BRAVO! Performing Arts Series Announces Performances for 2022-2023 Season
This Year’s Lineup Includes Disney Star Jeremy Jordan, World-Class Musician Itzhak Perlman and an International Acrobatics Troupe
The BYU College of Fine Arts and Communications is pleased to announce the 2022-2023 lineup for its BRAVO! Professional Performing Arts series. Award-winning artists will converge on BYU campus, performing celebrated pieces and working directly with students. The curated lineup of 11 performances will include two nights with the incomparable Itzhak Perlman and the BYU Philharmonic, an evening with Broadway and Disney star Jeremy Jordan and a program by Imani Winds featuring the work of composers of color.
“This is an extraordinarily exciting BRAVO! season!” said Bridget Benton, producer of the BRAVO! series. “I love that this season brings back some of our audience favorites such as Itzhak Perlman and VOCES8, but that it also allows us to welcome new and thought-provoking work to campus such as Gibney Dance and Gravity and Other Myths.”
Each year the BRAVO! series presents innovative and world-class performing arts to the BYU campus community. This year the series features new venues as the College of Fine Arts and Communications prepares for big changes. Performances will extend beyond the Harris Fine Arts Center and to venues at BYU West, the Richards Building Theatre and the new Music Building. “Change requires an increased infusion of creativity, and while the venues may be different, the quality of performances audiences have come to know and expect will not change and patrons will be delighted to find greater intimacy in these new venues,” Benton said.
Bravo! Season 2022-2023 Performances at a Glance:
September Performances
de Jong Concert Hall | Sept. 2
Disney, Broadway and charm collide for one unforgettable night with stage and screen favorite Jeremy Jordan. Known for his starring roles in Disney’s “Newsies,” Broadway’s “Waitress” and “Bonnie and Clyde,” and NBC’s “Smash” and “The Last 5 Years,” Jordan brings his powerful voice, charismatic storytelling and humor to BYU for an evening you will not want to miss.
October Performances
Madsen Recital Hall | Oct. 5
A new driving force in Nordic music, Dreamers’ Circus brings a contemporary and endlessly innovative approach to its music. This adventurous trio couples exquisite musicianship with exciting new arrangements and draws inspiration from the deep traditions of Nordic folk music.
de Jong Concert Hall | Oct. 29
After two past sold-out performances at BYU, VOCES8 returns to the BRAVO! series this season. Since the octet’s founding in 2005, VOCES8 has attained international recognition for its concerts and recordings, which feature an extensive repertoire. Noted as “undoubtedly gifted” by The Times (London), VOCES8 is equally at home singing Renaissance polyphony, jazz standards and pop tunes. The ensemble’s concerts are beloved by a loyal fan base for the musicians’ engaging stage presence and musical precision, and their mission extends through world-class commissions and a devotion to music education.
January Performances
Actors From the London Stage: Romeo & Juliet
BYU West: Mainstage Theatre | Jan. 26-28
The passion of youthful love is never more vivid than in “Romeo and Juliet,” arguably Shakespeare’s most beloved and well-known work. Alternating between laugh-out-loud comedy, exuberant romance and wrenching tragedy, “Romeo and Juliet” features Shakepeare’s greatest romantic pairing: a star-crossed duo whose passion careens into disaster. Presented by the innovative theatre company Actors From the London Stage, “Romeo and Juliet” is as powerful as ever.
February Performances
Music Building: The Box Theatre | Feb. 3
Called “contemporary chamber trailblazers” by The Boston Globe, Hub New Music, composed of flute, clarinet, violin and cello, is forging new pathways in the 21st-century repertoire. The ensemble’s ambitious commissioning projects and “appealing programs” (The New Yorker) celebrate the rich diversity of today’s classical music landscape. Its performances have been described as “gobsmacking” (Cleveland Classical), “innovative” (WBUR) and “the cutting edge of new classical music” (Taos News). The group’s performance at BYU will feature a world premiere of a piece composed by Music faculty member Kevin Anthony.
Richards Building: Dance Theatre | Feb. 3–4
Presenting a program of work by diverse choreographers, Gibney Dance Company is a revolutionary dance company committed to exploring connections between the rigorous physicality of contemporary dance alongside responsive, humanistic storytelling.
Music Building: Concert Hall | Feb. 7
Celebrating over two decades of music-making, the twice Grammy-nominated Imani Winds has led both a revolution and evolution of the wind quintet through dynamic playing, adventurous programming, imaginative collaborations and outreach endeavors that have inspired audiences of all ages and backgrounds.
Itzhak Perlman & BYU Philharmonic
Music Building: Concert Hall | Feb. 15–16
We welcome the incomparable Itzhak Perlman back for a rare two-night engagement, this time performing the Mendelssohn violin concerto with the BYU Philharmonic. The winner of fifteen Grammy Awards, four Emmy awards and the Presidential Medal of Freedom, Itzhak Perlman is a titan in the field of classical music.
Music Building: Recital Hall | Feb. 18
Septura brings together London’s leading players to redefine brass chamber music through the uniquely expressive sound of the brass septet. By creating a canon of transcriptions, arrangements and new commissions for this brand-new classical configuration, Septura aims to recast the brass ensemble as a serious artistic medium.
March Performances
Music Building: Concert Hall | March 14
FLY is what happens when street dance and classical music meet! The entire family will love the pure fun of The Gentlemen of Hip Hop’s youthful energy, risk-taking movement and clever choreography set to a mix of classical favorites. Watch them showcase the beauty and power of classical music and illustrate how well hip-hop movement can interpret it.
April Performances
Gravity and Other Myths: A Simple Space
BYU West: Mainstage Theatre | April 11
Described as “a total triumph” (The Guardian), Gravity and Other Myths is made up of seven acrobats who push their physical limits without reserve in a performance that is simultaneously raw, frantic and delicate. This award-winning show is supported by driving live percussion and presented so intimately that audiences can feel the heat, hear every breath and be immersed in every moment.
The BRAVO! series commitment to bring world-class artists to campus will continue as performances inspire students to dream about their own potential and expose the campus community to work with a stunning variety of themes, media and aesthetic qualities.
Masterclasses, lectures and collaborations allow students to interact with visiting performers personally, receiving direct instruction and learning about how to navigate the world as practicing artists.
These incredible musicians, dancers and performers are masters of their craft–you’ll want to come see them live!
BRAVO! season tickets will be available June 1 at 10 a.m. at tickets.byu.edu, in person at the HFAC or Marriott Center box office or by phone at 801-422-2981. Season ticket purchasers enjoy savings on each ticket, free ticket exchanges, priority offers to other attractions and first access to the best seats at the best prices. If you’d prefer to build your own Arts Pass to include BRAVO!, School of Music, Department of Dance and Department of Theatre performances, set a reminder for July 7 at 10 a.m.
Single-event tickets will go on sale at a later time. Due to the nature of live performances, all productions, prices and dates are subject to change.