Flathead Valley Live on Stage kicks off season with Kubecca

Flathead Valley Live on Stage will kick off its 2016-17 season on Friday, Oct. 21, at 7:30 p.m. with musical duo Kubecca. The concert will be held at the Flathead High School Performance Hall, 644 Fourth Ave. W., Kalispell.

This will be the first of five scheduled concerts this season. This is a series subscription concert; however, single tickets will also be offered for $30 for adults and seniors, $15 for students and $75 for families, available at the door or online.

Memberships, which include admission to every concert this season, are also still available. Full season ticket packages are available for $80 for adults, $70 for seniors (62+), $50 for students and $165 for families.

To purchase individual or season tickets, visit www.flatheadvalleyliveonstage.org, or call 406-752-0605 (Kalispell), 406-862-3641 (Whitefish), 406-837-1026 (Bigfork), 406-260-0056 (Lakeside) or 406-257-7689 (Columbia Falls).

Kubecca features two world-class musicians, acclaimed Broadway musical vocalist Rebecca Lowe and vibraphone virtuoso and multi-instrumentalist Kuba Kawnik. Now married, the duo performs across the United States, as well as internationally.

Kawnik, originally from Poland, began his musical career at the age of four. Although he is best known for his performance on vibraphone, he has also mastered some unusual and difficult instruments, including the theremin — a rare and complex early electronic musical instrument controlled without physical contact by the performer.

Lowe is best known for her roles in the musicals “Evita” and “Jekyll and Hyde.” Booked right out of college as the youngest actress to perform the role of Eva Peron in “Evita,” Lowe received standing ovations and critical acclaim throughout North America and Europe.

For more information on the duo, visit www.kubecca.com.

Flathead Valley Live on Stage’s season continues on Monday, Nov. 21, at 7:30 p.m. with Victoria Banks.

Banks’ list of accolades as an artist is long. Her self-produced, self-penned records “When You Can Fly” and “Never Be the Same” made her 2009’s most nominated female artist in Canadian Country Music, earned her the 2010 CCMA Female Artist of the Year award, and sent her on tour with Reba McEntire, Wynonna Judd, Lonestar, Randy Travis and Johnny Reid.

Now a staff songwriter at Nashville’s RareSpark Media Group, Banks’ catalogue of hits includes three cuts by Sara Evans, including “Can’t Stop Loving You” (a duet with Isaac Slade of The Fray), and the ASCAP and SOCAN-award-winning “Saints and Angels.” She penned Jessica Simpson’s Billboard record-breaking country debut “Come On Over,” “X-Factor” winner Tate Steven’s “Ordinary Angels,” One More Girl’s “When It Ain’t Raining,” Doc Walker’s “I’m Gonna Make You Love Me” and Johnny Reid’s “Dance With Me,” for which she was named 2010 CCMA Songwriter of the Year.

For more information, visit www.victoriabanks.net.

The New Big Sky Singers will perform on Sunday, Feb. 19, at 3 p.m.

The New Big Sky Singers were all originally members of the University of Montana Jubileers. Members are Rob Quist, a well-known local performer and songwriter; Don Collins, a former lead baritone for the Seattle Opera Company; Gary Funk, an associate professor of music at the University of Montana and the current musical director for the Choir and Jubileers; and Don MacDonald, an active member of the musical community in Anchorage, Alaska, and original leader of the musical trio Devlin, MacDonald, and I. The addition of celebrated bassist Pete Hand adds a new dimension to the sound.

This show will offer a rich mixture of folk, country, jazz, Celtic and original music.

Professional concert pianist and chamber musician Alina Kiryayeva will perform on Thursday, March 23, at 7:30 p.m. Kiryayeva is globally renowned for her command of the instrument, her unique interpretations and innovative programming.

Kiryayeva gave her first solo recital at age 8 and her solo debut with orchestra at 11. She is one of few classical pianists that completed both bachelor’s and master’s degrees at The Juilliard School of Music on full scholarship, and was also awarded the Fannie Gottlieb-Harkavi Scholarship and Susan Rose Piano Scholarship. Her awards include first prize winner of Italy’s Senigallia International Competition, and top prizes in the Grace Welsh International Competition and the California Young Artist International Competition. Kiryayeva has been honored by Ukrainian President Leonid Kravchuk with the State Award for Achievements in Arts.

In 2013, Kiryayeva released a solo piano album, “Sonatas,” which she recorded at New York City’s Klavierhaus, helmed by Grammy-nominated sound engineer Patrick Lo Re. It was featured on the 150th broadcast of “Women in Music” on CKWR Radio in Ontario, Canada.

For more information, visit www.alinakiryayeva.com.

Cherish the Ladies will close the Flathead Valley Live on Stage season on Wednesday, April 19, at 7:30 p.m.

Under the leadership of dynamic flute and whistle champion Joanie Madden, these ladies create an evening that includes a blend of virtuoso instrumental talents, vocals and step dancing. The group’s continued success as one of the top Celtic groups in the world is due to the ensemble’s ability to take the best of Irish traditional music and dance and present it in new and interesting ways.

The New York Times calls the music “passionate, tender, and rambunctious,” and the Washington Post praises their “astonishing array of virtuosity.” They’ve won recognition as the BBC’s Best Musical Group of the Year and named Top North American Celtic Group by both the Irish Music Awards and NPR’s Thistle and Shamrock. They’ve collaborated with such notable musicians as The Boston Pops, The Clancy Brothers, The Chieftains, Vince Gill, Nanci Griffith, Pete Seeger, Don Henley, Arlo Guthrie and Maura O’Connell as well as being the featured soloist with more than 250 nights of symphony orchestras.

For more information, visit www.cherishtheladies.com.

Flathead Valley Live on Stage has presented international entertainment to the local community since 1939. These programs are offered to the community at family-friendly prices through the generosity of patrons, sponsors and concert-goers.

For more information, visit www.facebook.com/fvliveonstage or www.flatheadvalleyliveonstage.org.