Finding presence in absence with Terence Blanchard
Jazz ListenHear Music Philadelphia Premieres
“Music and art have the power to change souls,” says five-time Grammy® Award-winning trumpeter/composer
Terence Blanchard. This heartfelt sentiment is echoed throughout everything he creates, from film scores to opera to jazz and everything in between. “A brass-wielding force of nature,” (
Los Angeles Times), Blanchard is known for music that makes powerful statements on American culture, past and present, and his upcoming performance,
Gordon Parks: An Empathetic Lens, furthers this dedication in spades.
Read more...Ballet Hispánico Makes A Glorious Return To Philadelphia
Dance
Known for its sophisticated elegance, pulsating rhythms, superb dancers and captivating works created by some of the world’s most sought-after choreographers, Ballet Hispánico makes a rare Philadelphia appearance in conjunction with its 52nd anniversary season.
An American Cultural Treasure, Ballet Hispánico is the nation’s leading ambassador for Latinx culture with a repertory of more than 80 commissioned works that explore the Hispanic world in all its complexity and beauty. Read more...
5 Questions with Brandee Younger
Alice & John: A Coltrane Festival Jazz Music Penn Live Arts Debuts
Brandee Younger, a classically trained jazz harpist, wraps up
our Coltrane Festival with her Penn Live Art
debut on October 23. A 2021 Grammy® and NAACP Image Award nominee, Younger "has almost single-handedly made a persuasive argument for the harp’s role in contemporary jazz.” (
The New York Times) As we await this undoubtedly mesmerizing debut, let’s get to know more about Brandee Younger in just five questions.
Read more...Celebrating Alice and John Coltrane
Alice & John: A Coltrane Festival
Alice and John Coltrane are jazz royalty, and our
Coltrane Festival (October 14-23) honors the tremendous impact this iconic duo had on American music, with an exciting emphasis on Alice’s significant and often underrepresented contributions. With rising star saxophonist
Lakecia Benjamin serving as Artistic Advisor, the Festival showcases John’s bebop, free jazz and spiritual enlightenments alongside the more abstract sounds and Eastern influences of Alice’s compositions. An impressive line-up of artists brings new interpretations of the Coltranes’ music into the present day through world premieres and Penn Live Arts commissioned works, while films and discussions with Coltrane scholars round out the Festival’s thematic journey with these jazz icons.
Read more...5 Questions with Connor Houlihan
Posted September 30, 2022
Circus
We’re thrilled to welcome
Machine de Cirque for their Philadelphia debut on October 2. The Québec-based group known for their “immensely gifted performers…and spectacular routines,” (
The Boston Globe) will perform its newest work
La Galerie. Leading up to the troupe’s exhilarating debut, we connected with ensemble member Connor Houlihan to learn more about the Minnesota native in just five questions.
Read more...The ever-evolving Pilobolus celebrates the Big Five-OH!
Posted September 22, 2022
Dance
Do you remember your big 30th, 40th or 50th milestone birthday? Just back from Saudi Arabia, Pilobolus, a fun-loving over-the-top imaginative troupe, continues to wow, amaze and entertain audiences worldwide after five decades. Known as an “irreplaceable treasure,” Pilobolus returns to Penn Live Arts with its Big Five-OH! tour in conjunction with our 50th anniversary season. The company’s repertory of 120 collaborative, groundbreaking and physically stunning productions has toured to 65 countries, reaching millions of fans in performances for television, film, corporate events, educational settings and world stages. Read more...
Announcing our brand-new Stuart Weitzman Theatre
Posted September 15, 2022
This week, we are thrilled to celebrate the announcement of the brand-new Stuart Weitzman Theatre on our outdoor plaza. As the cornerstone project in an ambitious, three-phase capital plan to renovate and expand the Annenberg Center, the Weitzman Theatre will be the first major expansion of the building since our founding in 1971. The new theatre will welcome innovative artists across genres to share their work in a flexible, reconfigurable performance space which will meet increasingly experimental styles in the performing arts.
Read more...Come to our Community Open House
We’re kicking off our season-long 50th anniversary celebration with a
Community Open House on Friday, September 16 and Saturday, September 17. The weekend will be capped off by the 22/23 season opener – legendary gospel group, the
Blind Boys of Alabama.
The festivities begin at 3:30 PM on Friday with a New Orleans-style second-line procession across the Penn campus, led by the New Breed Brass Band. Featured on Trombone Shorty's 2022 album, Lifted, and winners of New Orleans’ “Best Emerging Artist” award, this young upstart band will bring serious NOLA cred to their first-ever Philadelphia appearances. Penn Band Slam follows at 4 PM on the Annenberg Center Outdoor Plaza, showcasing The Mask and Wig Band, Penn Glee Club Band and Bloomers Band. Then, hear New Breed Brass Band pull out all the stops in a full performance in our Prince Theatre. Read more...
Summer Hiatus
Our 21/22 season has now come to a close. We were thrilled to welcome audiences back again this year and share in the joy of live performances together. There truly is nothing like the experience of gathering with your fellow audience members to enjoy live music, dance or theatre.
And now, we eagerly look ahead to next year when we will
celebrate our 50th anniversary with a season of world and Philadelphia premieres, local debuts, commissioned works and a monumental line-up of amazing artists from around the globe.
Read more...Recent Highlights: Apr – Jun 2022
This spring brought two of today’s best dance companies, a lovely mix of musical styles, film premieres, community connections and above all, happy audiences ready to embrace amazing performances. And, to cap it off, the announcement of our 50th anniversary season made it a spring to remember!
Mark Morris Dance Group (MMDG) and MOMIX both graced our Zellerbach stage, bringing works never before seen in Philadelphia. Read more...
