Category: Performances

Wichita State’s Opera Theater, under the direction of Alan Held, professor of voice and director of opera studies, will present its annual performance of “Scenes and Songs” from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 10 in Wiedemann Hall. Bridget Hille, pianist, will provide musical assistance.

The program, which serves as an introduction to new opera goers and an evening of variety for seasoned veterans, provides performance opportunities for students of all levels of study.

Scenes and arias will be presented from “Rusalka,” “Die Zauberflöte,” “Lucia di Lammermoor,” “Hansel and Gretel,” “Manon,” “The Mother of us All,” “Peter Grimes,” “Die Walküre” and “La Clemenza di Tito.”

Tickets are available at the College of Fine Arts Box Office or by calling 316-978-3233. Students receive one ticket at no additional charge with their Shocker ID.

Join Lynne Davis for the next Wednesdays in Wiedemann organ recital on the Marcussen organ at 5:15 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 1 in Wiedemann Hall.

Admission is open to everyone at no charge, and the program includes impressionistic works by French composer Henri Mulet from his Byzantine sketches depicting a great cathedral in music.

Rie Bloomfield Organ Series Organ and Orchestra Concert at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 28 in Wiedemann Hall.  The concert will be live-streamed on the WSU School of Music Facebook page.

Featured artists will be Lynne Davis on the Marcussen organ, Mark Laycock and the WSU Symphony Orchestra. Purchase tickets at wichita.edu/organ.

David Hunsicker, associate professor of trumpet, will perform Haydn’s masterful Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra this weekend. The concert takes place at Century II Performing Arts Center at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 19. Tickets are available at wichitasymphony.org. Also on the program is a work by contemporary composer Caroline Shaw and Mozart’s Requiem.

Wichita State Choral Activities is presenting the annual Madrigal Feast starting at 6 p.m. Dec. 9 in the Rhatigan Student Center Beggs Ballroom (3rd floor).

Madrigal Feasts are a unique type of dinner theater, set in Elizabethan England, that feature wonderful food, fun and music.

The evening begins with cocktails and charcuterie, followed by a four-course meal and performances from 7 to 9:30 p.m.

Tickets are available now through Dec. 5.

The performances of “Stupid F##king Bird” by the School of Performing Arts have been canceled. We apologize for any inconvenience.

The Rie Bloomfield Organ Series welcomes organist Clive Driskill-Smith as its Distinguished Guest Artist at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 8.

Driskill-Smith was born in England and is currently based in St. Antonio, Texas. He will perform in beautiful Wiedemann Hall on the great Marcussen pipe organ in a program spanning several centuries.

Most concerts will be live-streamed on the WSU School of Music Facebook page. Wednesdays in Wiedemann are also available on the YouTube channel. For information on WSU’s degrees and certificate in organ email lynne.davis@wichita.edu or visit wichita.edu/organ.

The Wichita State University Opera Theater and the Wichita Grand Opera will present two collaborative performances of Carlysle Floyd’s Great American Opera “Susannah.” Performances will be 7:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 11, and 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 13 in Miller Concert Hall on the Wichita State University campus.

The performance will feature student performers and noted professionals, including current WSU Opera Theatre director, internationally renowned bass-baritone and WSU alum Alan Held as the Reverend Olin Blitch. Also appearing will be WSU alum Samuel Ramey in the role of Elder McLean. The production will be staged-directed by former WSU Opera Theatre director Marie King.

The story of “Susannah”  appears in the Deuterocanonical Book of Daniel. Young, pretty, and innocent Susannah is a target of the vicious gossip of the women of the local elders. In 1955, the late American composer Carlisle Floyd embellished the story into an opera set in rural New Hope Valley, Tennessee.

Tickets are available by visiting the link below or by calling 316-978-3233. Students can receive one free ticket with their Shocker ID.  Other discounts apply.

The WSU Symphony Orchestra will present “Ellis Island: The Dream of America” in concert at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 20, in Miller Concert Hall. It is a multimedia presentation with music by Peter Boyer, narration drawn from immigrant testimonies collected in the Ellis Island Oral History Project, and historic photographs from the early twentieth century.

Dr. Cristina Castaldi and Dr. Michael Sylvester, professors of voice, will provide narration. Dr. Mark Laycock, director of orchestras, will conduct.

Boyer’s major work, “Ellis Island: The Dream of America” has become one of the most performed American orchestral works of the past 15 years, with over 250 performances by more than 100 orchestras since its 2002 premiere. Boyer’s recording of “Ellis Island” on the Naxos American Classics label was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Classical Composition. Grammy-nominated Peter Boyer is one of the most frequently performed American orchestral composers of his generation.

Tickets ($12 for general admission with discounts available) may be purchased through the Fine Arts Box Office (978-3233 or wichita.edu/fineartsboxoffice). Students with Shocker ID get in at no additional cost.

For more information, contact Laycock at 978-6202 or mark.laycock@wichita.edu.

Please join the WSU Concert Chorale and Madrigal Singers as they welcome the Andover High School Madrigals at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 11 in Wiedemann Hall.