Performing Arts Series

PASS members are invited to an audiovisual preview of the 2016–2017 season, complete with a seasonal reception and the chance to be first in line to purchase tickets for the upcoming season. Membership information: 802-443-PASS (7277) or go.middlebury.edu/givepass

Extolled by the New York Times for its “luxuriously warm sound [and] yearning lyricism,” the Brentano String Quartet last performed here in 2002, when the musicians celebrated their 10th anniversary by commissioning 10 composers—with Middlebury as a commissioning partner—to pen companion pieces for Bach’s Art of Fugue. It seems only fitting the quartet returns for the opening concert of the 2017 Bach Festival, to play Bach’s Art of the Fugue itself. Pre-concert lecture by Professor of Music Larry Hamberlin, 7:00 PM in Room 221.

Performed by Roger Guenveur Smith History, poetry, and tragedy collide when stage and film actor Roger Guenveur Smith (American Gangster, Malcolm X) tackles the thorny odyssey of Rodney King, caught in the glare of the national spotlight as the victim of police brutality that ignited the 1992 L.A. riots. In this riveting performance, Smith offers a meditation on a flawed, good-hearted man and reveals America’s endlessly complicated relationship with its racial past and present. “Roger Guenveur Smith gets it all and gets it brilliantly”— New York Times.

Performed by Roger Guenveur Smith History, poetry, and tragedy collide when stage and film actor Roger Guenveur Smith (American Gangster, Malcolm X) tackles the thorny odyssey of Rodney King, caught in the glare of the national spotlight as the victim of police brutality that ignited the 1992 L.A. riots. In this riveting performance, Smith offers a meditation on a flawed, good-hearted man and reveals America’s endlessly complicated relationship with its racial past and present. “Roger Guenveur Smith gets it all and gets it brilliantly”— New York Times.

Renowned soprano Dawn Upshaw is Artistic Director of the Graduate Vocal Arts Program at Bard College’s Conservatory of Music. Passionate about educating the next generation of singers, she will lead a master class for five Middlebury College voice students. Free

While Jean-Michel Pilc is a premier jazz pianist, he believes that improvisation is central to the development of all music and musicians. As he lectures from the piano, Pilc will explore the role of originality, communication, and expression in improvisation. Free

The Vermont premiere of Legends of Kintamani—a new cello concerto by Middlebury Professor of Music Su Lian Tan—is a unique collaboration with the Digital Liberal Arts (DLA) Initiative, cellist Darrett Adkins, and the Burlington Chamber Orchestra (BCO) with guest conductor Evan Bennett. Accompanied by projection of large animated murals of mythical Bali produced by Middlebury students in the DLA Initiative’s Animation Studio, the five-movement storytelling form depicts a return to a more innocent time, where mythology and reality combine in fairy tales.

Although the Belcea Quartet was founded at the Royal College of Music in London over 20 years ago, they “still play like a young quartet, seizing the music’s energy, shocking us out of our seats with every fortissimo”—The Guardian. The quartet returns to perform a program of Brahms and Schubert quartets, including Death and the Maiden. This Performing Arts Series concert is made possible with generous support from Olin C. Robison. Reserved seating. Tickets: $25/20/6

Recognized worldwide as a pianist of virtuosity and poetic poise, Imogen Cooper has established her reputation as one of the finest interpreters of the classical repertoire. The Guardian of London described a recent performance as “playing of the greatest intelligence and musical integrity.” In her return to Middlebury, Cooper offers a program including Beethoven, Schumann, Debussy, and Albeniz. Pre-concert lecture by Professor of Music Greg Vitercik, 6:30 PM in Room 125. Sponsored by the Performing Arts Series. Reserved seating. Tickets: $25/20/6

Five-time Grammy-award winner, soprano Dawn Upshaw has achieved worldwide celebrity as a singer of opera and concert repertoire ranging from the sacred works of Bach to the freshest sounds of today. Her ability to reach to the heart of music and text has earned her both the devotion of an exceptionally diverse audience and the awards and honors accorded to only the most distinguished of artists. In Middlebury, she offers a traditional song recital with her regular duo partner, pianist Gil Kalish, singing a program of works by Ravel, Schubert, Bartók, Bolcom, and more.