SPRING 2017

18111 NORDHOFF STREET

NORTHRIDGE, CA 91330-8448

HANSEL & GRETEL

Sun Jan 22 | 3PM

.ORG

Christopher Rountree

Lyris Quartet

The Nile Project Sat Feb 25 | 7 PM

The Age of AdamsCELEBRATING COMPOSER JOHN ADAMS’ 70TH BIRTHDAY

Jacaranda Music Presents AMERICAN BERSERK with Lyris Quartet & dancers Gloria Cheng & Christopher Taylor, pianos Jacaranda Chamber Orchestra Mark Alan Hilt, conductor Sat Jan 14 | 8PM

ST. LAWRENCE STRING QUARTET Adams Quartet No. 1 Beethoven’s String Quartet in A minor Fri Feb 3 | 8PM (onstage seating)

WILD UP ADAMS / PUNK ROCK / PLAYER PIANO Christopher Rountree, conductor Thu Feb 16 | 8PM (onstage seating)

THE SUMMIT: THE MANHATTAN TRANSFER & TAKE 6

Thu Feb 9 | 8PM

MARIA SCHNEIDER ORCHESTRA

Wed Feb 22 | 8PM

DOC SEVERINSEN AND HIS BIG BAND

Thu Apr 13 | 8PM

ASPEN SANTA FE BALLET

Fri Mar 3 | 8PM

Los Angeles choreographer Cherice Barton is known for her comedic bent, eclectic musical tastes, and fresh perspective. The premiere of her first piece for Aspen Santa Fe Ballet is sure to be an unforgettable VPAC moment.

MARTHA GRAHAM AND AMERICAN MUSIC

Sat May 13 | 8PM

Four 20th century masterpieces performed as Martha Graham herself originally conceived them — with live musical accompaniment. Christopher Rountree conducts wild Up. The Martha Graham Company returns to VPAC after a sell-out in 2015.

Shape & Motion

Swinging

(1946) Martha Graham in Cave of the Heart

Doc Severinsen

Maria Schneider

Aspen Santa Fe Ballet

The Manhattan Transfer & Take 6

MAN OF LA MANCHA McCoy Rigby Entertainment

Fri May 5 | 8PM Sat May 6 | 3 & 8PM Sun May 7 | 3PM

WEST SIDE STORY McCoy Rigby Entertainment

Fri Mar 10 | 8PM Sat Mar 11 | 3 & 8PM Sun Mar 12 | 3PM

SPRING 2017

18111 NORDHOFF STREET

NORTHRIDGE, CA 91330-8448

HANSEL & GRETEL

Sun Jan 22 | 3PM

.ORG

Christopher Rountree

Lyris Quartet

The Nile Project Sat Feb 25 | 7 PM

The Age of AdamsCELEBRATING COMPOSER JOHN ADAMS’ 70TH BIRTHDAY

Jacaranda Music Presents AMERICAN BERSERK with Lyris Quartet & dancers Gloria Cheng & Christopher Taylor, pianos Jacaranda Chamber Orchestra Mark Alan Hilt, conductor Sat Jan 14 | 8PM

ST. LAWRENCE STRING QUARTET Adams Quartet No. 1 Beethoven’s String Quartet in A minor Fri Feb 3 | 8PM (onstage seating)

WILD UP ADAMS / PUNK ROCK / PLAYER PIANO Christopher Rountree, conductor Thu Feb 16 | 8PM (onstage seating)

SPRING 2017

OUTDOOR MUSIC AND DANCE FESTIVALFREE ADMISSIONFebruary 25, 2017 1 to 6 PMVPAC Lawn And Courtyard

Six Los Angeles ensembles representing six regions of the world

Brazil — Ballet Folclorico do BrasilWest Africa — Futa Toro West African

Drummers & DancersHawaii — Halau Keali’i O NalaniMexico — Las ColibriJapan — On EnsembleMiddle East — Yuval Ron Ensemble

Special appearance by The Nile Project with L.A. ensemble master artists

VPAC Celebrates WaterWater is life. It sustains us, and everything around us. It’s the original “highway,” linking us together. And it inspires us—the subject of poems, songs and dances.

VPAC celebrates water on February 25. A daytime performance festival in the VPAC Courtyard features six Los Angeles ensembles with origins in six regions of the world. These traditional artists have one thing in common — music and dance that honors and evokes water.

The festival concludes in VPAC’s Great Hall at 7 p.m., with The Nile Project, an international performance phenomenon that brings together artists from 7 African nations.

VPAC honors arts and culture from around the globe, and uplifts the artists who honor what is most elemental to all of us — H2O.

Visit bit.ly/global_currents for schedule and details about food, performances, family activities and more.

THE NILE PROJECTSat February 25 | 7PM VPAC’s Great Hall $28 to $58 Tickets required for entry (see calendar listing for details)

VALLEY PERFORMING ARTS CENTERNEARBY OUT OF THIS WORLD

Sat 1/14/17 | 8PMJacaranda Music Presents AMERICAN BERSERK A CELEBRATION OF JOHN ADAMS Curated by Patrick Scott

$38 to $80VPAC OriginalCelebrate the 70th birthday of California’s greatest living orchestral composer, John Adams. Jacaranda Music traces Adams’ pianistic roots from Creole music, Ragtime and Jazz and puts it all together, with show-stopping song and dance in the Adams piano solo, AMERICAN BERSERK.

MEDIA SPONSOR

Sun 1/22/17 | 3PMHANSEL & GRETEL: A WICKEDLY DELICIOUS MUSICAL TREAT Musical by Justin Roberts & Ernie Nolan Fairy Tale by The Grimm Brothers Animation Director: Micah Chambers-Goldberg3D Animator: Gaspard LacroixDirected by Michael Matthews

$38 to $58VPAC OriginalThe beloved fairy tale is newly imagined by songwriter Justin Roberts, kid-indie music superstar. VPAC’s original stage production features animated backdrops and innovative staging. This 60-minute musical is appropriate for families to enjoy together, with lessons new and old that resonate just as they have for generations.

SPONSORED BY Marla & Cary Lefton, Julia Strickland, Tim Wahl

Fri 2/3/17 | 8PMST. LAWRENCE STRING QUARTET Adams Quartet No. 1 Beethoven’s String Quartet in A minor

$63 (onstage seating)The celebration of John Adams continues with a marriage made in chamber music heaven. In an intimate onstage setting with the audience sitting up-close, the St. Lawrence String Quartet performs the quartet that Adams composed specifically for them, paired with the Beethoven quartet that inspired it. SPONSORED BY Carol Colburn Grigor

MEDIA SPONSOR

Thu 2/9/17 | 8PM THE SUMMIT: THE MANHATTAN TRANSFER & TAKE 6

$38 to $95 Combining forces for the first time, The Manhattan Transfer and Take 6 create an unforgettable concert. Take 6, recognized as the pre-eminent a cappella group in the world, shares their crystal clear harmony, innovative arrangements and funky grooves with TMT, the most acclaimed, award-winning vocal group in pop music.

MEDIA SPONSOR

Thu 2/16/17 | 8PMWILD UP ADAMS / PUNK ROCK / PLAYER PIANO Christopher Rountree, Conductor Featuring: Hallelujah Junction & Shaker Loops by John Adams

$63 (onstage seating)VPAC OriginalL.A.’s firebrand conductor Christopher Rountree turns up the heat in a birthday tribute to John Adams. Rountree contextualizes the American standards of Adams and Charles Ives with Bolcom’s rags and covers of punk bands

MEDIA SPONSOR

Sat 2/18/17 | 8PMLA SANTA CECILIA

$28 to $53From the heart of Olvera Street, this L.A.-based Grammy Award-winning band exemplifies the modern-day creative hybrid of Latin culture, rock and world music. They draw inspiration from Pan-American rhythms like cumbia, bossa nova, rumba, bolero, tango, jazz, rock and klezmer music.

Sun 2/19/17 | 3PMSHAOLIN WARRIORS: THE LEGEND CONTINUES

$38 to $63In a display that the Toronto Star called a “dazzling spectacle,” Shaolin Warriors celebrates the art of kung fu, with mesmerizing skill, stunning movements, and spectacular imagery. In a fully choreographed production, the martial arts masters offer insight into the warriors’ daily life and Zen philosophy.

Wed 2/22/17 | 8PMMARIA SCHNEIDER ORCHESTRA

$33 to $80Recent Grammy winner for Best Large Jazz Ensemble, Maria Schneider takes a victory lap at VPAC in a “knock-you-out” performance with her 18-member jazz collective. Mentored by jazz innovator, arranger and composer Gil Evans and influenced by classical, jazz and Brazilian music, it’s smooth groovin’ with the evocative Maria Schneider Orchestra.

MEDIA SPONSOR

Sat 2/25/17 | 7PMTHE NILE PROJECT

$28 to $58Straight from the heart of Africa, 12 artists and 7 nations come together for a night of infectious rhythms and joyous melodies that have brought audiences to their feet worldwide. These artists share the Nile River, and they share a message of culture unity and global sustainability (see sidebar for Global Currents festival on Feb. 25).

Fri 3/3/17 | 8PMASPEN SANTA FE BALLET New work by Cherice Barton Little mortal jump by Alejandro CerrudoSleepless by Jiří Kylián

$33 to $75VPAC OriginalAspen Santa Fe Ballet, America’s most revered contemporary ballet company, partners with VPAC in the second year of its residency to co-commission a new piece by Los Angeles choreographer Cherice Barton. Barton’s much-lauded choreography for Katy Perry’s performance at last year’s Grammy Awards gained her worldwide attention.

Fri 3/10/17 | 8PM Sat 3/11/17 | 3 & 8PM Sun 3/12/17 | 3PMWEST SIDE STORY Book by Arthur Laurents Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim Music by Leonard Bernstein McCoy Rigby Entertainment

$43 to $85West Side Story follows star-crossed lovers caught between prejudice and warring street gangs. From the first note to the last dying breath, composer Leonard Bernstein and lyricist Stephen Sondheim crafted one of the greatest stories of all time.

MEDIA SPONSOR

Thu 3/16/17 | 8PMST. PETERSBURG PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA Yuri Temirkanov Artistic Director & Chief Conductor Garrick Ohlsson, piano Brahms Piano Concerto No. 1 Shostakovich Symphony No. 5

$43 to $85This ultimate Russian program will stir your soul. One of Europe’s finest orchestras, the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra, led for over 20 years by legendary Yuri Temirkanov, performs the epic Shostakovich Symphony No. 5.

MEDIA SPONSOR

Sat 3/25/17 | 8PMBUSTER KEATON’S THE GENERAL Richard Kaufman, Conductor New West Symphony

$28 to $58Silent film and live music fit best together at VPAC, when CSUN alum Richard Kaufman returns to conduct. One of the greatest comedies of the silent era, Buster Keaton’s The General (1927), is an action-packed adventure story about a brave but foolish train engineer, the woman he loves, and his beloved locomotive.

MEDIA SPONSORS

FREE PERFORMANCE Sun 4/2/17 | 3PM COLBURN ORCHESTRA Ludovic Morlot, Guest Conductor Mikyoung Soung, double bass BIZET (ARR. FRANK PROTO) A Carmen Fantasy BERLIOZ Symphonie fantastique

Thu 4/13/17 | 8PM VPAC Celebrates Doc’s 90th! DOC SEVERINSEN AND HIS BIG BAND

$38 to $95The former bandleader for the NBC Orchestra/ The Tonight Show is going strong. Severinsen joined VPAC to celebrate its opening, and now it’s our turn to celebrate him. Join us for Doc’s 90th Birthday! He’ll deliver a blast certain to blow out every candle on his cake.

MEDIA SPONSOR

Wed 4/19/17 | 8PM TAJ EXPRESS: THE BOLLYWOOD MUSICAL REVUE

$33 to $68Taj Express explodes with the sounds of India capturing the vibrant, expressive spirit of the world of Bollywood movies. The production is a high energy celebration of new India’s pop music, colorful costumes, joyful dance and thrilling live music.

Sat 4/22/17 | 8PM LILA DOWNSWITH MONSIEUR PERINÉ

$38 to $63Topping the charts for 20 years, Lila Downs delivers a powerful mix of pop and Mexican indigenous sounds. The Oaxacan humanitarian and activist shares the evening with Latin Grammy Award-winner Monsieur Periné, sometimes called the “Jazz Gypsies of Bogota.” They stir a mix of swing, pop, alt, salsa and native Columbian rhythms.

Fri 5/5/17 | 8PM Sat 5/6/17 | 3 & 8PM Sun 5/7/17 | 3PMMAN OF LA MANCHA Book by Dale Wasserman Lyrics by Joe Darion Music by Mitch Leigh McCoy Rigby Entertainment

$43 to $85Man of La Mancha tells the poignant story of Don Quixote and his pursuit of the impossible dream. His dream is Everyman’s dream. His tilting at windmills is Everyman’s adventure.

MEDIA SPONSOR

Sat 5/13/17 | 8PMMARTHA GRAHAM AND AMERICAN DANCE Martha Graham Dance Company Diversion of Angels, Dello JoioCave of the Heart, BarberDark Meadow, ChavezMaple Leaf Rag, Joplin

$33 to $75VPAC OriginalMartha Graham holds a place next to Picasso as one of the greatest innovators of the 20th century. She not only transformed dance, she commissioned some of the most important orchestral and chamber music works of her time. In a rare one-time performance, the company will perform with live musical accompaniment.

SPONSORED BY Elizabeth Purcell

MEDIA SPONSORS

Celebrating World Cultures & Earth’s Shared Resources

PHOTO CREDITS:(outside) Hansel & Gretel by Micah Chambers-Goldberg, The Nile Project by Peter Stanley, Lyris by Jim Hershleder, Christopher Rountree by Rus Anson. (inside) Martha Graham by Cris Alexander, Cherice Barton, Christopher Rountree headshot by Rachael Porter, Aspen Santa Fe Ballet by Jordan Curet, The Summit: The Manhattan Transfer & Take 6 by John Abbott, Doc Severinsen by Sean Turi, Maria Schneider, West Side Story & Man of La Mancha courtesy of McCoy Rigby Entertainment. (calendar) John Adams by Deborah O’Grady, Hansel & Gretel by Micah Chambers-Goldberg, St. Lawrence String Quartet by Leonardo Mascaro, The Summit: The Manhattan Transfer & Take 6 by John Abbott, wild Up by Stephanie Berger, La Santa Cecilia by Luis Luque, Shaolin Warriors courtesy of Opus 3 Artist, Maria Schneider, The Nile Project by Matjaz Kacicnik, Aspen Santa Fe Ballet by Jordan Curet, West Side courtesy of McCoy Rigby Entertainment, St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra courtesy of La Jolla Music Society, Buster Keaton’s The General courtesy of Denis James, Doc Severinsen by Sean Turi, Taj Express, Lila Downs courtesy of Lila Downs, Man of La Mancha courtesy of McCoy Rigby Entertainment, Martha Graham Dance Company by Costas. (global currents) Drums of India on Valley Performing Art Center’s Lawn by Luis Luque, The Nile Project by Matjaz Kacicnik.

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