UNCSA to Return to In-Person Performances for 2021-22 Season

The University of North Carolina School of the Arts has announced a return to live performance with a 2021-22 season that spans time-honored classics and works by today's visionary composers, choreographers, filmmakers and playwrights who represent an array of stories and voices from throughout our contemporary world. The wide-ranging season includes film, dance, drama and music created and performed by talented students and world-class faculty, distinguished alumni and celebrated guest artists.

Tickets to most live-audience productions are $20 regular and $15 students with valid ID, and are available at uncsa.edu/performances or by calling the box office at 336-721-1945. Selected events are priced individually as noted. UNCSA performance venues will be open at full capacity; however, with health and safety as the top priority and in compliance with the citywide indoor mask mandate now in effect in Winston-Salem, all performers and audience members are required to wear masks regardless of vaccination status.

In addition to in-person performances, UNCSA will livestream concerts by faculty-artists and guest artists in the School of Music through the new series Live from Watson Hall. Film screenings will also be offered online for a limited time.

"We are thrilled to welcome back our loyal audiences for in-person performances this coming season at UNCSA," said Chancellor Brian Cole. "There is no replacement for the energy of live audiences and the community engagement that results from being together in a room experiencing transformative art.

"I am particularly proud that UNCSA will offer a season of compelling works from across our cultural landscape, created centuries ago and written today," Cole added. "From Balanchine's classical 'Symphonie Concertante' to Stew's contemporary comedy-drama rock musical 'Passing Strange,' our season amplifies a wide range of artistic expression."

Cole said student-artists will benefit from the diversity of work being performed. "We are training students to enter industries that are very different from a few years ago. By exposing them to the broadest spectrum of work in their fields, we are helping them develop their own unique creative voices that will propel them to lead the future of arts and entertainment," he said.

"We also acknowledge that pandemic-accelerated change inspired us to find new ways of reaching broader audiences, providing access to the arts on a global scale. To that end, we are pleased to continue streaming select performances and film screenings this year, transcending our physical location to virtually showcase the excellent work of our students, faculty-artists and professional guest artists."

Highlights of the season include:

School of Music highlights

The UNCSA Symphony Orchestra returns to perform with full forces after a yearlong absence due to COVID-19 safety protocols. The orchestra presents two programs this fall featuring major fifth symphonies from the great symphonic composers, followed in the spring by a powerful program that includes selections from Prokofiev's "Romeo and Juliet." Led by superlative guest conductors, the programs will showcase the excellence of student musicians. The orchestra season begins on Saturday, Sept. 18, with Shostakovich's jubilant Symphony No. 5 conducted by alumnus Robert Franz (B.M. '90, M.M. '92). Next, Thomas Wilkins, principal conductor of the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, conducts Mahler's massive Fifth Symphony on Saturday, Nov. 20. Michael Butterman, music director for the Boulder Philharmonic Orchestra, the Shreveport Symphony Orchestra and the Pennsylvania Philharmonic, conducts a program that includes the orchestral suite from Prokofiev's ballet "Romeo and Juliet" on Saturday, March 26.

"These fantastic works from the symphonic repertoire will highlight our student musicians at their very best and will illuminate the full range of training we provide in the School of Music," said Saxton Rose, who became dean in June after a year as interim dean. "It's a tremendous opportunity for students to perform these grand works under the batons of such accomplished conductors. We are very excited to treat audiences to memorable celebrations of being together again in a concert hall."

A.J. Fletcher Opera Institute celebrates its 20th anniversary on Saturday, April 30, with a gala concert by notable alumni of the institute, current Fletcher Fellows, the UNCSA Cantata Singers and the UNCSA Symphony Orchestra. Founding Fletcher Artistic Director and current Music Director James Allbritten will lead the orchestra. The institute will also present two fully staged operas in collaboration with the School of Design and Production (D&P): Donizetti's "Linda di Chamounix" on Friday, Feb. 4, Sunday, Feb. 6, and Tuesday, Feb. 8; and "Volpone," John Musto's contemporary comedy, on Wednesday, April 20, Friday, April 22, and Sunday, April 24.

The School of Music also offers concerts by world-class faculty ensembles and prestigious guest artists, both in person and livestreamed in a new Live from Watson Hall series. Faculty concert highlights include the Reynolda Quartet, Low and Lower, a piano quintet exploring what inspired and was inspired by Schubert's "Trout Quintet," Latin American Soundscapes, and a concert with Salem Bach Festival. Highlights of the guest artist series, to be announced separately, include coloratura soprano Louise Toppin, Sphinx Virtuosi, Verona Quartet, and yMusic. Additional faculty and guest artist concerts are listed in the online performance calendar.

School of Dance highlights

A beloved holiday tradition, "The Nutcracker" returns to live performance at the Stevens Center from Dec. 10-19 for 10 performances, including four matinees. Guest Conductor Jiannan Cheng leads the UNCSA Nutcracker Orchestra. A collaboration between the schools of Dance, D&P and Music, "The Nutcracker" features choreography by Dance faculty member Ilya Kozadayev.

"The UNCSA production of 'The Nutcracker' has earned a reputation as a must-see," said Endalyn Taylor, who became dean of the School of Dance on Aug. 1. "Noted for the exquisite dancing, live orchestration and superb staging, this full-scale production is of the highest caliber. We are proud UNCSA has the talent and capacity to produce live entertainment that is so engaging and beautiful. I am thrilled to bring Kozadayev's wonderful new 'Nutcracker' to the stage and look forward to the new delights this original version will bring to live audiences this year."

Additional performances by the School of Dance encompass beloved classical ballets, cutting-edge contemporary works and a reimagining of "The Seven Deadly Sins" that blends the two. The Dance season begins with an all-contemporary Fall Dance (Tuesday, Sept. 28, through Saturday, Oct. 2) featuring premieres by three guest choreographers: award-winning Yoshito Sakuraba of New York's Peridance Center and alumni Andrew Harper and Ashley Lindsey. Winter Dance (Tuesday through Sunday, Feb. 24-27) offers beloved classical ballets by Balanchine and Bournonville; a contemporary ballet by Robert Battle, artistic director of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater; and excerpts from an award-winning contemporary work by faculty member Ming-Lung Yang. Spring Dance (Thursday through Saturday, April 21-24) will bring alumni Grady Bowman and Jim Vincent back with new works, while "startlingly original" guest artist Gina Patterson will present a brand-new reimagining of "The Seven Deadly Sins."

School of Drama highlights

The voices of contemporary playwrights from diverse backgrounds will resonate throughout the School of Drama's season, beginning with Paula Vogel's "Indecent" (Thursday through Sunday, Oct. 28-31, and Thursday through Saturday, Nov. 4-6) directed by Acadia Barrengos as her senior thesis project. Dean Scott Zigler, Assistant Dean Krisha Marcano and stage combat instructor Kelly Martin Mann co-direct "Heathers: The Musical" Thursdays through Sundays, Nov. 11-20. Stew's contemporary comedy-drama rock musical "Passing Strange" will be offered Thursdays through Sundays, March 24 to April 2, with visiting faculty member Christopher Burris directing. A new devised work, "Mother Tongue," is the senior thesis project of Marina Zurita and is based on research and interviews done with the community of "trash pickers" in her native country, Brazil, this past summer. It is scheduled for Thursdays through Sundays, March 31 to April 9.

"It is part of our mission in the School of Drama to make sure our students are deeply immersed in the landscape of contemporary playwriting, even as they develop the skills necessary for older works," said Dean Zigler. "The overwhelming majority of work available to them right out of school across theater, film and television is contemporary writing. They still graduate with the skills necessary to perform any script put in front of them, but most get hired out of school into more contemporary work. We also believe all art has a responsibility to its audience, to reflect and explore the world and the issues that society finds itself grappling with today. Our goal is to present work that entertains, explores and inspires."

School of Filmmaking highlights

The School of Filmmaking offers two "best of" screenings that showcase films from varied genres, created by second-, third- and fourth-year students last year - one on Friday, Oct. 1, and another on Friday, Feb. 25. Closing out the performance season are screenings of films by this year's third- and fourth-year students on Thursday, May 5, and Friday May 6, respectively. Screenings will be in-person and online for a limited time.

"I have seen many films created by UNCSA students during the past few years," said Deborah LaVine, who became dean of the School of Filmmaking on July 1. "I'm very impressed by the quality of the work and the originality of vision and voice that is showcased. I am excited to see what we will accomplish together this year, and I am pleased to again be offering the films to a broader audience through our online screenings."

School of Design and Production highlights

In addition to providing all of the design, technical and production support for performances in Dance, Drama and the A.J. Fletcher Opera Institute, the School of Design and Production also presents its wildly popular "Photona," a themed multimedia show of lighting, projection and sound. With help from a team of undergraduate students and mentored by Lighting Program Director Eric Rimes, each senior lighting designer creates a dazzling projection using the latest lighting equipment on loan from industry partners. Audience members have the opportunity to ask the designers questions and offer critiques, and at the end of the night, the audience votes for its favorite piece. The free event is at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 17, in Freedman Theatre.

"This is an exciting season with rich opportunities for our student designers and technicians," said D&P Dean Michael J. Kelley, an alumnus and award-winning art director and set decorator. "With such a wide range of plays, musicals and operas, plus support for student films, our students are getting hands-on, real-world experience that will serve them well as they graduate and begin rewarding careers."

Additional information about highlighted performances can be found at www.uncsa.edu/news/20210826-performance-season.aspx

The UNCSA performance calendar listing all events can be accessed at www.uncsa.edu/performances.

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