Presenting internationally acclaimed artists of dance, music and theatre
The Artist Series seeks to encourage an aesthetic appreciation of diverse cultures as well as the artistic heritage of humankind. Performances are often linked in ways that advance intellectual engagement through master classes, lectures or content of the artistic presentation.
Please visit www.susqu.edu/artsandevents to view our most current listings and to confirm dates and times.
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More Arts & Events
Interested in more? Visit the Arts & Events webpage to see a full list of upcoming performances, readings, lectures and discussions.
Welcome to the 2022-23 Artist Series
Taikoza
Sept. 23, 2022, 7:30 p.m.
Weber Chapel Auditorium
Roughly translated, taiko means “big drums” — and that’s exactly what Taikoza brings. Drawing on Japan’s rich legacy of music and performance to develop a highly visual experience with colorful costumes and dynamic motion, Taikoza created a new sound using ancestral taiko drums and bamboo flutes. The group gives thunderous voice to traditional and new compositions through big drums, powerful rhythms and electrifying, roomthumping energy.
Formed in New York City by members of Ondekoza — the group that started the renaissance of taiko in Japan in the 1960s and introduced taiko to the world — Taikoza has performed in prestigious venues like Carnegie Hall, Boston Symphony Hall, Moscow’s Tchaikovsky Hall and House of Music, Osaka Festival Hall and Lincoln Center. The group has also toured extensively internationally and appeared on ESPN, NBC and The History Channel, as well as other networks. Taikoza CDs have been nominated five times for Best Asian Music by the Japan Foundation Awards.
Preservation Hall Jazz Band
Special Guest To Be Announced
In association with AMP Worldwide and Belly Up Entertainment.
Nov. 8, 2022, 7:30 p.m.
Weber Chapel Auditorium
At a moment when musical streams cross with unprecedented frequency, it’s crucial to remember that New Orleans has been the point at which sounds and cultures from around the world converged, mingled and resurfaced, transformed by the Crescent City’s inimitable spirit and joie de vivre. Nowhere is that idea more vividly embodied than in the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, a reminder that this history is vibrantly living music — a sonic continuum stretching back to the city’s Afro-Cuban roots, through common ancestry with the Afrobeat of Fela Kuti and the Fire Music of Pharoah Sanders and John Coltrane; forward to cutting-edge artists with whom the PHJB has shared stages, including Stevie Wonder, Elvis Costello, Grateful Dead and modern giants like Arcade Fire and The Black Keys.
This fall, the Preservation Hall Jazz Band embarks on a pilgrimage of its own: a nationwide tour to celebrate the Hall’s 60th anniversary. The band’s mission remains focused on initiating audiences into the ineffable, almost religious experience of channeling their ancestors through the music and culture they’ve inherited from them.
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Czech National Symphony Orchestra
Featuring Steven Mercurio, Conductor and Robert McDuffie, Violin Soloist
Feb. 14, 2023, 7:30 p.m.
Weber Chapel Auditorium
Under music director Steven Mercurio, the Czech National Symphony Orchestra celebrates its 30th anniversary in 2023. Recognized as one of Europe’s first-rank symphonic ensembles and renowned for its versatility, the orchestra annually presents a broad program ranging from classical music to contemporary genres, film scores, jazz, and musicals. Since 2005, the CNSO has also organized the Prague Proms Festival, an impressive array of prominent international performers that appeals to a diverse audience annually.
Composers, conductors, and performers such as Ennio Morricone, Lalo Schifrin, James Morrison, Branford & Wynton Marsalis, Danny Elfman, and Chick Corea have repeatedly come to record with the orchestra or perform in Smetana Hall, home concert stage of CNSO. The orchestra has also partnered with prominent pop artists such as Sting, George Michael, and Natalie Cole. Successful tours have taken place all over North America, Europe, Asia, and Oceania. The Czech National Symphony Orchestra’s recordings are sold worldwide, and the orchestra takes pride in having produced a number of Gold CDs.
Due to unforeseen circumstances, the Czech National Symphony Orchestra will be performing in place of the Munich Symphony Orchestra.
Aquila Theatre Presents Julius Caesar
March 9, 2023, 7:30 p.m.
Degenstein Center Theater
Aquila Theatre’s striking new production of Shakespeare’s political thriller, Julius Caesar, bursts into life with complex characters and powerful contemporary parallels. The fall and rise of Rome’s ruling class takes us on a journey into a world of conspiracy and betrayal. Fresh from success on the battlefield, a triumphant Caesar returns to Rome a virtual dictator. Brutus, Cassius and like-minded senators decide his undemocratic power grab must be stopped.
One of the foremost producers of classical theater in the United States, Aquila visits 50–60 cities annually with a program of two plays, workshops and educational programming. The company has been awarded numerous grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, The National Endowment for the Humanities, the New York State Councils for the Arts and Humanities and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.
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