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Upoming Wharton Center Performances
Audra McDonald
Friday, September 15, 2006 at 8:00pm
$38, $32, $25 - Cobb Great Hall
Earning an unprecedented three Tony Awards before the age of 30 (Carousel,Master Class, and Ragtime) and a fourth in 2004 (A Raisin in the Sun),singer and actress Audra McDonald is frequently compared to legendary
performers such as Judy Garland and Barbra Streisand. But like all great artists, she is a unique force, blending a luscious, classically-trained soprano with an incomparable gift for dramatic truth-telling. Receiving her classical vocal training at The Juilliard School, she has appeared on many of the great stages of the world as a performer and a soloist with major
orchestras including the Chicago Symphony, the New York Philharmonic, and the London Symphony Orchestra.
CeCe Winans
Friday, October 13, 2006 at 8:00pm
$38, $32, $25 - Cobb Great Hall
A six-time Grammy Award winner, CeCe Winans seamlessly segues from R&B to pop to deeply-felt gospel fervor showcasing the crystalline vocals, celestial melodies, and top-shelf musical elements that have made her one of
the most popular, and influential, artists in contemporary gospel music. Her Grammy Award-winning seventh solo album, Purified, combines the transformative power of gospel music with heart-stopping pop, street-smart R&B and infectious dance - floor rhythms to create her most compelling set of songs to date. Billboard Magazine states, ãCeCe Winansâ voice is a glorious instrument making each song a standout by virtue of the passion and emotion she invests in every line.
Ellis Marsalis
Saturday, October 21, 2006 at 8:00pm
$38 - Pasant Theatre
For over 40 years, Ellis Marsalis has touched the jazz world with his genuine love for music and devotion to the art of jazz. The patriarch of the legendary Marsalis family and father to four accomplished musicians including Branford and Wynton the New Orleans native is regarded as one of the foremost jazz pianists today. As a leading jazz educator, Marsalis can
count many talented performers among his former students including Harry Connick, Jr. and Terence Blanchard.
T.S. Monk with Rachael Price
Friday, December 8, 2006 at 8:00pm
$38 - Pasant Theatre
The T.S. Monk Sextet has received raves from the moment they hit the stage and the studio. One of the most unique groups on the circuit, their cohesive and driving style has been heard throughout the country at many of the legendary jazz clubs. Rachael Price seemed destined for jazz stardom after
recently wowing audiences as the youngest competitor at the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition. Since then, she has been creating ã·buzz with her work sitting in with the T.S. Monk Sextet.
Nnenna Freelon
with the MSU Professors of Jazz
Thursday, February 1, 2007 at 7:30pm
$38 - Pasant Theatre
Multi-Grammy nominated vocalist Nnenna Freelon teams up with the Professors of Jazz, led by internationally-acclaimed bassist Rodney Whitaker. With 10 albums to her credit including her recent release Blueprint of a Lady - Sketches of Billie Holiday, ãFreelon possesses that rarest of qualities...
she makes (standards) sound freshly minted, refreshingly new... her phrasing is original, surprising... she mines the (melodies) for new and hidden meaning... and imaginative spirit that reaches out and bubbles over... --
Variety.
Let Freedom Ring
Saturday, February 3, 2007 at 1:00pm
$7 - Pasant Theatre
Let Freedom Ring features compositions by jazz artists who participated in the civil rights movement and shows how these works were tied to specific historic events. By telling the stories behind events such as Brown versus the Board of Education and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.âs most famous speech I Have a Dream, listeners discover how music can be used to send cultural and political messages of both protest and celebration. The concert is presented in memory of Martin Luther King, Jr. and features the music of artists such as Dave Brubeck, Charles Mingus and Duke Ellington.
Ladysmith Black Mambazo
Sunday, February 18, 2007 at 7:00pm
$38, $32, $25, $20 ð Cobb Great Hall
Grammy Award-winning Ladysmith Black Mambazo has spent the last three decades marrying the intricate rhythms and harmonies of their native South African musical traditions to the sounds and sentiments of Christian gospel music. Whether performing at Nelson Mandelaâs inauguration or alongside Paul Simon on Graceland, their beautiful a cappella harmonies have brought their unique sound to international prominence conveying an inspirational message of love for all people. "Using their majestic voices and nothing else,
Ladysmith Black Mambazo produces a full orchestra of sound."÷San Francisco Chronicle
Gangb Brass Band
Thursday, April 12, 2007 at 7:30pm
$28 - Pasant Theatre
Picture the sound of military brass bands, voodoo ritual chants and rhythms, scratchy American jazz records, with a dash of Afrobeat, and you can almost hear the Gangb Brass Band. The band from the West African nation of Benin takes traditional rhythms and invigorates them with jazz harmonies to create a unique fusion of music, both modern and traditional. "Dizzyingly gorgeous horn lines, rolling vamps carry sunny African Chorales, and polyrhythmic voodoo grooves host harmonies that slide in all directions at once. The
music just plain sings."÷New York Times
Swingin', Stompinâ, and Rockinâ
Saturday, April 21, 2007 at 1:00pm
$7 - Pasant Theatre
Swingin', Stompin', and Rockin' answers the question: What is jazz? With energetic performances guaranteed to appeal to young and old alike, this concert will illustrate the eight basic elements of jazz: syncopation, improvisation, call and response, rhythm, blue notes, tone color, harmony, and breaks.
Branford Marsalis
Friday, May 18, 2007 at 8:00pm
$45, $35, $25, $15 - Cobb Great Hall
Saxophonist Branford Marsalis demonstrates the breadth of his musical talent time and time again. The New Orleans native was born into one of the city's most distinguished musical families which includes brothers Wynton, Delfeayo
and Jason, and the family patriarch, pianist/ music educator Ellis Marsalis. Marsalis won his first Grammy in 1993 for his album I Heard You Twice the First Time, and another in 1994 for ãBarcelona Mona,ä a single he recorded with Bruce Hornsby for the Olympics in Spain. In 1995 he was nominated yet again, for his stirring rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner," for the soundtrack of Ken Burnsâ memorable PBS series Baseball. His most recent
recording Eternal is a collection of unique and compelling ballads in collaboration with band members Joey Calderazzo, Eric Revis, and Jeff "Tain" Watts.
for more, see http://www.whartoncenter.com
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