ASU Gammage announces 50th anniversary BEYOND series

ASU Gammage has just announced its 50th anniversary 2014-2015 BEYOND season. Patrons are invited to join Gammage as it celebrates 50 years of connecting communities and a season of arts experiences.

The four-show series features world renowned artists in dance and music, including the iconic ballet troupe Dance Theatre of Harlem and composer Philip Glass. For 22 years, the BEYOND series has evolved into a carefully curated series that brings world-class artists into the community by presenting compelling work while connecting with Valley residents through artist residency programs, master classes and public performances.

Subscriptions are on sale now and start at $75. Single tickets go on sale July 14. Subscriptions are available by calling 480-965-3434, or at the ASU Gammage Box Office.

ASU Symphony Orchestra – Salute to ASU Gammage
7 p.m., Sept. 23, 2014
Tickets $20 (Students $10)
The ASU School of Music commemorates the 50th Anniversary of ASU Gammage with a blockbuster concert celebrating the dedication of the building in 1964. The ASU Concert Jazz Band welcomes patrons before the Wind Orchestra performs music by Ingolf Dahl and other leading American composers. The ASU Symphony Orchestra and combined choirs offer music by Bach, Beethoven and Richard Strauss, whose music was played by Eugene Ormandy and The Philadelphia Orchestra at the grand opening concert in 1964.

Daniel Roumain – with the Arizona High School All-Star Symphony
7 p.m., Sept. 27, 2014
Tickets $20 (Students $10)
Equally at ease conducting a symphony orchestra or sampling Hip Hop alongside a DJ, composer/violinist Daniel Roumain returns to ASU Gammage for the second time after serving as the ASU Gammage Residency artist from 2003-2006. Roumain’s acclaimed work as a composer and a performer has spanned more than two decades, and has been commissioned by venerable artists and institutions worldwide. Roumain is also perhaps the only composer/performer whose collaborations span the worlds of Lady Gaga, Philip Glass, Cassandra Wilson, Bill T. Jones and Savion Glover. Roumain will collaborate with some of Arizona’s most talented high school musicians from around the state in a very special concert honoring ASU Gammage’s 50th Anniversary.

Dance Theatre of Harlem
7 p.m., Oct. 25, 2014
Tickets $35 (Students $10)
ASU Gammage is proud to welcome back Dance Theatre of Harlem, an iconic American dance company. The company will perform an eclectic mix of new and traditional dances that will highlight the brilliance of this one-of-a-kind American dance treasure. Shortly after the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., Dance Theater of Harlem was founded with the goal of starting a school in Harlem in which students could learn about dance and other art forms. In addition to encompassing the performance group and education center, Dance Theatre of Harlem also has a national and international education and community outreach program, Dancing Through Barriers. Each piece commits to bringing the arts to the lives of adults and children alike. Dance Theatre of Harlem is an unparalleled institution in the world of dance not only in this country, but around the world.

Philip Glass
7 p.m., Feb. 28, 2015
Tickets $35 (Students $10)
Philip Glass is one of the world’s most influential composers whose works are included in major motion picture, opera, theater and dance, and are routinely performed around the globe. Glass has written music for experimental theater directed by celebrated director Robert Wilson and for Academy Award-winning motion pictures such as “The Hours” and Martin Scorsese’s “Kundun.” ASU Gammage has a longtime partnership with Glass, having presented his Robert Wilson collaborations “Monsters of Grace” and “Dracula,” as well as his “The Hours” piano concerto and other works. Glass will perform newly written work and his complete set of piano etudes along with two guest pianists.

Kota Yamazaki/Fluid Hug Hug Dance Company
7 p.m., April 11, 2015
Tickets $20 (Students $10)
ASU Gammage will be the world premiere site for Kota Yamazaki’s OQ. OQ is the sound for “palace” in Japanese, and this new work will include aspects of architecture and Japanese poetry to evoke Eastern and Western ideas and rituals around the idea of the palace. Kota Yamazaki makes dances that you can’t take your eyes off of through his unique and singular style. Yamazaki’s Fluid Technique seamlessly fuses the physical with the spiritual and emotional, and defies what we would think is possible of the human body. Yamazaki has worked with dance companies in Africa, Japan, New York and other places around the globe to great critical acclaim, but perhaps his true gift is the ability to excite non-dancer and dancer audiences alike.