{"id":2479488,"date":"2026-06-28T18:41:58","date_gmt":"2026-06-28T18:41:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2479488"},"modified":"2026-06-28T18:41:58","modified_gmt":"2026-06-28T18:41:58","slug":"uc-san-diegos-new-artpower-season-features-pulitzer-prize-and-grammy-winners-san-diego-union-tribune","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/uc-san-diegos-new-artpower-season-features-pulitzer-prize-and-grammy-winners-san-diego-union-tribune\/","title":{"rendered":"UC San Diego\u2019s new ArtPower season features Pulitzer Prize and Grammy winners \u2013 San Diego Union-Tribune"},"content":{"rendered":"

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UC San Diego\u2019s ArtPower has grown steadily since it debuted in 2004 seeking to engage diverse audiences with multidisciplinary performances by artists who explore both familiar and unfamiliar creative vistas. This plucky nonprofit\u2019s upcoming 2026-27 season underscores that quest with the tagline: \u201cFollow curiosity. Find connection.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFollow curiosity, Find connection is really an invitation to the audience,\u201d said Colleen Kollar Smith. She is the executive director of UCSD\u2019s Campus Performance and Events Office, under whose auspices ArtPower operates.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf an artist or performance intrigues someone, if a sound or idea draws them in, we want them to follow where it leads,\u201d Smith elaborated.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat curiosity opens the door to experiencing something new, or to experiencing something familiar in a way they never have. And when they do that in a room full of other people doing the same, curiosity turns into connection. Connection to the art, to the artist, to the community sitting right there with them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pulitzer Prize-winning opera composer and banjo-championing Grammy Award-winner Rhiannon Giddens and her band will perform an ArtPower concert on Feb. 11. (Courtesy ArtPower)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The suitably eclectic lineup features 2025 Pulitzer Prize-winning composer and percussionist Susie Ibarra and at least four Grammy Award-winning mavericks.<\/p>\n

They include: banjo-championing multi-instrumentalist and singer Rhiannon Giddens and her band; the socially conscious Latin music group La Santa Cecilia; veteran klezmer-music torchbearers The Klezmatics; and the bluegrass-and-way<\/em>-beyond Punch Brothers, led by mandolin master and San Diego native Chris Thile.<\/p>\n

Giddens shared the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for music with composer Michael Abels for their opera, \u201cOmar.\u201d Her performance here will follow the Sept. 18 release of her compelling new album, \u201cHope Is The Thing With Feathers,\u201d<\/p>\n

The season will also offer two distinctly different tributes to the late Irish singer-songwriter and cultural provocateur Sin\u00e9ad O\u2019Connor.<\/p>\n

On Nov. 7, choreographer Sonya Tayeh will lead the California premiere of \u201cThe Surge: An Ode to Sinead O\u2019Connor\u201d with a 10-woman dance troupe whose members\u2019 collective age exceeds 500. The work, which is set to OConnor\u2019s music, was co-commissioned by ArtPower.<\/p>\n

On April 22, self-described \u201canti-disciplinary artist\u201d Dorian Wood will perform O\u2019Connor\u2019s 1990 album, \u201cI Do Not Want What I Haven\u2019t Got,\u201d in its entirety in a stripped-down piano and voice format.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are so many amazing artists out there that fitting them all into one season is impossible,\u201d said ArtPower Director of Artistic Programing Liz Bradshaw. \u201cBut that\u2019s a good problem to have!\u201d<\/p>\n

The new season opens with a Sept. 24 concert by acclaimed Malian guitarist and singer Vieux Farka Tour\u00e9 at the La Jolla campus\u2019 Epstein Family Amphitheater. It will conclude with a May 21 performance by the Brooklyn-based contemporary chamber-music ensemble Sandbox Percussion at the Department of Music\u2019s Conrad Prebys Music Center.<\/p>\n

Tour\u00e9 and Sandbox\u2019s concerts will bookend several dozen performances by such disparate artists as the Escher String Quartet, Emmy Award-winning TV cook and author Ina Rosenberg Garten, fast-rising young jazz vibraphonist Sasha Berliner, and the Montreal ice-skating dance troupe Le Patin Libre.<\/p>\n

ArtPower mainstay Albert Agbayani expertly oversees all of the season\u2019s jazz bookings. He also plays a key role in student outreach.<\/p>\n

At least 16 of ArtPower\u2019s uopcoming performers will be making their UCSD debuts. So will a number of the artists performing in ArtPower\u2019s third annual summer series<\/a> at the Epstein. It opens with a July 10 concert by Maruja Lim\u00f3n, a six-woman flamenco-pop band from Barcelona, and concludes with an Aug. 9 dance and music performance by the Siudy Garrido Flamenco Company and an Aug. 12 concert by Helado Negro & Reyna Tropical.<\/p>\n

\"Fast-rising
Fast-rising jazz vibraphonist and composer Sasha Berliner will perform with her band at The Loft at UCSD on Jan. 22. (Courtesy ArtPower)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u2018Friendly landscape\u2019<\/h4>\n

ArtPower strives to present programing that appeals to students and members of the general public alike. It presents events at multiple venues on the UCSD campus, including the $70 million Epstein Family Amphitheater, which opened in 2022 and has a capacity of 2,650.<\/p>\n

Despite the proximity of La Jolla Music Society, the La Jolla Athenaeum Music & Arts Library, performing arts centers in Poway and Escondido, and such nearby music venues as the Belly Up and The Sound, ArtPower has been able to carve out a distinctive niche for itself.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the size and the fact the Epstein is an outdoor, all-ages venue makes us unique,\u201d said Smith.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s important for us to present the right artists in the right venues,\u201d Smith stressed. \u201cAnd it\u2019s important for us to be good partners with other arts presenters. The competition is here, but it\u2019s a pretty friendly landscape and we look at what we can do that\u2019s different.\u201d<\/p>\n

The budget for the new ArtPower season, which is funded in part by donors, is approximately $2 million. That\u2019s slightly less than the $2.3 million budget for the recently concluded 2025-26 season, which followed a record-breaking 2024-25 season.<\/p>\n

\u201cAttendance held strong at just under 45,000 and we exceeded our revenue target by about 5 percent,\u201d Smith said. \u201cWe\u2019re doing our best to tighten our belts and do as much as can with less. So, we are strategically reducing out expenses.\u201d<\/p>\n

This will be the fourth consecutive year ArtPower offers UCSD students free tickets for every performance it presents. Funding comes from multiple donors, including philanthropist and Qualcomm co-founder Irwin Jacobs, who \u2014 with his late wife, Joan \u2014 is a former trustee of the UC San Diego Foundation. The couple has given more than $460 million to UCSD over the past five decades.<\/p>\n

\"The
The Grammy Award-winning Latin music group La Santa Cecilia will perform Oct. 23 at UCSD\u2019s Epstein Family Amphitheater. (Courtesy ArtPower)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u2018A balancing act\u2019<\/h4>\n

Over the past year, nearly 10,000 students took advantage of ArtPower\u2019s free-ticketing initiative. It was launched to give students the opportunity to experience a broad array of prominent and lesser-known artists, who students may not otherwise have access to see and hear. The bottom line for doing so is a matter of aesthetics as well as economics.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a balancing act,\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe find ways to balance new and emerging artists with artists who \u2014 I don\u2019t want to say will be guaranteed sellouts \u2014 but who fit well with the mission of ArtPower and will help us hit our sales goals. The challenge is having accessible ticket prices, with a middle ground of $40.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are constantly crunching numbers to see how we can get to that. We really think about how we can keep the prices accessible while still being able to maintain the bottom line. It comes down to seeing how we can use high-generating performers to bring in other artists who aren\u2019t as big a draw.\u201d<\/p>\n

The public performances are the most visible facet of ArtPower for UCSD campus visitors. But students are given additional opportunities to interact with \u2014 and learn from \u2014 the artists.<\/p>\n

As often as possible, ArtPower arranges for performers to spend extra time on campus, be it an afternoon or several days.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are so many ways we engage with students,\u201d said Bradshaw.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe work with the UCSD dance, music and literature departments. Many times, dance students have a chance to see their work performed or attend master classes \u2014 especially when we have tie-ins on campus.\u201d<\/p>\n

Those sentiments are shared by ArtPower Associate Director of Marketing and Communications Joanna Christian. She helps to curate programing and build outreach to students.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the 11 years since I started here in 2015, student engagement has increased 300 percent,\u201d said Christian, who is herself a UCSD alum.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a number of students on our marketing team. And we talk to students a lot throughout the year as we chat about future seasons. Students are more likely to take risks and check out new artists because the events are free to them. We\u2019ve seen, for example, an increase in the number of students attending our global music and chamber-music concerts.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beyond free tickets, what draws students to chamber music, a genre with a markedly low profile on streaming platforms and social media?<\/p>\n

\u201cThe programing is important,\u201d Bradshaw said. \u201cWhen we have new composers and performers, I think students really can see themselves (reflected). A lot of our chamber-music artists are younger and spend time with students in master classes, so students can learn more about them. Giving students access to performers, in formal and informal settings, is very important.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"The
The Epstein Family Amphitheater at UC San Diego will be the site of multiple performances in the 2026\/27 ArtPower season. (San Diego Architectural Foundation)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Team work<\/h4>\n

UCSD works closely with arts presenting organizations at other campuses within the UC system. Doing so is an effective way to coordinate programing and get more bang for their respective season budgets by lowering costs to bring in artists from across the nation or abroad.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe rely heavily on our partners in routing performances, not just at other UC schools but on at arts centers up and down the coast,\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n

\u201cEspecially when we\u2019re looking at bringing in international acts or large dance ensembles, it behooves us to work together. so a number of conversations take place. It\u2019s a wonderful network.\u201d<\/p>\n

ArtPower also partners with a number of student organizations for events held at the Epstein, The Loft and other venues on campus.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur goal is always to strike a balance between different types of events that draw different types of audiences,\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome artists,\u201d Bradshaw added, \u201cwho embody what ArtPower does, draw multigenerational audiences. We want to give students and the greater San Diego community the best programing we can.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"The
The innovative brass ensemble The Westerlies will perform at UCSD on Dec. 11 with with San Diego Children\u2019s Choir as part of the 2026\/27 ArtPower season. (Courtesy ArtPower)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

2026-27 ArtPower season<\/h4>\n

Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. today, June 28, at: artpower.ucsd.edu<\/a>. Pricing for some concerts has not been announced.<\/p>\n

* \u2014 indicates ArtPower debut performance.<\/em><\/p>\n

Chamber music<\/h4>\n

All chamber music concerts are at 7:30 p.m., unless otherwise indicated, and are held at the UCSD Dept. of Music\u2019s Conrad Prebys Music Center.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Thursday, Oct. 15:<\/strong> Escher String Quartet, $53-$68<\/p>\n

* Friday, Dec. 11:<\/strong> The Westerlies \u201cFireside Brass,\u201d with San Diego Children\u2019s Choir, $53-68<\/p>\n

* Friday, Jan. 29:<\/strong> Susie Ibarra & Steven Schick, $53-$68<\/p>\n

* Friday, Feb. 26:<\/strong> Sitkovetsky Trio, $53-$68<\/p>\n

Friday, May 21:<\/strong> Sandbox Percussion \u201cPentalateral,\u201d $53-$68<\/p>\n

Global music<\/h4>\n

Thursday, Sept. 24:<\/strong> Vieux Farka Tour\u00e9, 7 p.m., Epstein Family Amphitheater, $30-$55<\/p>\n

Friday, Oct. 23:<\/strong> La Santa Cecilia \u201cLos A\u00f1os,\u201d 7:30 p.m., Epstein Family Amphitheater, $27-$57<\/p>\n

Friday, Nov. 13:<\/strong>\u00a0Las Migas, 7:30 p.m., Epstein Family Amphitheater, $37-$47<\/p>\n

* Wednesday, Nov. 18:<\/strong> M\u00e1s Tropical with Quittapenas, 8 p.m., The Loft, $25-$40<\/p>\n

* Sunday, May 16:<\/strong>\u00a0Feathered Creatures: Purbayan Chatterjee and Mark Lettieri, 7:30 p.m., Epstein Family Amphitheater, $32-$62<\/p>\n

Dance<\/h4>\n

* Thursday, Oct. 8:<\/strong> Le Patin Libre: \u201cMelt,\u201d 7:30 p.m., Epstein Family Amphitheater, $30-$55<\/p>\n

Friday, Oct. 16:<\/strong> CONTRA-TIEMPO: \u201cRoots of Loving Us\u201d (world premiere), 7:30 p.m., Epstein Family Amphitheater, $30-$55<\/p>\n

* Saturday, Nov. 7:<\/strong> The Surge: \u201cAn Ode to Sin\u00e9ad O\u2019Connor\u201d (California premiere), 7:30 p.m., Balboa Theatre, $40-$90<\/p>\n

* Thursday, May 6:<\/strong> Versa-Style Street Dance Company \u2013 Tribute: Guardians of Street Dance, 7:30 p.m., Epstein Family Amphitheater, $30-$55<\/p>\n

Family<\/h4>\n

Saturday, Sept. 26:<\/strong> \u201cSugar Skull!\u201d A D\u00eda de Muertos Musical Adventure, 6 p.m., Epstein Family Amphitheater, $27-$42<\/p>\n

Holiday<\/h4>\n

Thursday, Dec. 3:<\/strong> The Klezmatics: A Happy Joyous Hanukkah, 7:30 p.m., Price Center East, $50<\/p>\n

\"Singer
Singer and composer Michael Mayo will perform April 1 at The Loft as part of the 2026\/27 ArtPower season. (Courtesy ArtPower)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Jazz<\/h4>\n

* Tuesday, Oct. 6:<\/strong> Salin, 8 p.m., The Loft, $30-$45<\/p>\n

Saturday, Oct. 24:<\/strong>\u00a0Julian Lage Quartet, 7 p.m., Epstein Family Amphitheater, $30-$65<\/p>\n

* Friday, Jan. 22:<\/strong> Sasha Berliner, 8 p.m., The Loft, $25-$45<\/p>\n

* Saturday, Feb. 13:<\/strong> Charlie Hunter & Ella Feingold, 6 p.m. & 8:30 p.m., The Loft, $30-$45<\/p>\n

* Thursday, April 1:<\/strong> Michael Mayo, 8 p.m., The Loft, $25-$45<\/p>\n

Routes<\/h4>\n

* Friday, Oct. 9:<\/strong> Punch Brothers, 7:30 p.m., Epstein Family Amphitheater, $31-$81<\/p>\n

* Thursday, Feb. 11:<\/strong> Rhiannon Giddens, 7:30 p.m., Jacobs Music Center, $56-$96<\/p>\n

* Wednesday, March 10:<\/strong>\u00a0L\u00fanasa, 8 p.m., Belly Up, $50<\/p>\n

Pop\/Indie\/Soul<\/h4>\n

Saturday, Sept. 19:<\/strong> Jos\u00e9 Gonz\u00e1lez, 7:30 p.m., Epstein Family Amphitheater<\/p>\n

Wednesday, Oct. 21:<\/strong> Thee Sinseers, 7 p.m., Epstein Family Amphitheater<\/p>\n

Thursday, Feb. 18:<\/strong> Irene Diaz, 8 p.m., The Loft<\/p>\n

\"Singer
Singer Dorian Wood will salute the music of the late Sin\u00e9ad O\u2019Connor. at his April 22 ArtPower concert. (Courtesy ArtPower)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Visionary Voices<\/h4>\n

Wednesday, Nov. 4:<\/strong> Joseph Keckler, 8 p.m., The Loft<\/p>\n

Thursday, Apr. 22:<\/strong> Dorian Wood: \u201cI Do Not Want What I Haven\u2019t Got,\u201d 8 p.m., The Loft<\/p>\n

Wednesday, May 19:<\/strong> Ringdown, 8 p.m., The Loft<\/p>\n

Film<\/h4>\n

* Friday, Sept. 25:<\/strong> \u201cGhostbusters\u201d in Concert, 7:30 p.m., Epstein Family Amphitheater, $35-$75<\/p>\n

Friday, May 14:<\/strong> \u201cNapoleon Dynamite\u201d Live \u2014 A Very Special Evening. with Jon Heder, Jon Gries, and Efren Ramirez, 7:30 p.m., Epstein Family Amphitheater<\/p>\n

Comedy<\/h4>\n

Wednesday, Apr. 7:<\/strong> Hold On To Your Butts, The Loft, prices to be announced.<\/p>\n

Speaker<\/h4>\n

* Thursday, Nov. 12:<\/strong> Ina Garten, 7:30 p.m., Jacobs Music Center, $79.75\u2013$191.20<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n

\u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.sandiegouniontribune.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

UC San Diego\u2019s ArtPower has grown steadily since it debuted in 2004 seeking to engage diverse audiences with multidisciplinary performances by artists who explore both familiar and unfamiliar creative vistas. This plucky nonprofit\u2019s upcoming 2026-27 season underscores that quest with the tagline: \u201cFollow curiosity. Find connection.\u201d \u201cFollow curiosity, Find connection is really an invitation to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2479489,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25179],"tags":[22691,21741,339109,308544,308545,335507,335508,22482,424062],"class_list":["post-2479488","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-music","tag-california","tag-entertainment","tag-la-jolla","tag-latest-headlines","tag-music-and-concerts","tag-san-diego","tag-san-diego-county","tag-things-to-do","tag-top-stories-sdut"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/UC-San-Diegos-new-ArtPower-season-features-Pulitzer-Prize-and.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2479488","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2479488"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2479488\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2479490,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2479488\/revisions\/2479490"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2479489"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2479488"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2479488"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2479488"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}