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Block Museum

‘Actions for the Earth’

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Dissident Sisters: Bev Grant and Feminist Activism, 1968–72

Ongoing
Evanston
An exhibition drawn from the collections of The Block Museum and Northwestern Libraries During a pivotal period in American public life, Bev Grant participated in and photographed radical political m...
Visual ArtsNovember 20241730916000

Federico Solmi: The Great Farce

Ongoing
Evanston
Past and present, history and amusement, reality and spectacle are conflated and distorted in Federico Solmi’s monumental media work, The Great Farce (2017). This immersive video is made up of nine vi...
Visual ArtsNovember 20241730916000

Looking 101

Ongoing
Evanston
Class is in session. Learn to look through art. The average museum visitor spends fewer than 30 seconds looking at a work of art. It usually takes us far less time than that to draw conclusions about ...
Visual ArtsNovember 20241730916000

The Block Collects - Fall 2024

Ongoing
Evanston
Every year The Block brings new works of art into the collection to support Northwestern University’s teaching and learning mission. Each work becomes part of an expanding resource that students, facu...
Visual ArtsNovember 20241730916000
A line of Union Jack flags hangs over a sunny, grassy yard with a wooden fence.

Benjamin Britten's "Albert Herring"

Starting November 21, 2024
Evanston
Joachim Schamberger, director; Jason Gluck and Giang Vo, conductors; members of the Northwestern University Symphony Orchestra When none of the local girls in the village of Loxford are deemed virtuou...
MusicNovember 20241732239000

Woven Being: Art for Zhegagoynak/Chicagoland

Starting January 25, 2025
Evanston
Zhegagoynak, the place now known as Chicagoland, is a vital center for Indigenous art, past and present. Through the perspectives of four collaborating artists with connections to Zhegagoynak—Andrea C...
Visual ArtsJanuary 20251737828000

17th Annual Writers Fest

Starting April 21, 2025
Evanston
Writers and full schedule coming soon!
Literary ArtsApril 20251745267400
A drummer plays four timpanis while another plays a bass drum.

Percussion Ensemble

November 7, 2024
7:30 PM - 10:00 PM, Evanston
She-e Wu, director Christos Hatzis, Quantum Transitions from Modulations 2  Steve Reich, Music for Pieces of Wood  Jennifer Higdon, Splendid Wood  Andy Akiho, Pillar V from Seven Pillars  Michael Burr...
MusicNovember 20241731029400
Jazzmeia looks contemplatively into the camera, with an elaborate and colorful flower arrangement on her head.

Jazzmeia Horn Quartet

November 8, 2024
7:30 PM - 10:00 PM, Evanston
Jazzmeia Horn, vocals; Gregory Artry, drums; Christian Dillingham, bass; Richard Johnson, piano Hailed as “the next big carrier of straight-ahead jazz’s vocal tradition” by the New York Times, Jazzmei...
MusicNovember 20241731115800
A conductor leads a large choir in a semicircle, accompanied by a small group of brass musicians.

University Chorale: Just a passing phase...

November 9, 2024
7:30 PM - 10:00 PM, Evanston
 A. J. Keller and Ari Carillo, conductors; Chuck Foster, collaborative pianist Join University Chorale for a contemplation (and celebration) of the transient nature of the human condition with a selec...
MusicNovember 20241731202200
A circle of singers perform around a pianist.

Northwestern Camerata: Welcome Joy and Welcome Sorrow

November 10, 2024
3:00 PM - 5:30 PM, Evanston
Tim Lambert, conductor Join the Northwestern Camerata as they explore the nuanced emotions of joy and sorrow in the human experience through music. This concert features a diverse range of repertoire...
MusicNovember 20241731272400
Musicians stand onstage performing behind a conductor, including violins, a double bass, a cello, and a harpsichord.

Baroque Music Ensemble

November 10, 2024
7:30 PM - 10:00 PM, Evanston
Stephen Alltop, conductor  Talented members of the Baroque Music Ensemble are featured in a variety of Baroque concertos, including J. S. Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 6 and C. P. E. Bach’s Harpsich...
MusicNovember 20241731288600
Duke Ellington sits at a piano, grinning broadly.

Northwestern University Jazz Ensemble: Beyond Category—The Music of Duke Ellington

November 12, 2024
7:30 PM - 10:00 PM, Evanston
Darius Hampton, conductor  Pianist, bandleader, and composer Duke Ellington was one of the most significant figures in the development of jazz. Ellington wrote thousands of songs and led the iconic ba...
MusicNovember 20241731461400

Antigone

November 15, 2024
7:30 PM - 8:45 PM, Evanston
 Sophocles’ Antigone, translated by poet and MacArthur Fellow Anne Carson, remains unequaled in its ability to combine all the fundamental contradictions of the human condition into a single, universa...
Theatre and DanceNovember 20241731720600
Musicians stand playing on a platform, including two cellists, two violinist, and a flautist.

Contemporary Music Ensemble

November 15, 2024
7:30 PM - 10:00 PM, Evanston
Ben Bolter, conductor  A new student work  Shawn Okpebholo, CryptOlogie  Philippe Hurel, Pour l’image  Kaija Saariaho, Io 
MusicNovember 20241731720600

Antigone

November 16, 2024
7:30 PM - 8:45 PM, Evanston
 Sophocles’ Antigone, translated by poet and MacArthur Fellow Anne Carson, remains unequaled in its ability to combine all the fundamental contradictions of the human condition into a single, universa...
Theatre and DanceNovember 20241731807000
A portrait of the Kupinski Duo performing together

Kupinski Guitar Duo

November 16, 2024
7:30 PM - 9:30 PM, Evanston
Part of the Segovia Classical Guitar Series "elegance of sound (...) and maturity of interpretation.” —Twoja Muza Magazine The Kupinski Guitar Duo, comprised of Ewa Jablczynska and Dariusz Kupinski, h...
MusicNovember 20241731807000

Antigone

November 17, 2024
2:00 PM - 3:15 PM, Evanston
 Sophocles’ Antigone, translated by poet and MacArthur Fellow Anne Carson, remains unequaled in its ability to combine all the fundamental contradictions of the human condition into a single, universa...
Theatre and DanceNovember 20241731873600
A conductor leads woodwinds players.

Concert Band

November 17, 2024
3:00 PM - 5:30 PM, Evanston
Daniel J. Farris, conductor  Talented students from across the Northwestern campus present a concert of band standards, including works by Frank Ticheli, Hugh Stuart, James Curnow, and Ralph Vaughan W...
MusicNovember 20241731877200
Two rows of singers perform on a wooden stage, led by a conductor and a pianist.

University Singers: To Sow With Tears

November 17, 2024
6:00 PM - 8:00 PM, Evanston
 A. J. Keller and Ian Morris, conductors; Chuck Foster, collaborative pianist  University Singers presents a cathartic program of works from a variety of styles and musical eras. 
MusicNovember 20241731888000
Four musicians play jazz on a stage, playing piano, saxophone, trumpet, and double bass.

Jazz Small Ensembles: New Beginnings—Student Originals

November 20, 2024
7:30 PM - 10:00 PM, Evanston
Joe Clark and Darius Hampton, conductors  Students in the Joe Clark and Darius Hampton ensembles showcase their creativity with a program of original compositions and new arrangements. 
MusicNovember 20241732152600
Nancy Yunhwa Rao

Inside Chinese Theater: Archive of the Invisible in American Music

November 21, 2024
4:00 PM - 5:30 PM, Evanston
Part of the Music Studies Distinguished Speaker Series  Presented by Professor Nancy Yunhwa Rao, Head of Music Theory, Rutgers University  Nancy Yunhwa Rao has produced award-winning research on a ran...
MusicNovember 20241732226400

Antigone

November 21, 2024
7:30 PM - 8:45 PM, Evanston
 Sophocles’ Antigone, translated by poet and MacArthur Fellow Anne Carson, remains unequaled in its ability to combine all the fundamental contradictions of the human condition into a single, universa...
Theatre and DanceNovember 20241732239000

Clarinet Choir

November 22, 2024
5:30 PM - 7:00 PM, Evanston
Bienen School clarinetists present a program featuring music by Saint-Saëns and Tchaikovsky.  Camille Saint-Saëns (arr. Kenneth Abeling), Danse macabre  Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Allegro molto vivace ...
MusicNovember 20241732318200

Antigone

November 22, 2024
7:30 PM - 8:45 PM, Evanston
 Sophocles’ Antigone, translated by poet and MacArthur Fellow Anne Carson, remains unequaled in its ability to combine all the fundamental contradictions of the human condition into a single, universa...
Theatre and DanceNovember 20241732325400

MFA Collaboration: Sunday on the Rocks

November 22, 2024
7:30 PM - 9:45 PM, Evanston
On a beautiful Sunday morning in mid-October, three housemates decide to have scotch for breakfast. As they drink and joke, Elly, Jen, and Gayle try to figure out what it means to be a woman in the wo...
Theatre and DanceNovember 20241732325400
A row of brass musicians and percussionists play on a wooden stage.

Symphonic Wind Ensemble: Courage

November 22, 2024
7:30 PM - 10:00 PM, Evanston
Robert Taylor, conductor  This concert explores themes of wholeheartedness, resilience, and bravery. Two epic works—Catherine Likhuta’s Bury and Rise and Karel Husa’s Music for Prague 1968—anchor the ...
MusicNovember 20241732325400

MFA Collaboration: Sunday on the Rocks

November 23, 2024
2:00 PM - 4:15 PM, Evanston
On a beautiful Sunday morning in mid-October, three housemates decide to have scotch for breakfast. As they drink and joke, Elly, Jen, and Gayle try to figure out what it means to be a woman in the wo...
Theatre and DanceNovember 20241732392000

Antigone

November 23, 2024
7:30 PM - 8:45 PM, Evanston
 Sophocles’ Antigone, translated by poet and MacArthur Fellow Anne Carson, remains unequaled in its ability to combine all the fundamental contradictions of the human condition into a single, universa...
Theatre and DanceNovember 20241732411800
Four classical guitarists play seated.

Guitar Ensemble

November 23, 2024
7:30 PM - 10:00 PM, Evanston
 Anne Waller, director Music for guitar soloists, small ensembles, and full ensemble. 
MusicNovember 20241732411800

MFA Collaboration: Sunday on the Rocks

November 23, 2024
7:30 PM - 9:45 PM, Evanston
On a beautiful Sunday morning in mid-October, three housemates decide to have scotch for breakfast. As they drink and joke, Elly, Jen, and Gayle try to figure out what it means to be a woman in the wo...
Theatre and DanceNovember 20241732411800

Antigone

November 24, 2024
2:00 PM - 3:15 PM, Evanston
 Sophocles’ Antigone, translated by poet and MacArthur Fellow Anne Carson, remains unequaled in its ability to combine all the fundamental contradictions of the human condition into a single, universa...
Theatre and DanceNovember 20241732478400

MFA Collaboration: Sunday on the Rocks

November 24, 2024
2:00 PM - 4:15 PM, Evanston
On a beautiful Sunday morning in mid-October, three housemates decide to have scotch for breakfast. As they drink and joke, Elly, Jen, and Gayle try to figure out what it means to be a woman in the wo...
Theatre and DanceNovember 20241732478400
The music academy faculty stands and sits, smiling for the camera in the concert hall.

Music Academy Faculty Recital

November 24, 2024
2:00 PM - 4:00 PM, Evanston
Join the faculty of the Music Academy for a free recital to raise awareness and support for the Academy. With a Northwestern history that dates back to the late 1800s, the Bienen School’s community mu...
MusicNovember 20241732478400
A densely-packed stage of musicians, including cellos, violins, and violas.

Philharmonia

November 24, 2024
3:00 PM - 5:30 PM, Evanston
Diego Hernandez, conductor  Gustav Holst, Mars, the Bringer of War from The Planets  Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Romeo and Juliet Overture-Fantasy  Georges Bizet, Selections from Carmen, Suites 1 and 2 
MusicNovember 20241732482000
A saxophone lit with red and blue lighting.

Heritage/Evolution: Northwestern

November 24, 2024
7:30 PM - 10:00 PM, Evanston
In a first-ever collaboration, the Northwestern University saxophone studio and jazz program come together to present a concert of music by jazz luminaries past and present, including John Coltrane, M...
MusicNovember 20241732498200

Trombone Choir

November 24, 2024
7:30 PM - 9:00 PM, Evanston
Reed Capshaw, director  A variety of music written and arranged for trombones. 
MusicNovember 20241732498200
Four musicians play jazz onstage, including upright bass, trombone, drums, piano, and saxophone.

Jazz Small Ensembles: New Beginnings—Student Originals

November 25, 2024
7:30 PM - 10:00 PM, Evanston
 Derrick Gardner and Kevin Fort, conductors Enjoy original compositions and new arrangements by students in the Derrick Gardner and Kevin Fort ensembles. 
MusicNovember 20241732584600
An overhead angle of a musician playing a marimba with two mallets in each hand.

Marimba Concert

November 25, 2024
7:30 PM - 10:00 PM, Evanston
 She-e Wu, director An evening of music spotlighting the distinctive sonic palette of the marimba. 
MusicNovember 20241732584600
Rows of violinists and violists play onstage.

Northwestern University Chamber Orchestra

December 5, 2024
7:30 PM - 10:00 PM, Evanston
Harvey Felder, conductor George Walker, Tangents for Chamber Orchestra Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Prayer from Suite No. 4 in G Major, Op. 61 (“Mozartiana”)  W. A. Mozart, Symphony No. 38 in D Major, K....
MusicDecember 20241733448600
Rows of brass players play onstage as a conductor in a purple robe conducts.

Northwestern University Jazz Orchestra: The Music of Tom Garling and Joe Clark

December 5, 2024
7:30 PM - 10:00 PM, Evanston
Derrick Gardner, conductor The Northwestern University Jazz Orchestra’s second fall-quarter performance highlights music by two Bienen School faculty members. Trombonist Tom Garling began his career t...
MusicDecember 20241733448600
Two rows of singers stand in a semicircle, led by a conductor on a tall stage with floor to ceiling windows behind them.

Bienen Contemporary/Early Vocal Ensemble: Scattering Dark and Light

December 6, 2024
7:30 PM - 10:00 PM, Evanston
 Andrew Megill, conductor Join the singers of BCE as they explore the choral works of Samuel Barber, who has been praised as America’s most profound composer of vocal music. The program will include h...
MusicDecember 20241733535000
A band of woodwinds, brass, and percussionists play as a conductor leads.

Symphonic Band

December 6, 2024
7:30 PM - 10:00 PM, Evanston
 Shawn Vondran, conductor The Symphonic Band’s second fall-quarter concert opens with Ralph Vaughan Williams’s monumental Toccata Marziale, which turned 100 this year. Joel Love’s Musica Dei, donum op...
MusicDecember 20241733535000
An orchestra plays onstage, including lines of double basses, violinists, and woodwinds players.

Northwestern University Symphony Orchestra

December 7, 2024
7:30 PM - 10:00 PM, Evanston
 Donald Schleicher, conductor; Natalia Warthen, saxophone (Northwestern Concerto Competition winner) Carl Maria von Weber, Oberon Overture  Paul Creston, Concerto for Alto Saxophone, Op. 26  Sergei Pr...
MusicDecember 20241733621400
A choir sings on a church stage, led by a conductor and in front of a large blue stained glass window.

A Festival of Lessons and Carols

December 8, 2024
10:30 AM - 12:30 PM, Evanston
 Stephen Alltop, conductor; Alice Millar Chapel Choir; Philharmonia; Millar Brass Ensemble  A beloved holiday tradition continues, where readings and musical gems combine to portray the Christmas mira...
MusicDecember 20241733675400
Jeffrey Siegel seated at a grand piano in front of an audience on the Pick-Staiger Concert Hall stage

A Few of Our Favorite Things

December 13, 2024
7:30 PM - 9:30 PM, Evanston
Part of Keyboard Conversations with Jeffrey Siegel Jeffrey Siegel, piano Beloved music of Chopin, Rachmaninoff, and Debussy.
MusicDecember 20241734139800
The members of the Dover Quartet walk through a train station, smiling and carrying their instrument cases

Dover Quartet

January 10, 2025
7:30 PM - 9:30 PM, Evanston
Bienen School of Music Quartet-in-Residence Part of the Winter Chamber Music Festival Joel Link and Bryan Lee, violin; Julianne Lee, viola; Camden Shaw, cello; Jerod Tate, guest composer Praised by Ch...
MusicJanuary 20251736559000
The members of Third Coast percussion stand in front of a green background with various percussion instruments; Jessie Montgomery stands in front of a window

Third Coast Percussion with Jessie Montgomery

January 11, 2025
7:30 PM - 9:30 PM, Evanston
Part of the Winter Chamber Music Festival Jessie Montgomery, violin; David Skidmore, Robert Dillon, Peter Martin, Sean Connors, and She-e Wu, percussion Grammy Award-winning composer and violinist Jes...
MusicJanuary 20251736645400
The members of Trio Valtorna stand holding their instruments and smiling in front of a window

Trio Valtorna

January 12, 2025
3:00 PM - 5:00 PM, Evanston
Part of the Winter Chamber Music Festival Ida Kavafian, violin; David Jolley, horn; Gilles Vonsattel, piano The Danbury News-Times praises Trio Valtorna’s balance of “gentleness and power.” Bringing t...
MusicJanuary 20251736715600
The members of the Vertavo String Quartet sit on a bench, holding their instruments, under a staircase in front of a green tile wall

Vertavo String Quartet

January 17, 2025
7:30 PM - 9:30 PM, Evanston
Part of the Winter Chamber Music Festival Øyvor Volle and Annabelle Meare, violin; Berit Cardas, viola; Bjørg Lewis, cello “With phenomenal expressive flexibility, the Vertavo moved from warmest sensu...
MusicJanuary 20251737163800
The members of the Viano Quartet stand, holding their instruments, in a spotlight against a white wall

Viano Quartet

January 19, 2025
3:00 PM - 5:00 PM, Evanston
Part of the Winter Chamber Music Festival Lucy Wang and Hao Zhou, violin; Aiden Kane, viola; Tate Zawadiuk, cello In a recent review of the Viano Quartet, the Boston Globe proclaims, “…one stopped lis...
MusicJanuary 20251737320400
The members of the Dudok Quartet Amsterdam sit playing their instruments against a white backdrop

Dudok Quartet Amsterdam

January 24, 2025
7:30 PM - 9:30 PM, Evanston
Part of the Winter Chamber Music Festival Judith van Driel and Marleen Wester, violin; Marie-Louise de Jong, viola; David Faber, cello ChicagoClassicalReview.com praises the Dudok Quartet Amsterdam’s ...
MusicJanuary 20251737768600
A picture of father-and-son duo Jeffrey and Gabriel Kahane, with Jeffrey's photo on the left and Gabriel's on the right

Jeffrey and Gabriel Kahane Duo

January 25, 2025
7:30 PM - 9:30 PM, Evanston
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...
MusicJanuary 20251737855000
The members of the Miró Quartet stand, holding their instruments, in front of a fountain outside a brick building

Miró Quartet

January 26, 2025
3:00 PM - 5:00 PM, Evanston
Part of the Winter Chamber Music Festival Daniel Ching and William Fedkenheuer, violin; John Largess, viola; Joshua Gindele, cello Hailed for their “explosive vigor and technical finesse” by the New Y...
MusicJanuary 20251737925200
A portrait of Louis Lortie wearing a navy blue sweater

Louis Lortie, piano

January 31, 2025
7:30 PM - 9:30 PM, Evanston
Part of the Skyline Piano Artist Series “immaculate pianism and artistry” —The Guardian Pianist Louis Lortie appears in the world’s most prestigious concert halls and festivals, including London’s Wig...
MusicJanuary 20251738373400

Claudia Rankine

February 6, 2025
5:00 PM - 6:00 PM, Evanston
The Litowitz MFA+MA Graduate Program in Creative Writing and English is proud to present a reading by Claudia Rankine. Claudia Rankine is the author of five books of poetry, including Citizen: An Amer...
Literary ArtsFebruary 20251738882800
A portrait of Meng Su with her guitar in an empty theater

Meng Su, guitar

February 8, 2025
7:30 PM - 9:30 PM, Evanston
Part of the Segovia Classical Guitar Series “Pure musical alchemy… the audience jumped to its feet in ovation.” —Courier & Press Multifaceted guitarist Meng Su captivates audiences around the world wi...
MusicFebruary 20251739064600
A portrait of Tom Borrow smiling and sitting next to a window

Tom Borrow, piano

February 14, 2025
7:30 PM - 9:30 PM, Evanston
Part of the Skyline Piano Artist Series “In a world teeming with gifted young pianists, Borrow stands out with a touch that’s both light and powerful, and supremely incandescent” —Cleveland Plain Deal...
MusicFebruary 20251739583000
Billy Childs leans over an open piano.

Billy Childs Quartet

February 15, 2025
7:30 PM - 10:00 PM, Evanston
Downbeat praises Billy Childs for “seeing colors and vignettes where others might just hear notes,” and the pianist and composer remains one of the most prolific and acclaimed artists active today. Hi...
MusicFebruary 20251739669400
Jeffrey Siegel, seated at a grand piano, speaks to the audience in Pick-Staiger Concert Hall

Schubert: The Sorrowful and the Sublime

February 21, 2025
7:30 PM - 9:30 PM, Evanston
Part of Keyboard Conversations with Jeffrey Siegel Jeffrey Siegel, piano Beloved Impromptus and the joyous Sonata in A Major, D. 664.
MusicFebruary 20251740187800
A portrait of Shin-ichi Fukuda in navy blue, holding his guitar

Shin-ichi Fukuda, guitar

March 14, 2025
7:30 PM - 9:30 PM, Evanston
Part of the Segovia Classical Guitar Series “Sensuously beautiful tone…lyrical and sublime” –San Francisco Classical Voice Shin-ichi Fukuda began playing the classical guitar at the age of eleven unde...
MusicMarch 20251741998600
A close-up of Christopher Guzman, smiling and wearing glasses

Christopher Guzman, piano

April 4, 2025
7:30 PM - 9:30 PM, Evanston
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...
MusicApril 20251743813000

The Moore Lecture Series presents John Keene

April 17, 2025
5:00 PM - 6:00 PM, Evanston
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...
Literary ArtsApril 20251744927200
A portrait of Michelle Cann in a floral dress

Michelle Cann, piano

May 2, 2025
7:30 PM - 9:30 PM, Evanston
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...
MusicMay 20251746232200
Aniello Desiderio smiling with his guitar

Aniello Desiderio, guitar

May 10, 2025
7:30 PM - 9:30 PM, Evanston
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 ...
MusicMay 20251746923400
Jeffrey Siegel stands onstage in front of a grand piano, speaking to the audience in Pick-Staiger Concert Hall

Humor in Music

May 16, 2025
7:30 PM - 9:30 PM, Evanston
Part of Keyboard Conversations with Jeffrey Siegel Jeffrey Siegel, piano Witty and whimsical selections by Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Chopin, and Stravinsky.
MusicMay 20251747441800