News Release

Diverse array of artists announced 
for 2006-07 performing arts series

CHAPEL HILL — Lyle Lovett, Alvin Ailey and the Cleveland Orchestra are among artists coming to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in the 2006-07 Carolina Performing Arts Series.

Japanese drumming rituals, Harlem poetry, and gospel, classical, roots, jazz and world music will be among the many genres represented in more than 50 performances.

Audiences will see theater from India, dancers from Brazil and Vietnam and other international performers, as well as Philadelphia DJ King Britt, the Carolina Ballet, the a cappella ensemble Sweet Honey in the Rock and jazz great Wynton Marsalis.

The experimental Urban Voices programs will once again highlight the importance of presenting new works. The season also will feature series by the Carolina music department and the North Carolina Jazz Repertory Orchestra.

"This wonderful new season rivals our grand opening season in breadth and depth and continues our mission to enrich the educational and cultural lives of our community and region," said Emil Kang, Carolina’s executive director for the arts.

Building on a hugely successful grand opening season, he said, Carolina is positioning itself as one of the nation’s major university performing arts presenters.

This year the William R. Kenan Jr. Trust of Chapel Hill will make possible six of the classical music concerts, called Kenan Great Performances.

Academic collaboration is a strong element of Carolina Performing Arts. Artists who perform in Memorial Hall’s Beasley-Curtis Auditorium also visit Carolina classrooms for workshops, master classes and lectures.

The 2005-2006 series – the first after an $18 million renovation transformed Memorial into a world-class venue – sold 27,000 tickets overall, 8,000 of them to students. "The transformation of Memorial Hall is a tremendous achievement and a reflection of the transformation of the arts at Carolina," Kang said. "We are happy to have received so many positive comments from audiences and artists alike regarding this splendid facility."

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For ticket-purchasing options, see http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/mar06/tix031706.htm

For the series lineup, see http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/mar06/seas0607lineup.htm 

Carolina Performing Arts Series contact: Emil Kang, (919) 843-7776, emil_kang@unc.edu

News Services contacts: Print, L.J. Toler, (919) 962-8589; broadcast, Karen Moon, (919) 962-8595