A phrase from the late experimental jazz guru Sun Ra helps shape almost everything that Jeff Parker does as a musician.
“Sun Ra said … ‘If you deal with what you know, you’re dealing with what’s finite. And if you deal with what you don’t know, it’s infinite. ” says Parker, who will perform at Iowa City’s Hancher Auditorium Saturday with his band The New Breed, recalling advice passed on to him by one of his mentors.
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The Real Mainstream - Thursday, January 25, 2024
The Gazette - Saturday, January 20, 2024
“To Kill a Mockingbird” is a masterpiece in any era, in any medium.
Aaron Sorkin’s 2018 stage adaptation is a profound indictment of hatred and prejudice, and Tony-winning director Bartlett Sher brilliantly directs that toward the audience, using the youngest player to intone: “All rise.” So many meanings out of two simple words.
The Gazette - Thursday, January 18, 2024
It’s a good thing Isata Kanneh-Mason is a runner, because her fingers are zipping through a 28-minute marathon every time she plays Prokofiev's Third Piano Concerto on the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra’s two-week U.S. tour this month.
The London-based ensemble will play a nearly sold-out concert Jan. 24 at Hancher Auditorium in Iowa City.
For Iowa - Thursday, January 18, 2024
Amy Rodriguez (21BA) remembers working as a student stagehand at Hancher, walking out on stage and imagining what it would be like to perform in front of an audience there.
Rodriguez’s chance to shine comes this February when the touring Broadway production of Hairspray brings the University of Iowa theatre arts alumna back to the Hancher stage as the standby for Tracy Turnblad. Rodriguez will play the musical’s lead character for the 7:30 p.m. show on Saturday, Feb. 24, and the 2 p.m. matinee on Sunday, Feb. 25. “It’s a very cool, full-circle moment for me,” she says.
The Gazettte - Thursday, January 11, 2024
On tour for more than two years, [To Kill a Mockingbird] is coming to Hancher Auditorium in Iowa City for five performances Jan. 19 to 21 in an adaptation that gives more of a shared voice for Atticus Finch, played by Emmy-winning actor Richard Thomas
Iowa PBS - Friday, December 29, 2023
On this edition of Iowa Press, our guests are Jeff Chelesvig, president and CEO of Des Moines Performing Arts, and Andre Perry, executive director of Hancher Auditorium and the Office of Performing Arts and Engagement at the University of Iowa. We discuss the value of performing arts to Iowa and Iowans, as well as the variety of facilities and programming both administrators oversee.
The Daily Iowan - Friday, December 8, 2023
Timed to a tee as a shard of hope for students in the thick of finals week, the Englert Theatre has just announced a decorated lineup for next year’s Mission Creek Festival, featuring musical headliners Neko Case, Indigo De Souza, Osees, and author Hanif Abdurraqib.
Iowa Public Radio - Friday, December 8, 2023
Englert Theatre’s annual Mission Creek Festival is returning this April 4–6, 2024 for three days full of music and literature. Its stacked lineup includes national powerhouses like Indigo De Souza and Neko Case as well as local acts such as Anthony Worden and the Dave Helmer Band.
Press-Citizen - Friday, December 8, 2023
Iowa City's often anticipated spring music festival will be highlighted by a well-regarded songwriter and a garage-psych band.
While Iowa City might be a City of Literature and is a well-regarded hub in the literary scene, the local music scene is nearly as vibrant, and the 19th rendition of the Mission Creek Festival proves that.
The Gazette - Thursday, December 7, 2023
Artificial Intelligence threatens the livelihoods of many folks. But can A.I. have an impact on singers?