MIAMI, FL July 20, 2009 – The Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County is proud to announce its 2009-2010 inaugural John S. and James L. Knight Masterworks Season.
The inaugural season, which includes two subscription series, has been supported by a $200,000 challenge grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, a $500,000 pledge over five years from Dr. and Mrs. Sanford L. Ziff and $80,000 in additional private support from the Classical Encore Circle. The John S. and James L. Knight Masterworks Season represents the Center’s first full offering of classical music and dance programming: the four-performance Sanford and Dolores Ziff Classical Music Series and the three-part Signature Dance Series, as well as a variety of special events that will be made available to subscribers on a priority basis.
“Together, Knight Foundation and Sanford and Dolores Ziff provided a majority of the private funding that created these grand buildings. With their support for these series, they bring their philanthropic resources to the Center once again to ensure that classical music and dance continue in Miami long into the future,” said M. John Richard, president and CEO of the Adrienne Arsht Center. “Their superior level of support is a clear indication that the inaugural season is destined to bring joy to audiences who cherish the natural acoustics in the Knight Concert Hall and the grandeur of dance in the Ziff Ballet Opera House.”
Following the unfortunate news from the Concert Association of Florida (CAF) last season that it would no longer have the financial means to continue operations, the Center quickly negotiated an unprecedented collaboration with a number of the world’s top performing arts organizations to ensure that the bulk of CAF’s 2008-2009 season would still be brought to Miami audiences. In addition, over the course of just a few months, the Center has successfully secured a robust season of 10 top-notch classical music, dance and special events for 2009-2010.
“In a short amount of time, the Adrienne Arsht Center has successfully ensured the continued presentation of the magnificent art forms that our community supported for 40 years and will continue to support in the future. As impresarios, we are proud to have assembled a season that brings to the Adrienne Arsht Center stage four of the world’s great orchestras and renowned musicians; three stunning dance ensembles, and three iconic performers,” continued Richard.
“As we evolve into a new and greater Miami, informed by all manner of cultural influences, it’s essential that we keep alive and vibrant the influence of classical music and dance. They are essential parts of our heritage. Knight Foundation’s Miami Program Director, Dennis Scholl, and I are proud to join Sandy and Dolores Ziff in support of these series. We’ve made this a challenge grant to encourage others to embrace this opportunity and ensure classical music and dance for Miami at the Knight Concert Hall and the Ziff Ballet Opera House,” said Alberto Ibargüen, President and CEO of Knight Foundation.
Sanford and Dolores Ziff are generously supporting the Classical Music Series with a $500,000 pledge, sponsoring the series over the next five years. With this pledge, they join the Adrienne Arsht Center’s Classical Encore Circle, a dedicated group of patrons who are committed to assuring that classical music and dance are presented for the Miami community by the Center.
“It is a great pleasure to watch audiences enjoy the world’s most renowned classical music artists in one of the most spectacular concert halls in the United States. I am proud to support the Adrienne Arsht Center as it enters a new era of presenting classical music and am pleased to know that our community will be able to continue enjoying this transformational art form,” said Dr. Ziff.
The SANFORD AND DOLORES ZIFF CLASSICAL MUSIC SERIES will present four diverse works by the highly regarded Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Pinchas Zukerman, on December 16; a solo recital of audience favorites by four-time Emmy® Award and 15-time Grammy® Award-winning violinist Itzhak Perlman on January 12; the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of the internationally recognized American conductor Leonard Slatkin, on February 14; and outstanding pianist Lang Lang accompanied by the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival Orchestra, on March 29, conducted by Christoph Eschenbach. The four-part series will take place entirely in one of the most acoustically superb concert halls in the world – the Center’s John S. and James L. Knight Concert Hall.
The SIGNATURE DANCE SERIES will feature a selection of world-renowned dance companies including one of Israel’s leading cultural ambassadors, the Batsheva Ensemble on December 5 and 6; the internationally acclaimed American dance company The Joffrey Ballet on March 26 and 27; and the return of Miami favorite Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater from May 20 – 23. The three-part series will take place in the Sanford and Dolores Ziff Ballet Opera House.
Also announced as 2009-2010 season SPECIAL EVENTS are two spectacular holiday performances. Following two years of sold out performances, Miami’s own Seraphic Fire returns to deliver their powerful, critically-acclaimed performance of Messiah on December 19. The all-female vocal ensemble Sweet Honey in the Rock performs their unique blend of blues, gospel, rap and reggae-inspired sounds in a special “Holidays with Sweet Honey in the Rock” performance on December 11. Plus, an evening with the man who Frank Sinatra called “the best singer in the business” – the legendary crooner Tony Bennett – on January 8!
SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION
Subscription tickets will be available soon for the Adrienne Arsht Center’s four-performance SANFORD AND DOLORES ZIFF CLASSICAL MUSIC SERIES and for the three-performance SIGNATURE DANCE SERIES.
Tickets for the season’s SPECIAL EVENTS will be available exclusively to subscribers to one or both of the series in the inaugural JOHN S. AND JAMES L. KNIGHT MASTERWORKS SEASON at the Adrienne Arsht Center.
Single tickets for the 09-10 season of performances, if available, will be on sale in the fall.
To receive notice when subscription tickets go on sale, make sure to sign up for the Adrienne Arsht Center’s email list at www.arshtcenter.org and select your performance preferences.
SPONSORSHIP INFORMATION
The Classical Encore Circle provides funding for classical music and dance programming at the Adrienne Arsht Center. Sponsorship opportunities and benefits are available at various giving levels. For more information, please contact the Development Department at 786.468.2242 or [email protected].
ADRIENNE ARSHT CENTER’S 2009-2010 JOHN S. AND JAMES L. KNIGHT MASTERWORKS SEASON
PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE
SANFORD AND DOLORES ZIFF CLASSICAL MUSIC SERIES
Adrienne Arsht Center Presents
ISRAEL PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA
- December 16, 2009
- Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County
- John S. and James L. Knight Concert Hall
- Pinchas Zukerman, guest conductor and violin
- Amanda Forsyth, cello
- Haydn: Symphony no. 83 (“The Hen”)
- Haydn: Violin Concerto in G major
- Bruch: Canzone for cello in B-flat major
- Bruch: Adagio on Celtic melodies for cello
- Tchaikovsky: Romeo and Juliet, Fantasy Overture
Violinist Pinchas Zukerman, “a musician of genius” (Yediot Acharonot, Tel Aviv), returns as both conductor and soloist with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, generally considered one of the ten best orchestras in the world today. The program complements Haydn’s classical brilliance with the lush melodies of Tchaikovsky’s brooding and ecstatic Romeo and Juliet Overture. Award-winning Canadian cellist Amanda Forsyth (who is married to Zukerman) partners with him in two gems for cello and orchestra by the German romantic, Max Bruch.
Adrienne Arsht Center Presents
ITZHAK PERLMAN
- January 12, 2010
- Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County
- John S. and James L. Knight Concert Hall
Undoubtedly one of the greatest violinists of this or any era, 4-time Emmy and 15-time Grammy Award winner Itzhak Perlman returns to the Knight Concert Hall with a solo recital of audience favorites. “Itzhak Perlman wows the crowd… the applause was thunderous… for warmth of tone and generosity of spirit he remains without peer… An ambassador of the joys of music throughout his illustrious career…” (The Toronto Star)
Adrienne Arsht Center Presents
DETROIT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
- February 14, 2010
- Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County
- John S. and James L. Knight Concert Hall
- Leonard Slatkin, music director
- Sol Gabetta, cello
- Berlioz: Le corsaire
- Barber: Cello Concerto
- Rachmaninoff: Symphony No. 2
The brilliant American conductor Leonard Slatkin began his appointment as the 12th music director of the acclaimed, nearly 100-year-old Detroit Symphony Orchestra last season, and it was love-at-first-sight among conductor, the musicians, his new home-town audience, and the local press: “The prize of the night was the chemistry between the orchestra and its new maestro, and when the rollicking performance was over, all of the audience – not just half – stood up to reward Slatkin and his charges with a raucous standing ovation” (Detroit Free Press). Playing Samuel Barber’s richly dramatic cello concerto, the soloist for this performance is Sol Gabetta, an exciting young artist with a French-Russian-Argentinean heritage and a Tchaikovsky Competition-winning career on the verge of international stardom.
Adrienne Arsht Center Presents
LANG LANG
- March 29, 2010
- Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County
- John S. and James L. Knight Concert Hall
- Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival Orchestra
- Christoph Eschenbach, conductor
“The hottest artist on the classical music planet” (New York Times), Lang Lang has become the pianist of his generation. The 26-year-old plays sold-out concerts all over the world, and was viewed by over 5 billion people in August 2008 during the Beijing’s Olympics opening ceremony. He comes to play at the Knight Concert Hall in splendid company—with the “awe-inspiring” (Berliner Zeitung) Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival Orchestra, which was founded just over two decades ago by Leonard Bernstein and is comprised of the world’s finest young musicians under the age of 27. Leading the youthful players is the veteran and widely acclaimed German conductor Christoph Eschenbach, whose music-making is characterized by a “wide-ranging imagination and the fearless taking of interpretative risks” (Playbill).
SIGNATURE DANCE SERIES
Adrienne Arsht Center Presents
BATSHEVA ENSEMBLE
- December 5 & 6, 2009
- Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County
- Sanford and Dolores Ziff Ballet Opera House
- Deca Dance (selected excerpts from works by Artistic Director Ohad Naharin)
“This is not dancing that you will see anywhere else,” says The New York Times. Batsheva is one of the most influential, fresh and exciting dance companies on the planet; and one of Israel’s leading cultural ambassadors. Under the visionary direction of Israeli dancer/choreographer Ohad Naharin, Batsheva has earned an international reputation for pushing the boundaries of dance with intense energy and rich sensuality.
For their Adrienne Arsht Center debut, Batsheva will perform Deca Dance, a celebration of 10 years of Naharin’s work—from its most extravagant to its most intimate and heartrending. “The dancers are remarkable!” (Village Voice)
Adrienne Arsht Center Presents
THE JOFFREY BALLET
- March 26 & 27, 2010
- Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County
- Sanford and Dolores Ziff Ballet Opera House
“Swift, sinuous choreography and the superb ensemble of youthful dancers,” (The Washington Post) are the hallmarks of The Joffrey Ballet. The company has long been known as a transformational force in American dance, having notched an astonishing number of ‘firsts’: the first dance company to perform at the White House; first to appear on television; first American company to visit Russia; first classical dance company to go multi-media; first to commission a rock ‘n’ roll ballet; and the first and only dance company to appear on the cover of Time Magazine.
Renowned for a remarkable repertory of more than 250 works full of “speed and light soaring bodies” (The New York Times), the Joffrey comes to Miami with one of its most recent major hits —The Age of Innocence, inspired by the women of Jane Austen, choreographed by Edward Liang, and featuring a mesmerizing, propulsive score by Philip Glass and Thomas Newman.
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and the Adrienne Arsht Center Present
ALVIN AILEY AMERICAN DANCE THEATER
- May 20, 21 & 22, 2010 at 8 p.m. &
- May 22 & 23, 2010 at 2 p.m.
- Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County
- Sanford and Dolores Ziff Ballet Opera House
Following five “exhilarating performances” (The Miami Herald) and two sold out shows at the Adrienne Arsht Center last spring, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater triumphantly returns to Miami as we celebrate the grace and vitality that have made the company an American treasure for more than half a century.
With Artistic Director Judith Jamison’s remarkable vision and the artistry of 30 extraordinary dancers, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater continues to celebrate the Africa-American cultural experience and to preserve and enrich the American modern dance tradition. “Ailey’s phenomenal popularity is unmatched by any other company!” (The New York Times)
SEASON SPECIAL EVENTS
Adrienne Arsht Center Presents
SWEET HONEY IN THE ROCK
- December 11
- Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County
- John S. and James L. Knight Concert Hall
- “Holidays with Sweet Honey in the Rock”
The phenomenally popular African-American all-female vocal ensemble— “their voices are all fabulous!” (Fort Worth Star Telegram) – brings to Miami an inspirational and fun-for-the-entire-family holiday concert fusing the many warm and wonderful traditions that mark the end of the year.
Celebrate their honey-dipped sounds, ranging from blues, spirituals, gospel, rap, and reggae to African chants, hip-hop, ancient lullabies, and jazz. Sweet Honey’s collective voice, sometimes accompanied by hand percussion instruments, produces soulful harmonies and intricate rhythms that will resound to the end of the year and well into the next.
Adrienne Arsht Center Presents:
MESSIAH
- December 19
- Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County
- John S. and James L. Knight Concert Hall
- Seraphic Fire
- Firebird Chamber Orchestra
- Patrick Dupré Quigley, Artistic Director
Hallelujah! The most enduringly popular choral piece of all time returns for the holidays! Seraphic Fire and Firebird Chamber Orchestra are back, led by artistic director Patrick Dupré Quigley, who is credited for “putting a fresh, hip face on classical music” (Ocean Drive). Their performances of Handel’s magnificent work sell out every year, but subscribers to the Sanford and Dolores Ziff Classical Music series and the Signature Dance Series get priority tickets and guaranteed seating!
Adrienne Arsht Center Presents
TONY BENNETT
- January 8
- Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County
- John S. and James L. Knight Concert Hall
He’s won multiple Gold and Platinum albums, Grammy and Emmy awards, Billboard’s Century Award and a Kennedy Center Honor. No less a genius than Frank Sinatra called him “the best singer in the business!” That’s why Tony Bennett is an American icon and the legendary king of pop and jazz.
Don’t miss one of the biggest names in the world of entertainment when Tony Bennett makes his Adrienne Arsht Center debut with a concert featuring all the great songs and that impeccable, unmistakable Bennett style. His South Florida fans with be standing, applauding, cheering!
Editor’s Note:
Related high-resolution photos are available upon request.
Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County is made possible by the public support of the Miami-Dade County Mayor and the Board of County Commissioners, the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council, and the Miami-Dade County Tourist Development Council. Education & Outreach is funded in part by The Children’s Trust. The Adrienne Arsht Center also receives generous support from private and corporate contributions to the Adrienne Arsht Center Foundation, Inc. through its Visionary Society Membership Program and Encore Circle Major Gifts Program; City of Miami Omni Community Redevelopment Agency; American Express Company; Arison Arts Foundation; Dade Community Foundation; ExxonMobil Inter-America Inc.; Funding Arts Network; Southern Arts Federation; The MAP-Fund, a program of Creative Capital, supported by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation; The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts; the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs and the Florida Arts Council; the National Endowment for the Arts; and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.
About the Adrienne Arsht Center for Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County
The Adrienne Arsht Center for Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County is Miami-Dade County’s largest ever public/private-sector partnership, comprised of an $150 million private capital campaign conducted by the Performing Arts Center Foundation and public funding drawn primarily from the County’s Convention Development Tax revenues, as well as the City of Miami Omni Redevelopment District Community Redevelopment Agency. Greatly enhancing the artistic and educational opportunities in South Florida, the Adrienne Arsht Center will have significant and long-term economic benefits for the city and the region.
The Adrienne Arsht Center, designed by world-renowned architect Cesar Pelli of Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects, includes the 2,400-seat Sanford and Dolores Ziff Ballet Opera House, the 2,200-seat John S. and James L. Knight Concert Hall, a 200-seat black box Carnival Studio Theater, the Peacock Education Center, a restored Carnival Art Deco Tower, and the Parker and Vann Thomson Plaza for the Arts, which unites the Center buildings across Biscayne Boulevard, providing a magnificent setting for outdoor entertainment and informal gatherings. The key members of the design team include theater planning and design consultant Joshua Dachs of Fisher Dachs Associates, Inc. and acoustician Russell Johnson of ARTEC, Inc., both of whom worked on the project since its inception.
The Adrienne Arsht Center is a Miami venue not only for its three resident companies (Florida Grand Opera, Miami City Ballet, and New World Symphony), but also for many smaller South Florida arts organizations that will perform in its theaters on a regular basis, as well as for the finest popular and classical performances from around the world. With state-of-the-art performance facilities in Miami for the first time, the Adrienne Arsht Center offers South Florida audiences the best and most diverse theater, music, and dance—with a dedication to entertain, challenge, and educate all segments of the community. For more information, visit www.arshtcenter.org.
About the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation
The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation promotes excellence in journalism worldwide and invests in the vitality of the U.S. communities where the Knight brothers owned newspapers. Knight Foundation focuses on projects with the potential to create transformational change. For more, visit www.knightfoundation.org.