Graceland University Announces the Lineup for the 2014-15 Performing Arts Series

October 31, 2014  —  SpokFrevo Orquestra

February 15, 2015  —  The Peking Acrobats

February 27, 1015  —  Caladh Nua

April 1, 2015  —  To Kill a Mockingbird

For many years, the Graceland University Performing Arts Series (PAS) has enriched South Central Iowa and the greater Graceland University community in and around Lamoni, Iowa, with stellar, internationally acclaimed artists and groups. PAS has served as a cultural beacon for the region and Graceland community with its rich array of presentations representing all elements of the performing arts.

Since 2007, it has broadened its impact through its partnership with the Dekko Foundation, which focuses on youth engagement and resource sharing designed to decrease economic, opportunity and cultural poverty among rural youth. As a result, during that period, thousands of young people have enjoyed special Dekko-funded matinee PAS performances or reduced prices for evening presentations that would not have been otherwise possible. This year will continue to offer cultural enrichment opportunities in Lamoni, as Graceland introduces some exciting new additions to the PAS.

Peking Acrobats:

Since their Western debut in 1986, they have pushed the envelope of human possibility with astonishing juggling dexterity and incredible balancing feats, showcasing tremendous skill and ability. A performance by the Peking Acrobats, therefore, brings with it the opportunity to view the epitome of a rich and ancient folk art tradition, highlighted by today’s technology melding the traditional with the modern wonders of the 21st Century.

SpokFrevo Orquestra:

An amazing 18-piece big band from the city of Recife in the northeast of Brazil. They take their name from the city’s very own 100-year-old musical genre: frevo.
Frevo is a style of music played at carnival in the state of Pernambuco, and is absolutely packed with high energy,
driving rhythms and sheer, unalloyed happiness!

To Kill A Mockingbird:

A sleepy, southern town confronts difference and justice through the eyes of six-year-old Scout. In the heroics of her father, the struggles of her friends and neighbors, and the threat of a boogeyman, Scout lives through the joys of childhood innocence and the pains of growing up. Based on Harper Lee’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, National Players is proud to stage this tale for the first time in its 65-year history.

Caladh Nua:

Collectively, the quintet is a tightly-knit, vibrant and staggeringly talented group of musicians with their origins deeply rooted in the southern counties of Ireland. Comprised of five versatile musicians and singers playing a wide selection of instruments — from banjo to fiddle, guitar to bodhran and tin whistle to button accordion — the band has captured the essential qualities of traditional Irish music and balanced them finely with an innovative, contemporary styling.

I deeply believe that encounters with great art are life changing. I believe it because I have experienced it personally and have witnessed it in the lives of performers and audiences young and old. I am proud that Graceland University shares this conviction.
– Jack Ergo, Associate Professor of Music at Graceland University

Live performances by top-quality artists provide uplifting, transformative and fulfilling experience. The Graceland Performing Arts Series brings these elements together to provide the magic that captures imagination and wonder, the quality experiences that nurture support and patronage for the arts.
– Tom Morain, Director Government Relations at Graceland University