Sacramento State’s Arts Experience is bigger than ever in 2017, featuring the hit musical about America’s favorite redheaded orphan; a student hip-hop festival; 10 days of free music at the Festival of New American Music; and the return of U-Nite!, the University’s wide-ranging soiree of creativity at the Crocker Art Museum.
U-Nite!
Music professor and percussionist extraordinaire Daniel Kennedy entertains the crowd at U-Nite! in 2012. (Sacramento State/Craig Koscho)After a two-year hiatus, the arts collaboration between Sacramento State and the Crocker Art Museum is back and better than ever.
The celebration runs from 5 to 9 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 26, at the Crocker and features creative endeavors by renowned faculty members of the College of Arts and Letters. Attractions include film screenings, music, dance, performance pieces, and a few surprises.
U-Nite! tickets are free for Crocker members and Sac State students, faculty, and staff; $5 for Sac State alumni; and $10 for non-members.
For more information, visit crockerart.org.
Theatre and Dance
Sacramento State kicks off its Theatre and Dance fall season with Phoenix Rising in Solano Hall 1010 Dancespace. Directed by Lorelei Bayne, the concert features original student choreography covering a wide range of dance styles and music in a riveting mix of works. Performances are at 8 p.m. Sept. 13-16, 22 and 23; 6:30 p.m. Sept. 20 and 21; and 2 p.m. Sept. 17 and 24.
Fused in music, dance, and new media animated imagery, In the Time of Butterflies comes to Playwrights’ Theatre. Directed by Roberto Pomo, the production is a magical yet realistic story about the Mirabal sisters, whose assassination in 1960s Dominican Republic led to a worldwide movement to eliminate violence against women. Performances are at 8 p.m. Oct. 18-21, 27 and 28; 6:30 p.m. Oct. 25-26; and 2 p.m. Oct. 22 and 29.
Linda Goodrich, founder of Sacramento/Black Art of Dance, returns to direct the company’s next concert in Sac State’s Solano Hall 1010 Dancespace. Dancing the Spirit continues S/BAD’s mission to promote the tradition of Black Concert dance. This special presentation runs at 8 p.m. Nov. 8-9, 11, and 17-18; 6:30 p.m. Nov. 15-16; and 2 p.m. Nov. 11, 12, and 19.
The redheaded moppet who won’t let life get her down comes to campus in the musical Annie, directed by Ed Brazo at the University Theatre on the main stage. This rousing musical about optimistic Little Orphan Annie, who softens the heart of Daddy Warbucks, includes favorites such as “Hard Knock Life,” and “Tomorrow.” Performances are at 8 p.m. Nov. 29-Dec. 1, and Dec. 8; 6:30 p.m. Dec. 6-7; and 2 p.m. Dec. 2-3 and 9-10.
Tickets for the 6:30 p.m. performances of Annie are $18 general admission, $15 for seniors and students, and $12 children. All other performances are $20 general admission, $18 seniors and students, and $15 children.
This fall’s schedule for Theatre and Dance includes a performance by Sacramento/Black Art of Dance. (Sacramento State/Craig Koscho)All other theater and dance productions are $15 general, $12 seniors and students, and $10 children for 6:30 p.m. performances. Remaining performances are $18 general admission, $15 seniors and students, and $12 children.
Packages also are available. A season pass for all fall semester productions is $50 general admission and $40 for students. A season sampler for the fall and spring semesters is available. Purchasers receive vouchers for any four productions throughout the fall and spring semesters. The sampler package is $60 general, $48 for students.
Tickets, passes, and samplers may be purchased at the University Ticket Office, csus.edu/hornettickets or (916) 278-4323.
For more information on Theatre and Dance programs and events, visit csus.edu/dram or call (916) 278-6368.
Music
The country’s longest-running, and free, new American music festival celebrates its 40th year when Sacramento State presents its annual Festival of New American Music, Nov. 3-12 at Capistrano Hall. Festival highlights include the opening gala (Nov. 3), guitarist David Tanenbaum (Nov. 5), the American Contemporary Music Ensemble (Nov. 9), the Daedalus String Quartet (Nov. 11), and pianist Gilbert Kalish (Nov. 12). Visit csus.edu/music/fenam for details and a complete schedule. Contact: (916) 278-5155.
The fall season opens with a faculty recital by instructor Thomas Derthick on string bass. Derthick is principal bassist of the Sacramento Philharmonic, Opera, Ballet, and Choral Society, as well as the Cabrillo Festival. The program includes music by Schubert, Messiaen, and Kurtz, and begins at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 22, in Capistrano Hall 151.
Professor Laurel Zucker presents a faculty recital with a special flute concert featuring John Cozza on piano. It begins at 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 30, in the Capistrano Concert Hall. A graduate of the Juilliard School, Zucker has performed with the American and Greenwich symphony orchestras, and Musica Sacra.
Tickets for each concert are $10 general, $7 seniors, $5 students.
The New Esterházy Quartet performs as part of Sac State’s New Millennium Series at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 28, in Capistrano Hall 151. Founded in 2006, the foursome has performed for the San Francisco and Arizona Early Music societies, as well as in New York and Los Angeles. The program includes music by Haydn, Boccherini, and Mozart. Tickets are $20 general, $15 seniors, and $5 students.
The Piano Series of concerts presents John Hillebrandt at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 28, in the Capistrano Concert Hall. Former pianist with the Modesto Symphony Orchestra, Hillebrandt has presented highly acclaimed performances. He will perform his own 70-minute “Transcendental Hymn-Fantasies.” Tickets are $20 general and $15 students and seniors.
The American Contemporary Music Ensemble performs as part of this year’s FeNAM. (Photo by Ryuhei Shindo)South Indian Carnatic music will be offered when vocalist G. Ravi Kiran performs as part of Sacramento State’s World Music series. Kiran is accompanied by violin, mrigdangam, and ghatam. The music starts at 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 7. Tickets are $15 general, $12 seniors, and $8 students.
Sac State’s Opera Theatre presents Berlin to Broadway with Kurt Weill: A Musical Voyage at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 17-18 and 2 p.m. Nov. 19, in the Capistrano Concert Hall on campus, 6000 J St. The performance is a joyous and moving celebration of composer Kurt Weill, a cantor’s son who became one of the most extraordinary composers of the 20th century. He is known for songs such as “Mack the Knife” and “Alabama Song (Whisky Bar).”
Celebrate the hip-hop culture with Sacramento State’s first #SLAPPAS Fest: A Hip-Hop Student Showcase. It’s an afternoon of music and dance performed by University students, featuring Oke Junior, DJ Ajani, MC Sleng, and more. It all starts at 3 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 2, in the Capistrano Concert Hall. Tickets are $12 general and $8 for students and seniors.
The critically acclaimed vocal group New York Voices performs as part of the annual Winter Jazz Festival. The festival begins at 8 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 9, and New York Voices performs with the University’s Jazz Ensemble for the closing concert at 7 p.m. in the University Union Ballroom. Tickets are $15 at the door. The daylong festival at Capistrano Hall features regional school and college groups in clinics and performances, and is open to the public for $10 at the door. More information is available at csus.edu/music/jazz.
The School of Music’s many student groups have plenty of offerings, beginning with the Symphonic Wind Ensemble, which performs at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 4.
Great classical music is offered again at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 17, when the Symphony Orchestra performs works by Mozart, Brahms, and Wagner. Harpists Beverly Wesner-Hoehn and Kerstin Allvin are the featured guest artists for Hartway’s Island Dances. The orchestra performs again at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 5, with music by Ravel and Tchaikovsky.
Enjoy rousing band music when the Concert Band presents its fall concert at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 18.
The Concert Band and Symphonic Wind Ensemble combine for a double concert at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 6.
Sacramento State’s Jazz Ensembles were named one of the nation’s top three college big-band groups by the Monterey Next Generation Jazz Festival. They bring their high-energy performance to campus at 8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 19, and 8 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 30.
Sac State’s three jazz vocal groups have had a string of successes. Vox Now took first at the Monterey Next Generation Jazz Festival, and the Sac State Jazz Singers placed second. They also were recognized by Downbeat magazine, the jazz industry bible, with Vox Now selected as first choice among competing college jazz vocalists, and the C-Sus Voices receiving an Outstanding Performance Award. All three groups will perform in a special fundraising concert at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 27, with donations accepted at the door. They perform again at 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 1.
The Men’s Choir, Women’s Chorus, and University Chorus liven up an autumn evening at 8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 4. The choirs return in December for the annual “Procession of Carols,” a Sacramento holiday tradition featuring choral music, brass, and candlelight processions. Performances are at 8 p.m. Dec. 2 and 2 p.m. Dec. 3. All choir concerts are in the dynamic acoustics of Sacred Heart Church, 39th and J streets. November concert tickets are $10 general, $7 seniors and $5 students. “Procession of Carols” tickets are $15, $10, and $7.
The Chamber Music Group performs at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 15. The program includes chamber music works performed by the School of Music’s top student ensembles.
Sacramento State’s premier Baroque ensemble, Camerata Capistrano, presents a varied and virtuosic program of Bach, Purcell, Vivaldi, and Avison at 4 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 10. Students and faculty collaborate on the concert, led by guest violinist Jubal Fulks.
And the semester ends with one of the more charming performances: the String Project winter concert. This free concert features children from throughout the area who receive violin and cello lessons from the University’s music students. The baton goes up at 7 p.m. Monday, Dec. 11.
Except where noted, student group concerts are presented in the Capistrano Concert Hall, with tickets at $10 general, $7 seniors, and $5 students.
Tickets for all School of Music performances are available at the University Ticket Office, (916) 278-4323 or csus.edu/hornettickets.
For more information on the programs and events from the School of Music, visit csus.edu/music or call (916) 278-5155.
Art and Design
Student art will fill the Else and Witt galleries throughout the semester. (Sacramento State/Craig Koscho)Last Words opens at the University Library Gallery on Thursday, Sept. 7. Text-driven, Julia Couzens’ installation is a “memorial, a memory of and an ode to the final words we say.”
The exhibit comprises the last words – silly, inconsequential, meaningful, deep, droll, or heartbreaking – of people well known, and those known only to family and friends.
Couzens’ drawings and hybrid objects have been exhibited worldwide at galleries such as the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, the Crocker Art Museum, and Yale University. She also has taught art at Sacramento State, UC Davis, and the San Francisco Art Institute.
Last Words runs through Dec. 15 with an opening reception from 5 to 8 p.m. Sept. 7. Couzens also presents a lecture at the gallery from 3 to 5 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 12.
At the Gallery Annex, The World Around Us explores the globe through a variety of media created by Gallery Management students Alexander Heaphy, David Flores, Rommel Tuazon, Kevin Furry, and Shahrzad Ebrahimian.
It runs Sept. 7-Oct. 29, with a reception from 5 to 8 p.m. Sept. 7.
Regular gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.
For more information on the University Library Gallery, visit al.csus.edu/sota/ulg/ or call (916) 278-4189.
The University’s Art Department has a busy season lined up for the Robert Else and R.W. Witt galleries.
The Else Gallery opens with exhibits for student advancement candidates at various times between Sept. 25 and Oct. 20
Beginning Oct. 23, students from instructor Joy Bertinuson’s Art & Visual Culture class present the Appropriations and Identity Photo Project. Students choose one of 10 well-known works of art and “appropriate” it to their own identity, which could refer to gender, ethnicity, or political or religious affiliation. The exhibit runs through Friday, Nov. 3.
Set in Stone: Incorporating Stone & Metal runs Nov. 13-22 and features examples of stonecutting lapidary techniques and their relationships and integration with metal works. These are advanced student works from the jewelry and small metals courses, curated by instructor Kim Thompson.
A tribute to Emeritus Professor Ruth Rippon runs Nov. 27-Dec. 15. Rippon marks her 90th birthday this year, and the exhibit runs in conjunction with one featuring her works at the Crocker Art Museum. Rippon is a celebrated ceramic artist whose work spans seven decades. She taught at Sacramento State for 31 years beginning in 1956. The Else Gallery exhibit will feature works by her students through the years.
The Witt Gallery serves as home for Art Department student shows. Each exhibit runs for five days between Aug. 28 and Nov. 17. From Nov. 27 through Dec. 8, the Witt hosts a group show by New Media Art students.
All exhibits are free, and both galleries are open noon to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.
For more information about the University’s Art Department, visit al.csus.edu/art or call (916) 278-6166.
For media assistance on any of Sacramento State’s arts programs and events, call the University’s Communications office at (916) 278-6156. – Craig Koscho