Texas Tech Presidential Lecture & Performance Series

12/06/2024

Meet Calder Allen, grandson of artists Terry & Jo Harvey Allen. Producer and steel player Lloyd Maines of Lubbock's Maines Brothers Band - who has worked with Terry Allen for decades - has known Calder since he was a baby. “About forty-five years ago, Terry gave me a lap steel that he bought for five dollars at a garage sale in Fresno,” Maines recalled. “I heard that Calder was interested in playing lap steel, so I gave it to Calder along with a ten-minute crash course on how to tune it and hold the bar. He could play it immediately.”
Learn about the budding musician Calder Allen, and join the Texas Tech School of Theatre & Dance this evening his grandmother's one woman play: An Evening with Jo Harvey Allen. Tix are still available for the 7:30 PM production here: https://www.depts.ttu.edu/theatre-dance/productions/past-productions/2024-2025/jo-harvey-allen.php

Calder Allen comes from a family of artists, including outlaw-country musician Terry, so that helps.

12/03/2024

What stuck with me the most - writes Dr. Mark Charney (Chair, School of Theatre & Dance) - is that Jo Harvey believes strongly that life is a series of miracles that she’s been fortunate enough to take advantage of: “At 82, I’m the happiest I’ve been in my whole life. Every decade you lose something, but you gain more. Life, like art, is an arc. And you need to embrace every minute.”

Read the full Jo Harvey Allen interview in preparation for her one-woman show at the Maedgen Theatre on December 6th. Tix still available at https://www.depts.ttu.edu/theatre-dance/productions/past-productions/2024-2025/jo-harvey-allen.php

Full interview: https://www.depts.ttu.edu/theatre-dance/news/posts/2024/11/charney.php

11/20/2024

Join us in the new year for our spring season opener: MOMIX - Alice.

Travel down the rabbit hole MOMIX-style with Pendleton's newest modern dance creation, ALICE, inspired by Alice in Wonderland. As Alice's body grows and shrinks and grows again, Pendleton's dancers extend themselves by means of props, ropes, and other dancers. “I don't intend to retell the whole Alice story” he says, “but to use it as a taking off point for invention. I'm curious to see what will emerge, and I'm getting curiouser and curiouser the more I learn about Lewis Carroll, who like me was a devoted photographer.”

Known internationally for presenting work of exceptional inventiveness and physical beauty, MOMIX is a company of dancer-illusionists under the direction of Moses Pendleton. In addition to stage performances world-wide, MOMIX has worked in film and television, recently appearing in a national commercial for Hanes underwear and a Target ad that premiered during the airing of the 67th Annual Golden Globe Awards. With performances on PBS's “Dance in America” series, and Italian RAI television, the company's repertory has been broadcast to 55 countries.

WHEN: February 20th (Thr), 2024; 7:00 PM
WHERE: Allen Theatre, Student Union Building, 1502 Akron
PARKING: Complimentary parking available for patrons are R03 (the Library lot), R07 )Admin lot), R11 (the Band lot), and R13 (the Visitor lot).
TIX: $20 GA https://shorturl.at/CXNLh / free for students with valid IDs
MORE: Follow us on FB & IG ; find more at www.presidentialseries.ttu.edu

11/19/2024

The TTU School of Theatre and Dance is presenting: An Evening with Jo Harvey Allen. Join us on campus for a wacky, hilarious, and poignant evening of stories with Jo Harvey Allen, from her book and play Homerun.

Jo Harvey Allen is a Lubbock born and raised actress, playwright, poet, songwriter, and pioneer of women in radio. She has appeared in numerous films, most recently in the Oscar-Nominated Killers of the Flower Moon, and has written, starred in, and toured her acclaimed one-woman plays throughout the US and abroad. Her photographs, lithographs and installations have been exhibited at the National Museum of Peru, the Humboldt Museum in Havana, Cuba, the Catharine Clark Gallery in San Francisco, and the BCA Gallery in Austin. She is married to artist, singer/songwriter Terry Allen, starring in his radio and theater pieces and touring with Terry’s Panhandle Mystery Band.

The evening will take place in collaboration with the Terry and Jo Harvey Allen Center for Creative Studies.

More here: https://www.depts.ttu.edu/theatre-dance/productions/past-productions/2024-2025/jo-harvey-allen.php

11/15/2024

LUBBOCK, Texas– A Lubbock native was named a Texas Cultural Trust 2025 honoree for the 12th biennial Texas Medal of Arts Awards. Lubbock-born artist/songwriter Terry Allen is among those on t…

11/15/2024

Thank you, Lubbock, for joining us in the Allen Theatre for American Patchwork Quartet's Texas debut. We couldn't have asked for a more supporting audience for an evening of timeless, spiritual American folk songs.

Photos: Jill Fulton

11/14/2024

"American music is a process, not a product, and our music is ever reaching and more dynamic thanks to immigration."

Enjoy an evening with American Patchwork Quartet this Thursday 7:00PM on the Texas Tech campus. Tix ($20 GA; free for students) are still available at www.presidentialseries.ttu.edu.

🇺🇸 APQ - https://linktr.ee/apq🏆 Grammy-Winning Musicians🎵 Celebrating American Diversity👦🏻👧🏿👧🏽👦🏾👧🏼👦🏼👦🏽👧🏻👦🏿👧🏾👦🏻👧🏿👦🏼👦🏽👧🏻👦🏿R...

11/12/2024

Programs are in hand and that only means one thing: we're awfully close to showtime, Lubbock! Join us in the Allen Theatre for the freshly Grammy-nominated American Patchwork Quartet's Texas debut.

WHAT: American Patchwork Quartet
WHEN: November 14th (Thr), 2024; 7:00-8:30 PM
WHERE: Allen Theatre, Student Union Building, 1502 Akron on the Texas Tech campus
PARKING: Parking lots that are available for complimentary use are R03 (the Library lot), R11 (the Band lot), R07 (the Administration Building lot), and R13 (the Visitor lot).
TIX: $20 GA https://shorturl.at/bLBpA / free for TTU students with valid IDs
MORE: www.presidentialseries.ttu.edu

11/11/2024

Congratulations to American Patchwork Quartet on their first Grammy nomination from over the weekend. Come experience American Patchwork Quartet live on the Texas Texas Tech campus this Thursday 7:00 PM!! https://shorturl.at/bLBpA

🎶 Grammy Nomination 🌟

We are incredibly honored to announce that American Patchwork Quartet has been nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Folk Album. This recognition is not just a milestone for us but a celebration of the sounds and souls that brought this album to life.

This nomination reflects our journey from diverse musical backgrounds—jazz, global, roots music—coming together to explore and express the universal truths embedded within a distinctly American musical identity — “e pluribus unum” — out of many, one.

This accomplishment has been shaped by every person who has supported and inspired us along the way. This nomination also belongs to YOU, the extended musical family, from every corner of the globe, that challenges us to dig deeper, and push further. Here’s to you, the creators who build bridges with your art. Your music inspires and unites, reminding us of the power we have to foster unity and understanding. Your work makes America (and the world) a smaller, more connected place and is needed now more than ever. We are thrilled to share this moment with you and look forward to all that the future holds.

THANK YOU 🙏

🎤🎵🎸

11/08/2024

"They celebrate the immigrant experience by being a true patchwork and blend of musical styles." - says PLPS Lead Administrator Dori Bosnyak of American Patchwork Quartet. - The band comes together from all corners of the world to find a common ground in American Roots Music. APQ's fusion of jazz-folk-Hindustani classical vocals creates a unique sound that's truly best enjoyed live."

Enjoy American Patchwork Quartet on the Texas Tech campus Nov. 14th; tix are still available at https://shorturl.at/bLBpA / 806.770.2000 ($20; free for students).

Thank you to Classical 105.7 for having us!

The Front Row W/ Clint Barrick The Front Row is a weekday program devoted to coverage of the art and cultural community here on the South Plains. Host Clint Barrick unpacks the musical, artistic, theatrical, and cultural events offered to the public and interviews the movers and shakers who create,....

11/07/2024

Learn about the American Patchwork Quartet from our Lead Administrator Dori Bosnyak on KCBD NewsChannel 11's Noon Notebook. Thank you for hosting us, KCBD!
https://www.kcbd.com/video/2024/11/06/noon-notebook-american-patchwork-quartet/

WHAT: American Patchwork Quartet
WHEN: November 14th (Thr), 2024; 7:00-8:30 PM
WHERE: Allen Theatre, Student Union Building, 1502 Akron on the Texas Tech campus
PARKING: Parking lots that are available for complimentary use are R03 (the Library lot), R11 (the Band lot), R07 (the Administration Building lot), and R13 (the Visitor lot).
TIX: $20 GA https://shorturl.at/bLBpA / free for TTU students with valid IDs

11/04/2024

📣 Texas Tech Students 📣 Did you know that you are entitled to a free ticket for all of our shows? 🎟️ Bring your valid TTU student ID to the Student Union Building (1502 Akron Ave) east info desk - right at the ATM machines - and claim your free ticket anytime between now and the show! 🎟️ Join us next week for the first concert of our 18th season.

American Patchwork Quartet (APQ) is on a mission to reclaim the immigrant soul of American Roots Music. Comprised of four highly acclaimed artists, APQ showcases the dynamic diversity of contemporary culture by reimagining timeless songs from America's past. APQ, led by multi-Grammy award-winning guitarist/vocalist Clay Ross, binds timeless American folk songs with jazz sophistication, country twang, West African hypnotics, and East Asian ornamentation. APQ's sound is a masterful confluence of tradition and innovation, transcending culture, politics, and ideology.

WHAT: American Patchwork Quartet Folk /Jazz / Country / East Asian Fusion Celebrating the Human Experience
WHEN: November 14th (Thr), 2024; 7:00-8:30 PM (no intermission)
WHERE: Allen Theatre, Student Union Building, 1502 Akron on the Texas Tech campus
TIX: $20 GA at 8067702000; free for TTU students with valid IDs
MORE: www.presidentialseries.ttu.edu

11/01/2024

"I was born in South Carolina, and I came to NY over 20 years ago. Since then, I've had opportunities to collaborate with amazing artists from all over the world. I wanted to create an expression of my Southern roots music that reflected the diversity of my environment in New York. So I invited some of the best musicians I knew and here we are!" - explains APQ's creation Clay Ross. For more, listen to NPR Here & Now‘s conversation between Deepa Fernandes, and American Patchwork Quartet's lead vocalist Falu and vocalist/guitarist and founder Clay Ross of APQ.

The band crafts a musical collage that skillfully combines jazz refinement, country twang, West African rhythms, and East Asian influences. Here them live on the Texas Tech campus Nov. 14! https://shorturl.at/bLBpA

The group approaches folk classics with musicians that reflect the diversity of today's United States.

10/31/2024

🎸Meet Clay Ross, APQ's guitarist! 🎸

Clay Ross is a 2x Grammy Award-winning artist and the founder of the Billboard chart-topping band Ranky Tanky. A native of South Carolina, Ross moved to NYC in 2002 and has since collaborated with artists as diverse as Gregory Porter, Snarky Puppy, and Bobby McFerrin. Winning multiple grants through the U.S. State Department, he has toured worldwide as a Cultural Ambassador.
Catch Clay on the Allen Theatre stage with American Patchwork Quartet in a few quick weeks!

WHAT: American Patchwork Quartet Folk /Jazz / East Asian Fusion Celebrating the Human Experience
WHEN: November 14th (Thr), 2024; 7:00-8:30 PM (no intermission)
WHERE: Allen Theatre, Student Union Building, 1502 Akron on the Texas Tech campus
TIX: $20 GA https://shorturl.at/bLBpA / free for TTU students with valid IDs
MORE: www.presidentialseries.ttu.edu

10/31/2024

🎤Meet Falguni Shah "Falu", APQ's lead vocalist!🎤

Falu is a Grammy Award-winning artist known for her rare ability to seamlessly blend western styles with a formidable vocal talent shaped by years of rigorous study in the Jaipur classical musical tradition of her native Bombay, India. Falu moved to the United States in 2000 and her subsequent career has led to a series of high profile collaborations with Yo-Yo Ma, Wyclef Jean, Philip Glass, Ricky Martin, Blues Traveler, A. R. Rahman, and more. Falu has been named one of the 20 most influential global Indian women by the Economic Times of India and won the Women Icons of India award in Mumbai. She has also performed for President Obama in the White House.

WHAT: Folk /Jazz / East Asian Fusion Celebrating the Human Experience
WHEN: November 14th (Thr), 2024; 7:00-8:30 PM (no intermission)
WHERE: Allen Theatre, Student Union Building, 1502 Akron on the Texas Tech campus
TIX: $20 GA https://shorturl.at/bLBpA / free for TTU students with valid IDs
MORE: www.presidentialseries.ttu.edu

🕯️May the divine light of Diwali spread into your life peace, prosperity, happiness, and good health.🕯️

10/30/2024

🎼 Meet Moto Fukushima 🎼 6-string bassist for American Patchwork Quartet

Bassist and Grammy-nominated co-leader of House of Waters, Moto Fukushima blends Western classical, traditional Japanese, and South American music into unique jazz compositions. A Berklee alumnus, he has worked with artists like Mike Stern and Dave Weckl. House of Waters' albums have topped iTunes charts, and Moto has earned accolades like the Sports Emmy and ASCAP Plus Award. Currently based in NYC, his talents continue to resonate globally.
Catch Moto on the Texas Tech campus in a few short weeks!

WHAT: American Patchwork Quartet folk/jazz/east Asian fusion
WHEN: Nov. 14th (Thr) 7:00 PM
WHERE: Allen Theatre, Student Union Building 1502 Akron Ave on the Texas Tech campus
TIX: $20 GA https://shorturl.at/bLBpA & free for students with valid TTU IDs (bring your IDs to the SUB east info desk anytime between now and the show to claim your ticket!)
PARKING: Parking lots that are available for complimentary use are R03 (the Library lot), R11 (the Band lot), R07 (the Administration Building lot), and R13 (the Visitor lot).
MORE: www.presidentialseries.ttu.edu