February 1, 2005

Spring filled with arts events

With the spring semester at Sacramento State comes a bloom of arts events. The colorful mix of exhibits, performances and presentations include a show of groundbreaking works by contemporary Bay Area artists, performances from masters of the piano and guitar to the gotuvadyam and sitar, and a musical about musicals. The annual Festival of the Arts will provide a campuswide bouquet of events this March as well.

The “Bay Area Figuration Show” will be a highlight of the semester’s visual arts offerings. Featuring works by Bay Area artists from the '50s and '60s including David Park, Richard Diebenkorn, Elmer Bishoff and others, the exhibit opens March 7 and runs through May 22 in the expanded University Library Gallery.

Acclaimed filmmaker Sandra Davis will present a “found film” workshop, “Exploring Cinematic Architecture and Time,” over three days beginning March 11. Davis will discuss some of the techniques she uses to create evocative art films from random footage.

Other visual arts offerings include lectures by artists Enrique Chagoya and Jeff Soto as part of the ongoing “Perspectives in Contemporary Art” series and two half-day symposiums: “Figuring the Body” featuring a talk by Harvard University professor Carrie Lambert-Beatty on March 12, and “Kingdom of Siam: Art from Central Thailand” that coincides with an exhibition of ancient and contemporary Thai art April 23. A series of undergraduate and graduate student shows are also scheduled in the University’s galleries.

Included in the wealth of musical offerings this spring will be the return of the popular Piano Series. Three headlining pianists will play, with Van Cliburn Competition winner Jon Nakamatsu slated to open the series with a concert at 7:30 p.m., Feb. 26 in the Music Recital Hall. The show is also part of the University’s sixth annual Piano Festival. Other Festival events include master classes and performances by Sacramento State professors and students. The Piano Series continues with performances by Theodore Edel at 7:30 p.m., April 3, and professor Lorna Peters at 7:30 p.m., April 24 Music Recital Hall.

Guitar great Al Di Meola, who’s played with Luciano Pavarotti, Herbie Hancock and Stevie Wonder, will perform with guitarist Manuel Barreuco in a dual-virtuoso concert at 8 p.m., March 31 in the Music Recital Hall in Capistrano Hall. The show is part of the continuing New Millennium Concert Series.

World music will be represented by concerts from Gotuvadyam master Chitraveena Ravikiran, among the top players of the Indian twelve-stringed instrument, and Indian percussionist Trichy Sankaran set for 7 p.m., Feb. 19 in the Music Recital Hall in Capistrano Hall. A show of North Indian music featuring Pandit Habib Khan, who’s been called the “Jimi Hendrix of the sitar” will take place at 8 p.m., March 13 also in the Music Recital Hall in Capistrano Hall.

The Sacramento State Opera Theatre will present Monteverdi’s The Coronation of Poppea in show beginning at 8 p.m., April 1 in the University Theatre. Performances continue at 2:30 p.m., April 3 and again at 8 p.m., April 7 and 9. Concerts by Sacramento State’s choirs, ensembles, jazz combos and orchestra are also on tap this spring.

The University’s department of theatre and dance will kick off the spring semester, literally, with the staging of A Chorus Line under the direction of professor Ed Brazo. The musical production, featuring a cast of nearly 40, follows the trials of 17 dancers through the brutal competition to get a slot in a Broadway show. In addition to his director duties, Brazo also is choreographing the high kicking on stage. The musical opens Feb. 18 and runs through March 6 in the University Theatre.

Productions of Cloud Tectonics directed by professor Manuel Pickett and opening March 11, and Vinegar Tom directed by professor Juanita Rice opening April 29, both in Playwrights’ Theatre, will follow.

Dance highlights include Ancestral Memories by Sacramento State’s S/BAD dance troupe, under the direction of professor Linda Goodrich, March 10 to 13 and 16 to 20 in Solano Hall and a return of the Sacramento Ballet’s Modern Masters performance of new ballet works May 5 to 8 in the University Theatre.

The University’s Festival of the Arts March 7 to 21 will showcase many of the arts events scheduled for the two-week period, and add a few more. An address by photographer and multi-media artist Carrie Mae Weems will launch the festival at 7 p.m., March 8 in the University Union Hinde Auditorium. Other talks include poet Truong Tim, artist Rina Banerjee and Katherine McCoy from the Chicago Institute of Design. Exhibitions and performances are also scheduled.

Tickets for events are available through the CSUS Ticket Office at 278-4323 or at Tickets.com. A complete listing of University events is available at www.csus.edu/events.

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