Miss Norman’s collaborations with some of today’s most exciting and creative artists of many different disciplines enliven her own exploration of the arts in all its glorious forms.

Most recently, her work with the four-time Grammy winning composer, Laura Karpman, produced a thrilling new multi-media musical theatre piece, ASK YOUR MAMA – Twelve poems on Jazz – by Langston Hughes, which had its premiere at Carnegie Hall in March of 2009 as a part of the HONOR! Festival held that month: a fifty-two event celebration of the African American contribution to the culture of the world, curated and directed by Miss Norman. ASK YOUR MAMA was also presented at The Hollywood Bowl last summer in the summer of 2009.

The Jessye Norman School for the Arts in her hometown of Augusta, Georgia is a tuition-free arts program for talented middle school students who would otherwise not be able to
enjoy private tutoring in the arts. The school is entering its ninth academic year and is not only a source of great pride for Miss Norman, but a reaction to the need and understanding that students given the opportunity of having the arts as a part of their education and this positive means of self-expression perform better academically all round and grow up to be more involved and caring citizens.

Please do find out more about the school at: jessyenormanschool.org.

Miss Norman’s latest recording, ROOTS: MY LIFE, MY SONG, shares with the listener what she refers to as a part of her personal universe, some of the soundtrack of her life which offers her the opportunity to pay homage to some of the many who influence and encourage her ceaseless curiosity and what she feels is an obligation to offer musical expression outside of the traditional Classical canon, as she wishes to reach as many ears as will hear and as many hearts that are open to taking this often surprising musical journey with her.

In March of 2012, she performed songs of John Cage with Meredith Monk and Joan LaBarbara under the auspices of the San Francisco Symphony and conductor, Michael Tilson Thomas.

This fully-staged production of the Cage songs presented yet another opportunity for Miss Norman to scale new heights and broaden her artistic palette while enjoying another wonderful collaboration with artists whom she admires. Her work with several not-for-profit organizations include the New York Public Library, The Dance Theatre of Harlem, Howard University and the Carnegie Hall Boards of Trustees, a graduate fellowship program and master class series in her name at The University of Michigan and spokesperson for The Partnership for the Homeless, all of which speak to her concern for the larger community and the citizenship that she credits her parents for having shown her from early childhood through their own community service.

Miss Norman is an honorary ambassador to the United Nations,a fellow at Jesus and Newham Colleges at Cambridge University, a Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres as well as a holder of the Legion D’Honneur, in France. France has named an orchid for her and in her hometown, an amphitheater which overlooks the tranquil Savannah River, bears name.

Further accolades and awards include five Grammys and some thirty-eight honorary doctorates from universities, colleges and conservatories around the world, but it is the sheer joy of singing the keeps her ever searching, ever exploring, ever seeking to honor the ancestors.

The orchestra’s conductor, Keith Lockhart is a star in his own right and his resumé is impeccable. He spent 15 years with the Boston Pops (logging between 1,200 and 1,300 performances); he revitalized and combined the Utah Symphony and Utah Opera into one body; and he somehow conducted an alphabet of symphony orchestras from Atlanta to Singapore. Between programs with My Morning Jacket and M. Ward, appearances in the Superbowl and with Elton John, he has showcased his ability to conduct nearly anything from classical to Elvis to Broadway to Count Basie. Lockhart is known for his smile and his ability to develop a rapport with his audience through casual conversation. If he doesn’t love a piece of music, he won’t play it, because to him, music “exists to be emotionally compelling.” Have no doubt: under Lockhart’s direction the BBC Concert Orchestra will bring an exceptional performance, including works by Benjamin Britten and the Enigma Variations by Edward Elgar, to the Swasey Chapel stage.

Chucho was born into an environment saturated with music. His father, Bebo Valdés was legendary in the golden age of music in Cuba—he led the house band for the Tropicana Club in the 1950s, recorded with Nat King Cole, and helped invent the batanga, a rhythmic dance that competed with the mambo. He also hosted many America jazz musicians and others from around Cuba when they came to play in Havana. Chucho absorbed these disparate influences from a very young age (he began playing piano at age 3), and used his experience and raw talent to graduate from the Municipal Music Conservatory of Havana at 14, rounding out his education with Cuban music, classical, and American jazz from Coltrane to Oscar Peterson.

Bebo Valdés left Cuba for the U.S. before the embargo, leaving Chucho at home. However, Chucho continued to pursue music as he could, starting his own jazz trios that played in hotels around Havana, and eventually forming Irakere, a Latin Jazz super group that earned international acclaim. In keeping with his accomplishments, Chucho was the first post-embargo artist to be recorded in the U.S., and that turned into a long career with the prestigious Blue Note label, among others. He continues to record now, including “Chucho’s Steps,” a collaboration with his son Chuchito, and “Juntos Para Siempre,” an album with his father.

Six decades in music gives Chucho Valdés a rhythmic complexity and an allusive style that allows his technical excellence an unlimited space. To Chucho, jazz is “freedom, made into music.” Join the Vail Series for a expansive concert by a veritable old master of jazz. You don’t even need a visa.

Although they may have differing opinions, the musicians work together to run the collective for next to no pay, maintaining a storefront in Jamaica Plain, as well as residency at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum—and they hold triple the rehearsals of an average orchestra. The extra work plays off. AFC is consistently greeted with awed reviews and is considered one of the finest chamber orchestras touring today—and it’s only three years old. Young, brash, and humming with the artistic talents of 17 different musicians, AFC wants to lead with sound, not the formal circumstance that often surrounds classical music.

A Far Cry will be joined by Matt Haimovitz, cello soloist. Playing among talents like Yo Yo Ma, Leonard Rose, and other famous names in classical music earned him a reputation as a prodigy and solo tours and performances throughout Europe. However, Haimovitz was not satisfied with the status quo of concert halls and classic pieces. As a result, he stopped touring and established a record label in order to record all of the Bach Cellos Suites. When he was trying to promote the performance, he was laughed out of his agent’s office—no one wanted to take a chance on a soloist who wasn’t as big a name as Yo Yo Ma. Haimovitz turned to a local jazz/folk club. The promoter was initially resistant, and only agreed to book it if he shared the risk. Haimovitz agreed, and they ended up turning away hundreds at the door at a venue that held 250. The change from Carnegie Hall to places like CBGB (a venue in New York City that helped the careers of bands like the Beastie Boys, Gorilla Biscuits, and The Misfits) and the Knitting Factory (a New York jazz and pop club) was a shock, but the venues helped Haimovitz rediscover Bach in new circumstances. “Going into the clubs, where people feel more comfortable, makes the music more accessible,” Haimovitz told cello.com. “Sure, I have to work a little harder to build an audience than classical musicians did 20 or 30 years ago, but I really believe in the music I’m playing.”

With their radical approach, these artists are at the forefront of a new blossoming of classical music, and we hope you join us for this one-time-only double bill of Matt Haimovitz and A Far Cry.