Young music enthusiasts re-arrange their lives every year to make a weekend trip to Coachella – so why don’t Stanford students take advantage of the world-class artists who are a five-minute bike ride away at Bing Concert Hall?
Despite an impressive bill of guests including internationally acclaimed artists such as Yo-Yo Ma, Audra McDonald, and Deborah Voigt, Bing concerts continue to lack high student attendance rates. With a more diverse program for the 2014-2015 season, Stanford Live – a primary producer of the arts on campus – hopes students will carve time out of their busy schedules to enjoy the world-class performances.
This year, Stanford Live hopes to explore the arts through more than music. According to Sierra Gonzalez, the Associate Director of Marketing, the goal of the series, “Live Context: Arts and Ideas,” is to “take a step back and think about what the arts means to us and society today and what it can mean for the campus.”
To take a deeper look, the series consist of three programs, each of which will include events spread across multiple days and will incorporate work from across University departments. The first, “Haydn – Patronage & Enlightenment,” will explore eighteenth century culture and the arts through a set of concerts, with other art exhibitions around campus bringing context to the music being performed at Bing.
The second program is “The Nile Project,” which will tell a story through music about water and sustainability along the Nile River and the Delta, featuring performances by artists from countries situated along the Nile.
The last piece in the series is likely to garner the interest of Stanford’s tech community. It is the world premiere of “The Demo,” a multimedia theatrical experience about Douglas Engelbart’s famous demonstration in 1968 of some of the fundamental features of personal computing.
As Stanford Live enters its third year, there is a hope that the expanded, diversified programming will encourage more students to come to events. According to Gonzalez, one of the biggest challenges is overcoming the perception that Stanford Live doesn’t want students. However, she stressed the opposite: “having students come through our doors is why we exist as a campus presenter.”
In addition to the Live Context programs, Stanford Live is expanding its jazz and contemporary offerings. Grammy Award winning jazz musicians Chris Thile and Edgar Meyer will open the season on September 21. They will be followed by jazz and world musicians Emmylou Harris, Dianne Reeves, and DakhaBrakha. Contemporary concerts include Kronos Quartet and a night of Sondheim music presented by Ted Sperling and featuring three Broadway singers. Additionally, there will be dance performances by Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company (see image) and Compagnie Käfig.
As it is the core of their program, Stanford Live will also continue to host a number of classical artists including Susan Graham, the San Francisco Symphony, Apollo’s Fire, and the 25thAnniversary of the St. Lawrence String Quartet.
“Stanford Live strives to be a visible resource for students in a number of ways,” said executive director Wiley Hausam, referring to the Opening Acts and Cabaret series that put Stanford students on stage. “And in the season ahead we plan to deepen our engagement.”
While Stanford students have varying musical preferences, the new season’s emphasis on cross-platform presentation and more contemporary styles may provide incentive for members of our young generation to expose themselves to the beautiful art brought to campus just for them.
For a more complete list of events, please visit Stanford Live’s website.
