2014-2015 Season Announced!

The Center is proud to announce the 2014 Summer Concert Series, the 2014/2015 Winter Concert Series and Winter Lecture Series, the Company of Fools 19th Season, and The Center’s 2014/2015 Multidisciplinary Projects. Tickets will be on sale soon! Stay tuned for details.

The Sun Valley Center for the Arts 2014/2015 Season

2014 SUMMER CONCERT SERIES

The Soulshine Tour featuring Michael Franti & Spearhead, SOJA, Brett Dennen, and Trevor Hall
July 2, 2014
Yoga – from 11-1 at Trail Creek
Concert – 6pm at River Run Lodge

This Summer, Michael Franti & Spearhead, will launch the first-ever music & yoga tour, Soulshine, that will bridge daytime and nighttime experiences including music, yoga, sustainable lifestyle and DJ’s guaranteeing a full-blown dance party! SOJA, Brett Dennen and Trevor Hall will be joining the North American Tour along with special guest yoga teachers.

The 30+ city tour kicks off on June 19th in Southern California and will make its way across North America, ending in Nashville, TN at the Woods at Fontanel on August 2nd.With a collective reach of over 90 million impressions, the four bands: Michael Franti & Spearhead, SOJA, Brett Dennen and Trevor Hall, come together for a tour that embraces their passions and love of music, dance, yoga and sustainability.

Each afternoon on the Soulshine tour will begin with a mass yoga and acoustic music jam with Michael Franti & Friends, led by some of today’s most inspiring teachers from across North America, including Ryan Leier. The yoga session is designed for people of all experience levels, ages, shapes and sizes and will feature artists participating side by side with fans. In Sun Valley, the yoga session will take place at Trail Creek Lodge at the Sun Valley Resort.

The evening concert will feature all four bands for over four hours of music! The evening will kick off at 6pm with Trevor Hall followed by Brett Dennen, SOJA and finally Michael Franti & Spearhead to close the night.

Josh Ritter & the Royal City Band
July 27, 2014

Josh Ritter is a singer-songwriter, guitarist and author who performs and records with The Royal City Band. Ritter is known for his distinctive Americana style and narrative lyrics. In 2006 he was named one of the “100 Greatest Living Songwriters” by Paste magazine.

Chris Isaak
August 6

As a child spinning his parents 45s in their Stockton, California home, this deeply committed artist has been obsessed with the glory days of Memphis’ Sun Studio and the visionary artists who got their starts there—including Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis—all of them discovered and nurtured by the late, great Sun Records founder Sam Phillips.

The Head & The Heart
August 29

The Head & The Heart is an indie folk-rock band from Seattle. They came together in 2009 through a series of open mic nights at the Conor Byrne pub in Old Ballard. They scored a #1 single with their song “Lost in My Mind” and they’ve opened for Vampire Weekend, The Decemberists and more, and are on the ascent!

2014/2015 MULTIDISCIPLINARY PROJECTS

The Center has cultivated a unique, multidisciplinary approach to the arts by organizing what we present into 8–10 week intervals that explore different “big ideas” of interest to our community and relevance to life in the 21st century. With equal emphasis on visual arts, performing arts and humanities, The Center gives people a variety of ways to see, hear, touch and experience an idea through the works of world-class artists, musicians, authors, filmmakers, playwrights and experts.

Forests, Foraging and Fires
Aug 23 – Nov 12, 2014

Forests, Foraging and Fires will look at the forest as an ecosystem, a resource and a place of transformation. The project will consider what we take from the forest—both materially and spiritually—how we manage it, the creatures that inhabit it and the impact of fires.

Under the Influence of Rock & Roll
Nov 21, 2014 – Jan 30, 2015

Under the Influence of Rock & Roll will be a celebration of a uniquely American art form and its impact on our culture. The exhibition will feature historic and contemporary photography, show posters and painting—some considering Rock & Roll from the musician’s point of view and some from the fan’s. Performances and lectures will offer participants the opportunity to dive into the history of Rock & Roll and its continuing resonance today.

The Brain
Feb 6 – Apr 17, 2015

The Brain will be an exploration of the most complex part of the human body and the least understood. The Center presents The Brain as a community-wide conversation about recent advances in neuroscience (scientists have learned more about the brain in the past ten years than in all previous centuries) as well as a celebration of the wonder and mystery of the brain. The visual arts exhibition will feature artwork considering different aspects of the brain: its structure, memory, vision and more, including a site-specific installation by artist Deborah Aschheim.

2014-2015 WINTER CONCERT SERIES

Portland Cello Project (and school residency)
October 25, 2014

Since the group’s inception in late 2007, the Portland Cello Project (or, PCP, as their fans affectionately call them), has wowed audiences all over the country with extravagant performances, everywhere from Prairie Home Companion to punk rock clubs. The group has built a reputation mixing genres and blurring musical lines and perceptions wherever they go. No two shows are alike, with a repertoire now numbering over 800 pieces of music you wouldn’t normally expect to hear coming from a cello.

Portland Cello Project will work with students from Wood River High School’s chamber orchestra and their vocal group, Spiritus, while here. The students will participate in a few selections during the evening concert.

Guy Davis
December 12, 2014

Guy Davis is the son of actors Ruby Dee and the late Ossie Davis. He’s a musician, composer, actor, director, and writer, but most importantly, Guy Davis is a bluesman.  The blues permeates every corner of Davis’ creativity. Throughout his career, he has dedicated himself to reviving the traditions of acoustic blues and bringing them to as many ears as possible through the material of the great blues masters, African American stories, and his own original songs, stories and performance pieces.

His appearance is a part of The Center’s multidisciplinary project, Under the Influence of Rock & Roll, and will explore the blues—the undeniable roots of rock and roll.

An evening with Bill Payne
January 30, 2015

Bill Payne co-founded, with Lowell George, the band Little Feat. He is considered by many other piano rock musicians, including Elton John, to be one of the finest American piano rock and blues music artists. In addition to his trademark barrelhouse blues piano, he is noted for his work on other keyboard instruments, particularly the Hammond B3 organ. Payne is also an accomplished songwriter whose credits include co-writing, with Lowell George, the Little Feat classic, “Oh, Atlanta.”

Payne has worked and recorded with other musicians including J. J. Cale, Doobie Brothers, Emmylou Harris, Bryan Adams, Pink Floyd, Bob Seger, Toto, Linda Ronstadt, Jackson Browne, James Taylor, Bonnie Raitt, Helen Watson, Stevie Nicks, Shocking Edison, Robert Palmer and Stephen Bruton. He was a guest performer on Bonnie Raitt’s album Sweet Forgiveness in 1977, and wrote its track, “Takin’ My Time.”

Brian Sanders’ JUNK dance performance and workshop
March 18, 2015

Brian Sanders’ JUNK is known for their ingenious use of found objects and clever inventions that bridge the gap between dance and physical theater. Sanders’ choreography blends traditional dance theater with an inventiveness and physicality that gives reason for critics to hail JUNK as “Philly’s most imaginative perpetrator of dare-devilish physical theater” and declare Sanders as “the city’s most exciting choreographer.”

JUNK’s mission as a dance-theater company is to inspire with creativity. The company strives to produce work that is both artistic and accessible while maintaining a ceaseless desire to try new things. JUNK will teach a master class while in the Wood River Valley.

TorQ Percussion Group (and school residency)
April 18, 2015

TorQ Percussion Quartet was formed by four Canadian percussionists looking to add new vitality to percussion repertoire and performance. Renowned for their engaging performances and repertoire, TorQ is also committed to commissioning new works for percussion quartet from both established and up-and-coming composers. In addition to promoting new music, TorQ is also a strong believer in the importance of music education.

The Center has engaged TorQ to be in the Wood River Valley for a weeklong residency which will include performances at every elementary school and the middle school in addition to their full length evening concert.

2014/2014 WINTER LECTURE SERIES

As part of the 2014/2015 Winter Lecture Series, there will be two additional lectures scheduled but they are not yet confirmed as of this date. The details will be announced as soon as they are confirmed.

Tim Egan
Oct 2, 2014

Author of several books chronicling the American West, including The Big Burn-Teddy Roosevelt and the Fire that Saved America. He is a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter, a popular columnist, and a National Book Award-winning author. Eagan’s appearance is a part of The Center’s multidisciplinary project, Forests, Foraging and Fires.

Will Shortz
January 13, 2015

Puzzle master for NPR’s Weekend Edition Sunday and the crossword editor of the New York Times. He is the founder and director of the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament. Shortz will engage the community in a fun, interactive and reflective lecture that will address why we puzzle over puzzles. Shortz’s appearance is a part of The Center’s multidisciplinary project, The Brain.

Ethan Russell
January 22, 2015

Author, director and was one of the foremost rock photographers in the world. He worked with the Rolling Stones, the Beatles and the Who. He has written a memoir, Ethan Russell: An American Story. Russell’s appearance is a part of The Center’s multidisciplinary project, Under the Influence of Rock & Roll.

Shankar Vedantam
February 5, 2015

NPR correspondent and author of The Hidden Brain speaks nationwide about how the brain shapes everyday life. Vedantam is interested in how our brain controls many of our deeply rooted feelings, prejudices, biases and expressions. Vedantam’s appearance is a part of The Center’s multidisciplinary project, The Brain.

Ann Patchett
March 5, 2015

Award winning author of The Magician’s Assistant, State of Wonder, Run, and many other titles. Patchett is a frequent contributor to The New York Times, The Atlantic and Wall Street Journal.

COMPANY OF FOOLS 19TH SEASON

Peter and the Starcatcher*
By Rick Elice – Based on the novel by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson
December 17, 2014 -January 3, 2015

Peter and the Starcatcher is the most hilarious-filled evening of madcap fun! In this 5 time Tony Award winning play, a dozen brilliant actors play more than 100 unforgettable characters using their enormous talent, ingenious stagecraft and the limitless possibilities of imagination. This swashbuckling grownup prequel to Peter Pan will have you hooked from the moment you let your imagination take flight.

*Company of Fools is currently one of the very few theatres that have received the rights to this 5 time Tony award winner. We are thrilled – especially since Ridley Pearson has so many ties to the Wood River Valley community. This will be a very large show with eleven men and one woman. We feel strongly that our community will celebrate and embrace this imaginative and captivating play.

Proof
By David Auburn
February 11-28, 2015

On the eve of her 25th birthday, Catherine, a troubled young woman, has spent years caring for her brilliant but unstable father, a famous mathematician. Now, following his death, she must deal with her own emotions; the arrival of her sister and the attentions of Hal, a student of her father’s who hopes to find valuable work in the notebooks that her father left behind. Over the long weekend, a burgeoning romance and the discovery of a mysterious notebook draw Catherine into the most difficult problem of all: How much of her father’s madness—or genius—will she inherit? Part of The Center’s The Brain multidisciplinary project.

Boeing, Boeing
By Marc Camoletti
July, 2015

It’s the 1960s, and swinging bachelor Bernard couldn’t be happier: a flat in Paris and three gorgeous stewardesses all engaged to him without knowing about each other. A riotous farce that recently enjoyed hit revivals in London and New York, Boeing Boeing is now set to arrive in Jet City—fasten your seat belts!

Patron Ticket Packages

“Critic’s Series” for Performing Arts and “Editor’s Series” for the Lectures Series will go on sale April 1st. These ticket packages help to underwrite the cost of the series. The Critic’s Series and the Editor’s Series include: preferred seating, reception with one of the visiting artists, luncheon with fellow Patron Ticket Package holders in the spring and the knowledge that you are helping sustain these exceptional series for the whole community.

If you are interested in purchasing a Patron Ticket Package please contact us at 208.726.9491 or visit us in person at the box office in either Ketchum or Hailey.