Prior to the announcement of the full 2021-22 UGA Presents season on June 23, we are sharing an advance look at some of the upcoming performances each Wednesday.
When the Performing Arts Center was forced to temporarily close its doors in the spring of 2020 due to the emerging COVID-19 pandemic, many highly anticipated performances scheduled to take place in Hodgson Concert Hall were canceled or postponed. Continued uncertainty with the ability to gather safely and for artists to tour both domestically and from abroad made it impossible to accommodate the performances during the months that followed. We are very pleased to announce that four of these performances have new dates in the upcoming UGA Presents 2021-22 season!
Béla Fleck and Abigail Washburn
Sun, Oct 24, 2021, 3:00 pm
Hodgson Concert Hall
Hailed as “the king and queen of the banjo” (Paste Magazine), this married duo enjoys a musical collaboration like no other. He is a 15-time Grammy Award-winning icon who has taken his instrument to new places across multiple genres. She is a singer-songwriter and clawhammer banjo star who has re-radicalized her instrument by combining its sounds with Far Eastern influences. On stage, their artistry and chemistry result in a picking partnership unlike any on the planet in what will surely be one of the most anticipated performances of the entire season.
The Kingdom Choir
Sun, Nov 28, 2021, 3:00 pm
Hodgson Concert Hall
Founded in 1994, this London-based gospel choir’s show-stopping performance of “Stand by Me” at the royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle was seen by more than two billion people worldwide and shot straight to the top of the Billboard charts. Under the direction of powerhouse conductor Karen Gibson, the ensemble draws upon Christian gospel and popular music traditions to create a warm, enthusiastic sound that will capture the hearts of people everywhere. The ensemble will perform a holiday program including soulful renditions of traditional gospel classics and popular contemporary music with the choir’s own inspirational versions of holiday favorites.
Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis
Big Band Holidays
Tues, Dec 7 & Wed, Dec 8, 2021, 7:30 pm
Hodgson Concert Hall
The house of swing comes alive in Athens when the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis brings this beloved New York holiday tradition to UGA Presents for the very first time! Featuring soulful, big band versions of the season’s greatest classics, Big Band Holidays is a joyful, uplifting program starring 15 of jazz music’s leading musicians. Under the leadership of universally acclaimed trumpeter, composer, and musical director Wynton Marsalis, this remarkably versatile group performs and leads concerts and educational events in New York, across the U.S., and around the globe. The band’s much-anticipated visit to Athens promises to bring holiday cheer to one and all!
Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain
Sun, Apr 3, 2022, 3:00 pm
Hodgson Concert Hall
Not even a global pandemic can keep them away! Canceled only a few days prior to taking place in March 2020 when the world closed down, we’re chuffed to finally bring you Britain’s greatest living ukulele band at last. Playing popular hits and classical favorites, the “Ukes” honor the spirit of the songs we love while adding textures and sounds that can only be created with four simple strings. The eight virtuosos—playing ukuleles of various sizes and registers and singing along to the great delight of all (usually!)—have toured the globe since 1985 with a trunkful of tunes, a uniquely British sense of humor, and a toe-tapping performance that no one can ever resist. Don’t even try!
Tickets purchased for the spring 2020 performances by Béla Fleck and Abigail Washburn and The Kingdom Choir will be honored for the new dates this fall. Tickets purchased for the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis will be honored for the performance on December 8 but can be exchanged to the Tuesday performance, based on availability following the subscriber priority period. All tickets for the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain were previously canceled and refunded, so please contact the Box Office to purchase new tickets when tickets go on sale.
Read our COVID-19 safety protocols >>here.
Stay tuned for the announcement of the full 2021-22 UGA Presents season on Wednesday, June 23!