The new season for the University of Iowa’s Hancher is organized around five themes and includes dance, theater, music, and family events performed by artists from across the globe. Tickets for the entire season—including $10 tickets for youth and college students—are available now from the Hancher Box Office.

Five events make up the season’s “Shared Joys and Celebrations” theme, including the free outdoor concert featuring UI alum and music legend Al Jarreau. Jarreau will headline the Friday, Sept. 19, concert during the second annual Summer of the Arts Iowa Soul Festival. Earlier that same evening, Hancher will present Kinobe & The Wamu Spirit and Conjunto Angola 70 on the festival stage on the UI Pentacrest. The opening acts will be presented in collaboration with Legion Arts’ Landfall Festival, which takes place the same weekend in Cedar Rapids.

Other events in the category include Three Acts, Two Dancer, One Radio Host starring This American Life host Ira Glass and dancers Monica Bill Barnes and Anna Bass (Oct. 18, Englert Theatre); songstress Roberta Flack (Nov. 8, Riverside Casino & Golf Resort); Irish band Danú performing A Christmas Gathering: Féile Na Nollag (Dec. 10, Englert Theatre); and the Joffrey Ballet presenting chamber works in an intimate setting (March 7-8, Space Place Theater).

Three events will explore issues of conflict and ideals under the theme “Worth Fighting For.” Healing Wars, created and directed by Liz Lerman, is a dance and theater experience grounded in the Civil War but reflecting upon conflicts to the present day (Nov. 13-15, Space Place Theater). The Kronos Quartet returns to perform the multimedia work Beyond Zero: 1914-1918 as well as a new work commissioned by Hancher as part of the quartet’s Under 30 Project (Feb. 7, Englert Theatre). Male vocal group Cantus will present a program entitled Anthems featuring songs that conjure pride, identity, and unity (April 30, St. Mary’s Catholic Church).

In conjunction with the UI’s "Food for Thought" theme semester, Hancher will present two performances highlighting the theme “Breaking Bread Together.” Singer/songwriter and native Iowan Susan Werner will present her serious and sardonic songs in a concert entitled The Hayseed Project (Oct. 9, Club Hancher at the Mill). Iowa City’s Working Group Theatre will present All Recipes Are Home, a new play co-commissioned by Hancher and built from interviews with Iowa farmers and other experts (April 16-17, Johnson County Fairgrounds).

The “Blended Boundaries” theme features artists from around the world, including the Moroccan band Hoba Hoba Spirit presented in collaboration with Legion Arts (Sept. 26, CSPS); SpokFrevo Orquestra from Brazil (Oct. 30, Englert Theatre); Roseneath Theatre performing La Maleta, a play for young people presented in collaboration with the Englert Theatre (Feb. 27, Englert Theatre); The Nile Project featuring musicians from the eleven countries that share the Nile River (March 11, Englert Theatre); and the Chilean band Inti-Illimani, performing as part of the Summer of the Arts Friday Night Concert Series (May 15, Ped Mall Stage).

Jazz, classical, and folk music are featured in the “Exceptional Beauty, Essential Traditions” theme. Artists include Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, featuring clarinetist David Shifrin, performing Autumnal Brahms (Oct. 16, Riverside Recital Hall); trumpeter Terell Stafford’s quintet (Feb. 13, Club Hancher at The Mill); the Pacifica Quartet, presented in collaboration with the University of Iowa String Quartet Residency Program and featuring a new work co-commissioned by Hancher and composed by Pulitzer Prize winner Shulamit Ran (March 6, Riverside Recital Hall); and Howard Fishman presenting The Basement Tapes Project, which is centered on underground recordings Bob Dylan made in 1967 (April 10, Club Hancher at The Mill).

Hancher will also present a robust series of residencies to bring artists into even closer contact with members of the community. Performers participating in residencies include Hoba Hoba Spirit, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Liz Lerman, Kronos Quartet/Drew Cameron, Terell Stafford, Pacifica Quartet, The Nile Project, Working Group Theatre, and Inti-Illimani.

Tickets for the 2014-15 Hancher season are available by phone at 319-335-1160 or 1-800-HANCHER or online at the Hancher website. Patrons may also visit the Hancher Box Office in the University Capitol Centre (formerly Old Capitol Town Center).

Hancher’s work is supported by a wide array of corporate, media, and individual sponsors, as well as by a variety of grants. A complete list of the Hancher Partners can be found at the Hancher website.

The Joffrey Ballet performances are supported by Sue Strauss and the late John Strauss. Additional support for the season has been provided by the National Endowment for the Arts, the New England Foundation for the Arts’ National Dance Project, Arts Midwest, the UI Office of the Vice President for Research and Economic Development, and the Alma Miller Ware Nursing Endowment Fund of the UI College of Nursing.

Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to attend all UI-sponsored events. If you are a person with a disability who requires a reasonable accommodation in order to participate in this program, contact the Hancher Box Office in advance at 319-335-1158.