Performing Arts Series PERFORMING ARTS SERIES

Jupiter Quartet

Sponsored by:
Performing Arts Series
When the Washington Post titles a concert review “Jupiter String Quartet delivers on its name with an out-of-this-world performance,” you can begin to understand why this ensemble is a longtime Middlebury favorite. The quartet celebrates Debussy in this centenary year of his passing, with a program of Ravel and Debussy’s solitary string quartets, plus Dutilleux’s Ainsi la nuit. Pre-concert lecture by Professor of Music Larry Hamberlin, 6:30 PM, Room 221. A Nelson Series event. Reserved seating. Tickets: $28/22/10/6

Mahaney Arts Center, Olin C. Robison Concert Hall

Open to the Public

Turtle Island Quartet and Cyrus Chestnut, Piano

Sponsored by:
Performing Arts Series
The Grammy-winning Turtle Island Quartet makes its Middlebury debut in a collaborative concert with the series’ most frequent jazz artist, acclaimed pianist Cyrus Chestnut, to traverse countless colors of jazz in a program called Carry Me Home. The partnership is infused with the global reach of gospel and sacred music, ranging from the Appalachian Mountains to the spiritually defined musical landscape of J. S. Bach.

Mahaney Arts Center, Olin C. Robison Concert Hall

Open to the Public

Jean-Guihen Queyras, cello

Sponsored by:
Performing Arts Series
The French cello virtuoso performs some of J. S. Bach’s most beloved music: the six Suites for Unaccompanied Cello. “Queyras performs as he breathes.…His technical ease allows him to play with the music, to knead it, giving a particular character to each work…he brings the universe to the end of his bow.”—Le Devoir, Montréal. This special event includes a reception at intermission. A Nelson Series event, made possible with generous support from Olin C. Robison. Reserved seating. Tickets: $28/22/10/6

Mahaney Arts Center, Olin C. Robison Concert Hall

Open to the Public

Sophie Shao & Friends

Sponsored by:
Performing Arts Series
A perennial Middlebury favorite, cellist Sophie Shao has been praised by the World News for her “sensitive, stylistic playing, with great finesse, emotion, and gorgeous tone,” and has amassed an extensive collection of talented musical friends. She returns for her 11th consecutive season with an exciting new ensemble including violinists Zachary DePue and Arnaud Sussman, violist Matthew Lipman, and Nathan Farrington on double bass. Together they will perform selected duets by Mozart, Penderecki, and Meyer; plus rarely heard double-bass quintets including Dvorák’s Op.

Mahaney Arts Center, Olin C. Robison Concert Hall

Open to the Public

Dreamers' Circus

Sponsored by:
Performing Arts Series
This young Danish trio is the new driving force in Nordic world music, hailed as contemporary and endlessly innovative in their approach. They draw inspiration from the deep traditions of Nordic folk music and reshape them into something bright, shiny, and new. The ensemble has won five prestigious Danish Music Awards and toured throughout Europe, Japan, Australia, the United States, and more. Featuring Nikolaj Busk on piano and accordion, Ale Carr on cittern, and violinist Rune Tonsgaard Sørensen of the Danish String Quartet.

Mahaney Arts Center, Olin C. Robison Concert Hall

Open to the Public

Lida Winfield Dance IMAGINARY

Sponsored by:
Performing Arts Series
Mixing dance, theater, storytelling, and original music performed live, IMAGINARY is a quirky and innovative yet socially poignant work that explores perception in relationship to the imagination. The performance sifts through facts, allegations, and possibilities, bringing together the creative capacities of six amazing artists, many with Middlebury connections: Winfield, visiting assistant professor of dance;  Matthew Evan Taylor, assistant professor of music; alumna Ellen Smith Ahern ’05; Joseph Hall; and former W. Mellon Interdisciplinary Choreographer Maree ReMalia.
Open to the Public

Lida Winfield Dance IMAGINARY

Sponsored by:
Performing Arts Series
Mixing dance, theater, storytelling, and original music performed live, IMAGINARY is a quirky and innovative yet socially poignant work that explores perception in relationship to the imagination. The performance sifts through facts, allegations, and possibilities, bringing together the creative capacities of six amazing artists, many with Middlebury connections: Winfield, visiting assistant professor of dance;  Matthew Evan Taylor, assistant professor of music; alumna Ellen Smith Ahern ’05; Joseph Hall; and former W. Mellon Interdisciplinary Choreographer Maree ReMalia.
Open to the Public

Alexander Melnikov and Andreas Staier, Piano

Sponsored by:
Performing Arts Series
Intensive chamber music collaborations have always been an essential part of renowned Russian pianist Alexander Melnikov’s work. For his fifth performance at Middlebury, he joins German pianist Andreas Staier—known for his exacting interpretations of keyboard music—to delight us with their all-Schubert program of four-hand works. Their Harmonia Mundi recording of this program has garnered prizes and accolades around the globe. A Nelson Series event, cosponsored by the members of the Performing Arts Series Society (PASS). Reserved seating. $30/25/10/6; PASS Members $22/16/8/5

Mahaney Arts Center, Olin C. Robison Concert Hall

Open to the Public

Manual Cinema, The End of TV

Sponsored by:
Performing Arts Series
Using vintage overhead projectors, multiple screens, puppets, actors, live-feed cameras, multichannel sound design, and a live music ensemble, Manual Cinema transforms the experience of attending the movies into an immersive event created right before your eyes. The End of TV explores the two sides of the American Dream—its technicolor promise through TV advertising, and its failure witnessed in industrial decline. Stay to meet the performers on stage after the show. “This Chicago troupe is conjuring phantasms to die for.…”—New York Times. Tickets: $22/16/10/6

Wright Theatre

Open to the Public

Roomful of Teeth and Dublin Guitar Quartet

Sponsored by:
Performing Arts Series
This collaborative concert features the Middlebury debuts of the Grammy-winning vocal ensemble Roomful of Teeth and the world-renowned Dublin Guitar Quartet. Together they perform the East Coast premiere of a new, intimate arrangement of Vermont native Nico Muhly’s How Little You Are. Originally commissioned in 2015 for three guitar quartets and massed choir, the work is based on texts written by pioneer women during the 19th century. In addition to this powerful 40-minute work, each ensemble also performs individual selections. A Nelson Fund event.

Mahaney Arts Center, Olin C. Robison Concert Hall

Open to the Public