CLARICE SMITH PERFORMING ARTS CENTER ANNOUNCES 2003-2004 SEASON Season reflects Centers mission of inclusion and collaboration

The release details the unique features of this performing arts center, located on the campus of the University of Maryland between Washington, DC and Baltimore, MD. The Center is unique in that it presents professional and student programming and develops nontraditional opportunities for arts exploration.

The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center at Maryland celebrates its third presenting season with the announcement of its 2003-2004 programming. The Center, a six-venue performing arts center on the campus of the University of Maryland, has a multi-disciplinary and multicultural approach to programming and a commitment to the spirit of collaboration. The Centers distinctive approach to programming combines internationally-recognized professional artists with emerging young talent from the University of Marylands School of Music and Departments of Theatre and Dance, as well as its renowned faculty artists.

This year there is greater breadth to our season; our collaborations with artists are deeper," says Susie Farr, Executive Director of the Clarice Smith Center. Our goal is for our visiting artists to make an impact beyond that of an individual performance. We work closely with our artists to develop real relationships with our campus and the greater community." Examples of this relationship-building is evident in residencies with Dr. Ysaye Barnwell of Sweet Honey in the Rock, the National Symphony Orchestra, and Liz Lerman Dance Exchange. There are other distinctive elements in this season, showcasing the Centers interest in new works, collaborative relationships, and an ongoing commitment to local artists and artists who reflect the diversity of the communities surrounding the Center.

Vocal/choral music is strongly featured this season.
·   Dr. Ysaye M. Barnwell, master teacher and longtime member of the Grammy-winning a cappella ensemble Sweet Honey In The Rock, will offer a class on the University of Maryland campus this fall, The Vocal Community," to under-graduate and graduate students and community members. Participants of the class (offered for credit through the School of Music as well as to community members for noncredit), will attend a weekly two hour class exploring the deep roots of African American choral and congregational traditions; keep a journal; learn repertoire; and, ultimately, sing in a public performance on December 9 -- A Seasonal Celebration of Endings and Beginnings" -- performed with members
·   of Sweet Honey In The Rock. This is the first time Barnwells Vocal Community" is linked to a major academic institution.

·   At Harlems Height," one of the thematic programs of The New York Festival of Song presented here in its area premiere, highlights the artistry of the Harlem Renaissance with the music of Eubie Blake, Duke Ellington, Fats Waller, and lyrics of Langston Hughes, among others. The program features Dana Hanchard, soprano; Darius de Haas, tenor; and James Martin, baritone.

·   Other vocal/choral music performances include: The December 1st Project, A World AIDS Day world premiere, featuring the Lesbian and Gay Chorus of Washington, DC and DCs Different Drummers; Opera Lafayettes return to the Center with Il Mondo della Luna, a rarely performed work by Joseph Haydn directed by Leon Major, directed of University of Marylands Opera Studio; and The Sixteen, the acclaimed performers of early vocal music, in their area debut.

In addition to the Ysaye Barnwell residency, there are other special long-term residencies culminating in public performance.
·   The National Symphony Orchestra and the University of Maryland School of Music will join forces in the first formalized residency between the National Symphony Orchestra and an academic institution. The residency will take place in November and will culminate with a side-by-side concert of NSO musicians and School of Music musicians at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center on Friday, November 14, followed by a side-by-side concert at the Kennedy Centers Millennium Stage on Saturday, November 15.

·   The Clarice Smith Center will be a local partner with the Liz Lerman Dance Exchange in a national performance project called Near/Far/In/Out (Peter DiMuro, artistic director). Like the companys highly acclaimed Hallelujah/USA, Near/Far/In/Out will be a performance work created through an arts residency on the College Park campus, as well as through other residencies across the country, specifically with members of the lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender community. Through interviews and questions asked to this community, responses will be crafted into combinations of movement, metaphor and text that will build through workshops during the semester and culminate in a performance at the Center on Saturday, April 17.

The Clarice Smith Centers commitment to locally-based artists, many with national reputations, is evident this season, with Annapolis-based chamber group Ensemble Galilei; Arlington-based Teatro de la Luna; Annapolis-based Footworks Percussive Dance Ensemble and Washington, DC-based Step Afrika!; Takoma Park-based Liz Lerman Dance Exchange and Washington, DC-based Opera Lafayette.

Examples of new features of the season: Inside Theatre, a new series, created in cooperation with the Department of theatre, offers conversations with high profile theatre professionals. This years focus is on playwrights and will include Edward Albee, Wendy Wasserstein, and a third playwright, TBA. In an effort to find new ways to enjoy performance, the Centers Kogod Theatre will be transformed into a cabaret with round tables and desserts and coffee when a new Maryland Opera Studio Series, Cabaret Today" presents two productions in repertory.

Performances include several area premieres in dance.
·   Dance innovator Joe Goode presents the East Coast premieres of Mythic, Montana and Folk; the first drawing from Greek myths to create a portrait of contemporary society and the second about the stereotypes associated with life in small town rural America.

·   Black Burlesque (revisited) is a collaboration of three dance companies, Reggie Wilson Fist & Heel Performance Group, Black Umfolosi and Noble Douglas Dance Company, in a vibrant historical exploration of the cultural traditions of African-American dance of the United States, Africa, and the Caribbean.

·   The New York-based Donna Uchizona Company performs Floating from my Hand, a new work that poses questions about loss and vulnerability and the act of letting go.

Other performance highlights by genre:
Chamber, orchestra and classical music: The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, David Shifrin, Artistic Director, with André Watts, piano; David Shifrin, clarinet; Ani Kavafian, violin; Paul Neubauer, viola; Gary Hoffman, cello and Edgar Meyer, bass; Australian Chamber Orchestra featuring soprano Dawn Upshaw; the Artemis String Quartet, the BSO with an all-Beethoven program; wind quintet Imani Winds; the Polish Philharmonic Resovia with soloist Leopold Godowski, III, piano. Early music includes the area premiere of Britains The Sixteen, an internationally recognized choir; REBEL, the period instrument ensemble; and The Folger Consort and Friends in Miracles of Al-Andalus..

Jazz includes heavy-hitters Jane Monheit Quintet, Terence Blanchard, and Los Hombres Calientes as well as clarinetist Paquito DRivera, special guest of The Turtle Island String Quartet in Danzón.

Theatre offerings include The Guys, the touring production of the Los Angeles-based The Actors Gang (Tim Robbins, artistic director) by Anne Nelson, a real life account of her post 9/11 experiences, recently made into a move starring Sigourney Weaver. Theatre of the First Amendments Tom Prewiitt directs a staged reading of Nathan the Wise, a co-production with George Mason University. Les Deux Monds from Canada perform The Tale of Teeka, powerful-award winning puppetry about domestic violence. The Department of Theatre production highlights include two musicals: Sophisticated Ladies and Triumph of Love and Cyrano de Bergerac with Mitchell Hebert in the title role, directed by prominent off-Broadway director Susan Einhorn.

A subscription is any combination of five performances -- with a 20% discount on regular performance pricing ranging from $15-$45 for performances. Single tickets are scheduled to go on sale in late July. For the complete 2003-4 season of ticketed events, please contact the Ticket Office at 301.405.ARTS or visit our website at www.claricesmithcenter.umd.edu. The Center is located on Stadium Drive near the intersection of University Boulevard (Rt. 193) and Stadium Drive in College Park. A parking garage is located across the street from the Center.
The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center at Maryland, named for visual artist Clarice Smith,
opens new doors to performing arts experiences for the many communities -- both within and around
the University of Maryland campus -- which it serves.
# # #