SEVERAL unusual collaborations highlight the Stanford Lively Arts performance series for 2009–10; the lineup was announced Monday. Jazz trumpet player Dave Douglas and filmmaker Bill Morrison will work with Stanford students and faculty on a yearlong multimedia production called Frankenstein: The First Hundred Years (April 24, 2010), which takes its cue from Mary Shelley's investigation of the possibilities and dangers of tinkering with nature.

The Stanford classical-music community will work together to present the Prokofiev Project, four days (Nov. 12–15) devoted to performances of and discussions about the Russian composer's life and works. Terence Blanchard and the Stanford Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Jindong Cai, will work together on A Tale of God's Will (A Requiem for Katrina) (March 6), derived from Blanchard's score for Spike Lee's searing documentary When the Levees Broke. Lively Arts will reach out to Cal Performances for a joint premiere of Laurie Anderson's Two-Sided Plays, an evening of 10 short dramatic duos, each one examining an issue or theme from two perspectives (May 5, 2010). In another cross-series production, Lively Arts, San Francisco Performances and UC-Davis are behind the Bay Area debut of the innovative Wheeldon ballet company, performing pieces from its repertory on Jan. 22.

The season commences, on Oct. 8, at Daniel Pearl World Music Day, a free musical tribute to the murdered Wall St. Journal reporter. Avant-garde jazzman Uri Caine starts the series in earnest with the West Coast premiere of The Othello Syndrome (Oct. 10), a new take on both Shakespeare and Verdi.

The rest of the first month sees medieval vocalists the Anonymous 4 perform music from 13th-century Spain (Oct. 21), the Emerson String Quartet devoting an evening to Haydn's The Seven Last Words on the Cross and Mendelssohn's String Quartet no. 6 (Oct. 28), and Cyro Baptista showcasing Brazilian percussion instruments (Oct. 30).

Stanford Lively Arts Season, 2009–10

October

Thu., Oct. 8, 8pm: Daniel Pearl World Music Day Concert at Memorial Church

Sat., Oct. 10, 8pm, Uri Caine, The Othello Syndrome (West Coast premiere), Dinkelspiel Auditorium

Wed., Oct. 21, 8pm, Anonymous 4, Secret Voices: The Sisters of Las Huelgas Music of Thirteenth-Century Spain, Memorial Church

Wed., Oct. 28, 8pm, Emerson String Quartet, Haydn: The Seven Last Words on the Cross, Mendelssohn: String Quartet no. 6 in F minor, op. 80, Dinkelspiel Auditorium,

Fri., Oct. 30, 8pm, Cyro Baptista, Banquet of the Spirits, Dinkelspiel Auditorium

November

Sun., Nov. 1 at 2:30pm, St. Lawrence String Quartet, works by Haydn, Dinkelspiel Auditorium

Sat., Nov. 7, 8pm, Bernstein Cabaret with Jamie Bernstein, Songs of Leonard Bernstein, Dinkelspiel Auditorium

Thu., Nov. 12, 7:30pm, the Prokofiev Project With Joseph Horowitz, a free presentation and discussion on the works of Prokofiev, Tresidder Memorial Union, Oak Room

Fri., Nov. 13, 8pm, the Prokofiev Project With Alexander Toradze, piano, and members of the Stanford Music Faculty performed selections by the Russian composer, Dinkelspiel Auditorium

Sat., Nov. 14, 8pm, the Prokofiev Project With Alexander Toradzo, piano, and the Stanford Symphony Orchestra in an evening of Prokofiev, Dinkelspiel Auditorium

Sun., Nov. 15 at 2:30pm, the Prokofiev Project With the Stanford Symphony Orchestra, puppetry by Robin Walsh, Family Matinee, Suite from Romeo & Juliet, Dinkelspiel Auditorium

Wed., Nov. 18, 8pm, Contrasts Quartet, Béla Bartók: Contrasts for clarinet, violin and piano, Maurice Ravel: Sonata for violin and cello, Aram Khachaturian: Trio for violin, cello and piano, Zoltán Kodály: Duo for violin and cello, Peter Schickele: Quartet for clarinet, violin, cello and piano, Dinkelspiel Auditorium

December

Sat., Dec. 5, 8pm, From the Top, with Christopher O'Riley, pianist, Dinkelspiel Auditorium

Thu., Dec. 10, 8pm, Chanticleer, A Chanticleer Christmas, Memorial Church

January

Sat., Jan. 9, 8pm, S Percussion, The Music of Steve Reich, Dinkelspiel Auditorium

Sat., Jan. 16, 8pm, Kronos Quartet with Wu Man, Yin Yu Tang: A Chinese Home, Memorial Auditorium

Fri., Jan. 22, 8pm, Morphoses/The Wheeldon Company, Memorial Auditorium

Wed., Jan. 27, 8pm, L.A. Theatre Works, The RFK Project, Dinkelspiel Auditorium

Sun., Jan. 31, 2:30pm, St. Lawrence String Quartet with Michael Tree, works by Mozart, Dvorák and Ezequiel Viñao, Dinkelspiel Auditorium

February

Wed., Feb. 17, 8pm, Misha Dichter, piano, works by Brahms, Beethoven, Schubert, Bartók and Liszt, Dinkelspiel Auditorium

Fri., Feb. 19, 8pm, Vusi Mahlasela, South African singer/songwriter, Dinkelspiel Auditorium

March

Wed., March 3, 8pm, Peter Serkin & Orion String Quartet, selections by Bach, Samuel Baron Kirchner, Beethoven and Brahms, Dinkelspiel Auditorium

Sat., March 6, 8pm, Terence Blanchard Quintet and Stanford Symphony Orchestra, A Tale of God's Will (A Requiem for Katrina), Memorial Auditorium

Wed., March 31, 8pm, National Jazz Museum in Harlem, Dinkelspiel Auditorium

April

Sun., April 18, 2:30pm, St. Lawrence String Quartet with Tony Manzo, bass, and Pedja Muzijevic, piano, works by Britten and Schubert, Dinkelspiel Auditorium

Wed., April 21, 8pm, Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet, Memorial Auditorium

Sat., April 24, 8pm, Dave Douglas & Keystone/Bill Morrison, Frankenstein—The First Hundred Years, Memorial Auditorium

Tue., April 27 at 8:00 pm, Hal Holbrook, Mark Twain Tonight!, Memorial Auditorium

May

Wed., May 5, 8pm, Laurie Anderson, Two-Sided Plays, Memorial Auditorium

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