Courtesy/The Lensic
The Lensic News:
SANTA FE — The Lensic Performing Arts Center announces the Lensic Presents 2023–2024 season, a stellar lineup of twenty-five performances ranging from live music to dance, theater, and more, across genres and for all ages.
Each year the Lensic curates its own selection of performances that speaks to the diverse and eclectic audiences that come to the theater year-round. The artists performing in the season are likewise integral to the Lensic’s education and community programs—a majority will either present free performances for students from local public schools, provide masterclasses in classrooms and at the theater, or participate in pre-performance talks.
Throughout the season, the Lensic provides free tickets for local students through the Class Acts program and for social service agencies through the Angel Tickets program. Additional auxiliary programming, including Program Notes—free pre-performance talks before select Lensic Presents shows—will be announced shortly.
This season kicks off August 26 with a concert by composer/performer Meredith Monk with Katie Geissinger and Allison Sniffin, a co-presentation with SITE Santa Fe in correlation with their Bruce Nauman exhibition. Late summer leads us to the annual New Mexico Jazz Festival, which includes performances by the Regina Carter Quartet, Stefon Harris and Blackout, Christian McBride, and Spanish Harlem Orchestra. Next up comes the ever-lively Mariachi Herencia de México with Grammy-winning La Santa Cecilia vocalist La Marisoul. Fall begins with lots of laughs courtesy of comedian Ryan Hamilton, then come world music all-stars the R. Carlos Nakai Trio—Native American flutist (Nakai), harp-guitarist (Wiliam Eaton), and worldbeat percussionist (Will Clipman)—and later a performance by sitar icon Anoushka Shankar.
Legendary humorist David Sedaris returns to the Lensic in November, followed by the remarkable Jacob Jonas The Company dance group, who will premiere a new commission. The whole family is invited to see Uno, Dos, Tres, Andrés!, a bilingual musical show for kids and adults. The month ends with rock star Ryan Adams in a solo acoustic set. December has no shortage of holiday fun, starting off with Kings Return, a group of stunning young acapella singers, followed by Natalie MacMaster & Donnell Leahy, who perform with their equally talented children in “A Celtic Family Christmas,” and ending with our annual send off to the year: Joe Illick and the New Year’s Eve Orchestra featuring soloist Augustin Hadelich.
2024 is full of stars, starting off with the gravity-defying Peking Acrobats on Feb. 1, followed by multi-genre musical force Terence Blanchard, who performs with E-Collective and Turtle Island String Quartet. Singer-songwriter Judith Hill captivates with her soul, funk, and psychedelic-inspired music, then Spectrum Dance Company presents Grief, a profound new commission by Donald Byrd that explores the experiences of Mamie Till-Mobley after the 1955 murder of her son, Emmett Till.
March presents another production for the whole family: the classic Charlotte’s Web, performed by TheaterWorksUSA. St. Patrick’s Day gets the Emerald Isle treatment once again with a performance by Celtic band Lúnasa. Then the vibrant young stars of American Ballet Theatre Studio Company return to The Lensic, followed by more mind-blowing athleticism, choreography, and bone-rattling rhythm from the taiko drumming ensemble Drum Tao.