Nina Westervelt -El Nino production photo
Julia Bullock.
The following writeup was submitted by Babz Rawls-Ivy, the host of WNHH’s morning radio show “LoveBabz LoveTalk” and the editor-in-chief of the Inner-City News.
Yale Schwarzman Center announced its 2023 – 24 season lineup featuring boundary-pushing artists and powerful performances. From Corinne Bailey Rae to Renée Fleming, attendees from the Yale and New Haven communities will experience deeply personal and culturally immersive performances.
Part of YSC’s mission is to bring the community together and promote equity in New Haven. It does this by hosting free, public events. As I spoke with Executive Director Rachael Fine and Associate Artistic Director Jennifer Newman last week, it became evident that this season promises to be full of amazing performances in many of YSC’s different spaces.
“The artists activating the Center’s many spaces this season invite us to explore both contemporary ideas and emerging themes through works that are pioneering, poignant, timely and provocative,” said Fine. “I’m proud of our ambitious second season that builds on the strong foundation laid in our first. We would like to thank our friends across Yale and New Haven who break bread and break boundaries with us, making this and future seasons possible.”
This is the second season of YSC’s community performances and dining experiences. The Center, which opened in 2020, is a common space not just for Yale students but the New Haven community at large. YSC’s dining spaces offer food that is inspired by cuisines around the world where students and members of the New Haven community can stop in for a bite to eat, an affordable glass of wine and watch a performance all in one visit.
“YSC is a center of connection, community and joy,” added Fine.
Steven Pisano photo
Ash Fure.
YSC promotes artists who are changing the game and voices that are not always heard. Kicking off this year’s season is Corinne Bailey Rae, two-time Grammy winner, who is releasing her fourth album Sept. 15. She will be performing songs from the album at YSC on Sept. 9, after a conversation with Yale professor Daphne Brooks.
For the first time, YSC will be hosting an artist for a weeklong installation. Ash Fure, an internationally renowned sonic artist and composer, will be presenting her newest project, “ANIMAL: A Listening Gym,” from Oct. 21 – 28. The event combines physical sculptures with musical performances, for a completely original sound,” noted Newman.
“The biggest picture of this season is working with artists that are emblematic of collaboration, pushing their genre and their form, thinking outside the traditional ways of presentation,” Newman added. “One thing I feel strongly about is that we can build bridges between and help uplift work that’s already being done.”
Joseph Keckler will be performing at YSC Oct. 5. He is a performing artist known for his “absurdist” stories and songs that use dark humor to make spectacles out of life. One example Keckler presents in his work is “what is it like to work for a blind man who runs an art gallery?”
JACK Quartet, a string quartet, will be presenting a musically challenging piece: Catherine Lamb’s “divisio spiralis,” on Dec. 1. Their performance represents the complex pieces of chamber music today.
On Dec. 15, the American Modern Opera Company will perform a production of composer John Adams’s “El Niño: Nativity Reconsidered.”
YSC said “This rarely-performed piece celebrates Latin American poets and voices of women and features Julia Bullock.
Renée Fleming, a world-renowned opera singer, will perform at YSC from Jan. 18 – 20, 2024. She is a decorated performer, with five Grammy awards. She is also a Schwarzman Center Advisory Board Member.
“Her performance and collaboration with the Schwarzman Center and the Yale School of Music this season are unparalleled opportunities for our campus and New Haven communities to hear a living legend,” Fine said.
Note: On Aug. 31, Rachel Fine and Jennifer Harrison Newman were guests on WNHH Radio’s LoveBabz LoveTalk, 103.5 FM
