Jazz trumpeter and composer Terence Blanchard will open Festival of the Arts Boca on March 4 at Mizner Park. COURTESY PHOTO
It has jazz. It has classical music. And it has art.
Festival of the Arts Boca is back.
The 16th annual festival returns March 4-13 to Mizner Park.
Festival of the Arts Boca will open at 7:30 p.m. March 4 with a performance by two-time Oscar nominee, and five-time Grammy-winning trumpeter and composer Terence Blanchard in the Mizner Park Amphitheater. The concert is presented in partnership with FAU/ Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, with support from the Dorothy F. Schmidt Eminent Scholar in the Arts Endowment. Mr. Blanchard will replace Bobby McFerrin, who had to withdraw for health reasons. Tickets purchased for Mr. McFerrin’s performance will be honored for this performance.
“Terence Blanchard is an icon and truly ‘jazz royalty,’” Joanna Marie Kaye, executive director of Festival of the Arts Boca said in a statement. “We are thrilled to have him kick-off our 16thAnnual event with the Florida premiere of this show.”
Best known for scoring Spike Lee films, Mr. Blanchard made history in October by becoming the first black composer presented by the Metropolitan Opera in its 138-year history. He comes to Boca Raton with his internationally acclaimed band, the E-Collective, and the double Grammy-winning Turtle Island Quartet, in a program from his new album, “Absence,” a tribute to jazz saxophonist Wayne Shorter.
Soprano Larisa Martinez will headline an Opera Gala Concert on March 5 at Festival of the Arts Boca. COURTESY PHOTO
Other festival highlights include an Opera Gala Concert with soprano Larisa Martinez, who regularly appears with Andrea Bocelli, and with her husband, Joshua Bell. Ms. Martinez is making her festival debut, along with some special guests, in an evening of opera favorites with Festival Orchestra Boca under the baton of Constantine Kitsopoulos. A Night at the Ballet will feature stars from American Ballet Theatre, New York City Ballet, and more, performing excerpts from such classics as “Don Quixote,” “Swan Lake” and “Romeo & Juliet,” as well as contemporary works, such as “She’s a Rainbow,” by the Rolling Stones. Time for Three, known for standing at the intersection of Americana, modern pop and classical music, returns to the festival; and Grammy Award-winning South Florida favorite, jazz flutist Nestor Torres and his band, close out the festival on March 13.
The Authors & Ideas program features Richard Haass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations and author of “A World in Disarray: American Foreign Policy and the Crisis of the Old Order,” and James Stavrides, author and retired four-star U.S. Naval officer. The two will join in a discussion about global events. The series also will feature award-winning and internationally acclaimed global warming expert and author, Bill McKibben, who will talk about “Our Changing Climate;” NASA Astronaut, Donald Pettit; and novelist Luis Alberto Urrea, hailed by NPR as a “literary badass,” who uses his dual-culture life experiences to explore greater themes of love, loss and triumph.
Mr. Pettit, America’s oldest active astronaut, will offer a view of Earth from the perspective of one who has had two very long stints living, working, and walking in space. During his 370 days aboard the International Space Station, Mr. Pettit created a portfolio of photographs of the Earth, the stars and everything in between.
All events will take place at the Mizner Park Amphitheater, an outdoor (tented) venue, with socially distanced, open seating with all seats 4 feet apart. The festival has health and safety protocols for all performances at www.festivalboca.org.
Tickets for the 16th Annual Festival of the Arts Boca range from $15 to $150 per person and are available at www.festivalboca.org or by calling 561-757-4762 from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
For more information, visit www.festivalboca.org or call 561-571-5270. ¦
Leave a Reply