Digital Program Book | Jan 15 - Feb 2, 2022

Contents 2

Ashwini Ramaswamy's Let the Crows Come January 15

10 Cyrille Aimée,

Adonis Rose & New Orleans Jazz Orchestra’s NOJO7 January 16

14 Punch Brothers With Special Guest Madison Cunningham

18 Cinderella:

A Classic Fairytale Opera January 21–23

January 20

20 Eva Noblezada With Seth Rudetsky

January 21

24 Joan Osborne And The Weepies

January 26

28 Aizuri Quartet

34 Rita Rudner

38 Los Lobos

42 Jesse Cook

January 27

With Lisa Morales

January 28

February 2

January 29

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Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts Presents

ASHWINI RAMASWAMY’S LET THE CROWS COME Saturday, January 15, 2022 8 p.m.

Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts Virginia G. Piper Theater

Dance Series Presenting Sponsors: Karen and John Voris & Betty Hum and Alan Yudell The presentation of Ashwini Ramaswamy’s Let The Crows Come was made possible by the New England Foundation for the Arts' National Dance Project, with lead funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

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ASHWINI RAMASWAMY’S LET THE CROWS COME Concept, Lead Choreography, and Direction Ashwini Ramaswamy Co-Choreography: Berit Ahlgren and Alanna Morris-Van Tassel Performed by Ashwini Ramaswamy, Berit Ahlgren, and Taylor Collier Musical Compositions: Brent Arnold, Jace Clayton, and Prema Ramamurthy, with additional compositions and score development by Rohan Krishnamurthy, Roopa Mahadevan, and Arun Ramamurthy Lighting Design: Mat Terwilliger Sound Engineer: Maury Jensen Technical Director/On-site Lighting: Joe Levasseur Costumes: Shanti Taylors and Carole Bruns Couture

PROGRAM “My work negotiates the multiple cultural planes where many of us exist; being from two distinct cultures is the energizing tension in my choreographic process. Like a phantom limb, my Indian ancestry lingers with me, informing my artistic work and daily interactions; my upbringing in both India and the U.S. has encouraged an aesthetic perspective with a hybrid compass.

Evoking the timelessness of mythography and the cyclical essence of ancestry, Let the Crows Come utilizes the metaphor of crows as messengers for the living and guides for the departed—and in the process explores how memory and homeland channel guidance and dislocation.

Each artist has been specifically chosen for what they bring to the stage, and in creating this work we have communicated one on one and collectively to bring this project to life. I developed the visual language of Let the Crows Come from a variety of sources, including the epic poem Ramayana, second-century Tamil Sangam poetry, ancient Sanskrit texts and the Hindu ritual of Pitru Paksha.

These sources allow us entry into a world where the human, the natural, and the metaphysical—as well as past, present, and future—are forever engaged in sacred movement.

I would like to thank the commissioner for this project, Kate Nordstrum/Liquid Music; my mentors/ family members Ranee Ramaswamy and Aparna Ramaswamy, who are always willing to offer advice and guidance (our shared trust in each other’s ideas and insights is the foundation of our artistic practice); and our guru in Chennai, India, Smt. Alarmél Valli, who has provided us with an art form and aesthetic direction that makes every creative endeavor possible.” — Ashwini Ramaswamy " a fascinating, beautifully developed exchange of dance styles among three women" — The Washington Post, 'Best of Dance 2021' DANCE

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Bharatanatyam is a living, breathing movement language with which to speak about the contemporary human experience. Originating in southeastern India and used for thousands of years to embody universal history via cosmogony, myth, legend, and history, Bharatanatyam has evolved into a potent tool with which to mediate between the spiritual and physical worlds. Let the Crows Come weaves together three dance solos for three distinct dancers. Ashwini selected Alanna Morris Van-Tassel (African Diasporic/Contemporary, performed tonight by Taylor Collier) and Berit Ahlgren (Gaga technique)—two highly trained dancers with unique backgrounds and movement styles—to deconstruct, extrapolate, and retrograde Bharatanatyam into unique movement paradigms.

MUSIC Let the Crows Come evolved from a simple idea; when a DJ remixes a song, they maintain its essence while changing its trajectory. For Ramaswamy, this mutation is reminiscent of being a second-generation immigrant—a person that has been culturally remixed to fit into multiple places at once. Reflecting the three dancers and three sections, the original score, by three composers—Jace Clayton (aka DJ /rupture), Prema Ramamurthy (south Indian Carnatic), and Brent Arnold (electroacoustic cello)—is played live by a hybrid musical ensemble of Carnatic classical, western classical, and electronic musicians. The soundscape evolves with the movement, evoking a memory that has a shared origin but is remembered differently from person to person.

RITUAL In Hinduism, there is a belief that crows play a major role in linking the living to the dead. In this sense, they bring to vivid life the spirits of the past. Pitru Paksha (meaning fortnight of the ancestors) is a period when Hindus pay tribute to their ancestors so that the departed souls can rest in peace.

After burning a mixture of sandalwood and camphor, rice is offered to the crows. This single ritualistic practice is a microcosm of the supernatural relationship between the physical and nonphysical worlds.

SOURCE TEXTS The Ramayana The Hindu epic poem Ramayana is one of the largest epics in world literature, with multiple meanings to unravel and compositional layers to decipher. One interpretation contains an origin story of the crow and its role as an emissary between worlds.

Brihatsamhita and Kakajarita The Brihatsamhita, by Hindu polymath Varahamihira, is an encyclopedic book covering wide ranging subjects, including divination, astronomy, planetary movements, eclipses, rainfall, clouds, architecture, crops, matrimony, and rituals. Kakajarita is an ancient Sanskrit text that foretells coming events through careful attention to the cries, flight patterns, and behavior of crows.

Tamil Sangam literature The Sangam poets of South India believed that human emotions directly reflect their surrounding environments; the first poem in Let the Crows Come uses the call of the crow to signal the return of a departed relative or loved one; the second is interpreted by Ashwini Ramaswamy as a message of tolerance from the ancestors to future generations.

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ASHWINI RAMASWAMY’S LET THE CROWS COME BIOGRAPHY Ashwini Ramaswamy (lead choreographer/dancer) has spent more than 30 years studying Bharatanatyam from her gurus: her mother Ranee Ramaswamy, sister Aparna Ramaswamy, and the legendary Smt. Alarmél Valli of Chennai, India. The New York Times describes Ramaswamy as “weaving together, both fearfully and joyfully, the human and the divine. ... There is a continual flow of energy coursing through her limbs.” As a founding member of Ragamala Dance Company, she has toured extensively, performing throughout the United States and in Russia, Taiwan, Indonesia, Japan, the United Kingdom, and India. Ramaswamy has received commissions from the SPCO’s Liquid Music Series, American Dance Platform, Macalester College, and Great Northern Festival; residencies at the Baryshnikov Arts Center (New York City), UNC Chapel Hill (North Carolina), Kohler Arts Center (Sheyboygan, Wisconsin), the National Center for Choreography (Akron, Ohio), and the Bogliasco Foundation (Bogliasco, Italy); support from the National Dance Project, MAP Fund, USArtists International, Minnesota State Arts Board, Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, South Asian Arts Resiliency Fund, a Jerome Hill Artist Fellowship, and McKnight Foundation Artist Fellowships for Dance and Choreography. Her choreography has been listed among the Best of the Year in the Minneapolis Star Tribune, Minnpost, and Big Dance Town. As a 2019 City Pages Artist of the Year, Ramaswamy’s work was highlighted for ”illuminating Bharatanatyam’s future.” Let the Crows Come is currently touring nationally in 2022. AshwiniRamaswamy.com.

Jace Clayton (composer, DJ) is an artist and writer based in Manhattan, also known for his work as DJ /rupture. Clayton uses an interdisciplinary approach to focus on how sound, civic agency, and public space interact. Clayton has performed in more than three dozen countries, both solo and as ensemble director, and he gives frequent artist talks worldwide. His book Uproot: Travels in 21st Century Music and Digital Culture was published by Farrar, Straus, and Giroux. Clayton serves on the Music faculty of Bard College’s Milton Avery Graduate School of the Arts and is a visiting lecturer at Harvard University.

Berit Ahlgren (co-choreographer/dancer) is native to St. Paul, Minnesota, and trained at Minnesota Dance Theater with both Loyce and Lise Houlton. A founding member of TU Dance under the artistic directorship of Toni Pierce-Sands and Uri Sands, Ahlgren performed with the company from 2006 to 2016. Receiving Metropolitan Regional Art Council’s Next Step Grant in 2011, Ahlgren had the opportunity to study the Gaga Movement Language in Tel Aviv, and moved to Israel to pursue a yearlong Gaga teacher certification. Returning to the United States in 2012, Ahlgren established Gaga classes in the Twin Cities, while guest teaching across the United States and abroad. Ahlgren obtained a master of fine arts in dance from New York University/Tisch School of the Arts in 2016, where she expanded her interests to film and technology, actively collaborating with New York University’s Interactive Telecommunications Program (ITP). Since then, Ahlgren has diversified her work through freelance projects, performing works by Jerome Bel, Ashwini Ramaswamy, Carl Flink, and Helen Hatch, as well as collaborating with film makers Katie Sadler, J.J. Kaiser, and Robert Uehlin, and theater directors, Nathan Keepers, Randy Reyes, and Luverne Seifert. Ahlgren established HoneyWorks in 2019, a dance organization to house interdisciplinary work, under which she has choreographed for Minneapolis based Southern Theater (2019) and Cowles Center (2021), and self-produced productions funded by Minnesota State Arts Board Creative Support for Organizations (2021).

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Brent Arnold (solo cello and electronics performance/scoring for film, theatre, and dance/producer of records and audio art) has written numerous pieces for concert, film, theatre, and dance, combining classical and non-Western elements with electronic processing and improvisation. Additionally, Arnold has written for solo cello and electronics. He has toured as a solo artist in North America, Europe, and Japan. His most recent solo album, Night, Exquisite, was called “a journey” and “a beautiful record”

by Vice magazine and “Cinematic and lushly coherent” by Time Out New York. He is currently music director for the live performances of Robert A. A. Lowe’s score to Nia DaCosta’s film Candyman.

BrentArnoldMusic.com Taylor Collier (dancer) is a native of Washington, D.C., where she trained with Dance Institute of Washington, KTM Extremes, and the Washington School of Ballet, under the direction of Rebecca Wright. In 2014, she graduated summa cum laude from the Dominican University of California/Alonzo King Lines Ballet Bachelor of Fine Arts Program. She had the privilege to perform in Showboat at the San Francisco Opera, Black Nativity at the Penumbra Theater, Come Through with Bon Iver, and Guys and Dolls at the Guthrie Theater. In 2014, Collier joined TU Dance Company and had the opportunity to perform works by Alvin Ailey, Ron K. Brown, Dwight Rhoden, Francesca Harper, Stephanie Batten Bland,Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, Marcus Willis, and Gioconda Barbuto. Collier is a certified Pilates and barre instructor, and she is a freelance artist in New York City.

Rohan Krishnamurthy (composer, percussion - mridangam, khanjira, ghatam) is an Indian American percussionist, composer, and educator. Krishnamurthy is one of the leading voices of Indian classical and cross-genre music in the South Asian diaspora. Acclaimed a “musical ambassador” by The Times of India, he received mridangam training from the esteemed Indian guru, Sri. Guruvayur Dorai.

Distinguished as a soloist, composer, and collaborator, Krishnamurthy performed with legendary Indian classical musicians and crossover artists. His latest offering includes The Alaya Project, an Indo-jazzfunk experiment with world jazz luminaries Prasant Radhakrishnan (saxophone) and Colin Hogan (keyboard/accordion). Ensemble in Residence at the Center for New Music in San Francisco, The Alaya Project features driving hybrid kit grooves, soulful ragas and melodies, and a jazz-infused harmonic bedrock. A celebrated educator, Krishnamurthy received a Ph.D. in musicology from the Eastman School of Music in New York. He has taught at renowned institutions, including Eastman, Harvard, Berklee College of Music, A.R. Rehman’s K.M. Conservatory of Music (India), Munich Conservatory (Germany), Kyoto University, Society for Ethnomusicology, and Percussive Arts Society International Convention. Krishnamurthy is the recipient of prestigious awards including recent commissions from the San Francisco Arts Commission, Zellerbach Foundation, and Goethe Institute (Germany). He received a patent for his drum tuning system, which is available worldwide.

Roopa Mahadeven (composer, vocals) is a leading second-generation Indian classical and crossover vocalist in the American diaspora, known for her powerful, emotive voice, versatility, and collaborative spirit. She leads the crossover ensemble Mahadeven in Flux, where she works with musicians in jazz, soul, and R&B, directs the innovative choir Navatman Music Collective, and sings for leading Bharatanatyam and modern dancers. Mahadeven also brings a critical commentary, humor, and authenticity to her work, often invoking her talents in dance and theatre. Mahadeven received Carnatic training under Asha Ramesh and further under Suguna Varadachari through the Fulbright scholarship. Mahadeven has performed in diverse venues, such as Chennai’s Music Academy during ScottsdaleArts.org | 480-499-TKTS

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ASHWINI RAMASWAMY’S LET THE CROWS COME the December festival, Cleveland Thyagaraja Aradhana (which awarded her the title Kala Ratna), Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, MET Museum, Chicago Cultural Center, and Hollywood Bowl, among others. She is a soloist on several albums, including Christopher Tin’s Grammy®-winning Calling All Dawns, and has been chosen for residencies at the Banff Center for Arts and Creativity, Hedgebrook, and Mass MOCA. Mahadeven released her album Roopa in Six Yards: A Carnatic Playlist in 2019 and is currently a member of the prestigious Joe’s Pub Working Group. In a previous avatar, Mahadeven worked in public health policy, following degrees from Stanford University.

Alanna Morris-Van Tassel (co-choreographer) is a dancer-choreographer, educator, and artist organizer excavating cultural retention and fragmentation within their Caribbean diasporic identity.

Morris-Van Tassel was a featured performer with TU Dance from 2007 to 2017. In 2020, they served as the company’s artistic associate. Morris-Van Tassel is a founding teaching artist at The School at TU Dance Center in Saint Paul since 201 and an artistic advisor to Springboard Danse Montreal.

In 2018, they were named Dance Magazine’s 25 to Watch! Morris-Van Tassel is a 2015 McKnight Dance Fellow and City Pages’ Artist of the Year and Best Choreographer (2019). Morris-Van Tassel is the artistic director of AMVTP, founded in 2017 to produce dance, education, and communitybuilding initiatives. Morris-Van Tassel’s choreography has been commissioned by Minnesota Dance Theatre, Penumbra Theatre, Children’s Theatre Co. the Dance Department at Carleton College, and The Cowles Center. They are currently developing a collaborative solo performance art project, Black Light_mysteries and manifestations of the creative life force, which explores the nobility of blackness, the divinity of the feminine energy, and the harnessing of sensual expression. A multi-year project, its next iteration will be featured at The Great Northern Festival in February 2022. This spring, Morris-Van Tassel joined the dance faculty at Bard College as a guest teaching artist through Gibney Dance (New York). They were recently awarded a 2021 McKnight Choreographers Fellowship. Morris-Van Tassel is a graduate of The Juilliard School and LaGuardia High School for Music & Art and Performing Arts (New York). They are thrilled to be developing a new work with Ashwini Ramaswamy and Collaborators, Invisible Cities, to premiere in 2023. AlannaMVT.com Arun Ramamurthy (composer, violin) is a multifaceted violinist, composer, and educator based in Brooklyn, New York, and is a disciple of the celebrated Carnatic violinist brothers, Sri Mysore Nagaraj and Dr. Mysore Manjunath and the esteemed violinist Sri Ananthakrishnan. He has distinguished himself as a versatile artist, performing internationally in both traditional Carnatic and Hindustani settings. Ramamurthy also bridges genres with his own innovative projects like the acclaimed Arun Ramamurthy Trio and Nakshatra with violinist and wife Trina Basu. He has shared the stage with artists like Dr. M. Balamuralikrishna, Sudha Ragunathan, Reggie Workman, Amir ElSaffar, Adam Rudolph, and Marc Cary, among others. Ramamurthy’s music has brought him prestigious stages like Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center, Celebrate Brooklyn, and more. Ramamurthy is co-founder of Brooklyn Raga Massive, a globally recognized collective of forward-thinking musicians rooted in and inspired by the classical music of India. Through BRM, Ramamurthy has curated and performed in a multitude of concerts bringing together music from all over the world. ArunRamamurthy.com

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Prema Ramamurthy (Carnatic composer) has been an outstanding vocalist and composer for more than four decades. She received intensive training under maestro Padmavibhushan Dr. Mangalampalli Balamurali Krishna, specialized in the art of Pallavi singing from Vidwan Sri T. V. Gopalakrishnan, and learned the art of singing padams and javalis from Mrs. T. Muktha. She has won critical acclaim as a composer and has performed in many of the top venues and festivals of India, the United States, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Australia, Mexico, and South Africa.

CREDITS Let the Crows Come is commissioned by The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra’s Liquid Music Series and is made possible by the New England Foundation for the Arts’ National Dance Project and the MAP Fund (both supported by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation), and was developed in part during residencies at the Baryshnikov Arts Center (New York), and the National Center for Choreography at the University of Akron (Ohio).

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Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts Presents

CYRILLE AIMÉE, ADONIS ROSE & NEW ORLEANS JAZZ ORCHESTRA’S NOJO7 Sunday, January 16, 2022 7:30 p.m.

Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts Virginia G. Piper Theater

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NOJO7 PROGRAM Petite Fleur - Adonis Rose & the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra featuring Cyrille Aimée Petite Fleur tells the beautiful love story between France and the City of New Orleans. Adonis Rose and the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra featuring Cyrille Aimée come together to create a recording that exemplifies the cultural sophistication and collaboration between artists from different parts of the world sharing similar musical experiences. The album features classic songs “Petite Fleur,” “Si Tu Savais,” and “What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life,” along with original compositions. This recording takes the listener on a musical journey filled with love, history, and inspiration.

New Orleans Jazz Orchestra’s NOJO7 Led by Grammy®-winning drummer and artistic director Adonis Rose, NOJO7 is a dynamic ensemble drawn from the full New Orleans Jazz Orchestra. Playing within the New Orleans Brass Band style, the group has the versatility to perform within various musical idioms and has a broad repertoire that encompasses traditional New Orleans music, funk, R&B, and original compositions. The band tours with Ledisi, and has collaborated with the rapper Slick Rick, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Eric Benét, and several other major performing artists.

BIOGRAPHIES Cyrille Aimée Improvisation is not just a technique for vocalist Cyrille Aimée; it’s a way of life—one that has not only allowed her to share her engaging voice and sparkling creativity with the world but has led her on an unexpected journey. By opening herself to the whim of the moment, Aimée has ventured from singing on street corners in Europe to dazzling audiences at some of the world’s most prestigious jazz festivals; from sneaking out to sing in Romani encampments in her native France to acting on Broadway; from braving the notoriously tough audiences at New York’s Apollo Theater to being hailed by The Wall Street Journal as “one of the most promising jazz singers of her generation” and called a “rising star in the galaxy of jazz singers” by The New York Times. Growing up in the town of Samois-sur-Seine in France, Aimée would sneak out of her bedroom window to join the Romani caravans gathered for the annual Festival Django Reinhardt. Those experiences exposed Aimée not just to the joys of Romani jazz but to the Romanis’ spontaneous, nomadic, music-filled way of life.

She would carry that spirit to the Montreux Jazz Festival, where she won the 2007 vocal competition and recorded her debut album with the prize money. It was the first of many such accolades, including winning the Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition and becoming a finalist in the Thelonious Monk Jazz Vocal Competition as well as the TV5MONDE series Talent Acoustic. In 2014, Aimée made her major label debut with It’s a Good Day (Mack Avenue), featuring an innovative two-guitar band that returned for 2016’s highly acclaimed Let’s Get Lost. As an actress, Aimée was handpicked by musical theatre icon Stephen Sondheim to star alongside Bernadette Peters in a tribute performance backed by Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. She shares her story to audiences and students alike, being invited to present a TEDx talk and to address the Conference on World Affairs and teaching master classes for aspiring musicians, emphasizing an aware and spontaneous life over technique and rote repetition.

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Adonis Rose Adonis Rose is a Grammy®-winning artist, composer, educator, and producer from New Orleans. He has played and recorded with the biggest names in jazz, including Terence Blanchard, Betty Carter, Dianne Reeves, Marcus Roberts, Harry Connick, Jr., and Wynton Marsalis. He has performed on the most renowned stages in the world such as Carnegie Hall, Olympia in Paris, North Sea Jazz Festival, Umbria, Birdland, Apollo Theater, Newport Jazz Festival, and Jazz at Lincoln Center, to name a few.

Rose has more than 50 recordings to his credit (five as a leader), including six with longtime friend, trumpeter Nicholas Payton. In 2010, he won a Grammy® with the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra for Best Large Ensemble.

In January 2017, Rose was named the artistic director of the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra (NOJO) and led the 18-piece orchestra to its first concert season in October of that year, featuring world-renowned artists Sheila E, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Ledisi, Slick Rick, and Eric Benet. He has been instrumental in the organization’s success by developing educational and community programs, leading performances, and developing partnerships associated with The Jazz Market, a 350-seat performance venue in the New Orleans’ Central City neighborhood that is home to the orchestra. Prior to his role at NOJO, Rose served as the artist in residence at the University of Texas Arlington and Cadillac’s Jazz by the Boulevard Festival, produced the Keller Jazz in June series, and founded the Fort Worth Jazz Orchestra, a 501c(3) nonprofit organization. In 2019, Rose produced NOJO’s most recent recording, Songs: The Music of Allen Toussaint, on the legendary Storyville Records imprint; the album received rave reviews. He is currently working on several new recordings with the orchestra and his own ensembles and continues to tour, perform, and produce a range of projects. This past January 2021, Rose was named the New Orleans Music and Culture Curator for Jazz Ascona in Switzerland.

New Orleans Jazz Orchestra (NOJO) The New Orleans Jazz Orchestra (NOJO) was formed in 2002 and was designed to celebrate and fortify the American Jazz portfolio while providing infrastructure for developing the New Orleans jazz industry. Led by artistic director Adonis Rose, this 18-piece big band has an ever-increasing repertoire that exemplifies the influence of jazz as the grandfather of all modern American music. As such, the band and its members are true ambassadors of American music. The members of the orchestra span several generations and have more than 100 years of combined professional experience. They have performed and recorded with a veritable who’s who of artists across all genres. NOJO has headlined all of America’s major performing arts venues and clubs and produced the first local, ticketed Jazz Concert Series in New Orleans’ history. NOJO’s album BOOK ONE, released on World Village (Harmonia Mundi), won the 2010 Grammy® for Best Large Jazz Ensemble. Their album that followed, Dee Dee’s Feathers, was released in 2015, and features Grammy® and Tony® award-winning vocalist Dee Dee Bridgewater.

On their latest release, Songs: The Music of Allen Toussaint (Storyville 2019), NOJO looks into the mind and music of New Orleans piano legend Allen Toussaint, whose music has influenced generations spanning more than 50 years. In their inimitable swinging style, the orchestra performs original big band arrangements of Toussaint’s greatest hits, including “Southern Nights,” “With You in Mind,” “It’s Raining,” “Ruler of My Heart,” “Java,” and “Working in the Coal Mine.” The recording features Dee Dee Bridgewater and several other special guests.

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Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts Presents

PUNCH BROTHERS WITH SPECIAL GUEST MADISON CUNNINGHAM Thursday, January 20, 2022 7:30 p.m.

Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts Virginia G. Piper Theater

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PROGRAM To be announced on stage BIOGRAPHIES In November of 2020, when the world felt so full of uncertainty, the Grammy®-winning folk band Punch Brothers did the one thing that they could rely on: they stood in a circle, facing one another, and made music together. A weeklong recording session, after quarantining and little rehearsal outside of a few Zoom calls, had culminated in their new record, Hell on Church Street—a reimagining of bluegrass great Tony Rice’s landmark solo album, Church Street Blues. Hell on Church Street is a potent work by a band realizing its own powers and returning to the foundations of its music.

The record finds the band at its most spontaneous—taking risks, listening deeply to one another, and approaching the music with a kind of immediacy only accessible to musicians of their particular ability who have also forged a deep trust over their decade and a half together. Bassist Paul Kowert considers this album to “harken back to our early days in the band when we were playing regularly on the Lower East Side, learning all this new material to expand our sonic arsenal.”

This band of virtuosi had spent more than a decade changing the face of acoustic music, stretching the limitations of instruments, and influencing a generation of young musicians—but life has a way of keeping a band from getting in the same room. Mandolinist Chris Thile elaborates that “these sessions were a reminder for me of what’s really important. I felt silly having this band take up so little of my creative year; it reminded me that us five together is critical to my happiness.”

Church Street Blues was Tony Rice’s great statement. By his mid-20s, Rice had already made his name as a member of the legendary bluegrass band JD Crowe and The New South and pushed the boundaries of string music as a founding member of the David Grisman Quartet. An exceptionally gifted singer—and a guitarist who redefined the possibilities of the instrument through his synthesis of bluegrass, bebop-era jazz, American folk music, and virtually anything else that caught his ear—he once remarked “as soon as you become a diehard anything, be it jazz or bluegrass or whatever, you’re depriving yourself of a whole world of music.”

Rice created a new language for this music that continues to influence generations of musicians and deeply influenced all of the Punch Brothers in their formative years. Banjo player Noam Pikelny adds, “The records that most inspired me to want to play music all had Tony Rice as the common thread.” Church Street Blues was Rice at his most vulnerable: stripped back to guitar, his voice, and a memorable collection of songs from heavyweights like Gordon Lightfoot and bluegrass founder Bill Monroe. Rice’s versions of these tunes have since become the standard, and Church Street Blues a masterpiece, in both interpretation and delivery. Pikelny cites the importance of Rice’s direct performance: “On the song, ‘Church Street Blues,’ what he’s playing is so complicated, but it doesn’t feel that way, it feels elemental ... like falling off a log.” During Thile’s younger years as a member of Nickel Creek, folk music legend Alison Krauss sat him and his bandmates down, turned on Church Street Blues, and said, “‘This is how you make a record.’ Every time I make a record I think of Church Street Blues.”

Rice was a hero to all the Punch Brothers, but perhaps to no one more than guitarist Chris Eldridge.

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PUNCH BROTHERS Eldridge’s father, Ben, was a founding member of the influential bluegrass band the Seldom Scene, and Rice was an old family friend. As a college student, Eldridge had worked out a deal where he could study one on one with the notoriously reclusive guitarist in exchange for school credit. He certainly learned music from Rice, but through those lessons he also learned much more. Eldridge says, “I would be playing some hot-shot guitar part and he would stop me and remind me, ‘It’s not about you. It’s simply about collaborating with your fellow musicians to make sounds that are pleasant to the ear.’ That sounds simple, but it’s incredibly deep.” The advice colored the generative way, years later, Punch Brothers made music, each listening deeply to one another’s parts while creating a symphony in their collective.

The decision to reimagine Rice’s record came from a hastily assembled set at the prestigious RockyGrass Festival in Colorado in 2019. “We knew all the songs,” says bassist Paul Kowert. Fiddler Gabe Witcher adds, “We had to figure out something to play for a set of bluegrass, and we figured the audience would know that record. As soon as they caught onto what we were doing, we hoped they would be into it, and that proved correct, fortunately.” The RockyGrass set quickly became a thing of legend, with bootlegged recordings being passed around by rabid fans on Reddit and other social media sites.

After that performance, the bandmembers continued with their own individual busy schedules. Witcher co-produced Not Our First Goat Rodeo by Thile, Edgar Meyer, Stuart Duncan, and Yo-Yo Ma and composed for the best-selling video game Red Dead Redemption 2. Kowert continued writing music and touring with his critically acclaimed quartet Hawktail. Pikelny toured as a duo with Stuart Duncan.

And Eldridge produced albums and performed with fellow guitar phenom Julian Lage. Thile’s life was full as host of public radio’s flagship program Live from Here, where he juggled the role of master of ceremonies while also contributing to just about every musical performance, be it bluegrass, blues, rock, or hip-hop.

When the pandemic began and live performances ceased, Live from Here was abruptly canceled, to the dismay of its legions of fans, and Thile found himself unmoored. With the band separated by great distance (Pikelny, Eldridge, and Kowert live in Nashville, Witcher in Los Angeles, and Thile in New York) and their other work slowed down, the members of Punch Brothers started chatting over cocktails on late night Zoom calls. Needing an outlet from the stress they each were feeling, they reconnected over the promise of making new music. Pikelny says they realized that “talking about this record was becoming our outlet ... in lieu of buying a farm in upstate New York and Critter (Chris Eldridge) being in charge of the cows and Paul being in charge of the goats.” Thile adds, “I think we all started seeking out experiences that we had when the world was simpler. I started listening to records that had made a profound impact on me when I was younger—like Church Street Blues.” The question was posed: if Rice’s album was an interpretation of these classic songs, how then would an interpretation of that sound? Thile thinks of it as “similar to how a jazz musician takes a theme and has a conversation with it in real time. That’s what Tony was doing with those preexisting songs. And then what we were striving to do with this entire record is have a conversation with that.”

Hell on Church Street’s adventurous path ranges from the title track—a song of longing for home penned by the legendary folk songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Norman Blake—converted from

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a solo guitar performance to the full band playing in a gliding 5/4 time signature to a honky-tonk version of Jimmie Rodgers’s “Any Old Time” to a free improvised version of the bluegrass standard “Gold Rush” to a straight-forward playing of the fiddle tune “Cattle in the Cane,” where Pikelny and Eldridge play one of Rice’s most challenging solos note for note in unison. The album is courageous in its reinterpretation of its material, a sign Punch Brothers was truly channeling their hero. “Tony cared so much about individuality and really doing things your own way. If you’re going to do something, do it like you,” remembers Eldridge. Pikelny adds, “We’ve closed some doors for ourselves over the years by shying away from covering other people’s material on record beyond one or two songs here and there. At long last we have a Punch Brothers covers record—but I can’t imagine making a more personal one, solely through the power of interpretation and delivery.”

Hell on Church Street was intended to be its own work of art, but it was also meant to be a gift and homage to Rice. “We wanted to thank him for being one of the biggest influences on us and anyone who interacts with American roots music,” says Thile. Pikelny remembers saying to Thile, “We needed to make this album in our lifetime. But wouldn’t it be a shame if we didn’t make this record in Tony Rice’s lifetime?” On Christmas Day 2020, Rice passed away at his home in Reidsville, North Carolina.

The band was devastated by the loss of its hero and the sad realization he would never receive their gift and honor. Pikelny, along with the rest of the band, realized that the true gift was given to them.

“After we got over the shock of losing our hero and friend, we realized what Tony had left with us was his music, his spirit, and his legacy—and clear marching orders to ‘make it all count.’” Eldridge, when asked what Rice might think of this record, offered: “He liked things that were unique, and he celebrated people who were unique in their work and their art. But he also loved spontaneity, and this is the most spontaneous record Punch Brothers has ever made. In those ways this record is the most true and direct tribute to everything we learned from him.”

Hell on Church Street captures the beautiful contradictions at the Punch Brothers’ core: a performance built on a spontaneity that can only come from a lifetime of practice, breathtaking virtuosity employed to channel deep emotion, and a deep respect for those who came before tied to a fearlessness to forge their own path. Thile says, in summary, “We spent a lot of time contemplating what happened when Church Street Blues hit our ears as a band: we held it out, we conversed with it, and now we’re handing it to you.”

Madison Cunningham Grammy ®-nominated singer-songwriter Madison Cunningham first picked up a guitar at the age of 7, and by 15 years old, decided to pursue her passion for songwriting, citing Joni Mitchell and Bob Dylan as key inspirations. Fast forward to 2021, the California native has a Grammy ®-nominated debut album Who Are You Now (Verve Forecast), a follow-up Grammy ®-nominated EP Wednesday, a latenight TV debut performance, and a debut nationwide headline tour under her belt.

With her “voice reminiscent of Stevie Nicks” (WXPN’s The Key) and accolades comparing her to Fiona Apple (NPR Music), Jeff Buckley, and Joni Mitchell (Rolling Stone), Cunningham has made an impression on her musical peers. Champions include John Mayer, Joe Jonas, Harry Styles—for whom she opened for at Madison Square Garden in Fall 2021—Andrew Bird, and more.

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Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts and Arizona Opera Education Present

CINDERELLA: A CLASSIC FAIRYTALE OPERA Friday, January 21, 2022, 11 a.m.

Saturday, January 22, 2022, 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.

Sunday, January 23, 1 p.m.

Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts Stage 2 Family Series Partners Title Partner:

Signature Partner:

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PROGRAM Be transported to the magical world of Cinderella through this opera designed for young audiences.

Join Cinderella as she overcomes the bullying of her evil stepsisters and finds her Prince Charming with a little help from a special fairy along the way. With colorful characters and melodies, this classic fairy-tale story will teach young people the morals of kindness toward all, forgiving others, and never letting a bad thing ruin your heart.

Cinderella: A Classic Fairytale Opera is a 35-minute adaptation from La Cenerentola, by Gioachino Rossini, and Cendrillon by Jules Massenet. Arizona Opera’s Arlyn M. Brewster OperaTunity tour is designed for Pre-K to sixth grade students and features a short adaptation of a classic opera.

CREDITS Arizona Opera’s Education and Community Engagement programs are made possible, in part, thanks to the support of: Karen Fruen, The Molly Blank Fund, Dr. Rex Brewster, Invest in Kids Charitable Gift Fund, The Moreno Family Foundation, The Ted Stephan Teaching Artist Endowed Fund, The Arizona Republic, Cardinals Charities, The City of Peoria, Desert Diamond Casino West Valley, Kiwanis of Litchfield, and a consortium of individual donors.

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Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts and Mark Cortale present

THE SETH RUDETSKY CONCERT SERIES

STARRING EVA NOBLEZADA FEATURING SETH RUDETSKY AS PIANIST AND HOST Friday, January 21, 2022 8 p.m.

Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts Virginia G. Piper Theater

Presenting Sponsor: Susan Rollins and Paul Garry Signature Partner:

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EVA NOBLEZADA PROGRAM To be announced on stage BIOGRAPHIES Seth Rudetsky is the afternoon host on Sirius/XM Satellite Radio’s On Broadway as well as the host of Seth Speaks on Sirius/XM Stars. As an author, he penned My Awesome/Awful Popularity Plan and the sequel The Rise And Fall Of A Theater Geek (Random House) as well as three volumes of Seth’s Broadway Diary featuring inside scoops and hilarious stories from all of the stars he’s worked with.

He co-wrote and co-starred in Disaster! (The New York Times Critics’ Pick), which also premiered to rave reviews in London. In June 2016, he and his husband, James Wesley, co-produced a recording of “What The World Needs Now” with stars like Idina Menzel, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Carole King, and Audra McDonald. It was number one on iTunes and raised more than $100,000 for the Orlando victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting in 2016 (and is still raising money. Buy it!). Rudetsky and Wesley have a foundation called Your Kids Our Kids that presented Concert For America; a series around the country featuring stars like Barry Manilow, Keala Settle, Stephanie Mills, Vanessa Williams, Billy Porter, Randy Rainbow, and Audra McDonald that raised money for five nonprofits that have been working relentlessly since the 2016 presidential election. They also present Voices for The Voiceless, a yearly star-studded concert for You Gotta Believe, which helps older foster children find families, even if they’ve aged out of the system. SiriusXM/Pandora also carries Rudetsky’s first podcast series: Seth Rudetsky’s Back To School, where he interviews stars about the ups and (hilarious) downs of their high school years. The first two seasons include Tina Fey, Bowen Yang, Allison Janney, Vanessa Willams, and many more. When Broadway shut down, Rudetsky and Wesley started hosting/producing Stars In The House (StarsInTheHouse.com), a twice-daily livestream that’s featured many Broadway stars, as well as cast reunions of TV shows like The West Wing, Scandal, Frasier, and E.R. and has raised more than $1 million for The Actors Fund. They also joined Marlo Thomas and co-produced new versions of “Free To Be You And Me” with Sara Bareilles and “Sisters And Brothers” with the Broadway Inspirational Voices with the profits going to NAACP Legal Defense Fund. You can find out more about Rudetsky and watch his signature “deconstructions” at SethRudetsky.com. If you want to hang out with Rudetsky and Wesley and a bunch of Broadway stars performing up a storm, come on one of their cruises! In January 2022, they set sail to the Western Caribbean; in April 2022 they journey from Barcelona to Venice, Italy; in June 2022, they take a roundtrip from Southampton, England, to Norway; and in October 2022, they embark on a transatlantic from New York to Southampton. More info at SethsBroadwayVacations.com.

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Eva Noblezada is known for portraying the role of Eurydice in Hadestown on Broadway. Noblezada previously starred in Hadestown at the National Theatre in London. City AM called her “brilliant” and The Arts Desk said she is “blazingly good.” Last fall, she shot a lead role in the upcoming indie film, Yellow Rose. In 2017, Noblezada starred on Broadway in the title role of Cameron Mackintosh’s epic revival of Miss Saigon, receiving a Tony® nomination at 21 years old. Variety called her Broadway debut performance “entrancing” and The Hollywood Reporter said “her vocals have an expressive range and sweetness that cuts through all that surrounds her. She’s a legitimate discovery.” She previously starred in the long-running London revival of Miss Saigon, for which she received the WhatsOnStage award for Best Actress in a Musical. She also played Eponine in the West End revival of the legendary musical, Les Misérables. Noblezada was a high school student in Charlotte, North Carolina, when she was discovered by casting director Tara Rubin at the 2013 Jimmy Awards in New York City. Rubin introduced her to Mackintosh and director Laurence Connor, who chose her to star for two years in their long-awaited hit 2014 West End revival of Miss Saigon.

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Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts Presents

JOAN OSBORNE AND THE WEEPIES Wednesday, January 26, 2022 7:30 p.m.

Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts Virginia G. Piper Theater

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JOAN OSBORNE AND THE WEEPIES PROGRAM Singer-songwriters Deb Talan and Steve Tannen of The Weepies are known for their simple yet insightful songwriting and distinctive harmonies. While the American indie band rarely tour; they have continued to release music, making seven records over ten years. The Weepies have sold more than 1.5 million records with more than 54 million streams on Spotify.

Multiplatinum-selling recording artist and seven-time Grammy® nominee Joan Osborne has rightfully earned a reputation as one of the great voices of her generation. Her 10th studio album, Trouble and Strife, features Osborne’s stunning vocals, a diverse range of sonics, and incisive lyrics, in addition to a deeply engaging collection of new original songs.

Together, these artists join forces for an intimate evening of music.

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Gregory Porter

Wednesday, February 9, 7:30 p.m.

Tickets start at $45 We’d tell you Gregory Porter is back, but you probably already knew. You probably felt the earth rumbling, announcing the multiple Grammy® winner’s bone-deep baritone, or you felt the air change as the warmth of his sound filled the atmosphere like a hug from above.

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Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts Presents Virginia G. Piper Concert Series

AIZURI QUARTET Ayane Kozasa, Viola Karen Ouzounian, Cello

Thursday, January 27, 2022 7:30 p.m.

Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts Virginia G. Piper Theater

World Class Partner:

Presenting Partner: The Dayton Fowler Grafman Endowment for Classical Music

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AIZURI QUARTET PROGRAM What’s Past is Prologue Hildegard von Bingen (1098–1179): Columba aspexit, arr. Alex Fortes Barbara Strozzi (1619–1677): L’usignuolo, arr. Alex Fortes Nina C. Young (b. 1984): Memento mori - Phase I (2013) Barbara Strozzi (1619–1677): L’amante modesto, arr. Alex Fortes Gabriella Smith (b. 1991): Carrot Revolution (2015) Intermission Rhiannon Giddens (b.1977): “At the Purchaser’s Option” (2016) Eleanor Alberga (b. 1949): String Quartet no. 1 (1993))

I. Détaché et martellato e zehr lebhaft und swing it man

II. Espressivo, with wonder and yearning

III. Frantically driven yet playful

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PROGRAM The phrase “What’s past is prologue” was famously spoken by Antonio in Shakespeare’s The Tempest, and it has become a modern shorthand for the notion that history sets the context for the present. For this Aizuri Quartet program, What’s Past is Prologue refers to music of the present moment that has sprung forth from the past.

The first half features pieces from the 12th and 17th centuries—by Hildegard von Bingen and Barbara Strozzi respectively—paired with new music that draws inspiration from old music. Hildegard von Bingen’s plainchant Columba aspexit and Barbara Strozzi’s madrigals L’usignuolo (The Nightingale) and L’amante modesto (The Modest Lover) are illustrative of their bold, original approaches to vocal composition. They are heard here in new arrangements by Alex Fortes that were commissioned by the Aizuri Quartet.

Contemporary American composers Nina C. Young and Gabriella Smith reflect on the work of those who came before them as they push the string quartet medium towards the future. In Memento mori - Phase I, Young uses the first five notes of the D minor subject of Bach’s Art of Fugue as the musical material from which the piece is spun. An artistic reminder of the inevitability of death, she describes her Memento mori as “a meditation on life and the perception of time. In our daily activities, the constant influx of information, sensations, and stimuli saturates our consciousness. By stepping out of time, we can zoom in and out of our perceptual systems, allowing us to focus on their intricacies and beauty.”

Gabriella Smith’s Carrot Revolution, written for the Aizuri Quartet in 2015, ushers the quartet through a collage of styles, playfully drawing grooves and flashes of melody out of a wide array of extended techniques. Inspired by the vast art collection of Dr. Albert C. Barnes and his unique approach to displaying paintings, metal objects, furniture, and pottery in unusual combinations, Smith writes: “I envisioned the piece as a celebration of that spirit of fresh observation and of new ways of looking at old things, such as the string quartet—a 200-year-old genre—as well as some of my even older musical influences (Bach, Perotin, Gregorian chant, Georgian folk songs, and Celtic fiddle tunes).

The piece is a patchwork of my wildly contrasting influences and full of strange and unexpected juxtapositions and intersecting planes of sound, inspired by the way Barnes’s ensembles show old works in new contexts and draw connections between things we don’t think of as being related.”

Rhiannon Giddens makes a psychological journey into a troubled part of America’s past with her song “At the Purchaser’s Option” (from her album Freedom Highway and arranged for string quartet by Jacob Garchik). The song was inspired by a 19th-century advertisement Giddens found for a 22-yearold female slave whose baby was also available for sale (“at the purchaser’s option”). Giddens, a musical historian, imagines the interior world of the slave whose soul is out of reach to her captors.

Finally, the British, Jamaican-born composer Eleanor Alberga draws inspiration from the scale and energy of the ancient, physical world. Her String Quartet no. 1 launches into outer space and explores the galaxy with brightness, virtuosity, and a sense of wonder. Alberga writes, “In the case of the first quartet I was propelled into an intense burst of creativity by a lecture on physics. The details of this lecture—who gave it, where it was given, and so on—are now lost to my memory, but what grabbed me was the realization that all matter—including our physical bodies—is made of the same stuff: star ScottsdaleArts.org | 480-499-TKTS

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AIZURI QUARTET dust. So, the first movement might be called ‘a fugue without a subject,’ as particles of this stardust swirl around each other, go their separate ways, collide, or merge. The second movement might be described as ‘stargazing from outer space,’ while the finale re-establishes gravity and earthbound energy.” — Karen Ouzounian BIOGRAPHY Aizuri Quartet Praised by The Washington Post for “captivating” performances that draw from its notable “meld of intellect, technique and emotions,” Aizuri Quartet was awarded the Grand Prize and the CAG Management Prize at the 2018 M-Prize Chamber Arts Competition, along with top prizes at the 2017 Osaka International Chamber Music Competition in Japan, and the 2015 Wigmore Hall International String Quartet Competition in London. The quartet’s debut album, Blueprinting, featuring new works written for Aizuri Quartet by five American composers, was released by New Amsterdam Records and nominated for a 2019 Grammy®. Through its engaging and thought-provoking programs, branded

by The New York Times as “genuinely exciting” and “imaginative,” the quartet has garnered critical acclaim for bringing “a technical bravado and emotional power” to bold new commissions, and for its “flawless” (San Diego Union-Tribune) performances of the great masterpieces of the past. The quartet has performed extensively throughout North America, as well as in Europe, Japan, Mexico, Chile, Costa Rica, and Abu Dhabi. The quartet has commissioned and premiered new works by Pulitzer Prize-winner Caroline Shaw, Lembit Beecher, Paul Wiancko, Yevgeniy Sharlat, Gabriella Smith, Rene Orth, Michi Wiancko, and Alyssa Weinberg. Their 2020–21 season highlights include performances at Lincoln Center, San Antonio Chamber Music Society, Dallas Chamber Music Society, and the Kennedy Center, and a special performance of John Adams’ Absolute Jest with the Milwaukee Symphony. The quartet has been combining four distinctive musical personalities into a unique collective since 2012.

Aizuri Quartet draws its name from “aizuri-e,” a style of predominantly blue Japanese woodblock printing that is noted for its vibrancy and incredible detail. They are currently based in New York City.

CREDITS Aizuri Quartet is a winner of the Concert Artists Guild International Competition and is represented by Concert Artists Guild. ConcertArtists.org.

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Fran Lebowitz

Friday, February 25, 8 p.m.

Tickets start at $35 In a cultural landscape filled with endless pundits and talking heads, Fran Lebowitz stands out as one of our most insightful social commentators. Her essays and interviews offer her acerbic views on current events and the media—as well as pet peeves, including tourists, baggage-claim areas, after-shave lotion, adults who roller skate, children who speak French, or anyone who is unduly tan.

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Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts Presents

RITA RUDNER Friday, January 28, 2022 8 p.m.

Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts Virginia G. Piper Theater

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RITA RUDNER PROGRAM To be announced on stage BIOGRAPHY Rita Rudner A house-filling favorite in Las Vegas since she opened as one of the hottest tickets in town in June 2000, Rudner is known for her epigrammatic one-liners. Over the course of a 14-year run and 2,000 plus shows, she has sold one and a half-million tickets and become the longest-running solo comedy show in the history of Las Vegas. She has been named Las Vegas’s Comedian Of The Year nine years in a row and in 2006 received The Nevada Ballet’s Woman Of The Year award. She was delighted to renew her relationship with Harrah’s Casino in September 2014 after four years at The Venetian.

Rudner’s first solo HBO special, Rita Rudner’s One Night Stand, was nominated for several awards, as was her eponymous English BBC television show that later appeared in the United States on A&E. Rudner’s two one-hour specials for HBO, Born To Be Mild and Married Without Children, were ratings standouts and she performed all over the country, filling Carnegie Hall in New York three times and the Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles twice. In 2008, Rita Rudner: Live From Las Vegas was PBS’s first stand-up comedy special.

Rudner has written five books; her bestselling non-fiction titles, Naked Beneath My Clothes, Rita Rudner’s Guide to Men, and I Still Have It…I Just Can’t Remember Where I Put It, plus the novels Tickled Pink and Turning the Tables.

The audio version of Naked Beneath My Clothes received a Grammy® nomination.

In 2003, Rudner launched from Las Vegas her first syndicated daily TV show, Ask Rita, which featured a panel of celebrities lightheartedly attempting to solve personal problems submitted by members of the public; it ran for two years. For her work on the show, American Women In Radio and Television awarded Rudner a Gracie Allen Award for Best Program Host. Rudner helped write the 2001 and 2003 Academy Awards® shows with Steve Martin and the 2002 Academy Awards® broadcast with Whoopi Goldberg.

Rudner moved to New York at the age of 15 to become a dancer on Broadway. She appeared in several shows, including the original productions of Follies and Mack and Mabel. It was while in Annie on Broadway that she began exploring the comedy clubs of Manhattan. In the early ’80s, Rudner took a full-time leap from chorus lines to punch lines and was soon a regular guest on both Late Night with

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David Letterman and The Tonight Show.

Rudner is a frequent collaborator with her writer/producer husband of 26 years, Martin Bergman.

The couple’s first produced film script was Peter’s Friends. The film, starring Emma Thompson, Hugh Laurie, Kenneth Branagh, Imelda Staunton, Stephen Fry, and Rudner, won the Evening Standard Peter Sellers Award for Comedy and was nominated for the Goya Award for Best European Film of 1994.

Bergman and Rudner’s latest film, Thanks, premiered at the 2011 Palm Springs International Film Festival, won several awards on the film festival circuit, and then later aired on Showtime.

The couple’s first play—Room 776—ran as part of the 2008 season of the Las Vegas Little Theatre.

Their second play, based on Rudner’s first novel Tickled Pink, premiered at the Laguna Playhouse in April 2012. In 2016, Rudner performed at the Playhouse in a new play, Act Three by David Ambrose.

In 2009, Rudner, Bette Midler, and Sheryl Crow joined forces to perform a fundraiser for President Obama and the Democratic leader of the Senate, Harry Reid.

In 2012, Rudner and Bergman wrote and performed The Rita Rudner Show for BBC radio in London.

Rudner also appeared in the Showtime comedy special Rita Rudner and Three Potential Ex-Husbands.

Rudner lives in Las Vegas and Monarch Beach, California, with her husband and daughter, Molly.

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Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts Presents

LOS LOBOS WITH LISA MORALES David Hidalgo (vocals, guitar) Louie Pérez, Jr. (vocals, guitars) Cesar Rosas (vocals, guitars, bass, Hammond B3 organ) Conrad Lozano (vocals, bass) Steve Berlin (saxes, MIDI sax, keyboards)

Saturday, January 29, 2022 8 p.m.

Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts Virginia G. Piper Theater PROGRAM To be announced on stage BIOGRAPHY Los Lobos For all the trailblazing musical acts who’ve emerged from Los Angeles, very few embody the city’s wildly eclectic spirit more wholeheartedly than Los Lobos. Over the last five decades, the East L.A.-bred band has made an indelible mark on music history by exploring an enormous diversity of genres—rock ’n’ roll and R&B, surf music and soul, mariachi and música norteña, punk rock, and country—and building a boldly unpredictable sound all their own. On their new album Native Sons, the multi-Grammy® winners map their musical DNA by covering a kaleidoscopic selection of songs from their homeland, ultimately creating a crucial snapshot of Los Angeles’s musical heritage.

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LOS LOBOS Produced by the band at Nest Recorders in East L.A., Los Lobos’ 17th full-length takes its title from its sole original song: the heavy-hearted and soul-stirring “Native Son,” a loving homage to Los Angeles that sounds right at home amid so many classic tracks. In a nod to their neighborhood, the album opens on the wide-eyed frenzy of “Love Special Delivery” by Thee Midniters, an East L.A. garage band and one of the first Chicano rock groups to ever score a major hit in the United States. “We grew up on Thee Midniters and felt like they were representing us, so their music means a lot,” notes Hidalgo.

Another track plucked from the ’60s, “Misery” finds Los Lobos tearing through a smoldering breakup song from soul singer/songwriter Barrett Strong. (“He’s a Motown artist, but he came to L.A. when Motown came to L.A.,” Berlin points out.) From there, the band ventures further into the decade with a medley of two Buffalo Springfield greats, first taking on the lush and sprawling folk-rock of “Bluebird,” then breathing new life into the chilling social commentary and iconic guitar harmonics of “For What It’s Worth.” “That one felt fitting for what’s going on in the political climate at the moment,” says Berlin of the latter. “It still completely rings true.”

Elsewhere on Native Sons, Los Lobos drift into more delicate territory with tracks like “Jamaica Say You Will,” a tender reimagining of a Jackson Browne song they first discovered back when Pérez and Hidalgo used to listen to records together after school. (A quintessentially Californian fable, the song brings Browne’s nuanced storytelling to a tale of an impossibly lovely girl who works in an organic orchard by the ocean in Malibu.) Later on the album, the band shares their stunning update of the Beach Boys’ existential-blues song “Sail On, Sailor,” an early ’70s track, originally sung by longtime Los Lobos friend Blondie Chaplin. “’Sail On, Sailor’ was one that seemed like it would be easy, but once we broke the eggshell it revealed itself to be a lot more complex,’ Berlin says. “The genius of so many of these records is all the layers that meld together in a way that isn’t very obvious at first.” And for the climax to Native Sons, Los Lobos deliver their epic cover of “The World is a Ghetto,” a majestic piece of psychedelic soul from War. Graced with a gloriously unhinged guitar solo, the track features guest appearances from Little Willie G. (who sang on War’s original recording), Jacob G. (Willie’s son), R&B legend Barrence Whitfield, and world-class percussionist Camilo Quinones. “We decided you can’t do an album about L.A. without War—but figuring the song out was another challenge,” Hidalgo says. “The thing about War is that the songs are intense and relaxed at the same time,” Berlin adds.

“It’s another song that’s deceptively simple, and took some time to figure out how to get the feel that War seemed to pull off so effortlessly.”

In a particularly meaningful moment for Los Lobos, Native Sons includes a fiery cover of “Flat Top Joint” by the Blasters, the seminal Los Angeles roots-rock band who helped pave the way for their signing to Slash Records in the early ’80s. “There’s no place in the world I’d rather have been than L.A. in 1981, ’82, ’83,” says Berlin, who played in the Blasters prior to joining Los Lobos. “Every night there’d be something incredible happening all across the city—you could go to four different places in one night, and it would all be amazing.” Having formed in 1973, and gotten their start playing spirited renditions of Mexican folk music at parties and in restaurants, Los Lobos quickly found their footing in Los Angeles’s punk/college-rock scene and began sharing bills with bands like Public Image Ltd and the Circle Jerks. After making their major label debut with 1984’s critically lauded How Will the Wolf Survive? (co-produced by Berlin and T Bone Burnett), they went on to achieve such triumphs as contributing a smash-hit cover of Ritchie Valens’s signature song “La Bamba” to the 1987 biopic of

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the same name, winning three Grammys®, collaborating with the likes of Elvis Costello and Ry Cooder, and earning massive critical acclaim for such albums as Kiko (a 1992 release hailed by AllMusic as “the musical equivalent of a Luis Buñuel dream sequence, balancing beauty and menace with intelligence and a skill that’s little short of dazzling”).

As with all of their catalogue, Native Sons reveals Los Lobos’ ability to merge genres and styles with both sophistication and playful spontaneity, an element that’s perfectly reflected in the album’s unbridled joy. “I played it for a friend and his first response was that it’s a party record—which sounds right to me,” Hidalgo says. Beyond that undeniably feel-good quality, Native Sons essentially serves as a love letter to Los Angeles and the endless possibilities to be found when all boundaries are shattered. “I couldn’t say there’s a common thread for all these artists, but in a way that’s exactly what makes L.A. great,” Berlin says. “You’ve got R&B and punk rock and rock and roll and folk, and somehow it exists together in this one weird city that we all call home.”

Lisa Morales On her upcoming third solo album, She Ought to Be King, Mexican American vocalist, and singersongwriter Lisa Morales once again affirms her world-class stature with a distinctive perspective and a remarkable capacity for looking both inward and outward. The Texas-based artist calls on people to come together in these stressful personal and political times. She demands people’s rights and paints everyday portraits of the pressures of motherhood and womanhood. “I’ve been looking at how strong we women are,” Morales says. “We keep evolving and gaining more confidence with time. We don’t sink into our own shoes—we stand taller in them. The title She Ought to Be King echoes that.”

In the first single, “Freedom,” Morales sings about the power of loving each other as a mother does and speaking up when we see injustices. The message: simply love thy neighbor. The 12-song album is produced by noted singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist David Garza. “Freedom” features Santana co-founder Gregg Rolie, who plays organ and provides backing vocals. It also features bassist Tim Lefebvre, keyboardist Rachel Eckroth, and drummer Beth Goodfellow. She Ought to Be King maintains the high standard of emotional forthrightness that Morales established on her earlier solo efforts, Beautiful Mistake and Luna Negra & the Daughter of the Sun. Her solo albums won universally ecstatic reviews. Lone Star Music called Beautiful Mistake “one of the most beautiful records that will be released all year … an absolutely flat-out devastating and stunning work of art.” And Rolling Stone called her “one of the most multifaceted artists to watch.” The later album revealed her Mexican heritage, both in poetic and lyrical rhythm, weaving in Spanglish and setting her apart stylistically.

Like her cousin Linda Ronstadt, Morales and her sister Roberta grew up in a musical family in Tucson, learning to perform traditional Mexican music while developing broad-ranging musical taste prior to moving to Texas. She recorded six albums with Sisters Morales, the beloved sibling duo in which she partnered with Roberta, who passed away from cancer in August 2021.

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Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts Presents

JESSE COOK Jesse Cook Matt Sellick - guitar Dan Minchom - bass Fethi Nadjem - violin Marito Marques - drums/percussion

Wednesday, February 2, 2022 7:30 p.m.

Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts Virginia G. Piper Theater

PROGRAM Tempest II Tour BIOGRAPHY Jesse Cook An accomplished guitarist and producer—and equally prolific filmmaker—Jesse Cook has evolved his talents to create experiences that delight audiences both in concert and online.

He composed his first album, Tempest, more than 25 years ago. Cook could not imagine that such a humble recording, in which he played all the instruments, would spark into a music legacy with thousands of concerts performed around the world, more than 2 million albums sold, five PBS TV specials, and millions of content views and streams across the internet.

Cook and his extraordinary band are looking forward to returning to the road, bringing the Tempest II Tour and their unique brand of rhythm and rhumba to audiences across North America in 2022.

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Donors Scottsdale Arts is sincerely grateful for donors, members, and partners who celebrate and support art in our community at every level. We gratefully acknowledge the following individual supporters above $500 who made contributions between December 1, 2020 through November 30, 2021.

For more information on ONE Membership, Legacy Society planned giving, and other ways to support the art you love in Scottsdale, please contact Erin Krivanek, director of development, at 480-874-4620 or ErinK@ScottsdaleArts.org.

We make every effort to list accurate information; if we have made any omissions or error by mistake, we apologize and ask you to please contact us at Give@ScottsdaleArts.org. $100,000+ Billie Jo and Judd Herberger * $50,000 – $99,999 Theodore R. Stephan Estate $25,000 – $49,999 Amanda and Mark Bosco Betty Hum and Alan Yudell $10,000 – $24,999 Rhonda and Gary Anderson * Jeffrey Beyersdorfer Kirsten Brown * Allison and Michael Cahill * Erin and J.P. Dahdah * Mary and Dale Fedewa * Dr. David and Joan Goldfarb Trust Sondra and George Juetten Christine and Richard Kovach Alison Lewis and

Craig Krumwiede * Paulette and Michael Miller * Priscilla Nelson Johnson and

Chuck Johnson * Linda and Mark Peterson * Susan Rollins and Paul Garry

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Arnold Bynum * Paige Cecil and Ryan Jones * Donald W. Collier

Charitable Trust II * Tracy Denmark and

Marc Schwimmer * Dr. Robert Dixon * Kathleen Duley * $5,000 - $9,999 Kathleen and Robert Duyck * Ethelyn Cohen, In Memory of Judith and John Ellerman *

Howard Cohen * Maureen and Thomas Eye * Leslie Dashew and Jamilyn Fournier

Jack Salisbury * Nancy Gifford * Rebecca and Keith Galbut * Elton Gilbert * Charlotte and Gary Gilbert Susan and Jerry Gilbert * Peggy and Jamie Kapner * Angela and Jeffrey Glosser * Marie and Richard Stewart Dr. Michael W. Goerss Hollis and Christopher Volk Judy and William Goldberg * Wendy and Peter Gordon * Barry Jay Greenhut $2,500 - $4,999 Robin and Roy Grossman Judy Ackerman and Jackie Gutsch *

Richard Epstein * Jane and Dennis Henner Paul Basha * Lori and Howard Hirsch * Peter Boris and

The Something Machine Lynda and Arthur Horlick * Susan and John Horseman * Peter Boyle * Chris and Bob Irish * Susie and Don Cogman * David J. Itzkowitz * Jennie and Jerry Cox * Jean Kiene Kimberly and John Davids * Aletheia Lawry * Rebecca and Sam Eden * Susan and Jonathan Levy * Jamie Hormel * Judy and Sam Linhart * Maureen Horwitz * Harvey Lisherness Monique and JP Millon Marcia and James Lowman * Doris and Eliot Minsker * Lynn and Matthew Luger * Dorothy Rowe and Joan and Walter Magen *

Kenneth O'Connor * Dr. Tammy McLeod * Rosellen and Harry Papp * Linda Milhaven * Laura Ahl and Jeff Rakoczy * Thomas J. Morgan * Barbara Robbins * Pollyanne Morris and Linda and Paul Schmidt *

Randy Nussbaum * Christy and Richard Schust * Diana M. and David N. Smith * Mary and Kitt Ormsby * Rosemary Gannon-Ortega and Stanley Spiegel Trust *

David Ortega * Gail and Daniel Tenn and The Ashok & Rita Patel

Sheri Sender *

Legacy Fund $1,000 – $2,499 Mary and David Patino * Megan and John Anderson * Kimberly and Erik Peterson * Ellen Andres-Schneider and Audra Petrolle *

Ralph Andres * Hermine and Leo Philippe * Anonymous Penny and Richard Post * Toni and Bruce Beverly * Ida Rhea * Nancy and Chuck Brickman Carrie Lynn Richardson and Leslie Grinker and John Broan * Paul Giancola Arlene and Keith Bronstein Nancy Harris Robertson and Kay Butler *

Scott L. Robertson * Merle and Steve Rosskam * Jacqueline Schenkein and

Michael Schwimmer * Cynthia Shevlin, In Memory of

Bob Swanson Karen and John Voris *

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Lois and John Rogers * Tom Rogers * Missy Romanoff * Dr. Adam N. Rosenberg * Stella and Mark Saperstein * Linda and Sherman Saperstein * Carol and Randy Schilling * Patricia Schmidt * Enid and Michael Seiden Tracy and Christian Serena Marlene and Eugene Shapiro * Dr. Peggy Sharp Chamberlain * Susan and Richard Silverman * Dorothy Lincoln-Smith * Pat and Phil Turberg * Anna Unterberger * Tamar Weiss, In Memory of

Emil Weiss Gretchen and Dick Wilson * $500 – $999 Felice Appell Char and Alan Augenstein Martha and David Bills Jan and Christopher Cacheris Naomi Caras-Miller and

Alvin Miller * Sue Carlisle Jill Christenholz Nancy and Derek Davis Bonnie and Glenn Felner Anita Fishman Jo Flittie Alan B. Gabbard Colleen and Brennan Giggey * Lance Goldberg and Beth Ladin Mr. and Mrs. Robert Golub Garrett Helminski Laura and Michael Helminski Audrey and Fred Horne Kenady and Jordan Jobe Cynthia and Alan Kempner Kathy Kolbe and William Rapp Susan and Manny Kramer Sally and Richard Lehmann Mary and David Lemire Elizabeth and James Lincoln Sandra Listello Mandy and Jeff Lothner Betsy and Lew Lurie Joyce and Stephen Manes Dr. Kay Martens and

Philip Cram Cynthia and Robert Miller Patty Napier Joy Partridge Amy Perciballi *

Eric Pittman Nathalie Potvin Jean Quinsey Richard Richardson, In Memory

of Patricia Richardson Martin Rosen Dr. Tamara Rozhon Nancy and James Schamadan Elizabeth and John Shaw Stephen Shobin Kristine and Steve Short Ronda and Carl Silver Rowena Simberg Dr. Otto Stanislaw Mark Stapp Patrick D Strieck and

Brian J Fanning * Delores Rodman and

Dale Suran Lois Tatelman Laura Titus Denise and William Villalon Gina Warren Lisa Watkins Amber Wayne Roma Wittcoff Herbert Zoloto

Legacy Society Members The Legacy Society honors those who have included Scottsdale Arts in their will, trust, insurance policy, or estate plans. Joining The Legacy Society is a meaningful and generous way to continue sharing your values with future generations while enjoying recognition with a network of like-minded friends today.

We proudly recognize the following Scottsdale Arts Legacy Society members:

Patricia Aloe-Stauber Anonymous Fred J. English and Sara M.

English Charitable Trust* Chet and Ann Goldberg Estate Richard Herman Estate Chris and Bob Irish Lou Jekel Joan Mills Miller Estate Eric Jungermann and Family Sue and Robert Karatz Cynthia Muss Lawrence Sara and David Lieberman *Scottsdale Arts ONE Arleen Lorrance and Membership Premier Members Diane Kennedy Pike J. Patrick McCarthy Estate Diane Rejman Linda and Sherman Saperstein Theodore R. Stephan Estate

Tribute Donations Support the performing and visual arts by remembering or honoring a loved one with a tax-deductible donation to any program or branch at Scottsdale Arts. A memorial gift is a thoughtful way to remember a person in your life who has passed away. An honor gift is a unique way to celebrate a special occasion or recognize someone dear to you.

We proudly recognize the following donors who have made tribute gifts to Scottsdale Arts between December 1, 2020 and November 30, 2021.

Donations Made in Memory of Wallace Davidson Susan and Richard Bloomberg

Robin and Roy Grossman

Elizabeth Silverman

Judy and Alan Wertheimer

Debbie and Richard Yoken Sandy Greenhut

Barry Jay Greenhut Zelma Horwitz

Phillip Horwitz Claire Keefnor

Madaline Krska Ted Stephan Who’s Who Singles – AZ Inc. Donations Made in Honor of Richard Post

Audrey and Fred Horne Linda Saperstein

Jill and Alan Sandler

Audrey and Bob Shapiro

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COMMUNITY PARTNERS Scottsdale Arts is pleased to recognize the following corporations, foundations, government agencies, and in-kind donors for their support of the arts in our community this season. For more information on participating as a sponsor, please contact Denise Wisdom, corporate and foundation relations manager, at 480-874-4669 or DeniseW@ScottsdaleArts.org.

World Class Partners ($50,000+)

Title Partners ($25,000–$49,999)

WALTER AND KARLA GOLDSCHMIDT FOUNDATION

INSTITUT FRANCAÍSRELANCE EXPORT

Presenting Partners ($10,000–$24,999)

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S. REX AND JOAN LEWIS FOUNDATION

Signature Partners ($5,000–$9,999)

GARTH GREENAN GALLERY, INC.

Supporting Partners ($2,500–$4,999)

Collaborating Partners Blick Art Supplies Craven Allen Gallery Experience Scottsdale Farm and Craft Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation/

Taliesin West Grimaldi's Pizzeria

Havaianas JOJO Coffeehouse Joyrides AZ LDV Winery Marjon Ceramics Mavrix/Octane Raceway Medieval Times Dinner & Tournament

Milagro Tequila New England Foundation for the Arts Rainbow Ryders Salvatore Vineyards/Passion Cellars whiteLAVA creative and metal art

Joyrides AZ Juice Core Organic Jules & JC Kelly's at Southbridge La Señora at Saguaro Lo-Lo's Chicken & Waffles Monroe's Hot Chicken

Nonna Urban Eatery Nori Sushi & Asian Dining Oh My Dog! Boutique Hotel and Spa Sizzle Korean BBQ Super Chunk Sweets & Treats Yellow Spruce Roasters

Partner Perks Program Participants Arcadia Farms Café Brunch & Sip Cool Gelato Italiano EcoTours AZ Grimaldi's Pizzeria Jewel of the Crown JOJO Coffeehouse

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THE CENTER STAFF Dr. Gerd Wuestemann,

President and CEO, Scottsdale Arts

PROGRAMMING

Abbey Messmer, Programming Director Diandra Adamczyk, Sr. Programming Coordinator Meribeth Reeves, Managing Director

PATRON SERVICES

Brett Johnson, Patron Services Manager KeiLani Daniels, Patron Services Coordinator Steffi Faircloth, Lead Patron Services Representative Ana Spear, Patron Services Representative Megan Bevill, Patron Services Representative Michael Jennings, Patron Services Representative Nitasha Giran, Patron Services Representative Stephen McDonough, Patron Services Representative

RETAIL

Bill Kelly, Retail Manager Raechel Miller, Assistant Retail Manager Cindy Anguiano, Lead Retail Sales Associate Dana Parsons, Retail Sales Associate

EVENTS COORDINATION AND OPERATIONS

Jamie Prins, Events Director Martin Dickey, Director of Facilities and Operations Whitney Nelson, Festival and Events Manager Anne Parker, Facility Rentals Manager Jeri Thompson, Operations Administrative Assistant Scott MacKeigan, Facility and Event Coordinator Robert Reidenbach, Food and Beverage Lead Samantha Groff, Volunteer and Events Coordinator

PROTECTION SERVICES

Keng Cheong, Protection Services Manager Michael Hammerand, Protection

Services Coordinator Brenda Kelley, Protection Services Lead Carolyn Zarr, Protection Services Officer Cheh Eifler, Protection Services Officer

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Christopher Kelley, Protection Services Officer Dale Duhame, Protection Services Officer David Brusstar, Protection Services Officer David Marshall, Protection Services Officer George Eifler, Protection Services Officer Lane Honda, Protection Services Officer Luis Sandoval, Protection Services Officer Pia Holt, Protection Services Officer Steven Honda, Protection Services Officer Tatyana Williams, Protection Services Officer Walter Booth, Protection Services Officer

TECHNICAL

Zach Ciaburri, Production Manager John Doyle, House Head Electrician Michael Patton, AV Supervisor Dorann Matson, Stage Manager Jonathan Hansen, Theatre Technician Tiffany Cramer, Artist Services

FRONT OF HOUSE

Carolyn Sedlak, Lead House Manager Adele Powers, Assistant House Manager Marla Hattabaugh, Assistant House Manager Rebecca Courtney, Assistant House Manager Sarah Hager, Assistant House Manager Tina Gazia, Assistant House Manager Wendy Crawford, Assistant House Manager