UNC Asheville Announces 2004-05 Cultural and Special Events Season;
Sharon Katz and The Peace Train Kick Off Series on September 10

Sharon Katz and The Peace Train

UNC Asheville will host eight entertaining performances during the 2004-05 Cultural and Special Events season. Events range from traditional African music to spoken word performances by Emmy winning actors. All events are open to the public.

Sharon Katz and The Peace Train will kick off the series at 8 p.m., Friday, Sept. 10, in UNC Asheville’s Highsmith University Union Alumni Hall. Tickets are $8 general admission

Katz, a South African native, formed The Peace Train in December 1993. The original Peace Train was an actual 14-car train which transported some 150 South African performers of all races on a two-week tour of the country breaking Apartheid barriers and celebrating the release of Nelson Mandela from prison. It was the first multi-cultural project in South Africa.

The group is now based in the United States as a five-piece ensemble. They have become known for performing uplifting, danceable songs of peace and protest. Their 2002 release "Imbizo" on the Appleseed label was on Billboard’s Highly Recommended list and was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best World Music Album.

Tickets for Sharon Katz and The Peace Train are on sale now. Call 828/232-5000 for more information or to order your tickets by phone.

Other performances in the series include --

"Behind Broken Words," a performance of poetry, comedy and drama by Emmy Award winners Anthony Zerbe and Roscoe Lee Brown, will be staged at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 9, at the Diana Wortham Theatre. The performance is not suitable for children ages 12 and younger. Tickets are $30 general admission. A very limited number of tickets remain on sale. Call the Diana Wortham Box Office at 828/257-4530 for tickets or more information.

The preeminent Marcus Roberts Trio will take center stage on Friday, Jan. 21, in UNC Asheville’s Lipinsky Auditorium. The trio will perform "In the Footsteps of Giants," which honors North Carolina’s own Thelonious Monk and John Coltrane. Tickets are $18 general admission and $10 children ages 12 and younger.

Habib Koite and Bamada will take the audience on a musical journey from Mali to Memphis at 8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 11, in UNC Asheville’s Lipinsky Auditorium. Singer and master guitarist Koite and his band reflect not only the music of the Malian griot tradition but also contemporary hip-hop. Tickets are $18 general admission and $15 children ages 12 and younger.

Renown fiddler and multiple Grammy Award winner Natalie MacMaster will perform in concert at 8 p.m. Monday, Feb. 28, and Tuesday, March 1, in UNC Asheville’s Lipinsky Auditorium. Known as five-foot-tall ball of fire, MacMaster plays traditional Cape Breton Celtic jigs and reels that push the boundaries into jazz, Latin music and bluegrass. Tickets are $25 general admission and $10 children ages 12 and younger.

The National Symphony Orchestra will hold a chamber music concert at 8 p.m. Wednesday, March 16, in UNC Asheville’s Lipinsky Auditorium. The concert is part of the orchestra’s 2005 residency in North Carolina. Ticket prices to be announced.

Ronald K. Brown and Evidence are in the limelight at 8 p.m. Friday, March 18, and Saturday, March 19, at Diana Wortham Theatre. The group is touring with Nina Simone’s piece "Come Ye." Known for combining traditional West African movements with modern Western dance, the group will perform to Brown’s poetry and the music of the incomparable jazz vocalist and North Carolina native, Nina Simone. Tickets are $30 general admission. Call the Diana Wortham Box Office at 828/257-4530 for tickets or more information.

The season wraps up with a concert of classical Indian music and East-West jazz fusion by Sandip Burman and friends at 8 p.m. Monday, April 18, in UNC Asheville’s Lipinsky Auditorium. A native of Durgapur, India, Burman is an accomplished tabla player who has shared the stage with Ravi Shankar and Hari Prasad Cahusaria. He and his 13-piece orchestra will perform traditional ragas and talas. Burman has teamed up with jazz elite such as Bela Fleck and will feature this unique blend of music during the concert. Tickets are $15 general admission and $10 children ages 12 and younger.

For more information about the Cultural and Special Events season and tickets, call UNC Asheville’s Special Events Box Office at 828/232-5000.

Media Contacts:

• Barbara Halton-Subkis, UNCA Cultural and Special Events Director, 828/251-6674
• Jill Yarnall, UNCA Public Information Assistant Director, 828/251-6526