2018–2019 Season Announcement: Featured Speakers Series & Performing Arts Series ON SALE NOW!
The Sun Valley Center for the Arts is thrilled to announce the lineup for its 2018–2019 Featured Speakers Series and Performing Arts Series. Every year, these highly anticipated lectures, performances and presentations bring award-winning authors, journalists, artists and musicians to spark curiosity, stimulate conversation and bring joy to the Wood River Valley community.
The three events in the Featured Speakers Series are all inspired by The Center’s 2018–2019 BIG IDEA projects. As part of We the People: Protest and Patriotism (Sept. 28–Dec. 14, 2018), presidential historian and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist John Meacham will speak about his latest book, The Soul of America, and provide perspective on the current issues and events impacting our daily lives. The conversation will then shift to At the Table: Kitchen as Home (Dec. 21, 2018–March 1, 2019), when The Center presents a museum talk by master chef, television host and prolific cookbook writer Joanne Weir, who recently released the memoir Kitchen Gypsy: Stories and Recipes from a Lifetime Romance with Food. In the spring, best-selling author David Grann will bring dimension to Unraveling: Reimagining Colonization in the Americas (March 8–May 22, 2018) with a lecture on his latest book, Killers of the Flower Moon, a true crime tale about one of the most sinister crimes and racial injustices in American history.
The 2018–2019 Performing Arts and Residency Series includes six events that represent a wide variety of genres and musical offerings. Kicking off the season in October is Rhythm Future Quartet, a jazz ensemble inspired by the Gypsy jazz legend Django Reinhardt. Next up is The War and Treaty, an up-and-coming R&B band led by husband and wife Michael and Tanya Trotter. In January, The Center will warm up the cold of winter with Bon Débarras, a trio from Quebec who play traditional French Canadian songs mixed with contemporary sounds from around the world. The Sweet Remains are next in the series — a trio of singer-songwriters whose tight harmonies and skillful songwriting lock them together as a group. Next is the much-anticipated return of International Guitar Night. This year’s ever-popular event will be hosted by the inimitable Luca Stricagnoli from Italy (some may remember him from 2017) who will be joined onstage by three more guitarists — Cenk Erdogan from Turkey; Samuelito from France, who plays flamenco; and French Gypsy swing guitar prodigy Antoine Boyer. Closing out the season will be two Cuban jazz virtuosi, pianist Alfredo Rodríguez and percussionist Pedrito Martinez. All of these musicians will be working in Wood River Valley schools and will see over 3,300 students as a part of The Center’s commitment to Professional Artist Residencies.
Tickets for the Featured Speakers Series and Performing Arts Series were first made available to members of The Center for two weeks starting Friday, Sept. 7. On Friday, Sept. 21, at 10 a.m., all remaining tickets will be on sale to the general public. For information about Sun Valley Center for the Arts membership, visit sunvalleycenter.org/membership.
2018–2019 FEATURED SPEAKERS
(part of the 2018–2019 BIG IDEA projects)
LECTURE: Jon Meacham – “The Soul of America”
Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2018, 6:30 p.m.
Church of the Big Wood, Ketchum
Presidential historian, Pulitzer Prize-winner, and contributor to TIME and The New York Times Book Review, Jon Meacham is one of America’s most prominent public intellectuals. He is known as a skilled raconteur with a depth of knowledge about politics, religion and current affairs. Meacham brings historical context to the issues and events impacting our daily lives. His new book, The Soul of America: The Battle for Our Better Angels, examines the present moment in American politics and life by looking back at critical times in U.S. history when hope overcame division and fear. A contributing editor at TIME, Meacham writes for the magazine’s Ideas section. He also pens “The Long View” column in The New York Times Book Review in which he “looks back at books that speak to our current historical and cultural moment.” He served as Newsweek’s managing editor from 1998 to 2006 and editor from 2006 to 2010. Part of the BIG IDEA project We the People: Protest and Patriotism, Sept. 28–Dec. 14, 2018.
This lecture is presented in partnership with The Community Library and has been generously supported by an anonymous gift and Marcia and Don Liebich.
MUSEUM TALK: Joanne Weir – “Plates, Places and Stories from My Family Kitchen”
Saturday, Feb. 23, 2019, 4 p.m.
The Center, Ketchum
A fourth-generation professional cook, Joanne Weir spent five years cooking at Chez Panisse after receiving a Master Chef diploma with Madeleine Kamman. She is a James Beard award-winning cookbook author and teaches cooking classes in the U.S. and around the world. She is the host and Executive Producer of several award-winning television series, including Joanne Weir Gets Fresh and her brand-new series, Joanne Weir’s Plates & Places, which began airing in February 2018. Joanne has written 18 cookbooks, including her most recent memoir, Kitchen Gypsy: Stories and Recipes from a Lifetime Romance with Food. She is co-owner of Copita, a modern Mexican restaurant and tequileria in Sausalito, California. In 2012, she was appointed by the U.S. State Department to the American Chef Corps, a select group of chefs chosen to promote world relations through food. She also writes for numerous publications, including Sunset Magazine, Cooking Light, Better Homes and Gardens, Fine Cooking and Food & Wine. Part of the BIG IDEA project At the Table: Kitchen as Home, Dec. 21, 2018–March 1, 2019.
This museum talk is generously supported by Anita Braker & Dave Olsen and Sarah & David Woodward.
LECTURE: David Grann – “The Killers of the Flower Moon: The Arc of Justice”
Thursday, March 14, 2019, 6:30 p.m.
Church of the Big Wood, Ketchum
David Grann is a writer for The New Yorker and the bestselling author of The Lost City of Z and The Devil & Sherlock Holmes. Grann’s latest book, Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI, is a true crime tale that unravels one of the most sinister crimes and racial injustices in American history. With more than 30 weeks on The New York Times nonfiction best-seller list, it was a finalist for the National Book Award. Known for his compelling and irresistible stories, Grann has been called “The man Hollywood can’t stop reading,” with four of his New Yorker articles adapted for the screen, as well as The Lost City of Z in 2017 and Killers of The Flower Moon now in production. Before joining The New Yorker in 2003, Grann was a senior editor at The New Republic and the executive editor of The Hill. His work has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, The Atlantic and The Washington Post. Part of the BIG IDEA project Unraveling: Reimagining Colonization in the Americas, March 8–May 22.
This lecture is generously sponsored by an anonymous gift and American Capital Advisory.
Free Student Humanities Club tickets are provided through the generous support of Robin Leavitt and Terry Friedlander for Featured Speakers lectures, performing arts events and Company of Fools staged readings.
2018–2019 PERFORMING ARTS SERIES
CONCERT: Rhythm Future Quartet
Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2018, 7:30 p.m.
Sun Valley Opera House
Rhythm Future Quartet has a straightforward agenda: to keep the spirit of Gypsy jazz alive and expanding in today’s musical universe. The virtuosic foursome (named for a tune by Gypsy jazz legend Django Reinhardt) offers up a newly minted sound, influenced by the classic Hot Club of France yet wholly contemporary. Led by violinist Jason Anick and guitarist Olli Soikkeli, the quartet performs dynamic and lyrical arrangements of both Gypsy jazz standards and original compositions that draw upon diverse international rhythms and musical idioms. With Max O’Rourke on second guitar and Greg Loughman on bass, Rhythm Future is dedicated to expanding the boundaries of a vital musical genre.
Rhythm Future Quartet’s educational outreach activities are supported, in part, with funds provided by the Western States Arts Federation (WESTAF), the Idaho Commission on the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
CONCERT: The War and Treaty
Thursday, Nov. 15, 2018, 7:30 p.m.
Sun Valley Opera House
Michael and Tanya Trotter took distinctly different paths to becoming The War and Treaty. After winning a talent show when she was 13, Tanya knew singing would be her life. Michael started writing later, when he was serving in the U.S. Army stationed in one of Saddam Hussein’s partially destroyed palaces. There, he had access to a piano that had emerged miraculously unscathed. A captain heard him play and sing, and he encouraged Michael to pursue music. When that same captain was killed, Michael sat down to write –– really write –– for the first time. Officers noticed the tribute and gave him a new charge: write and perform songs for the fallen. So whenever a brother- or sister-in-arms died, Michael spoke to buddies, uncovered the story, and penned a song for the memorial.
Now, as The War and Treaty, Michael and Tanya deliver live shows and records that make the hair on the backs of necks stand up. Funky bass lines, keys, lap steel, acoustic strings and stripped-down percussion create a swampy Southern soul bed for the couple’s transcendent vocals.
Part of The Center’s BIG IDEA project We the People: Protest and Patriotism, Sept. 28–Dec. 14, 2018.
CONCERT: Bon Débarras
Friday, Jan. 18, 2019, 7:30 p.m.
The Argyros, Ketchum
Bon Débarras unites the worlds of music, dance and poetry through a collaboration between Montreal artists Dominic Desrochers, Jean-François Dumas and Marie-Pierre Lecault. The group brings together a fusion of Quebecois folk music, traditional step-dancing and global influences for a show that is full of fun and inventive energy. On guitar, banjo, violin and harmonica, the trio opens a door to their recollections of America and their music is at the intersection of various traditions. Bon Débarras’ energy taps into the rhythms of today and ventures boldly on the multifaceted road to tomorrow’s dreams, in an atmosphere that transcends boundaries and ages.
Educational outreach with Bon Débarras will reach every elementary school student in the Wood River Valley thanks to sponsor Bex Wilkinson and the Marshall Frankel Foundation, with additional support from Lloyd Construction and Neil Zussman & Cathy Whinnery.
CONCERT: The Sweet Remains
Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2019, 7:30 p.m.
The Argyros, Ketchum
Celebrating 10 years and over 30 million Spotify plays in 2018, The Sweet Remains is an unusual band on today’s music scene, headed by three gifted singer-songwriters who each contribute to the writing and three-part harmonies that define the band’s sound. Rich Price, Greg Naughton and Brian Chartrand met for a chance jam session in a Rhode Island hotel room in 2008 and instantly recognized a musical blend and kinship. Driven by strong lyrical and melodic writing, their songs easily appeal to fans of modern folk-rockers like Jason Mraz, Ray LaMontagne and John Mayer. However, it is their lush harmonies that distinguish The Sweet Remains from the throngs of guitar-toting troubadours and harken back to super-groups of the 1960s and 70s like Crosby Stills & Nash, the Eagles and Simon & Garfunkel.
The Sweet Remains’ educational outreach activities are supported in part with funds provided by the Western States Arts Federation (WESTAF), the Idaho Commission on the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
CONCERT: International Guitar Night
Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2019, 7:30 p.m.
The Argyros, Ketchum
Back for an unprecedented third year, it’s the return of International Guitar Night! This season the lineup includes Italy’s Luca Stricagnoli (back for a second visit to Sun Valley), whose showmanship and arrangements of heavy-metal songs has made him a huge fan favorite. Luca will be the guest host and will be joined by French Swing sensation Antoine Boyer, Flamenco master Samuelito and Turkish fretless guitarist Cenk Erodgan. Due to popular demand, we anticipate this concert may sell out to members!
CONCERT: Alfredo Rodríguez and Pedrito Martinez
Sunday, March 10, 2019, 7:30 p.m.
The Argyros, Ketchum
Both Grammy-nominated artists, pianist Alfredo Rodríguez and percussionist Pedrito Martinez are best known for their individual work but began collaborating on Alfredo’s 2012 album Invasion Parade. Since that initial recording session, these Cuban jazz musicians have occasionally performed together as a duo, leaving audiences mesmerized by their fearless and virtuosic playing. Each artist brings a different approach to the collaboration. A protégé of Quincy Jones, Alfredo was schooled in the rigorous classical conservatories of Havana. His artistry is informed as much by Bach and Stravinsky as it is by his Afro-Cuban and jazz roots. Pedrito’s musical training came from the streets of the Cayo Hueso neighborhood of Old Havana. He has performed with Sting, Paul Simon and Wynton Marsalis. Together these two master musicians will take the audience to a level of jazz the likes of which has never have been seen in Sun Valley.
The 2018–2019 Winter Performing Arts Series is supported by Jane Rosen and Scott Miley—Scott Miley Roofing, Power House and 94.5 KSKI; Housing Sponsor: Wood River Inn & Suites
The Center’s members, donors and our annual Wine Auction participants help provide support for our extensive K–12 educational programs, all of which are offered free or at a very low cost to students. All Center programs are supported by public funding for the arts through the Idaho Commission on the Arts, the Idaho Legislature and the National Endowment for the Arts.
PERFORMING ARTS SPECIAL EVENTS
Distinctive Cabaret & Innovative Dance
Storm Large: A Cabaret Evening
Friday, Sept. 28, 2018, 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. (two showtimes!)
Sun Valley Opera House
Storm Large: musician, actor, playwright, author, awesome. Storm Large has sung in a remarkable variety of settings and with a wide variety of people, including k.d. lang, singer/songwriter Rufus Wainwright, funk legend George Clinton and the BBC Symphony. A frequent guest vocalist with Pink Martini, Storm Large’s stage presence is arresting and her voice stunning. Her punk roots have been grafted to the classic American songbook, and she weaves together cabaret-style performances that combine titillating and, at times, tortured love songs and stories. Her interpretations are sublime and subversive, beautiful and familiar, and she leaves her audiences breathless. Songs by Cole Porter are interwoven comfortably with those by Tom Waits, Black Sabbath, Randy Newman and Jacques Brel, as well as a few originals. It’s a wholly delightful collection from a tattooed singer/songwriter who embraces all forms of music, from jazz to punk to classical.
Appropriate for those 17 and older. The performances may contain strong language (with humor!) and adult content. The 6 p.m. show will be a bit tamer, the 9 p.m. show will be Storm, Unleashed!
Generously supported by Linda & Bill Nicholson with additional support from Hotel Ketchum.
LED
Saturday, Dec. 29, 2018, 8 p.m.
The Argyros, Ketchum
LED combines contemporary dance, original music and film into breathtaking cinematic experiences. Founded in 2015, LED is a project-based arts nonprofit based in Boise, Idaho. LED’s innovative and accessible artistic experiences are created by the artistic trio of choreographer Lauren Edson, musician Andrew Stensaas and filmmaker Kyle Morck. Every moment of an LED production is built from the ground up by this trio and a large contingent of extremely talented dancers, musicians, designers and technicians. The group gathers on a project-by-project basis with a focus on narrative and a dedication to exploring different mediums and forms through a combination of movement, music and film. This
performance will feature Sun Valley premieres of three pieces.
ON-SALE DATES
Friday, Sept. 14, 10 a.m.
ALL INDIVIDUAL TICKETS on sale to MEMBERS ONLY
Friday, Sept. 21, 10 a.m.
ALL INDIVIDUAL TICKETS on sale to the GENERAL PUBLIC
PURCHASE OPTIONS & TICKET PRICES
(Prices listed do not include taxes or applicable ticket fees)
FEATURED SPEAKERS
1) INDIVIDUAL TICKETS:
Jon Meacham—Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2018
$25 member / $35 nonmember; $15 student/educator
(Educator tickets are limited to one per person)
Joanne Weir—Saturday, Feb. 23, 2019
$10 member / $12 nonmember
David Grann—Thursday, March 14, 2019
$20 member / $30 nonmember; $15 student/educator
(Educator tickets are limited to one per person)
2) EDITORS SERIES TICKETS (includes one ticket to each of the Featured Speakers) $500 per person ($445 is tax-deductible donation)
The purchase of an Editors Series ticket package helps to underwrite the cost of the entire season of Featured Speakers. This package Includes one ticket to both lectures and one ticket to the museum talk; an invitation to luncheon in April 2019 with Editors and Critics Circle Series ticket holders; and the satisfaction of helping to sustain these events for the entire community.
PERFORMING ARTS
(All seating is reserved for Performing Arts shows)
1) PREMIUM PERFORMING ARTS SERIES:
Includes six concerts with Premium Seating; available to members only
Adult: $310.50 / Student: $155.25 (includes additional 10 percent member discount)
(Package does not include Storm Large or LED performances).
2) REGULAR PERFORMING ARTS SERIES:
Includes six concerts with Regular Seating; available to members only
Adult: $175.50 / Student: $87.75 (includes additional 10 percent member discount)
(Package does not include Storm Large or LED performances).
3) CRITICS CIRCLE SERIES (includes all six concerts)
$500 per person ($189.50 is a tax-deductible donation)
The purchase of a Critics Circle Series ticket package helps underwrite the cost of the entire concert season and Professional Residency Program in Wood River Valley schools. This package includes Premium seating at the six winter performing arts concerts; an invitation to our sponsor luncheon in April 2019 with Editors and Critics Circle Series ticket holders; and the satisfaction of helping to sustain these events for the entire community. (Package does not include Storm Large or LED performances).
4) INDIVIDUAL PERFORMING ARTS TICKETS:
Pricing varies by show; Premium and Regular Seating available at each performance
Member prices begin at $25 (Regular Seating) and $50 (Premium Seating)
Nonmember prices begin at $35 and are an additional $10 above member price
Student (18 & under) prices begin at $12.50 (Regular Seating) and $25 (Premium Seating)
(Student price is the same for members and nonmembers)
Individual ticket pricing details are available at sunvalleycenter.org/concerts
Tickets can be purchased online, by calling 208.726.9491 or in person at The Center box office at 191 Fifth Street East in Ketchum, from 9 a.m.–-5 p.m., Monday through Friday. To learn more about Sun Valley Center for the Arts membership, please visit sunvalleycenter.org or call The Center at 208.726.9491.