ARTS CIRCLE

A century and a half ago, Northwestern Trustees voted to admit young women to the University “upon the same terms and conditions as young men.” But that decision on June 23, 1869, was far from the end...

"10 years ago, i painted a burning letter “a” on one side of a salvaged window whose glass looked-into another world.  On the other side, the letter appeared in the sky above a deep valley where its u...

 By Sophie TreadwellDirected by Jaclyn Biskup October 25 – November 10Josephine Louis Theater A young working woman following the rituals that society expects of her is left feeling unfulfilled and re...

Victor Yampolsky, conductor; Xuedan Du, graduate assistant conductor; Donald Nally, chorus master; Carla Vargas Fuster, soprano; Gabrielle Barkidjija, mezzo-soprano; Andrew Morstein, tenor; Jeffrey Go...

WINNE THE POOH An Imagine U Production for Families From the stories of A.A. MilneDramatized by le Clanché du RandMusic by Allan J. FriedmanLyrics by A.A. Milne and Kristin SergelAdditional lyrics by ...

Book and Lyrics by Lisa KronMusic by Jeanine TesoriDirected by Roger Ellis November 8 – 24Ethel M. Barber Theater30 Arts Circle Drive, Evanston   When her father dies unexpectedly, graphic novelist Al...

Joachim Schamberger, director; Alan Pierson, conductor; Victor Huls, graduate assistant conductor; Contemporary Music Ensemble Don’t miss the Chicago-area premiere of the opera the New York Times call...

Mallory Thompson, conductor; Caleb Carpenter, alto saxophone W. A. Mozart (arr. Johann Nepomuk Wendt), Overture to Le nozze di Figaro Ingolf Dahl, Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Wind Orchestra Hans G...

Preconcert lecture, 2:30 p.m. A program of operatic excerpts and instrumental dance suites composed in honor of Empress Margarita Teresa of Spain. A stellar string band and vocal soloists will perfor...

Victor Goines and Kevin Fort, conductors A prolific composer and the leader of the original Jazz Messengers, Horace Silver has amassed a nearly unrivaled body of work. This concert offers new arrange...

How are sounds monuments, how are they destinations? Our guest for this event is Kara Oehler, a sound artist who recently produced a special “Sonic Voyages” issue of the New York Times Magazine. A rad...

Ben Bolter, conductor The Contemporary Music Ensemble’s first program of the year features works by three of the world’s preeminent living composers: Timo Andres, Missy Mazzoli, and Felipe Lara. Andr...

Shawn Vondran, conductor Ron Nelson, Homage to Pérotin Joel Love, Musica Dei, donum optimi Fisher Tull, Sketches on a Tudor Psalm Carl Orff (trans. John Krance), Carmina Burana

Stephen Alltop, conductor; Alice Millar Chapel Choir and Chapel Choir Alumnae; Eric Budzynski, organ; Millar Brass Ensemble The 17th annual Hymnfest offers an uplifting program of congregational hymn...

Black Poetics and Environmental Memory: A Reading and Conversation featuring Ed Roberson and Tiana Clark Modern environmentalism has often struggled to account for histories of racialized dispossessio...

Hamza Walker is the Director of LAXART, an independent nonprofit art space in Los Angeles. From 1994–2016, he was the Director of Education and Associate Curator at the Renaissance Society at the Univ...

First prize winner of the North American Saxophone Alliance Solo Competition, Nicki Roman has performed throughout North America, Europe, and Asia at locations including the Krannert Center for Perfor...

Robert G. Hasty, conductor Carl Maria von Weber, Overture to Der Freischütz G. F. Handel, Concerto Grosso in D Minor (Op. 3, No. 5) Jean Sibelius, Valse triste from Kuolema (Death) William Walton, Fa...

An internationally recognized hornist and brass pedagogue, Gail Williams has presented concerts, master classes, recitals, and lectures throughout North America, Europe, and Asia. Previously associate...

Join us for a lively reading of poetry and prose at Evanston's independent bookstore Bookends & Beginnings.  Three faculty and three recent graduates of Northwestern's MA in Writing/MFA in Prose & Poe...

Victor Goines and Joe Clark, conductors Since the beginning of the jazz tradition, the music of women—though seldom given due acknowledgement—has held an essential place in the art form. This perform...

Northwestern University Department of Art History presents the Warnock Lecture Series. Putting Monuments in their Places Recent struggles to remove Confederate monuments from American civic space have...

She-e Wu, director An evening of eclectic rhythms, textures, and timbres for percussion.

Stephen Alltop, conductor The Baroque Music Ensemble offers a program drawn from the riches of J. S. Bach’s cantatas. Outstanding solo voices will be featured in passages from Cantatas 55, 193, 204, ...

Gail Williams, director A program of varied colors and characters for brass ensemble.

Christopher P. Davis, director Music written and arranged for trombones.

Mallory Thompson, conductor David Amram, King Lear Variations Joseph Schwantner, …and the mountains rising nowhere Scott Lindroth, Spin Cycle Verne Reynolds, Scenes

Victor Yampolsky, conductor; Chloé Thominet, viola César Franck, Le chasseur maudit (The Accursed Huntsman) William Walton, Viola Concerto Carl Nielsen, Symphony No. 5

A. J. Keller, conductor Choral music from an array of composers and eras.

Daniel J. Farris, conductor Talented students from across the Northwestern campus present a concert of band standards.

Pianist James Giles regularly performs in the world’s major musical centers, including France’s Nancy Music Festival, Italy’s Accademia Cristofori, Spain’s Gijon Piano Festival, and the Beijing Intern...

Donald Nally, conductor; Fuse Saxophone Quartet (Julian Velasco, soprano; Joe Connor, alto; Chris Forbes, tenor; David Schreck, baritone); Eric Budzynski, organ The annual concert based on the ancien...

A contrafact is a new musical composition built from a preexisting one, most often a new melody overlaid onto a previously devised harmonic structure. Contrafacts have served an extraordinary purpose ...

Joel Link and Bryan Lee, violin; Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt, viola; Camden Shaw, cello Winner of a Cleveland Quartet Award, an Avery Fisher Career Grant, and the 2013 Banff International String Quart...

Jeffrey Siegel, piano A smorgasbord of musical delights! Stave off November’s chill with uplifting music of Grieg, Tchaikovsky, and Sibelius. Carl Nielsen, Festive Prelude, The Dream of Merry Christma...

Steven Cohen, clarinet; Jonathan Sherwin, bassoon; Kay Kim, piano Solo English horn and assistant principal oboe for the Lyric Opera of Chicago Orchestra, Robert Morgan is also principal oboist for M...

National Theatre Live: The Lehman TrilogyBy Stefano MassiniAdapted by Ben PowerDirected by Sam Mendes Sunday, November 24 at 2pmJosephine Louis Theater 20 Arts Circle Drive, Evanston The story of a fa...

Marguerite Lynn Williams, director A variety of repertoire for harp solo and ensemble.

Jeremy Edelstein, conductor Treble-voice works by an eclectic group of composers in a variety of genres.

Robert G. Hasty, conductor; Xuedan Du, graduate assistant conductor; Daniel Kim, violin Tomáš Svoboda, Overture of the Season Johannes Brahms, Violin Concerto in D Major Gabriel Fauré, Masques et be...

Robert G. Hasty, conductor Giuseppe Torelli, Concerto Grosso for Two Violins in G Minor (“Christmas Concerto”) W. A. Mozart, Symphony No. 36 in C Major (“Linz”) J. S. Bach (orch. Stokowski), “Sheep m...

Joe Clark, conductor Bells will be ringing as the Northwestern University Jazz Orchestra brings in the holiday season swinging with arrangements of festive classics. Come “Deck the Halls” and enjoy “...

Shawn Vondran, conductor Omar Thomas, A Mother of a Revolution!  Aaron Perrine, In the Open Air, in the Silent Lines Sergei Prokofiev, Athletic Festival March Brett William Dietz, Saisei Fanfare Carlo...

Donald Nally, conductor A program exploring various perspectives on living life—from the simple to the complex. Anchored by movements of Kile Smith’s 2018 The Arc in the Sky, the concert includes mus...

Victor Yampolsky, conductor; Saetbyeol Kim, piano Jules Massenet, Overture to Phèdre Camille Saint-Saëns, Piano Concerto No. 5 in F Major (“Egyptian”) Maurice Ravel, Valses nobles et sentimentales an...

Actual event start time is 10:40 a.m. Stephen Alltop, conductor; Alice Millar Chapel Choir, Philharmonia, and Millar Brass Ensemble This beloved holiday tradition combines readings and musical gems ...

National Theatre Live Encore: One Man, Two GuvnorsBy Richard BeanBased on 'The Servant of Two Masters' by Carlo Goldoni, with songs by Grant OldingDirected by Nicholas Hytner Sunday, December 8 at 2pm...

“Violinist James Ehnes and pianist Andrew Armstrong play together with an easy spark and suppleness that only old friends really can.”—The Guardian James Ehnes and Andrew Armstrong conclude their surv...

“Violinist James Ehnes and pianist Andrew Armstrong play together with an easy spark and suppleness that only old friends really can.”—The Guardian James Ehnes and Andrew Armstrong conclude their surv...

“These limber and luminous performances by the Aizuri Quartet, in music written specifically for the group by young composers, proves that the 250-year-old string quartet formula remains vibrant and v...

National Theatre Live: Small IslandAdapted by Helen EdmundsonBased on the novel by Andrea LevyDirected by Rufus Norris Sunday, January 19 at 2pmJosephine Louis Theater 20 Arts Circle Drive, Evanston A...

“Light, silvery sonority and graceful style…clearly a talented ensemble on the rise.”—Chicago Classical Review The Dudok Quartet Amsterdam is the recipient of a 2018 Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award, the ...

Alexander Kerr, violin; Helen Callus, viola; Stephen Balderston, cello; Andrew Raciti, double bass; Kay Kim and José Ramón Méndez, piano; Steven Cohen, clarinet; Gail Williams, horn; Lewis Kirk, basso...

1992 Naumburg International Piano Competition winner and recipient of an Avery Fisher Career Grant, pianist Awadagin Pratt is acclaimed for his musical insight and intensely involving performances. He...

“Luxurious, beautifully sculptured performances”—New York Times Celebrating its 45th anniversary in 2019, the American String Quartet began its career winning both the Coleman Competition and the Naum...

Stephanie Blythe’s performances are “so powerful and so artful that she made the term ‘commanding the stage’ seem completely inadequate,” raves the Seattle Times. The acclaimed mezzo-soprano is the re...

“His performances were exemplary in tonal clarity, textural richness, and what George Bernard Shaw used to call 'marksmanship.'”— Seattle Times Described by Gramophone as "the most trailblazing and me...

“…Gorgeous tone, rock-solid rhythm, beautiful phrasing, and no identifiable technical flaws. This is great playing.”—American Record Guide João Luiz and Douglas Lora, guitar The Brasil Guitar Duo, a 2...

Jeffrey Siegel, piano A Valentine’s Day program showcasing heartfelt music by Chopin, Schumann, Liszt, and Bartók. Celebrate with music of passion, love, and longing inspired by the composers' signifi...

“An extraordinary exhibition of musicianship, technical control and good taste which lent the music a freshness, immediacy and conviction one all too seldom encounters” —The London Times Since winning...

Winner of the 2018 Guitar Foundation of America (GFA) Competition, French guitarist Raphaël Feuillâtre has studied with Roland Dyens and Tristan Manoukian at the Paris National Superior Conservatory o...

“One of the most serious, questing pianists on the circuit today…breathtaking virtuosity…a complete Beethovenian”—Telegraph (London) Raised in Germany and a graduate of the Juilliard School, Andreas H...

Award-winning lutenist Robert Barto studied historical lute performance at the University of California-San Diego before continuing his studies with Michael Schaeffer in Cologne and Eugen Dombois in B...

"The Spanish pianist of his generation"—Hoja del Lunes de Madrid José Ramón Méndez’s career gained international recognition when he performed Liszt's first piano concerto under the direction of Sergi...

Jeffrey Siegel, piano In this season's spirited conclusion, hear jazz and ragtime music of Gershwin and Joplin; waltzes, polkas, and the popular tango "Por una Cabeza"; the pulsating Toccata from Gina...

Born and raised in Hanoi, Vietnam, An Tran is a “Vietnamese guitar virtuoso” according to Austin Classical Guitar. After winning first prize in the Vietnam National Guitar Competition at the age of 12...

Preconcert lecture, 2:30 p.m. While Madame de Pompadour is best known as mistress to Louis XV, she was no mere vixen. Mesmerizing, fiercely clever, beautiful, and a relentless social climber, de Pomp...

The Phoenix declares, “Polenzani has perhaps the finest tenor voice of his generation, and he sang with aristocratic elegance and potency.” The tenor’s 2018-19 season included a return to Lyric Opera ...