Single-event tickets for Artist Series available July 20

Single-event tickets go on sale Saturday, July 20, for the 2013-14 Bluffton University Artist Series, featuring the Golden Dragon Acrobats, pianist Hyperion Knight, the Lima Symphony Orchestra, the band Lone Raven and ventriloquist Lynn Trefzger.

Tickets can be purchased on the Web, at http://tickets.bluffton.edu, or by calling 419-358-3239 or emailing [email protected]. Single-event tickets are $25 for adults, $20 for senior citizens and non-Bluffton students, $15 for Bluffton faculty and staff and $10 for children ages 6-13. Children ages 5 and under are admitted free.

Season tickets are also available, at $80 for adults, $70 for senior citizens and non-Bluffton students, and $65 for faculty and staff. A family pass is $55 with the purchase of any season ticket and admits all children in the family ages 6-18.

All performances will be at 7:30 p.m., beginning Sept. 19 in Founders Hall with the Golden Dragon Acrobats. The Chinese troupe represents the best of a time-honored tradition that began more than 25 centuries ago. Impresario Danny Chang and choreographer Angela Chang combine award-winning acrobatics, traditional dance, colorful costumes, ancient and contemporary music and theatrical techniques. The members of the current touring company, from Hebei, China, have performed in nearly every major market in the country.

The four remaining performances will be in Yoder Recital Hall, where pianist Hyperion Knight will present a concert on Oct. 10. Known for the diversity of his repertoire, Knight is equally at home with classics and popular standards. In addition to regular appearances with orchestras across the U.S., he has been a featured entertainer at Manhattan’s Rainbow Room and Essex House. He has also made recordings devoted to unique arrangements of George Gershwin’s music, and frequently performs Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” and Concerto in F.

Ringing in the new year on Jan. 23, 2014, will be the Lima Symphony Orchestra. The concert will feature the melodic beauty, elegance and richness of harmony and texture that distinguish Mozart’s music, from “Il re pastore” (“The Shepherd King”) to the Haffner Symphony. Dr. Lucia Unrau, a professor and chair of music at Bluffton, will be the featured soloist for the performance of Piano Concerto No. 21 in C, Movement 467.

Lone Raven will take the Bluffton stage on March 13. With more than 20 instruments, the band performs an eclectic blend of traditional music from the Celtic lands and elsewhere. Its instrumentals are fueled by the award-winning guitar playing of Neil Jacobs and the fiddles of Elizabeth Blickenstaff and Kara Markley, and driven by the rhythm section of Craig Markley and Sid Omasta. The band has recorded 11 CDs, including its newest release, “Flight to Hinterland.”

Wrapping up the series on April 24 will be ventriloquist Lynn Trefzger. For more than 30 years, Trefzger has given life to a trunk full of comical characters. Audiences are treated to her vocal illusion talents when they meet a lovable camel, a grumpy old man or a feisty little girl. She has received many awards during her career, including The American Comedy Awards and Variety Entertainer of the Year.