The spring semester of Hamilton’s Performing Arts series will feature an exciting season of music and dance in Wellin Hall, Schambach Center for Music and the Performing Arts. All performances are at 7:30 p.m. unless otherwise noted.
The semester’s performances open when Symphoria returns to Hamilton on Sunday, Jan. 24, at 3 p.m. Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra’s Fawzi Haimor conducts a program that includes Beethoven’s Coriolan Overture, Mozart’s Symphonia Concertante, and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 4.
February brings jazz to the Hill with the Robert Glasper Trio on Saturday, Feb. 20. Ten years after making his Blue Note debut, and following two Grammy-winning volumes of his critically and commercially successful R&B-oriented Black Radio albums, pianist Robert Glasper returns to acoustic jazz. Glasper is joined by Vincente Archer, bass, and Damion Reid, drums for this performance.
From jazz to dance, Step Afrika! performs on Saturday, Feb. 27. Founded in 1994, Step Afrika! was the first professional company dedicated to the tradition of stepping. The company blends stepping (the percussive dance styles practiced by historically African-American fraternities and sororities) with African traditional dance and influences from a variety of other dance and art forms.
The program features fresh, innovative dance works and exciting collaborations with hip-hop, spoken word and the African-American spiritual. This performance is sure to please the entire family.
T
he series concludes with The Crooked Road on Tour: Virginia’s Heritage Music Trail on Friday, April 8. The Crooked Road on tour celebrates the traditional music that has been kept by families and communities since colonial times in southwest Virginia. This three-part concert includes performances by the Whitetop Mountain Band, whose deep roots in mountain music preserve the Whitetop region’s style of old time fiddling and banjo picking; singer, songwriter and guitarist Sandy Shortridge, whose ballads convey the emotions and pride that many mountain people share for their home and culture; and award-winning flatfoot dancer and clawhammer style banjo player, Julie Shepherd-Powell.
All performances will take place in Wellin Hall, Schambach Center for Music and the Performing Arts. Seating is general admission. Individual ticket prices are $20 for adults, $15 for senior citizens and Hamilton employees, and $5 for students. Discounted series rates are available. For more information, call the box office at 859-4331 or visit www.hamiltonpa.org.
