Carolina Performing Arts Announces 2015-16 Lineup
Eleventh season highlights include dynamic artists and collaborators-in-residence, cutting-edge creators and the North Carolina debut of four world-class orchestras and ensembles
(Chapel Hill, NC – May 21, 2015) – Carolina Performing Arts (CPA) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill will present 42 performances by internationally renowned artists alongside emerging artists for its 11th season, the organization announced today.
“As CPA enters its second decade, I’m very excited to announce our schedule for the upcoming 2015-16 season,” said Emil Kang, CPA’s Executive and Artistic Director. “Our audience’s enthusiasm, willingness to take risks, and thoughtful engagement allow us to continue to push boundaries and welcome new artists to Chapel Hill.”
Artists and collaborators-in-residence are of primary focus this coming season. 2015-16 artist-in-residence and violin virtuoso, Gil Shaham, will make three appearances including performances with the UNC Symphony Orchestra; trailblazing orchestral collective The Knights; and visual artist David Michalek. Shaham will also conduct ensemble coaching and offer master classes during his residency.
Memphis jookin’ dance phenomenon Lil Buck and Nashville-based banjoist and singer-songwriter Abigail Washburn will serve as collaborators-in-residence and both will perform with members of the Silk Road Ensemble, founded by Yo-Yo Ma. Collaborators include Galician bagpiper Cristina Pato, violinist Johnny Gandelsman, Chinese sheng virtuoso Wu Tong and Indian tabla master Sandeep Das.
“We are very excited to be working with Lil Buck and Abigail Washburn and cannot wait to experience the artistic alchemy generated by these creative and globally-informed geniuses.” said Kang.
The season also features many forward-thinking artists working to advance their own art forms and asking critical questions of society. These groundbreaking performances include an appearance by Cuban rapper and hip-hop musician Danay Suárez on Oct. 29; Japanese butoh dance company Sankai Juku performing on Nov. 6; a production of Antigone directed by Ivo van Hove and featuring Oscar-winning actress Juliette Binoche in a new translation by Canadian poet and essayist Anne Carson on Oct. 9 and 10; and You Us We All, a radical new chamber opera by Shara Worden and directed by Andrew Ondrejcak on Nov. 17.
“CPA strives to nurture artistic innovation, and this season we will see a number of trailblazing artists who share a powerful spirit of rebellion” said Kang. “They represent the ideal artist-as-citizen, working to create socially-charged art which helps us to understand ourselves and propels us forward.”
Four of the world’s greatest ensembles will also make their North Carolina debuts. The Chicago Symphony Orchestra, led by music director Riccardo Muti, performs on Oct. 30; Paris-based new music giants Ensemble intercontemporain perform two concerts led by their music director Matthias Pintscher on Nov. 10 and 11; the Bavarian Radio Orchestra, led by its chief conductor Mariss Jansons, appears on Apr. 13; and renowned early music group Les Arts Florissants and its director William Christie performs on Apr. 20.
CPA’s innovative Arts@TheCore initiative, designed to integrate the performing arts into the academic work of the university, will feature the second edition of the Curatorial Fellows program of performances chosen by a member of UNC’s faculty. This year’s performances include a reading of Throw Me on the Burnpile and Light Me Up by Oscar-nominated writer/performer Lucy Alibar, who wrote the screenplay for Beasts of the Southern Wild, and Japanese taiko drumming masters Kenny Endo and Kaoru Watanabe.
“Central to our work is Arts@TheCore, which operates with the belief that the arts have a critical role to play in the research, teaching and service mission of the university,” said Kang. “We believe the performing arts can provide an entirely new experience that will unfold before our students, faculty and community, one that can shape their learning and their lives for years to come.”
The official opening weekend kicks off on Oct. 2 -3 with back-to-back concerts by roots music icons Lucinda Williams and Buddy Guy. Additional season highlights include contemporary dance company Compagnie Marie Chouinard who returns with CPA-commissioned “Gymnopédies,” in which dancers play the piano works of French composer Erik Satie, and contemporary circus artists Compagnia Finzi Pasca in La Verità, featuring an original hand-painted backdrop by Spanish surrealist painter Salvador Dalí, not used since its 1944 appearance at The Metropolitan Opera in New York.
Single tickets and subscriptions go on sale to UNC Faculty, Staff and Students on June 3, 2015 and to the general public on June 10, 2015. For more details on the 2015-16 season, including ticket information and an interactive digital brochure, please visit www.carolinaperformingarts.org.
About Carolina Performing Arts
The mission of Carolina Performing Arts is to enrich lives by creating and presenting exceptional arts experiences and connecting them to the UNC community and beyond. Established in 2005 at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Carolina Performing Arts presents the very best from the full spectrum of the performing arts: internationally renowned recitalists and orchestras, chamber ensembles, jazz, folk, and world music artists, dance and theater.
Carolina Performing Arts strives to nurture artistic innovation and the development of new works on and off campus; to challenge and inspire audiences with powerful and transformative performances; and to integrate the arts into the life of the University, embracing its mission of teaching, research and public service.
Carolina Performing Arts contact:
- Mark Z. Nelson, 919-260-7430, mark_nelson@unc.edu
