The nonprofit Sun Valley Center for the Arts announced on Tuesday a long list of events for its upcoming summer and winter seasons.
The announcements were made on April 1 at the Liberty Theatre in Hailey, in the tradition of the Company of Fools theater group’s annual Fools Day celebration to announce the highlights of its upcoming season. The Center and the Company of Fools merged at the beginning of last year.
“This year promises to be tremendously invigorating, with programs to stimulate your mind and elevate your spirit,” Artistic Director Kristin Poole said.
The Center announced the following events:
2014 SUMMER CONCERT SERIES
Michael Franti & Spearhead
July 2, 2014
Michael Franti is a poet, musician, and composer. He is the creator and lead vocalist of Michael Franti & Spearhead, a band that blends hip-hop with a variety of other styles including funk, reggae, jazz, folk and rock.
Josh Ritter & the Royal City Band
July 27, 2014
Josh Ritter is a singer-songwriter, guitarist and author who performs and records with the Royal City Band. Ritter is known for his distinctive Americana style and narrative lyrics. In 2006, he was named one of the “100 Greatest Living Songwriters” by Paste magazine.
Chris Isaak
Aug. 6, 2014
As a child spinning his parents’ 45s in their Stockton, Calif., home, this deeply committed artist has been obsessed with the glory days of Memphis’ Sun Studio and the visionary artists who got their starts there—including Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis.
The Head & The Heart
Aug. 29, 2014
The Head & The Heart is an indie folk-rock band from Seattle. They came together in 2009 through a series of “open mic” nights at the Conor Byrne pub in Old Ballard. They scored a No. 1 single with their song “Lost in My Mind” and they’ve opened for Vampire Weekend and The Decemberists.
2014/2015 MULTIDISCIPLINARY PROJECTS
The Center has cultivated a unique, multidisciplinary approach to the arts by organizing what it presents into multi-week intervals that explore different “big ideas” of interest to the community and relevance to life in the 21st century. The program puts equal emphasis on visual arts, performing arts and humanities.
Forests, Foraging and Fires
Aug. 23-Nov. 12, 2014
Forests, Foraging and Fires will look at the forest as an ecosystem, a resource and a place of transformation. The project will consider what we take from the forest—both materially and spiritually—how we manage it, the creatures that inhabit it and the impact of fires.
Under the Influence of
Rock & Roll
Nov. 21, 2014-Jan. 30, 2015
Under the Influence of Rock & Roll will be a celebration of a uniquely American art form and its impact on our culture. The exhibition will feature historic and contemporary photography, show posters and paintings—some considering rock ’n’ roll from the musician’s point of view and some from the fan’s.
The Brain
Feb. 6-April 17, 2015
The Brain will be an exploration of the most complex part of the human body and the least understood. The visual arts exhibition will feature artwork considering different aspects of the brain: its structure, memory, vision and more, including a site-specific installation by artist Deborah Aschheim.
2014-2015 WINTER CONCERT SERIES
Portland Cello Project
Oct. 25, 2014
Since the group’s inception in late 2007, the Portland Cello Project has wowed audiences all over the country with extravagant performances, everywhere from “Prairie Home Companion” to punk rock clubs. The group has built a reputation mixing genres and blurring musical lines and perceptions wherever they go.
Guy Davis
Dec. 12, 2014
Guy Davis is the son of actors Ruby Dee and the late Ossie Davis. He’s a musician, composer, actor, director and writer, but most importantly, Guy Davis is a bluesman. Throughout his career, Davis has dedicated himself to reviving the traditions of acoustic blues and bringing them to as many ears as possible. His appearance is a part of The Center’s multidisciplinary project Under the Influence of Rock & Roll.
An evening with Bill Payne
Jan. 30, 2015
Bill Payne co-founded, with Lowell George, the band Little Feat. He is considered by many other piano rock musicians, including Elton John, to be one of the finest American piano rock and blues music artists. In addition to his trademark barrelhouse blues piano, he is noted for his work on other keyboard instruments, particularly the Hammond B3 organ. Payne is also an accomplished songwriter whose credits include co-writing, with Lowell George, the Little Feat classic “Oh, Atlanta.”
Paris Combo—cabaret show
Feb. 28, 2015
Four albums and a decade spent touring the globe playing to audiences from Sydney to San Francisco have enabled Paris Combo to create its own unique world, establishing itself as one of the most piquant, intriguing groups on the international music scene. Fronted by the mischievous vocals of chanteuse Belle du Berry, the combo has struck a positive chord with critics and audiences for their fun-loving mix of jazz, French pop, cabaret, gypsy, Latino and Middle Eastern rhythms.
Brian Sanders’ JUNK (dance performance and workshop)
March 18, 2015
Brian Sanders’ JUNK is known for their ingenious use of found objects and clever inventions that bridge the gap between dance and physical theater. Sanders’ choreography blends traditional dance theater with an inventiveness and physicality that gives reason for critics to hail JUNK as “Philly’s most imaginative perpetrator of dare-devilish physical theater” and declare Sanders as “the city’s most exciting choreographer.”
TorQ Percussion Group
April 18, 2015
TorQ Percussion Quartet was formed by four Canadian percussionists looking to add new vitality to percussion repertoire and performance. Renowned for their engaging performances and repertoire, TorQ is also committed to commissioning new works for percussion quartet from both established and up-and-coming composers.
2014/2014 WINTER LECTURE SERIES
As part of the 2014/2015 Winter Lecture Series, there will be two additional lectures scheduled but they are not yet confirmed as of this date. The details will be announced as soon as they are confirmed.
Tim Egan
Oct. 2, 2014
Egan is the author of several books chronicling the American West, including “The Big Burn-Teddy Roosevelt and the Fire that Saved America.” He is a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter, a popular columnist, and a National Book Award-winning author. Eagan’s appearance is a part of The Center’s multidisciplinary project, Forests, Foraging and Fires.
Ethan Russell
Jan. 22, 2015
Russell was once one of the foremost rock photographers in the world. He worked with the Rolling Stones, the Beatles and the Who. He has written a memoir, “Ethan Russell: An American Story.” Russell’s appearance is a part of The Center’s multidisciplinary project, Under the Influence of Rock & Roll.
Shankar Vedantam
Feb. 5, 2015
Vedantam, an NPR correspondent and author of The Hidden Brain,” speaks nationwide about how the brain shapes everyday life. He is interested in how the brain controls many of our deeply rooted feelings, prejudices, biases and expressions. Vedantam’s appearance is a part of The Center’s multidisciplinary project, The Brain.
COMPANY OF FOOLS 19TH SEASON
“Peter and the Starcatcher”
By Rick Elice—Based on the novel by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson.
Dec. 17, 2014-Jan. 3, 2015
“Peter and the Starcatcher” is a five-time Tony Award-winning comedy in which a dozen actors play more than 100 unforgettable characters using their enormous talent, ingenious stagecraft and the limitless possibilities of imagination. This swashbuckling grownup prequel to “Peter Pan” gets audience members hooked from the beginning. (Company of Fools is currently one of the very few theatres that have received the rights to this captivating play.)
“Proof”
By David Auburn
Feb. 11-28, 2015
On the eve of her 25th birthday, Catherine, a troubled young woman, has spent years caring for her brilliant but unstable father, a famous mathematician. Now, following his death, she must deal with her own emotions; the arrival of her sister and the attentions of Hal, a student of her father’s who hopes to find valuable work in the notebooks that her father left behind. Over a long weekend, a burgeoning romance and the discovery of a mysterious notebook draw Catherine into the most difficult problem of all: How much of her father’s madness—or genius—will she inherit?
“Boeing, Boeing”
By Marc Camoletti
July 2015
It’s the 1960s, and swinging bachelor Bernard couldn’t be happier: a flat in Paris and three gorgeous stewardesses all engaged to him without knowing about each other. A riotous farce that recently enjoyed hit revivals in London and New York, “Boeing Boeing” is now set to arrive in Hailey—fasten your seat belts!
For more information about these events and ticket sales, including ticket packages, visit sunvalleycenter.org or call 726-9491.
