Santa Fe College Announces Expanded Master Artist Series for 2014-2015

July 23, 2014

Santa Fe College has doubled from four to eight the number of Master Artists who will be teaching and performing in the Fine Arts Hall for the 2014-2015 academic year. In order of appearance, the artists are Malcolm Gets, Ruben Studdard, Rennie Harris Puremovement, Joffrey Dance Group, Stephen Beus, Leo Kottke, Anat Cohen and Judith Chapman directing "Invasion of Privacy," a play about Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings.

"The primary purpose of the Master Artist series is to enable our students to learn from and be inspired by people who are recognized experts in dance, music and theatre," explained Fine Arts Department Chairperson Alora Haynes. "By increasing the number of Master Artists, we are expanding learning opportunities for our students and benefits for our community through the performances that the Master Artists give while they are here."

Here is the performance schedule of this year's Master Artists. All performances are in the Fine Arts Hall at the Northwest Campus, 3000 NW 83 Street, Gainesville. For ticket information, call the SF Box Office at 352-395-4181 or Bob Fetterman at 352-395-4133. Tickets may be purchased on line at:

https://www.sfcollege.edu/finearts/

• An Evening with Malcolm Gets – 7:30 p.m. Friday, September 5, 2014. Join us for a fun, music-filled evening with Gainesville's own Malcolm Gets-a graduate of Buchholz High School and the University of Florida. Gets, an actor/dancer/singer/composer/pianist/choreographer, will perform melodies from well-known Broadway musicals. He will be joined by selected SF College vocal students.

• Ruben Studdard in Concert! – 6 & 8 p.m. Friday, September 19, 2014. It's been a decade since "American Idol" crowned Studdard its 2003 winner after he pulled in 24 million votes. Since then, the "Velvet Teddy Bear" and Alabama native has had a string of gold and platinum records, top 10 albums and R&B and pop singles.  Studdard has performed around the world, toured as Fats Waller in the national stage production of "Ain't Misbehavin," and earned several Grammy and American Music Award nominations. He will be accompanied by local gospel choirs.

• Rennie Harris Puremovement – 7:30 p.m. Saturday, September 27, 2014. Rennie Harris, a North Philadelphia native, founded Rennie Harris Puremovement (RHPM) based on the belief that hip-hop is the most important original expression of a new generation with the unique ability to express universal themes that extend beyond racial, religious, and economic boundaries.

• Joffrey Dance Group Concert – 7:30 p.m. Saturday, February 7, 2015. The Joffrey Dance Group, young dancers from the Joffrey Ballet School in New York City, will be Master Artists in residence at Santa Fe College for several days. Their residency concludes with a mixed repertoire performance including a featured work by Dance Theatre of Santa Fe.

• Stephen Beus Piano Concert – 7:30 p.m. Saturday, January 31, 2015. Since graduating from Juilliard, Beus has maintained an active performance and competition schedule, winning both national and international prizes. He released his first album, Excursions: Piano Music of Barber and Bauer, in 2006, followed by a second album in 2007.

• Leo Kottke in Concert! – 7:30 p.m. Saturday, February 28, 2015. Following his sold-out concert in 2014, famed acoustic guitarist Leo Kottke returns in a command performance. Join us for an evening of virtuoso acoustic guitar with accompanying vocals that reflect Kottke's roots in folk music, jazz and blues. You'll also enjoy his comical commentary and stories about life as a musician. 

• Anat Cohen Quartet – 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 28, 2015. Jazz clarinetist-saxophonist Anat Cohen has won hearts and minds the world over with her expressive virtuosity and charming stage presence. Cohen was voted Clarinetist of the Year seven years in a row by the Jazz Journalists Association, named 2012's Multi-Reeds Player of the Year, and topped critics' and readers' polls in DownBeat magazine for several years running.

• Invasion of Privacy – 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, June 18-20, 2015 (The Village presents the Thursday, June 18, performance). Judith Chapman directs Invasion of Privacy, a play about Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings by Larry Parr that focuses on a 1943 case against the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Yearling. The play offers "plenty of plot and a heap of memorable characters." Rawlings shot to literary fame by weaving exploits from the backcountry residents of Alachua County into novels such as South Moon Under, Golden Apples, The Yearling and Cross Creek. The books made her wealthy, earned her a Pulitzer Prize and-in the case of Cross Creek-landed her in the witness box.

Support for the Master Artist Series is provided by the SF College Fine Arts Department, the SF College Foundation and Arts Patron program, and a State of Florida Cultural Affairs grant.

For more information about the series, call Fine Arts Department Chairperson Alora Haynes at 352-395-5296 or Cultural Programs Coordinator Kathryn Lehman, 352-395-5355.

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