Category: Performances

“Organized Rhythm”, the exceptional duo of organist, Clive Driskill-Smith, and percussionist, Joseph Gramley, will present a concert at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 7 in Wiedemann Hall.

The combination of the two instruments onstage is explosive and will appeal to a large audience and don’t miss the Conversation with the Artists, an onstage interview with host, Lynne Davis. This is a great opportunity to learn more about the artists and what they do.

Tickets can be purchased at the College of Fine Arts Box Office and through the online storefront. Wichita State students can receive one ticket at no additional charge with their Shocker ID thanks to the support of the Student Government Association.

The School of Performing Arts proudly presents “A Chorus Line” at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 2-4 and at 2 p.m. Nov. 5 in Wilner Auditorium.

Ticket prices are $20 for adults; $18 for senior citizens, military, and faculty and staff; and $12 for children and students. Wichita State students can receive one ticket at no additional charge with their Shocker ID thanks to the support of the Student Government for College of Fine Arts performances. Call the Box Office at 316-978-3233 or order tickets from the online storefront.

Directed and choreographed (adapted from Michael Bennet’s original Broadway choreography) by Amy Baker Schwiethale, “A Chorus Line” examines one day in the lives of seventeen dancers, all vying for a spot in the “chorus line” of a Broadway musical. After the first round of cuts, Zach, the director and choreographer, asks each dancer to speak about themselves. Discomfort opens into revelation, confession leads to redemption and within the bright, outwardly homogenous chorus, the audience begins to see each dancer’s individuality.

The School of Performing Arts is thrilled to announce that 2021 Alum Ariel Glorsky-Seyl will be joining the performance as a special guest artist to portray the role of Diana Morales in “A Chorus Line.” During her time at WSU, she played several roles including Susan in “[title of show]” and Amy in “The Theory of Relativity.”

Join the WSU Wind Ensemble for a mesmerizing musical journey at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 31 in Miller Concert Hall. Experience Steven Bryant’s captivating “Ecstatic Waters,” Luis Serrano Alarcón’s diverse “Duende” and the dynamic finale “DOPE” by Katahj Copley, accompanied by a film premiere.

WSU students with a Shocker ID can request their student tickets at no additional charge in advance by going to the Fine Arts Box Office located in Duerksen Fine Arts Center during operating hours.

Tickets can be purchased online at the Fine Arts Box Office or by phone at 316-978-3233.

The College of Fine Arts presents world-renowned Ukrainian pianist, Vadym Kholodenko, in recital at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 31 in Wiedemann Hall. Vadym Kholodenko was born in 1986 in Kyiv, Ukraine and won the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 2013.

He captured the attention of jury, audience and critics alike for “mesmerizing and exhilarating” performances that brought the crowd to their feet, “cheering like a rock star.”  The program is underwritten by the estate of Joyce Snelling Grubbs, and ticket proceeds will fund music scholarships.

WSU students with a Shocker ID can request their student tickets at no additional charge in advance by going to the Fine Arts Box Office located in Duerksen Fine Arts Center during operating hours.

The School of Performing Arts proudly presents “Move on Litwin: Dance Up Close,” a diverse evening of dance works, at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 26-28 in the Litwin Theatre of the Heskett Dance Studio.

Tickets are $15, but Wichita State students can receive one ticket to the performance at no additional charge with their Shocker ID thanks to the support of the WSU Student Government for College of Fine Arts performances.

Call the College of Fine Arts Box Office at 316-978-3233 for tickets, or purchase them online.

The School of Performing Arts in the College of Fine Arts invites the Wichita community to its 2023-24 season of productions.

This year’s season is centered around “Building Community.”

Fall 2023:

• Move on Litwin: Dance Up Close – 7:30 p.m. Oct. 26-28 in Litwin Theatre, Heskett Dance Studios
• A Chorus Line – 7:30 p.m. Nov. 2-4; 2 p.m. Nov. 5 in the Wilner Auditorium
• Senior Capstone Celebration – 6 p.m. Dec. 2; 2 p.m. Dec. 3 in Wilner Auditorium

Spring 2024:

• Wichita Children’s Dance Festival – 2 p.m. Jan. 28 in Wilner Auditorium
• Peter and the Starcatcher – 7:30 p.m. Feb. 29-March 2; 2 p.m. March 3 in Wilner Auditorium
• Christmas Dish – 7:30 p.m. April 5-6 in the Welsbacher Black Box Theatre, Hughes Metropolitan Complex
• Wichita Contemporary Dance Theatre – 7 p.m. April 25-27; 2 p.m. April 28 in Wilner Auditorium

Tickets can be purchased online from the College of Fine Arts Box Office. Find a complete list of productions on the School of Performing Arts website.

On the great Marcussen organ in Wiedemann Hall, Lynne Davis, the Robert L. Town Distinguished Professor of Organ, presents another Wednesdays in Wiedemann recital at 5:15 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 11. It will also be livestreamed on the School of Music Facebook page.

Enjoy works by J.S. Bach, entitled “Back to Bach 2,” and more music by the celebrated Cantor of Leipzig in the setting of Wiedemann Hall with Bach’s own transcription of a Vivaldi concerto and his dramatic Fantasy and Fugue in G minor.

The School of Performing Arts presents “Mama Bushwick is Dead” at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 5 through Oct. 7 in the Welsbacher Theatre in the Eugene M Hughes Metropolitan Complex.

Ticket prices are $15, and Wichita State students receive one ticket at no additional charge with their Shocker ID thanks to the support of the Student Government Association.

Written by Elizabeth Shannon, the show is about five estranged siblings, Bard, Joyce, Robin, Scott, and Jo, who return to their recently deceased mother’s home. They must prepare for her funeral, clean her duplex, and decide who will give her eulogy. Filled with grief, trauma, childhood memories, and dolls, “Mama Bushwick is Dead,” explores the complex family dynamics present regardless of place and time. This show is rated PG-13 for language and adult themes that may not be suited for children under 13.

Purchase tickets from the box office online or call 316-978-3233.

Hilary Jones, assistant professor of flute, and Dean Roush, professor of music theory and composition, will be featured in the first concert of the season by the WSU Symphony Orchestra at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 21 in Miller Concert Hall. The program will be led by Mark Laycock.

Jones, principal flute of the Wichita Symphony Orchestra, will perform “Carmen Fantasy” by Francois Borne. Beginning her first full year on the WSU faculty, Jones maintains an active career performing and teaching throughout the US.

Roush’s composition “Ars Poetica” dates from 2011 and is based upon a poem by Tom Andrews, a cousin of the composer. Retiring at the end of this academic year, Roush is area coordinator of musicology and composition.

The concert also includes Dmitri Shostakovich’s Fifth Symphony. Composed in 1937, ostensibly as an apology to Soviet authorities for his controversial opera “Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District,” the work remains an unrepentant and bold testimony of an artist’s courage in the face of oppression and censure.

As an orchestral musician, Jones also holds the position of second flute with the Greater Bridgeport Symphony and regularly performs with the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, Riverside Symphony’s Lincoln Center series, New England Symphonic Ensemble’s residency at Carnegie Hall, Princeton Symphony Orchestra, Ridgefield Symphony Orchestra, New Brunswick Chamber Orchestra, Washington Heights Chamber Orchestra and she is a substitute musician for the Hartford Symphony Orchestra and New Haven Symphony. She was twice a fellow at the National Orchestral Institute and was also awarded a fellowship with the Talis Festival in Switzerland.

Roush earned his BFA from Ohio University, his MM from Bowling Green State University and his DMA from Ohio State University. Roush is a former National Science Foundation research associate in computer music and a former instructor of theory and composition at Bowling Green State University. He has several published research articles, compositions and arrangements. His works for solo harp have been performed throughout the United States, Europe and Israel and are recorded on the Orion label. A compact disc of his “The Dove Descending” for flute and organ has been released on the Summit Records label.

Tickets are available online at the Fine Arts Box Office or by calling 316- 978-3233.

The Rie Bloomfield Organ Series 2023-24 season presents its first distinguished guest artist at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 19 in Wiedemann Hall on the great Marcussen organ.

Bradley Hunter Welch from Dallas will present an eclectic program including audience favorites and will participate in the popular “Conversation with the Artist” immediately following the intermission, an onstage interview with Lynne Davis, professor and series producer.

Tickets, with special student rates, can be purchased online, and the event will be livestreamed on the School of Music’s Facebook page.