Performing Arts Center season will open with Turtle Island String Quartet

August 7, 2006

The 2006-2007 season of the Performing Arts Center (PAC) at Georgia Southern University will open with a concert by the critically acclaimed Turtle Island String Quartet.

A singular force in the creation of bold, new trends in chamber music for strings, Turtle Island will perform at the PAC on Saturday, Aug. 26 at 7:30 p.m.

Turtle Island takes its audience on musical journey includes forays into folk, bluegrass, swing, be-bop, funk, R&B, rock and hip-hop, as well as the music of Latin America and India.

Tickets for each of the 10 events that will be held at the PAC during the upcoming season will go on sale on Tuesday, Aug. 15.

Turtle Island String Quartet tickets are $30 plus tax per person for the general public. Georgia Southern faculty, staff and students will receive a 10 percent discount. Groups of 15 or more people from outside the University community are also eligible for a 10 percent discount.

In addition, if any tickets are available 10 minutes prior to the scheduled start of the performance, any Georgia Southern student with a valid University I.D. can purchase one ticket for $10 plus tax.

Its name derived from creation mythology found in Native American folklore, Turtle Island features David Balakrishman on violin and baritone violin, Evan Price on violin, Mark Summer on cello, and Mads Tolling on Viola.
Legendary cellist Yo-Yo Ma calls the quartet ‘a unified voice that truly breaks new ground authentic and passionate  a reflection of some of the most creative music-making today.”

Fusing the classical quartet esthetic with contemporary American musical styles, Turtle Island has recorded more than a dozen albums. The group’s collaboration with the Ying Quartet, titled ‘4 + Four,” was named Best Classical Crossover Album at the 2006 Grammy Awards.

Turtle Island has also collaborated with The Manhattan Transfer, clarinetist Paquito D’Rivera, pianists Billy Taylor and Kenny Barron, and the Parsons Dance Company. The quartet has performed on the NBC-TV show ‘Today” as well as the national radio shows ‘All Things Considered” and ‘A Prairie Home Companion.”

Season subscriptions for the PAC are still being offered for $267.50, including tax. Subscriptions will be sold until Friday, Aug. 25, but people who purchase their subscriptions after Aug. 15 will not be guaranteed the same seats for every performance.

If purchased separately, tickets for every performance on the 2006-2007 calendar will cost more than $365, so a season subscription represents a savings of 27 percent.

In addition to the Turtle Island String Quartet, the upcoming season at the PAC will feature the Pilobolus Dance Theatre on Saturday, Sept. 9; Vicki Lawrence on Friday, Sept. 29; ‘Jesus Christ Superstar on Tuesday, Oct. 31; ‘Cats” on Tuesday, Nov. 21; ‘A Viennese Christmas” on Saturday, Nov. 25; ‘Romeo and Juliet” on Saturday, Jan. 13; The Capitol Steps on Saturday, Feb. 10; ‘Swan Lake” on Thursday, March 8; and Mark O’Connor and The Appalachia Waltz Trio on Friday, April 27.

The PAC is located on the Georgia Southern campus at the corner of Chandler Road and Plant Drive. The box office is open every Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m.

To purchase tickets or obtain additional information, call (912) 486-7999 or toll free (866) PAC-ARTS, or visit the PAC Web site at http://ceps.georgiasouthern.edu/pac.