If you go
› Sept. 16Rosanne Cash, 7:30 p.m.› Nov. 1Parsons Dance, 7:30 p.m.› Jan. 24Julian Sands and the poetry of Harold Pinter, 7:30 p.m.› Feb. 6Eighth Blackbird, 7:30 p.m.April 11› Squonk Opera, 4, 6:30 and 8 p.m.› Where: Most shows are at the UTC Fine Arts Center, corner Vine and Palmetto streets, but Squonk Opera will perform at Engel Stadium.› Admission: $40 reserved seating Rosanne Cash; $10 general admission Squonk; all other shows are $29, $24 seniors, $16 students› Information: 425-4269 or utc.edu/fine-arts-center
When the Patten Performances series kicks off with Rosanne Cash on Sept. 16, it also will carry a new name and a slightly new direction. It will now be called the UTC Patten Performances: An inSight Series.
The university, which produces the series, has combined the Music and Theater departments in an effort to unify operations and bring things under one umbrella, according to Pattern presenter Bob Boyer. It plans to have any number of events such as concerts, plays, musicals, lectures and outreach programs, all of which will fall under inSight.
This year's Patten Performances series, for example, will have five primary events that each include two secondary events such as lectures or workshops, one on-campus and other somewhere else in the community.
Prior to the Cash performance, for instance, UTC is looking to partner with Southern Lit Alliance and SoundCorps to present a "Songwriter as Poet" event and another featuring some of the poetry experts on campus.
"We are still in the developmental stage of this, but we want to work with different groups on and off campus with these shows," Boyer says.
The featured performances in the series are:
* Sept. 16: Rosanne Cash: a four-time Grammy winning singer/songwriter with 11 No. 1 country hits. The daughter of the late Johnny Cash, she will perform with her husband, John Leventhal.
* Nov. 1: Parsons Dance, a New York-based modern dance company that Boyer says was at the top of the wishlists for local dance groups. He reached out earlier this year to inquire about booking the group.
* Jan. 24: "A Celebration of Harold Pinter" featuring British actor Julian Sands and directed by John Malkovich. Playwright Pinter himself chose Sands, whose film credits include "The Killing Fields" and "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" to bring his poems to the stage. Pinter also is internationally known for writing 29 plays, including "The Birthday Party" (1957), "Betrayal" (1978) and "The Homecoming," which one a Tony Award for Best Play in 1967.
* Feb. 6: Eighth Blackbird, a Chicago-based sextet that combines the finesse of a string quartet and the energy of rock band and has been performing around the world since 1996.
* April 11: Squonk Opera, a Pittsburgh, Pa., group that combines music, visual art and acting, hoping to make opera accessible to the general public. In Chattanooga, it will "Pneumatica," an outdoor event about air, made of air, and powered by air to Engel Stadium. The performances at 4, 6:30 and 8 p.m. will be interspersed with workshops in a festival setting. As part of the day, UTC plans to partner with local groups and companies involved in harnessing wind as an energy source.
Contact Barry Courter at bcourter@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6354.