2023-24 Performing Arts Series

The GRAMMY®-winning ensemble Apollo’s Fire is a period-instrument orchestra founded by harpsichordist and conductor Jeannette Sorrell. Dedicated to the Baroque ideal that music should evoke passion in the listeners, Apollo’s Fire brings to life the music of the past for audiences of today. The Apollo’s Fire musicians are creative artists who share Sorrell’s passion for drama and rhetoric. For this special performance, the orchestra will be joined by a chorus for a performance of Sorrell’s new adaptation of Handel’s Israel in Egypt.

Back in Goshen by popular demand with new songs from their upcoming album, Nicky Mehta, Ruth Moody and Heather Masse bring three distinct voices that together make the achingly perfect vocal sound of the Juno award-winning Wailin’ Jennys.

With beautiful, heart-stopping harmonies, uplifting repertoire and engaging stage presence, the Wailin’ Jennys have delighted and charmed audiences for more than a decade. Their acoustic blend of bluegrass, folk and roots music has been featured alongside Bonnie Raitt and Rosanne Cash. Together they forge a unified folk-pop sound — all delivered with the irresistible vocal power of three.

Called “the world’s reigning male chorus” by The New Yorker magazine, the San Francisco-based, GRAMMY®-winning ensemble Chanticleer will present “A Chanticleer Christmas,” the group’s most beloved program. The concert presents the power and mystery, warmth and intimacy of

the season through Gregorian chant, Renaissance and contemporary gems, and traditional carols. Chanticleer is known around the world as “an orchestra of voices” for the seamless blend of 12 male voices ranging from soprano to bass and its original interpretations of vocal literature, from Renaissance to jazz and popular genres, as well as contemporary composition.

Béla Fleck and Abigail Washburn, “the king and queen of the banjo” (Paste Magazine), have a musical partnership like no other. Béla Fleck is a 15-time GRAMMY® winner who has taken the instrument across multiple genres, and Abigail Washburn a singer-songwriter and clawhammer banjo player who re-radicalized it by combining it with Far East culture and sounds. Together, Fleck and Washburn take audiences on a captivating musical journey using seven different banjos, blending Appalachian folk, bluegrass and jazz elements, influenced by Washburn’s work in folk music diplomacy in China.

Whether at home, on stage or on record, their deep bond, combined with the way their distinct musical personalities and banjo styles interact, makes theirs a picking partnership unlike any other on the planet.

The Latin GRAMMY®-winning, all-female mariachi group Flor de Toloache mixes tradition and innovation, breaking boundaries with its edgy, versatile and fresh take on traditional Latin American music. Like the legendary love potion that the Toloache flower is used for in Mexico, the talented New York ensemble casts a spell over its audiences with soaring vocals and physical elegance. The members’ diverse ethnicities and musical backgrounds transcend culture and gender by forging new paths. The group has graced international stages from Mexico to Japan and has extensively toured

to cities in the United States, Europe and Latin America. With a total of five studio albums to date, “Las Flores,” as their fans call them, recently released Motherflower, described by the artists as a fiercely feminist mosaic of genres inspired by mariachi.

Throughout their lifespan as a band, The Lone Bellow have cast an indelible spell with their finespun songs of hard truth and unexpected beauty, frequently delivered in hypnotic three-part harmony. The Nashville-based trio struck out on their own for their new album Love Songs for Losers, dreaming up a singular sound encompassing everything from arena-ready rock anthems to the gorgeously sprawling Americana tunes. Recorded at the possibly haunted former home of the legendary Roy Orbison, the result is an intimate meditation on the pain, joy and ineffable wonder of being human, at turns heartbreaking, irreverent and sublimely transcendent.

Renowned for his singular combination of robust swing and poetic insight, two-time GRAMMY® winner Kurt Elling has secured his place among the world’s foremost jazz vocalists. The New York Times proclaimed Elling, “the standout male vocalist of our time.” Over a 25-year career of touring and recording, Elling has won three French Prix du Jazz Vocal awards, two German Echo Awards, two Dutch Edison Awards and has been nominated for a GRAMMY® award 15 times. He has had a 14-year run atop the DownBeat critics and readers polls, and has won 12 Jazz Journalists Awards for “Male Vocalist of the Year.”

Elling’s voice is instantly recognizable, embracing listeners with his warm, rich baritone and navigating the full span of his four-octave range as a virtuoso improviser and a compelling storyteller. The Guardian (UK) has named Elling, “a kind of Sinatra with superpowers” and “one of jazz’s all- time great vocalists.”

Join the mesmerizing Martha Redbone and American Patchwork Quartet for a night of soulful and captivating music that celebrates the rich cultural tapestry of America. Martha Redbone’s soul-stirring voice and music are “a brilliant collision of cultures,” says the New Yorker.

American Patchwork Quartet, conceived by multi-GRAMMY® award- winner Clay Ross, is on a mission to reclaim the immigrant soul of American Roots Music. This group of eclectic artists expertly weaves together jazz refinement, country twang, West African hypnotics and East Asian ornaments to create a musical patchwork that celebrates both our differences and commonalities as a nation.

International Guitar Night is the world’s premier touring guitar festival, each show bringing together the most interesting and innovative acoustic guitar luminaries in the world for a special evening of solos, duets and quartets that highlight the dexterity and diversity within the world of acoustic

guitar. The 24th-anniversary lineup includes Luca Stricagnoli from Italy. The amazing acoustic rock interpreter will perform on his custom 3-neck guitar. Vietnamese Thu Le’s nylon string artistry stretches from classical to contemporary. Brazilian Marco Pereira, the master composer and performer, first toured with International Guitar Night in its early days and returns for his final go-round in 2024. And Australian Minnie Marks, the irrepressible blues slide guitarist and singer, is not only new to International Guitar Night but will be making her North American debut.

Direct from Argentina, MALEVO is an all-male group elevating Malambo traditions with urban percussion and dance. Testing strength, dexterity and agility, elements of flamenco, tango and Irish stepdance meet and the result is a performance that not only pushes the Malambo style beyond its limits but gives audiences an extraordinary visual and sensory theatrical experience unlike any other.

After being named an official Cultural Ambassador to the National Identity of Argentina and achieving numerous successes including performances in Las Vegas, New York, Paris, and London, MALEVO has appeared with Latin pop star Ricky Martin, Cirque du Soleil, and on the hit television show America’s Got Talent.

Backed by a live band, MALEVO is a fiery, pulsating South American sensation slaying audiences across the globe.

“Loud, dramatic, and packed with explosive energy and saucy exuberance.” -The Boston Globe