Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Dance, sing, twirl

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By JENNIFER LIEBRUM
Express Staff Writer

On the heels of a dynamic speaker series, the Sun Valley Center for the Arts has announced a global and diverse lineup for its Winter Concert Series with member series tickets available starting today, Oct. 5.

First up is Moira Smiley and VOCO, Friday, Nov. 11, at the Sun Valley Opera House. Critics have called this blend of female voices the No. 1 a cappella group in the U.S. in 2007.

Cellist and vocalist Ben Sollee specializes in genre-hopping concerts that incorporate banjo, guitar, percussion and unusual cello techniques to create a unique mix of folk, bluegrass, jazz and R&B. His 2008 debut album, "Learning to Bend," caught the ear of NPR's Morning Edition, which heralded him as one of the Top Ten Great Unknown Artists of 2007. He appears at the Sun Valley Opera House, Friday, Dec. 9.

Initially too poor to buy instruments, siblings Caleb, Mossbass, Taroum and Israel Rimtobaye developed an original and unique style of a cappella songs in their native Chad. Now, they mix their large repertoire of a cappella songs with numbers that include keyboards, djembe, drums, guitar, bass and African dance. H'Sao, bring their vibrant African rhythms to the Sun Valley Opera House Saturday, Jan. 21.

These artists will also be in residence at local schools during their visit to the valley as part of The Center's mission to make the arts accessible to the entire community.

Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana has actively encouraged the creativity and innovation of young artists from both Spain and the U.S. while keeping faithful to the powerful traditions of flamenco. True to its founding vision, his company has been commissioned and premiered a series of dramatic, cutting-edge works that it has performed regularly at its home venue, New York City's famous Joyce Theater. Their tour stops here Saturday, Feb. 25, at the Community Campus in Hailey.

And finally, Dervish wants to celebrate St. Paddy's Day with you at the Liberty Theatre in Hailey, Thursday, March 15. Dervish has brought Irish music to a worldwide audience and shared the stage with James Brown, Buena Vista Social Club, Sting, REM, Beck and others.

Don't miss out:

Ticket for all five concerts, members, $100 ($150 nonmembers); mini-series of January, February and March 2012 only, $65 ($95 nonmembers); Critic's Series Sponsor Ticket, $500, includes preferred seating, a special reception and a luncheon. Individual tickets range from $20 to $40. For more information visit sunvalleycenter.org or call 726-9491, ext. 10.

Jennifer Liebrum: jliebrum@mtexpress.com

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