We've got a great line-up of entertainment scheduled for our Performing Arts Series, plus some other shows coming up. Don't miss out on Butler's only performing arts series. We'll see you at the theater!
Saturday, February 4, @ 8:00 PM
Folk music, poetry, storytelling and an old fashioned jam session is what this program is all about. Led by “Alaska’s Fiddling Poet” Ken Waldman, this evening will feature several Pennsylvania guest artists including Ernie Hawkins, Emily Pinkerton, and Mark Tamsula. Music will include folk tunes from North and South America including native American influences. Ken Waldman has drawn on his 25 years in Alaska to produce poems, stories, and fiddle tunes that combine into a performance uniquely his own. A former college professor, Waldman has had published six full-length poetry collections, a memoir, a children's book, and has released nine CDs that combine old-time Appalachian-style string-band music with original poetry. Since 1995 he’s toured full-time, performing at some of the nation’s leading universities, festivals, arts centers, and clubs. Over 400 of his poems and stories have appeared in such magazines as Beloit Poetry Journal, Quarterly West, and Yankee. For more information, view our flyer or go online at www.kenwaldman.com. You may also view additional photos of Ernie Hawkins, Emily Pinkerton, and Mark Tamsula.
Friday, March 2, @ 8 PM
For those not familiar with this musical iconic family from northwest Ohio (Bowling Green, to be exact) one is in for an ear-bending revelation. These four violinist brothers encompass a vivid blend of bluegrass, classical, and rock genres.
Each brother is a classical virtuoso in his own right, and brings rich and diverse talents to their sound. As a family they have been making music together for over 25 years. They were named “Musical Family of America” in 1989 by presidential decree, were the subject of a nationally televised PBS documentary in 1993, and two brothers (Jason and Zach) were featured in the film documentary Music From the Inside Out in 2005. Their first album as brothers, Classical Grass, sold out of its first printing.
Coming together with Tony Trischka, Mark Cosgrove, Don Liuzzi and a variety of bass players, the band began performing and recording in 2004. For more information, go on-line to www.depuebrothersband.com.
Friday, March 23, @ 8 PM, presented by the Pittsburgh Philharmonic
This season and travels come to a resounding conclusion a special celebrity guided tour treating us to formidable music of the Russian Masters. First we pay homage to Eastern Orthodox roots with Rimsky-Korsakov’s Russian Easter Overture followed by Borodin’s “In the Steppes of Central Asia.” The remaining program boasts two staples of Russian Romanticism, Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1, with the Philharmonic’s own Walter Morales on the keyboard and the mighty Fourth Symphony.
Friday, May 18, @ 8 PM, presented by the Pittsburgh Philharmonic
The next destination takes us on Philharmonic cruise lines down the Italian Rivera starting in Rome with the thrilling Roman Carnival Overture by Berlioz and our tour throughout the country continues with the marvelous “Italian “ Symphony by Mendelssohn. Our penultimate night “on tour” concludes with a visit to La Scala for the operatic selections di giorno with a special guest soloist. Our cruise disembarks at our origin to the might Fountains of Rome by Italian native Respighi.