Performing Arts Series

Named the inaugural Hans Keller String Quartet in Residence at the University of Oxford and Royal Philharmonic Society’s Young Artist of the Year, the Castalian Quartetfirst visited Middlebury on their US debut tour in 2019.  They return to treat us to a free concert of exceptional works: Janácek’s Quartet No. 1, “Kreutzer Sonata”; Sibelius’ Quartet in D Minor, “Voces intimae”; and Beethoven’s Op. 130 Quartet, with the epic Grosse Fuge finale.

It’s a family affair when our friends the Jupiter Quartet joins the Jasper String Quartet—between these two acclaimed ensembles, there are three siblings, two married couples, and several former college roommates! Their collaborative concert concludes our “year of the cello” celebration with performances of Schubert’s cello quintet, Reena Esmail’s Ragamala, and the beautiful Mendelssohn Octet. Bask in the full sound of a string octet in the impeccable acoustics of Robison Hall. 

Fresh from the Van Cliburn Competition finals, pianist Clayton Stephenson makes his Vermont debut with an opulent program including Beethoven’s “Appassionata” sonata.

Choral Chameleon Chorus makes its Vermont debut with a sound bath: a unique, healing choral experience. Collaborating with certified sound healers, the audience will be surrounded by the singers of the chorus and “bathed” in the layered sounds of voices, Tibetan singing bowls, chimes, gongs, and more. This intensive sound experience is designed to wash over the body for healing, peace, and restorative contemplation. Because of the unique audience seating configuration designed for this concert experience, capacity will be limited.

Attend a screening of leading Chinese musician Wu Man’s documentary film, in conjunction with her concert the following evening. A question-and-answer session with the artist will follow the screening. Sponsored by the Performing Arts Series, with support from the Department of Chinese and the Committee on the Arts. Wu Man’s visit is funded in part by the Expeditions program of the New England Foundation for the Arts, made possible with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, with additional support from the six New England state arts agencies. Free

Wu Man and Shanghai Quartet World-renowned pipa player Wu Man and the impeccable Shanghai Quartet meld the sounds of China with Western string quartet and pipa in an unforgettable evening of grand music. The program a suite of traditional Chinese folk songs, solo pipa works, Beethoven’s Op. 95 “Quartetto Serioso,” and a new, multimedia work by eminent Chinese composer Zhao Jiping and his son Zhao Lin, including some of Jiping’s most famous cinematic scores, including Raise the Red Lantern, To Live, and Farewell My Concubine.

Tzveta Kassabova (Middlebury College), Elena Demyanenko (Bennington College), and Paul Matteson ’00 (Five Colleges) present back up plan, a new collaborative work serving as a unique meeting place for dance artists with distinctive backgrounds, behaviors, languages, and cultures. Also featured on the program is Kassabova’s newly crafted group work that reveals her fascination with the concept of space and her constant desire to address it in both choreography and design. Sponsored by the Performing Arts Series and the Dance Program.

Tzveta Kassabova (Middlebury College), Elena Demyanenko (Bennington College), and Paul Matteson ’00 (Five Colleges) present back up plan, a new collaborative work serving as a unique meeting place for dance artists with distinctive backgrounds, behaviors, languages, and cultures. Also featured on the program is Kassabova’s newly crafted group work that reveals her fascination with the concept of space and her constant desire to address it in both choreography and design. Sponsored by the Performing Arts Series and the Dance Program.

TYPE/CASTE, a self-written, one man show performed by Rothrock residence artist Rotimi Agbabiaka, portrays the peaks and pitfalls of a queer black actor’s journey through a profession that isn’t always welcoming to applicants who are neither white nor straight.

Join master actor/dramaturg Tina Packer as she deconstructs and conjures William Shakespeare’s most famous female characters in two funny and fierce shows that are part performance and part master class. On Saturday, Packer and costar Nigel Gore perform Force and Heat: The Early Plays. On Sunday, they present Chaos and Redemption: The Later Plays. “Marvelous!”–Ben Brantley, New York Times. Book signings after each show. Sponsored by the Performing Arts Series and the Theatre Program, in conjunction with the exhibition of Shakespeare’s First Folio at the Museum.