Playing for Change: The Band at The Byham

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


Today's date:
February 1, 2012

Contact:
Veronica Corpuz
(412) 471-6082
corpuz@trustarts.org

Diana Roth
(412) 471-8717
roth@trustarts.org

Playing for Change: The Band

Wednesday, February 29, 2012, at 7:30 p.m., Byham Theater, 101 Sixth Street

As a part of its international multimedia project that works to find ways to use the power of music as a unifying force around the world, Playing For Change: The Band will be performing on Wednesday, February 29, 2012, at the Byham Theater, at 7:30 PM. The concert is a part of the Cohen & Grigsby Trust Presents Series and presented by The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust.

Playing For Change was founded by Mark Johnson, an American music producer who assembled a team in a mobile recording studio and travelled with them around the world in the early 2000s searching for musical inspirations and ties between cultures. The project found new life in 2008 when the nonprofit Playing For Change Foundation established Timeless Media, a joint venture with the for-profit Concord Music Group, in order to support ongoing media projects. Their debut CD/DVD set Songs Around the World was released in 2009 and reached #10 on the Billboard Pop Albums chart. The group released its second CD, Songs Around the World, Part 2 in 2011.

Songs Around the World was particularly inspired by a performance of “Stand By Me” by the late street performer Roger Ridley in Santa Monica, California. On the album’s familiar tracks, largely unknown street artists such as Ridley or New Orleans street performer “Grandpa” Elliott Small are featured alongside music artists like Bono. Songs Around the World, Part 2 continues the musical journey with global inspirations. “The journey of this album takes us from a village in Mali to the favelas (slums) of Brazil, from New Orleans to India, Jamaica to Japan. We stopped in 15 countries and recorded more than 150 musicians,” said Johnson. “[Playing For Change is] a great showcase for just what incredible, thoroughly accessible popular music is being made worldwide.” – Variety

Additionally, the project has formed a band drawn from the worldwide family network of musicians. The Playing For Change band lineup includes percussionist Mohammed Alidu (Northern Ghana), vocalist Clarence Bekker (Netherlands/Suriname), vocalist/harmonica Grandpa Elliott Small (New Orleans), vocalist/percussionist Mermans Kenkosenki (DRC Congo), guitarist Jason Tamba (Kinshasa, the capital of DRC Congo), and vocalist Titi Tsira (Gugulethu, African township in the Western Cape). “No one walked out at the end of the night on Saturday without a smile. In fact, it’s quite possible that no one has ever left a performance by the Playing for Change Band without sporting a huge, ear-to-ear grin.” – Greg Haymes, The Times Union

Tickets ($28.00-$38.00) for Playing for Change: The Band on February 29, 2012, at the Byham Theater may be purchased at the Box Office at Theater Square (655 Penn Avenue), online at www.TrustArts.org, or by calling (412) 456-6666. To purchase 10 or more tickets at special discounted rates, please call (412) 471-6930.

Posted on behalf of Joanne Quinn-Smith by Joyce Kane.  Joyce is the Owner of Cybertary Pittsburgh, a Virtual Administrative support company, providing virtual office support, personal and executive assistance, creative design services and light bookkeeping.  Cybertary works with businesses and busy individuals to help them work 'on' their business rather than 'in' their business.  www.Cybertary.com/Pittsburgh

Armitage Gone! Dance in Three Theories Premieres at the Byham

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


Today's date:
February 1, 2012

Contact:
Veronica Corpuz
(412) 471-6082
corpuz@trustarts.org

Diana Roth
(412) 471-8717
roth@trustarts.org

Electronic images are available upon request.

Pittsburgh Dance Council presents Armitage Gone! Dance in Three Theories

Saturday, March 3, 2012, at 8:00 p.m., Byham Theater, 101 Sixth Street

PittsburghDance Council proudly presents Armitage Gone! Dance in the Pittsburgh premiere of Three Theories at the Byham Theater on Saturday, March 3, 2012, at 8:00 p.m.

Tickets ($19-$45) may be purchased at the Box Office at Theater Square, online at www.trustarts.org, or by calling (412) 456-6666. First Commonwealth is the proud season sponsor of Pittsburgh Dance Council, and 90.5 Essential Public Radio is the media sponsor.

Armitage Gone! Dance was created in 2005 upon Karole Armitage’s return from her 15-year stay in Europe. The company endorses innovation and is dedicated to refining the boundaries and perceptions of contemporary dance. Extending on classical and modern styles from the Balanchine and Cunningham tradition, Armitage permeates experimental thinking into the geometric balance, speed, rhythm and beauty of dance steps. Armitage derives inspiration from sources such as Japanese aesthetics, pop culture and new media, physics, fashion, and from her dancers of distinct cultural and dance backgrounds. Armitage Gone! Dance is noted for its collaborations with creators in the visual arts, science, and music, including artists Jeff Koons and David Salle, as well as string-theory physicist Brian Greene.

Three Theories (2010) is an evening-length work, inspired by renowned physicist Brian Greene’s best-selling book, The Elegant Universe. The performance itself is enriched with scientific discoveries and divided into three distinct sections – each defined by its own dance structure and musical language. Three Theories is performed by Leonides Arpon, Kristina Bethel-Blunt, Megumi Eda, William Isaac, Luke Manley, Bennyroyce Royon, Abbey Roesner, Marlon Taylor-Wiles, Emily Wagner, Mei-hua Wang, and Masayo Yamaguchi.

The series choreography begins with a prelude inspired by the Big Bang Theory, set to an excerpt from Chatham’s Two Gongs. The first section, titled Relativity, derives from Einstein’s hypothesis that gravity is the warping of the space-time fabric. Armitage advances her analysis of bending and twisting the horizontal and vertical lines of classical ballet in this dance. Relativity is a soothing dance, echoing Einstein’s recognition of the universe as a place of central order.

The second section, Quantum, is charged by Quantum Mechanics’ explanation of the volatility of the universe on the particle, or micro, level. As a result, Armitage created four ambiguous, rapid, off-kilter duets, set to Chatham’s driving initial score for 100 massed guitars precisely tuned to produce micro-tones. The choreographic structure for this section is inspired by Quantum Mechanics’ inception of “sum-over-paths,” which derives from a single dance phrase that is manipulated in a variation of ways.

The last section, String, draws from the string theory, which presumes that the fundamental matter of the universe is essentially a microscopic vibrating string, in which its vibrations are caused by the volume of the folded, intricate geometry surrounding it. “Legs twang like twisted arrows; hips pivot; feet slap sporadically on the floor…Armitage’s choreography is constantly morphing and moving into another mood, another feel (Dance Europe).”

Artistic director Karole Armitage, also known as the “punk ballerina,” began her professional career in 1973 as a member of the Ballet du Grand Théâtre de Genève, Switzerland. The company was devoted to the works of George Balanchine, which stems the majority of Armitage’s inspiration. In 1976, Armitage’s career blossomed with leading roles in Merce Cunningham’s landmark works. She stayed with Cunningham for five years, and since then – through her unique knowledge of the aesthetic values of Balanchine and Cunningham – Armitage has created her own place in the modern world of dance. In 1978, Armitage created her first piece, followed by her iconic Drastic-Classicism in 1981.

Karole Armitage has won several awards in various countries for her outstanding work, including the Grand Prix Roscigno Danza, Officier dans L’ordre des Arts et des Lettres, Chevalier dans L’ordre des Arts et des Lettres, and the Guggenheim Fellowship for Choreography. Her unique style has set her apart from others. “The ‘Armitage style’ is distinguished by its virtuosity and its urgency. She pushes the frontiers that traditionally separate dance, theater, music, and visual arts (Arte Magazine).”

Each year the Pittsburgh Dance Council, a division of The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, showcases a world-class season of dance. As the largest presenter of international performances in the city, the Dance Council continues to help make our Cultural District one of the country’s leading arts and entertainment centers.

Posted on behalf of Joanne Quinn-Smith by Joyce Kane.  Joyce is the Owner of Cybertary Pittsburgh, a Virtual Administrative support company, providing virtual office support, personal and executive assistance, creative design services and light bookkeeping.  Cybertary works with businesses and busy individuals to help them work 'on' their business rather than 'in' their business.  www.Cybertary.com/Pittsburgh

JERSEY BOYS Returns to the Pittsburgh Stage

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


Today's date:
January 31, 2012

Contact:
Veronica Corpuz
412-471-6082
corpuz@trustarts.org

Return Engagement Announced for Tony, Grammy and Olivier Award-Winning Best Musical JERSEY BOYS

The story of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons

Playing Pittsburgh's Benedum Center, September 4-23, 2012

Pittsburgh, PA: Dates have been announced for the Pittsburgh return engagement of the Tony, Grammy and Olivier Award-winning hit musical JERSEY BOYS, the story of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons. The musical will make its much-anticipated return to the Benedum Center for the Performing Arts on Tuesday, September 4, through Sunday, September 23, 2012.

JERSEY BOYS is the winner of the 2006 Best Musical Tony Award®, the 2006 Grammy Award® for Best Musical Show Album, the 2009 Olivier Award for Best New Musical and the 2010 Helpmann Award for Best Musical (Australia). The premiere engagement of JERSEY BOYS in Pittsburgh was an overwhelming success in 2009, seen by over 130,000 theatergoers. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette hailed, “Audience-watching at JERSEY BOYS is almost as much fun as what's happening on stage -- almost. You see heads bobbing, lips moving and feet tapping unbidden as hit after Four Seasons hit bursts through the theater.” And Pittsburgh Tribune-Review noted, “JERSEY BOYS has a lot to love…[It’s] a musical with songs you know, love and want to hear again integrated into a story you don't know, but get caught up in.”JERSEY BOYS worldwide has been seen by approximately 13 million people (as of July 17, 2011).

Directed by two-time Tony®Award-winner Des McAnuff, JERSEY BOYS is written by Academy Award-winner Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, with music by Bob Gaudio, lyrics by Bob Crewe and choreography by Sergio Trujillo.

JERSEY BOYS is part of the PNC Broadway Across America – Pittsburgh series presented by The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, Pittsburgh Symphony and Broadway Across America.

Catch a sneak peek of Jersey Boys! Log on to www.JerseyBoysTour.com/watch.

JERSEY BOYS is the story of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons: Frankie Valli, Bob Gaudio, Tommy DeVito and Nick Massi. This is the story of how a group of blue-collar boys from the wrong side of the tracks became one of the biggest American pop music sensations of all time. They wrote their own songs, invented their own sounds and sold 175 million records worldwide - all before they were thirty.

JERSEY BOYS opened at the August Wilson Theatre on Broadway to critical acclaim on November 6, 2005. The JERSEY BOYS First National Tour opened to rave reviews in San Francisco on December 1, 2006, played a record-breaking run in Los Angeles and is still breaking house records in cities across North America. There are six current productions of JERSEY BOYS worldwide: New York; London; Las Vegas; Auckland, New Zealand (begins April 2012); and two US National tours.

The JERSEY BOYS design and production team comprises Klara Zieglerova (Scenic Design), Jess Goldstein (Costume Design), Howell Binkley (winner of the 2006 Tony Award® for his Lighting Design of JERSEY BOYS), Steve Canyon Kennedy (Sound Design), Michael Clark (Projections Design), Charles LaPointe (Wig and Hair Design), Steve Orich (Orchestrations) and Ron Melrose (Music Direction, Vocal Arrangements & Incidental Music).

JERSEY BOYS is produced by Dodger Theatricals, Joseph J. Grano, Tamara and Kevin Kinsella, Pelican Group, with Latitude Link and Rick Steiner.

JERSEY BOYS will play in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, at the Benedum Center, September 4-23, 2012. The performance schedule is Tuesday-Thursday at 7:30 p.m.; Friday at 8 p.m.; Saturday at 2 and 8 p.m.; and Sunday at 1:00 and 6:30 p.m.

Tickets for JERSEY BOYS begin at $29.00 and will go on sale to the general public on Monday, May 7, 2012 at www.trustarts.org, the Box Office at Theater Square (655 Penn Avenue) and by calling 412-456-4800. Groups 10+ are available by calling 412-471-6930. Performance schedule, prices and cast are subject to chance without notice. For more information, please visit www.JerseyBoysTour.com or www.trustarts.org.

The Original Broadway Cast Recording of JERSEY BOYS, produced by Bob Gaudio, was recently certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.The cast recording is now available on Rhino Records. JERSEY BOYS: The Story of Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons (Broadway Books) is the official handbook to the smash Broadway hit. Seasons Greetings: A JERSEY BOYS Christmas, a new holiday CD featuring international cast members of JERSEY BOYS, produced by Bob Gaudio, is now available on Rhino Records.

For more information on JERSEY BOYS, go to www.JerseyBoysTour.com or www.trustarts.org.
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For photos or interviews, please contact Veronica Corpuz, 412-471-6082 / corpuz@trustarts.org

Posted on behalf of Joanne Quinn-Smith by Joyce Kane.  Joyce is the Owner of Cybertary Pittsburgh, a Virtual Administrative support company, providing virtual office support, personal and executive assistance, creative design services and light bookkeeping.  Cybertary works with businesses and busy individuals to help them work 'on' their business rather than 'in' their business.  www.Cybertary.com/Pittsburgh