Newman Center for the Performing Arts

Cécile McLorin Salvant is a composer, singer, and visual artist. The late Jessye Norman described Salvant as “a unique voice supported by an intelligence and  full-fledged musicality, which light up every note she sings.” Salvant has developed a passion for storytelling and finding the connections between vaudeville, blues, theater, jazz, baroque and folkloric music. Salvant is an eclectic curator, unearthing rarely recorded, forgotten songs with strong narratives, interesting power dynamics, unexpected twists, and humor. Salvant will be joined on stage by…

Martha Redbone is a Native & 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 infused with the eclectic grit of pregentrified Brooklyn. Bone Hill is a song cycle inspired by Redbone's life and the women she descended from. 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…

Founded in Montreal in 2002 by b-boy, ballet dancer, and Guggenheim fellow Victor Quijada, RUBBERBAND’s Reckless Underdog takes the company’s genre-bending style to new heights. This larger-than-life performance features music by Jasper Gahunia, Kid Koala, Vlooper from Alaclair Ensemble, and Chilly Gonzales. RUBBERBAND has represented Canadian artistic innovation across the United States, Europe, Mexico, and Japan. At the forefront of Montreal’s dance community, the company is recognized internationally for its original vision of contemporary dance. The ensemble’s creation, Reckless Underdog, features 12 dancers who…

Lakecia Benjamin is a three-time Grammy-nominated saxophonist, arranger, composer, and educator whose constant evolution as an artist and activist has led to universal praise. Her 2023 album Phoenix centers joy and freedom in one of the finest albums of the year. “She’s a crafty traditionalist who remains in step with the rhythms of the young generation.” – The New Yorker Her warm, resonant tone — which has been compared to Johnny Griffin’s — lends itself to any form of music she chooses to play.…

With over 30 platinum albums and numerous national and international awards, Portuguese artist Mariza is a true ambassador of Fado, a folk singing tradition associated with the pubs and cafes of Lisbon. She has made the world her stage, sharing the musical culture that has made her a singer in demand. Born in Mozambique, but raised in one of the most emblematic and traditional neighborhoods of Libson (Mouraria), Marzia was influenced from a very early age by the musical culture that…

Hailed as “one of the finest songwriters of the day” (The New Yorker), Gabriel Kahane is a musical storyteller who has worked with many of America’s leading arts institutions including Carnegie Hall and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Kahane is joined in concert by Roomful of Teeth, a two-time Grammy winning vocal band dedicated to reimagining the expressive potential of the human voice. About Gabriel Kahane: A musician and storyteller whose work increasingly exists at the intersection of art and social practice, Kahane has…

fter more than a decade of musical friendship, composer-performers Caroline Shaw and Gabriel Kahane embark on their first large-scale collaboration, orbiting a new work inspired by Jorge Luis Borges’ story, “The Library of Babel.” Performing this jointly written song cycle, Shaw and Kahane invite audiences to contemplate the joy, grief, wonder, and bewilderment that spring from life in a world oversaturated with information. The first half of the program includes a survey of music from both written and aural traditions: music by Mozart, folk…

Acclaimed as “Asia’s leading contemporary dance theater” (The Times), Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan transforms ancient traditions such as meditation and martial arts into a thrilling and modern celebration of motion. Their production Thirteen Tongues takes the audience on a visually arresting exploration of cultural memory. About Cloud Gate: Cloud Gate is the name of the oldest known dance in China. In 1973, choreographer Lin Hwai-min adopted this classical name and founded the first contemporary dance company in the greater Chinese-speaking community. In 2020,…

International chanteuse and comedienne extraordinaire Meow Meow brings her unique brand of holiday hilarity and musical mayhem. A rollicking tonic, “Feline Festive” will rekindle the spirt of the holidays, featuring a band of superb musicians and music ranging from jazzy vintage showbiz to wicked, witty Weimar 1920s tunes, French chansons, and original and contemporary classics. Meow Meow is … an award-winning multidisciplinary artist whose work has been commissioned by David Bowie, Mikhail Baryshnikov, and Pina Bausch amongst others. She has performed…

Music From The Sole is a tap dance and live music company that celebrates tap’s Afro-diasporic roots, particularly its connections to Afro-Brazilian dance and music, and it lineage to forms like house dance and passinho (Brazilian funk). Led by Brazilian dance/choreographer Leonardo Sandoval and by bassist/composer Gregory Richardson, their work embraces a blend of sound and movement, with a mission of bringing tap dance, America’s vernacular dance form, to new audiences. Since their first performances in 2014, Music From The…

With 18 Grammy nominations and six awards, Billy Childs has emerged as one of the foremost composers and pianists of his era, “consistently expanding the dimensions of the jazz genre – and beyond” (The Los Angeles Times). His album, "The Winds of Change", won a Grammy in February for Best Jazz Instrumental Album. Childs’ canon of original compositions and arrangements has garnered him the 2013 Doris Duke Performing Artist Award, a Guggenheim Fellowship (2009), a composers award from the American Academy…

Andrew Marlin is a songwriter and multi-instrumentalist based out of Chapel Hill, North Carolina. He is known for his captivating songwriting and immersive mandolin playing presented in both his band Watchhouse (formerly Mandolin Orange), as a member of Mighty Poplar, and under his name. Andrew and his string band will be performing an assortment of material from his solo albums and beyond. Marlin has played in such prestigious venues and festivals as Austin City Limits, Nashville's legendary Ryman Auditorium, Earl…

The Limón Dance Company has been at the vanguard of American Modern Dance since its inception in 1946. The first dance group to tour internationally under the auspices of the State Department, and the first modern dance company to perform at Lincoln Center in New York, it has performed twice at The White House. The José Limón Dance Foundation, with Company and Institute, was the recipient of a 2008 National Medal of the Arts. José Limón has a special place in…

"Contemporary dance on ice” from Montreal, Le Patin Libre transforms athleticism into a means of artistic expression. Le Patin Libre’s work explores the amazing choreographic and theatrical potential of glide, creating a unique experience that’s fun for the whole family. Founded in 2005 by competitive skaters, Le Patin Libre proposes a contemporary reinvention of the ice show. Their first two opuses for 5 skating artistes (Vertical Influences in 2014 and Threshold in 2018) were critically acclaimed, delighting audiences across North America. Speed, virtuosity, and fluid choreography characterize…

Based on the worldwide bestselling hit series by Dav Pilkey, Dog Man: The Musical is a hilarious and heartwarming new production following the chronicles of Dog Man, who with the head of a dog and the body of a policeman, loves to fight crime and chew on the furniture. But while trying his best to be a good boy, can he save the city from Flippy the cyborg fish and his army of Beasty Buildings? Can he catch Petey, the world's most…

The pre-eminent classical tabla virtuoso of our time, Zakir Hussain is appreciated as one of the world’s most esteemed and influential musicians, one whose mastery of his percussion instrument has taken it to a new level, transcending cultures and national borders. A child prodigy who began his international touring career by the age of eighteen, Zakir has been at the helm of many genre-defying collaborations including Shakti, Remember Shakti, Masters of Percussion, Planet Drum, Tabla Beat Science, and Sangam. In February 2024, Zakir made history by…

The GRAMMY nominated vocal supergroup, säje (rhymes with “beige”), is the brainchild of vocalist/composers Sara Gazarek, Amanda Taylor, Johnaye Kendrick, and Erin Bentlage. Born out of close friendship and deep admiration, these world-renowned artists, composers, and arrangers have come together to explore, create, and celebrate the music that moves them. As individuals, each artist has crafted their own notable solo career, and now are delighted to bring their collective voices to this union, traversing a vast array of compelling original material, beloved…

Julia Keefe is an internationally acclaimed Native American jazz vocalist, currently directing the Julia Keefe Indigenous Big Band, which highlights the history and future of Indigenous people in jazz. “A songbird of a jazz vocalist” - The New York Times  It is a rarity to see a single indigenous jazz musician nowadays, let alone sixteen on stage at a single time. Even rarer to see female indigenous jazz players, yet we have Julia Keefe and Mali Obomsawin within the ensemble. The…

World-renowned musician Vieux Farka Touré is often referred to as “the Hendrix of the Sahara,” and has become a cultural ambassador for the people of Mali and the Sahel. His 2022 collaboration with Khruangbin, “Ali,” pays tribute to his father (legendary guitar player Ali Farka Touré), receiving international acclaim. Touré’s live performances are highly energized, dazzling crowds with his charisma and talent. By the time Touré’s self-titled second album had come out in 2009, Vieux was presenting a sound that was true to…