Media Contact
Bryce Rydalch
Kimball 226,
Rexburg, Idaho 83460
(208) 496-2108
e-mail:rydalchb@byui.edu

 

REXBURG, Idaho –

The Center Stage Performing Arts Series at Brigham Young University-Idaho will present a wide variety of professional entertainment during the Winter 2005 Semester.
 

Performances will include an Elvis impressionist, the spectacular New Shanghai Circus, a night of John Phillips Sousa music, the St. Petersburg Classic Ballet, the a capella group the King’s Singers, Grammy nominee Jim Brickman, jazz artist Bob Mintzer, a night with Thurl Bailey, Marvin Goldstein, Kevin Sharp and Joy Gardner, and performances by Michael Ballam and “American Idol” star Jon Peter Lewis.

Tickets generally go on sale three weeks prior to a performance. For people desiring season tickets, a 25 percent discount is offered. Preshow dinners are also available for many shows.

For tickets and other information, call the BYU-Idaho Ticket Office at 496-2230. A free brochure listing all performing arts events at BYU-Idaho is available at both the ticket office and the Rexburg Chamber of Commerce. The ticket office is open weekdays when school is in session from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. (except on Tuesdays when the office closes
at 2 p.m). Tickets may also be ordered over the Internet at http://www.byui.edu/tickets.

The following shows and concerts will be presented during the Winter Semester:

An Elvis Birthday Bash Concert and Dance will celebrate the 70th birthday of “The King of Rock and Roll,” Saturday, Jan. 8, at 7:30 p.m. in the Hart Auditorium. The concert-dance will feature Mike Albert, one of the best Elvis impressionists in the country, in his show entitled “Memories of Elvis.” In 1996, Albert won the prestigious “Images of Elvis” contest in Memphis. The cost is $8 for the general public and $3 for BYU-Idaho students. A preshow dinner is also available.

The New Shanghai Circus, featuring astonishing athletes that defy gravity and execute breathtaking feats that stretch the limits of human ability, will perform Wednesday, Jan. 19, at 7:30 p.m. in the Hart Auditorium. These fearless performers with boundless energy bring the audience more than 2,000 years of Chinese circus traditions. If it’s humanly possible – and even if it’s not – Shanghai’s acrobats, jugglers and contortionists do it with spectacular flair. The cost is $8 for the general public and $3 for BYU-Idaho students. A preshow dinner will be served at 6 p.m. in the Manwaring Center.

A John Phillips Sousa Night will feature renowned conductor Keith Brion as he conducts the BYU-Idaho Wind Ensemble in a night of music by John Phillips Sousa. Brion has led his popular Sousa revival concerts with almost all of America’s major and regional orchestras. From 1973-80 he was director of bands at Yale University. His New Sousa Band, begun in 1979, is a realization of Brion’s dream to reincarnate the Sousa Band and once again tour America’s towns and cities. The cost is $6 for the general public and $2 for BYU-Idaho students. A preshow dinner is also available.

The Spirit Week Spectacular will be one of the highlights of this winter’s Spirit Week, held Saturday, Feb. 12, at 7:30 p.m. in the Hart Auditorium. The College of Performing and Visual Arts will feature some of the finest students on campus in this annual showcase. Students will entertain the audience with music, theatre and dance. The cost is $6 and $5 for the general public and $2 for BYU-Idaho students.

The St. Petersburg Classic Ballet will perform favorite dances from some of the world’s most famous ballets Wednesday and Thursday, Feb. 16 and 17, at 7:30 p.m. in the Kirkham Auditorium. Since its founding in 1996, the Russian ballet company has performed to acclaim throughout the states of the former Soviet Union, Scandinavia and North America. The dancers have previously performed with the finest ballet companies of St. Petersburg. The cost is $8 for the general public and $2 for BYU-Idaho students. A preshow dinner will be served at 6 p.m. on Wednesday only.

The King’s Singers, thought by many to be the premiere a capella group in the world, will perform Wednesday and Thursday, Feb. 23 and 24, at 7:30 p.m. in the Barrus Concert Hall. Started in 1968 by six choral scholars from King’s College Cambridge, the King’s Singers quickly became a prominent musical force in the United Kingdom. The rest of the world soon followed so that today the group’s engagements are spread throughout the four corners of the globe. The King’s Singers are renowned for their commitment to blend, balance and intonation. As The London Times put it, they are “still unmatched for their musicality and sheer ability to entertain.” The cost is $20 for the general public and $10 for BYU-Idaho students. A preshow dinner will be served at 6 p.m. in the Manwaring Center.

Grammy nominee Jim Brickman will perform Saturday, Feb. 26, at 6 and 8:30 p.m. in the Kirkham Auditorium. With a career that spans ten albums, four of which have been certified gold and one platinum, Brickman has garnered an intensely loyal following. It’s no wonder he has garnered a Grammy nomination, a pair of Songwriter of the Year awards and a wide television audience for his acclaimed PBS specials and regular appearances on “The Today Show.” Like other masters of romantic music who have preceded him, Brickman has struck a chord with listeners, melding the timeless beauty of classical influences with the lively energy of contemporary pop. The cost is $20 for the general public and $10 for BYU-Idaho students. A preshow dinner is also available.

This year’s BYU-Idaho Jazz Festival will feature Grammy Award winner Bob Mintzer Friday, March 4, at 7 p.m. and Saturday, March 5, at 7:30 p.m. in the Snow Drama Theater. A pre-show will be performed on Saturday by the festival’s winning high school. Mintzer, an acclaimed saxophone player, will be joined by other guests, along with the BYU-Idaho Sound Alliance jazz ensemble. He won a Grammy in 2002 for the Bob Mintzer Big Band recording “Homage to Count Basie.” The cost is $8 for the general public and $2 for BYU-Idaho students. A preshow dinner will be served.

The annual Mothers’ Weekend Concert will be held Saturday, March 19, at 7:30 p.m. in the Hart Auditorium. This evening of music will feature Utah Jazz player Thurl Bailey, internationally known pianist Marvin Goldstein, and singers Kevin Sharp and Joy Gardner. Thurl Bailey played 16 years of professional basketball and now serves as a broadcast analyst for the Utah Jazz, motivational speaker and award-winning singer. Latter-day Saint pianist Marvin Goldstein has recorded more than 30 CDs and published 15 piano solo arrangement books during his career. Kevin Sharp is an award-winning country singer and Joy Gardner is a gifted singer who is best known as Laneah, the lead female character in the film The Testaments of One Fold and One Shepherd. The cost is $8 for the general public and $2 for BYU-Idaho students.

Michael Ballam and “American Idol” star Jon Peter Lewis will perform at the fourth annual Community Cabaret and Student Cabaret Friday and Saturday, April 8 and 9, at 7:30 p.m. in the Hart Auditorium. After dinner, a concert will be presented by Michael Ballam on Friday night and a different concert by Jon Peter Lewis on Saturday night. The BYU-Idaho Ballroom Dancers will also perform each evening. The concerts will be followed by dancing to popular big band music provided by the BYU-Idaho jazz band, Sound Alliance. Semi-formal dress is suggested – and bring your dancing shoes!

The cost for the Community Cabaret is $25, which includes dinner, show and dancing. The cost is $10 for the general public and $5 for BYU-Idaho students for just the show and dancing. Tickets go on sale March 21.

The cost for the Student Cabaret is $30 per couple for the dinner, show and dancing. The show and dance is $15 per couple.

Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, thought by many people to be the greatest piece of music ever written, will be performed for the first time at BYU-Idaho Thursday and Friday, April 14 and 15, at 7:30 p.m. in the Barrus Concert Hall. The performance will feature the BYU-Idaho Symphony Orchestra, Collegiate Singers, Chamber Choir and Concert Chorale. The cost is $5 for the general public and $1 for BYU-Idaho students.