Big City Entertainment in Little Ole Boone
App State's Performing Arts Series Attracts International Stars

Anuna

Sure, skiing is fun and snowboarding is rad. There’s
nothing like a bracing winter hike or a night spent in
a local pub listening to a local bluegrass or jazz band.
But what do you do if you want to make a big night of it? Are there any world-class entertainment choices in the High Country?
You bet. Appalachian State University’s Performing Arts Series is presented annually by the university’s Office of Arts and Cultural Programs and attracts some of the biggest names in music, theatre and dance.

ASU’s 2007-08 Performing Arts Series kicked off with performances by the swing band Big Bad Voodoo Daddy on Oct. 20 and Ballet Folklorico de Mexico on Oct. 30.
The fun resumes with two shows in one week as Farthing Auditorium welcomes the Degas String Quartet on Wednesday, Nov. 7th and the Seán Curran Dance Company on Friday, Nov. 9th.

The Degas String Quartet was founded at the Bowdoin International Music Festival in 1999 and has quickly established itself as one of the most exciting young quartets touring today. In addition to mastering the classical string quartet compositions, the group is a strong advocate for the performance of contemporary compositions.

Dancers of the Seán Curran Dance Company spent two years at New York City’s Danspace Project where the dancers were paid with subway tokens for rehearsals and dinners after performances. Curran then decided it was time to begin paying the dancers in real money and formed his own company. From those humble beginnings, the company has become one of the premiere dance troupes in New York, performing everything from folk steps to modern dance and everything in between at venues such as Celebrate Brooklyn, the Dance Theater Workshop, the Joyce Theater and the New Victory Theater.

On Saturday, Dec. 1st the Performing Arts Series welcomes the internationally renowned Celtic vocal group Anúna to Farthing Auditorium. The band was founded by Dublin composer Michael McGlynn in 1987 in an attempt to explore the music of the ancient Celts and redefine it for the 21st century. In the two decades since, the dozen members of Anúna have explored the three main types of ancient Celtic music, Suantrai (lullaby), Geantrai (happy song) and Goltrai (lament) while putting their own modern stamp on the results. Their haunting harmonies and inventive melodies always leave audiences breathless.

Golden Dragon Acrobats

The Golden Dragon Acrobats tumble their way into Farthing on Saturday, Jan. 26th. The Chinese troupe represents the best of a time-honored tradition that began over 27 centuries ago. Performing with ladders, on stilts, atop balls and in hoops, these acrobats will astound you with their clever mix of Eastern and Western gymnastic traditions.

The granddaddy of all jazz festivals, the Monterey Jazz Festival, is celebrating reaching the half-century mark with a special 50th Anniversary Tour. The Monterey Jazz Festival on tour comes to Farthing Auditorium on Thursday, Feb. 7th with an all-star lineup featuring vocalist Nneena Freelon, Terence Blanchard, James Moody, Benny Green, Derick Hodge and Kendrick Scott and more.

The following week the Performing Arts Festival welcomes the Taj Mahal Trio with special guests The Carolina Chocolate Drops to Farthing Auditorium on Friday, Feb. 15th. Taj Mahal is an American treasure and his songs such as “She Caught the Katy,” “Corinna” and “Fishin’ Blues” helped define the country-blues revival of the 1970s and 80s. The Carolina Chocolate Drops specialize in the old time country barn dance blues as performed by African Americans in the Piedmont area of our state in the 1930s and 1940s.

Singled out by Chamber Music Magazine as “a Generation X ensemble to watch,” San Francisco’s Cypress String Quartet has brought audiences to their feet for the past decade. Specializing in new compositions, the quartet has commissioned and premiered over 25 works by America’s leading 21st century composers. To commemorate the 200th birthday of Felix Mendelsshohn in 2009, the quartet and the Library of Congress have co-commissioned a new composition from American composer Kevin Puts that will be paired with Mendelssohn and Beethoven quartets and premiered in Washington, D.C. in February 2009. The Cypress String Quartet will perform at Farthing Auditorium in Boone on Tuesday, Feb. 26th.

The ASU 2007-08 Performing Arts Series concludes with the Montana Repertory Theatre’s production of Tennessee Williams’ Cat on a Hot Tin Roof on Thursday, April 10th and a concert featuring the Philharmonic Wind Quartet of New York on Wednesday, April 16th.