Ryan Shupe & the RubberBand

Friday, September 12

7:30 p.m. Hart Auditorium  

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buy tickets starting August 25 

Ryan Shupe & the RubberBand is always a favorite with students at BYU-Idaho. This American music group is based in Utah and popular for its unique style of bluegrass. As Ryan describes his music, "It's good old American country bluegrass music with blues and rock." Ryan started playing violin at the age of 5 and since then has picked up the guitar and mandolin. Popular songs in recent years have included "Dream Big," "Banjo Boy," and "Even Superman." Rating: Could be loud. 

Tickets go on sale August 25. Cost is $10 for general public, $5 for BYU-Idaho students. No children under four.

Buckets & Tap Shoes   

Friday and Saturday, September 19 and 20   

7:30 p.m. Kirkham Auditorium     

buy tickets starting September 2   

Buckets and Tap Shoes is part dance company, part band, all rhythm. The cast of five or more performers creates music with instruments including guitar, bass, saxophone, and drums, as well as tap shoes and 5-gallon paint buckets. The group first premiered at the 2004 Minnesota Fringe Festival to sold out audiences earning them "Best of Fringe 2004" and "Best Dance Performance 2005" from the Minneapolis City Pages. In late September 2007 Buckets and Tap Shoes performed to sold-out audiences at New York City Center's "Fall for Dance Festival," which included Paul Taylor Dance Company, American Ballet Theater, Lyon Opera Ballet and New York City Ballet companies. Roslyn Sulcas wrote in the New York Times October 4, 2007: "Utterly Brilliant.... They are virtuoso percussive players on, yes, buckets, and extraordinary tap dancers, as capable of channeling hip-hop as Astaire-like suavity." RATING: Youthful and energetic.

Tickets go on sale September 2. Cost is $12 for general public, $5 for BYU-Idaho students. No children under four.

Stephen Beus, pianist   

Friday, September 26 

7:30 p.m. Barrus Concert Hall

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buy tickets starting September 8 

Described by the Fort Worth Star Telegram as a pianist of "artistic instinct and natural charisma," Stephen Beus is recognized as one of the most promising pianists of his generation. In the space of four months, Stephen won first prize in the 2006 Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition, first place in the Vendome Prize International Competition (Lisbon), and was awarded the Max I. Allen Fellowship of the American Pianists Association (Indianapolis). The fourth of eight children, Stephen was born and raised in Othello, Washington, and started lessons at age five. Four years later he made his orchestral debut playing Mozart's Concerto K. 488. He holds degrees from Whitman College and The Juilliard School, and served a Church mission in Finland. RATING: Classical.

Tickets go on sale September 8. Cost is $10 for general public, $5 for BYU-Idaho students. No children under six. 

Natalie MacMaster 

Mothers' Weekend Concert  

Saturday, October 11    

7:30 p.m. Hart Auditorium    

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buy tickets starting September 8    

With a talent that remains both raw and wondrously refined, and backed by a band any top musician would be proud of, Natalie MacMaster continues to stun crowds around the globe with her feverish fiddling and mesmerizing step dancing. Well-known to international audiences as one of Canada's major talents, Natalie has been an ambassador for traditional East Coast Canadian music, and is credited with lifting the style to its contemporary prominence. Natalie first picked up the fiddle at age nine and hasn't looked back. The niece of famed Cape Breton fiddler Buddy MacMaster, Natalie quickly became a major talent in her own right. After winning numerous awards for her early traditional recordings, Natalie's subsequent releases have been boldly ground-breaking and received with abundant accolades. In July of 2006, Natalie was one of the youngest people ever named a member of the prestigious Order of Canada - Canada's highest civilian honor. Natalie is married to Donnell Leahy, who performed at BYU-Idaho earlier this year. RATING: Lively, could be loud.

Tickets go on sale September 8. Cost is $12 for general public, $5 for BYU-Idaho students. No children under four.

Ken Cowan, organist 

Wednesday, October 15

7:30 p.m. Barrus Concert Hall

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buy tickets starting September 29 

Ken Cowan is one of the most sought-after organists in North America. He has performed solo recitals across the United States and Canada, and has won numerous awards, including first prizes at the Royal Canadian College of Organists National Competition and the Yale Institute of Sacred Music National Competition. Currently he serves as assistant professor of organ at Westminster Choir College in Princeton, N.J. A native of Ontario, Canada, he received the master's degree and artist diploma from the Yale Institute of Sacred Music. RATING: Classical.

Tickets go on sale September 29. Cost is $12 for the general public and $5 for BYU-I students. No children under six.

BYU Ballroom Dance Company    

Saturday, October 25  

2:00 & 7:30 p.m. Kirkham Auditorium  

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buy tickets starting October 6  

The BYU Ballroom Dancers from Provo, Utah, feature championship formation dancing, breath-taking lifts and spins, and a seemingly endless stream of shimmering costumes. The first Americans ever to win the prestigious British Formation Championships, a feat they have repeated an unprecedented ten times, the dancers have also competed in the World Formation Championships and have consistently earned top honors in the United States National Formation Championships. The company has toured with its variety showcase of Latin and international dance styles - including waltz, samba, foxtrot, and hustle - throughout Europe, the Middle East, the South Pacific, eastern Asia, and the United States. They have also performed as special guest artists at ballroom dance competitions in China, Ukraine, and Hungary. And always, no matter where they perform, the Ballroom Dance Company dazzles and delights. RATING: Uplifting and entertaining.

Tickets go on sale October 6. Cost is $8 for general public, $4 for BYU-Idaho students. No children under four.

African Children's Choir   

Saturday, November 1   

7:30 p.m. Hart Auditorium   

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buy tickets starting October 13   

Through their voice and their music, the children of the choir are taking Africa to the rest of the world. They are the victims of a terrible pandemic, but they are also the promise and future of Africa. For over 21 years, the African Children's Choir has been performing throughout North America and the United Kingdom. Each year a new choir is selected from children who are not only musical, but who also come from some of Africa's most desperate villages. Many have lost one or both parents to poverty or disease.

The children sing on behalf of their brothers, their sisters, their friends, and their village. Their songs bring great joy to those who hear them, but through their songs they are asking for help. RATING: Uplifting and entertaining.

Tickets go on sale October 13. Cost is $12 for general public, $5 for BYU-Idaho students. No children under four.

Boston Brass   

Friday and Saturday, November 7 and 8 

7:30 p.m. Barrus Concert Hall  

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buy tickets starting October 20 

The fresh brass sensation is acclaimed for its exciting classical arrangements, breathtaking vocal harmony and burning jazz interpretations. Boston Brass' lively repartee, touched with humor and personality, bridges the vast ocean of classical formality to delight audiences to an evening of boisterous fun, exciting knowledge and an enthusiastic love of music, deftly exhibited by five brash brass players. Boston Brass has transcended the traditional mores of brass ensemble literature and has pioneered a new generation of music that sets out to achieve one simple goal: entertain at all costs with blistering precision. RATING: Popular and classical music.

Tickets go on sale October 20. Cost ia $12 for general public, $5 for BYU-Idaho students. No children under six.

New York Chamber Soloists  

Wednesday and Thursday, November 12 and 13  

7:30 p.m. Barrus Concert Hall 

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buy tickets starting October 27     

The New York Chamber Soloists have maintained a unique niche in the chamber music world for nearly five decades. Six members of the ensemble will perform at BYU-Idaho, including a flutist, oboist, violinist, violist, cellist, and pianist. The ensemble has been in residence at the Vermont Mozart Festival every summer since its inception in 1974. RATING: Classical.

Wednesday program: Haydn Trio in D for flute, cello, and piano; Beethoven Theme and Variations for oboe, violin, and viola; Mozart Piano Quartet in E-flat Major; Carter Sonata for flue, oboe, cello, and harpsichord; and Bach Ricercares and Canons from "The Musical Offering."

Thursday program: Beethoven String Trio in G Major; Telemann Sonata for flute and oboe; Turina Quartet for piano and strings; Villa-Lobos "Jet Whistle" for flute and cello; and Fried "The Chess Game" from Alice in Wonderland.

Tickets go on sale October 27. Cost is $12 for general public, $5 for BYU-Idaho students. No children under six.

BYU-Idaho Symphony Orchestra

featuring Jenny Oaks Baker    

Thursday and Friday, November 20 and 21    

7:30 p.m. Barrus Concert Hall   

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buy tickets starting November 3     

Violinist Jenny Oaks Baker will be the guest soloist for Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto in D, Op. 35. Jenny began playing the violin at age four, and made her solo debut in 1983 when she was only eight years old. She has performed as a soloist at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, and as a guest soloist with the National Symphony, Jerusalem Symphony, San Diego Symphony, Utah Symphony, Orchestra at Temple Square, and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. For seven years she performed as a first violinist in the National Symphony Orchestra before resigning in 2007 to devote more time to her young family. RATING: Classical.

Tickets go on sale November 3. Cost is $8 for general public, $4 for BYU-Idaho students. No children under six.

Christmas in the Snow  

Saturday, December 6    

7:30 p.m. Hart Auditorium         

Christmas in the Snow is an annual event featuring Department of Music choirs performing music of the season. This year's event will feature nearly 450 performers in a presentation of music celebrating the Christmas season. Ensembles include Men's Choir, Women's Choir, University Choir, Women's Glee, the Symphonic Band, and the RixStix Percussion Group. RATING: Traditional Christmas music.

Cost is $6 for general public, $3 for BYU-Idaho students. No children under six.