UFPA will present six musicals that have been featured on Broadway – Mamma Mia!; Buddy – The Buddy Holly Story; Hello, Dolly! starring Sally Struthers; Man of La Mancha; Memphis; and Million Dollar Quartet.

“We are thrilled to present such a broad range of musicals this season,” Blachly said. “From Broadway classics like Hello, Dolly! and Man of La Mancha, to newer favorites like Memphis and Million Dollar Quartet, our lineup of musicals has something for everyone.”

The 2013-14 Season features some of the music industry’s biggest stars, including violinist Itzhak Perlman, vocalist Kathleen Battle, banjoist Béla Fleck and guitarist Pat Metheny – who boast 54 Grammy awards among them.

Swing revival band Big Bad Voodoo Daddy and a cappella superstars Straight No Chaser will perform on the heels of their new albums, while The Irish Rovers pass through on their Farewell Tour and the folk-rock duo Indigo Girls perform with the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra.

Several world premieres will grace UFPA’s stages, including Turtle Island Quartet and Nellie McKay; Cuarteto Casals and Manuel Barrueco; Take 6 Project’s a cappella competition; and UF alumna Stella Sung’s new opera The Red Silk Thread, featuring UF Opera Theatre and UF Symphony Orchestra.

UFPA continues to support up and coming artists and will feature revolutionary organist Cameron Carpenter, jazz phenom Jonathan Batiste and three classical performances from Young Concert Artists.

“Part of our mission has always been to support new ideas brought to us by emerging artists, as well as those who are established and creating new works,” Blachly said. “To that end, you’ll find several world premieres on our stages, along with some of today’s brightest performers.”

UFPA’s 2013-14 Season also features the best in dance (including Scottish Ballet: A Streetcar Named Desire, Tango Fire and Pilobolus), jazz (including Billy Childs Jazz-Chamber Ensemble with Dianne Reeves, Kenny Barron’s Platinum Band and An Evening with Branford Marsalis), classical (including Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra and Moscow City Symphony) and world performances (including The Manganiyar Seduction, Soweto Gospel Choir and Peking Acrobats).

Classic rock will be honored with THE SUMMER OF LOVE CONCERT, featuring music from the Woodstock generation; GET THE LED OUT, known as “The American Led Zeppelin”; and THE HIT MEN … featuring former stars of Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons.

Tickets for the 2013-14 Season go on sale to the public at noon Monday, June 24. For a complete list of the season – including times, dates, venues, prices and event descriptions – please visit www.performingarts.ufl.edu, beginning Tuesday, May 7.

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Website: University of Florida Performing Arts: www.performingarts.ufl.edu

Photos available upon request or by visiting: www.performingarts.ufl.edu/about/press-room/photos/

To purchase tickets, call the Phillips Center Box Office at 352-392-2787 or 800-905-2787 (toll-free within Florida) or Ticketmaster at 800-745-3000 (toll-free). Tickets may also be purchased in person at the Phillips Center Box Office, from any Ticketmaster outlet or online at www.ticketmaster.com. Cash, checks, MasterCard, Discover and Visa are accepted.

UF students may purchase discounted tickets (with a valid student ID) at the Phillips Center Box Office or by calling 352-392-2787. Non-UF students may purchase discounted student tickets (in the balcony) at the Phillips Center Box Office for select performances. The first on-sale date for student tickets is Aug. 30 – at which time student tickets for September and October events will be available for purchase.

Sponsors: Baymont Inn & Suites; Best Western Gateway Grand; Blue Water Bay; Business in the Heart of Florida; Business Report of North Central Florida; Carr, Riggs & Ingram; Dharma Endowment Foundation; Gainesville Guardian; Gainesville Health & Fitness; Gainesville Magazine; Sam & Connie Holloway; HOME Magazine; Keith Watson Events; Limerock Road Neighborhood Grill; McGurn Investment Company; North Florida Retirement Village; Oak Hammock at the University of Florida; Plaza Royale Associates; SFI; Charles P. Steinmetz; The Gainesville Sun; Tipple’s Brews; UF&Shands.

*Sung in English with supertitles

The Indigo Girls broke onto the scene with Billboard hits including Closer to Fine and Galileo. The Grammy-winning folk-rock duo has sold more than 12 million records and has four platinum albums. For this performance, the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra and Indigo Girls come together for one unique evening of tight-knit harmonies. Founded in 1949, the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra has performed at Carnegie Hall and has appeared on Performance Today.

Celebrate master jazz pianist Kenny Barron’s 70th birthday season as he brings his Platinum Band to the Phillips Center. The NEA Jazz Master and nine-time Grammy nominee is known for his unmatched ability to mesmerize audiences with elegant playing, sensitive melodies and infectious rhythms. The Los Angeles Times called him “one of the top jazz pianists in the world.”

Through music and spoken word, Kathleen Battle – with versatile jazz pianist Cyrus Chestnut and a local choir – will showcase the profound power and unparalleled beauty of the spiritual. Battle’s soaring voice has carried her to the heights of the classical music world and has earned her five Grammy Awards. Performing in world-class opera houses and concert halls, what distinguishes this luminous soprano is her ability to create an unwavering bond with audiences through a voice that is “without qualification, one of the very few most beautiful in the world” (The Washington Post).