Kyoto - Articles Page 17

Profiles Theatre Artistic Directors Darrell W. Cox and Joe Jahraus announce the titles for the 26th Season featuring a full slate of new and challenging works premiering at the Profiles Theatre Complex on North Broadway. The upcoming season features six productions including the Midwest premieres of Reasons to be Happy by Neil LaBute, the award-winning play The Other Place by Sharr White, the world premiere of Genius by Kate Walbert and a new premiere for spring 2015 to be announced soon. Additionally, Profiles' acclaimed production of Hellcab by Will Kern, one of Chicago theatre's longest running hits and a seasonal favorite at Profiles for the past two years, returns again for the holiday season. These six productions alternate between Profiles' two venues, The Main Stage at 4139 N. Broadway and The Alley Stage at 4147 N. Broadway.

St. Paul, MN

The Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) announces the participation of world-renowned architect, Frank Gehry, in its November 2014 exploration of the life and career of Pierre Boulez, the revolutionary composer, conductor and curator whose 89th birthday was March 26, 2014.

North Clarendon, VT

Concert Artists Guild presents the versatile pianist and composer Michael Brown, First Prize Winner of the 2010 CAG Victor Elmaleh Competition, on its Concerts in New York series on Wednesday, May 7 at 7:30 p.m. at Cary Hall at The DiMenna Center for Classical Music.

Trading a Wall Street career for an artisan chocolate company might seem like a risky trade but Evan Gappelberg has a knack for spotting trends. As a stockbroker in the 1990's he saw the potential of video gaming and was instrumental in taking an upstart video gaming company called Take Two Interactive Software public. Take Two turned out to be a great investment and made early investors twenty times their money as it rode the video gaming trend, which is now a $66 billion dollar a year industry. Today Gappelberg thinks he's spotted an exciting trend again and finds himself at the helm of an artisan chocolate company in the Hamptons appropriately named the: Hampton Chocolate Factory. 'Chocolate has been reinvented as an upscale, even jewel-like gift; chocolate is the new wine,' declares Gappelberg. Indeed, it would seem he's onto something given that Sir Evelyn de Rothschild, with a net worth of $20 billion and whose family was the great Bordeaux winemakers of Mouton and Lafite vineyards, has chosen a chocolate factory as his latest venture. 'The Hampton Chocolate Factory was born out of the idea that the Hamptons needed an artisanal chocolate brand to get behind, something local, something delicious, something exclusive, something that could be indulgent and cool, just like the Hamptons. The brand is not just about chocolates, 'We live in the Hamptons with our three kids, love the lifestyle, and want to see the land and lifestyle preserved for future generations,' says Gappelberg. 'our way of ensuring that is to donate a portion of sales to The Peconic Land Trust, which means when you're enjoying one of our delicious chocolates, you're also contributing to land conservation in the Hamptons; now how sweet is that!"

MEXICO CITY, March 27, 2014 /PRNewswire/ Aeromexico, Mexico's biggest airline, announces that starting in July it will be operating seven weekly flights to and from Asia, promoting Mexico's bilateral relations with Japan and China.

Cameron Mackintosh and Andrew Lloyd Webber's Really Useful Group has announced the casting and initial tour schedule for their spectacular new production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA launching a major North American Tour in Providence, R.I. at the Providence Performing Arts Center. With newly reinvented staging and stunning scenic design, this new version of PHANTOM, the most successful musical of all-time, will be performed by a cast and orchestra of 52, making this one of the largest productions on tour in North America.

John Jesurun's legendary 'living film serial', Chang in a Void Moon, returns to New York at the Incubator Arts Project this March-April with new episodes 59, 60 and 61.

Ashley Wheater, Artistic Director of The Joffrey Ballet, announces programming for the company's 2014-15 season celebrating 20 years of the Joffrey calling Chicago home. The 2014-15 anniversary season features both company favorites and a slate of eight premieres.

Concert Artists Guild presents the adventurous young cellist Jay Campbell, First Prize Winner of the 2012 CAG Victor Elmaleh Competition, on its Concerts in New York series on Monday evening, March 10th at 7:30 p.m. at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall. Together with pianist Conor Hanick, Jay offers a program that reflects his dedication to new music, presented within an historical framework.

Japan Society, in conjunction with the Mid-Manhattan Performing Arts Foundation, is proud to present the North American debut of Shomyo no Kai - Voices of a Thousand Years on March 6 at St. Bartholomew's Church in midtown Manhattan. The ritual choral chanting of Japanese Buddhist scripture known as shomyo boasts a history of over 1300 years, placing it alongside Gregorian chant as among the world's oldest continually performed musical forms. Shomyo (literally meaning 'voice clarity') is believed to have originated in India before traveling along the Silk Road and entering Japan in the sixth century, where it has been practiced ever since. Seldom heard outside of Buddhist temples, live performances of shomyo in the Western world by traditional practitioners are noteworthy. Shomyo no Kai - Voices of a Thousand Years comprises priests from two of Japan's major Buddhist sects, the Shingon and Tendai sects. With a mission to preserve and develop the art of shomyo, the group has been actively performing this song form for over twenty years to audiences in concert halls across the world. The group, originally called Shomyo Yonin no Kai, was founded in 1997 by modern shomyo pioneers Rev. Yusho Kojima and Rev. Kojun Arai (Shingon sect) and Rev. Koshin Ebihara and Rev. Jiko Kyoto (Tendai sect). On March 6, Shomyo no Kai - Voices of a Thousand Years will perform the North American premiere of the contemporary shomyo work Life in an Autumn, written by New York and Tokyo-based composer Ushio Torikai. Clad in brightly colored monastic robes, the choir alternates between monotone stillness and ecstatic polyphony. The ethereal voices of Shomyo no Kai swell in powerful harmony, enrapturing the listener into a transcendent meditative state. Set in the exceptional acoustics and grand sacred space of St. Bartholomew's Church, this concert offers a rare opportunity to hear these ancient ritual songs come to vibrant life.

The five-time Grammy Award-winning San Francisco Girls Chorus—Lisa Bielawa, Artistic Director, and Valérie Sainte-Agathe, Music Director and Principal Conductor—are in demand as one of the Bay Area's top vocal ensembles with upcoming guest performances this spring with the San Francisco Symphony, award-winning visual arts organization Creativity Explored, Stephen Petronio Dance Company presented by San Francisco Performances and in Opera Parallèle's productions of Poulenc's Les Mamelles de Tiresias and Weill's Mahagonny. In addition, the Girls Chorus will stage Benjamin Britten's Noye's Fludde, based on the biblical deluge story, with décor and set pieces by artists from Creativity Explored on Saturday, March 29. A complete list of Spring performances is listed below. For more information, visit www.sfgirlschorus.org .

Pierre Boulez has been chosen to receive the eighteenth annual Cleveland Orchestra Distinguished Service Award, honoring a person or organization that has provided continuing exemplary service to the Musical Arts Association. The honor is awarded by Dennis W. LaBarre, President of the Board of Trustees of the Musical Arts Association, the parent organization of The Cleveland Orchestra, Severance Hall, and Blossom Music Center, on behalf of a committee made up of Orchestra Trustees, musicians, and staff.

Distinguished Concerts International New York (DCINY) presents Nordic Voices, a six-voice a cappella ensemble from Norway, acclaimed around the world for its technical brilliance and compelling programming. For their performance as part of DCINY's Distinguished Concerts Artist Series, Nordic Voices performs a range of music from Dufay to Ligeti to contemporary Norwegian composer Lasse Thoresen. The concert takes place on Sunday, February 2 at 7:30pm at Weill Recital Hall.

On the heels of Baltimore-based composer Jonathan Leshnoff's Carnegie Hall debut and five-city tour of the song cycle 'Monica Songs' in October 2013, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (BSO), led by BSO Music Director Marin Alsop, performs the world premiere of his Guitar Concerto tonight, January 9 and January 12, 2014 at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall. The work features acclaimed guitarist and fellow Baltimorean Manuel Barrueco.

As part of its current 60th Anniversary Performing Arts Season, Japan Society proudly presents The Room Nobody Knows, written and directed by Kuro Tanino, in a production from his company Niwa Gekidan Penino. This production plays 5 performances only, today, January 8 - 12 at Japan Society (333 East 47th Street), as part of The Public Theater's 2014 Under the Radar Festival. Scroll down for a first look at the cast in action!

As part of its current 60th Anniversary Performing Arts Season, Japan Society proudly presents The Room Nobody Knows, written and directed by Kuro Tanino, in a production from his company Niwa Gekidan Penino. This production plays 5 performances only, January 8 - 12 at Japan Society (333 East 47th Street), as part of The Public Theater's 2014 Under the Radar Festival. Scroll down for a first look at the cast in action!

As part of its current 60th Anniversary Performing Arts Season, Japan Society proudly presents The Room Nobody Knows, written and directed by Kuro Tanino, in a production from his company Niwa Gekidan Penino. This production plays 5 performances only, January 8 - 12 at Japan Society (333 East 47th Street), as part of The Public Theater's 2014 Under the Radar Festival.

The spectacular new production of Cameron Mackintosh and Andrew Lloyd Webber's THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA will make its Twin Cities' premiere tonight, December 13, 2013 through January 5, 2014 at Hennepin Theatre Trust's Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis. With newly re-invented staging and stunning scenic design, this new version of PHANTOM has been an enormous success since its U.K. unveiling in March 2012.

The five-time Grammy-winning San Francisco Girls Chorus-Lisa Bielawa, Artistic Director, and Valerie Sainte-Agathe, Music Director and Principal Conductor-- will present two holiday concerts, today, December 6 and the 22nd at First Congregational Church in Berkeley and Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco, respectively.

On the heels of Baltimore-based composer Jonathan Leshnoff's Carnegie Hall debut and five-city tour of the song cycle "Monica Songs" in October 2013, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (BSO), led by BSO Music Director Marin Alsop, performs the world premiere of his Guitar Concerto on January 9 & 12, 2014 at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall. The work features acclaimed guitarist and fellow Baltimorean Manuel Barrueco.

During the past 32 years Nakabayashi has driven more than 10,000 kilometers and performed for more than 200,000 persons in Japan giving 'Serenade Concerts' in relatively isolated communities shunned by top performers. By these concerts, Nakabayashi has raised more than 15 million yen for the Japanese Red Cross, and has been given a citation of appreciation for this. Nakabayashi provided all of the background music, playing guitar, for a Japanese CD release of Gregory Peck's reading of The Old Man and the Sea. All tickets: $40; available from Carnegie Charge, telephone: 212-247-7800; the box office; online at www.carnegiehall.org. The concert is set for Weill Recital Hall; 154 West 57th Street, November 26, at 8:00 PM.

The spectacular new production of Cameron Mackintosh and Andrew Lloyd Webber's THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA will make its Twin Cities' premiere December 13, 2013 through January 5, 2014 at Hennepin Theatre Trust's Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis. With newly re-invented staging and stunning scenic design, this new version of PHANTOM has been an enormous success since its U.K. unveiling in March 2012.

THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA begins previews in just a few days at the Stage Theater Neue Flora, below, check out the first enthusiastic audience opinions and a sneak peek of the production!