Boston Court Pasadena, a cultural gem in the heart of Southern California, will launch its 20th Anniversary Season on Saturday, February 11th, with a celebratory performance by the Rhythms of the Village Band. The ensemble will provide an electrifying evening of Nigerian highlife fusion music, blending traditional rhythms that have served as the foundation for musical styles such as reggae, calypso, and Afrobeat.
Jessica Kubzansky, the founding Artistic Director of Boston Court, announced that this anniversary season promises to be nothing short of remarkable.
The Rhythms of the Village Band concert serves as a sneak peek of the caliber of what is in store, and fans of Boston Court can look forward to a year filled with exceptional performances and cultural offerings.
“I think they can expect our usual richly diverse, eclectic music programming,” Kubzansky said. “There is likely something for everyone who is passionate about many forms of music.”
On Feb. 25, local jazz legend Nolan Shaheed, who also holds a world record in running aside from being a popular musician, performs his brilliant trumpet stylings with his dedicated band of great musicians to share a program of hot jazz on the Boston Court stage for the first time. They’re the Nolan Shaheed Quintet!
On March 3, violinist Danbi Um, a Menuhin International Violin Competition Silver Medalist, winner of the prestigious 2018 Salon de Virtuosi Career Grant, and a recent top prizewinner of the Naumburg International Violin Competition, will captivate the Boston Court audience with her virtuosity, individual sound, and interpretive sensitivity.
Following the musical season opener, Boston Court comes up with two world premieres: one, “Unrivaled,” a co-production with Playwrights Arena, a group dedicated to discovering, nurturing and producing bold new works for the stage written exclusively by Los Angeles playwrights; and the other Kubzansky’s own play-within-a-play, “Measure Still for Measure,” a spectacular new production of Shakespeare’s “Measure for Measure.”
“’Unrivaled’ is theoretically set in 11th century Japan, and it’s about two real writers – Murasaki Shikibu and Sei Shonagon, who wrote the ‘Tale of Genji’ and ‘The Pillow Book,’ Kubzansky said. “The playwright posits a fictitious version of their story because she imagines them as ladies waiting at the Empress’ Court in 11th century Japan. But it’s an extremely modern piece of text, and it’s really about these two amazing female writers who were both brilliant and both considered them seem to be rivals in terms of people’s approbation, in terms of their writing, and also in favor at the court and with a man and a variety of other things.”
“Unrivaled” premieres on March 16 through April 23, the Boston Court schedule shows.
“Measure Still for Measure” runs from Sept. 7 through Nov. 5. Kubzansky said this is a piece she has personally dreamed of doing for quite some time. The play will use the entirety of the Boston Court building and campus, she said.
“This is Boston Court’s first ever immersive play that takes you on a journey behind the curtain to experience the layered and intimate complexities of creating theater,” Kubzansky explains. “The audience will experience things as they arrive in the parking lot and as they’re walking into the building and then in the lobby and in all the spaces of Boston Court. And that’s going to be really exciting, and it’s something we’ve never done before that’s definitely unique to the 20th anniversary season.”
The music season runs through June and comprises 15 concerts in a wide variety of styles, including classical, new music, and jazz among others. Kubzansky enumerates many of the other musical performers for the whole family to enjoy: Brightwork newmusic, which seeks to enliven and expand contemporary classical music with a focus on West Coast composers and performers; Béla Bartók’s “Contrasts”; Grammy and Emmy award-winning pianist Gloria Cheng; Hub New Music; the Andrew Sords, John Walz and Timothy Durkovic Trio playing Brahms and music by Mendelson and Robert and Clara Schumann.
The Oakwood Brass Chamber Ensemble will be bringing a unique blend of music for brass quintet featuring Renaissance fanfare and luxurious Argentinian Tangos and more. Bay Area violinst Patrick Galvin is also performing a debut of works for solo violin, including Bach and a variety of others.
Red Eye 2 Tokyo, which combines adventurous music with the dynamic sounds of Japanese folk instruments, from a meditative zen flute solo to the Tyco drum kit, is also on the season schedule, along with the Nivea Folk Ensemble, a LA-based women’s folk chorus that performs traditional music from Eastern Europe, including acapella and accompanied songs from Bulgaria, Croatia, Georgia, Macedonia, Turkey, and Ukraine, as well as from Ladino, Sephardic and Romani traditions.
Pianist Mark Robson is also returning to Boston Court to play all 21 of Chopin’s Nocturnes. The Eclipse Quartet is playing 20th century music. The other performers already on the calendar through 2023 are Sidney Jacobs, the Eclipse Quartet, and the Nevenka Folk Ensemble.
Boston Court will also have a rotating art show that will theme with what’s happening usually with the play, such that the audience will have things to do the moment they walk into the lobby.
“There are lots of opportunities to engage with all the work that we do because we frequently have conversations with the artists around the work,” Kubzansky said. “We just want everyone to feel welcome, like they are having a really exciting artistic experience in a warm and welcoming environment, and that is something that we hope to continue to offer for years to come.”
To learn more about the 20th Anniversary Season at Boston Court Pasadena, visit www.bostoncourtpasadena.org.
