2021-2022 Season

We’re thrilled to welcome back our long-time friends, the Takács Quartet—celebrating their 50th anniversary season—for their 31st Middlebury performance since 1994. The Grammy and three-time Gramophone award-winning quartet will perform the Vermont premiere of Clarice Assad’s NEXUS, of which the series is honored to be a co-commissioner. The Takács rounds out their program with luminous quartets by Haydn and Debussy. Enjoy this special Middlebury message from the Takács Quartet.

Learn more about this concert’s music in a free pre-concert lecture by Professor Emeritus of Music Larry Hamberlin.

Food Drive at the MAC

Friction is a genre-breaking sound world brought to life in this Vermont premiere by composer and flutist Allison Loggins-Hull, in collaboration with the two-time GRAMMY-winning vocal ensemble Roomful of Teeth. This debut collaboration weaves a striking tapestry of songs, composed by Loggins-Hull, delving into the intricate dance between the forces that shape us. Those forces—our influences, inheritances, relationships—like friction itself, generate both light and heat, and have the capacity to reveal our greatest strengths and most closely held flaws.

Dreamers’ Circusis one of the most acclaimed and adventurous acoustic bands from the Nordic region. This Middlebury favorite seamlessly blends Nordic folk with classical lyricism, jazz improvisation, and pop energy, creating a sound that is both rooted in tradition and forward-looking. The trio’s latest album, “Handed On,” reflects on their musical heritage, while their dynamic live shows showcase the playful joy and precision that define their unique sound.

The forgotten story of Mozart’s genius sister. This award-winning play written and performed by Sylvia Milo tells the true story of Nannerl Mozart, the sister of Amadeus. She was a prodigy, keyboard virtuoso, and composer who performed throughout Europe with her brother, to equal acclaim—but her work and her story faded away, lost to history.

Visit Special Collections for a pre-show open house featuring “forgotten sisters” from Middlebury’s collection of archives and rare books. Set the stage for the 7:30 PM performance of The Other Mozart by transporting yourself back to the 18^th century and beyond through archives that reveal the contributions of women that history left behind.

Perennial favorite, cellist Sophie Shao, opens our 106th season with an accomplished, all-female ensemble. Shao is joined by violinist Carmit Zori and pianist Ieva Jokubaviciute to perform selections from François Couperin’s Five Concert Pieces for Cello & Piano, as a nod to the Museum of Art’s “Le Petit Salon” exhibition. Additional works include Amy Beach’s Piano Trio, the Vermont premiere of Elena Ruehr’s second Cello Sonata, and Dvorák’s F Minor Piano Trio.

We close our 105th season with the dynamic duo of violinist Alina Ibragimova and pianist Cédric Tiberghien. The two developed a tremendous rapport during their term as individual BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artists, where their unique partnership was observed by The Times of London: “Both of these players have the potential to conquer the world.” During this Middlebury return, Ibragimova and Tiberghien will play Janácek, Enescu, Gerald Barry’s vivacious Triorchic Blues, and Beethoven’s iconic“Kreutzer” sonata.

Learn more about this concert’s music in a free pre-concert lecture by Professor Emeritus of Music Larry Hamberlin.

Faculty musicians from the Music Institute of Long Island (MILI) treat us to an evening of chamber music including Bach, Beethoven, Haydn, Mozart, Turina, Mendelssohn, and more!  Established in 1990, MILI is a classical music school staffed by exceptional instructors from many of the most prestigious conservatories and graduate music schools in the United States and Europe. This performance is the culminating event of their current Rothrock Residency working with Middlebury students.

About the Artists: 

The visiting faculty ensemble from the Music Institute of Long Island (our Rothrock Residency artists) share what recordings they are listening to that inspire them.  Open to all Middlebury ID holders. Bring your own lunch or grab from Ross Dining upstairs.  A free playlist will be provided after lunch. Signup at go/listeninglunch

Pianist Steven Osborne, OBE is one of Britain’s most treasured musicians. His performances exude an immense depth of musicality and exceptional refinement of expression across diverse repertoire, be it in Beethoven or Messiaen, Schubert or Ravel, Prokofiev, or jazz improvisations. His many honors include The Royal Philharmonic Society’s Instrumentalist of the Year, two BBC Music Magazine Awards, and two Gramophone Awards.

Making their Middlebury debut, the Isidore String Quartet are winners of a 2023 Avery Fisher Career Grant and the 14th Banff International String Quartet Competition.Their concert program “Unrequited” explores the intersection of treasured classics and contemporary perspectives, providing a winding path into the complicated labyrinth that is human compassion and love, featuring works by Mozart, Beethoven, and Billy Childs. Thanks to the Sunderman Family Concert Endowment Fund, this concert is free and open to all.

Acclaimed Jordanian-Palestinian pianist Iyad Sughayer embodies a captivating blend of exceptional skill and profound musicality.

Learn more about this concert’s music in a free pre-concert lecture by Professor Emeritus of Music Larry Hamberlin.

About tonight’s weather: as of this time, this show is planned to go on as scheduled. If that changes, we will post updates here.

An interactive textual analysis workshop for actors from on- and off-campus, led by Robert Cornelius (playing West in Two Trains Running) and other members of the The Acting Company. Free, but advanced sign up required.

Theatre Workshop with The Acting Company
Mahaney Arts Center, Room 232

A workshop for Middlebury theatre students, led by Robert Cornelius (playing West in Two Trains Running) and other members of the The Acting Company. After an introduction to August Wilson, his Century Plays, and his overall impact on the American Theater, conversation will narrow in on the details of Two Trains Running, and the specific choices that created this production. Participants will also get up on their feet for theatre exercises.

Professors Claudio Medeiros (Theatre) and Jerry Philogene (Black Studies) will lead a cozy book club session about August Wilson’s Two Trains Running. Refreshments provided. This event is a lead-up to the production at Wright Theatre on Thursday, Feb. 13, performed by The Acting Company and presented by the Middlebury Performing Arts Series.

NOTE: Sign-up for this event is now closed as capacity for attendance has been reached.

Choral Chameleon treats our audience to an outside-the-box concert experience! Listeners will move through the Mahaney Arts Center lobbies to hear “I AM,” a world premiere, large scale choral installation written just for Middlebury by Choral Chameleon’s Founder and Artistic Director Vince Peterson. Imagine being guided through choral vignettes around the building, much as you would move through exhibits in a gallery. Featuring singers drawn from the Middlebury student body and the greater community, coordinated by Ronnie Romano ’20, performing alongside the professional ensemble.