College of Arts and Sciences Newsroom

Live classical and jazz music performances return to the University of Dayton campus starting in October. After a pandemic-related hiatus during 2020 that featured three virtual events, the ArtsLIVE Performance Series resumes with six live concerts scheduled for the 2021-22 academic year.

The series reopens at 3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 3, with a concert by the New York-based Jupiter Quartet in the Sears Recital Hall of the Jesse Philips Humanities Center.

“After the past year, live performance feels more important than ever,” said Eileen Carr, ArtsLIVE program coordinator. “We’re grateful that musicians are willing to travel and appear in person once again.”

Precautions for both musicians and audience members are in place on campus. The campus community is 73% vaccinated, and masks are required in indoor spaces regardless of one’s vaccination status.

This year’s concerts all have an American theme. Despite the unifying focus, the music will be varied. As American composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein observed, “… there are as many sides to American music as there are to the American people.” 

This musical diversity is reflected in the season line-up, which includes traditional string quartets such as the Jupiter Quartet and the Harlem Quartet, which performs Sunday, Feb. 27. Invoke, an innovative ensemble from Austin, Texas, that adds mandolin and banjo to the standard quartet instrumentation, performs Sunday, Nov. 7. Invoke layers bluegrass and folk with their classical roots for a sound that has been described as “not classical … but not not classical.” These three programs are made possible by the Vanguard Legacy Endowment.

Sometimes called the most American of all genres, jazz is also part of the ArtsLIVE season. On Thursday, Oct. 21, vibraphonist Joel Ross brings his Good Vibes ensemble to perform on campus. A Blue Note Records artist, Ross is acclaimed for his luminous sound, which seamlessly draws on jazz, hip-hop, church and Chicago improvised styles.

Trumpeter, vocalist and songwriter Bria Skonberg will appear in concert Thursday, March 24. Skonberg has been called “… one of the most versatile and imposing musicians of her generation.” Ross and Skonberg’s performances are supported by the Cityfolk JazzNet Legacy Endowment.

New Morse Code, an adventurous percussion-cello duo, will close the season Wednesday, April 6, with a multidisciplinary program focused on the American landscape. Performing works by two rising American composers, the event will integrate acoustic music and recorded sound and video to raise questions about the entangled threads of climate, environment and technology. 

All ArtsLIVE performances are in Sears Recital Hall. Parking is free, and C-lot is recommended because it is closest in proximity to the Humanities Center. No parking pass is required on weekends, but evening visitors are asked to stop to request a free pass at the C-lot visitor kiosk.

Individual tickets and season subscriptions are available online through the ArtsLIVE website — go.udayton.edu/artslive — or by calling the Kennedy Union box office at 937-229-2545 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday. 

Tickets are $18 general admission; $15 for seniors, military and University alumni; $10 for University employees and retirees; and $5 for students age 21 and under. Thanks to support from the College, tickets are free for University of Dayton undergraduate and graduate students at the Kennedy Union box office.

Established in 1961, ArtsLIVE is one of the Dayton region’s oldest chamber music programs. An initiative of the College of Arts and Sciences, it presents concerts by visiting professional ensembles for the campus and greater Dayton communities.

For more information, visit the ArtsLIVE website.