Kyshona Brings Healing Power of Song to the Weis Center, Artist is a Licensed Music Therapist

Kyshona Brings Healing Power of Song to the Weis Center, Artist is a Licensed Music Therapist

The Weis Center for the Performing Arts will welcome roots, rock, rhythm and blues, and folk singer Kyshona on Thursday, Feb. 8 at 7:30 p.m. at the Weis Center.

There will be a pre-performance talk with the artist from 6:45-7:15 p.m. in the Weis Center Atrium.

The performance is sponsored, in part, by Karl Voss and Chanin Wendling and family.

Kyshona is an artist ignited by untold stories, and the capacity of those stories to thread connection in every community. With the background of a licensed music therapist, the curiosity of a writer, the resolve of an activist and the voice of a singer, Kyshona is unrelenting in her pursuit for the healing power of song.

She is both a sought-after collaborative vocalist working with artists like Margo Price whom she accompanied on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and Adia Victoria who features Kyshona, Margo Price and Jason Isbell on her single “You Was Born to Die,” as well as being a burgeoning performer in her own right whose release, Listen, was voted Best Protest Album of 2020 by Nashville Scene.

Kyshona’s nonprofit organization, Your Song, offers songwriting programs for youth empowerment programs, detention, re-entry, recovery, mental health and veterans centers and organizations.

TICKETS
Tickets are $20 for adults, $16 for seniors 62+ and subscribers, $10 for youth 18 and under, $10 for Bucknell employees and retirees (limit 2), free for Bucknell students (limit 1) and $10 for non-Bucknell students (limit 2).

Mental health professionals and teachers are invited to purchase $10 tickets for this performance. Simply use code MUSICTHERAPY online at Bucknell.edu/BoxOffice after selecting seats.

Tickets can be reserved by calling 570-577-1000 or online at Bucknell.edu/BoxOffice.

Tickets are also available in person from several locations including the Weis Center lobby (weekdays 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.) and the CAP Center Box Office, located on the ground floor of the Elaine Langone Center (weekdays 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.).

For more information about this event, contact Lisa Leighton, marketing and outreach director, at 570-577-3727 or by e-mail at [email protected].

For more information about the Weis Center for the Performing Arts, go to Bucknell.edu/WeisCenter or search for the Weis Center on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter or YouTube.

National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine Will Present Three Classical Works at Weis Center

National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine Will Present Three Classical Works at Weis Center

The Weis Center for the Performing Arts will welcome the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine (NSOU) on Friday, February 23 at 7:30 p.m. at the Weis Center.
The performance is sponsored, in part, by Sam and Nancy Craig and the Press Enterprise.

Volodymyr Sirenko serves as Artistic Director and Chief Conductor and Volodymyr Vynnytsky will be featured on piano.

Formed by the Council of Ministers of Ukraine in November 1918, the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine is considered to be one of the finest symphony orchestras in Eastern Europe. This is the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine’s 4th US tour.

At the Weis Center, they will perform:
Maksym Berezovsky: Symphony No. 1 in C major
Camille Saint-Saëns: Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 22 (featuring Vynnytsky)
Antonin Dvořák: Symphony No. 8, Op. 88, B. 163 in G major

ABOUT THE NSOU
Formed by the Council of Ministers of Ukraine in November of 1918, the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine is considered to be one of the finest symphony orchestras in Eastern Europe. Its first conductor was Oleksander Horilyj. Natan Rachlin was the Artistic Director of the Orchestra from 1937 until 1962. Stefan Turchak, Volodymyr Kozhuchar, Fedir Hlushchenko, Igor Blazhkov and Theodore Kuchar consequently conducted the Orchestra as its Principal Conductors. Other conductors who worked with the NSOU include Kostiantyn Simeonov, Leopold Stokowski, Igor Markevitch, Kurt Sanderling, Kiril Kondrashin, Kurt Masur, Hermann Abendroth, Willy Ferrero and others. Soloists who performed with the NSOU include Artur Rubinstein, Yehudi Menuhin, Isaac Stern, David Oistrakh, Sviatoslav Richter, Mstislav Rostropovich, Emil Gilels, Leonid Kogan, Gidon Kremer, Oleh Krysa, Monserrat Caballe, Jose Carreras, Placido Domingo, Andrea Bocelli and Juan Diego Flores. The NSOU was entrusted with the premier performances of the works of the following composers: Boris Lyatoshynsky, Valentyn Sylvestrov, Myroslav Skoryk, and Evgen Stankovych.

The Orchestra has gained international recognition over a remarkably short period of time. Since 1993, the NSOU has released more than 100 sound recordings which include both Ukrainian and international repertoires. Most of these recordings have received the highest international acclaim. In 1994, the Australian Broadcasting Company (ABC) rated NSOU’s recording of Boris Lyatoshynsky’s Symphonies No. 2 and No. 3 as “The Best Recording of the Year”. The CD of Sylvestrov’s Requiem for Larissa was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2005. The CD of Bloch and Lees’ Violin Concertos was nominated for a Grammy Award four years later. The NSOU has performed in successful concert tours throughout Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Canada, China, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, England, Hong Kong, Iran, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Lebanon, Liechtenstein, the Netherlands, Oman, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates and the United States of America. Volodymyr Sirenko is the Artistic Director & Chief Conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine. Oleksandr Hornostai is Managing Director & Producer of the Orchestra.

ABOUT THE PIANIST
With playing described as “mystically powerful,” “rare,” and “simply superb,” possessing “incredible technique and deep musical understanding,” pianist Volodymyr Vynnytsky has performed in recitals throughout the United States, France, England, Denmark, Sweden, Czech Republic, Poland, Ukraine, Russia, Brazil, Canada, South Africa, among many others.

Internationally renowned pianist Volodymyr Vynnytsky is a laureate of the Margueritte Long-Jacques Thibaud International Piano Competition in Paris. Vynnytsky has performed with leading orchestras and appeared in solo recitals in many prestigious concert halls, including Carnegie Hall, Merkin Concert Hall, Steinway Hall, the Phillips Gallery in Washington D.C., and many prestigious halls across Europe and Asia. A popular television and radio guest, he has also been featured on NHK-TV (Japan) and in the United States on WQXR-FM in New York, and nationally on NPR.

Recital and chamber music appearances have included guest invitations in numerous International Festivals in Ukraine (Kyiv Music Fest, “Virtuosi”, “Contrasts”, “Bridge of Alexandre III”), France (Masters de Pontlevoy, “Les MusiCimes”, “DSCH”), Brazil (“Virtuosi”), Curacao (Art in Avila), Canada (Niagara International Chamber Music Festival), Czech Republic (“American Spring” Festival) and USA (Artosphere Arts Festival, Chamber Players International, LWMF, Mohonk Festival of the Arts, Windham Chamber Music Festival, Southampton Festival of the Arts, Lake San Marcos Chamber Music Society, Music Mountain in Connecticut, Piccolo Spoleto in Charleston , Rachmaninoff International Festival in Los Angeles, “Music at the Institute” in New York and Art Center of Greene County.

Born in Lviv, Ukraine, Volodymyr Vynnytsky studied at the Lviv Music School for Gifted Children and later at the Moscow Conservatory. After earning his doctorate from the Moscow Conservatory under the direction of Yevgeny Malinin, he taught at the Kyiv Conservatory and concertized extensively throughout the world.

Volodymyr Vynnytsky has been a visiting member of the piano faculty in SUNY at Purchase, NY, and at the University of Connecticut. He served as a Chairman of the Jury of the Emil Gilels International Piano Competition in Odesa, Ukraine, and is an Honorary Professor of Lviv State Academy of Music, Odesa State Music Academy and Tchaikovsky National Music Academy of Ukraine (Kyiv Conservatory). He is Director of Chamber Music at the College of Charleston, SC, and Music Director of the Music and Art Center of Greene County, New York.

TICKETS
Tickets are $35 for adults, $28 for seniors 62+ and subscribers, $25 for youth 18 and under, $25 for Bucknell employees and retirees (limit 2), free for Bucknell students (limit 1) and $25 for non-Bucknell students (limit 2).

Tickets can be reserved by calling 570-577-1000 or online at Bucknell.edu/BoxOffice.

Tickets are also available in person from several locations including the Weis Center lobby (weekdays 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.) and the CAP Center Box Office, located on the ground floor of the Elaine Langone Center (weekdays 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.).

For more information about this event, contact Lisa Leighton, marketing and outreach director, at 570-577-3727 or by e-mail at [email protected].

For more information about the Weis Center for the Performing Arts, go to Bucknell.edu/WeisCenter or search for the Weis Center on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter or YouTube.

Billtown Blues Association Announces 2024  Lineup

Billtown Blues Association Announces 2024 Lineup

The 34 th Annual Billtown Blues Festival officially begins Friday, June 21 st at 6 p.m. The music continues at 12 noon on Saturday, June 22 nd offering world class blues music from twelve performances. All festival detail including ticketing options, onsite camping accommodation, a link to our host hotel in downtown Williamsport, and our downtown bus service detail, is available at www.billtownblues.org.

There is a certain tradition in place with the Billtown Blues Festival, beginning on Friday at 6 p.m. when the Uptown Music Collective Blues Band once again sets the vibe for the next two days. The band will deliver an energetic rousing display of blues music showcasing their UMC educational experience. The UMC has, from the beginning, included the history of and foundational impact of all modern music derived from the blues art form as part of their teaching curriculum.

Next up on Friday, from Pittsburgh PA, is Soulful Femme. Although well-known across PA and beyond as a dynamic duo, Soulful Femme will be performing in band format joined by rhythm section Ronnie Biggs and Brice Foster. Stevee Wellons on vocals and Cheryl Rinovato, guitar are the principals, each with individual impressive resumes. As often happens in the blues community, the two met at a blues society function, went on to the International Blues Challenge (IBC) in Memphis which has set the stage for their continued success both performing and recording. Their newest release, Attitude, was produced by Albert Castiglia. World renown Tommy Castro states, “Soulful Femme is a unique act! Cheryl’s guitar style compliments Stevee’s voice, their songs are well crafted and I’m a FAN!”

Returning to Billtown is Tas Cru from “way up” in New York State. Tas is part of the Billtown family having performed twice before and participating in two Master Classes for the Uptown Music Collective students. When presented with an offer to return in 2024, Tas responded with “I’m Thrilled! Tas is a past “KBA” (Keeping the Blues Award), recipient presented by the Blues Foundation in the education category. Tas has offered years of service teaching and helping others learn about the blues art form. His mission statement includes, “There is nothing more important that I do as a blues performer than blues education!” Tas is also a highly regarded songwriter, entertainer, delivering robust, audience engaging sets wherever he lands. He has generated 5 releases in the past 7 years with “Riffin’ The Blue” his latest.

Closing Friday night will be the flamboyant, effervescent, roof shaking, fasten your seatbelts! Annika Chambers and Paul Deslauriers. Annika and Paul look back to Memphis TN and the International Blues Challenge in 2018 when they first met. Not only did their music click – but “they “clicked and eventually married. Annika is a Houston TX native and two-time (2019 and 2022) Blues Music award winner for Female Soul Blues. Her “Kiss My Sass” release garnered a debut on the Billboard Blues chart. Canada native, Paul is a multiple Maple Leaf awarded artist: Entertainer of the year, Electric Band, Solo Artist, Guitarist….to mention just a few of his honors. Paul took 2 nd place in 2016 at the IBC’s in Memphis.

Saturday’s first two performance sets are saved for the BBA’s own IBC local challenge to be held March 9 th at the Pajama Factory. The winners, as judged by a slate of BBA members in the band category and the solo/duo category are guaranteed to perform in the Billtown Blues Festival. Both winners become eligible to compete in the prestigious International Blues Challenge in Memphis TN in January 2025.

The 2023 IBC winner, Houston based, Mathias Lattin will follow. Mathias came home from the IBC’s not only as the overall band winner, but also honored by the panel of industry professionals with the Gibson Guitar Award. Mathias at just 20 years old, is perhaps the youngest winner in IBC history for both awards. After two attempts prior at the IBC’s with the Keesha Pratt Band in 2018 and Brazilian bluesman Chris Crochemore in 2022, stepping up as frontman with his own band in 2023 was the ticket for success.

Music was not necessarily a no-brainer for Mathias, being the grandson of NBA Hall of Famer, David, “Big Daddy” Lattin. He has the stature and drive, but, instead chose a path of music educated at the Kinder High School of Performing and Visual Arts. BBA President, Dave Strickler, witnessed Mathias’ winning performance while at the IBC’s in 2023, and within seconds requested we pursue Mathias for the Billtown Blues Fest. And so, it is.

Mathias may be one of the youngest and considered an “up and comer” to the Billtown Blues Festival stage, following him is an artist who first began performing in 1967. Duke Robillard along with Al Copley both drawn to the early “jump blues” sound of the 40’s and 50’s formed the legendary “Roomful of Blues”. Soon they assembled a horn section which created the famous “Roomful Sound”. They drew in elder fans already familiar to the heavy horn driven sound, but also exposed their own generation and younger to the “big band” sound which was all about dancing. Quickly becoming New England legends, the Rhode Island based musicians went world-wide in short order.

Duke led this powerhouse band for the next twelve years. Roomful is responsible for spawning the careers of many early band members including Greg Piccolo, Ronnie Earl, Curtis Salgado to mention a few. Robillard has excelled in all components of the music world as guitarist, vocalist, songwriter, bandleader, studio sideman, producer, label owner and educator. And for kicks he also hosts a weekly radio show. Guitar Player magazine states, “Robillard’s ability to play across the spectrum of blues is legendary. Few players can move stylistically from Texas to Kansas City to Chicago’s West Side, but Robillard makes it seem easy.” Grammy nominations and multiple BMA nominations are part of Robillard’s impressive resume.

New Orleans based Jason Ricci returns after just two years to the Billtown Blues Fest stage. Ricci is at the top of his game and at the top of the list of world class masters of the blues harmonica. After hearing the power of his latest release Beyond the Veil along with Billtown festival fan requests another live Billtown festival stage performance was in the making. Reading the biography of Jason Ricci is an amazing read. From growing up in Portland ME he went wherever he needed to go to find and learn from his idols and soon to be mentors. Despite challenges galore, countless hurdles to overcome, but always rooted in his music, Ricci has shown incredible strength, endurance and wisdom. His current band “The Bad Kind” tours world-wide, with Ricci also offering support to New Orleans B3 master Joe Krown, Kenny Wayne Shepard, and JP Soars’s The Gypsy Blues Revue when called upon. Joining Jason on this third trip to Billtown will be Kaitlin Dibble, singer, songwriter, guitarist and Jason’s wife. Beyond performing Ricci gives back by way of his online YouTube harmonica lessons, product reviews, addiction awareness videos, stories and more. Jason Ricci is one of the most influential and celebrated harmonica players touring today.

Alligator Records recording artist Carolyn Wonderland will be making her first trek to Billtown. The Texas guitar slinger and vocalist has stepped out on her own after three years with John Mayall joining the impressive palette of others who served that coveted role: Eric Clapton, Mick Taylor, Peter Green, Walter Trout and Coco Montoya. Her personal recording catalogue includes 10 self-produced releases and four produced by multiple Grammy winner Ray Benson from Asleep at the Wheel. Her Alligator release, Tempting Fate was produced by Americana icon Dave Alvin. Alligator states, “Her spine-chilling, soul-deep singing matches her guitar prowess note for note. And she has a knack for writing songs that sound like instant classics.” Her journey to Alligator slates Carolyn as the only guitar-lead female band leader among Alligator Record’s over 50 years of signings. For the “Genuine Houserockin’ “ label this speaks well of her command of the guitar…then there is that voice! The Boston Herald says of Wonderland, “…a dollop of Janis Joplin, a slice of Stevie Ray Vaughan…a
seething-hot Texas singer-guitarist.” Carolyn is twice nominated with Blues Music Awards for Song of the Year, “Fragile Peace and Certain War”, and Contemporary Blues Female Artist.

As our luck would have it, Greensboro North Carolina’s Bob Margolin will be in the Northeast the week before the Billtown Blues Festival while performing with The Weight Band. There are multiple variations to this story, but…. with Muddy Waters in a pinch for an immediate guitar replacement in 1973, someone introduced him to Bob Margolin. Little did Muddy know that Bob had studied his music as part of his self-education of the blues. When the interview happened, it included a few tonally perfect, well-placed notes and Bob landed the job. He played with Muddy around the world for the next 7 years. Bob soaked in every note, every nuance of Muddy’s technique. Infused with Bob’s own style, Margolin delivers a spirited, heart-felt performance. You can sense the reverence he still holds today for the precious time spent with Muddy Waters 50 years ago. One will hear the closest living sound today of Muddy Water classics as well as Bob’s own material as a clever and gifted song writer. Along the way, in 1976, when The Band’s Last Waltz was created and Muddy Waters was invited to join, Muddy chose Bob Margolin to be by his side. While there Bob also joined in with The Band and the Paul Butterfield Blues Band. Today, various incarnations of The Last Waltz tours, world-wide as well as The Last Waltz film feature Bob Margolin. Bob is proud to say he plays every
song on the Gibson archtop guitar he played next to Muddy in the original Last Waltz. It is fitting that Bob celebrates his 50 th year with his Vizztone Label release titled simply “Thanks!” Backing Bob, from Birmingham AL is Skylar Saufley and his band. Bob Margolin speaks of Skylar and his band as a unit
who knows just what to do. Approaching the blues with a “less is more” simplicity allowing the music to tell the story. "Bob Margolin continues to stretch his boundaries on every recording, which is just part of what makes him a national treasure." Bill Mitchell, Blues Bytes.

Closing the festival on Saturday is Bywater Call. This seven-piece monster band from Toronto Canada first traveled south of the border in 2022. Relatively new-comers to blues audiences, formed in 2017, the group has carved deep waves world-wide, both from their hi-energy performances as well as their stellar recordings. The band’s mission is to leave behind an exciting, powerful, and moving experience for all listeners of their music. Meghan Parnell (vocals) and Dave Barnes (guitar) are the driving force behind what is labeled Southern Soul, Roots Rock. Despite their short tenure the band has multiple Maple Blues and Independent Blues nominations under their belt. During a main-stage performance at the Moulin Blues Festival, word spread throughout Europe with immediate calls for return performances. Various European media tag Meghan as one of the best singers in blues and roots today. Rounding out the band are Bruce McCarthy (drums), Mike Meusel (bass), John Kervin (keys), Stephen Dyte (trumpet) and Julian Nalli (tenor sax). Blues Magazine says, “the
powerhouse voice of Meghan Parnell and the slide guitar mastery of Dave Barnes form the basis of Bywater Call. Where things are still somewhat civilized on the record, Meghan goes completely wild live vocally. What a set of lungs and concrete vocal cords this woman must have!” Blues Magazine.

Music gates for campers and music only attendees open at 5 p.m. on Friday. With music starting at 6 p.m. until 10:30 p.m. Saturday gates open at 11 a.m. with music from 12 noon until 10:30 p.m. The festival’s host hotel is the Genetti Hotel in downtown Williamsport offering special festival lodging rates. Bus service is also offered between the Genetti to and from the Festival on both days.

Tickets are on sale now with discounted “early bird” pricing until Saturday, March 9th. All ticketing, (credit card and by check), general festival and onsite camping information is available at www.billtownblues.org. Local ticket outlets for cash sales will open Wednesday, May 1st.

Kyshona Brings Healing Power of Song to the Weis Center, Artist is a Licensed Music Therapist

Kyshona Brings Healing Power of Song to the Weis Center, Artist is a Licensed Music Therapist

The Weis Center for the Performing Arts will welcome roots, rock, rhythm and blues, and folk singer Kyshona on Thursday, Feb. 8 at 7:30 p.m. at the Weis Center.

The performance is sponsored, in part, by Karl Voss and Chanin Wendling and family.

Kyshona is an artist ignited by untold stories, and the capacity of those stories to thread connection in every community. With the background of a licensed music therapist, the curiosity of a writer, the resolve of an activist and the voice of a singer, Kyshona is unrelenting in her pursuit for the healing power of song.

She is both a sought-after collaborative vocalist working with artists like Margo Price whom she accompanied on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and Adia Victoria who features Kyshona, Margo Price and Jason Isbell on her single “You Was Born to Die,” as well as being a burgeoning performer in her own right whose release, Listen, was voted Best Protest Album of 2020 by Nashville Scene.

Kyshona’s nonprofit organization, Your Song, offers songwriting programs for youth empowerment programs, detention, re-entry, recovery, mental health and veterans centers and organizations.

TICKETS
Tickets are $20 for adults, $16 for seniors 62+ and subscribers, $10 for youth 18 and under, $10 for Bucknell employees and retirees (limit 2), free for Bucknell students (limit 1) and $10 for non-Bucknell students (limit 2).

Tickets can be reserved by calling 570-577-1000 or online at Bucknell.edu/BoxOffice.

Tickets are also available in person from several locations including the Weis Center lobby (weekdays 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.) and the CAP Center Box Office, located on the ground floor of the Elaine Langone Center (weekdays 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.).

For more information about this event, contact Lisa Leighton, marketing and outreach director, at 570-577-3727 or by e-mail at [email protected].

For more information about the Weis Center for the Performing Arts, go to Bucknell.edu/WeisCenter or search for the Weis Center on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter or YouTube.

Weis Center Kicks Off Spring Season on January 30

Weis Center Kicks Off Spring Season on January 30

Note: All performances take place at 7:30 p.m. in the Concert Hall, unless otherwise noted.

The Weis Center’s spring 2024 season kicks off on Tuesday, January 30 with a family-friendly performance of Hamid Rahmanian’s Song of the North, a large-scale, cinematic performance combining the manual art of shadow puppetry with projected animation to tell the courageous tale of Manijeh, a heroine from ancient Persia, who must use all her strengths and talents to rescue her beloved from a perilous predicament and help prevent a war. This epic love story employs a cast of 500 handmade puppets and a talented ensemble of nine actors and puppeteers.

Ballet Hispanico returns to the Weis Center on Tuesday, February 6. Ballet Hispánico is the largest Latine/Latinx/Hispanic cultural organization in the U.S. and one of America’s cultural treasures. They will present a mixed repertoire of three pieces.

Kyshona, an artist who blends roots, rock, rhythm and blues and folk, will perform on Thursday, February 8. Her release, Listen, was voted Best Protest Album of 2020 by Nashville Scene. Kyshona’s nonprofit organization, Your Song, offers songwriting programs for youth empowerment programs, detention, re-entry, recovery, mental health and veterans centers and organizations.

Blues artists Jontavious Willis and Jay Hopp perform at the Weis Center on Wednesday, February 14. Jontavious got his much-needed break from the living legend Taj Mahal in 2015, when Mahal asked Willis to play on stage with him. That appearance resulted in a roaring response from the audience and led Willis to bigger stages and broader opportunities, including an opening slot at select shows along the TajMo tour, featuring his musical mentors Taj Mahal and Keb’ Mo’. Jayy started in the church; first playing drums in gospel groups before being introduced to guitar by his cousin. The guitar led him on a musical journey backwards through time, unpacking the history of blues guitar. He went to school with Jontavious, who then opened his ears to an even earlier generation of acoustic players.

The National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine will perform on Friday, February 23 under the chief conductor Volodymyr Sirenko. Pianist Volodymyr Vynnytsky will be featured.

Formed by the Council of Ministers of Ukraine in November 1918, the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine is considered to be one of the finest symphony orchestras in Eastern Europe.

Then on March 1, tenThing returns to the Weis Center. Formed in 2007 by Norwegian trumpeter Tine Thing Helseth as a fun and exciting collaboration among musical friends, the 10-piece, all-female brass ensemble has firmly established itself on the international scene to great acclaim. tenThing is celebrated for its commitment to outreach and access to music through a diverse repertoire, from Mozart to Weill, Grieg to Bernstein and Lully to Bartók.

The Martha Redbone Roots Project comes to the Weis Center on Tuesday, March 5. Martha Redbone is a Native American and African American vocalist/songwriter/composer/educator. She is known for her unique gumbo of folk, blues and gospel from her childhood in Harlan County, Kentucky, that is infused with the eclectic grit of pre-gentrified Brooklyn. Inheriting the powerful vocal range of her gospel-singing African American father and the resilient spirit of her mother’s Southeastern Cherokee/Choctaw culture, Redbone broadens the boundaries of American roots music. With songs and storytelling that share her life experience as a Native and Black woman and mother in the new millennium, she gives voice to issues of social justice, bridging traditions from past to present, connecting cultures and celebrating the human spirit.

Traditional Irish music will be performed on Friday, March 22Described by the BBC as “an icon of Irish music,” the band has played at festivals from Rock in Rio, Brazil, to Glastonbury, England, toured with the Irish president and struck up tunes on the Great Wall of China. Dervish has a lineup that includes some of Ireland’s finest traditional musicians, fronted by one of the country’s best-known singers Cathy Jordan. Dervish has been long-established as one of the biggest names in Irish music internationally.

Bill and the Belles returns to the Weis Center on Thursday, April 4. Happy Again isn’t exactly happy, but the delightfully deadpan new album from roots mainstays Bill and the Belles is full of life, humor and tongue-in-cheek explorations of love and loss. This album marks a new chapter for the group by featuring 11 all-original songs penned by founding member Kris Truelsen. There’s no dancing around it: this album is about his divorce. But the group has a knack for saying sad things with an ironic smirk, pairing painful topics with a sense of release and relief. Anyone who’s been to one of their shows can attest that you leave feeling lighter and refreshed.

Then, two young classical artists, Jonathan Swensen on cello and Adam Golka on piano will be showcased on Sunday, April 7 at 2 p.m. Rising star of the cello Jonathan Swensen is the recipient of the 2022 Avery Fisher Career Grant and was featured as both Musical America’s New Artist of the Month and One to Watch in Gramophone magazine. Polish-American pianist Adam Golka first performed all of Beethoven’s 32 Piano Sonatas when he was 18 years-old, and he returned to the complete cycle in 2020-2021 for performances in New York City, Orlando, and Houston.

The U.S. Army Field Band/Jazz Ambassadors take the stage on Friday, April 12 in a free performance.Known as America’s Big Band, the Jazz Ambassadors are the premier touring jazz orchestra of the U.S. Army. Formed in 1969, this 19-piece ensemble has received critical acclaim throughout the U.S. and abroad performing America’s original art form, jazz. Performances by the Jazz Ambassadors offer some of the most versatile programming of any big band. Concerts include classic big band standards, instrumental and vocal solo features, patriotic favorites, contemporary jazz works and original arrangements and compositions by past and present members of the Jazz Ambassadors. This performance is free, but tickets are required in advance.

Finally, the season ends with Caña Dulce Caña Brava on Thursday, April 18. Caña Dulce Caña Brava offers a performance that shows off the music, poetry, dance and traditional attire of Veracruz, Mexico, interpreted by artists who are beneficiaries of the jarocho culture and noteworthy performers with years of experience on both national and international stages. The group stands out as an artistic project that highlights feminine poetry and voices. Creating an experience that connects the spectator with distinct emotions, one is taken on a voyage through multiple rhythms, accompanied by traditional string instruments, such as the harp and the jarana, percussion and zapateado (percussive dance), poetic improvisation in rhyme and visual effects.

Season Brochure

The season brochure is now available as an eco-friendly, downloadable and printable PDF at Bucknell.edu/WeisCenter.

Hardcopies are available at the Weis Center and throughout the Susquehanna River Valley region including the Susquehanna River Valley Visitors Bureau, Columbia Montour Visitors Bureau, local Chambers of Commerce and local libraries.

Sponsors

The Weis Center’s 2023-24 season is supported by the following season-level sponsors: Bucknell Sports Properties, The Daily Item, Seven Mountains Media, Sunbury Broadcasting Corporation and WVIA.

Event sponsors include Backyard Broadcasting, Bucknell Music Department Gallery Series, Martha and Alan Barrick, Centre Daily Times, Class of 1953 Fund, Coldwell Banker Penn One Real Estate, Columbia-Montour Visitors Bureau, Nancy and Sam Craig, Evangelical Community Hospital, Geisinger, Jazz at Bucknell, Clayton and David Lightman, Teri MacBride and Steve Guattery, The News Item, PPL Foundation, Press Enterprise, Asbury Riverwoods, Adriana Rojas and family in memory of Andrew, Service 1st Federal Credit Union, Gary and Sandy Sojka, Standard Journal, Stone State Entertainment, ViaMedia, Williamsport Sun Gazette, Karl Voss and Chanin Wendling family, PAHomepage/WBRE/WYOU, WNEP and WVIA.

Grant funding for the season includes Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, Western Arts Alliance Advancing Indigenous Performance (AIP) Touring Fund and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, and the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts.

TICKETS

Tickets are now available:

  • Weis Center Atrium
    Monday–Friday, 10 a.m.–4 p.m.
  • Elaine Langone Center, Campus Activities & Programs Center
    Monday–Friday, 10 a.m.–4 p.m.

The Campus Box Office opens one hour prior to performances at the performance location.

570-577-1000 or Bucknell.edu/BoxOffice

For more information about the Weis Center for the Performing Arts, go to Bucknell.edu/WeisCenter or search for the Weis Center on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter or YouTube.

 

Susquehanna Valley Youth Chorale (SVYC) Looking for New Singers

Do you LOVE to SING or know a young singer who would like to be a part of an amazing experience? 
 
The SVYC offers excellence in choral instruction to singers grades 2-12.

Youth singers, in grades 2 up to and including grade 12, are welcome to audition for the Susquehanna Valley Youth Chorale (SVYC). Auditions are held to better understand your child’s level of singing ability. Auditions will be held on Saturday, January 20 from 10 am-12 noon and Monday, January 22 from 6 pm-8 pm at Sharon Lutheran Church, 120 S. Market St., in Selinsgrove. The first youth rehearsal will take place on January 29 at the same location.

To schedule an audition, please contact Coleen Renshaw at 570-765-0637 or [email protected].
HISTORY OF THE SVYC

The Susquehanna Valley Youth Chorale began in 1993 and has served many children of the Susquehanna Valley. There have been different concert venues over the years and children worked under the direction of 6 different directors.

Our youth program complements school music programs, giving talented youth singers the opportunity to sing and perform at an advanced level with other highly motivated singers from the Susquehanna Valley. Our singers enjoy learning more about music, improving their musicality, making new friends and presenting a concert for the community.