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September 12, 2005
Arts at Emory gears up for exciting 2005–06 season

BY sally corbett

Tickets are on sale now for more than 230 arts programs to be presented by Emory this academic year, including international partnerships, premieres and special guests—and most programs are free.

The Emory dance faculty offer two presentations of original choreography this season. “Time & Truth” (Sept. 16–18) features new work by each faculty member, and “Doors that Open” (Jan. 19–21, 2006) is a large-scale, autobiographical work by Associate Professor Lori Teague. Emory Dance Company performs fall and spring concerts (Nov. 17–19 and April 27–29), while the University will host Toronto Dance Theatre’s “Sly Verb” from March 23–25. Toronto Dance formed in 1968 and is credited with transforming dance in Canada and beyond.

The season’s first organ concert is the “Inaugural Organ Recital” for the Schwartz Center’s new pipe organ (Sept. 18) by University Organist Timothy Albrecht. Albrecht organized the “Year of the Jaeckel” series, named for organ designer and builder Daniel Jaeckel. It includes the “Organ Celebration Weekend” (Nov. 4–6) with performances by Albrecht, Vincent Dubois, Gail Archer and alumni, as well as “A Conversation with Daniel Jaeckel.”

Faculty artists and faculty-led ensembles will perform 35 free concerts, premieres and events with special guests. The Emory Wind Ensemble, directed by Scott Stewart, is a stellar example of collaboration as it takes the stage with the University Chorus and Adam Frey, euphonium (Oct. 26); the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra’s Paul Murphy, viola (Dec. 2); William Ransom, piano (Feb. 22); and graduate organ students (April 11).

In addition to undergraduate ensembles, the university hosts the Atlanta Youth Wind Symphony and the Emory Youth Symphony Orchestra (EYSO). Richard Prior, director of orchestral studies, formed the EYSO this summer and will conduct its premiere (Nov. 30).

SoundJourneys, Emory’s diverse series of touring artists, begins with guitarist and soprano Badi Assad on Oct. 6. Assad is from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where she followed in her brothers’ footsteps, mastering guitar and winning international competitions. Her thriving career crosses pop and classical boundaries. Each SoundJourneys performance—the Assad concert, Ethos Percussion Group (Oct. 28), Yukimi Kambe Viol Consort (March 25) and The Prairie Winds (April 6)—will be followed by a post-concert dessert reception honoring the artist.

Jazz sounds this season with “Jazz Meets Classics” (Oct. 29), as The Gary Motley Jazz Quartet with Dwight Andrews, saxophone, contrast with The Vega String Quartet in a program of works by Bach, Brubeck, Beethoven, Hancock and others, as well as an Atlanta premiere by Motley. Wess “Warmdaddy” Anderson, alto sax, of Baton Rouge, La., headlines Emory’s annual Jazz Fest (Feb. 10). Atlanta’s Philip Harper concludes the jazz season with Emory Big Band (April 25).

The David Goldwasser Lectureship offers a symposium (Feb. 14) on Argentinean-American composer Osvaldo Golijov, culminating with a performance by the St. Lawrence String Quartet. The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra gives the Atlanta premiere of Golijov’s La Pasión según San Marcos (Feb. 17–18).

Theater Emory leads a “March through History,” beginning Oct. 6–16 with Euripedes’ Alcestis (translated and adapted by Ted Hughes). The modern retelling of the Greek tragedy will be directed by Emory alumna Ariel de Man and is produced in collaboration with Out of Hand Theater.

The march goes on with madness and betrayal in Shakespeare’s King Lear, directed by theater studies Associate Professor Tim McDonough (Nov. 10–20). The journey continues Feb. 16–26 with Oliver Goldsmith’s witty tale, She Stoops to Conquer, directed by Michael Evenden. The Pulitzer Prize-winning satire by Thornton Wilder, The Skin of Our Teeth, directed by Matt Huff, concludes the trek (April 14–23).

In addition, New York’s innovative theater company, Universes, presents two multidisciplinary performances. Their “Live from the Edge” (April 17) is a unique fusion of music, poetry and politics, while “Eyewitness Blues” (April 19) tells the story of a trumpeter from the Bronx.

Event details and information on the previously announced series are posted at www.arts.emory.edu. Faculty, staff, students, alumni and arts-related friends groups enjoy discounts. For discounted tickets, call the Arts at Emory box office, 404-727-5050.

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