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Celebrate Women’s History Month this March on the @KimmelCulturalCampus (Facebook/Instagram)/@KimmelCC (Twitter). Broadway, classical, jazz, and more.
Press Contacts:
Lauren A. (Woodard) Hall
484-832-1963
lhall@kimmelculturalcampus.org
CELEBRATE WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH ON THE KIMMEL CULTURAL CAMPUS THIS MARCH
Tony Award®-winning “Her-story,” SIX; Ambassadors of Gullah culture and Grammy® winners Ranky Tanky; England’s national treasure Imogen Cooper; and more
Who Is Florence Price? continues Philadelphia Orchestra’s work to honor legacy of 20th-century Black composer
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (March 1, 2023) – The Kimmel Cultural Campus and The Philadelphia Orchestra celebrate Women’s History Month in March 2023 and beyond with an array of programming honoring the artistry and expression of known and up-and-coming female artists.
“One of our core values is ‘inclusivity’ and it is at the heart of everything we do as we share the transformative power of the performing arts with audiences. Representation of women on our stages give voice to the stories that shape our world,” said Crystal Brewe, Chief Marketing and Audience Experience Officer for The Philadelphia Orchestra and Kimmel Center, Inc. “We’re excited to highlight the talented female artists gracing our stages this March and beyond as we celebrate works by women covering a myriad of genres, from classical to jazz to Broadway.”
Women’s History Month-specific programming on the Kimmel Cultural Campus begins on March 8 with a performance from Resident Company Philadelphia Chamber Music Society; English pianist Imogen Cooper will perform her interpretations of treasured works by world-renowned composers including Beethoven, Schubert, and Liszt. Grammy® winners and ambassadors of Gullah culture Ranky Tanky are joined for one-night-only March 11 by passionate solo artist Ms. Lisa Fischer.
Inspired by the six wives of Henry VIII, SIX is a modern retelling of her-story and part of the 2022-23 Broadway series, from the creative minds of Tony Award® winners Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss. The electrifying new musical phenomenon premieres in Philadelphia March 21 and runs through April 9, remixing five hundred years of historical heartbreak into a Euphoric Celebration of 21st-century girl power!
Part of the Kimmel’s FREE Lunchtime Unplugged series, the March 24 event features the University of the Arts’ Femme Ensemble, a group formed to provide a place for women, trans, and gender-expansive musicians to perform together. March 23 through 25, Conductor Dalia Stasevska makes her Philadelphia Orchestra debut to lead works by Tarrodi, Poulenc, and Sibelius. Rounding out the month on March 25 is The Philadelphia Orchestra’s Family Concert Who Is Florence Price?, featuring students from the Special Music School at Kaufman Music Center who wrote a book celebrating the Black female composer’s extraordinary story. This program is led by conductor Lina Gonzalez-Granados and part of the Orchestra’s ongoing work to honor the legacy of this 20th-century composer.
The Kimmel Cultural Campus also celebrates Women’s History Month with social media and digital campaigns. Follow Kimmel Cultural Campus social media channels or take note of the digital screens inside the Kimmel Center building as employees are featured sharing their most inspirational historical female figures. Want more? Be sure to check out our Kimmel-curated Women’s History Month Playlist, Broadway Female Powerhouses Playlist, and Girl Power Anthems Playlist – all on our Spotify channel celebrating female artists and musicians.
Below is a full list of Women’s History Month offerings in chronological order. For most up-to-date programs, please visit www.kimmelculturalcampus.org:
IMOGEN COOPER, PIANO
Presented by the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society
Perelman Theater on the Kimmel Cultural Campus
Wednesday, March 8, 2023, at 7:30 p.m.
A national treasure in her native England, Imogen Cooper has become known for poetic, insightful interpretations and a rare ability to negotiate the composers’ shifting moods. “I try for a story to be told and to bring much color and difference of material to the sound in the piano,” Cooper says of her PCMS recital, which centers on treasured works by Beethoven, Schubert, and Liszt.
Liszt: 3 Petrarch Sonnets from Années de Pèlerinage (Sel.)
Beethoven: Sonata in E Major, Op. 109
Schubert: Sonata in C Major, D. 840, Reliquie
Beethoven: Sonata in C Minor, Op. 111
RANKY TANKY WITH MS. LISA FISCHER
Presented by the Kimmel Cultural Campus as part of the Jazz series
Miller Theater on the Kimmel Cultural Campus
Saturday, March 11, 2023, at 8:00 p.m.
Grammy® Award-winning quintet, Ranky Tanky (a Gullah phrase for “get funky”), performs timeless music born from the Gullah culture of the southeastern Sea Islands. The five lifelong friends from Charleston, South Carolina, have established themselves as passionate global ambassadors for their local culture and community, helping to faithfully preserve the traditions originated by African Americans in the coastal South during slavery that are kept alive through the present day.
Ranky Tanky have achieved many firsts for South Carolina’s West African-rooted Gullah community since their formation. At the 2019 GRAMMY Awards, they took home the Best Regional Roots Album prize for their sophomore release, Good Time. The album, which also hit No. 1 on Billboard’s Contemporary Jazz Chart, combines songs carried down through generations in the Sea Islands of the Southeastern United States with the band’s own original compositions in the Gullah tradition.
The band has been featured on NPR’s Fresh Air, The Today Show, PBS Newshour, and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert #playathome. Ranky Tanky were honored to be featured artists in President Biden’s inauguration event, We The People. They were the subjects of a 10-page profile in Oxford American’s South Carolina Music Issue and were named 2020 Artist of The Year by the Charleston City Paper.
Ms. Lisa Fischer: After four decades of featured background singing with icons like Luther Vandross, The Rolling Stones, Chaka Khan, Tina Turner, and Nine Inch Nails, Ms. Lisa Fischer set out to take center stage with her own humble, heartfelt song. The 2013 Best Documentary Oscar-winning film “Twenty Feet from Stardom” altered the course of Lisa’s musical journey, telling her story, with clips of her legendary duets with Sting or with Mick Jagger on “Gimme Shelter”, left audiences eager to see and hear more, so Lisa took the chance to set out on her own reinventing classic songs with her co-conspirators JC Maillard and Grand Baton. Their organic fusion of Caribbean psychedelic soul and jazzy progressive rock ignited Lisa’s flexibility and freedom of expression, awakening her lifelong desire to make music that heals but still rocks the house.
SIX
Presented as part of the Broadway season by the Kimmel Cultural Campus and The Shubert Organizations
Academy of Music on the Kimmel Cultural Campus
Tuesday, March 21 – Sunday, April 9, 2023 (Times vary)
Divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived.
From Tudor Queens to Pop Icons, the SIX wives of Henry VIII take the mic to remix five hundred years of historical heartbreak into an exuberant celebration of 21st century girl power! This new original musical is the global sensation that everyone is losing their head over.
The New York Times says SIX “TOTALLY RULES!” (Critic's Pick) and The Washington Post hails SIX as “Exactly the kind of energizing, inspirational illumination this town aches for! The Broadway season got supercharged!”
Written by Toby Marlow & Lucy Moss
POULENC AND SIBELIUS
Presented by The Philadelphia Orchestra
Verizon Hall on the Kimmel Cultural Campus
Thursday, March 23, 2023, at 7:30 p.m.
Friday, March 24, 2023, at 2:00 p.m.
Saturday, March 25, 2023 at 8:00 p.m.
Conductor Dalia Stasevska will make her Philadelphia Orchestra debut on a program featuring the Orchestra’s first performances of Andrea Tarrodi’s Liguria, Poulenc’s Organ Concerto with Wayne Marshall, and Sibelius’s Symphony No. 5.
Sibelius’s Fifth surges with life. From its quiet expressive beginnings to the energetic and majestic finale, it’s a life-affirming work that will stay with you long after. The renowned British organist Wayne Marshall takes on Poulenc’s famous Organ Concerto that starts with earth-shaking chords and manages to balance the sacred and the secular all the way to its bold conclusion.
Dalia Stasevska Conductor
Wayne Marshall Organ
LUNCHTIME UNPLUGGED
Presented by the Kimmel Cultural Campus
Commonwealth Plaza on the Kimmel Cultural Campus
Friday, March 24, 2023, from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Lunchtime Unplugged at the Kimmel (11:00 AM – 1:00 PM)
Pack a lunch and picnic in the Plaza! Take a beat and savor in a diverse lineup of live performances by emerging Philly artists.
The Femme Ensemble was formed in 2019 to provide a supportive environment for women, trans, and gender-expansive musicians to perform together.
WHO IS FLORENCE PRICE? FAMILY CONCERT
Presented by The Philadelphia Orchestra
Verizon Hall on the Kimmel Cultural Campus
Saturday, March 25, 2023, at 11:30 a.m.
In a performance named for the students’ book, Who Is Florence Price?, conductor Lina Gonzalez-Granados and the Orchestra explore Price’s life, work, and enduring legacy.
Lina Gonzalez-Granados Conductor
Students from the Special Music School at Kaufman Music Center
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Tickets
Tickets can be purchased by calling 215-893-1999 or online at www.kimmelculturalcampus.org. In-person ticket sales can be conducted daily from 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. at the Academy of Music Box Office, located at 240 S. Broad Street. See www.kimmelculturalcampus.org for more information.
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KIMMEL CULTURAL CAMPUS
Located in the heart of Center City, Philadelphia, our mission is to engage the region's diverse communities with art through performance and education. Our Cultural Campus serves more than 1-million guests per year and includes Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts (Verizon Hall, Perelman Theater, and SEI Innovation Studio), the Academy of Music, and the Miller Theater (formerly the Merriam Theater) – representing more than 160 years of rich history for the performing arts along Philadelphia's Avenue of the Arts. We are home to The Philadelphia Orchestra and six esteemed Resident Companies: Opera Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Ballet, PHILADANCO, The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, The Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, and Curtis Institute of Music. With nearly 9,000 seats per night, we are the region's most impactful performing arts center, and the second largest in the country. Our Cultural Campus serves as a preeminent and inclusive place to enjoy exceptional experiences that reflect the spirit of our region by cultivating a creative and socially responsible environment where our community shares experiences that are delivered with pride, integrity, and respect. As a 501 c 3 nonprofit organization, we collaborate on, present, and produce a broad range of relevant and meaningful events, we serve as an active gathering space for social and community events, we educate the region's young people through access to quality arts experiences, and we provide support to artists in the creation of new work. Read Kimmel Cultural Campus' vision statement, world view, and mission statement here. Learn more about our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion and how it encompasses our mission, coworkers, and programs here.
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For photography, please visit https://kcccpress.smugmug.com
For a PDF version of this press release, click here.