Coming Events
SPRING 2024 CONCERT SCHEDULE
All events will take place in The Houlihan-McLean Center (Mulberry Street at Jefferson Avenue) and are free of admission charge, unless otherwise noted.
Sunday, January 28, 2024, 7:30 p.m.
IN CONCERT
ELEW!
click here to visit ELEW's website
Admission: FREE
ELEW, 1999 winner of the Thelonius Monk International Piano Competition, has toured the world, recorded, and performed with Wynton Marsalis & the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, Elvin Jones, Cassandra Wilson, Roy Hargrove, and John Hendricks among others. A decade into his career, he reemerged as ELEW and began fusing his piano techniques with rock guitar-based ideas and experimental prepared piano methods, generating a powerful crossover brand he coined “Rockjazz”. Over the course of multiple award winning, critically acclaimed albums, ELEW has re-imagined songs by The Killers, Nirvana, Coldplay, and Michael Jackson to name a few. Throughout his career he has built an elite fanbase of distinguished leaders and celebrities including Leonardo DiCaprio, Gerard Butler, Barack and Michele Obama, Prince Albert II, Will Smith, Eli Roth, Al Pacino, and many many others. Inspired by the European masters of Baroque counterpoint, ELEW has innovated the technique of simultaneously executing two independent melodies which precisely detail harmonic forms bursting with idiomatic verisimilitude and wide ranging historical references, all while flawlessly maintaining the idiosyncratic Afrocentric timing at the core of jazz improvisation. He has named this technique “Counterbop.” He has also created another innovation - “Piano Turntablism” - playing two different yet recognizable songs simultaneously as a DJ would, but on the piano.
Friday, February 16, 2024, 7:30 p.m.
IN CONCERT
Dennis Lichtman, clarinet, & Mona’s Hot Five
click here to visit Dennis Lichtman's website
Admission: FREE
Dennis Lichtman is a multi-instrumentalist (mainly clarinet, fiddle, and mandolin) who is deeply entrenched in early- to mid-1900’s American music, from traditional jazz and swing to bluegrass and western swing. His elegant voice carries through on all his instruments, lending a thread that weaves together the various genres he navigates. Lichtman has performed at Carnegie Hall, major festivals throughout the United States, and on stages in Europe, Brazil, and China. Since 2007, Dennis has been the clarinetist and bandleader of Mona’s Hot Five, the famed Tuesday night trad-jazz session at Mona's in NYC, which was profiled in the New York Times, and has been described by the Wall Street Journal as "ground zero for an emerging late-night scene of young swing and traditional jazz players.”
Saturday, March 2, 2024, 3:30 p.m.
JAZZFILM/MUSICTALK
Screening of “Wham-Re-Bop-Boom-Bam: The Swing Jazz of Eddie Durham”
(a WVIA original documentary film)
Admission: FREE
click here to watch trailer
Hosted by the film’s creators Loren Schoenberg, producer & musical director, and award-winning filmmaker Kris Hendrickson (’88). Schoenberg has lectured at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the White House, the New York Philharmonic, Stanford University, and the Aspen Institute. He has received two Grammy awards for best album notes, oversaw the Benny Goodman Archives at Yale University, and been involved in multiple capacities in Jazz at Lincoln Center’s education programs for 20 years. Schoenberg has been published widely (including in the New York Times), and his book, The NPR Guide to Jazz, was released in 2003. Hendrickson has worked as a director, producer, editor and graphic designer for both commercial and public broadcasting stations. He is part of the production and creative team at WVIA, and splits his time between long-form and short-form multimedia and video production projects. His work has taken him around the United States and across Europe and Canada shooting, directing and editing nationally distributed series and documentaries. He is a two-time Mid-Atlantic Regional Emmy winner, an eleven-time Emmy nominee, and the recipient of six awards from the Pennsylvania Association of Broadcasters.
Saturday, March 2, 2024, 7:30 p.m.
IN CONCERT
The University of Scranton Jazz Band
with guest soloist Loren Schoenberg, piano & tenor sax
click here for Loren Schoenberg's bio
Admission: FREE
Loren Schoenberg is a nationally respected jazz musician, historian, educator, author, archivist, arranger, commentator, bandleader, and teacher. He was Founding Director of The National Jazz Museum in Harlem, served as Executive Director for its first decade, and currently holds the position of Senior Scholar there. He has conducted the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra as well as the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra, the American Jazz Orchestra, and the WDR Jazz Orchestra in Koln, Germany; played and recorded with Benny Carter, Benny Goodman, Jimmy Heath, Eddie Durham, Marian McPartland, Clark Terry, John Lewis, Christian McBride, and Buck Clayton; and was musical director for Bobby Short from 1997 to 2005. He has taught for several Jazz at Lincoln Center education programs and served as a screening judge for its Essentially Ellington program for 20 years. Schoenberg has been published widely (including in the New York Times), and his book, The NPR Guide to Jazz, was released in 2003. He joins the University of Scranton Jazz Band in performing a program of music celebrating the musical lives and legacies of a variety of jazz greats. The University of Scranton Jazz Band is a 28-member ensemble of big band style instrumentation, made up of University of Scranton student musicians from majors spanning the curriculum. They perform five or more times per year, and the majority of their performances are open to the public, free of admission charge, and often feature a nationally or internationally renowned guest soloist.
Visit Scranton.edu/SchemelForum to register for Loren’s luncheon lecture on Fri., March 1 at 11:30 a.m.
Sunday, March 24, 2024, 7:30 p.m.
IN CONCERT
The University of Scranton Singers & The Scranton Brass Orchestra
Admission: FREE
The University of Scranton Concert Choir is a 40+ member ensemble, comprised of members of the university community from majors and departments spanning the curriculum – the vast majority of them undergraduate students, joined by a few graduate students and alumni – none of whom are music majors, who are all brought together by their mutual love of music-making. The Scranton Brass Orchestra, now celebrating its 12th season, is a fully professional 27 member ensemble, founded in 2011. Comprised of brass players and teachers from the region, membership is by invitation only. The group's performances are free of charge and open to the public, and feature nationally and internationally acclaimed guest artists, including many of the most respected brass players of our time. The group made its debut before hundreds of appreciative audience members in June 2011, and has since garnered acclaim from both audiences and musicians alike.
Sunday, April 14, 2024, 7:30 p.m.
IN RECITAL
Mark Kosower & Mingyao Zhao, cello
click here for Mark Kosower bio click here for Mingyao Zhao's bio
Admission: FREE
Mark Kosower, principal cellist of The Cleveland Orchestra since 2010, is a consummate artist, equally known around the world as a recital and concerto soloist, chamber musician, and teacher. He has appeared as soloist with renowned symphony orchestras throughout the world, is a frequent guest at international chamber music festivals, has recorded for multiple labels, and regularly serves as faculty for a variety of prestigious schools and festivals worldwide. Recognized internationally for her passionate, artistic, and dynamic performances Mingyao Zhao has performed extensively as a soloist, recitalist, orchestral, and chamber musician in China, the United States, Canada, Korea, and Poland. Ms. Zhao frequently performs as substitute cellist with The Cleveland Orchestra, and is on the faculty of The College of Wooster.
Thursday, April 18, 2024, 7:30 p.m.
IN CONCERT
The University of Scranton String Orchestra
with special guest cello soloists Mark Kosower and Mingyao Zhao
including the premiere of a new work for string orchestra and virtuosic cello duo by composer Nate Sparks
click here for Mark Kosower bio click here for Mingyao Zhao's bio
click here to visit Nate Sparks website
Admission: FREE
Internationally acclaimed cellists Mark Kosower and Mingyao Zhao join The University of Scranton String Orchestra in a program that includes the world premiere of a piece by composer Nate Sparks for virtuosic cello duo with student string orchestra. Kosower , principal cellist of The Cleveland Orchestra since 2010, is a consummate artist, equally known around the world as a recital and concerto soloist, chamber musician, and teacher. He has appeared as soloist with renowned symphony orchestras throughout the world, is a frequent guest at international chamber music festivals, has recorded for multiple labels, and regularly serves as faculty for a variety of prestigious schools and festivals worldwide. Recognized internationally for her passionate, artistic, and dynamic performances, Mingyao Zhao has performed extensively as a soloist, recitalist, orchestral, and chamber musician in China, the United States, Canada, Korea, and Poland. Ms. Zhao frequently performs as substitute cellist with The Cleveland Orchestra, and is on the faculty of The College of Wooster. Sparks has written for performing ensembles throughout the U.S., including Lucky Chops, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, the Juilliard Jazz Orchestra, Bobby Sanabria and the Multiverse Big Band, the MSM Afro-Cuban Orchestra, Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks, ABS Chamber Orchestra, Kyle Athayde Dance Party, and Joseph Boga and the Scranton Ramblers, among many others. The University of Scranton String Orchestra is a 30+ member ensemble comprised of members of the university community from majors and departments spanning the curriculum – the vast majority of them undergraduate students, joined by a few graduate students and members of the faculty and staff – none of whom are music majors, who are all brought together by their mutual love of music-making.
Saturday May 4, 2024, 7:30 p.m.
41st ANNUAL WORLD PREMIERE COMPOSITION SERIES CONCERT
The University of Scranton Concert Band & Concert Choir
premiering two new works by guest composer-conductor Nate Sparks
click here to visit Nate Sparks website
Admission: FREE
The University of Scranton World Premiere Composition Series is a rare opportunity for students to perform a work by a guest composer for the first time. This enables students to get a first-hand glimpse into the compositional process, to work with a living composer, and for the audience to experience the piece for the first time, the way the composer intended. This year’s composer /conductor is Nate Sparks, a Juilliard trained composer, arranger, pianist, bandleader, music educator, and liturgical musician who leads The Nate Sparks Big Band. He has been commissioned to write two works - one for The University of Scranton Concert Band and one for The University of Scranton Concert Choir - which will have their world premieres on this concert under the direction of the composer. Sparks has written music for a variety of ensembles in a wide range of genres, including Lucky Chops, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, the Juilliard Jazz Orchestra, Bobby Sanabria and the Multiverse Big Band, the MSM Afro-Cuban Orchestra, Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks, ABS Chamber Orchestra, Kyle Athayde Dance Party, and Joseph Boga and the Scranton Ramblers, among many others. In 2018 he contributed to the Grammy Nominated album, “West Side Story Reimagined,” by Bobby Sanabria and the Multiverse Big Band. In addition to leading his own band on both coasts and in Iowa, Sparks also serves as Director of the Des Moines Youth Jazz Orchestra, and is director of music ministry at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in West Des Moines, Iowa.
Friday May 10, 2024, 7:30 p.m.
IN RECITAL
Janet Sora Chung, organ
click here to visit Janet Sora Chung's website
Admission: FREE
Dr. Janet Sora Chung is an organist, violinist, arranger, and educator in New York City where she is the co-artistic director of the Christopher Street Collegium, an ensemble that gathers combinations of New York's finest young classical musicians to perform the sacred works of Bach, Buxtehude and Couperin among others. She is Music Director & Organist at St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church, Cantor-Organist of the New York Finnish Lutheran Congregation and Director of the Contemporary Ensemble at Holy Trinity Church. A frequent recitalist both in the U.S. and abroad, she earned her Doctorate of Musical Arts from the Manhattan School of Music, garnering the Bronson Ragan Award for outstanding ability in organ performance.
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What you may have missed in Fall '23:
Fri., Sept. 8, 2023, 7:30 p.m.
WHAT MAKES IT GREAT? ® The American Songbook
Dr. Rob Kapilow (H. ’09)
with soprano Magdalyn E. Boga
Admission: FREE
This engaging presentation will illuminate for participants the difference between hearing and listening, how to pay attention and notice all the fantastic things that might otherwise go by when listening to music. When you begin to hear the things that make a piece great, it can spring to life as if you have never heard it before. Kapilow will be joined by soprano Magdalyn E. Boga, and in addition the program will add another soprano for the duet For Good from “Wicked”, sung by Boga and soprano Jessica Hitchcock. (Rob will be the speaker for the Schemel Forum luncheon seminar the same day “We’ve Got To Get Ourselves Back to the Garden: Inside the Music of the Woodstock Generation” – please visit scranton.edu/academics/wml/schemel/seminars.shtml)
Sat., Sept. 23, 2023, 7:30 p.m.
IN CONCERT: WE!
Dr. Wycliffe Gordon (H. ‘06), trombone and voice & Eric Reed, piano
with an appearance by The University of Scranton Concert Choir
wycliffegordon.com en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Reed_(musician)
Admission: FREE
Dr. Wycliffe Gordon (H. ‘06), trombone and voice, & Eric Reed, piano will perform for Family Weekend, accompanied by the University of Scranton Concert Choir. Gordon and Reed are both legends, internationally celebrated performers, composers, and educators, and have a long history with Scranton. Dr. Gordon has performed, composed, conducted, and served as an artist-teacher at the university regularly since 1996, and served as commencement speaker in 2006. Both Gordon and Reed have performed with the most highly respected instrumentalists and singers in the world across a wide variety of genres including jazz, gospel, classical, and country music. With a combined discography of thousands of recordings as soloists, leaders, and/or sidemen; hundreds of compositions; and whether playing for small children or heads of state, these musicians pass on the legacy of the great jazz tradition of our nation constantly and joyfully. The University of Scranton Concert Choir is an SATB mixed choir comprised of members of the university community from majors and departments spanning the curriculum, none of whom are music majors, who are brought together by their mutual love of music-making.
Sat., Oct. 14, 2023, 7:30 p.m
IN RECITAL
Llewellyn Sanchez-Werner, piano
Admission: FREE
“A gifted virtuoso” (San Francisco Chronicle) with “mesmerizing artistry and extraordinary ability to communicate” (The Post-Standard), “poetic, electrifying” (Michigan Live) with “masterful technique and a veritable deluge of sonorities” (La Presse Montreal), 26-year-old Llewellyn Sánchez-Werner was selected First Prize Winner of the 2022 Concert Artists Guild International Competition and was named a Gilmore Young Artist, an honor awarded to the most promising American pianists of the new generation. Llewellyn has performed for U.S. Presidents Obama and Biden, President Peña Nieto of Mexico, President Peres of Israel, and President Kagame of Rwanda. Committed to public service, he received the Atlantic Council Global Citizen Award recognizing his dedication to social action through music in Iraq, Rwanda, France, Canada, and the United States. Fellow honorees included actor/director Robert De Niro and Presidents Peña Nieto and Perez, and in presenting the award General Petraeus commended his “courageous humanitarian contributions through the arts…strengthening the ties that unite our nations.”
Sat., Oct. 28, 2023, 7:30 p.m.
IN CONCERT
The University of Scranton Jazz Band
with guest soloist Chris Lewis, tenor sax
Admission: FREE
Tenor saxophonist Chris Lewis will perform in concert accompanied by The University of Scranton Jazz Band. Lewis is a GRAMMY-Award Winning artist who has quickly established himself as an in-demand saxophonist and educator. Lewis has played with artists such as Wynton Marsalis, Herbie Hancock, Michael Bublé, Eric Reed, Terell Stafford, The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, John Beasley’s MONK’estra, the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, the Mingus Big Band, Count Basie Orchestra and The Gil Evans Project. Lewis, who grew up in Northeastern PA, can be seen playing saxophone in Season 5 of “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” as well as the most recent season of “The Godfather of Harlem”. The University of Scranton Jazz Band is a 28-member ensemble of big band style instrumentation, made up of University of Scranton student musicians from majors spanning the curriculum. They perform five or more times per year, and the majority of their performances are open to the public, free of admission charge, and often feature a nationally or internationally renowned guest soloist.
Sat., Nov. 4, 2023, 7:30 p.m.
IN CONCERT
The University of Scranton Symphonic Band
Admission: FREE
The University of Scranton Symphonic Band will perform a concert featuring a wide array of music. The Symphonic Band is a 75+ member ensemble comprised of members of the university community from majors and departments spanning the curriculum – the vast majority of them undergraduate students, joined by a few graduate students and members of the faculty and staff, none of whom are music majors - are all brought together by their mutual love of music-making to perform five concerts a year.
Sun., Nov. 12, 2023, 4:00 p.m.
GENERATIONS SING!
catholicchoralsociety.org/biography
Admission: FREE
The Catholic Choral Society opens their 75th anniversary season joined by The University of Scranton Concert Choir and Valley View High School Choir (with Middle School and Elementary Choirs TBA). Composed of members from Luzerne, Lackawanna, Wayne, Susquehanna, and Wyoming counties, The Catholic Choral Society performs sacred, classical, and secular music at performances in both Luzerne and Lackawanna counties. In 1949, the great Norbert Betti, who was also the choral director at The University of Scranton, became its first conductor and musical director, and the University is proud to host this concert celebrating their 75th anniversary season.
Sat., Nov. 18, 2023, 7:30 p.m.
IN CONCERT
The University of Scranton String Orchestra
with guest violinist Kako Miura Boga
Admission: FREE
Kako Miura Boga will perform in concert with The University of Scranton String Orchestra. Originally from Tokyo, Japan and now based in New York, NY, Kako Miura Boga is a violinist who performs on both historical and modern instruments. Kako has appeared internationally as a soloist, performing alongside orchestras in Asia, Australia, and the United States, and her solo and chamber music performances have taken her to such distinguished venues as Alice Tully Hall of Lincoln Center, Weill and Zankel Halls at Carnegie Hall, and the Sydney Opera House. Also sought after as an orchestral musician, Kako most recently led Juilliard415, The Juilliard School's period orchestra, as concertmaster on a recent tour of Germany in collaboration with Yale Schola Cantorum. She is the recipient of numerous awards, including a National YoungArts Foundation Award, The English Concert in America Fellowship, and The Mercury-Juilliard Fellowship. Her principal teachers have included Cynthia Roberts, Elizabeth Blumenstock, Robert Lipsett, and Masao Kawasaki. The University of Scranton String Orchestra is a 30+ member ensemble comprised of members of the university community from majors and departments spanning the curriculum – most of them undergraduate students, joined by a few graduate students, alumni, and members of the faculty – none of whom are music majors, who are all brought together by their mutual love of music-making.
Sat., Dec. 2, 2023, 8:00 p.m. (prelude from 7:05, doors open at 7)
56th ANNUAL NOEL NIGHT
The University of Scranton Singers and Chamber Ensembles
Admission: FREE
The University’s Christmas gift to the community, Noel Night has been a beloved holiday tradition for numerous Scranton-area residents since its beginnings more than a half-century ago when it was founded by Rev. Edward Gannon, S.J. This year’s Noel Night will feature The University of Scranton Singers and Chamber Ensembles and will include a prelude by The University of Scranton String Orchestra and Flute Ensemble. Outdoor instrumental caroling by members of the University Bands will greet audience members as they arrive. Seating is on a first come- first seated basis. The primary focus of Performance Music at The University of Scranton is its student choral and instrumental performing ensembles. Because there is no music major at the University, all enrolled Scranton students (undergraduate and graduate) are eligible for membership in the University bands, choirs and string ensembles, with neither an audition nor enrollment fee required for membership. Hundreds of students participate in the ensembles each year.
Sun., Dec. 10, 2023, 7:30 p.m.
EMPTY STOCKING FUND BENEFIT CONCERT
Admission: one new unwrapped toy, new toiletry items, or a cash donation. All proceeds directly benefit local families in need.
Performance Music student musicians will perform solo, duet, trio, and small group renditions of a variety of Christmas favorites. Smaller groups are made up of members from within the large ensembles, and may include Steel Drum Band, String Quartet, Flute Ensemble, Brass Choir, Saxophone Ensemble, and Percussion Ensemble, and/or small vocal groups. Admission charge is one new unwrapped toy, new toiletry items, or a cash donation. All proceeds will directly benefit local families in need. The primary focus of Performance Music at The University of Scranton is its student choral and instrumental performing ensembles. Because there is no music major at the University, all enrolled Scranton students (undergraduate and graduate) are eligible for membership in the University bands, choirs and string ensembles, with neither an audition nor enrollment fee required for membership. Hundreds of students participate in the ensembles each year.
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"LIVE" AND "VIRTUAL" VIDEO PERFORMANCES
... including our first ever virtual Noel Night and String Orchestra concerts during the 2020-21 school year (no live events due to pandemic guidelines), virtual choir projects featuring our Alma Mater, and a special choral tribute to the memory of Rev. Scott R. Pilarz, S.J., a virtual low brass ensemble with Dr. Wycliffe A. Gordon (H. '06), and more remain available on our youtube channel.
click here to go to our youtube channel!
"SCRANTON ISOLATION INFORMANCES"
... a pandemically motivated virtual arts information project presented via facebook live broadcast - episodes available for re-streaming on our facebook page (detailed listing available below.)
click here to go to our facebook page!
SCRANTON ISOLATION INFORMANCES LISTING
A series of virtual events presented during the pandemic shutdown, still available for streaming from our facebook page (direct links from here to be added soon)
U. of S. ISOLATION INFORMANCES (EPISODE 17):
DONATE LIKE CAPITALISM DEPENDED ON IT!
U. of S. ISOLATION INFORMANCES (EPISODE 16):
SYNESTHESIA AND THE ARTIST
U. of S. ISOLATION INFORMANCES (EPISODE 15):
MUSIC AS A HEALING ART
U. of S. ISOLATION INFORMANCES (EPISODE 14):
MUSICIANSHIP, CITIZENSHIP, ETHICS, & AESTHETICS
U. of S. ISOLATION INFORMANCES (EPISODE 13): PRIVATE EVENT
U. of S. ISOLATION INFORMANCES (EPISODE 12): LOREN SCHOENBERG
U. of S. ISOLATION INFORMANCES (EPISODE 11): KAKO MIURA & JOSEPH BOGA
U. of S. ISOLATION INFORMANCES (EPISODE 10): POPS & THE COPS!
U. of S. ISOLATION INFORMANCES (EPISODE 9): JEFF CURNOW, LIVE!!!
U. of S. ISOLATION INFORMANCES (EPISODE 8): MARK KOSOWER, LIVE!!!
U. of S. ISOLATION INFORMANCES (EPISODE 7): DR. WYCLIFFE GORDON, H. '06, LIVE!!!
U. of S. ISOLATION INFORMANCES (EPISODE 6): ALEX PATTAVINA LIVE!!!
U. of S. ISOLATION INFORMANCES (EPISODE 5): KYLE ATHAYDE LIVE!!!
U. of S. ISOLATION INFORMANCES (EPISODE 4): LARRY WOLFE LIVE!!!
U. of S. ISOLATION INFORMANCES (EPISODE 3): JOSH ROSENBLUM LIVE!!!
U. of S. ISOLATION INFORMANCES (EPISODE 2): EDDIE BARBASH LIVE!!!
U. of S. ISOLATION INFORMANCES (EPISODE 1): THE ANDERSON TWINS LIVE!!!
