Modlin Center for the Arts

For the first time in its 50-year history, the acclaimed Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater brings its dazzling artistry to Richmond. Founded in New York City in 1958, the Ailey Company, known as “America’s Cultural Ambassadors,” has forever changed the perception of American dance. The ensemble, now led by artistic di...rector Judith Jamison, has performed for an estimated 21 million people in 48 states and in 68 countries on six continents, including two historic residencies in South Africa. The company has earned a reputation as one of American culture’s most distinguished world ambassadors by promoting the uniqueness of the African-American experience in the arts and the preservation and enrichment of the American modern dance heritage. Their Richmond appearance will include a performance of Alvin Ailey’s landmark work “Revelations” – you will not want to miss this historic event!

Price: Adult $15, Senior $12, Employee $12, Child $6, Student $10, Group (20+) $10 Read More

American pianist Jeremy Denk is one of today's most compelling young artists. In 1998, he took first prize at the Young Concert Artists international auditions and received the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant and his career has continued to flourish during the past decade. The New York Times describes Denk’s play...ing as "bracing, effortlessly virtuosic and utterly joyous” and the pianist, celebrated for his virtuosity in a wide range of genres, has garnered comparable critical acclaim for his performances with leading orchestras and presenters nationwide. Denk has appeared as soloist with the Philadelphia Orchestra, the St. Louis Symphony, the Houston Symphony, the San Francisco Symphony, the Atlanta Symphony, the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and many others.

Price: Adult $32, Senior $30, Employee $24, Child $16, Student FREE< Group (20+) $28 Read More

Over the past decade, Luna Negra Dance Theater has established itself as a significant and vital component of the Chicago arts scene. The troupe serves as a springboard for Latino choreographers to give expression to their personal stories and infuse new life into the cultures of their communities. Steering away from s...tereotypes and folkloric representations, Luna Negra brings energetic, powerful and passionate Latino expressions to its audiences —performances reflecting the immense cultural shift that is shaping America today. In celebration of Luna Negra’s 10th anniversary season, choreographer Eduardo Vilaro returns to his Cuban roots with a new work, Danzón. In collaboration with the bold and ingenious Turtle Island String Quartet and legendary composer and performer Paquito D’Rivera, Luna Negra takes the danzón—a traditional and quintessentially Cuban dance form— and reinvents it as a work of modern art.

Price: Adult $36, Senior $34, Employee $28, Child $18, Student $8, Group (20+) $32Read More

Paying homage to the rich and tireless passage of the native Irish people from Ireland to Canada and the United States, Eileen Ivers has created “Beyond the Bog Road,” an all-star assemblage of Irish and traditional musicians, singers, step dancers and cloggers/tap dancers. Told through music, story, dance and featurin...g an exquisite video, this multimedia performance is a celebration of the Irish immigrant’s impact on America and America’s impact on the Irish immigrant. This is Eileen Ivers at her most heartfelt—a seminal work and a slice of Irish-American musical history underscored by Ivers’ abiding passion and timeless grace.

Price: Adult $38, Senior $36, Employee $30, Child $19, Student $8, Group (20+) $34 Read More

Dedicated to debunking the myth that “modern” music is an academic genre, accessible only to the privileged few, eighth blackbird continues its inclusive pursuit of the best in new music with Slide. Commissioned by the Modlin Center, Slide is a narrative work of music theater that is audacious, yet accessible. eighth ...blackbird will be joined by Pulitzer Prize-nominated singer/actor Rinde Eckert and composer/electric guitarist Steve Mackey to present a poignant tale of love, human frailty, the desire for control and eventually, the tragic consequences once that control is attained. Eckert plays Renard, an enigmatic psychologist who struggles to describe an experiment examining reactions to in- and out-of-focus slides. In positing the experiment for today’s world, where persuasive images are used to sell commodities or politics, Slide explores the seduction and manipulation of the American psyche.

Price: Adult $20, Senior $18, Employee $16, Child $10, Student FREE, Group (20+) $14Read More

After the success of its 50th Anniversary tour in 2007—including a performance at Richmond’s Landmark Theater—the Monterey Jazz Festival (MJF) launches a new tour in 2010. Appearances feature piano legend Kenny Barron, named by The Los Angeles Times as “one of the top jazz pianists in the world;” violinist Regina Carte...r who, in the words of Time Magazine, “creates music that is wonderfully listenable, probingly intelligent and, at times, breathtakingly daring:” seven-time Grammy nominee Kurt Elling whose four-octave baritone and emotional range inspired the San Francisco Chronicle to hail him as “the most flamboyantly creative jazz singer to emerge in the last decade:” and guitarist Russell Malone, celebrated as Diana Krall’s right-hand man in concert, on tour and as accompanist on Krall’s recordings. Malone has collaborated with Harry Connick, Jr., Eddie “Cleanhead” Vinson, Branford Marsalis, Clarence Carter, Mulgrew Miller, Roy Hargrove, Cyrus Chestnut and Patti Austin.


Price: Adult $36, Senior $34, UR Employee $28, Child $87, UR Student $8, Group (20+) $32
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Cellist David Finckel—a member of the Emerson String Quartet—and pianist Wu Han rank among today’s most esteemed and influential classical musicians. Performances by the duo have garnered superlatives from the press, public and presenters alike. Talent, energy, imagination, and dedication are salient traits the couple ...shares and are reflected in their multi-faceted roles as concert performers, recording artists, educators, artistic administrators and cultural entrepreneurs. The duo has also appeared on NBC Nightly News and CNN and on radio’s Performance Today and Saint Paul Sunday. Finckel and Han have enlisted the talents of Emerson String Quartet violinist Philip Setzer to perform Franz Schubert’s piano trios.

Price: Adult $34, Senior $32, UR Employee $26, Child $17, UR Student $8, Group (20+) $30 Read More

Regular musical collaborators, the Shanghai Quartet and pianist Yuja Wang, return to our stage for a Valentine’s Day performance all lovers of exquisite musicianship will undoubtedly treasure. Twenty-two-year-old Yuja Wang is widely recognized for playing that combines the spontaneity and fearless imagination of youth... with the discipline and precision of a mature artist. Hailed for her prodigious technique, Wang’s command of the piano has been described as “astounding” and “superhuman,” and she has been praised for her fresh interpretations and graceful, charismatic stage presence. The Shanghai Quartet displays an unrivalled capacity for melding the delicacy of Eastern music with the emotional depth of Western repertoire. Such facility enables its musicians to fluidly traverse a repertoire whose global breadth runs the gamut from traditional Chinese folk music to cutting-edge contemporary pieces. Last season, the quartet dazzled our audiences in two appearances, premiering works commissioned in honor of its 25th anniversary.

Price: Adult $32, Senior $30, UR Employee $24, Child $16, UR Student FREE, Group (20+) $28 Read More

Luciana Souza’s performances of the last few years have proved her to be one of the most inspiring and intriguing jazz vocalists of her generation. Her contributions to Herbie Hancock’s River–The Joni Letters earned Souza a 2008 Grammy while her appearance at the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s month-long festival celebrat...ing Paul Simon brought her to the attention and appreciation of a wider audience. A native of Sao Paulo, Brazil, Souza claims a family legacy that is steeped in the bossa nova tradition. Her trio features two other veterans of the Modlin Center stage – Romero Lubambo on guitar and percussionist Cyro Baptista—musicians who perform on the singer’s latest album, Tide, released in May of 2009.

Price:Price: Adult $34, Senior $32, UR Employee $26, Child $17, UR Student $8, Group (20+) $30 Read More

The ‘60s in America was a decade of heroes, violence, love, death, progress and disillusionment. What began, with the election of John F. Kennedy, as a decade of hope ended with the nation embroiled in an impossible war, her streets filled with riots and the devastating murders of three political icons. The nation’s f...oremost radio theater company L.A. Theater Works presents a major new docudrama, co-commissioned by the Modlin Center, focused on Robert F. Kennedy’s personal and political journey. “The RFK Project,” written by Murray Horwitz and Jonathan Estrin, chronicles Kennedy’s transformation from ambivalence towards the Civil Rights movement to one of its fiercest champions. His story provides a compelling and dramatic illumination of this historically definitive decade, enabling a new generation to hear the words, experience the tension and probe those issues that continue to resonate with Americans today. The Modlin Center is proud to be a commissioning partner of this new work and we hope you will join us for an unforgettable night of history and theater.

Price: Adult $32, Senior $30, UR Employee $24, Child $16, UR Student $8, Group (20+) $28 Read More

The Grammy Award-winning Orpheus Chamber Orchestra is internationally renowned for its fine artistry and distinctive approach to music-making, with a performing and recording legacy spanning 35 years. Noted for their unsurpassed energy, sensitivity and connection to their audiences, Orpheus is considered one of America...’s cultural treasures. In this performance, Orpheus will be joined by Canadian-born pianist Angela Hewitt, best-known for her interpretations of the work of J.S. Bach and her complete recordings of the composer’s major keyboard works. Ms. Hewitt’s concert with Orpheus will include Bach’s Concerto in d minor and Stravinsky’s Concerto in D.

Price: Adult $3, Senior $34, UR Employee $28, Child $18, UR Student $8, Group (20+) $32
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