The 2011-12 season offered a wide variety of performance and exhibit events. Of special note was the highly successful inaugural season of the Ovations! series, IUP's new premier touring performing arts season.
- Ovations! Inaugural Season
- Theater-by--the-Grove
- Music Theater
- Sound Choices
- Dance Theater
- Sound Choices
- University Museum
- Kipp Gallery
- Ideas and Issues
Ovations! Inuagural Season
José Franch-Ballester, Clarinet
Tuesday, October 11, 2011, 8:00 p.m., Gorell Recital Hall, second floor of Sutton Hall
From Spain, this stunning and multi-award winning clarinetist is well on his way of being one of the world's finest classical chamber artists, and performing a work with IUP faculty member David Martynuik.
In the Heights
Friday, October 21, 2011, 8:00 p.m., Fisher Auditorium, IUP Performing Arts Center
Winner of four Tony Awards in 2008, including Best Musical and Best Original Score, and one Grammy; a timeless story of life, love, struggles, and dreams, set in the New York City neighborhood of Washington Heights and filled with high-energy rhythms and dance.
Mystical Arts of Tibet: Sacred Music Sacred Dance
Saturday, October 29, 8:00 p.m., Fisher Auditorium, IUP Performing Arts Center
The Tibetan monks return to Indiana, including a ten-day residency to create a spiritual sand Mandala and to present a colorful and traditional performance that will delight all ages. Also presented as part of Family Weekend at IUP.
Yamato: The Drummers of Japan
Tuesday, November 8, 2011, 8:00 p.m., Fisher Auditorium, IUP Performing Arts Center
Based near Osaka, Japan, this stunningly theatrical taiko drumming troupe regularly sells out its concerts held around the world and offers a performance that rattles the tribal rhythms inside all of us—a tremendously engaging and theatrical performance.
Eileen Ivers: An Irish Christmas
Tuesday, December 6, 2011, 8:00 p.m., Fisher Auditorium, IUP Performing Arts Center
A highly awarded Celtic fiddler in a style of music and performance rarely ever seen in our area, Eileen Ivers engages the audience with her high-energy virtuosity and electric personality. Celebrating Irish Christmas traditions, Ivers is joined by her band, Immigrant Soul, and the area's popular gospel choir, Voices of Joy.
Cedric Watson et Bijou Creole
Tuesday, February 7, 2012, 8:00 p.m., Gorell Recital Hall, second floor of Sutton Hall
Another rare treat for Indiana and just in time for Mardi Gras season, Cedric Watson brings his group for some authentic Louisiana Creole music triggered by Cajun and Zydeco music traditions.
Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
Wednesday, February 22, 2012, 8:00 p.m., Fisher Auditorium, IUP Performing Arts Center
One of the world's finest orchestral organizations, the PSO continues its partnership with IUP and will include Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 6, often referred to as “The Pathetique.”
DePue Brothers Band
Wednesday, February 29, 2012, 8:00 p.m., Gorell Recital Hall, second floor of John Sutton Hall (previously scheduled in Fisher Auditorium)
This Philly-based, seven-member band, including brothers, brings a highly trained yet free-wheeling and eminently entertaining style of performance to the stage, combining bluegrass with jazz, blues, and classical.
India Jazz Suites
Friday, March 23, 2012, 8:00 p.m., Fisher Auditorium, IUP Performing Arts Center
With live musicians and two dancers, American tap and jazz combines with traditional dance and music from India in a show which crescendos to a dueling dancers finale, including eight live musicians and some surprises for everyone.
Mnozil Brass
Thursday, March 29, 2012, 8:00 p.m., Fisher Auditorium, IUP Performing Arts Center
A hilarious, heavily talent-laden brass septet from Austria that hits the ground running with charisma and humor that quickly bring the audience into its entertaining corner.
Cordis
Monday, April 9, 2012, 8:00 p.m., Gorell Recital Hall, second floor of Sutton Hall
A unique contemporary chamber ensemble that performs with keyboard, cello, percussion, and the less-known but highly mesmerizing cimbalom.
Young Frankenstein
Monday, April 16, 2012, 8:00 p.m., Fisher Auditorium, IUP Performing Arts Center
A wickedly inspired hit Broadway musical from the zaniness of Mel Brooks and his incarnation of equally slapstick and slightly bawdy movie of the same name. It's alive at the Lively Arts!
Bernadette Peters
Helwig Distinguished Artist
Friday, May 4, 2012, 8:00 p.m., Fisher Auditorium, IUP Performing Arts Center
A Broadway icon, film actress, humanitarian, and multi-award winner, Bernadette Peters performs as the Helwig Distinguished Artist and with a full twenty-eight-piece big band orchestra (originally scheduled for September 15, 2011).
Theater-by-the-Grove
Lindsey's Oyster
October 6-8 and 12-15, 2011, at 8:00 p.m. and October 9 at 2:00 p.m.; Waller Hall Mainstage, IUP Performing Arts Center
Confronting societal delusion and personal trauma, a teenage girl awakens to the beauty and fragility of her inmost nature.
Three Sisters
November 9-12 and 15-17, 2011, at 8:00 p.m. and November 13 at 2:00 p.m.; Waller Hall Mainstage, IUP Performing Arts Center
Chekov's popular tragi-comic masterpiece about longing for the past and fantasies of the future.
Chess
February 23-25 and February 29-March 3, 2012, 8:00 p.m. and February 26 at 2:00 p.m.; Waller Hall Mainstage, IUP Performing Arts Center
Music by Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus, lyrics by Tim Rice, book by Richard Nelson, and directed by Jeannie Marie Brown with musical direction by Sarah Mantel.
A Theater-by-the-Grove and Music Theater co-production, a rock-scored metaphor for rivalry, gamesmanship, and political maneuvering.
The Gentleman Dancing Master
April 19-21 and 25-28, 2012, at 8:00 p.m. and April 22 at 2:00 p.m.; Waller Hall Mainstage, IUP Performing Arts Center
A delightfully silly restoration comedy filled with sly wit, colorful language, and unforgettable characters
Music Theater
The Old Maid and the Thief/The Telephone
December 1-3, 2011, at 8:00 p.m. and December 4 at 2:00 p.m.; Waller Hall Mainstage
By Gian-Carlo Menotti and directed by Sarah MantelTwo one-act comic operas, sung in English, filled with expressive melody, comic fanfare, and compelling drama.
Ideas and Issues
Eileen Ivers: The Celtic Repertoire
October 5, 2011; 12:00 p.m.; IUP Library Lounge, first floor
Award-winning Celtic fiddler Eileen Ivers will visit the campus for a special event in advance of her December return for an Irish Christmas concert. Ms. Ivers will perform several traditional Celtic pieces that illustrate her culture and repertoire, while Music Librarian Carl Rahkonen shares information about the music, its history, and its relationship to Irish culture.
Upaj: Film and Commentary
March 21, 2012; 7:00 p.m.; Auditorium, Eberly College of Business&////#8232;&////#8232;
Upaj takes us behind the scenes to watch the birth of India Jazz Suites, a phenomenal East-meets-West dance collaboration featuring Indian kathak master Pandit Chitresh Das and rising tap star Jason Samuels Smith.
Valerie Plame Wilson and Joseph Wilson
November 14, 2011; 8:00 p.m.; Fisher Auditorium, IUP Performing Arts Center&////#8232;&////#8232;
Outed CIA operations officer Valerie Plame Wilson and former U.S. diplomat Joseph Wilson, both subjects of the film Fair Game, speak as this year's First Commonwealth Endowed Lecture and part of the Ideas and Issues series. Free admission, tickets required (available October 10, limit of four per person).
Chess
February 23-25 and February 29-March 3, 2012, 8:00 p.m. and February 26 at 2:00 p.m.; Waller Hall Mainstage, IUP Performing Arts Center
Music by Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus, lyrics by Tim Rice, book by Richard Nelson, and directed by Jeannie Marie Brown with musical direction by Sarah Mantel.
A Theater-by-the-Grove and Music Theater co-production, a rock-scored metaphor for rivalry, gamesmanship, and political maneuvering
Sound Choices
Litton String Quartet
September 25, 2011, 3:00 p.m., Gorell Recital Hall, John Sutton Hall
Entering its second season, the Litton String Quartet will perform a recital featuring the Brahms Piano Quintet.
Crimson Pops
Wednesday, October 19, 7:00 p.m., Fisher Auditorium, IUP Performing Arts Center
Join us as we celebrate some of the most popular music and engaging theatrics we can muster, including performances by IUP Music Theater, Theater-by-the-Grove, Wind Ensemble, Percussion Ensemble, Dance Theater, the HoodleBug Brass, and the legendary IUP Marching Band.
Band in Review
Sunday, October 30, 7:00 p.m., Fisher Auditorium, IUP Performing Arts Center
“The Legend” continues the custom of a traditionally stellar concert version as it performs its finest music and arrangements of the season.
American Art Song
Monday, February 27, 8:00 p.m., Gorell Recital Hall, second floor of Sutton Hall
This concert, which features IUP voice faculty members and special guest artists, celebrates the interweaving of new American sounds and words into the fabric of vocal literature.
Wind Dances
April 1, 2012; 2:00 p.m.; Fisher Auditorium, IUP Performing Arts Center
Modern dance to the chamber wind music of Gordon Jacob and Igor Stravinsky and performed by IUP Dance Theater and Chamber Winds Ensemble
Dance Theater
The Alan Parsons Movement Project
October 28 and 29, 2011, at 7:00 p.m. and October 30 at 2:00 p.m.; Zink Hall Dance Theater
Dance Theater's fall concert, the powerful, poetic, and often melancholic music of the Alan Parson's Project brought to the stage.
Wind Dances
April 1, 2012; 2:00 p.m.; Fisher Auditorium, IUP Performing Arts Center
Modern dance to the chamber wind music of Gordon Jacob and Igor Stravinsky and performed by IUP Dance Theater and Chamber Winds Ensemble
University Museum
Eine Kleine Kit Kat Klub
September 10, 2011, 6:00 p.m., University Museum, John Sutton Hall
This year's gala is inspired by the German Expressionist artists of the early 20th century and their cosmopolitan setting. Reservations are required.
Paul Binai: Fifty-Year Retrospective
September 13-December 3, 2011, University Museum, John Sutton Hall
The opening exhibit features paintings, prints, and collages by world-exhibited artist Paul Binai, whose bold images comment pointedly on issues and events drawn from history and literature, news sources, and personal memory.
Multiversity: IUP Faculty Artists
February 11-March 24, 2012, University Museum, John Sutton Hall
This invitational exhibition will include recent works by current faculty members of the IUP Department of Art.
Emerging Artists: Annual Graduate Exhibition
April 13-May 5, 2012, University Museum, John Sutton Hall
An annual tradition, this exhibit highlights the vast and varied pieces created in an assortment of art media by graduate students in the Department of Art.
Kipp Gallery
Bonnie Collura: Luster
October 6-November 11, 2011, Kipp Gallery, Sprowls Hall
Bonnie Collura creates abstract biomorphic sculptures and drawings that are rooted in figuration, drawing together systems of connected characters from mainstream popular culture, mythology, and folklore.
The Low Down: Tales from the Margin
November 8-December 9, 2011, Kipp Gallery Annex, Sprowls Hall
This touring exhibition showcases the work of seven contemporary ceramists. It is curated by Kipp Gallery director Kyle Houser, in collaboration with Jill Foote-Hutton of the Red Lodge Clay Center in Montana.
Joelle Dietrick: The Sherwin Series
February 9-March 9, 2012, Kipp Gallery, Sprowls Hall
Joelle Dietrick develops two-dimensional and time-based artworks that consider contemporary nomadism and 21st-century power structures.