Tickets go on sale Monday, Aug. 2, for the 2010-11 Bluffton University Artist Series, featuring performers from Cleveland to Croatia and sights and sounds from Russian to percussion.
Tickets can be purchased on the Web, at http://tickets.bluffton.edu, or by contacting the university box office at 419-358-3239 or [email protected].
CHECK THE ICON SOON FOR PHOTOS OF ALL PERFORMING GROUPS.
All performances will be at 7:30 p.m. in Yoder Recital Hall, beginning Sept. 30 with the Massenkoff Russian Folk Festival, starring singer Nikolai Massenkoff and featuring Russian folk instruments-including a balalaika ensemble-and Russian folk ballet.
Massenkoff has performed at Carnegie Hall and the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, and was honored as laureate of the First International Festival of Russian Song, held in Moscow in 2007. The bass-baritone and his company have entertained audiences in six countries and nearly 40 of the United States.
Second in the series will be Percussion Group Cincinnati, on Oct. 21. The three-member group has awakened concert audiences to a wider world of music since 1979, using everything from amplified cactus needles, newspapers and garbage cans to the traditional sounds of drums, cymbals and bells from around the world.
Allen Otte, James Culley and Russell Burge comprise PGC, which is ensemble-in-residence at the University of Cincinnati's College-Conservatory of Music and has performed at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
Ringing in the new year on Jan. 20 will be one of the most respected brass ensembles in the U.S., Cleveland-based Burning River Brass. Composed of 12 of the finest brass and percussion players in the country, BRB offers a repertoire including fresh arrangements of classic works, as well as original music written specifically for the group, which has released four CDs.
The ensemble has also been heard on National Public Radio's "Performance Today" and "Sunday Baroque."
Pianist Martina Filjak will take the Bluffton stage on March 3. Since her debut in her native Croatia at age 12, Filjak has developed an extensive repertoire of piano concertos, performing regularly in her home country and abroad.
She was the first-prize winner among 122 contestants at the 58th International Viotti Piano Competition in November 2007, and went on to take the top prize at the 54th Maria Canals International Piano Competition in Barcelona in May 2008 and at the 2009 Cleveland International Piano Competition.
Wrapping up the series on March 31 will be the touring All-American Boys Chorus. Under the direction of Wesley Martin, the chorus includes more than 30 boys ages 9-14. In its 40-year history, the Costa Mesa, Calif.-based ensemble has produced five full-length albums and has appeared on the Disney Channel, with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra and in the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Parade.
Also among its television credits have been commercials for Mazda and KFC.
Single-admission and season tickets may be purchased for the series. Individual event prices are $25 for adults and $20 for senior citizens and students. Season tickets are $75 for adults and $65 for senior citizens and students.
A family pass is also available for $50, allowing parents who purchase one adult season ticket to obtain a season pass that will admit all children in the family, ages 6-18, to all five performances. Children ages 5 and under are admitted free.
