heavyweight players who make an endearing fusion, the Flecktones have a fine time roaming all over the musical map…it’s hard to resist a band that draws on bluegrass, funk, world music, pop and jazz with such glee and blissful lack of pretension."
Led by one of the premier banjo pickers in the world, Béla Fleck & the Flecktones presents an eclectic batch of holiday tunes at the Kimmel Center’s Verizon Hall on Tuesday, December 16, 2008 at 8pm. Ten-time Grammy® Award-winner Béla Fleck and his band mates have been performing their progressive blend of bluegrass, folk and jazz for nearly two decades. The quartet’s most recent release, Jingle All The Way (2008), features a medley of holiday standards, from banjo-harmonic arrangements of "Christmas Time Is Here" to a worldbeat performance of "What Child Is This / Dyngyladai," among others. Clarinetist/mandolinist Andy Statman will join the Flecktones on stage, adding klezmer textures to "The Hanukkah Waltz" and other selections.
Béla Fleck is an improvisational master of folk, bluegrass and jazz fusion, who has toured the world throughout his prodigious 30-year career. Fleck is the only musician to have received Grammy® nominations in jazz, bluegrass, pop, country, spoken word, Christian, composition and world music categories. Most recently, the group received a Grammy® Award for Best Contemporary Jazz Album for The Hidden Land (2006). Fleck and his band have collaborated with artists as diverse as rock bands like Dave Matthews Band, pop artist Amy Grant and acclaimed violinist Joshua Bell. Formed in 1989, the experimental quartet includes bassist Victor Wooten, a leading bass virtuoso of his generation, and his brother Roy “Future Man” Wooten, who performs on his own percussion invention, the "Drumitar." Jeff Coffin, renowned for playing two saxophones (alto and tenor) at the same time, has performed and recorded with the band since 1997.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008 | 6:30pm
Commonwealth Plaza | Free at the Kimmel
Marc Silver & The Stonethrowers
Join us for a free musical performance by Marc Silver & The Stonethrowers in Commonwealth Plaza prior to the ticketed performance by Béla Fleck & the Flecktones in Verizon Hall. "A little bit of folk, a little bit of country and a whole lot of three-part harmonies add up to make this a band you don’t want to miss."—Philadelphia Metro
Kimmel Center Presents’ 2008/2009 Season is sponsored by Citi. The Great Orchestras on Tour Series is supported by ARCWheeler. Additional support is provided by the University of Pennsylvania Health System, American Express, and Interpark. American Airlines is the Official Airline of Kimmel Center Presents. NBC-10 is a media partner for Kimmel Center Presents.
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 the 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 for children 1-5 years old, designed to promote an appreciation for American culture.
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