1 of 4
photo by Tom Topinka, courtesy SPARC
2 of 4
photo by Tom Topinka, courtesy SPARC
3 of 4
photo by Tom Topinka, courtesy SPARC
4 of 4
photo by Martin Montgomery, courtesy of SPARC
Local youth, regional artists and world-renowned talent will reconvene for a night of soulful sights and sounds in a concert collaboration like no other. Directed and produced by the School of Performing Arts for the Richmond Community (SPARC), the highly anticipated Live Art show will feature SPARC students performing alongside the likes of Jason Mraz, Sara Bareilles and Mandy Moore, as well as jazz vocalist and 2015 Grammy nominee René Marie, electric folk-rock band Raining Jane, folk rocker Chris Stills, singer/songwriter Robbie Schaefer, keyboardist Daniel Clarke, and local/regional artists Susan Greenbaum, Jesse Harper, Drew Kullman, Josh Small and Robbin Thompson.
This year’s concert will be the third to grace the stage. Conceived by Erin Thomas-Foley, SPARC’s director of education-outreach, the first “Live Art” concert was held in 2012 before a nearly sold-out crowd of 1,500 at the Carpenter Theatre and featured Mraz, himself an alum of SPARC, as a surprise guest. After its success, the show traded venues, and in 2013 moved to the more spacious stays of the renovated Altria Theater. “That year it did sell out,” says Ryan Ripperton, SPARC’s executive director, recalling the audience of 3,500 who packed the theater. While the first two concerts were 18 months apart, one in June 2012, the other in December 2013, Ripperton says the school is now intending to host them annually.
The one-night performance is the culmination of nine months’ worth of classes for the students of SPARC, 145 of whom will be participating in this year’s concert. SPARC offers a blended curriculum of performance arts classes for students across the metro area, and about half of the youth who perform in Live Art live with some form of disability, such as autism, Down syndrome, or hearing or vision impairment. “A lot of these kids dream about performing,” says Ripperton, “and when you get all the students together in a classroom, amazing things can happen.” Classes include combinations of dance, singing, instrument playing, spoken word and even American Sign Language. The featured artists will share the stage with the students who will present their “live art,” by way of the visual and performance arts learned in their classes.
While the first performance lacked a central theme and the second revolved around the concept “Tree of Life,” the theme of this year’s concert is “Soul.” The idea is akin to footprints, Ripperton says, and allows for a great deal of exploration from the students, as their performances will reflect on the question: “What is their ‘soul-print’ on the world?”
“It’s all about human connection,” Ripperton says.
In the years since Live Art’s conception, many of the students have returned for each subsequent performance and according to Ripperton, “the student base is growing.”
Live Art will return to the Altria Theater with Live Art: Soul on June 7, beginning at 6 p.m. Though taking place nearly 18 months since the previous show, Ripperton says, “We expect it to sell out this year, too.” Tickets are $30 to $70, on sale now through altriatheater.com.
