When Stephen Seifert was putting together the 2010-11 lineup of Newman Center Presents, a thread began to emerge among his selections, and it became the season’s theme: “Legacies.”
Nowhere is this notion more apparent than in “1969,” a multimedia show to be presented April 23, 2011, by Alarm Will Sound, a boundary-busting, 20-member ensemble that made its first appearance in Denver in January 2009.
Using music, video and still images, the group will explore that tumultuous year and the extraordinary cross-pollination that took place among such varied musicians as John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Leonard Bernstein, Luciano Berio, Karlheinz Stockhausen and Igor Stravinsky.
“It’s amazing how a lot of these artists don’t view these barriers that a lot of people see between popular and classical music,” Seifert said. “Stockhausen was a Beetles fan, and McCartney was a Berio fan and Lennon was a Stockhausen fan.”
“1969” will be one of 11 offerings in the 2010-11 edition of the University of Denver series, with most events taking place in the 977-seat Gates Concert Hall in the Newman Center for the Performing Arts.
Another kind of familial and artistic legacy will be in play next March 25, when Jeffrey Kahane, an internationally recognized pianist and music director of the Colorado Symphony, will team with his son, Gabriel Kahane, an up-and-coming singer, pianist and composer.
Like composer Nico Muhly and Chris Thile, a mandolin player who will perform at the Newman Center on Sept. 30 with the Punch Brothers, Gabriel Kahane is part of a new generation of versatile musicians who effortlessly jump among classical music, indie-rock and other idioms.
According to Seifert, the pairing came about something like this:
“I basically raised the idea with each of their respective agents and said, ‘Have they ever done something together and would they like to?’ And they got back to me and said, ‘This is great. We’d love to do this.’ They’re still putting together the particular program.”
Continuing the theme of legacies, guitarist Bill Frisell will perform with one of his inspirations on the instrument, Eliot Fisk, on Jan. 21, and Buika, a famed flamenco and jazz singer, will pay tribute to octogenarian songstress Chavela Vargas in a Nov. 3 concert.
As it now stands, the Newman Center’s 2010-11 schedule has four fewer offerings than this season, which concludes this May. Seifert said he deliberately held back some booking funds in anticipation of adding a few more events later.
In the past, he has had to pass on some appealing acts that came up at the last minute, because the Newman Center’s season was already set and all of its dollars committed.
He expects there to be more late opportunities than usual this year because booking agents have had difficulties putting together tours, because of the recession and university performing arts centers facing uncertain budgets.
In addition, the Newman Center recently teamed with DU’s Lamont School of Music to allow students to organize at least one program a year as part of Newman Center Presents. But the first such event has not been set yet.
“It’s a project that’s designed to help give students better insight into the world of presenting and also to give us a better understanding of what artists and audiences of a different generation want out of the use of these kinds of venues,” Seifert said.
Newman Center for the Performing Arts, 2010-11 season
• Sept. 30, Mandolin player Chris Thile and Punch Brothers
• Oct. 16, Paul Taylor Dance Company
• Nov. 3, “El último trago,” a tribute to Chavela Vargas, Buika
• Dec. 7, “A Night in Bethlehem,” Solveig Slettahjell, vocals, Tord Gustavsen, piano, Sjur Miljeteig, trumpet
• Jan. 21, “Guitar Legends,” Eliot Fisk and Bill Frisell
• Feb. 8, A Far Cry
• Feb. 19, Aspen Santa Fe Ballet
• March 11-12, “Spalding Gray: Stories Left to Tell”
• March 25, “Like Father, Like Son,” pianist Jeffrey Kahane and singer, pianist and composer Gabriel Kahane
• April 23, “1969,” Alarm Will Sound
• May 6, Noche Flamenca and Soledad Barrio
Season subscriptions can be purchased beginning May 17, and single tickets go on sale June 14. 303-871-7720 or .
