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David Sedaris has been described as "a master of satire and one of the most observant writers addressing the human condition today." This satirical and humorous commentary is frequently heard on This American Life, dissecting the accuracy of politics and cultural euphemisms on NPR. Sedaris' work includes accounts of his teenage years experimenting with drugs and battling OCD. It also includes his love of "s-less" words due to his lisp which had his parents questioning his now open homosexuality from an early age. His award-winning works include Barrel Fever, Naked, Holidays on Ice, and Me Talk Pretty One Day.
Yevgeny Yevtushenko is the best known Russian poet of the post-Stalin generation. His poetry, demanding great artistic freedom, contains themes of attacks on bureaucracy and Stalinism in the late 1950s and 1960s. Since the 1970s Yevtushenko has been active in many fields of culture, writing novels, acting, film directing, and photography and has continued to remain politically outspoken. He was appointed honorary member of American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1987. In 1989 Yevtushenko became a member of the Congress of People's Deputies. Since 1990 he has been vice president of Russian PEN.
The Prairie Song Project is comprised of former University of Iowa roommate duo mezzo-soprano vocalist Katharine Goeldner and flutist Amy Morris. This project celebrates their love of their Midwestern roots, music, their friendship, and the talents of other artists from the Midwest. The ladies have developed deep musical connections in Iowa, Minnesota, and Nebraska. The project also includes pianist Michael Heaston. These prestigious composers have set poetry by Nebraska author Ted Kooser, Willa Carther, and Shakespeare to their music.
The Harlem Gospel Choir, the most famous gospel choir in America, travels the world to raise money for children's charities by sharing faith and joy through music. The theme of every performance, said to take your breath away, is "bringing people and nations together and giving something back." Since its foundation in 1986 the choir has shared its message of inspiration and love with thousands. It strives to give audiences a better understanding of African American culture and the relation to the Black church.
Dansaq, or dance in the Quechua language of the Incas, is the result of a long collaboration, a solid complicity between two dancers with different training and cultural backgrounds. This collaboration of the percussive dance duo Tapage with the musical ensemble Cuarteto Latinoamericano, highlighting the work of South American composers, results in a performance filled with brilliance, sensuality, technical expertise, and inventiveness. The chemistry experienced on stage through a mixture of artistic languages including choreography, music, and scenography, the crossing of cultures, mutual enrichment, and fusion of the arts creates something never seen before.
Award-winning concert pianist Sara Davis Buechner has an extensive classical repertoire. It spans over 100 different concertos from Bach to current composers, as well as some of her personally composed pieces. She is a witty and gregarious speaker whose personality leaps from the stage to connect with the audience on an intimate and personal level. This is not an evening to miss. Wherever she appears, is filled with musical enchantment long remembered and treasured by audiences.
Grammy nominee Alex de Grassi has often been referred to as the world's best fingerstyle steel-string guitarists. De Grassi is mostly self-taught, grew up in a house of music and has studied jazz and classical guitar. Through his playing he is able to create a canvas of highly orchestrated sound by integrating melody, bass, harmony, and rhythm for a unique solo guitar experience. He was the first artist-in-residence at the nation's first fingerstyle guitar degree program at the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee.