Stanford Live’s 2022–23 Season Explores Place and Healing Amid a World Forever Changed by the Pandemic

Highlights include Joyce DiDonato’s EDEN, Circa’s Leviathan, new works from Stanford alum Christopher Tin and faculty member Jonathan Berger, performances by Yo-Yo Ma and Kathryn Stott, Lang Lang, Cécile McLorin Salvant, Patti LuPone and rare visits from the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra

Stanford, CA, June 1, 2022—Stanford Live is excited to announce its 2022–23 season which will spotlight work by artists engaged in conversations around climate change and social justice. These issues have taken their rightful place at the center of the national discourse as we collectively strive to create a world where diversity and equity pave the way for an inclusive and flourishing society.

“During these moments of reflection and change, artists have historically been central to telling the stories of our time, offering both perspective and insight into the complex issues that we as humans grapple with,” says Stanford Live’s Executive Director Chris Lorway. “As we were putting together this season, it became clear that many of the artists we’ve invited to campus wanted to contribute to this conversation, using their respective mediums to invite deeper community engagement and participation.”

Major Commissioned Works
Stanford Live continues its commitment to supporting artists throughout the creative process, from the earliest conceptual stage to the work’s premiere. This year’s slate of commissioned and co-produced work comes from a broad range of local, national, and international artists.

“Commissioning and co-producing are the lifeblood of our industry,” says Lorway. “It provides a way for communities to participate directly in the life and work of the artist and to feel a different sense of investment and relationship with both the creative process and the final product.”

Circa, one of the world’s most acclaimed contemporary circus companies brings its monumental production, Leviathan, to Memorial Auditorium (Sep 30 & Oct 1). The art of circus is taken in an exciting new direction as 36 performers hang from a grid suspended in the air and propel themselves across the stage, tumbling, balancing, and soaring together in this epic theatrical event that is at once deeply moving and physically stunning. Circa’s internationally renowned ensemble joins forces with a local cast of Stanford students, circus performers, and other community members.

Commissioned in partnership with the Hopkins Center for the Arts at Dartmouth College, The Ritual of Breath Is the Rite to Resist (Oct 14 & 15) is a collaboration by Stanford faculty composer Jonathan Berger, librettist Vievee Francis, and visual artist Enrico Riley that reflects on the tragedy of the murder of Eric Garner and explores the power of healing through communal experience. The evening-length opera-theater piece directed by Niegel Smith is rooted in seven poetic movements and scored for soprano (Neema Bickersteth), tenor saxophone (Greg Ward), and chamber ensemble.

Portland-based Ghanaian composer Okaidja Afroso’s Jaku Mumor (Nov 11) draws from the ecological knowledge of the Indigenous Gadangme fishermen of Ghana’s Atlantic Gulf of Guinea and grapples with what it means to commune with the spirits of the sea in the face of climate change and modernization.

Soprano Joyce DiDonato and the period-instrument ensemble Il Pomo D’Oro will also make a return visit with DiDonato’s latest production EDEN (Jan 20), a celebration of the wonders of the natural world through a selection of Baroque and contemporary works. DiDonato’s passionate belief, and the driving force behind EDEN, is that a collective return to our “best selves” is needed to not only address our current climate crisis, but the crisis of heart as well. By examining humanity’s relationship to the natural world and its unique place within it, EDEN invites the audience to explore and search for answers about belonging, purpose, and healing.

Broken Chord (Feb 16) by South-African director/choreographer Gregory Maqoma merges theater, dance, and music to tell the story of a South-African-based chorus whose ground-breaking tour through England and North America in the late 19th century was marred by the realities of racism. This performance will also connect the visiting company to the Bay Area community by featuring a chorus of local singers.

Finally, Bay Area singer Meklit returns to Stanford Live with The Movement LIVE (Apr 13), a live version of her podcast The Movement. In this multimedia collaboration, Meklit combines the energy of a concert with the intimacy of first-person storytelling to share the migration stories of artists across the world.

Other Season Highlights
For the world premiere of The Lost Birds (Feb 25), Stanford alum and two-time Grammy–winning composer Christopher Tin has created a requiem for species driven to extinction that will be performed by the award-winning vocal ensemble VOCES8.

Award-winning composer and multi-instrumentalist Vanessa Vân-Ánh Võ’s multimedia production, Mekong: LIFE (Apr 23), addresses the impact of climate change on communities from Vietnam to Laos to Burma through the sights and sounds of life along the Mekong River.

The 2022–23 line-up also features jazz concerts by three-time Grammy winner Cécile McLorin Salvant (Jan 28) and MacArthur Fellow Regina Carter (Apr 21). Orchestra performances include the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (Nov 7), the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (Jan 26) led by Riccardo Muti in his last year as music director and the dynamic Australian Chamber Orchestra (Apr 16) and its shapeshifting group ACO Underground (Apr 15). Recitals will feature acclaimed classical artists such as pianist Hélène Grimaud (Nov 6), Randall Goosby (Nov 30), Lang Lang (Feb 17), Yo-Yo Ma and Kathryn Stott (Apr 3), as well as chamber groups like the Emerson String Quartet (Dec 3) and Telegraph Quartet (Feb 26).

This season also features many musicians from across the globe––Mexican singer-songwriter Silvana Estrada (Oct 22), Ukrainian music quartet DakhaBrakha (Mar 8) and Brazilian Popular Music icon Caetano Veloso (May 11). Theater performances include Why Not Theatre’s Prince Hamlet (Oct 27 & 28) a return visit by puppeteer Ronnie Burkett with his take on Romeo and Juliet, Little Willy (Mar 1–4), and LatinXoxo by Migguel Anggelo (May 5 & 6). And Broadway star Patti LuPone (Feb 11) will bring her solo show Don’t Monkey with Broadway to the concert hall.

Finally, two dance performances originally scheduled for the 2020–21 and 2021–22 seasons will be presented at Memorial Auditorium: Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan’s 13 Tongues (Oct 6) and Dimitris Papaioannou’s Transverse Orientation (Dec 9 & 10).

TICKETS AND MORE INFORMATION
Member presale access begins on June 2. Tickets go on sale to the general public on June 29. Visit live.stanford.edu.

HEALTH AND SAFETY GUIDELINES
Stanford Live is monitoring local COVID-19 trends and will follow protocols mandated by local governments and Stanford University. By purchasing tickets to an event at Stanford Live, you agree to abide by the health and safety measures in effect at the time of the event, which may include, but not be limited to, wearing masks, providing proof of vaccination status and/or providing proof of negative COVID-19 test. Check back for the most up to date information, guidelines are subject to change.

Patrons should stay home if they are experiencing a fever or any COVID-19 symptoms, have tested positive for COVID-19 within the past 14 days, or have had close contact with anyone who is confirmed or is suspected of having COVID-19.

SCHEDULE

Circa: Leviathan
Friday, Sep 30 & Saturday, Oct 1, 7:30 pm
Memorial Auditorium

Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan
13 Tongues
Thursday, Oct 6, 7:30 PM
Memorial Auditorium

The Ritual of Breath Is the Rite to Resist
Friday, Oct 14, 7:30 PM
Saturday, Oct 15, 2:30 PM
Bing Concert Hall

Silvana Estrada
Saturday, October 22, 7:00 & 9:00 PM
Bing Studio

Sundays with the St. Lawrence with special guest Steven Banks
Sunday, Oct 23, 2:30 PM
Bing Concert Hall

Prince Hamlet
Why Not Theatre
Adapted and directed by Ravi Jain
Thursday & Friday, Oct. 27 & 28, 7:30 PM
Bing Concert Hall

Lyle Lovett and John Hiatt
Thursday, Nov 3, 7:30 PM
Bing Concert Hall

Hélène Grimaud
Sunday, Nov 6, 2:30 PM
Bing Concert Hall

Israel Philharmonic Orchestra
Monday, Nov 7, 7:30 PM
Bing Concert Hall

Okaidja Afroso
Jaku Mumor – Ancestral Spirit
With the Okaidja Afroso Ensemble
Friday, Nov 11, 7:30 PM
Bing Concert Hall

Meta4 Quartet
Polarkr(e)is: Drifting North
Saturday, Nov 12, 7:00 PM
Bing Studio

Vienna Boys Choir
Monday, Nov 28, 7:30 PM
Bing Concert Hall

Randall Goosby
Wednesday, Nov 30, 7:30 PM
Bing Concert Hall

Emerson String Quartet
Saturday, Dec 3, 7:30 PM
Bing Concert Hall

Ana Gasteyer
Sugar & Booze
Wednesday, Dec 7, 7:30 PM
Bing Concert Hall

Transverse Orientation
Dimitris Papaioannou
Friday, Dec 9 & Saturday Dec 10, 7:30 PM
Memorial Auditorium

All Is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914
Theater Latté Da
Saturday, Dec 10, 7:30 PM
Bing Concert Hall

Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra
Handel’s Messiah with Richard Egarr
Wednesday, Dec 14, 7:30 PM
Bing Concert Hall

A Chanticleer Christmas
Thursday, Dec 15, 7:30 PM
Memorial Church

Joyce DiDonato
EDEN
Friday, Jan 20, 7:30 PM
Bing Concert Hall

Sam Bush, Mike Marshall, Edgar Meyer, and George Meyer
Saturday, Jan 21, 7:30 PM
Bing Concert Hall

New Century Chamber Orchestra
Daniel Hope, Music Director
Alexey Botvinov, piano
Sunday, Jan 22, 7:30 PM
Bing Concert Hall

Third Coast Percussion
Wednesday, Jan 25, 7:30 PM
Bing Concert Hall

Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Riccardo Muti, Music Director
Thursday, Jan 26, 7:30 PM
Bing Concert Hall

Bruce Cockburn
Friday, Jan 27, 7:30 PM
Bing Concert Hall

Cécile McLorin Salvant
Saturday, Jan 28, 7:30 PM
Bing Concert Hall

Sundays with the St. Lawrence
Sunday, Jan 29, 7:30 PM
Bing Concert Hall

Auralizing the Medieval Image
Friday, Feb 10, 7:30 PM
Bing Concert Hall

Patti LuPone
Don’t Monkey with Broadway
Saturday, Feb 11, 7:30 PM
Bing Concert Hall

Gregory Maqoma
Broken Chord
Thursday, Feb 16, 7:30 PM
Bing Concert Hall

PBO SESSIONS: The Artist as Human
Friday, Feb 17, 8:00 PM
Bing Studio

Lang Lang
Friday, Feb 17, 7:30 PM
Bing Concert Hall

Lupita Infante
An Evening of Mariachi
Sunday, Feb 19, 2:30 PM
Bing Concert Hall

VOCES8 & Christopher Tin
The Lost Birds
Saturday, Feb 25, 7:30 PM
Bing Concert Hall

Telegraph Quartet
Return to Life
Sunday, Feb 26, 2:30 PM
Bing Concert Hall

Little Willy
Ronnie Burkett
Wednesday, Mar 1– Saturday, Mar 4, 8:00 PM
Bing Studio

DakhaBrakha
Wednesday, Mar 8, 7:30 PM
Bing Concert Hall

Israeli Chamber Project
Saturday, Mar 11, 7:30 PM
Bing Concert Hall

Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra
Diaspora: Jewish Music of Longing & Celebration
Friday, Mar 17, 7:30 PM
Bing Concert Hall

The Queen’s Cartoonists
Sunday, Mar 19, 2:30 PM
Bing Concert Hall

Luciana Souza and Vince Mendoza with big band
Saturday, Mar 25, 7:30 PM
Bing Concert Hall

Yo-Yo Ma and Kathryn Stott
Monday, Apr 3, 7:30 PM
Bing Concert Hall

Meklit: MOVEMENT Live
Thursday, Apr 13, 7:30 PM
Bing Concert Hall

ACO Underground
Saturday, Apr 15, 7:30 PM
Bing Studio

Australian Chamber Orchestra
Sunday, Apr 16, 2:30 PM
Bing Concert Hall

Regina Carter
Gone in a Phrase of Air
Thursday, Apr 13, 7:30 PM
Bing Concert Hall

Vanessa Vân-Ánh Võ
Mekong: LIFE
Sunday, Apr 23, 4:00 PM
Bing Concert Hall

Rob Kapilow’s What Makes It Great?
The Piano Landscapes of Debussy
Sunday, Apr 23, 4:00 PM
Bing Concert Hall

Dream House Quartet
Thursday, Apr 27, 7:30 PM
Bing Concert Hall

Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra
From Muffat to Mason
Friday, Apr 27, 7:30 PM
Bing Concert Hall

Rob Kapilow’s What Makes It Great?
Ladies of the Canyon Featuring the Music of Carole King and Joni Mitchell
Saturday, April 29, 2:30 PM
Bing Concert Hall

LatinXoxo
Migguel Anggelo
Thursday, May 5 & Friday, May 6, 8:00 PM
Bing Studio

Sundays with the St. Lawrence
St. Lawrence String Quartet Plays Haydn
Sunday, May 7, 2:30 PM
Bing Concert Hall

Caetano Veloso
Thursday, May 11, 7:30 PM
Bing Concert Hall