Bard's Fisher Center Presents an Exciting Winter/Spring Season: Classical Music from Rare Repertoire to Masterworks, French Jazz, Conversation, A Performance Festival About Surveillance, and More
Tickets go on sale to the general public on Monday, December 12
In three unique concerts by emerging jazz artists The Catskill Jazz Factory French Connection series celebrates the ties between the American and French jazz scenes. The series features Django Reinhardt and the French Salon, Les Belles Chansons Françaises, and Whisper of a Shadow: An Homage to Louis Moreau Gottschalk, and is followed by a gala performance on May 13, Celebrating 100 Years of Jazz. A jazz series subscription is available.
Season Two of The Orchestra Now at the Fisher Center continues with five additional concerts this spring, including a semistaged concert performance of Leonard Bernstein’s famous opera, Candide; Federico Cortese Conducts Debussy; Bartók's The Miraculous Mandarin; Fabio Luisi Conducts Beethoven and Brahms; and Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius, conducted by Leon Botstein and performed by Bard College Conservatory Orchestra and The Orchestra Now.
High-resolution imagery of our upcoming performing arts events can be downloaded from the website here:
http://fishercenter.bard.edu/press/photos/?gid=650811#a_media
Tickets, subscriptions, gift certificates, and group discounts are available with additional information at fishercenter.bard.edu/springevents, or by calling the box office at 845-758-7900.
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Bard Music Program
Opera Workshop
Friday, February 3 and Saturday, February 4 at 7:30 pm
Sunday, February 5 at 3 pm
Tickets: Free; reservations required
LUMA Theater
A fully staged evening of operatic scenes from the 17th to the 20th centuries, featuring soloists and chorus from the Bard College Opera Workshop.
The Orchestra Now
Federico Cortese Conducts Debussy
Saturday, February 4 at 8 pm
Sunday, February 5 at 2 pm
Tickets: $25–35; free for Bard students (call 845-758-7900 to reserve tickets)
Sosnoff Theater
Samuel Barber: Adagio for Strings
Claude Debussy: La mer
César Franck: Symphony in D Minor
Dynamic guest conductor Federico Cortese conducts Barber, Adagio for Strings; Debussy, La mer; and Franck, Symphony in D Minor. Adagio for Strings is Barber’s best-known composition. La mer, three “symphonic sketches” by Debussy, are inspired by the ocean. Franck’s “remarkable and radical” Symphony in D Minor stoked controversy for its “ambitious fusion of French and German musical traditions” (Guardian).
Catskill Jazz Factory
French Connection I | Django Reinhardt and the French Salon
Featuring Alphonso Horne and Candice Hoyes
Saturday, February 11 at 7:30 pm
Tickets from $25; subscriptions $95 for all four Catskill Jazz Factory events
LUMA Theater
The rhythms of early jazz and the musical influences of French Impressionism collide in guitarist and composer Django Reinhardt’s Hot Jazz melodies. This innovative evening of music, featuring Alphonso Horne (trumpet) and Candice Hoyes (vocals) will examine the trans-Atlantic interplay between American and French jazz scenes through the music of Reinhardt, who rose to fame in France, then the United States. The evening explores the links among French mélodie, jazz, cabaret, Satie, Debussy, Poulenc, Ellington, Porter, and beyond.
Bard Theater and Performance Program
Senior Project Festival
Thursday–Sunday, February 23–26 at 6:30 pm; and Sunday, February 26 at noon
Tickets: Free; reservations required
LUMA Theater
Experience an evening of performances created by the graduating seniors of Bard’s Theater and Performance Program. Join us to celebrate the invention and talent of these young theater makers in this annual festival, the culmination of their four years of study.
The Orchestra Now
Leonard Bernstein’s Candide
Saturday, February 25 at 8 pm
Sunday, February 26 at 2 pm
Tickets: $25–35; free for Bard students (call 845-758-7900 to reserve tickets)
Sosnoff Theater
A semistaged concert performance of Bernstein's famous opera, which is based on the immortal comic classic by Voltaire. Stephen Sondheim and Lillian Hellman contributed to Richard Wilbur’s libretto. Conducted by James Bagwell, with soloists from Bard’s Graduate Vocal Arts Program.
Bard Dance Program
March Dance
Friday, March 10 and Saturday, March 11 at 7:30 pm
Saturday, March 11 at 2 pm
Sunday, March 12 at 4 pm
Tickets: Free; reservations required
LUMA Theater
Choreographed and performed by Bard students, assisted by professional lighting and costume designers, this concert gives students a chance to explore new territory in dance making.
Bard College Conservatory of Music
Conservatory Orchestra
Guest conductor Marcelo Lehninger
Sunday, March 12 at 3 pm
Tickets: $15–20 suggested donation; free for the Bard community
Sosnoff Theater
Marcelo Lehninger MFA ’07 conducts Obadiah Wright ’17, Columbidae; Schumann, Cello Concerto in A Minor, with Peter Wiley, cello; and Tchaikovsky, Symphony No.4.
Catskill Jazz Factory
French Connection II | Les Belles Chansons Françaises
Featuring Camille Bertault and Dan Tepfer
Saturday, March 18 at 7:30 pm
Tickets from $25; subscriptions $95 for all four Catskill Jazz Factory events
LUMA Theater
French vocalist Camille Bertault and Franco-American virtuoso pianist Dan Tepfer perform the enchanting music of the French Songbook, from Edith Piaf to Jacques Brel to Serge Gainsbourg. DownBeat calls Bertault “a singer who carefully coaxes the emotional impact out of a melody.” She is accompanied by “riveting and inspired” (New York Times) pianist Tepfer.
Theater and Performance
The Skin of Our Teeth
by Thornton Wilder
directed by Jordan Fein
Thursday–Saturday, April 6–8 at 7:30 pm; Saturday, April 8 at 2 pm; Sunday, April 9 at 4 pm
Tickets: $15; free for the Bard community
LUMA Theater
Thornton Wilder’s 1942, Pulitzer Prize–winning play is brought to life in a new production with students in the Theater and Performance Program, staged by leading young director Jordan Fein.
The Orchestra Now and Bard Conservatory
The Dream of Gerontius
Saturday, April 8 at 8 pm
Sunday, April 9 at 2 pm
Tickets: $25–35; free for Bard students (call 845-758-7900 to reserve tickets)
Sosnoff Theater
The Orchestra Now and musicians from the Bard College Conservatory Orchestra perform Elgar’s masterful choral work, conducted by Leon Botstein, in this special side-by-side concert. Elgar drew the lyrics for this choral work from John Henry Cardinal Newman’s poem that follows the soul of one pious man as he journeys from death to judgment to purgatory.
Catskill Jazz Factory
French Connection III | Whisper of a Shadow: An Homage to Louis Moreau Gottschalk
Featuring Evan Christopher’s Clarinet Road
Friday, April 14 at 7:30 pm
Tickets from $25; subscriptions $95 for all four Catskill Jazz Factory events
LUMA Theater
“Historian of New Orleans Creole clarinet” Evan Christopher leads a jazz nonet into the musical world of Louis Moreau Gottschalk, New Orleans Creole composer and pianist. Their journey will examine Afro-Creole rhythms, the melodies of the Crescent City, along with Gottschalk’s celebrations of life, love, and death.
Conversation
Neil Gaiman and American Gods
Saturday, April 15 at 7:30 pm
Tickets $25; free for the Bard community
Sosnoff Theater
Bard Professor in the Arts Neil Gaiman discusses adapting of his bestselling novel American Gods for the forthcoming TV series.
Faculty Dance
Friday, April 21 and Saturday, April 22 at 7:30 pm
Saturday, April 22 at 2 pm
Sunday, April 23 at 4 pm
Tickets: $15; free for the Bard community
LUMA Theater
A dynamic evening of choreography by the faculty of the Bard College Dance Program, performed by students and faculty.
The Orchestra Now
Bartók’s The Miraculous Mandarin
Saturday, April 22 at 8 pmSunday, April 23 at 2 pm
Tickets: $25–35; free for Bard students (call 845-758-7900 to reserve tickets)
Sosnoff Theater
Béla Bartók: The Miraculous Mandarin Suite
György Ligeti: Violin Concerto
Ernő Dohnányi: Symphony No. 2
Leon Botstein conducts Bartók, The Miraculous Mandarin Suite; Ligeti, Violin Concerto; and Dohnányi, Symphony No. 2.
Live Arts Bard
WE’RE WATCHING
a performance exhibition about surveillance
Thursday, April 27 – Sunday, April 30
Tickets: Saturday/Sunday marathon pass $95 (includes all five performances);
Individual performance tickets $25; $10 for students (on sale in early 2017)
Roundtrip shuttle from New York City available Saturday April 29
The technologies of surveillance have redefined the nature of contemporary human life and society. In our interactions with government, law enforcement, corporations, and one another, we live in a constant state of watching and being watched—with varying degrees of visibility and consciousness.
The second Live Arts Bard Biennial explores the vast implications of life in a state of surveillance, and the impact of that reality on security, democracy, ethics, creativity, and citizenship. The four-day event features world premieres and special previews of new works by an extraordinary group of contemporary American artists, installed in an innovative exhibition format throughout the Fisher Center.
Big Art Group Opacity (preview performances)
Annie Dorsen The Great Outdoors (preview performances)
Hasan Elahi Retina (LAB commission)
Michelle Ellsworth The Rehearsal Artist (LAB commission/world premiere)
John Lucas, Claudia Rankine, and Will Rawls What Remains (LAB commission/world premiere)
Samuel Miller ’15 Foundation for Healing (LAB commission)
Alexandro Segade Future St.
Bard College Conservatory of Music
Conservatory Orchestra
Sunday, May 7 at 3 pm
Tickets: $15–20 suggested donation; free for the Bard community
Sosnoff Theater
Leon Botstein conducts Hartmann, Symphony No. 6; and Josef Suk, Symphony No. 2 Asrael.
Bard Dance Program
Senior Dance
Friday, May 12 and Saturday, May 13 at 7:30 pmSaturday, May 13 at 2 pm
Sunday, May 14 at 4 pm
Tickets: Free; reservations required
LUMA Theater
Choreographed and performed by Bard students, assisted by professional lighting and costume designers, this concert gives students a chance to explore new territory in dance making.
Catskill Jazz Factory
Celebrating 100 Years of Jazz
Featuring Chris Washburne, Evan Christopher, Sarah Elizabeth Charles, André Mehmari, and Special Guests
Saturday, May 13 at 8 pm
Tickets from $25; subscriptions $95 for all four Catskill Jazz Factory events
Sosnoff Theater
Trombonist Chris Washburne leads an international group of all-stars in a celebration of the roots and influences of jazz, from traditional folk songs to pioneers such as Scott Joplin, Jelly Roll Morton, Louis Armstrong, and Bessie Smith. Featuring a dynamic ensemble including Creole clarinetist Evan Christopher (“one of the world’s major clarinetists,” Wall Street Journal), vocalist Sarah Elizabeth Charles (“one of today’s most dynamic young vocalists,” DownBeat), Brazilian piano virtuoso André Mehmari (“one of Brazil’s best kept secrets,” EJazz News), and rising-star trumpeter Alphonso Horne.
The Orchestra Now
Luisi Conducts Beethoven and Brahms
Sunday, May 28 at 1 pm
Tickets: $25–35; free for Bard students (call 845-758-7900 to reserve tickets)
Sosnoff Theater
Principal conductor of the Metropolitan Opera and general music director of the Zurich Opera Fabio Luisi leads Beethoven’s Violin Concerto in D Major and Brahms’s Symphony No. 4. With violinist David Chan, concertmaster of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra.
Programs, dates, times and venues are subject to change. For more information go to fishercenter.bard.edu, or call the box office at 845-758-7900.
The Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts at Bard College
Named for the late Richard B. Fisher, former chair of Bard’s Board of Trustees, the Fisher Center has become an influential force in performing arts programming, earning critical acclaim for innovative productions of opera, orchestral, chamber, dance, and theater programs. The Center was designed by legendary architect Frank Gehry and distinguished acoustician Yasuhisa Toyota, and has received international praise for its breathtaking architecture and superb sound.
Each summer the Fisher Center presents the Bard SummerScape festival, seven weeks of performing arts programs reflecting the life and times of the featured composer of the esteemed Bard Music Festival, now celebrating its 28th year. Fall and spring seasons include original productions, special one-night-only concerts, and touring artists from around the globe.
The Fisher Center is home to the Bard College Theater & Performance and Dance Programs, providing students access to exceptional theater facilities and opportunities to work with professional directors and dramaturges on publicly attended productions throughout the year. The Bard College Conservatory of Music and Bard College Music Program stage regular orchestral and chamber concerts.
Special Thanks
The Fisher Center’s Winter/Spring 2017 season is made possible in part through the generous support of Jeanne Donovan Fisher, the Martin and Toni Sosnoff Foundation, the Board of The Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts at Bard College, and the Friends of the Fisher Center, as well as a grant from the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.
WE’RE WATCHING is made possible by the generous support of the Live Arts Bard Creative Council and through the LAB Choreographic Fellowships, supported by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
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This event was last updated on 12-08-2016
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