UNC News release -- Memorial Hall tickets go on sale Aug. 29; first event is Sept. 9 for season featuring more than 700 artists, 40 shows

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News Release

For immediate use

Aug. 23, 2005 -- No. 367

Note: See end of story for visual availability Wednesday.

Memorial Hall tickets go on sale Aug. 29; first event is
Sept. 9 for season featuring more than 700 artists, 40 shows

CHAPEL HILL -- Tradition and innovation will combine in grand fashion on Sept. 9, when the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s newly transformed Memorial Hall hosts its first performance of the grand opening season for the unprecedented Carolina Performing Arts Series.

The 2005-2006 series season will present more than 700 artists in more than 40 performances. Single tickets are available for purchase starting Monday (Aug. 29) from the Memorial Hall box office at (919) 843-3333. For information, e-mail performingarts@unc.edu. Prices vary by event and seat location.

Performances run the gamut from jazz, classical, world music, dance and American roots music to experimental works and North Carolina Spotlight programs. Featured artists include Tony Bennett, Itzhak Perlman, Wynton Marsalis, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Bonnie Raitt, Nanci Griffith, Mark Morris Dance Group and DJ Spooky.

Subscriptions to all performances, packaged by genre, are currently on sale, as are tickets for six N.C. Symphony performances and five Carolina Ballet performances. For symphony tickets, call (919) 733-2750. For everything else, call the Memorial Hall Box Office. For a full list of 2005-2006 Memorial Hall performances, visit www.unc.edu/performingarts or call the box office.

Emil Kang, Carolina’s first executive director for the arts, said performance subscriptions (which went on sale July 1) are proving very popular, with more than 1,200 subscriptions sold to date.

"The hall is only going to re-open once, so we spent a lot of time trying to plan an appropriate season that will attract the widest variety of people," Kang said. "We believe this season reflects the breadth and depth of American culture and connection to the greater world. Our goal is to appeal to the 18-year-old, the retiree and everyone in between. So, we have everything from student and faculty performances, the ballet and the symphony to major international artists in several genres, cutting-edge New York performance artists, modern dance groups and an African theater piece."

After a 1 p.m. Sept. 8 ribbon-cutting and gala reopening ceremony, Memorial Hall’s grand opening weekend kicks off with a gala evening on Sept. 9 featuring Tony Bennett and a gala evening on Sept. 10 featuring violinist Itzhak Perlman, violinist/violist Pinchas Zukerman and the N.C. Symphony led by Leonard Slatkin, music director of the National Symphony Orchestra.

Opening weekend will continue with "Carolina Performs" on Sept. 11— a daylong open house celebration highlighting the spectrum of Carolina’s student talent, including rock bands, jazz combos, classical music, theatrical scenes, comedy acts, dance and more. The event is free and open to the public.

Following is just a sampling of other artists who will take their places on the Memorial Hall stage:

Sept. 17, Ron K. Brown, Evidence: Blending African, modern, ballet and hip-hop dance styles, Ronald K. Brown's powerful choreography offers finely crafted, exquisitely danced stories about truth, destiny and mankind’s need and desire to liberate the spirit within. His award-winning company, Evidence, speaks through explosive jumps, vibrant colors, complex patterns and compelling images.

Sept. 25, Los Lobos, “Cancionero 2005”: With a fistful of Grammys and worldwide acclaim for their chart-topping hit “La Bamba,” Los Lobos have established themselves as America ’s premiere roots rock band. Here, they return to their early days, unplugging most of their instruments and tuning their guitarones, jaranas and bajo sextos to offer new arrangements of their best-loved tunes as well as folkloric songs from a variety of Latin American countries.

Oct. 7, Nanci Griffith with Tift Merritt: North Carolinian and Carolina alumna Tift Merritt will open the show, followed by another singer/songwriter/guitarist: Nanci Griffith, with her Blue Moon Orchestra. Both offer a special blend of traditional country, rock and roll, pop and folk music.

Oct. 14, North Carolina Jazz Repertory Orchestra: This celebrated jazz orchestra performs the big band music of Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Benny Goodman, Dizzy Gillespie, Count Basie and more, featuring the finest jazz musicians in the state. Their series continues on Dec. 9, March 2 and May 5.

Oct. 25, Midori: The Japanese-born violinist’s prodigious musicality made her an international star in the classical world, with a New York Philharmonic debut at the age of 11. Now, some 20 years later, she continues to play a vital role as a performer and educator.

Oct. 28, UNC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus: The 100-member orchestra of community, faculty and student musicians and combined choirs of nearly 200 voices will perform Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. UNC music professor Tonu Kalam is music director and conductor for the orchestra.

Nov. 1, Youssou N'Dour's “ Egypt ”: The popular Senegalese world music star turns his attention to the heart of Muslim mystical culture — Sufi culture — with Egyptian Fathy Salama and his Cairo Orchestra.

Nov. 5, 6, Handspring & Sogolon Puppet Companies, “Tall Horse”: Based on a true story, this multi-media, human/habitable puppet theater work explores Africa 's influence on the West from an African perspective. Featuring astonishing puppet figures, the production is visiting only six U.S. venues this year, including the Kennedy Center and Carolina .
Dec. 2, 3, 4: Carolina Ballet, “Nutcracker”: Launched in 1997, Carolina Ballet is already recognized as one of the Top 10 ballet companies in the country. Here, they perform a holiday season staple—a fantasy classic that captures the irrepressible imagination of a child's world in which all things are possible.

Jan. 12, Ralph Stanley with the Red Clay Ramblers: Bluegrass Hall-of-Famer Ralph Stanley (“Down From the Mountain,” “O Brother, Where Art Thou?”) will bring his soulful vocals and three-finger banjo style to a concert with North Carolina’s own Red Clay Ramblers, whose repertoire reflects their roots in old-time mountain music as well as country, rock, bluegrass and gospel.

Feb. 4, 5, Carolina Ballet, “ Swan Lake ”: Set to one of Tchaikovsky's greatest scores, “ Swan Lake ” is the most popular ballet in history, portraying the tale of a beautiful woman condemned to live in the body of a swan until the spell is broken by a man's true love.

March 3, Jazz at Lincoln Center ’s Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra with Arturo O’Farrill: Pianist O'Farrill leads a ferocious ensemble that plays the music of Latin jazz giants. Jazz at Lincoln Center ’s newest resident band, the group continues a long tradition of artistic collaboration between jazz and Latin musicians.

April 29, Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis and Special Guests Yacub Addy and Odadaa!: Marsalis and his jazz orchestra collaborate with Ghanaian master drummer Yacub Addy and his 20-member drumming ensemble to debut newly commissioned pieces based on Congo Square in New Orleans, where 19^th century slaves gathered for drumming, dancing, and music. LCJO will also perform some of the best of New Orleans jazz, including a newly rediscovered piece by Jelly Roll Morton.

Tickets to all performances, except the opening gala events, are $10 for Carolina students. Faculty and staff members receive a 20 percent discount off subscription prices.

The newly refurbished Memorial Hall has increased in size from 24,000 to more than 44,600 square feet. Additions on the east and west made possible a larger lobby, grand new staircases and more restrooms. Renovations also brought a central heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system, new lighting and sound systems, and improved accessibility for patrons with disabilities.

The stage house on the back of the hall was replaced with a state-of-the-art facility, and the stage itself is twice as large as the previous platform. This will allow full productions of Broadway musicals, full symphonies, and ballets.

Funding sources for the three-year, nearly $18 million renovation of Memorial Hall included the Higher Education Bond Referendum approved by N.C. voters ($10.8 million) and state legislators who approved advance planning funds for the project ($800,000).

Private giving has played a key role, with donors raising more than $5 million in gifts and pledges to the Carolina First Memorial Hall Transformation Campaign, led by Jim and Pam Heavner of Chapel Hill.

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Note: A photo availability for the interior and exterior of newly renovated Memorial Hall will be held from 10 a.m. to noon Wednesday (Aug. 24). Media representatives planning to attend should call L.J. Toler at (919) 962-8589 by 4 p.m. Tuesday (Aug. 23).