Brian Wilson Performs Pet Sounds

Wednesday, July 20 | 7:30 PM
Muriel Kauffman Theatre

Brian Wilson is one of popular music’s most deeply revered figures, a legendary writer, producer, arranger and performer of some of the most cherished music in pop music history. He will perform in Muriel Kauffman Theatre on July 20, 2016 at 7:30 pm.

For more than half a century, fans have marveled at the sheer beauty of the music that springs forth from his imagination into glorious song. Wilson brings this ingenious vision to his own compositions, as well as to those for which he has collaborated, weaving a lush, vibrant tapestry of intricately nuanced vocal harmonies and instrumental arrangements for himself, his bandmates and others.

Wilson began his career as a teenaged founding member of The Beach Boys, who signed with Capitol Records in July 1962 and released their first album, Surfin’ Safari, that same year. The band’s initial surf-rock focus was soon broadened to include other themes. Wilson’s innovative vocal and instrumental arrangements for major hits including “I Get Around,” “California Girls,” “Wouldn’t It Be Nice,” “God Only Knows” and the No. 1 smash “Good Vibrations” made The Beach Boys America’s preeminent band of the 1960s.

Brian Wilson is a Kennedy Center Honors recipient, a Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee, and a U.K. Music Hall of Fame inductee.  As a member of The Beach Boys, Wilson was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988 and honored with The Recording Academy’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2001.

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The St. Olaf Choir, in Concert
Anton Armstrong, Conductor
Monday, February 1 | 7:30 PM
Helzberg Hall

Buy Tickets

The St. Olaf Choir’s performance is set for 7:30 pm on Monday, February 1st and features sacred and secular masterpieces, as well as works for chorus and grand pipe organ. Tickets range from $25 – $45 and are available at kauffmancenter.org or by calling 816.994.7222. $10 student tickets are also available.

The world-renowned St. Olaf Choir and conductor Anton Armstrong launch their annual national tour on Jan. 23, 2016, presenting 17 concerts in 10 states across America’s midsection through Feb. 15, 2016. The tour program features sacred and secular masterpieces, as well as works for chorus and grand pipe organ. Traveling with Armstrong and the St. Olaf Choir is James E. Bobb, Assistant Professor Music — Organ and Church Music at St. Olaf College.

Founded 104 years ago by F. Melius Christiansen at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota, the St. Olaf Choir is internationally recognized as a creative force behind America’s a cappella choral tradition. Since then, the choir has set a high standard for choral performance, particularly its artistry and beauty of sound.

Only the fourth conductor in the ensemble’s history, Armstrong has led the ensemble since 1990. “Hearing  the St. Olaf Choir is more than just a musical experience,” says Anton Armstrong. “What makes this  ensemble distinctive is the way our singers perform at the highest artistic level and touch the hearts and  souls of our listeners. Through body, mind, spirit and voice our audiences are transformed.”

The tour program features premiere performances of André Thomas’ Credo, David N. Childs’ Magnificat and works honoring the memory of the St. Olaf Choir’s late third conductor, Kenneth L. Jennings. Traveling with Armstrong and the St. Olaf Choir is James E. Bobb, Assistant Professor Music of the Organ and Church Music at St. Olaf College.

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Engelbert Humperdinck

Friday, May 13th, 2016 | 8:00 PM
Helzberg Hall

GRAMMY nominated, Golden Globe “Entertainer of the Year” and multi-platinum selling artist Engelbert Humperdinck is performing for the first time at Kauffman Center.

Engelbert Humperdinck has been a legend in the international music industry for the last 40 years, with over 150 million records sold. The charismatic and consummate entertainer will entertain audiences with music from his vast catalogue including hits such as “Quando, Quando, Quando,” “Release Me,” “The Last Waltz,” “Spanish Eyes” and many more.

With 63 gold and 24 platinum records and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Humperdinck has joined an elite group of musical artists, such as Tony Bennett and Burt Bacharach, who have crossed over successfully to strike a new chord with a younger generation in addition to their core audiences.

Engelbert recently completed recording his first duets CD “Engelbert Calling.” He has recently completed tracks with a who’s who of the music world, including Sir Elton John, Willie Nelson, Shelby Lynne, Charles Aznavour, Johnny Mathis, Cliff Richard Neil Sedaka, Dionne Warwick, Kenny Rogers, Lulu , Beverly Knight and Gene Simmons, to name a few.

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Mavis Staples & Nick Lowe

Sunday, March 13th | 7:00 PM

Helzberg Hall

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For the first time, musical giants Mavis Staples & Nick Lowe are touring together in a double-bill performance. They will perform on Sunday, March 13th in Helzberg Hall. Tickets range from $29-$79.

It’s no surprise that, after an impromptu performance at a show in 2011, the great Mavis Staples and Nick Lowe became fast friends. They had been long time admirers of each other’s work and each has carved a distinctive and unmistakable path in popular music. Sparked by this new friendship, Lowe wrote the very beautiful “Far Celestial Shore,” a track that appears on Staples’ 2013 album One True Vine

Mavis Staples

There are few living musicians who can lay claim to being the voice of America’s conscience, and even fewer who continue to make vital music. For six decades, Mavis Staples has been the solid rock of American music. Alongside her family group, the Staple Singers, Mavis has managed to transform herself as she goes, yet never alter.

Staples is a Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, a GRAMMY Lifetime Achievement Award winner and a National Heritage Fellowship Award recipient. VH1 named her one of the 100 Greatest Women of Rock and Roll and Rolling Stone listed her as one of the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time. Her previous album, the Tweedy produced You Are Not Alone, won the GRAMMY Award for Best Americana Album in 2011, adding a remarkable new chapter to an already historic career.

Nick Lowe

Nick Lowe has made his mark as songwriter with hits such as “Cruel To Be Kind” and “What’s So Funny ‘Bout Peace, Love and Understanding.” The savvy veteran producer has earned an indisputable reputation as the consummate musician’s musician. But in his current ‘second act’ as a silver-haired, tender-hearted but sharp-tongued singer-songwriter, he has no equal.

Starting with 1995′s The Impossible Bird through to 2011′s The Old Magic, Nick has turned out a fantastic string of albums, each one devised in his West London home and recorded with a core of musicians who possess the same veteran savvy. Lowe brings wit and understated excellence to every performance, leading Ben Ratliff of The New York Times to describe his live show as “elegant and nearly devastating.”

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Country Unplugged Tour

Featuring Joe Diffie, Lorrie Morgan & Mark Chesnutt

Friday, Jan. 29 | 7:30 PM

Muriel Kauffman Theatre

With their names already firmly established as true country music superstars, Mark Chesnutt, Lorrie Morgan and Joe Diffie are set to join together on stage and captivate audiences with the music that made them household names. They will perform on Friday, Jan. 29, 2015 in Muriel Kauffman Theatre.

Together, Chesnutt, Morgan, and Diffie celebrate over 57 Top Ten hits, 26 No. 1 hits, 9 platinum records, and a myriad of awards and accolades including GRAMMY Awards, CMA Awards, and Grand Ole Opry Membership.

Mark Chesnutt

Mark Chesnutt’s authentic talent and deep country roots have embedded him as one of the true treasures in country music history. From his humble beginnings in Beaumont, Texas, Chesnutt began recording in Nashville at the ripe age of 17. He worked his way up through the country music landscape until his major-label signing in 1989. By 1990, Chesnutt had released his debut album, along with five straight Top Ten country hits. From then, Mark Chesnutt’s impressive career has only set to further establish his legacy as a country music legend. With 14 No. 1 hits, 23 Top Ten singles, five gold records, and an incredible four platinum records to his name, Chesnutt has more than earned his revered place in country music history.

Lorrie Morgan

Lorrie Morgan was born to make music. Barely a teenager when she made her first, and everlasting, impression on country music fans, its legends and the community, Lorrie staked her claim as being one of the youngest to have made his/her debut at the Grand Ole Opry House. Lorrie made history when she became a lifetime member of the Grand Ole Opry at the age of twenty-four; Lorrie was the youngest person ever to become a member of the Grand Ole Opry. Today, Lorrie has become the essence of country music femininity carrying the torch for many a lady trendsetter—Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn, Tammy Wynette—Lorrie Morgan has become a renaissance woman of the genre recognized as royalty by her fans and her peers. Lorrie inked her first recording contract in 1988. As an RCA recording artist, and later on the roster of its sister label, BNA, Lorrie made her mark with trendsetting anthems that have now become timeless country standards including, “Five  Minutes,” “Something In Red,” “Watch Me” and “What Part Of No” to establish her place as a bright and shining country star—a modern woman making country music history.

Joe Diffie

Joe Diffie realized his musical talent at the young age of four. From the humble beginnings of singing harmonies with his parents, Diffie eventually found himself recording demos in Nashville while working at Gibson Guitar Corp. In 1990, however, he signed with a major-label and used that platform to establish himself as a genuine songwriting talent. With hits such as “Pickup Man”, “John Deere Green”, and “Third Rock from the Sun” to his credit, Diffie has enjoyed unbelievable critical and commercial success. In addition to 20 Top Ten hits that he has to his name, Diffie celebrates 12 No. 1 hits as well. His commercial success is accompanied by membership of the Grand Ole Opry, multiple CMA Awards, and a GRAMMY award for his musical talents. Although Diffie is writing and playing as much as ever, there is no question that his accomplishments already make him a true country star.

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