Springing Into 2008
ASU’s 2008 Spring Semester Performing Arts Series Starts Jan. 26

By Jeff Eason

On any given semester Appalachian State University’s Performing Arts Series brings to the High Country a wonderful assortment of dance, music and theater. The series has outdone itself when scheduling entertainment for its Spring Semester 2008 Performing Arts Series. Simply put, six of the best acts performing in their respective fields will be taking the stage at Farthing Auditorium between January and April.
Golden Dragon Acrobats

Centuries before Cirque du Soleil was selling out huge venues in Paris and Las Vegas, Chinese acrobats were perfecting many of the maneuvers that make troupes like that so exciting and popular. The Golden Dragon Acrobats will bring their dazzling show to Farthing Auditorium on Saturday, January 26th at 8 p.m.

“The Golden Dragon Acrobats represent the best of a time-honored tradition started more than 25 centuries ago, and are recognized as the premiere Chinese acrobatic touring company today. By combining award-winning acrobatics, theatrical techniques and traditional dance with spectacular costumes, the Golden Dragon Acrobats present a show of breathtaking skill and spellbinding beauty.”

The New York Post declared, “The 21-member company from Xian, China, delivers beautifully choreographed routines showcasing their amazing skills and physicality, accompanied by a musical score of traditional Chinese music filtered through a New Age sensibility. Juggling everything from umbrellas to soccer balls—and with props as varied as ladders and giant spinning wheels—the performers show just why they’re world famous.”

Monterey Jazz on Tour

The Monterey Jazz Festival turns 50 this year and to celebrate this momentous golden anniversary, the organizers of the event are putting some of the festival’s best acts on the road! Monterey Jazz Festival’s 50th Anniversary Tour will come to Farthing auditorium on Thursday, February 7th at 8 p.m.

From its beginnings in 1958 in Monterey, California, this festival has always strived to present a wide array of jazz styles. The first festival featured Dixieland, bebop, big band and swing, as well as some of the more avant garde styles that were emerging at the time. The audience loved it and demanded it become an annual event.

The Monterey Jazz Festival’s 50th Anniversary Tour will bring together veterans of the jazz scene performing alongside younger artists, including James Moody, Terence Blanchard, Benny Green, Derrick Hodge, Kendrick Scott and special guest vocalist Nnenna Freelon.

The Taj Mahal Trio

Now in his 40th year of touring and performing, Taj Mahal has become one of the elder statesmen of American music. With a knack for using old styles and invigorating them with new ideas, his catalog includes fantastic songs such as “Corinna,” “Fishin’ Blues” and “She Caught the Katy (and Left Me a Mule to Ride).”

The Taj Mahal Trio will perform at Farthing Auditorium on Friday, February 15th at 8 p.m. The Carolina Chocolate Drops will open up the show.

The New York Times raved, “In his long career, Taj Mahal has worked with bands that play reggae, New Orleans rhythm-and-blues and other African diaspora styles, but he has never moved far from the blues. (He) has lived with the tradition for so long he has stopped worrying about staying close to his sources. He does better than that: he keeps the spirit of the songs.”

The Carolina Chocolate Drops are a talented trio of young African-American stringband musicians who specialize in the dance and blues music of the Carolina Piedmont.

Cypress String Quartet

Since its inception in San Francisco in 1996, the Cypress String Quartet has found unique ways to ignite interest in chamber music. The quartet will perform their critically-acclaimed piece Inspired by America at ASU’s Rosen Concert Hall on Thursday, February 26th at 8 p.m.

The performance has been called “a dramatic, interdisciplinary blend of music, original film and spoken word.”
The program is a collaboration between the quartet, best-selling author Jacob Needleman (Time and Soul, Lost Christianity) and Emmy Award-winning film producer Michael Schwartz. Find out why Chamber Music magazine calls the Cypress String Quartet “the Generation X ensemble to watch.”

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

Montana Repertory Theatre will present Tennessee Williams’ Pulitzer Prize-winning play Cat on a Hot Tin Roof to Farthing Auditorium on Thursday, April 10th starting at 8 p.m. Williams’ passionate tale of family and forgiveness, love and loss, has become a timeless piece of American stagecraft, and for good reason.

Half a century ago, theatre critic E. Martin Browne wrote, “Of all the dramatists now writing in English, Mr. Williams is the one who gives the most complete theatrical experience to his audience…One can’t escape it: it exercises to the full the magic that is exclusive to the theatre.”

Members of the Montana Repertory Theatre will host a post-performance question and answer session from the stage.

Philharmonic Wind Quintet

Founded in 2001 by five players form the wind section of the world-famous New York Philharmonic, the “PQNY” has performed to sold-out concert halls on three continents. With ample skills and a sly sense of humor, this group is appreciated by their audiences for their merriment and musicality.

Tickets

Tickets for Appalachian State’s 2008 Performing Arts Series Mainstage events are $18 for the general public, $16 for senior citizens and ASU staff, and $10 for students. For more information, or to order tickets, call the Farthing Auditorium Box Office or visit www.pas.appstate.edu.