2007-08 Subscription Series

It All Starts Here!

Iowa City has a huge list of accolades to its name. It has been called a “Mecca for the Arts,” and the “Jewel of America’s Heartland” for the rich arts and cultural experiences that are at our doorstep. At the heart of this thriving arts environment is, of course, The University of Iowa and its legacy of artistic excellence.

For more than a century, the UI School of Music, Department of Theatre Arts and Department of Dance have been a significant force in Iowa City’s vibrant cultural landscape. Countless performing artists, directors, designers, conductors, technicians and arts educators in our community and beyond can trace their careers back to Iowa. Whether they’re running a local theatre company or teaching high school music, singing at the Met or dancing in a company’s European tour, they touch the lives of audiences and students around the world.

Come witness the start of something new, something exciting, something unique. We invite you to take advantage of this incredible resource and experience the outstanding performing arts at Iowa. Our 2007-08 Subscription Season includes the UI Symphony Orchestra Signature Series, Band Extravaganza, Martha-Ellen Tye Opera Theater, University Theatres Mainstage Season and Iowa’s Dance Gala. Join us for our new season and experience the thrill, the passion and the drama of life through the power of live performance. It all starts here.

For a complete calendar of arts events at The University of Iowa, visit the ArtsIowa website.

Department of Dance

DANCE GALA 2007
Allégro
November 2 & 3 at 8 pm in Hancher Auditorium

A dynamic, high-energy performance lights up Hancher Auditorium when Dance Gala 2007 presents a celebration of movement, music and imagination from one of the premier dance programs in the U.S.

• As the curtain goes up on our 27th season, you’ll be treated with the magic and adventure of the circus. This dynamic new work by faculty choreographer George de la Peña features dancers from the UI Youth Ballet and the UI Dance Company in a fun mix of acrobatics, theatrics and other surprises.
  
• Called the “smiling revolutionary of modern choreography,” guest choreographer David Dorfman brings his signature athleticism and inventiveness to Gala. Celebrated for his exuberant, gorgeous and “delightfully oddball” style, Dorfman is an athlete turned dancer whose works often tackle contemporary issues with a playful and kinetic humanism.
  
• Dance Gala welcomes back choreographer Toni Pimble, who will set a new costume ballet on the UI dancers that promises to be a delight for the senses. The artistic director of the Eugene Ballet Company, Pimble’s rich, lyrical ballets appear in the repertoires of major ballet companies worldwide.
  
• Iowa’s own Maia Quartet will make a special appearance to accompany works by two faculty choreographers: Charlotte Adams’ playful “Alpaca Dreams” is set to Beethoven’s String Quartet No. 8 in E minor. And Eloy Barragan will use the music of Hector Villa Lobos to explore the magic surrealism of Mexican Culture. Internationally praised for their great innovation and versatility The Maia is the faculty quartet-in-residence of the UI School of Music.
  
• Finally, Bach’s Preludes for Cello set the stage for elegance and romance in “Three Preludes, Four Women,” a new work choreographed by UI Dance Department Chair, Alan Sener.

Mixing tradition with imagination and beauty with athleticism, Dance Gala in Hancher Auditorium is Iowa’s premiere dance event. Bring your family and friends and join in the celebration!

Supported by the Iowa City Press Citizen

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UI Symphony Orchestra Signature Series

September 26
UI Symphony Orchestra
William LaRue Jones, conductor

Renowned faculty pianist Ksenia Nosikova joins the UI Symphony Orchestra to present two piano concerti: Rimsky-Korsakov’s Concerto for Piano and Orchestra in C-sharp Minor and Prokofiev’s Concerto No. 1 for Piano and Orchestra in D-flat Major. Called a pianist of “impressive musicianship” and “fascinating to watch and hear” by the Boston Globe and New York Concert Reviews, Professor Nosikova has delighted audiences in Europe, Russia and the Americas. The evening also features two works by Shostakovich: Prelude in E-flat and Symphony No. 10.

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October 24
UI Symphony Orchestra and Symphony Band
David Nelson, conductor
Myron Welch, conductor

Wagner’s Prelude to Die Meistersinger explores the musical themes of the opera, laying out several of the principal motifs of the drama, and opening and closing with the majestic procession of the Mastersingers. The evening continues with Howard Hanson’s tuneful Symphony No. 2, op. 30. Known as the “Romantic”, this symphony may be recognizable as the music that played as the closing credits rolled in the science fiction film Alien. The UI Symphony Band will present David Maslanka’s A Child’s Garden of Dreams. The suite for wind ensemble is the composer’s musical interpretation of a dream sequence reported by Carl Jung in Man and His Symbols.

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November 28
UI Symphony Orchestra and University Choirs
Timothy Stalter, conductor

The UISO is joined by the University Choirs as they present two twentieth-century choral masterpieces. Regarded as one of Ralph Vaughan Williams’ greatest and most visionary choral works, Dona Nobis Pacem is his musical response to the seeming inevitability of World War II. Incorporating Biblical texts with the Civil War poetry of Walt Whitman, the work opens and closes with an impassioned plea for peace. Edward Elgar’s The Spirit of England was composed as a setting to Laurence Binyon’s poems, glorifying the sacrifice and spirit of the British people during World War I and capturing their deep feeling of loss.

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February 20
UI Symphony Orchestra
William LaRue Jones, conductor

Born of grief, Jennifer Higdon’s blue cathedral has resonated with audiences everywhere, affirming the accessibility of new classical music. The evening continues as faculty artists Katie Wolfe and Volkan Orhon perform Bottesini’s pyrotechnic Grand Duo Concertante for Violin and Double Bass. Maurice Ravel’s expansive and beloved orchestral arrangement of Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition closes the evening.

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March 26
UI Symphony Orchestra
William LaRue Jones, conductor

The Overture to Der Freischutz is testament to composer Carl Maria von Weber’s melodic talents and one of his most engaging works. Lowell Liebermann’s Concerto for Flute, commissioned by James Galway, introduces faculty soloist Nicole Esposito as she makes her debut performance with the UISO. Schumann’s Symphony No. 1 in B-flat Major, known commonly as “Spring,” heralds the earth’s rebirth.

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May 7
UI Symphony Orchestra
Timothy Hankewich, conductor

Maestro Timothy Hankewich of the Cedar Rapids Symphony Orchestra takes the Hancher podium to conduct the UISO as they perform Aaron Jay Kernis’s Musica celestis. Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante for Winds pairs the UISO with School of Music faculty soloists. Finally, Danish composer Carl Nielsen’s Symphony No. 2, “The Four Temperaments” explores the medieval notion of human nature. Join the Midwest’s most charismatic conductor for an unforgettable evening.

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Band Extravaganza

November 28
UI Symphony Orchestra and University Choirs
Timothy Stalter, conductor

The UISO is joined by the University Choirs as they present two twentieth-century choral masterpieces. Regarded as one of Ralph Vaughan Williams’ greatest and most visionary choral works, Dona Nobis Pacem is his musical response to the seeming inevitability of World War II. Incorporating Biblical texts with the Civil War poetry of Walt Whitman, the work opens and closes with an impassioned plea for peace. Edward Elgar’s The Spirit of England was composed as a setting to Laurence Binyon’s poems, glorifying the sacrifice and spirit of the British people during World War I and capturing their deep feeling of loss.

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Martha-Ellen Tye Opera Theater

Donizetti’s VIVA LA MAMMA
William LaRue Jones, conductor
Stephen Swanson, director
April 4 & 5 at 8 pm
April 6 at 2 pm
Clapp Recital Hall

It’s an operatic nightmare: The prima donna makes incessant and impossible demands; the imported Russian tenor cannot get his words or his music right; singers are fighting with each other and threatening to walk out. To make matters worse, the prima donna’s mother (played by a baritone!) arrives to insist on a larger part for her daughter. Donizetti’s uproarious comedy on the follies and foibles of opera life creates a hysterical farce on the world of opera.

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University Theatres Mainstage Season

October 11, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21
A PERFECT WEDDING
by Charles Mee
Directed by Carol MacVey
David Thayer Theatre

Love, romance, marriage: it all comes apart in the woods when two wedding planners decide to tie the knot. Borrowing from the whimsy and farce of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, as well as soap operas and the internet, this big-hearted comedy follows a series of supposedly perfect weddings that explode into a summertime fantasia of love in all its tangled combinations. With musical selections ranging from the classical canon to Frank Sinatra to a big Bollywood dance number, this is a wedding not to be missed. Contains adult language and themes.

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November 29, 30, December 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
ANTON IN SHOW BUSINESS
by Jane Martin
Directed by Eric Forsythe
E. C. Mabie Theatre

Backstage drama at its best, this madcap comedy takes a fast-paced and merciless look into the world of theatre. When a Hollywood soap star, a jaded New York actress and an over-eager ingénue are cast in an ill-fated production of Chekhov’s Three Sisters, they embark on a wild theatrical adventure involving pompous directors, surgically beautified actors, self-important critics and indifferent audiences. A must-see for anyone who loves the theatre, this mischievous, self-skewering comedy satirizes, celebrates, and challenges the volatile business of show business.

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January 31, February 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
14
by John Cameron
An Iowa Partnership in the Arts Premiere

Is it possible to change the object of our desire? And can the spirit survive the attempt? Ron Sorenson had all the makings of a “model” Mormon, except for one thing—he was gay. Thirty years after enduring ”reparative therapy” at Brigham Young University a sudden turn of events brings him face to face with his long avoided past and begins his battle for identity in a world of dark memories. Sometimes humorous, sometimes heartbreaking, this disturbing tale takes a powerful look at one man’s journey to find truth and ultimately, the forgiveness that only he can give. Contains adult language and themes.

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March 6, 7, 8, 9, 12, 13, 14, 15
THE PIANO LESSON
by August Wilson
Directed by Tisch Jones
E. C. Mabie Theatre

The piano that sits in the salon of the Charles home is the family’s most treasured heirloom. For Berniece, it holds the spirit of her grandparents, sold away in exchange for it during slavery. For her brother, Boy Willie, selling it is his ticket to a more prosperous future. In a home haunted by the ghosts of the past, the issue of whether or not to sell the piano raises questions about family, tradition and finding one’s way in uncharted waters. Winner of the 1990 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, The Piano Lesson is part of Wilson’s ten-play cycle that chronicles the African-American experience and established Wilson as a profoundly important voice in American theatre.

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April 17, 18, 19, 20, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27
TARTUFFE
by Jean-Baptiste Poquelin Moliére
Directed by Meredith Alexander
David Thayer Theatre

Few villains in the world of theatre are as conniving, ruthless and outrageously comical as the devoutly unscrupulous Tartuffe. The holier-than-thou, quintessential con-man uses religious piety to worm his way into the home of an aristocratic 17th-century household, scheming to marry his benefactor's daughter, seduce his wife, and defraud him of all he possesses—until the lady of the house concocts an outrageous plot to unmask Tartuffe’s true nature. Molière's timeless comedy has kept audiences laughing for nearly 350 years and remains as fresh and pointed today as when it was first performed in 1664. Hypocrisy and greed are, it seems, a limitless resource.

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