The Center for the Arts creates connections with its 2014-15 performance season
For its second season, the Center for the Arts at Virginia Tech celebrates the strength and intimacy of connections — to other people and cultures, across boundaries, and through shared experiences. A series of intertwined themes throughout the 2014-15 season were crafted to spur imagination, bring fresh insights, and create new opportunities to explore and grow.
Powerful female voices from diverse perspectives bring unique and captivating styles to the center’s second season. The season will open on Sept. 12, with singer, songwriter, and West Virginia-native Kathy Mattea, who will pay homage to her Appalachian heritage through songs and stories that define and describe the life and times of the area. The day before her performance, Mattea will give a free talk, “My Coal Journey,” incorporating stories from her family history, along with a discussion of environmental and social justice issues surrounding coal mining.
Vocalist and composer Samita Sinha brings an innovative performance to the Moss Arts Center’s Cube on Oct. 11 and 12, presenting the human voice as an intimate, sonic landscape in “Cipher.” The performance unites voice, physical gesture, language, and space into potent articulations.
On Feb. 28, vocalist Jane Monheit celebrates the music of Judy Garland with a fresh, jazz-infused twist in “Hello Bluebird,” while Tony Award-winner Audra McDonald, who has moved seamlessly from opera to Broadway, stage to screen, will close the season with “Broadway Old and New” on May 1.
Two historical milestones — the 100th anniversary of World War I’s beginning, and the 150th anniversary the American Civil War’s end — provide opportunities for deeper reflection on the nature of war through the lens of those who serve. On Nov. 8, the multimedia performance “BASETRACK” presents the stories of those stationed abroad and their families as they cope with separations and uncertainties of war, while “All Is Calm” by vocal ensemble Cantus and Theater Latté Da on Nov. 22 recalls the remarkable World War I truce between allied forces and German soldiers in no man’s land on Christmas Eve in 1914.
On March 5, the Kronos Quartet brings “Beyond Zero: 1914–1918,” a new work for string quartet with film, and on March 20 and 21, MacArthur Fellow and choreographer Liz Lerman brings a unique perspective on civil war in her latest work, “Healing Wars,” posing timely questions on how soldiers, healers, and societies absorb the pain of war.
In addition to “Healing Wars,” the Center for the Arts 2014-15 season features innovative professional dance performances from the Aspen Santa Fe Dance Company on Oct. 30, bringing the grace and elegance of classical ballet coupled with sharp new works, while BeijingDance/LDTX, China’s first professional dance company founded independently from the government, will perform modern and contemporary dance with a diverse repertoire on Nov. 15.
Explore the full list of performances for the 2014-2015 season, which features 26 artists and ensembles representing a diverse range of performance and expression.
The center’s galleries will be filled with works from regional, national, and international artists, and guest speakers, and projects at the intersection of science, engineering, arts, and design will be ever-present from the Institute for Creativity, Arts, and Technology. Student performers and artworks will be featured on stage and in the galleries. More information will be available in the fall about the many opportunities to engage with the arts at the Moss Arts Center, and across the campus and region.
All events will be held in the Anne and Ellen Fife Theatre, located within the Moss Arts Center’s Street and Davis Performance Hall at 190 Alumni Mall, unless otherwise noted.
Purchase subscriptions
Subscriptions for the 2014-15 season are currently available and offer discounted prices and priority seat selection. There are three ways to subscribe: the Premier Subscription includes all performances at a 30 percent discount off adult ticket prices, the Gold Build Your Own Subscription allows for a 25 percent discount off the price of adult tickets for 15 or more performances, and the Silver Build Your Own Subscription offers a 20 percent discount on five to 14 performances. Student and youth tickets are always $10 per performance, including subscriptions.
Subscriptions can be purchased online; at the Moss Arts Center's box office, noon to 6 p.m. on Monday through Friday and noon to 4 p.m. on Saturday; or by calling 540-231-5300. Currently, only subscription tickets are available for purchase for the 2014-15 season. Beginning August 2014, individual tickets for all performances will be available for purchase.
