2022

Barbara Morrison with a radiant smile performing on stage, basking in the warm glow of stage lights and a joyful atmosphere.

Gifted with an expressive and powerful voice, Mariza is inarguably the genre’s best-known global representative for the 21st century. Mariza’s approach to singing fado (a traditional Portuguese genre full of exquisite contradictions) embraces the new while never forsaking the old. Her early recordings of classic fados, such as “Primavera,” mixed new and traditional instrumentation in support of soaring, emotionally searing vocals.

Though her work remains within the Portuguese tradition’s boundaries, she has distinguished herself by gradually incorporating elements from other folk and popular traditions into her music. These include sounds from Mozambique where she was born and Portugal where she grew up, Brazilian samba and MPB, Cape Verdean mornas, R&B, and soul music.

With the release of her six-time-platinum debut album, Fado em Mim, her reputation reached beyond Portugal and spread internationally with greater success than ever, with an array of multi-platinum album releases, and appearances on some of the most important stages in the world.

Mariza has received dozens of awards including her most cherished: Best Artist from the Amália Rodrigues Foundation. Mariza is a humanitarian who also serves as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador.

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Isabella Rossellini

October 8, 2022

Legendary actress Isabella Rossellini returns to the Luckman stage for two evenings with her new one-woman show, Darwin’s Smile, which reconciles two worlds that are often at opposite ends: art and science. Reading Charles Darwin’s book “The Expression of Emotions on Man and Animals” revealed to her that the continuity between humans and animals can also be detected in the expression of emotions. Isabella explores how empathy, which is the base of acting, is also necessary for the studies of animal behavior (ethology).

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Three ballet dancers on stage in a moment of dynamic movement, with one dancer in the foreground holding another's hand, suggesting a fluid and expressive performance.

Raiford Rogers Modern Ballet | Seeds of Rain

August 13, 2022

The Luckman Fine Arts Complex will present the world premiere of Seeds of Rain by choreographer Raiford Rogers, with musical compositions by Philip Glass and Zbyněk Matějů — featuring organist Mark Alan Hilt and pianist Helena Suchárová-Weiser. The performance will feature guest dancers Tetyana Matyanova (Ukraine) and Tigran Mkrtchyan (Armenia).

The music for Seeds of Rain (part 1) is a special arrangement of Philip Glass’ masterwork Mad Rush performed by Los Angeles organist Mark Alan Hilt and recorded at the First Presbyterian Church in Santa Monica.

Seeds of Rain (part 2) is set to Czech composer Zbyněk Matějů’s Three Stones Concerto featuring pianist Helena Suchárová-Weiser with the Hradec Kralové Philharmonic Orchestra — recorded specifically for this ballet collaboration.

The title for the ballet-diptych Seeds of Rain is a line from the D.H. Lawrence poem Autumn Rain about hope and renewal.

The artwork by painter Mike Nava is projected animations showing the chronologic evolution of a series of paintings each photographed layer by layer. The hundreds of stages of the painting’s development slowly fade from one to the next without a static moment providing a living environment for the dancers and visual embodiment of the music.

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Conductor leading an engaged orchestra in performance.

Cal State LA Music Department

May 2, 2022

Join Cal State LA’s Music Department as they celebrate the hard work of their students and faculty! Performances are free and open to the public, and also livestreamed on Facebook.

View detailed schedule information HERE.

Please note: For these performances, audience members are required to be masked and share contact information for contact tracing purposes.

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A solitary musician stands amidst a golden field, his guitar case in hand, against a backdrop of distant mesas, embodying a sense of rugged individualism and creative journey.

Pablo Sáinz Villegas

April 29, 2022

Praised as “the soul of the Spanish guitar”, Pablo Sáinz Villegas has become a worldwide sensation known as this generation’s great guitarist. With his “virtuosic playing characterized by irresistible exuberance” as described by The New York Times, his interpretations conjure the passion, playfulness, and drama of Rioja, his homeland’s rich musical heritage. He is known for his passionate, emotive and open-hearted playing, whether he is performing at intimate recital halls, or playing with Plácido Domingo to an audience of over 85,000 at Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in Madrid, where maestro Domingo hailed him as “the master of the guitar”.

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Elegant dancers in vibrant traditional costumes perform a lively and colorful folk dance with a joyful expression, capturing the essence of cultural celebration.

Ballet Folklórico de México de Amalia Hernández

March 25, 2022

n 2022, Ballet Folklórico de México de Amalia Hernández celebrates its 70th anniversary. To commemorate the occasion, the company returns to the Luckman for three evenings featuring renewed performances of their most celebrated classic choreography.

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