Visual Arts

It takes a long time to stay here: Paintings by Jordan Ann Craig is an exhibition running January 25 to April 13, 2025.  For related exhibition events, click here. Artist Jordan Ann Craig’s (Northern ...

Woven Being: Art for Zhegagoynak/Chicagoland is an exhibition running January 25 to July 13, 2025.  For related exhibition events, click here. Zhegagoynak, the place now known as Chicagoland, is a vit...

Part of the Skyline Piano Artist Series “coiled...explosive” —New York Times Pianist Christopher Guzman enjoys an international performing career that showcases a broad range of styles from the Baroqu...

Coordinator of keyboard skills and non-major piano at the Bienen School, Karen Kan-Walsh (‘05 DMus) has given performances in Russia and China, as well as throughout the Chicago and Ann Arbor areas. A...

Featuring Northwestern string students nominated by the Bienen School string faculty, this annual competition was established by the late violin professor Samuel Thaviu and his wife, Elinor Thaviu. Th...

Samantha Ege, guest speaker and piano  A concert pianist and a leading scholar and interpreter of the music of Florence Price, Samantha Ege is the author of a new book, South Side Impresarios: How Rac...

Hailed as a “multitasking virtuoso” by The New Yorker’s Alex Ross, composer and violinist Modney is one of today’s foremost interpreters of contemporary music. His 2024 recording Ascending Primes feat...

Darius Hampton and Joe Clark, conductors  The Darius Hampton ensemble shares all-new jazz arrangements of Broadway standards, and the Joe Clark ensemble performs music from 1945, when Allied countries...

The Moore Lecture Series is proud to present acclaimed author and poet John Keene. His 2022 poetry collection, Punks: New and Selected Poems, received the National Book Award for Poetry. He is the aut...

Derrick Gardner and Kevin Fort, conductors  Pianist and composer Robert Henry Timmons is remembered for his incorporation of gospel and funky blues elements into his solos and compositions. During his...

Part of the Skyline Piano Artist Series Pianist, conductor, and scholar Jeffrey Kahane is in the fifth decade of an expansive and versatile career which has included concertos with the New York Philha...

Derrick Gardner, conductor; Reggie Thomas, keyboards  Originally created as a cheaper alternative to church pipe organs, the Hammond organ was quickly adopted by jazz musicians including Duke Ellingto...

Paul Feller-Simmons, presenter; Cynthia Hu, soprano; Erik DeMario, tenor; Lucy Kim and Shijie Li, violin; James Kang, viola; Stephen Alltop, harpsichord; Kaylee Feller-Simmons, executive director  Can...

Harvey Felder, conductor; Giang Vo, graduate assistant conductor; Seho Young, piano (Northwestern Concerto Competition winner)  The orchestra's performance opens with Marjorie Merryman's Windhover Fan...

Part of NUNC! 6: the Northwestern University New-Music Conference Robert Taylor, conductor; Sheldon Frazier, doctoral assistant conductor; Andrew Nogal, oboe; George Lewis, guest composer The Symphon...

Part of NUNC! 6: the Northwestern University New-Music Conference Selections from the NUNC! 6 Call for Presentations. 

Part of NUNC! 6: the Northwestern University New-Music Conference The Bienen School saxophone studio performs selected works from the NUNC! 6 Call for Scores.  Yotam Haber, Resistance  Joanne Na, Juic...

Part of NUNC! 6: the Northwestern University New-Music Conference Amsterdam-based composer, vocalist, and producer Bec Plexus discusses her work. Plexus has been described as “a soldier at the frontie...

Part of NUNC! 6: the Northwestern University New-Music Conference Assistant professor of music history at the University of Louisville, Kirsten Speyer Carithers (PhD ‘17) specializes in music of the 2...

Part of NUNC! 6: the Northwestern University New-Music Conference Alan Pierson and Ben Bolter, conductors; Bec Plexus, International Contemporary Ensemble members, and Bienen jazz studies students, sp...

Part of NUNC! 6: the Northwestern University New-Music Conference Composer, musicologist, and trombonist George Lewis is the Edwin H. Case Professor of American Music and Area Chair in Composition at ...

Part of NUNC! 6: the Northwestern University New-Music Conference Zachary Good, clarinet; Ben Roidl-Ward, bassoon  The duo performs their work Arb. 

Part of NUNC! 6: the Northwestern University New-Music Conference A concert featuring selected guests from the NUNC! 6 Call for Performers.  Varo String Quartet   Ha-Yang Kim, Threadsuns, Mvmt. I  Sas...

Part of NUNC! 6: the Northwestern University New-Music Conference A concert featuring selected guests from the NUNC! 6 Call for Electronics.  Heroic Dose, Cybersyn  Ipek Eginli, Improvisation in Quad ...

Part of NUNC! 6: the Northwestern University New-Music Conference George Lewis, artistic director Now in its third decade, the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE) is a collective of musicians, d...

With a reputation for producing some of the world’s finest young instrumentalists and vocalists, the Bienen School of Music showcases top students in the final rounds of this year’s solo competition. 

Part of the Tichio-Finnie Vocal Master Class Series Praised for her “sizeable voice that captured all of the vacillating emotions” (New York Times), soprano Karen Slack is a sought-after performer, co...

Part of the Skyline Piano Artist Series “a pianist of sterling artistry” —Gramophone Lauded by audiences and critics alike, Michelle Cann has become one of the most sought-after pianists of her genera...

Featuring Northwestern piano students nominated by the Bienen School piano faculty, this annual competition was established by the late violin professor Samuel Thaviu and his wife, Elinor Thaviu, to h...

Andrew Megill, conductor; Cynthia Hu, soprano; Sumner Thompson, tenor; David Newman, baritone; Bienen Contemporary/Early Vocal Ensemble, University Chorale, University Singers, Northwestern Camerata, ...

Andrew Megill, conductor; Cynthia Hu, soprano; Sumner Thompson, tenor; David Newman, baritone; Bienen Contemporary/Early Vocal Ensemble, University Chorale, University Singers, Northwestern Camerata, ...

Bienen horn professor emerita Gail Williams (‘76 MMus) gives a farewell performance including her current students, a horn choir, and alumni performers. Professor of horn at the Bienen School beginnin...

Gail Williams, director Music written and arranged for brass, from small to large ensembles.

Darius Hampton, conductor; Ethan Philion, bass Widely regarded as one of history’s greatest jazz artists, bassist, pianist, composer, and bandleader Charles Mingus was a pioneer in the post-bop genre....

Joachim Schamberger, moderator  The Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences’ Litowitz MFA+MA Program and the Bienen School of Music present author Sandra Cisneros in conversation with composer Derek Ber...

The Litowitz MFA+MA Program and the Bienen School of Music are proud to present Sandra Cisneros, in conversation with Derek Bermel. The program will include a reading, a discussion with Derek Bermel, ...

Shawn D. Vondran, conductor  The Symphonic Band’s first spring performance includes Vincent Persichetti’s high-energy Symphony No. 6; unique in its daring harmonies and use of pitched and unpitched pe...

Part of the Segovia Classical Guitar Series Following his first public performance at the age of eight, Aniello Desiderio quickly established himself as a concert artist with a distinct voice. He has ...

She-e Wu, director An afternoon of eclectic rhythms. 

Part of Keyboard Conversations with Jeffrey Siegel Jeffrey Siegel, piano Witty and whimsical selections by Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Chopin, and Stravinsky.

Daniel J. Farris, conductor Featuring works celebrated on Broadway and in the cinema, the program includes selections by Michael Giacchino, Leonard Bernstein, and more. 

Anne Waller, director  Music for guitar soloists, small ensembles, and full ensemble. 

Stephen Alltop, conductor; Alice Millar Chapel Choir and soloists; Baroque Music Ensemble  The Alice Millar Chapel Choir and Baroque Music Ensemble join forces for a joyful concert of music for solo i...

Derrick Gardner and Kevin Fort, conductors Enjoy original compositions and new arrangements by students in the Derrick Gardner and Kevin Fort ensembles.

She-e Wu, director  Percussion students present a variety of repertoire. 

Darius Hampton and Joe Clark, conductors  Enjoy original compositions and new arrangements by students in ensembles led by Darius Hampton and Joe Clark. 

Robert Taylor, conductor; Sarah Heimberg, trumpet; Julian Velasco, alto saxophone The ensembles join forces for a program featuring (mostly) film music by John Williams. (Bring your own lightsaber!) J...

Alan Pierson, Ben Bolter, and Yelisey Zelman, conductors; Donnacha Dennehy, guest composer Composer Donnacha Dennehy visits the Bienen School for a performance of his twelve-movement work Land of Wint...

Joachim Schamberger, director; Stephen Alltop, conductor Poppea, the mistress of Emperor Nerone, is determined to ascend the throne—whatever the costs. In a world where gods influence mortal affairs, ...

Harvey Felder, conductor; Giang Vo, graduate assistant conductor  Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, Overture to L’amant anonyme Joan Tower, Made in America  Ludwig van Beethoven, Symphony ...

Derrick Gardner, conductor; Vincent Gardner, trombone From Dixieland to swing to bebop and beyond, the trombone has played a critical role throughout the history of jazz. The Jazz Orchestra explores t...

Joachim Schamberger, director; Stephen Alltop, conductor Poppea, the mistress of Emperor Nerone, is determined to ascend the throne—whatever the costs. In a world where gods influence mortal affairs, ...

Joachim Schamberger, director; Stephen Alltop, conductor Poppea, the mistress of Emperor Nerone, is determined to ascend the throne—whatever the costs. In a world where gods influence mortal affairs, ...

Donald Schleicher, conductor; Vincent Gardner and Reed Capshaw, trombone Florence Price, Dances in the Canebrakes Vincent Gardner, The Slide Shows Anton Bruckner, Symphony No. 4 in E-flat Major (“Rom...

Joachim Schamberger, director; Stephen Alltop, conductor Poppea, the mistress of Emperor Nerone, is determined to ascend the throne—whatever the costs. In a world where gods influence mortal affairs, ...

Diego Hernandez, graduate conductor; Giang Vo, graduate assistant conductor  Camille Saint-Saëns, Danse Bacchanale from Samson et Dalila  Samuel Barber, Adagio for Strings  Alexander Borodin, Symphony...

With guest scholar Richard Sparks  Andrew Megill, A. J. Keller, and Tim Lambert, conductors; Bienen Contemporary/Early Vocal Ensemble, University Chorale, University Singers, and Northwestern Camerata...