Series History
The Middlebury Performing Arts Series, celebrating its 101st anniversary season this year, is Vermont’s longest-running performance series.
In the spring of 1919, the Middlebury College trustees had a vision for an Entertainment and Lecture Series designed to bring “outside talent of a better class for the entertainment and education of Middlebury students.” The Middlebury Campus remarked that this new program would alleviate some of the difficulty of being “300 miles from Broadway.”
Since then, we’ve invited the world’s most talented and sought-after artists to our small campus—to perform programs that rival those in major cities—for more than 1,100 performances to date.
The Performing Arts Series’ mission is to enhance Middlebury’s curriculum and ignite cultural and creative exploration by presenting a diverse spectrum of world class performances and residencies to the greater Middlebury community.
Past Featured Artists
Yo-Yo Ma
Murray Perahia
Pearl Primas
Von Trapp Family Singers
Emanuel Ax
Emerson String Quartet
Alvin Ailey Dance Theater
Urban Bushwomen
Paul Robeson
The Acting Company
Nat’l. Theatre of the Deaf
Oscar Peterson
Ravi Shankar
Ladysmith Black Mambazo
Pablo Casals
Andres Segovia
Harlem Spiritual Ensemble
The Kronos Quartet
Takacs String Quartet
Wynton Marsalis and
Lincoln Center Jazz
Canadian Brass
Takács Quartet
Mark O’Connor
Steve Reich
Paul Lewis
Kyle Abraham/A.I.M.
The King’s Singers