Duke Performances is set to launch the 2012-13 season with a schedule featuring more than 50 world-class artists from Romania, India, North Carolina, and beyond.

This season’s artists make bold claims about the past, present, and future of performance, reaching into both the pragmatic, rugged vernacular of folk traditions and the crisp, refined elegance of high art concert halls.

Single tickets will go on sale at 11 a.m. Tuesday, July 17, and $10 Duke student tickets will go on sale at 11 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 21.

Among the highlights of the season are three contemporary gospel performers in concert in two of Durham’s best venues.

John P. Kee and The New Life Community Choir start things off Sept. 14 and 15 at the Hayti Heritage Center. The Mighty Clouds of Joy continue this exploration of gospel on Nov. 16 and 17, also at the Hayti Heritage Center. The series closes with the great Richard Smallwood and Vision on March 30 at the Carolina Theatre.

The season also features a series of five jazz concerts in downtown Durham nightclubs, including The Bad Plus, Sept. 21 and 22 at Motorco Music Hall; Ambrose Akinmusire Quintet, Oct. 12 and 13 at Casbah Durham; Fred Hersch Trio, Jan. 25 and 26 at Casbah Durham; Tarbaby, with Orrin Evens, Nasheet Waits, Eric Revis, and Oliver Lake, March 1 and 2 at Casbah Durham; and Gretchen Parlato Quartet, April 12 and 13 at Motorco Music Hall.

Dance and theater also are highlighted with comedian Reggie Watts Oct. 26; a long-term residency by Meredith Monk and The House Foundation in October and November; acclaimed tap-dancer Savion Glover on Jan. 23; monologist Mike Daisey Jan. 30 through Feb. 3; Diavolo Dance Theater Feb. 8 and 9; and cabaret artists Meow Meow Feb. 12 through 14.

The season also continues Duke Performances’ tradition of offering the classical music. This year, the Essential Classics series offers three concerts by world-class ensembles: Tenebrae Choir, New Century Chamber Orchestra, and China National Symphony Orchestra.

The popular Piano Recital Series expands to include performances by a solo guitarist, Eliot Fisk, and a solo violinist, Leila Josefowicz, as well as piano recitals by Rafal Blechacz, Piotr Anderszewski, Joyce Yang, and Angela Hewitt.

The Chamber Arts Society series returns with Schumann Trio, Emerson String Quartet, Belcea Quartet, JACK Quartet with Steven Mackey, St. Lawrence String Quartet with Stephen Prutsman, Fauré Quartett, Takács Quartet, and Alexander String Quartet.

Tickets and information are available at dukeperformances.org, by phone at 919-684-4444.