Wednesday, June 10, 2009, 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM,
FEATURING
Alan Alda • Marin Alsop • Christine Baranski
Joshua Bell • Danny Burstein • Glenn Close
Todd Ellison • Yo-Yo Ma • Marcus Printup • Anna Deavere Smith
National Dance Institute • The Inspirational Voices of Abyssinian Baptist Church
Performance directed and produced by Damian Woetzel
HONORING
Edward O. Wilson, explorer, poet and champion of the natural world on his 80th birthday
Join event co-chairs Alan Alda, Glenn Close and a glittering cast including “Conductor of the Year” Marin Alsop, extraordinary violinist Joshua Bell, famed cellist Yo—Yo Ma, celebrated star of film, Broadway and TV, Christine Baranski, Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra trumpeter Marcus Printup, comic star of “South Pacific” Danny Burstein, award winning actress Anna Deavere Smith, The Inspirational Voices of The Abyssinian Baptist Church, Broadway Music Director/Conductor Todd Ellison, and students of the National Dance Institute, for a gala performance on the opening night of the 2009 World Science Festival.
Celebrating the 80th birthday of E.O. Wilson, America’s preeminent naturalist and a founding father of the environmental movement, the evening’s festivities include the New York premiere of Frans Lanting’s “LIFE: A Journey Through Time”— a majestic multimedia performance, specially adapted for the World Science Festival, setting the lyrical imagery of National Geographic photographer Frans Lanting to an original score by the renowned composer Philip Glass, and performed by the Orchestra of St. Luke's under the baton of acclaimed conductor Marin Alsop.
The performance is directed and produced by Damian Woetzel, recently retired star of the New York City Ballet. This event is produced in collaboration with Lincoln Center for the performing Arts and held at the newly redesigned Alice Tully Hall.
CELEBRATION CO-CHAIRS
Alan Alda • Glenn Close • Gretchen Daily •Sylvia Earle • Harrison Ford*
Thomas Lovejoy • Paul Nurse • Neil Patterson • Peter Raven • Jeffrey Sachs
Oliver Sacks • David Shaw • Harold Varmus • James Watson
Due to a scheduling conflict, event co-chair Harrison Ford will not be able to attend the Gala Performance.
The 2009 Opening Night Gala Performance benefit provides essential funding for the annual World Science Festival's programs.
•To purchase tickets by check, download ticket order form, complete and return to MF Productions via fax at: 212.243.1020 or contact MF Productions at 212.243.7300, or by email at wsfgala@mfproductions.com
•To support the World Science Festival, please contact Marie Gentile, at 212-348-1400, or donate online.
Participants
Alan Alda, a six-time Emmy Award–winner, played Hawkeye Pierce on the classic television series, M*A*S*H, and, more recently, appeared in continuing roles on ER and The West Wing. Altogether, he has been nominated for the Emmy 32 times - as actor, writer, and director. In 1994, he was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame. read more
Marin Alsop made history with her appointment in 2007 as music director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, the first woman to head a major American orchestra. This mirrored her ongoing success in the United Kingdom where she was Principal Conductor of the Bournemouth Symphony from 2002- 2008 and is now Conductor Emeritus. read more
For more than two decades, Joshua Bell’s charismatic artistry has brought a fresh voice to venerable masterpieces and new works heard on recordings, in concert halls and movie theatres. read more
Danny Burstein is currently playing Luther Billis in the Broadway revival of South Pacific (also Cast recording) at Lincoln Center for which he received a 2008 Outer Critics Circle Award and Tony & Drama Desk Award nominations. Danny was nominated for a 2006 Tony Award for the role of Aldolpho in the original Broadway production of The Drowsy Chaperone (also Cast Recording). read more
Emmy, Golden Globe and Tony Award winning actress Glenn Close is best known for her riveting performances of complex women. The star of Damages for FX, Close’s portrayal of the high-stakes litigator Patty Hewes won her both an Emmy Award as “Best Actress in a Drama Series” and a Golden Globe as “Best Actress in a TV Drama.” read more
For over 30 years, National Dance Institute (NDI), a not-for-profit organization founded by New York City Ballet star Jacques d’Amboise, has transformed the lives of close to 2 million public school children through award-winning arts and learning programs. read more
One of the great nature photographers of our time, Frans Lanting’s images of nature and wildlife have been published in National Geographic, Audubon and Time as well as exhibitions around the world. His most recent work, LIFE: A Journey Through Time, is a multimedia event that combines the music of Philip Glass with incredible photographs that document the history of the big bang to life on present day Earth. read more
The many-faceted career of cellist Yo-Yo Ma is testament to his continual search for new ways to communicate with audiences, and to his personal desire for artistic growth and renewal. In 1998 Mr. Ma established the Silk Road Project to promote the study of the cultural, artistic and intellectual traditions along the ancient Silk Road trade route that stretched from the Mediterranean Sea to the Pacific Ocean. read more
Anna Deavere Smith has been hailed by Newsweek as “the most exciting individual in American theater.” She began interviewing people across the country 20 years ago. Without props, sets, or costumes, she translates those encounters into profound performances, each drawing verbatim from the original recorded interview. The New York Times commented that “Anna Deavere Smith is the ultimate impressionist — she does people’s souls.”
read more
The Inspirational Voices of Abyssinian Baptist Church is the resident choir of one of the most prominent African-American institutions in America. Under the leadership of its pastor, the Rev. Dr. Calvin O. Butts, III, the Abyssinian Baptist Church has followed the African-American church tradition of actively building communities, and remains a champion of spiritual empowerment, social justice and reform. read more
E.O. Wilson is a life-long explorer of the natural world whose pioneering studies of ants have led to revolutionary insights across a wide range of fields, from evolution to animal and human behavior. A founding father of the environmental movement, Wilson teaches us to understand, protect, and celebrate the earth and has greatly influenced the way scientists and nonscientists view the interwoven complexity and diversity of our planet. read more
Damian Woetzel (director and producer) is the artistic director of the summer Vail International Dance Festival, the artist-in-residence of the Aspen Institute, and is a frequent speaker on arts policy. Mr. Woetzel was a principal dancer at New York City Ballet from 1989 until his retirement from the stage in June of 2008, and he has choreographed a number of ballets for NYCB among other companies. read more
