The world premiere of "Grown Over Ivy," a poetic exploration of the complex "town and gown" relations between New Haven and Yale, will be just one of the special events highlighting the International Festival of Arts and Ideas, which will be held Wednesday-Sunday, June 24-28, at sites throughout the Elm City.
Now in its third year, the festival brings thousands of visitors to New Haven for a smorgasbord of concerts, theatrical performances, talks, tours, exhibits, workshops, puppetry and children's activities presented by artists and organizations from Connecticut and around the world. A number of these events will be held on campus, and Yale individuals and organizations will take part in activities throughout the city.
'Grown Over Ivy'
Specially commissioned by the festival organizers, "Grown Over Ivy" is based on the stories of individuals whose lives are rooted within Yale and New Haven. The work was developed by local artist and poet Tracie Morris, who interviewed Yale staff members and others in the city community during her creation of the work. Morris will perform the piece, to the accompaniment of jazz and blues musicians, at 8 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday in the courtyard of the Hall of Graduate Studies (HGS), 320 York St. Tickets to "Grown Over Ivy" are $12. Morris will discuss her work at 1 p.m. on Friday at Branford College, 74 High St. That event is free and open to the public.
'Great Entertainment in Great Places'
New to the festival this year is "Great Entertainment in Great Places," a series of concerts being held on the Yale campus.
The first of these events, a performance by the award-winning Elm City Ensemble, will feature the world premiere of "Scenes from an Imagined Life," a work written especially for the four-member group by Ezra Laderman, professor of composition and former dean of the School of Music. Also highlighting the program will be "Dodecaphunphrolic" by Stefan Freund and "Exil" by Volker David Kirchner. The concert will take place at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, June 23 (the day before the festival officially opens), in the auditorium of the Yale University Art Gallery, 1111 Chapel St. Tickets are $12.
As part of the "Great Entertainment in Great Places" series, the curators of the Yale Collection of Musical Instruments will lead a tour/demonstration of the University's internationally renowned assemblage of musical instruments from throughout the ages. This program will be offered at 4 p.m. on two days, Thursday and Saturday, at the Yale Collection of Musical Instruments, 15 Hillhouse Ave. Tickets are $12.
On Thursday at 6 p.m., the Egberto Gismonti Group will present an evening of Brazilian jazz in the Yale Art Gallery auditorium. The group is led by guitarist, pianist and composer Egberto Gismonti, who mixes musical influences from his native Brazil with Western European traditions to create works that blur the line between folk, classical and jazz. Tickets to this performance are $15.
The Four Nations, a group that brings together ensemble musicians and soloists who are leading exponents of period instruments, will be in residence during the 1998 festival and will present three performances:
In "The Wrong Man," the ensemble will present the musical musings of women who have chosen the wrong man; works by Gershwin, Porter, Handel, Purcell and others will be featured. The concert will be held at 8 p.m. on Friday in the HGS courtyard. Tickets are $15.
In "By Royal Decree," The Four Nations will join with the Music from China ensemble in an exploration of the diverse heritage of French and Chinese court music and the tradition of royal patronage. This performance will take place at 4 p.m. on Saturday in the Yale Art Gallery auditorium. Tickets are $12.
In "A French Collection," the ensemble will present music from original manuscripts, journals and letters in the collections of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, including Mozart songs in French and songs inspired by the "Marriage of Figaro" and "Les Liaisons Dangereuses." An exhibition of featured works will be on display at the library in conjunction with the concert, which will be held at 4 p.m. on Sunday in the Beinecke Library, corner of Wall and High streets. Tickets are $12.
Traditional New Orleans jazz will be performed by the Preservation Hall Jazz Band on Saturday at 8 p.m. in the HGS courtyard. Based in New Orleans, the group takes its name from the noted French Quarter landmark in which it still performs. Tickets are $25.
Talks and Readings
All of the following events are free and open to the public. Unless otherwise indicated, they will be held in Branford College.
Yale trustee David Gergen will present a talk titled "The Future of the Media and American Politics" at 5 p.m. on Wednesday. The talk is part of "Big Ideas for the New Millennium," a series of festival talks, lectures and seminars exploring what life will be like in the 22nd century. Currently editor-at-large of U.S. News and World Report, Gergen has served as an adviser to four U.S. presidents: Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton.
Members of the Royal National Theatre, which will present the American premiere of Michael Frayn's "Copenhagen" at the Long Wharf Theatre during the festival (see "Other Festival Highlights" story), will answer questions from festival-goers at 1 p.m. on Thursday.
Lambda Award-winning novelist Blanche McCrary Boyd will read from her work "Terminal Velocity" at 4 p.m. on Thursday. The author of four novels and a collection of essays, Boyd is professor of English and writer-in-residence at Connecticut College.
Writer Jill McCorkle will read from her latest short-story collection, "Final Vinyl Days," at 4 p.m. on Friday. In her works, McCorkle uses humor to describe the eccentricities of the New South.
Members of Cirque Baroque will meet and talk with festival-goers at 1 p.m. on Saturday. The international theatrical circus is presenting the American premiere of "Ningen," a story inspired by Japanese artistry and tradition, at the Shubert Performing Arts Center during the festival (see "Other Festival Highlights" story).
At 4 p.m. on Saturday, author Tom Drury will present a reading from his new novel, "The Black Brook," a darkly comic work about "love, guilt, death, redemption and the various forms of clam chowder." Drury's short fiction has appeared in such publications as The New Yorker, Harper's Magazine and Mississippi Review.
Visual artists-in-residence who are featured in the festival's "Downtown" celebration of the rich diversity of talent in New Haven and Connecticut (see "Other Festival Highlights" story) will answer questions from the public at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
Special Tours
The Yale Visitors Center on 149 Elm St. will serve as the starting point for a number of special walking tours highlighting New Haven neighborhoods and campus landmarks. All are free and open to the public, and most last one hour. They include:
Wooster Square Tour, a trip by shuttle bus to explore New Haven's "Little Italy" which features many pre-Civil War houses. The tour, which will be led by the president of the New Haven Preservation Trust, will begin at 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday.
Hillhouse Avenue Tour, focusing on the byway that Charles Dickens described as "the most beautiful street in America." The tour, which begins at 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, will be followed by a visit to the New Haven Colony Historical Society to view the permanent collection there, as well as the special exhibits "Cinque Lives Here" and "New Haven Breweries." Architectural historian Anstress Farwell will lead the tour.
Architecture of Louis Kahn, looking at the Yale Art Gallery and the Yale Center for British Art, which were designed by the noted architect. The tour will be led by Alexander Purves, professor of architectural design, and will begin at 2:30 p.m. on Friday.
Grove Street Cemetery, a visit to the nation's first chartered cemetery, which is the final resting place of such notable New Englanders as Eli Whitney, Noah Webster and Roger Sherman. The tour will be offered twice: at 11 a.m. on Saturday and at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday.
Contemporary Architecture, an architect-led tour to view works by Eero Saarinen, Gordon Bunshaft, Marcel Breuer and Philip Johnson, among others. Tours will take place at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
City Tour Around the Green, highlighting several historic landmarks around the 360-year-old city center. Tours will take place at 11 a.m. Thursday-Sunday, and at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday-Friday.
Yale Campus Tour, an undergraduate-led introduction to the University's history, architecture and student life. Tours will be offered at 10:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. Wednesday-Friday and 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
For more information, or to order tickets, call the office of the
International Festival of Arts and Ideas toll-free at 1-888-278-4332.
Further information about the event is also available at Festival .
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