A concert series held in the South Dakota State UniversityOscar Larson Performing Arts Center benefiting student scholarships.
SEE CURRENT SHOWS
2019-2020 SeasonExceeding all expectations!
New Shanghai Circus
Proscenium Theatre
The Oscar Larson Performing Arts Center
$25 and $15
Astonishing athletes defy gravity and execute breathtaking feats as they stretch the limits of human ability in this spellbinding show. Fearless performers with boundless energy bring you more than two thousand years of Chinese circus traditions. If it’s humanly possible-and even if it’s not! – Shanghai’s acrobats, juggler and contortionists do it with spectacular flair.
These Incredible Acrobats of China are simply that – incredible! This talented troupe, just off a sold-out highly acclaimed Broadway tour continues to wow audiences of all ages.
Woodbine Productions Working on Future Date for New Shanghai Circus
Due to the exceptional circumstances surrounding COVID-19, the New Shanghai Circus has suspended its 2020 tour that includes a May 4 date at the Oscar Larson Performing Arts Center.
The performance, under the management with Columbia Theatricals, is part of the Woodbine Productions series. A future date for this performance will be announced when it is determined.
All tickets that have been sold will be honored at the future date.
2022-2023 Season
Photo Credit: Piper Ferguson
Big Band Holidays:
Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis
Sunday, December 8th, 2019 | 7:30 pm
Larson Memorial Concert Hall
The Oscar Larson Performing Arts Center
It’s the most wonderful time of year! The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis and music director Marcus Printup continue a beloved annual tradition with Big Band Holidays. Featuring soulful, big band versions of classics like “Jingle Bells,” “Joy to the World,” and “Brazilian Sleigh Ride,” Big Band Holidays is an uplifting holiday program that plays to sold-out audiences around the country every December.
Big Band Holidays is renowned for showcasing some of the most exciting and charismatic vocalists on the scene, with recent editions including Cécile McLorin Salvant, Gregory Porter, René Marie, Vuyo Sotashe, Veronica Swift, and Catherine Russell. This year the JLCO welcomes back an old favorite, the smooth-as-silk baritone vocalist Denzal Sinclaire. The band is also thrilled to present a Big Band Holidays first-timer: teenage phenomenon Alexis Morrast, first-place winner of the nationally broadcast Showtime at the Apollo.
Big Bad Voodoo Daddy
Tuesday, October 15th, 2019 | 7:30 pm
Larson Memorial Concert Hall
The Oscar Larson Performing Arts Center
Together for over 25 years, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy — famously named after an autograph by blues legend Albert Collins — has appeared in concert venues across the world, sold millions of records, and had their music appear in hundreds of movies and television shows.
With sold out concerts from the Hollywood Bowl to Lincoln Center, appearances with many of the country's finest symphony orchestras, and television appearances ranging from Dancing with the Stars to Superbowl XXXIII, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy
continues it's decades long mission to celebrate and revitalize jazz and swing music — America's original musical art form — and bring joy to audiences around the world.
The Four Phantoms
Tuesday, September 24th, 2019 | 7:30 pm
Larson Memorial Concert Hall
The Oscar Larson Performing Arts Center
A celebration of the iconic music of Broadway and more, The Four Phantoms brings together four former Phantoms from the Tony Award-winning The Phantom of the Opera for an unforgettable night of entertainment.
The Four Phantoms features an extraordinary quartet of performers, including Brent Barrett, Ciarán Sheehan, Franc D’Ambrosio, and John Cudia under the musical supervision of two-time Grammy Award-winner David Caddick and musical direction of Ryan Shirar. Combined, they have performed the title role over six thousand times. They are joined by special guest Katie Travis. A one of a kind night, and the only performance by The Four Phantoms in South Dakota in 2019.
Woodbine Productions is a project of the SDSU Foundation and an anonymous benefactor who underwrites all performance expenses. Thanks to the donor’s generosity, every dollar of every ticket sold for every Woodbine Productions concert, goes directly to providing substantial, competitive scholarships to students involved in performing arts at South Dakota State University.
The Woodbine Scholarship awards are divided into two categories of recipients, the Woodbine Scholars and Woodbine Performance Awards. Woodbine Scholars are selected for exceptional achievement and promise in the School of Performing Arts and receive multi-year awards to support their academic pursuits as Music or Theatre majors. Woodbine Performance Awards are awarded annually, following competitive auditions juried by South Dakota State University School of Performing Arts faculty for any incoming students participating in ensembles.
For the 2019–2020 academic year, more than 150 prospective students auditioned. Thanks to Woodbine Productions funds as well as music and theatre scholarships funded by private individuals, more than 100 incoming freshmen were awarded talent scholarships. Please consider joining our generous donors by making a gift at any level. All gifts are tax deductible and will directly support music scholarships at South Dakota State University.
If you wish to learn more about making an impact through a gift of scholarships, capital improvements, or a creative program like these concerts, please contact Rina Reynolds at the SDSU Foundation: Office: (605) 697-7475 Ext. 1007 | Cell: (605) 695-7378 | Rina.Reynolds@SDStateFoundation.org
The School of Performing Arts at South Dakota State University brings the finest in performance and higher education opportunities in dance, music and theatre together in one academic unit, centrally housed in the Midwest’s newest comprehensive performing arts center.
More than ten percent of all SDSU students, regardless of their major, participate in the performing arts at State each year. Led by dedicated and knowledgeable faculty who were educated in some of the nation’s most prestigious music schools, music students are challenged to do their best in their studies, whether applied lessons, music theory and history courses, or in music ensembles. For those who want to major in music, three options are available – the Bachelor of Music Education (B.M.E.), the Bachelor of Arts in Music and the Bachelor of Arts in Music (Music Entrepreneurship Specialization).
Theatre and dance at SDSU offers opportunities for all students to participate. Theatre majors and minors, Dance minors, and any interested State student may become involved in the robust schedule of productions each year. Auditions are open to any enrolled student. Students may also be involved off the stage working in areas such as: stage management, costume design and construction, scenic design and construction, props design and construction, lighting and sound design and execution, theatrical rigging, publicity/promotion, ticket sales and front-of house management.