Wednesday, August 08, 2012

The University of North Carolina Wilmington Office of Cultural Arts announces a new season of performances, residencies and educational outreach, connecting the campus and community through significant and meaningful arts experiences. Season headliners include Grammy Lifetime Achievement gospel and blues singer Mavis Staples (Feb. 7, 2013) and a limited engagement retrospective of the music of Bill Monroe, featuring legendary bluegrass masters Peter Rowan, Tony Rice and The Travelin' McCourys (Nov. 29, 2012). The season also features piano masterworks, the return of Contra-Tiempo and residencies with a renowned poet and a riveting dance company from Pétionville, Haiti. 

2012/13 Performances & Residencies
All performances begin at 8 p.m. in Kenan Auditorium
Tickets & more Information at 910.962.3500/800.732.3643 or www.uncw.edu/arts
(Press kits, bios and more details can be found on the performances web pages)

Piano Masterworks: The Music of Russian Romantics
Thursday, Sep. 6, 2012
Resident pianists Norman Bemelmans and Elizabeth Loparits perform works by renowned Russian masters Alexander Scriabin and Sergei Rachmaninoff, including Rachmaninoff's Second Suite for Two Pianos, one of the most dazzling and dynamic works in the two-piano repertoire.

Compagnie de Danse Jean-René Delsoin (Petionville, Haiti)
Friday, Nov. 2, 2012 (Residency Oct. 28 - Nov. 2)
Jean-René Delsoin's outstanding, vibrant dancers and drummers from the mountains overlooking Port-au-Prince embody choreography that captures Haiti now -- raw and refined, spiritual, powerful and precarious. Delsoin's work delves deep into Haitian culture and Voudou traditions, and emerges a contemporary, pulsating rhythm that captures the spirit of Haiti's past, present and future.
This performance is part of a weeklong residency (Oct. 28 - Nov. 2) supported by Center Stage, an initiative of the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and administered by the New England Foundation for the Arts.

The Music of Bill Monroe featuring Peter Rowan, Tony Rice and The Travelin' McCourys
Thursday, Nov. 29, 2012
More than a century after his birth on a small farm in Kentucky, Bill Monroe's music remains the canon for traditional bluegrass masters and the inspiration for generations of bluegrass-inspired musicians. In this limited engagement performance, legendary bluegrass masters Peter Rowan, Tony Rice and The Travelin' McCourys pay homage to the undisputed "Father of Bluegrass."

Mavis Staples - Headliner
Thursday, Feb. 7, 2013
Mavis Staples' remarkable career began in the 1950s when her family's gospel group, The Staples Singers became a household name with popular hits such as "I'll Take You There" and "Respect Yourself". Since that time, Staples has maintained her gospel roots while blazing new trails -- taking her from the epicenter of the civil rights movement and collaborations with artists such as Bob Dylan, The Band and Prince to her 2011 Grammy-winning You Are Not Alone, produced by Wilco front man Jeff Tweedy. One of the greatest voices of our times, Staples' many contributions to the American musical landscape have been recognized by the NAACP, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, National Endowment for the Arts, Grammy Lifetime Achievement Awards and artists and critics from across the music spectrum.

Contra-Tiempo Full. Still. Hungry.
Saturday, Feb. 23, 2013 (Residency: Feb. 11 - Feb. 23)
LA-based Contra-Tiempo returns to Wilmington with their powerful and relevant new work Full. Still. Hungry. Utilizing the company's unique blend of Salsa, Afro-Cuban and Urban dance styles, Full. Still. Hungry explores issues impacting the price we pay for the food we eat, through a tapestry of high-energy dance set to pulsating rhythms, striking imagery and evocative spoken word. Sometimes humorous, sometimes heartbreaking, Full. Still. Hungry will leave you satisfied, but wanting more.

Piano Masterworks: Pictures at an Exhibition
Music by Mussorgsky & Debussy
Tuesday, Apr. 2, 2013
Resident pianist Norman Bemelmans explores the rich connection between visual and performing arts with a program featuring the epic suite Pictures at an Exhibition by Modest Mussorgsky, inspired by the works of artist and architect Viktor Hartmann; as well as a selection of Impressionist tone paintings by one of the most evocative of musical colorists, Claude Debussy.

ARTworks Educational Programming
The ARTworks initiative engages thousands of students, teachers and families each year in free live performances, in-school artist workshops and arts integration professional development. The 2012/13 School Partner, Virgo Urban Prep Academy, hosts two residencies, including a 3-day residency with Glenis Redmond and a two-week residency with CONTRA-TIEMPO dance company. Student work generated from these residencies will be showcased during a Community Arts Day at Dreams of Wilmington (Saturday, Oct. 20) and during the final Contra-Tiempo performance at UNCW's Kenan Auditorium (Saturday, Feb. 23). The 2012/13 free school performance series includes Compagnie de Danse Jean-René Delsoin for grades 4-6 (Nov. 1); Contra-Tiempo for grades 6-12 (Feb. 22); and Tarradiddle Players for grades 2-3 (Apr. 10). Registration is required. More details available at www.uncw.edu/arts. 

Media Contacts:
Courtney Reilly, 910.962.2082
Caroline Cropp, 910.962.7109