Digital Program Book - Feb 9 - 23, 2022

Contents 2

Gregory Porter February 9

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Dirty Dozen Brass Band February 11

12 Scottsdale

Philharmonic February 13

20 Keyboard

Conversations® with Jeffrey Siegel February 15

24 Small Island Big Song

February 18

30 Jeremy Jordan With Seth Rudetsky February 19

34 Heartbeat Opera Fidelio

February 22

40 The Wood Brothers

February 23

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Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts Presents

AN EVENING WITH

GREGORY PORTER Wednesday, February 9, 2022 7:30 p.m.

Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts Virginia G. Piper Theater

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GREGORY PORTER PROGRAM To be announced on stage BIOGRAPHY Gregory Porter We’d tell you Gregory Porter is back, but you probably already knew. You probably felt the earth rumbling, announcing the man’s bone-deep baritone, or you felt the air change as the warmth of his sound filled the atmosphere like a hug from above. That’s because All Rise, his sixth studio album, marks a return to Porter’s beloved original songwriting—heart-on-sleeve lyrics imbued with everyday philosophy and real-life detail, set to a stirring mix of jazz, soul, blues, and gospel. Produced by Troy Miller (Laura Mvula, Jamie Cullum, Emili Sandé), the set also represents the evolution of Porter’s art to something even more emphatic, emotive, intimate, and universal. After his 2017 album Nat King Cole & Me, Porter knew two things: that he’d bring in an orchestra for his next LP and music is medicine. In the spirit of that latter revelation, All Rise brims with songs about irrepressible love, plus a little protest, because the road to healing is bumpy.

“Yes, you could say that I went big,” says Porter about his latest album, which combines the talents of his longtime loyal bandmates, a handpicked horn section, a 10-member choir, and the London Symphony Orchestra Strings. “But, quite frankly, the way I write in my head, it all happens with just voice and piano first, and it’s built up from there. It feels good to get back to the rhythms and the styles and the feelings and the way that I like to lay down my own music from start to finish.”

While the strings were recorded at Abbey Road, the core of All Rise was made in two locations: in Los Angeles at the legendary Capitol Studios, just a couple of hours from Porter’s Bakersfield, California, home and at a cozy studio in Paris’s Saint-Germain-des-Prés quarter, a historic hub for literature and jazz. The idea was that Porter would start his days exploring the Parisian streets and cafes, fill up on coffee and croissants, and then saunter in to record for a few hours. But the Grammy®-stacking star—who’s dined with Stevie Wonder and sung for the Queen of England—remains blue-collar by blood. He had a job to do, so he led his band day and night through these songs, challenging the process every step. “Quite frankly, there was some frustration from the band, like, ‘This is the eighth different feel we’ve put on this song!’ And I’m like, ‘Yeah, I know. Let’s continue with the ninth,’” Porter recalls with a chuckle that could disarm far worse conflicts.

In fact, Porter himself wrestled with this album’s direction. Like many concerned citizens these days, he found himself obsessed with the politics of the day, every new song morphing into a response to the powers that be. It was unhealthy, and exactly the kind of thing those powers feed on: attention, influence, anger. Porter scrapped nearly everything, looked inward, upward, and around him, and arrived at a new raison d’être found in the title, All Rise. “We hear that phrase when presidents or judges come into the room,” says Porter, “but I’m thinking ‘all of us’ rise—not just one person being exalted. We are all exalted and lifted up by love. This is my political thought and my real truth. It comes from my personality, my mother’s personality, the personality of the blues, and of black people. It’s this idea of making do with the scraps, of resurrection and ascension, and of whatever the current situation is, it can get better through love.”

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That hard-won doctrine is heard loud and clear over the surging, grit-caked blues of “Long List of Troubles,” where Porter growls, “Disappointment can drop me / From a thousand stories high / I got a spare set of wings / Watch me fly!” Porter’s version of protest can be worldly—he takes on child-slavers over the contrastingly lush and smoothly swaying “Merchants of Paradise”—or it can be down-home, as on “Mister Holland.” That brass-blessed southern soul jam finds Porter (ironically) thanking the white father of his love interest for not making any trouble over his black skin. As our host explains: “That type of energy is being resurrected and made to feel okay these days. I think about things like that for my son. In that way, a song ostensibly about hate is in fact about love—both romantic and familial.

All Rise doesn’t shy away from the fact that love is complicated. Even as Porter channels the warmth of Bill Withers—and the choir whips up a celebratory Sunday morning clap-along—”Dad Gone Thing” balances Porter’s disdain for his absent dad against his gratitude for the fact that he inherited his voice from him, against his sadness over the relationship they could’ve shared. The song grew from Porter attending his father’s funeral, where he learned not only that the man sang but also, upon seeing a folded flag, that he was a veteran. “I would’ve been proud my whole life,” says Porter, his deep voice cracking ever so slightly. We also hear of unrequited love over the string-swathed croonerpop perfection of “Merry Go Round” and of the impediments of love on the resplendent LP opener “Concorde,” where a jet-setting Porter marvels at the rarity of his elevated position—figuratively and literally—while just longing to be home with his family.

Cuts like “Faith in Love,” with its lightly funky Marvin Gaye groove, and “Thank You,” dedicated to everyone who’s helped Porter along the way, underscore another complexity of love as Porter sees it.

“I keep making references that are both worldly and of the Most High,” he explains. “Am I speaking of God or am I speaking of the people that are on Earth here with me? Am I talking about my actual father who’s dead and in heaven, or am I talking about my Heavenly Father?”

That blurry relationship is practically coded into Porter’s DNA. One of eight siblings raised by a minister mother in a poor part of Bakersfield, young Gregory found his voice both by singing in church and by studying her Nat King Cole records at home. Though Cole’s talent, wisdom, and poise made him something of a surrogate father to a musically gifted boy who lived in his own head, it was a football scholarship that eventually carried Porter from California’s Central Valley to San Diego State University. An injury derailed his athletic career, but he found a mentor in producer Kamau Kenyatta, who brought him into a Hubert Laws session and has worked with Porter ever since (in fact, he coproduced All Rise’s Los Angeles sessions). After college, Porter moved to New York to work the kitchen in his brother’s Bed-Stuy cafe by day and jazz clubs by night.

Though Porter had an acclaimed role in the original 1999 Broadway cast of It Ain’t Nothin’ But the

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GREGORY PORTER Blues—and staged his own Nat King Cole & Me musical in 2004—it was inevitable that he’d become known for his songs. That was made abundantly clear when both of Porter’s indie albums—2010’s Water and 2012’s Be Good—received Grammy® nominations, paving the way for his world-beating 2013 Blue Note debut, Liquid Spirit, which won the Grammy® for Best Jazz Vocal Album. He hasn’t let down his legion of fans since, whether collaborating with Disclosure on “Holding On,” scoring another Grammy® for Take Me to the Alley (2016), or telling his life story through Cole’s songbook. Like others, Porter is still surprised by his runaway success, but he has a theory: “I was soothed by my voice as a child, and I think that’s the same thing others get from it. I’m trying to heal myself with these songs.”

And that’s the thing about love that All Rise keeps circling. Even when it’s painful, confusing, out of reach, or under attack, love is ultimately curative. Hit “play” on the gorgeous torch song “If Love Is Overrated,” and tell us you don’t identify with Porter as he abandons logic for a mere chance at seeing love’s promise bloom. Or drop the needle on “Revival” and just try to pretend you aren’t lifted by the spirit no matter your personal faith or affiliation. Once again, Porter cuts through the noise of genres and the mess of life to reach us all where we live: the heart.

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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

MARDI GRAS MAMBO FEATURING

DIRTY DOZEN BRASS BAND AND NATHAN AND THE ZYDECO CHA-CHAS Roger Lewis – Baritone Sax/Vocals Kevin Harris – Tenor Sax/Vocals Gregory Davis – Trumpet/Vocals Kirk Joseph – Sousaphone TJ Norris – Trombone/Vocals Julian Addison – Drums Takeshi Shimmura – Guitar Nathan Williams – Accordion

Friday, February 11, 2022 8 p.m.

Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts Virginia G. Piper Theater

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DIRTY DOZEN BRASS BAND PROGRAM Mardi Gras Mambo: The Dirty Dozen Brass Band are pioneers of the modern New Orleans brass band movement, recognized worldwide as an unstoppable musical machine. And Nathan Williams delivers a direct connection to Zydeco’s storied pioneers such as Clifton Chenier and Boozoo Chavis. Together, it’s a non-stop dancefest—a masterclass in blues, Cajun, New Orleans soul, zydeco, and R&B from two of Louisiana’s best!

BIOGRAPHY The Dirty Dozen Brass Band Celebrating more than 40 years since their founding in 1977, New Orleans-based Dirty Dozen Brass Band has taken the traditional foundation of brass band music and incorporated it into a blend of genres including bebop jazz, funk, and R&B/soul. This unique sound, described by the band as “musical gumbo,” has allowed the Dirty Dozen to tour across five continents and more than 30 countries, record 12 studio albums, and collaborate with a range of artists, from Modest Mouse to Widespread Panic to Norah Jones. Decades later, the Dirty Dozen Brass band is a world-famous music machine, whose name is synonymous with genre-bending romps and high-octane performances.

The History of the Dirty Dozen Brass Band In 1977, The Dirty Dozen Social and Pleasure Club in New Orleans began showcasing a traditional Crescent City brass band. It was a joining of two proud, but antiquated, traditions at the time: social and pleasure clubs date back over a century to a time when Black southerners could rarely afford life insurance, and the clubs would provide proper funeral arrangements. Brass bands, early predecessors of jazz as we know it, would often follow the funeral procession, playing somber dirges, then once the family of the deceased was out of earshot, burst into jubilant dance tunes as casual onlookers danced in the streets. By the late ’70s, few of either existed. The Dirty Dozen Social and Pleasure club decided to assemble this group as a house band, and over the course of these early gigs, the seven-member ensemble adopted the venue’s name, becoming The Dirty Dozen Brass Band.

Nathan & the Zydeco Cha-Chas With over three decades under his hat, Nathan Williams is renowned as one of Southwest Louisiana’s most beloved Creole music and culture pioneers. After founding his Nathan & the Zydeco Cha-Chas ensemble in 1985, Williams has since released 11 recordings and has brought his unique take on South Louisiana’s regional music to all corners of the globe. Williams’s lively stage show has crossed all barriers to bring Acadiana's unique French Creole culture and zydeco music to audiences worldwide. A 2005 inductee into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame, Williams has also been honored with Louisiana's Zydeco Music Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018. The Cha-Chas have been voted the top Festival Band in the country and have won New Orleans' OffBeat magazine's coveted Big Easy Award for Best Zydeco Band for several years running.

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MOMIX

Friday, March 11, 8 p.m.

Tickets start at $29 VIVA MOMIX celebrates the most memorable works from the last 40 years in MOMIX’s repertoire.

The company will perform excerpts from Baseball, which was commissioned in 1992 in conjunction with the opening of the Scottsdale Stadium as the new spring training home of the San Francisco Giants.

Dance Series Presenting Sponsors: Karen and John Voris & Betty Hum and Alan Yudell

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Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts Presents

SCOTTSDALE PHILHARMONIC Sunday, February 13, 2022 4 p.m.

Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts Virginia G. Piper Theater

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CONCERT PROGRAM Conductors John Massaro Reinhold Glière (1874–1956)

Dmitry Polyakov Russian Sailors Dance

Alexander Borodin Symphony no. 2 in B Minor (1833–1887) 1. Allegro Moderato 2. Scherzo. Molto Vivo 3. Andante 4. Finale. Allegro Franz Lehár: “Lippen Schweigen” from Die Lustige Witwe (1870–1948) Duet with Melissa Solomon and Johnny Huerta INTERMISSION Pyotr llyich Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto no. 1 Movement 1 (1840–1893) Vitaly Serebriakov, piano Eduardo di Capua O Sole Mio (1859–1920) Johnny Huerta, soloist Pyotr llyich Tchaikovsky (1840–1893)

1812 Overture

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SCOTTSDALE PHILHARMONIC CONDUCTORS John Massaro, Resident Conductor John Massaro is a resident conductor for the Scottsdale Philharmonic. He is also a principal conductor for Phoenix Opera and the Southwest Vocal Competition, conducting opera productions as well as galas with opera superstars Dmitri Hvorostovsky and Jonas Kaufmann. Massaro served as an assistant to Leonard Bernstein during the creation of his opera A Quiet Place and to Zubin Mehta for the Israel Philharmonic’s production of Madam Butterfly. He worked extensively with the German soprano Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, coaching both opera and art song repertoire. Massaro started as a vocal coach and conductor. He went on to coach and accompanied several artists from the Metropolitan Opera in New York. Massaro made his Carnegie Hall debut conducting the Mozart Requiem, which led to a distinguished European tour to Budapest, Krakow, Prague, Salzburg, and Vienna. He debuted with the Phoenix Symphony in 2002, conducting a 9/11 memorial concert, which included his own arrangement of the National Anthem. He also served as musical director for the Phoenix Theater Company and the Black Theatre Troupe (BTT), receiving an ariZoni Award for BTT’s production of Blues in the Night. He has also won awards as a music director for the Arizona Broadway Theatre.

Dmitry Polyakov, Guest Conductor Dmitry Polyakov is an award-winning symphonic and operatic conductor from Russia. He has earned advanced degrees in symphonic and operatic conducting, composition, and music teaching. Polyakov comes with an extensive repertoire that includes symphonic, operatic, ballet, and original compositions, and it spans the breadth of international experience. His experience includes performing masterpieces of all genres, nourishing the advancement of the orchestral repertoire, and fundraising while keeping an active role in music education, community work, and outreach activities.

SOLOISTS Tenor ‘Johnny’ Huerta is a native Arizonan whose musical journey began in late 2007 by way of Jeanne Anderson of the Vintage Vocals.

In early 2008, he was recruited by All Saints of the Desert Episcopal Church choir and became a member of West Valley Chorale thereafter. In April 2008, Huerta was awarded corporate sponsorship and began studying with Gail Dubinbaum, formerly of the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art (the Met), and Maestro John Massaro, founders of Phoenix Opera. In March 2009, Huerta performed The Seven Last Words of Christ by Theodore Dubois with SCOR’s Sinfonia del Sol and went on to complete his professional development program at Taos Opera Institute in New Mexico. In June 2010, Huerta was featured in Phoenix Opera’s production of Die Fledermaus at

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the grand reopening of the Elks Opera House in Prescott. In January 2011, he debuted with Phoenix Opera’s Los Tres Tenors at the world-famous Musical Instrument Museum in Phoenix, followed by his professional operatic debut in Phoenix Opera’s production of La Traviata at Phoenix’s historic Orpheum Theatre. Huerta’s other title roles include Prince Karl Franz from The Student Prince, General Kromov in FIO Americas production of The Merry Widow in Sao Paolo, Brazil, and Rodolfo from La Boheme with the Windy City Opera Company in Chicago. Huerta is also a concert artist with TAD Management.

Award-winning soprano Melissa Solomon, praised by Opera Canada magazine as “delightful” and “vivacious,” is exciting audiences as a rare and diverse performing actress. She is currently in her ninth season with the Arizona Opera and sings with Songs By Heart, a nonprofit organization providing therapeutic music sessions to dementia and Alzheimer’s patients with songs of the ’30s, ’40s, and ’50s. She debuted with Halifax Summer Opera as Cleopatra in Giulio Cesare in Nova Scotia, Canada, and repeated the same role at Arizona State University (ASU) in addition to other roles with Lyric Opera Theatre. Equally experienced in oratorio, Solomon has performed Haydn’s Creation with the Mt. Desert Summer Chorale in Bar Harbor, Maine, and returned there in 2020 to perform Beethoven’s Mass in C Major. As a diverse singing actress, she has given numerous solo concerts, performed large roles in musical theatre, and was a lead vocalist in a jazz band. She has been a recipient of numerous awards and was the Arizona District Winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. She is a graduate of ASU, a full-time mother of two boys, and based in Gilbert.

Vitaly Serebriakov, D.M.A, is described as a “thoughtful artist with a firm technique, a gorgeous tone, and a sensitive touch” (Fanfare magazine), and by Steinway artist Robert Hamilton as “an outstanding, professional pianist, whose comprehensive performances blend intelligent stylistic understanding with emotional depth and strong technical prowess.” Russian-born Serebriakov is a versatile musician, teaching artist, and recording engineer.

He has performed across the world in such prestigious venues as Carnegie Hall and Steinway Hall in New York City, Virginia G. Piper Theater, the Athens Conservatoire, and Dr. Hoch’s Konservatorium, among many others. Serebriakov has won awards in numerous international piano competitions, including the All-Russia Open Contest of Pianists, the 6th International Competition “Music Without Limits” in Lithuania, and the 2nd International Rachmaninov-Gesellschaft e.V. Competition in Germany. Serebriakov has performed and collaborated with such conductors as Alexander Skulsky, Vladimir Plaksin, Igor Zhukov, James Johnston, and David Wilson. Vitaly is a doctor of musical arts in piano performance candidate at Arizona State University. His principal teachers include Vladimir Feltsman, Paul Ostrovsky, Robert Hamilton, Natalia Fish, and Robert Satterlee.

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SCOTTSDALE PHILHARMONIC Season 2022–23 Scottsdale Philharmonic Orchestra Members John Massaro, Resident Conductor

Dmitry Polyakov, Guest Conductor

The number of musicians and seating on stage varies with each musical work being played.

Violin 1

Cello

Bass Clarinet

Timpani

Vickie Thai, Concertmaster Helen Brush Priscila Bonitez Marna Bowling Daniel Crook Connie Jahmarkt Xiaolin Li Seogim Moon Carl Reiter Nancy Reiter Joanne Schartow Betty Carol Singer Sharon Stolper

Renee Rechlin, Principal Kirsten Alexander Brandy Bivins Charlie Bullen JoAnn Cleland Oxana Cochran Kathryn Entrekin Brandy Isadora Janet Millard Rob Wills Dennis Yee

Art Henriquez

Maryanne Kremer-Ames

Bassoon

Piano

Raimund Fromme Marty Haub Leon Jin

Jeremy Peterman Vitaly Serebriakov Qingqing Ye

Contra Bassoon

Harp

Marty Haub

Mary Schneekloth

Bass

Vlolin 2

Byron Edgar, Principal Debra Exner Mary Kelly Emily Petty Meyer Adriana Pretorius

Bruce Legge, Principal Leah Hodge Bobby Pirtle

Kathryn Hart, Principal Holly Brown Samantha Camacho Anna Clermont Jennifer Demaree Christy Dulce Jan Hepworth Sandra Kubikki Quida Lewis Alicia Martin Barbara Moss Amy Schroader Leslie Seitz

Flute Rhonda Bowen Karla Martin Angela McCabe Tim Solarz Nancy Sowers

Piccolo Karla Martin

Trumpet

Horn Matthew Mikhailov Sue Moon Elizabeth Vinersar Larry Wendt Kenzie Kimble

Trombone Ben Hazel William Kurth

Bass Bone Toni Wilson Ward Wilson

Viola

Oboe

Carolyn Broe, Principal Daniel Kennedy Celeste Goring Jennifer Grubbs Christopher Fromme Petra Fromme Joy Partridge Alexis Pillow George Smith

Fred Korman Kelsey Maes Denise Wilson

Tuba

English Horn

Percussion

Marcie Kneisley

Liz Patronik, Principal Jon Dhuse Shirley Phillips

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Clarinet Tami Bruce Heather Van Beck

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Matt Wilkins, Principal

SCOTTSDALE PHILHARMONIC DONORS

CONCERTMASTER CIRCLE $2,500 to $4,999

Thank you to All of Our Patrons The Scottsdale Philharmonic is pleased to acknowledge the following patrons who have made generous gifts of $50 or more. These donations help to make classical music available to audiences of all ages.

Ellen AndresSchneider & Ralph Andres Debra Exner & George Smith Morris & Gretchen Hatley James & Dale Hardt Leo & Hermine Philippe Darlene Richert

LIFETIME BENEFACTOR $50,000 and above The Herberger Foundation/ Judd & Billie Jo Herberger* James Morgan & Family* Joy Partridge & Family*

PHILHARMONIC CIRCLE $25,000 to $49,999 Anonymous Tom & Joyce Fisher Family Foundation

CONDUCTOR CIRCLE $10,000 to $24,999 Alex Stricker Photography Robert & Alice Hing Richard Hoffman Bob & Emily Vincent

ANGEL CIRCLE $5,000 to $9,999 Charlie Bullen Lawrence & Valerie Bullen Ken & Marina Vlah

Judd and Billie Jo Herberger We love the music and passion of the Scottsdale Philharmonic!

MUSICIAN CIRCLE $1,000 to $2,499 Jane & Jason Barlow Kathryn Bell Hart Trust Lawrence J Niederhofer & Patricia Dalton Walter & Karen Nielsen Thomas & Sandee Stern James & Mary Talbot Mrs. Sharon Miller PATRON CIRCLE $500 to $999 Lynne Larson Dennis Mueller David & Diana Smith Solange & Michael Whitehead Solange Whitehead Scottsdale City Councilwoman David Stugart PHD

SPONSOR CIRCLE $250 to $499 Neil S Berman Walter Finley Peter Lott Merrill & Barbara Moss James & Augusta Potter Thomas Risk Dorothy Sydnor

SUPPORT CIRCLE $100 to $249 Neha Grupta Kenny Fung Linda Nowacek Vernon Sater

FRIEND CIRCLE $50 to $99 Walter & Tania Booriakin John Bullen Jo Cleland Delores Fangman Jennifer Fosberg Sheila Hoffer Rebehak Lewis Dolores Mccann Grant & Gerrie Mills Lynne Nazari George Ostan Julie Rivas Elizabeth Ross Jim & Pamela Schembs Earl Artiste-Teteak

MISSION The mission of the Scottsdale Philharmonic is to provide the City of Scottsdale and the surrounding communities with a professional symphony orchestra performing a series of traditional classical music concerts, making classical music available to audiences of all ages.

OUR VISION The vision of the Scottsdale Philharmonic is to enhance the cultural environment of the City of Scottsdale with a professional symphony orchestra so that everyone can attend classical symphony concerts.

As Update Allows

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Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts Presents

Keyboard Conversations® with Jeffrey Siegel

MY FAVORITE BRAHMS Tuesday, February 15, 2022 7:30 p.m.

Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts Virginia G. Piper Theater

Series Presenting Sponsor: Dr. David and Joan Goldfarb Trust

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KEYBOARD CONVERSATIONS® WITH JEFFREY SIEGEL PROGRAM Johannes Brahms (1833–1897)

Five Waltzes from op. 39 Ballade in B Minor, op. 10, no. 3 Rhapsody in B Minor, op. 79, no. 1 Intermezzo in C Major, op. 119, no. 3 INTERMISSION Hungarian Dance no. 7 in F Major Intermezzo in B-flat Minor, op. 117, no. 2 Intermezzo in E-flat Major, op. 117, no. 1 Capriccio in D Minor, op. 116, no. 7 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

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BIOGRAPHY American pianist Jeffery Siegel has been a soloist with the world’s great orchestras. Abroad, these include the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra; London Symphony Orchestra; Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and Philharmonia Orchestra; Moscow State Symphony Orchestra; Munich’s Bayerischer Rundfunk; the Philharmonic Orchestras of Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, Oslo, as well as Stockholm; the Orchestra of La Scala; and NHK Symphony Orchestra of Tokyo. In the United States, engagements have included the New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, The Philadelphia Orchestra, The Cleveland Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra, and Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Siegel has collaborated with many of the preeminent conductors of our time and legendary maestros of the past, including Claudio Abbado, Pierre Boulez, Sir Andrew Davis, Charles Dutoit, Neeme Järvi, James Levine, Lorin Maazel, Zubin Mehta, Eugene Ormandy, Sir Simon Rattle, Leonard Slatkin, Sir Georg Solti, William Steinberg, Yevgeny Svetlanov, Klaus Tennstedt, Michael Tilson Thomas, and David Zinman.

A passionate communicator and performer, Siegel also presents Keyboard Conversations®. These brilliantly polished concerts-with-commentary combine captivating comments with dynamic performances of piano masterpieces. The concert concludes with a lively question-and-answer. New listeners discover an informal, entertaining, and instantly accessible introduction to the vast repertoire of the piano and to classical music, in general. Seasoned music lovers discover an enriched, more focused listening experience. Long-running series continue in London and in numerous American cities, among them New York, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Palm Desert, Dallas, Denver, and Washington, D. C. The loyalty of Jeffrey Siegel’s audiences is heartwarming. The Scottsdale series recently celebrated its 40th season, and the Chicago series marked its 50th.

Siegel has appeared in radio interviews on classical music stations across the United States and has been a frequent guest on the popular BBC program “In Tune” in the United Kingdom. Keyboard Conversations® ~ Piano Treasures, a Time Life production, has been broadcast by PBS to more than 150 cities nationwide, and is available now on DVD. CD releases include The Romantic Music of Chopin; The Miracle of Mozart, recorded live in London; The Power and Passion of Beethoven; The Romanticism of the Russian Soul and The Romance of the Piano (Random House Audio Publishing Group); Music for the Young – and Young at Heart (WFMT Radio, Chicago); American Pianistic Treasures (WEDU, Tampa); and Spellbinding Bach. Siegel’s recording of Gershwin’s complete works for piano and orchestra, with Leonard Slatkin and the St. Louis Symphony, continues to be a best seller and is available on Amazon.

Born into a musical family, Siegel studied with Rudolf Ganz in his native Chicago, with the legendary Rosina Lhévinne at The Juilliard School, and, as a Fulbright Scholar, with Ilona Kabos in London. Siegel and his wife live in New York.

“An achievement of a sort seldom heard.” — The New York Times “… a pianist with a bravura technique and a big, gorgeous sound … and when the artist himself offers the inside scoop, the musical experience becomes vastly more personal.” — The Denver Post For additional information, please visit Siegel’s website at KeyboardConversations.com.

Jeffrey Siegel is a Steinway artist.

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Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts Presents

SMALL ISLAND BIG SONG Friday, February 18, 2022 8 p.m.

Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts Virginia G. Piper Theater

Presenting Sponsor:

Signature Sponsor:

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SMALL ISLAND BIG SONG PROGRAM Framed in a theatrical narrative amongst panoramic visuals of the artist’s homelands, the audience experiences a musical journey across the breadth and into the soul of island nations of Pacific and Indian Ocean, meeting an ancient seafaring ancestry and confronting the impacts of climate crisis head on.

Drawing on a roster of renowned First Nation artists from across the Pacific and Indian Oceans, the concert features musicians performing irresistible oceanic grooves and soulful island ballads, engaging audiences from huge festival stages to intimate theaters. Combining music, spoken word, and audio-visual projections of footage collected during a three-year film trip across sixteen countries—guided by the artists on their homelands—Small Island Big Song becomes “one coherent jaw-dropping piece” as described by Rob Schwartz in Billboard.

Toured to 15 countries across four continents, more than 170,000 audiences have seen it live since its premiere at SXSW 2018. It has become a feature of Small Island Big Song concerts for encores to spontaneously erupt into a shared celebration, with instruments, voices, and dancing bodies rising from the seats.

Moving beyond the concert experience, Small Island Big Song offers a variety of opportunities for students and audiences to investigate the environmental, political, social, and cultural contexts on our oceans’ islands.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION Small Island Big Song is a multi-platform project, uniting the seafaring cultures of the Pacific and Indian Oceans through songs, a contemporary and relevant musical statement from a region at the frontline of the climate crisis.

Founded by Taiwanese producer BaoBao Chen and Australian music producer and filmmaker Tim Cole in 2015, the two have been recording and filming with more than 100 musicians in nature, across 16 island nations of the Pacific and Indian Oceans. The outcomes include an award-winning album, a feature film, outreach programs, and a live concert.

Small Island Big Song explores the cultural connections between the descendants of the seafarers of the Pacific and Indian Oceans through the Austronesian migration. Working with artists who have made a choice to maintain the cultural voice of their people, to sing in the language, and to play the instruments of their land. These unique lineages mixed with their diverse contemporary styles—rootsreggae, beats, grunge, R&B, folk and spoken–word—establishing a contemporary musical dialogue between cultures as far afield as Madagascar, Aotearoa (New Zealand), Taiwan, Mauritius, Marshall Islands, Papua New Guinea, Tahiti, and Rapa Nui (Easter Island).

Music critic Tom Orr noted in the RootsWorld review that Small Island Big Song sounds “like one very big, very happy family doing what they do best while helping get the word out on a most serious issue.”

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ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES Sauljaljui 戴曉君 – Paiwan of Taiwan Lead singer and musician – lead vocal, nose flute, jaw harp, moon lute, guitar In 2009, a typhoon devastated Sauljaljui’s village and community; her response was to write “Lament of Colored Cloth,” a song that enabled the village to unite their tragedy and recover, winning a prestigious songwriters award in Taiwan. Two albums and countless international concerts later, Sauljaljui is just as dedicated to her Paiwan community, directing a yearly cultural festival, being the first female leader in her community youth group, and contributing to the community’s cultural canon.

Recently, with her elders, she created a Paiwan warriors song, now regularly performed—the first time a woman has taken this role.

Emlyn – Mauritius Lead singer and musician – lead vocal, dancer, ravann, triangle, kayamb, maravann, guitar Featured on CNN, songwriter, musician, and dancer Emlyn is leading a wave of performers across the Indian Ocean, proudly reclaiming their unique rhythms and cultural mix. Written with a reactive pen and sung in Creole, her songs rebelliously express her concerns for her island’s environment—a cause she has taken up as co-founder of Enn Losean Vivab (One Livable Ocean), a Mauritiusbased organization educating school students about plastic pollution. Emlyn brings the infectious grooves of Sega with its soul from the African slave trade to the stage, played on the ravanne, triangle, and kayamb.

Putad – Amis of Taiwan Lead singer and musician – lead vocal, bass, jaw harp “Powerful,” “entrancing,” and “unapologetic” are words used to describe Putad’s engaging stage presence. In the proud spirit of her Indigenous Amis heritage, Putad unites ancient vocal traditions with raw energy of grunge, rock, and punk as her and her brother Wusang’s band, Outlet Drift, expresses. Their bold, uplifting, and uncompromising shows place their Amis heritage on center stage at 100 decibels and 100 miles per hour as they confront prejudices, taking the audience on an unforgettable sonic ride.

Selina Leem – Marshall Islands and United States Spoken Word Selina Leem is among the global faces of climate change, representing her country in the film Before the Flood, produced by Leonardo DiCaprio, and as the youngest speaker at the COP21 for Paris Agreement, making a passionate plea to global leaders for stronger action on climate change. Leem can push her audience into a place of understanding and care for her homeland, whilst making them look into the future and see the repercussions of current global actions.

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SMALL ISLAND BIG SONG Sammy – Madagascar Musician – valiha, kabosy, jejy, flutes, marovany, guitar Sammy has led an extraordinary life as a Madagascan musician. At a time when most picked up guitars over the traditional Valiha, Sammy followed his passion for Madagascar’s musical heritage by mastering and learning how to make most of Madagascar’s instruments. His efforts came to the notice of the United Kingdom’s world music scene as his group Tarika Sammy gained international recognition, becoming a regular on major festival stages and being acknowledged as one of the world’s 10 best bands, by TIME magazine.

Kokol – Mauritius Musician – ravanne, djembe, guitar A master of Mauritius’s creole musical heritage, Kokol is spearheading a musical movement uniting the cultural intersections of the Caribbean and Indian Oceans through creating a unique and uplifting fusion of sega and reggae—two styles of music that identify with marginalized islander communities sharing a slave ancestry.

Richard Mogu – Papua New Guinea Musician – mambu, bass, guitar, log drums, kundu drum, garamut drum, percussions From Amazon Bay on the south coast, Mogu has been a featured musician in Papua New Guinea for many years as a solo artist and session musician, excelling in both traditional and contemporary styles. Whilst bass is his feature instrument, he is also adept at mambu (bamboo flutes), garamut drumming, guitars, and percussion. He was taught by legendary Sanguma founder Tony Subam.

Kan – Mauritius Musician – ravanne, boy, bob, percussions Kan is a multi-disciplinary artist from Mauritius. After being at the forefront of the local electronic music scene, he went on a quest to discover musical instruments from various cultures, looking for a meaning to his art. The increasing and urgent climate crisis brought on the urge to act. In 2017, he co-founded Enn Losean Vivab (One Livable Ocean) with Emlyn. His work started to catch worldwide interest after he was invited to deliver a TEDx talk and was interviewed by CNN. His series of ”Trash to Music” video tutorials have taught others how to craft musical instruments from garbage, such as drums made from tin cans and plastic bottles. Art carried his messages on environmental and social issues.

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CO-FOUNDER BIOGRAPHIES Tim Cole – Australia Director, music producer, filmmaker, VJ Tim Cole is an Australian creative who has been working on cross-cultural arts projects with music at the heart since producing Not Drowning Waving’s album and DVD Tabaran in Papua New Guinea.

Cole’s skills developed whilst studying filmmaking at Melbourne University during the day, and producing music at night, which led to a career of equal parts film and music.

His reputation in Indigenous arts led him to Alice Springs as senior music producer for Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association (CAAMA). It was the experience here recording traditional songlines whilst hearing the 5th IPCC report, which led to the founding of Small Island Big Song.

Cole holds a bachelor of education in media arts from Melbourne University and an associate’s in music production from the University of Victoria in Australia and has received a Churchill Fellowship and invitation to speak on climate change and the arts at the United Nations, Association of Performing Arts Professionals Conference in New York, and WOMEX. Cole has received industry recognition through numerous awards for projects for which he has played a key creative role.

BaoBao Chen – Taiwan Manager, project producer Having negotiated, booked, planned, and managed several successful international concert tours across Europe, the United States, Asia, and Oceania, involving up to thirteen artists from eight countries, whilst releasing a music album, creating an interactive website, and bringing a feature film to screen. Chen is one of Taiwan’s most prominent producers of cross-cultural arts projects.

With a bachelor of arts in business management from Yuan Ze University in Taiwan, Chen created Small Island Big Song from the grassroots, gathering financial support through crowdfunding, philanthropic bodies, and arts grants, along with initiating the project’s Fair Trade Music structure and recognition of Intangible Cultural Heritage.

As a vivid storyteller and fluent in English and Mandarin, she has a social media following of more than 150,000, and has been invited to present at TEDx, Association of Performing Arts Professionals Conference in New York, WOMEX, World Stage Design, and numerous film and music festivals.

She was brought up by a vegan family on an organic farm and was a member of the Roots and Shoots program of the Jane Goodall Foundation. It was her skills in arts management and her love for nature that founded Small Island Big Song.

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Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts and Mark Cortale Present

SETH RUDETSKY CONCERT SERIES STARRING

JEREMY JORDAN FEATURING SETH RUDETSKY AS PIANIST & HOST Saturday, February 19, 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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JEREMY JORDAN PROGRAM To be announced on stage BIOGRAPHIES Seth Rudetsky is the afternoon host on Sirius/XM Satellite Radio’s On Broadway and 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 scoop 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 (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 Wesely started hosting/producing Stars In The House (StarsInTheHouse.com), a twice-daily livestream that’s featured tons of Broadway stars as well as TV reunions like The West Wing, Scandal, Frasier, and E.R. and has raised more than $1,000,000 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 sail to the Western Caribbean; in April 2022 they journey from Barcelona to Venice, Italy; in June 2022 they roundtrip from Southampton, England, to Norway; and in October 2022 they go Transatlantic from New York to Southampton. More info at SethsBroadwayVacations.com.

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Jeremy Jordan recently starred on Broadway opposite Kerry Washington in the provocative new play, American Son, and then reprised his role in the Netflix film adaptation of the show. Next up is his lead role as seminal record producer and Casablanca Records founder Neil Bogart in the feature, Spinning Gold. Other films include The Last 5 Years opposite Anna Kendrick, Joyful Noise with Queen Latifah and Dolly Parton, and Newsies. His TV work includes series regulars on CW’s Supergirl, NBC’s Smash and Disney Channel’s Tangled. Other Broadway shows include his Tony®-nominated starring role in Newsies, playing Clyde in Bonnie & Clyde (Theatre World Award), starring as Tony in West Side Story, and playing leads in Rock of Ages and Waitress. Jeremy currently stars as Seymour in the critically acclaimed New York revival of the iconic Little Shop of Horrors, Best Musical Revival winner of the Drama Desk Award, Outer Critics Circle Award, and Drama League Award. Follow @JeremyMJordan for concert and music updates.

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Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts Presents

HEARTBEAT OPERA

FIDELIO

Music by Ludwig van Beethoven Original libretto by Joseph Sonnleithner and Georg Friedrich Sonnleithner Adapted and directed by Ethan Heard Arranged and music directed by Daniel Schlosberg New English dialogue co-written by Marcus Scott and Ethan Heard CAST Roc — Derrell Acon Stan — Curtis Bannister Leah/Lee — Kelly Griffin Marcy — Victoria Lawal Pizarro — Corey McKern Also featuring the voices of more than 100 incarcerated singers and 70 volunteers from six prison choirs: Oakdale Community Choir, KUJI Men’s Chorus, UBUNTU Men’s Chorus, HOPE Thru Harmony Women’s Choir, East Hill Singers, and Voices of Hope.

Tuesday, February 22, 2022 7:30 p.m.

Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts Virginia G. Piper Theater Heartbeat Opera’s Fidelio tour is generously sponsored by Thérèse Esperdy & Robert Neborak with additional support from Gaily & John Beinecke, Sonja Berggren & Patrick Seaver, Natalia Bulgari, Jaye Chen & Peter Brown, Bob & Sylvie Fitzpatrick, Stephen Foster, John Kander, Sandy Liotta & Carl Osterman, Deb and Bill Ryan on behalf of Lapham's Quarterly, Bernd Schachtsiek, Melanie & Joseph Shugart, the Howard and Sarah Solomon Foundation, and Marie-Monique & Raymond Steckel. This production is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.

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FIDELIO PROGRAM “Urgent, powerful, and poignant” — The New York Times A Black activist is wrongfully incarcerated. His wife, Leah, disguises herself to infiltrate the system and free him. But when injustice reigns, one woman’s grit may not be enough to save her love.

Featuring the voices of imprisoned people, this daring adaptation pits corruption against courage, hate against hope.

Heartbeat Opera introduced its landmark production of Fidelio at its 2018 Spring Festival. Directed

by Ethan Heard, the company’s co-artistic director and co-founder, and using an arrangement of the score prepared and conducted by Daniel Schlosberg, the company’s co-music director, this adaptation of Beethoven’s sole opera embodies Heartbeat’s core values of visionary collaboration and creative interrogation of familiar repertoire in order to engage with contemporary social experience.

FIDELIO DIRECTOR’S NOTE “We are all implicated when we allow other people to be mistreated. An absence of compassion can corrupt the decency of a community, a state, a nation. Fear and anger can make us vindictive and abusive, unjust and unfair, until we all suffer from the absence of mercy and we condemn ourselves as much as we victimize others. The closer we get to mass incarceration and extreme levels of punishment, the more I believe it’s necessary to recognize that we all need mercy, we all need justice, and -- perhaps -- we all need some measure of unmerited grace.” -Bryan Stevenson, Just Mercy Carved in stone above the entrance to the London Correctional Institution in Ohio are the words, “He who enters here leaves not hope behind.” Inside, on Tuesday mornings, the Ubuntu Men’s Chorus rehearses. One of the singers has a portrait of Bach tattooed on his forearm. At the invitation of the choir’s conductor Cathy Roma, Dan and I visited rehearsal on March 21, 2018. The Ubuntu Men’s Chorus is one of six prison choirs that are participating in this production. Overall, more than 100 “inside” (incarcerated) singers and 80 “outside” singers (volunteers who visit the prisons) are raising their voices with us.

Fidelio is about hope in the face of despair. In our adaptation, Leah’s husband Stan, a Black Lives Matter activist, has been wrongfully incarcerated by a corrupt warden, but she still fiercely hopes she can free him. It is about courage in the face of danger: Leah disguises herself as a correctional officer to infiltrate the facility where she believes Stan is being kept. And love in the face of hate: despite the warden’s racism, love is Leah’s inspiration.

We live in a time of great injustice. Violence against black bodies is an ongoing epidemic plaguing our society, and our prison system incarcerates many, many more people than it should. Did you know that the U.S. has 5% of the world’s population and 25% of its prisoners? The state of California alone has more prisoners than do France, the UK, Germany, Japan, Singapore, and the Netherlands combined.

Shockingly, one in every three black male babies born in the U.S. in this century is expected to be incarcerated.

In the midst of great pain, Beethoven’s music has the power to connect and uplift our spirits. FIDELIO expresses the yearning for freedom and redemption in us all. Experiencing this music and this story nourishes and strengthens us in these dark times, reminding us of the beauty we, as human beings,

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are capable of.

In the Ubuntu Chorus rehearsal, Dan accompanied on keyboard, and I filmed. New t-shirts with the chorus logo had arrived, and the singers excitedly put them on over their uniforms. But after I explained in more detail how the footage I was shooting would be used in the production, one singer nicknamed Frederick Douglass, presumably for his white hair and noble profile, raised his hand, saying, “We should take off our t-shirts. We’ve got to represent all men in blue.”

This production is dedicated to the men and women behind bars for whom we are responsible, and for the activists who hope, leading us in the fight for justice.

Komm, Hoffnung, Lass den letzten Stern, der Muden nicht erbleinchen!

O komm, erhell’mein Ziel, sei’s noch so fern, Liebe, sie wird’s erreichen.

Come, Hope, do not dim the last star of the weary!

Light my goal: however far it may be Love will reach it.

-Translation by Nicholas Betson -Ethan Heard, Heartbeat Opera Artistic Director & Co-Founder Sources: Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson, The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander, Locked In: The True Causes of Mass Incarceration and How to Achieve Real Reform by John F. Pfaff, Let’s Get Free by Paul Butler

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FIDELIO ABOUT HEARTBEAT OPERA Heartbeat Opera was founded by Ethan Heard (co-founder and artistic director) and Louisa Proske (cofounder and resident director) in 2014—after they graduated from Yale School of Drama’s directing program—to create incisive adaptations and revelatory arrangements of classics, reimagining them for the here and now. “One of the most agile and dynamic companies on New York’s indie opera scene” (Opera News), Heartbeat has established itself as a highly respected, innovative force in the opera world. Daniel Schlosberg and Jacob Ashworth joined the team as co-music directors from the first season. In the summer of 2021, Proske relocated to Germany, and Heartbeat welcomed Derrell Acon as Heartbeat’s first associate artistic director. Annie Middleton is the company’s managing director, and Lauren Hood is interim managing director. In its first seven seasons, Heartbeat has presented 12 fully realized productions, often featuring new chamber arrangements and English translations. Heartbeat adaptations, which can be seen as world premieres of classics, speak to the moment. Fidelio featured a primarily Black cast and more than 100 incarcerated singers from six prison choirs. Carmen was set on the U.S./Mexico border and featured accordion, electric guitar, and saxophone. During the pandemic, Heartbeat took Lady M, its adaptation of Verdi’s Macbeth, online and sold out 32 Virtual Soirées, reaching 740 households across five continents; it also created Breathing Free, a visual album, which screened at venues across the country and was nominated for the 2021 Drama League Award for Outstanding Digital Concert Production. Heartbeat has shared its work at the Kennedy Center, Brooklyn Academy of Music, The Broad Stage, The Mondavi Center, Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center, and Chamber Music Northwest. It staged the first opera performance on The High Line and has mounted its immensely popular, annual, interdisciplinary Drag Extravaganza in iconic venues such as National Sawdust and Roulette.

Heartbeat has been hailed across the national and international press, including in four features in The New York Times, in stories on CNN and the BBC, and in an ALL ARTS/WNET documentary: “Bracing—icy vodka shots of opera instead of ladles of cream sauce” (New York Times), “elegant and boisterous” (New Yorker), “fascinating and gorgeous” (Observer), “ingenious” (Wall Street Journal), “gripping and entertaining” (Opernwelt), “a flatout triumph” (Opera News). Heartbeat has collaborated with organizations such as Atlas DIY and A BroaderWay to bring opera education to young people in New York City. It is represented by the world-class artist agency Opus 3 Artists.

Find Heartbeat on Twitter and Facebook at @heartbeatopera and on Instagram at @heartbeat_opera.

More info at HeartbeatOpera.org.

“In Heartbeat’s radical acts of transformation, no corner of the libretto or score is left unconsidered or unchanged.” — The New York Times CREDITS Opus 3 Artists as exclusive representative of Artist/Attraction.

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B–The Underwater Bubble Show Saturday, March 19, 7 p.m.

Tickets start at $19 A modern fairy tale, B–The Underwater Bubble Show blends drama, mime, dance, puppetry, juggling, contortionism, sand art, and magic with the amazing beauty of soap bubbles for a visual spectacle.

Act 1: 45 minutes / Intermission: 20 minutes / Act 2: 55 minutes / Suitable for all ages

Click Call Visit Donate

ScottsdalePerformingArts.org 480-499-TKTS (8587) 7380 E. Second St. Donate.ScottsdaleArts.org ScottsdaleArts.org | 480-499-TKTS

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Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts Presents

THE WOOD BROTHERS WITH SUPPORTING ACT KATIE PRUITT Wednesday, February 23, 2022 7:30 p.m.

Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts Virginia G. Piper Theater

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THE WOOD BROTHERS PROGRAM To be announced on stage BIOGRAPHIES The Wood Brothers The Wood Brothers didn’t know they were making a record. Looking back, they’re grateful for that.

“If we had known, we probably would have been too self-conscious to play what we played,” reflects bassist/vocalist Chris Wood. “At the time, we just thought we were jamming to break in our new studio, so we felt free to explore all these different ways of performing together without worrying about form or structure. It was liberating.”

Recorded live to tape, those freewheeling, improvised sessions became a vast pool of source material from which The Wood Brothers would go on to draw Kingdom In My Mind, their seventh studio release and most spontaneous and experimental collection yet. While on past records, the band—Chris Wood, guitarist/vocalist Oliver Wood, and drummer/keyboardist Jano Rix—would write a large batch of songs and then record them all at once, Kingdom In My Mind found them retroactively carving tunes out of sprawling instrumental jam sessions, like sculptors chipping away at blocks of marble. A testament to the limitless creativity of the unharnessed mind, the record explores the power of our external surroundings to shape our internal worlds (and vice versa), reckoning with time, mortality, and human nature. The songs here find strength in accepting what lies beyond our control, thoughtfully honing in on the bittersweet beauty that underlies doubt and pain and sadness with vivid character studies and unflinching self-examination. Deep as the lyrics dig, the arrangements always manage to remain buoyant and light, though, drawing from across a broad sonic spectrum to create a transportive, effervescent blend that reflects the trio’s unique place in the modern musical landscape.

“My brother came to this band from the blues and gospel world, and my history was all over the map with jazz and R&B,” says Chris Wood, who first rose to fame with the pioneering trio Medeski Martin & Wood. “The idea for this group has always been to marry our backgrounds, to imagine what might happen if Robert Johnson and Charles Mingus had started a band together.” Kingdom In My Mind follows The Wood Brothers’ most recent studio release, 2018’s One Drop Of Truth, which hit number one on the Billboard Heatseekers Chart and garnered the band their first Grammy® nomination for Best Americana Album. NPR praised the record’s “unexpected changes and kaleidoscopic array of influences,” while Uncut hailed its “virtuosic performances and subtly evocative lyrics,” and Blurt proclaimed it “a career-defining album.” Tracks from the record racked up roughly 8 million streams on Spotify alone, and the band took the album on the road for extensive tour dates in the United States and Europe, including their first headline performance at Red Rocks, two nights at San Francisco’s legendary Fillmore (captured on their 2019 release, Live At The Fillmore), and festival appearances everywhere from Bonnaroo to XPoNential.

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Katie Pruitt Acclaimed singer, songwriter, and musician Katie Pruitt is in the midst of a series of breakout years following her widely acclaimed, 2020 debut album, Expectations. Co-produced by Pruitt and her close friend Mike Robinson, the record finds Pruitt exploring complex emotional ground, covering topics such as mental illness, toxic relationships, and the frustration and difficulties of growing up gay in the Christian South. Released last spring to overwhelming praise, NPR Music called the album “stunning,” saying it “radiates so much empathy and love and understanding,” while Rolling Stone proclaimed: “A soaring vocalist and agile guitarist, Pruitt is a dynamic new presence. ... What makes Expectations such an engaging listen is its universal quality: It addresses themes relevant to everyone and leaves you feeling inspired and comforted.” Moreover, Pruitt recently launched a new podcast, The Recovering Catholic, where she explores the idea of God and attempts to discover a new spiritual identity.

Originally from the Atlanta suburbs and now based in Nashville, Pruitt has continued to receive widespread attention since her debut, having been highlighted as a Rolling Stone “Artist You Need To Know,” one of NPR Music’s “Slingshot: 20 Artists To Watch In 2019” and Southwest Magazine’s “Artists on the Rise.” She has also been featured on NPR Music’s Tiny Desk (Home) Concert series as well as CBS Mornings performing as part of their Saturday Sessions series. Known for her powerful live performances, Pruitt will tour extensively through the end of this year, including upcoming headline shows at Los Angeles’s The Hotel Café, Dallas’s Three Links, New York City’s Mercury Lounge, Nashville’s The Basement East, and Washington, D.C.’s DC9, among several others.

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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 Meribeth Reeves, Managing Director Diandra Adamczyk, Sr. Programming Coordinator Maria Cruz, Programming Coordinator

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

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Cheh Eifler, Protection Services Officer 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

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