By Lina Broydo
Kaleidoscope 2019 – SJSU School of Music and Dance Rocks!!!
October 25, at 7:30 p.m.
Kaleidoscope’s non-stop, 75-minute format is a rapid-fire musical and dance annual extravaganza that runs the gamut from classical to jazz, from marching band to contemporary dance.
The short selections, contrasting styles, and high-energy performances create a unique, exciting program. From the famous Choraliers to the swinging Jazz Orchestra to the exciting Symphony Orchestra to the exhilarating Wind Ensemble, the SJSU School of Music populates over 20 ensembles and 120 performances a year.
Its ensembles have performed at prestigious conferences, including the California Music Educators State Conference. In the Dance Program, faculty members guide students through all levels of contemporary, classical ballet, jazz, Limón technique, Graham-based technique, contemporary ballet, and tap.
Its pre-professional performing company, University Dance Theatre, is an ensemble dedicated to modern and contemporary dance performance.
Tickets and Information
Prices range from $13 to $20
408-924-8501
hammertheatre@sjsu.edu
Hammer Theatre Center
101 Paseo de San Antonio in San Jose
Photo courtesy of SJSU School of Music
“Etched in Time” Inaugurates sjDANCEco Season in San Jose
October 18 & 19 at 8 p.m.
The 17th Anniversary of sjDANCEco ignites the spirit of dance with the opening of its season with “Etched in Time”, a program of modern dance featuring two new works that premiered in March at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. Included on the program are a 1950 masterwork by the legendary José Limón, and a revival of a piece inspired by Nelson Mandela.
This season also marks the 10th year of collaboration with the brilliant conductor Barbara Day Turner and the San José Chamber Orchestra. A mesmerizing male-female duet inspired by John Milton’s poem “Paradise Lost” is set to Chamber Symphony No. 2, Opus 38 by Arnold Schoenberg, an Austrian composer who emigrated to the United States in 1933 to escape the Nazis. A version created by the composer will be played four hands on two pianos by Eva-Maria Zimmermann and Keisuke Nakagoshi.
The piece will be danced by Kelisha Gardeen and Gabriel Mata. “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” by Hsiang-Hsiu Lin with music of the same name by Randall Thompson is based on the poem by Robert Frost, and performed by the San José Chamber Orchestra with the San José Choral Project and is danced by eight members of the company. sjDANCEco is a year-round contemporary dance company based in San Jose, California that produces world premieres by its core and guest choreographers and presents the very best of Contemporary and Classic Modern Dance and Masterpieces of the American Modern Dance Repertory.
Tickets and Information
Prices range from $45 to $70
Saturday night’s VIP tickets are $100 per person and include entry to the after-show Gala with sjDANCEco dancers and choreographers.
408-520-9854
California Theatre
345 S. First Street in San Jose
Photo of Gabriel Mata courtesy of Thomas Hassing
Steinway Society Presents Virtuoso Pianist Anna Dmytrenko
Sunday, October 27 at 2:30 p.m;
A pre-concert talk starts at 1:45 p.m. and the artist will be available to meet the audience following the concert.
Great news from Ukraine: Award-winning Ukrainian-American pianist Anna Dmytrenko, known for her keyboard mastery and elegant refinement, will be the featured artist presented to the Bay Area audiences by the Steinway Society’s 25th Anniversary Season.
Anna Dmytrenko began studying piano at age four. She has won multiple First Prizes in piano competitions and performed extensively throughout the United States and Europe, including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and Paris’s Salle Cortot.
Featured on the concert’s repertoire are varied compositions by Rachmaninoff and Beethoven. Steinway Society – The Bay Area is a non-profit organization based in Silicon Valley.
Now entering its 25th season, this dedicated group of musicians, pianists, teachers and arts lovers promotes excellence in piano performance and music education. Each season, Steinway Society presents a series of classical piano concerts featuring international award-winning pianists, as well as an active school program.
Tickets and Information
Prices range from $40 to $60.
Senior/Student Discounts Available.
Student Rush $10, thirty minutes prior to the performance
408-990-0872
Hammer Theater
101 Paseo de San Antonio in San Jose
Photo courtesy of Steinway Society
Tony Award-Winning Musical “Nine” Takes Stage to 3Below Theater
October 17 through November 10, 2019
Based on Federico Fellini’s Academy Award winning semi-autobiographical film “8 1⁄2”, “Nine” opened on Broadway in 1982, winning five Tony Awards, including Best Original Score and Best Musical, and again winning the Tony for Best Revival of a Musical in 2003.
NINE celebrates our mothers, our sisters, our teachers, our wives, our mistresses and our muses – our women, our world. NINE is a rich tapestry of everything Broadway, with knockout power songs, captivating choreography and a deeply moving story that makes you think about your life and the people in it. From the romantic streets and canals of Venice, comes the exquisite and captivating story of “Nine.”
Set amidst the glamour of the 1960s, this dark, glittering musical centers by celebrated Italian film director Guido Contini whose last three films have been flops. He is struggling to find an idea for his next movie but is suffering debilitating writer’s block while facing a crumbling marriage and a mid-life crisis.
Facing personal and professional bankruptcy at age 50, Guido must call on the nine closest and most powerful women in his life to put him back on the road to success and happiness and to rescue his creative and private lives from the brink of destruction.
As he begins production on a new film, Guido confronts the extraordinary women – from his past, present, and future – who have influenced his life including his wife, his mistress, his film star muse, his producer, an American journalist and his mother. Staged at 3Below Theaters, “Nine” is a kaleidoscopic fusion of reality and creativity.
A film version of the musical was released in 2009, starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Judi Dench, Nicole Kidman, Sophia Loren, Penelope Cruz, Kate Hudson, Fergie and Marion Cotillard who will not be performing in San Jose, but the current cast of “Nine” is marvelous!
Tickets and Information
Price ranges from $36 to $54
408-404-7711
3Below Theaters & Lounge
288 South 2nd Street in San Jose
Photos courtesy of Mark & Tracy Photography