Inspirational, uplifting, transformative — IU’s African American Choral Ensemble is famous for sharing a broad repertoire of African American choral music, including spirituals, gospel music, and formally composed works by, for, and about African Americans. The Choral Ensemble’s First Thursdays performance is just a sneak peek of their concert on April 28, 8 p.m. at Buskirk-Chumley Theater. Visit the African American Arts Institute table to enter to win concert tickets! Learn more at https://bctboxoffice.org/aaai/.
As the first of two parallel stories unfolds, struggling Hollywood screenwriter Stine tries to strike it big with his film noir masterpiece. In the second, Stine’s fictional detective Stone hits the seedy underbelly of Los Angeles, trying to crack a case before the case cracks him. With both writer and character influencing each other’s thoughts and actions, City of Angels comes alive with action, romance, mystery, and most strikingly, a brilliant jazz score. Listen to featured performances from the cast of City of Angels on the First Thursday's Main Stage.
A brother-and-sister duo from Nashville, Tennessee, Giri & Uma Peters are award-winning multi-instrumentalists who astonish audiences with their refreshing, soulful blend of old-time, roots, and bluegrass music. Giri and Uma may be young (13 and 10 years old, respectively), but their musicianship and vocal harmonies showcase a creativity and originality beyond their years. Their musicianship has attracted the attention of roots music star Rhiannon Giddens and banjo greats Abigail Washburn and Bela Fleck, among others. Lotus audiences know great Americana roots music when they hear it – and the Peters won’t disappoint. Giri & Uma Peters are presented in collaboration with the Lotus Education and Arts Foundation, as part of the Lotus Blossoms educational outreach program.
Created by renowned dancer and choreographer Twyla Tharp, The One Hundreds (1970) consists of 100 11-second movement sequences, each performed by a different volunteer dancer in an exuberant display of physical energy. The dance features everyday movements that many people do—walking, skipping, sports actions, etc.—as well as simple dance techniques. The movements are displayed in varying sequences of complexity, a master-puzzle of repetition, chronology and order, challenging the brain and body. Students and volunteers will work together throughout the day to create the dance, and the final performance will be held on the main stage and throughout the plaza during the festival.
IU is home to the world's first academic course focused on the work of dance luminary Tharp, whose unique approach to choreography continues to inspire fresh creativity in the performing arts world. Tharp's direction, choreography and dancing on stage and screen have earned her two Emmy Awards, a Tony Award, 19 honorary doctoral degrees, a Kennedy Center Honor and a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship, among many other accolades and honors. The IU course, "Fundamentals of Movement and Creativity: Twyla Tharp," is distinct in that it is specifically designed for both non-dance and dance majors. It highlights the crucial importance of movement as it relates to life and to all academic areas--for disciplines as varied as business and biology.
Come join the calisthenic fun on Thursday afternoon and find yourself part of a living, moving dance production with 100 other IU community members!
Ladies First a Cappella is Indiana University's premiere all-female a cappella. Comprised of fifteen of IU's finest singers and performers, they entertain various audiences around campus and the Bloomington community with a cappella covers of a variety of genres.
The Grammy-nominated Indiana University Singing Hoosiers have a long and storied tradition of excellence in the contemporary vocal arts, performing popular contemporary vocal music ranging from The Great American Songbook, jazz, Broadway, to contemporary choral repertoire and the hits of today. The current ensemble, under the direction of Chris Albanese, is comprised of 81 student singers and instrumentalists from the IU Jacobs School of Music as well as students from throughout the university.
As Indiana University's ambassadors of song, The Singing Hoosiers have entertained millions in 18 states and more than 26 countries, including Europe, Australia, Asia, and the Caribbean, and have collaborated with notable guests including Sylvia McNair, Tim Noble, the Indianapolis Symphony, and the Cincinnati Pops under the direction of Erich Kunzel.
At First Thursdays, we will be pulling excerpts of music from our Spring Concert program, titled “Back Home Again”. The program will explore a vast array of styles and futuristic concepts while also paying homage to home-grown music and musicians who hail from our great state of Indiana. The Singing Hoosiers 68th annual Spring Concert will take place April 14th at the IU Auditorium at 2 and 7:30pm.
Interlude
Rodney Sauer studied at the Oberlin Conservatory while majoring in chemistry at Oberlin College and has made a career in performing and recording dance and film music. He has researched historic practices of silent film orchestras, and his article on the history and use of “photoplay music” was published in the American Music Research Center Journal. While Sauer is best known for his work as director and score compiler for the Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra, a chamber quintet that revives the “library compilation” method used by silent film theater orchestras, he also improvises and composes music for silent films as a solo artist. With Mont Alto, Sauer has performed nationwide from Lincoln Center in Manhattan to Grauman’s Egyptian Theater on Hollywood Boulevard, and he is a regular at the San Francisco Silent Film Festival, the Denver Silent Film Festival, and the Telluride Film Festival.
