University Union

Leoš Janáček:  Life, Work, and Contribution

An International Festival and Conference

February 6-9, 2013
Performances at Murchison Performing Arts Center and Voertman Concert Hall

The Janáček Academy of Music & the Performing Arts and the University of North Texas will stage an international, two-continent festival of the music of Leoš Janáček in 2012-2013. Distinguished musicians, clinicians, and Janáček scholars will convene on the UNT campus.  Distinguished guests from the Czech Republic are expected to include Prof. Štědroň, Prof. Ivo Medek (Rector of the Janáček Academy), Prof. Vít Spilka (Head of the Department of Music), and Prof. Jiří Zahrádka (curator of the Janáček Archive and Museum).

In February 2013 UNT will host a 4-day series of performances, master classes workshops, and an academic conference. All concerts will be introduced by a pre-concert lecture provided by doctoral students in the College of Music. Performances will be held at the Murchison Performing Arts Center as well as Paul Voertman Concert Hall. The highlight (and final) piece of the festival will be the American premiere of Janáček’s Zápisník zmizelého (The Diary of One Who Disappeared), conducted by Prof. Vít Spilka. There will be an associated pre-concert lecture by Prof. Thomas Sovík of the University of North Texas and Prof. Miloš Štědroň; both the pre-concert lecture and the concert will be video live-streamed from Winspear Hall and viewable to audiences across the world. Tickets are free for UNT Students and the festival is open to the public. More information is available at: https://janacek.unt.edu/.

Ticket Information
FREE for UNT Students
Tickets @ Murchison Box Office
To see a full schedule of events and more information please visit https://janacek.unt.edu/.

Orissa Dance Academy

March 28, 2013 – 8 pm
Lyceum, University Union

Odissi Dance is arguably the oldest and the most lyrical of all Indian classical dance forms, which originated in Orissa, an eastern state of India.  Its history has been traced to sculptures found in the ancient caves near the state capital dating back to the 2nd century BC. Orissa Dance Academy has earned its status as a premier institute for teaching, producing, and promoting Odissi dance, music and related art forms around the globe. It was founded in 1975 by legendary Guru Gangadhar Pradhan.  Orissa Dance Academy’s repertory group has enthralled audiences the world over, including in the U.S., Canada, U.K, Brazil, Peru, Chile, France, Holland, Japan, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Korea, and Germany.

Ticket Information
FREE for UNT Students, $5 for UNT Faculty/Staff/Alumni Association, $10 General Public
Tickets on sale soon! Check back for more information.

Austin Kleon

April 11 - May 6, 2013
UNT on the Square
Gallery Talk and Reception on April 11, 2013

“Immersing yourself in Steal Like An Artist is as fine an investment in the life of your mind as you can hope to make.”
—The Atlantic

Austin Kleon is a writer, artist, speaker, and New York Times best-selling author. His work has been featured on NPR’s Morning Edition, PBS Newshour, Time, The Atlantic, Forbes, and The Wall Street Journal. Now he’s brought his depth and range of experience as a creator to his new book, Steal Like An Artist, an illustrated manifesto for creativity in the digital age.

Steal Like An Artist is a lesson in applied creativity. It’s based on a list Austin drew up one day of key insights he wishes he’d known when he started out. He boiled them down into pithy phrases: “Steal like an artist”, “Use your hands”, “Creativity is subtraction”, and many more. He turned that list into a talk, the text and slides from the talk “rocked the creative world” and went viral— and since it’s been online, the original blog post has reached millions of readers.

Austin is also the author of Newspaper Blackout, a collection of poetry made by redacting newspaper articles with a permanent marker. His art has been called “brilliant” by New York Magazine and The New Yorker said his poems “resurrect the newspaper when everyone else is declaring it dead.” Austin speaks on creativity, visual thinking, and being an artist online.

Ticket Information
Free, no tickets required

Kurt Elling Quartet

April 4, 2013 – 8 pm
Murchison Performing Arts Center

Among the world’s foremost jazz vocalists, Kurt Elling has been the DownBeat Critics Poll "Male Jazz Vocalist of the Year" for the past thirteen years. The New York Times declared "Elling is the standout male vocalist of our time." He is also a Grammy winner, and every record Elling has made has been Grammy nominated. His rich baritone spans four octaves and features both astonishing technique and emotional depth. His command of rhythm, texture, phrasing and dynamics is more akin to the skill set of a virtuoso jazz instrumentalist than that of a vocalist. His repertoire includes original compositions and modern interpretations of standards, all of which are springboards for inspired improvisation, scatting, spoken word and poetry.

Elling is currently at work on his next project, "1619 Broadway," a tribute to the Brill Building, the most historic music address in the world.

Ticket Information
FREE for UNT Students, $15 UNT Faculty/Staff/Alumni Association, $30 General Public
Tickets @Murchison Performing Arts Center

World Premiere of Ahab's Symphony

April 24, 2013 - 8 pm.
Murchison Performing Arts Center

After a critically acclaimed premiere in 2010 of the opera Moby-Dick with the Dallas Opera, renowned composer Jake Heggie was commissioned to compose a new concert work for voices and orchestra also based on Herman Melville’s novel.  The Ahab Symphony will go beyond the scope of the opera with particular emphasis on the Ahab monologues and will be a more introspective symphonic work.  Its premiere will take place on April 24, 2013 at the Murchison Performing Arts Center and will be performed by the UNT Symphony Orchestra, Grand Chorus, and tenor soloist Richard Croft singing the Ahab monologues.

Ticket Information
Free for UNT Students!
Tickets @ Murchison Box Office

12th Annual Songwriter's Competition

Finalist Showcase April 23, 2013 – 7:30 pm
The Syndicate, University Union

The 12th annual Finalist Showcase of the University Songwriters Competition will present the best student songwriters from UNT. Students will compete for the top prize, an invitation to perform at the Kerrville Folk Music Festival, and an all-expense paid trip to Nashville to record at the London Broadcasting Company’s studios. Students can submit their original works for consideration in March 2013. Selected students will perform in the Finalist Showcase.

Ticket Information
Free, no tickets required
Send submissions to www.kerrville-music.com in March 2013