With the capacity-crowd buzzing about what the non-profit performing arts presenter may bring to greater Portland next year, Executive Director Aimée M. Petrin stepped into the spotlight and announced an eclectic season, featuring artists from as far away as Pakistan and as close to home as Fort Kent. A multidisciplinary presenter, Ovations' season features 27 performances across genres as varied as Broadway, Classical Music, Dance, Music of the World, Family, and Innovations, a new category made up of multi-media performances that push boundaries and defy conventional categorization.
Portland Ovations kicks off the new season with their annual party fundraiser POP! at the Portland Company complex on October 1st . That same week will see the first performance of the season when Ovations partners with the Victoria Mansion to present the Metropolis Ensemble - led by Maine native and Bates Alum Andrew Cyr - on October 3rd as part of the First Friday Art Walk.
The season that follows includes four Broadway National Tours that boast a total of 21 Tony Award nominations and five Tony Award wins: Sister Act, Million Dollar Quartet (featuring the music of Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and Johnny Cash), Memphis, and - back by popular demand - the
smash hit Mamma Mia! Some of the more well-known and recognizable talent woven throughout Ovations' 84th season are: This American Life's Ira Glass; Béla Fleck, Abigail Washburn and the Del McCoury Band; Tony Award-winning tap dancer and choreographer Savion Glover in a brand new production; New Orleans' iconic Preservation Hall Jazz Band; the Moscow City Ballet performing Swan Lake; and Academy Award nominated filmmaker Sam Green partnering with indie rock band Yo La Tengo for the "live" documentary The Love Song of R. Buckminster Fuller.
As it has done since its inception, Portland Ovations highlights world class classical music artists and this year is no different with offerings from the Boston Camerata, featuring the Sharq Arabic Music Ensemble; pianist Alexandre Tharaud; violinist Ray Chen; the Minguet Quartett with pianist Andreas Klein paying homage to composer and pianist Glenn Gould; and the Paul Dresher Ensemble, in a "Double Duo" featuring traditional instruments alongside the newly invented Quadrachord and Marimba Lumina.
Also offered is a Family Series that includes the staged versions of the children's book favorite Skippyjon Jones, and Portland writer and cartoonist Lincoln Peirce's Big Nate. World Music offerings represent Pakistan, Norway, Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, Sweden, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and the Shetland Islands.
"It's always a thrill to roll out a new season. We hope our audiences find the 14-15 season more innovative than ever, yet grounded in the classical forms that Ovations has long been known for," states Executive Director, Aimée M. Petrin.
Visit the Portland Ovations website (portlandovations.org) to view the entire 2014-15 season. Check back regularly as Ovations Offstage activities are added throughout the season, providing several ways to understand more about each performance as well as connect with the artists, including pre-performance lectures, masterclasses and residencies.
Ovations' Members get "first dibs" at tickets for three weeks starting on Monday, June 2nd, while tickets go on sale to the general public on June 23rd. If you are not a Member and would like to buy tickets early, you may become a Member at anytime or buy a pre-sale bundle of four or more performances at your initial purchase. Tickets may be purchased by contacting PortTIX at 207-842-0800, visiting the box office window at Merrill Auditorium or going online to www.portlandovations.org.
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