Something for Everyone

Gifted progeny, contemporary talent: Anoushka ShankarHarper Smith, Deutsche Grammophon

From jazz ensembles to Gypsy influences to South Asian percussionists, the 2011-12 Duke Performances season features an eclectic mix of theater, dance, and musical artists. Among the more than three dozen headliners will be Durham’s own jazz saxophonist Branford Marsalis; Serbian composer and bandleader Goran Bregovic with his Wedding & Funeral Orchestra, a Bulgarian choir, and a Gypsy brass band; and Anoushka Shankar—sitar legend Ravi Shankar’s daughter—who will lead an ensemble featuring flamenco and Indian classical musicians through a program that follows the musical journey of the Gypsies from India up through Spain.

Other performers include French countertenor Philippe Jaroussky, who will perform a program of Vivaldi and Handel arias with the baroque orchestra Apollo’s Fire; steel-string guitarist Joan Soriano, who plays bachata, a blend of rustic guitar syncopation and bittersweet lyrics; Australian dance company Chunky Move; Nigerian saxophonist Seun Kuti and his band, Egypt 80; and Persian singer Mohammad- Reza Shajarian and the seventeen-piece Shahnaz Ensemble.

Performances take place on Duke’s campus and at several Durham locations, including Motorco Music Hall, Casbah Durham, the Carolina Theatre, and the Durham Performing Arts Center.

Visit www.dukeperformances.org for more information