Past 2018-19 Season

Past 2018-2019 Season

Ahn Trio

OCTOBER 6 AT 8:00 PM
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Hailed as “exacting and exciting musicians” by the LA Times, the three sisters of the Ahn Trio (Lucia on the piano, Angella on the violin, and Maria on the cello) have earned a distinguished reputation for embracing 21st century classical music with their unique style and innovative collaborations.

Dedicated to educating and inspiring the next generation of musicians, the Ahns are passionate about sharing their knowledge. Angella is a Professor of Violin and Viola at Montana State University, in Bozeman, MT. Maria teaches cello and is the head of the String Department at the Harlem School of the Arts in NYC. Lucia has a growing private studio. They hold master classes and workshops across the United States and around the world. Whether they are performing in Vienna’s Musikverein, Buenos Aires’ Teatro Colon, New York’s Lincoln Center, Leipzig’s Gewandhaus, Beijing’s Concert Hall, or Istanbul’s Aya Irini in Topkapi Palace, they share their innovative spirit and ever-evolving vision of music.

The Travelin’ McCourys

SEPTEMBER 21 AT 8:00 PM
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The Travelin’ McCourys do not stand still. No other band today has the same credentials for playing traditional and progressive music. As the sons of bluegrass legend Del McCoury, Ronnie McCoury on mandolin and Rob McCoury on banjo continue their father’s work—a lifelong dedication to the power of bluegrass music to bring joy into people’s lives. And with fiddler Jason Carter and bassist Alan Bartram, the ensemble is loved and respected by the bluegrass faithful.

A. J. Croce

NOVEMBER 3 AT 8:00 PM
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A.J. Croce has been inextricably linked to a version of his own story by his name. He’s experienced a lifetime of comparisons to a father he lost at age two, whose music bears little resemblance to his own output yet still serves as a reference point despite the years that have passed and the many iconic mentors who have stepped in to offer their counsel, creativity, and endorsement throughout his long career. It’s curious that it now feels necessary to include the reference, as enough time has passed that a new generation of tastemakers and journalists might not know who Jim Croce was — that he was a golden-voiced everyman, a singer- songwriter-guitarist who died too soon, leaving one of pop music’s most beautiful and memorable ballads (written about a young A.J.) in his wake.

Elvin Bishop & Charlie Musselwhite

JANUARY 12, 2019 AT 8:00 PM

Elvin Bishop is on a roll! Besides being inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2015, he also won a Blues Music Award for Album of The Year and Band of The Year, and his classic rock song Fooled Around & Fell in Love appeared in the hit film Guardians of The Galaxy, as well as the film’s platinum selling soundtrack.

Five decades of nonstop touring, performing and recording have reaped huge rewards. Charlie Musselwhite cut his (musical) teeth alongside Muddy Waters, Howling Wolf and everyone on the south side of Chicago in the early 1960’s. Thank your lucky stars he is still with us telling the truth with a voice and harp tone like no other.

Smuin Ballet

MARCH 30, 2019 AT 8:00 PM
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Smuin pushes the boundaries of contemporary ballet within a distinctly American style, combining classical ballet training, technique, and artistry with uncommon physicality and expression. Smuin offers audiences an experience of ballet that is entertaining, evocative, and original.

Debuting in San Francisco in 1994, Smuin immediately established itself as one of the Bay Area’s most eagerly watched performing arts companies of international acclaim, performing to sold-out houses on U.S. and European tours. Michael Smuin (a native Missoula “son” tragically passed away in 2007) had a singular philosophy, to create pieces merging the diverse vocabularies of classical ballet and contemporary dance, which has served as the Company’s touchstone since its inception.

Judy Collins

APRIL 12, 2019 AT 8:00 PM
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The award-winning singer-songwriter is esteemed for her imaginative interpretations of traditional and contemporary folk standards and her own poetically poignant original compositions. Her stunning rendition of Joni Mitchell’s “Both Sides Now” from her landmark 1967 album, Wildflowers, has been entered into the Grammy Hall of Fame. Judy’s dreamy and sweetly intimate version of “Send in the Clowns,” a ballad written by Stephen Sondheim for the Broadway musical A Little Night Music, won “Song of the Year” at the 1975 Grammy Awards. She’s garnered several top-ten hits gold- and platinum-selling albums. Recently, contemporary and classic artists such as Rufus Wainwright, Shawn Colvin, Dolly Parton, Joan Baez, and Leonard Cohen honored her legacy with the album Born to the Breed: A Tribute to Judy Collins.

Performance Sponsors

The BPAC would like to extend a special thank you to our individual performance sponsors for 2017-2018!

Judy and Rich Morrisey

Peggy Tonon and Warren Neyenhuis