Sunday, July 11, 4:30 p.m.
Kallen Esperian

After winning the Luciano Pavarotti Vocal Competition in her early twenties, Kallen Esperian established herself as a world-renowned performer in opera. In addition to the Met and La Scala, she has performed on the stages of Covent Garden, Vienna, Opera de Paris, Teatro Colon, Buenos Aires, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Deutsche Opera, and Staatsoper/Berlin. She was featured in the film Distant Harmony while in China with the great Pavarotti and in recent years has emerged as the “Verdi” soprano of choice by international opera houses. Ms. Esperian is also a highly regarded recitalist and concert performer. She has performed with many of the world's major orchestras and has sung numerous performances of the Verdi Requiem with the world's great conductors, including Sir Colin Davis, Giuseppe Sinopoli, Robert Shaw, Daniele Gatti, Daniel Oren, and David Zinman. She also has an album of American folk songs entitled American Treasure on the Pro Organo label.

Monday, July 12, 11:30 AM
The Chinese Arts Alliance of Nashville

The Chinese Arts Alliance of Nashville was organized to promote the awareness, understanding, appreciation, and enjoyment of the Chinese visual and performing arts. The Alliance has produced several theatrical dance productions to retell Chinese stories and has exhibited Chinese paintings and photos to illustrate images of Chinese and Taiwanese society and landscapes. Jen-Jen Lin is the artistic director of the Chinese Arts Alliance of Nashville. In Taiwan, her Chinese dance compositions won national awards, and she was artistic director of the internationally acclaimed Lan-Yang Chinese Folklore Performing Dance Company. In the United States she has performed as a professional dancer and served as professor at several colleges. She founded the Chinese Arts Alliance of Nashville in 2002 to continue her passion in performing arts. She has choreographed and directed the Alliance productions Our Stories, Moon Goddess, Touching Clouds, and MuLan & Poetry.

Wednesday, July 14, 11:30 a.m.
Phil Darius Wallace
The Dream Keeper

Phil Darius Wallace was born in Flint, Michigan, where his first solo performance, based on Martin Luther King, Jr., was produced. He has performed this show in forty-two states around the country. In 2000, Wallace became a company member of Playhouse on the Square, where he created a show based on the life of Frederick Douglass. He performed Frederick Douglass around the country for five years. Wallace also wrote Hold Fast, a work featuring the poetry of Langston Hughes, which made its world premier in 2010. The Dream Keeper intertwines the words, ideas, and dreams of Martin Luther King, Jr., Frederick Douglass, and Langston Hughes. It explores the power of the written and spoken word and demonstrates the way that words enable us to keep our dreams. Wallace has been reaching thousands of children in hundreds of schools around the country with inspirational songs, characters, poems, and stories based on the lives of these three men. He is a founding member of the Tennessee Shakespeare Company and is planning an international tour of his shows.

Wednesday, July 14, 8:30 p.m.
Triple Play

Triple Play is the name given to three outstanding and versatile musicians—Chris Brubeck, Peter “Madcat” Ruth, and Joel Brown. Collectively they bring a rare level of joy, technical skill, and American spirit to the folk, blues, jazz, and classical music they perform. Each member of the group is a virtuoso in his own right. Chris Brubeck sings and plays electric bass, bass trombone, and piano. He is in demand as a composer, orchestral arranger, lyricist, and performer. Peter “Madcat” Ruth sings and plays harmonica, guitar, jaw harp, and percussion in the ensemble. Ruth has established an international reputation through his exhilarating, riveting talent on the harmonica. Joel Brown sings with the group and plays folk and classical acoustic guitar. He has recorded in England with the London Symphony, performed at Carnegie Hall with soprano Dawn Upshaw, and given recital performances with Frederica von Stade. In 2009, Triple Play collaborated with the Singapore Chinese Orchestra for two exciting concerts that combined the group’s talents, Brubeck’s arrangements, and an orchestra made up of authentic Chinese instruments.

Thursday, July 15, 11:30 a.m.
Magical Moonshine Theatre

Magical Moonshine Theatre is California’s internationally acclaimed musical puppet and mask theatre. The group is celebrating thirty years of fine arts programming in California. Performances have covered coast to coast in the United States and extended to more than fifteen countries. The group has performed in eight languages throughout Europe, Asia, and Latin America. Family and youth programs focus on folktales and literature, with multicultural and bilingual programs a popular part of the company’s repertoire. Director Michael Nelson studied pup petry with Muppets creator Jim Henson at the International Institute of Puppetry. Magical Moonshine Theatre is the recipient of three UNI Awards (the puppetry equivalent of the Oscars) and has been rated “Exemplary” by the California Arts Council Theatre Panel.