New Live Context Series Illuminates Stanford Live Season

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CONTACT: Robert Cable, Stanford Live 650-736-0091; [email protected] PHOTOS: http://live.stanford.edu/press

NEW ‘LIVE CONTEXT’ SERIES ILLUMINATES STANFORD LIVE SEASON

An array of events will examine the cultural dynamics that inspired one of the great masters of classical music, global issues around water conservation and Stanford’s pioneering role in the development of the personal computer

Stanford, CA, January 27, 2015—Next month, Stanford Live introduces its expansive Live Context: Art + Ideas program, a collaborative new series around three key projects: Haydn— Patronage & Enlightenment (Feb. 13-15), about culture and the arts in the late eighteenth century; The Nile Project (Feb. 11-18), which explores water and sustainability with musicians from eleven Nile River Basin nations; and The Demo (Mar. 12-Apr. 3), a world premiere multimedia production based on Douglas Engelbart’s historic 1968 demonstration of early computer technology. Embracing Stanford’s rich intellectual, artistic and inquisitive culture, Live Context brings together artists, innovators and thinkers to engage in an array of public events and lively conversations with leading minds at Stanford about the impulses that stimulate creative thought and expression. Live Context is inspired by the conviction that the more you know about the ideas ingrained in a work of art, its historical context and contemporary resonance, the richer your experience of that art will be. And with the university’s deep intellectual and artistic resources, “this is something Stanford can do like no other institution,” says Stanford Live’s Executive Director Wiley Hausam. “I am attracted to art that’s engaged with the issues that are going on in the world. This new series aims to fulfill oneof Stanford Live’s missions—connecting great performance to the significant issues and discoveries of our time, and to all the brilliant people at Stanford who are leading the way in these areas. Only at one of the world’s great research universities can the performing arts be so deeply enriched by ideas being developed by great scholars and innovators.” -More-

HAYDN—PATRONAGE & ENLIGHTENMENT The centerpiece of a yearlong exploration of the artist and the period, Haydn—Patronage & Enlightenment includes three performances of chamber, choral, and orchestral music (Feb. 13, 14 and 15) featuring the St. Lawrence String Quartet, the Stanford Philharmonia Orchestra and Stanford Chamber Chorale. Augmenting the main stage concerts will be a two-day Haydn conference (Feb. 14 and 15) in the Bing Studio. Stephen Hinton, Stanford’s Avalon Foundation Professor in the Humanities, professor of music, and director of the Stanford Arts Institute has organized a series of talks by noted international scholars and performers. Participants will include James Webster (Cornell), Tom Beghin, (McGill), James Johnson (Boston University), Colin Bailey, (deYoung Museum) and the St. Lawrence String Quartet, among others. Full details of the conference and the accompanying concerts are available online at live.stanford.edu/livecontext.

THE NILE PROJECT The second Live Context program spills forth on February 18 with The Nile Project, a musical collective founded in 2011 by Oakland-based singer Meklit Hadero and Egyptian ethnomusicologist Mina Girgis. The performance features musicians from Egypt, Ethiopia, Sudan and eight other Nile River Basin nations who have come together to createa uniquely East African sound and engage in a transnational conversation about the ecological sustainability of the river that’s essential to the lives of some 450 million people. Preceding the evening concert will bea symposium that day on “Women of the Nile”; a lecture in the Green Library’s Bender Room titled “Mapping the Nile” (Feb. 11) by Grant Parker, a music-loving associate professor of classics and codirector of Stanford’s Center for African Studies; and other water-related discussions particularly relevant in drought-plagued California, including a pre-concert forum featuring Barton “Buzz” Thompson, director of Stanford’s Woods Institute for the Environment. -More- THE DEMO On April 1 and 2, Stanford Live presents the world premiere of The Demo, a multimedia extravaganza based on the historic 1968 demonstration of early personal-computing technology by the Stanford Research Institute’s Douglas Engelbart, which among other things introduced videoconferencing, networked collaboration, and a little device called the mouse. Created and performed by composers Mikel Rouse and Ben Neill, the piece uses music, light, and video projections to re-create Engelbart’s mind-bending demo and the Bay Area gestalt of the 1960s and to reflect on how those now-ubiquitous technologies have developed and been put to use in ways he may not have envisioned. To put the piece in context, Stanford Live has assembled faculty members and other prominent figures engaged with technology and Engelbart’s concept of “human augmentation” to talk about the scientific social, and ethical issues involved. The highlight will be a public conversation, on April 2, at Bing with the celebrated technology writer Jaron Lanier and Sebastian Thrun, the Stanford research who founded Google X, which brought forth the self- driving car and Google Glass. Prior to this, on March 12, Stanford computer science professor James Landay, who specializes in computer-human interaction, gives a Green Library lecture about human augmentation. And following the premiere, on April 3, will be a panel discussion on digital technology and creative practice

TICKETS AND INFORMATION Most of the Live Context events are free with advance reservations. For more information, or to purchase tickets to the main stage performances, visit http://live.stanford.edu/livecontext or call the Bing Concert Hall Ticket Office at 650-724-BING (2464). The Bing Box Office is located at 327 Lasuen Street. Regular hours are Tuesday-Friday from 12:00-5:00 p.m.

ABOUT STANFORD LIVE Stanford Live is Stanford University’s performingarts presenter and producer, committed to sharing, celebrating and advancing the art of live music, dance, theater, and opera. Stanford Live unites celebrated and emerging artists with the Stanford campus and greater Bay Area communities in a broad range of experiences that engage the senses and emotions, stimulate minds, and enrich lives. The organization values artistic vitality, learning and an inclusive community. In addition to its home in Bing Concert Hall, Stanford Live also presents performances at other campus venues including Memorial Auditorium, Memorial Church and Frost Amphitheater. CALENDAR EDITORS PLEASE NOTE:

Live Context: Haydn-Patronage & Enlightenment

What: Haydn Performance: Program 1 When: Friday, February 13, 7:30 p.m. Where: Bing Concert Hall Tickets: $30-$75; $15 for Stanford students with ID Description: The acclaimed St. Lawrence String Quartet performs works by Joseph Haydn with Tara Helen O'Connor, flute, and George Barth, fortepiano. ______What: Haydn Conference: Day 1 When: Saturday Feb 14, 9:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. Where: Bing Concert Hall & Studio Tickets: Free. Reserve online at live.stanford.edu/livecontext Description: Highlights include talks by James Webster (Cornell University) and a discussion recital by Tom Beghin (McGill University and Orpheus Institute). ______What: Haydn Performance: Program 2 When: Saturday, February 14, 7:30 p.m. Where: Bing Concert Hall Tickets: $12.50-$25; Free for Stanford students with ID Description: Stanford Chamber Chorale, St. Lawrence String Quartet, Stanford Chamber Strings, and Stanford Philharmonia Orchestra perform Haydn's Symphony No. 1 in D Major, Symphony No. 2 in E Minor, and Missa in Angustiis (Nelson Mass). ______What: Haydn Conference: Day 2 When: Sunday, February 15, 10:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. Where: Bing Concert Hall & Studio Tickets: Free. Reserve online at live.stanford.edu/livecontext Description: Highlights include talks by James Johnson (Boston University), Colin Bailey (deYoung Museum) and the St. Lawrence String Quartet's Why Haydn?, a lecture and performance. ______What: Haydn Performance: Program 3 When: Sunday, February 15, 7:30 p.m. Where: Bing Concert Hall Tickets: $12.50-$25; Free for Stanford students with ID Description: Stanford Chamber Chorale, St. Lawrence String Quartet, Stanford Chamber Strings and Stanford Philharmonia Orchestra perform Haydn's Symphony No. 1 in D Major, Symphony No. 104 in D Major, and Missa in Angustiis (Nelson Mass). ______

Live Context: The Nile Project

What: Public Talk: Mapping the Nile When: Wednesday, February 11, 5:00pm Where: Green Library, Bender Room Tickets: Free. Reserve online at live.stanford.edu/livecontext Description: Stanford Professor Grant Parker uses rare maps from Stanford's Special Collections to reveal various representations and perceptions of the Nile. ______What: Panel: Women of the Nile—An Untapped Resource When: Wednesday, February 18, 12:00 p.m. Where: Stanford Black Community Services Center Tickets: Free. Reserve online at live.stanford.edu/livecontext Description: Nile Project musicians and Stanford experts come together in a lively lunchtime talk about the roles women play in community water conservation in East Africa. ______What: Conversation: The Harmony of Peace, Music and Water When: Wednesday, February 18, 5:00 p.m. Where: Bing Concert Hall Studio Tickets: Free. Reserve online at live.stanford.edu/livecontext Nile Project founder and ethnomusicologist Mina Girgis leads a group discussion with Stanford experts in policy, ecology, and social change including Buzz Thompson, Director of Stanford's Woods Institute. ______What: Performance: The Nile Project When: Wednesday, February 18, 7:30 p.m. Where: Bing Concert Hall Tickets: $30-$60; $15 for Stanford students with ID A pan-African percussion section drives the potent music of the Nile Project, a group focused on the ecological sustainability of that critical, history-rich waterway. ______

Live Context: The Demo

What: Public Talk: Enhancing Humanity with Technology When: Thursday, March 12, 5:00 p.m. Where: Green Library, Stanford University Tickets: Free. Reserve online at live.stanford.edu/livecontext Description: Professor James Landay of Stanford’s Human-Computer Interaction talks about historical pursuits in “augmenting the human intellect.” ______What: Performance: The Demo (World premiere) When: Wednesday, April 1 and Thursday, April 2, 7:30 p.m. Where: Bing Concert Hall, 327 Lasuen Street, Stanford University Tickets: $40-$65; $15 for Stanford students with ID Description: The Demo is a technology infused music and multimedia stage work based on Douglas Engelbart’s historic 1968 demonstration of early computer technology. ______What: Conversation: Our Digital Future with Jaron Lanier and Sebastian Thrun When: Thursday, April 2 at 5:00 p.m. Where: Bing Concert Hall Tickets: $20; Free for Stanford students. Description: Pathbreaking technologists and influential public thinkers Jaron Lanier and Sebastian Thrun pause to reflect on the realization of Engelbart’s pursuit of computer augmentation. ______What: Panel: Augmenting Performance—Digital Technology and Creative Practice When: Friday, April 3 at 12:00 p.m. Where: Bing Concert Hall Studio Tickets: Free. Reserve online at live.stanford.edu/livecontext Description: A panel of contemporary artists and esteemed thinkers address how technology is transforming the way we conceive and make live art.