Theatre lovers and music lovers alike know the works of Stephen Sondheim. But how many fully appreciate the power and complexity of Sondheim’s familiar compositions?
In a multi-year project undertaken with the composer’s blessing, Anthony de Mare has invited 36 of the world’s foremost contemporary composers to each re-imagine a Sondheim song of their choosing, scored for solo piano.
For 37 years and running, the Annual Pops Concert has been a big hit with audiences.
We guarantee you will walk out humming more than one tune from this lighter fare of great classic music.
American pianist Benjamin Pasternack presents piano music inspired by African Americans and Native Americans, including two rarities by Arthur Farwell, who as leader of the “Indianists” movement deserves to be known as the American Bartok.
The program includes Dvořák’s Humoresques in F and G-flat and an excerpt from his American Suite; Busoni’s Indian Diary No. 2; Farwell’s Pawnee Horses and Navajo War Dance No. 2; and Bernstein/Pasternack’s On the Town Dances.
William Shakespeare’s whimsical tale of love and mistaken identity comes to life in a completely new way in this bilingual Chinese and American co-production.
The performance is the culmination of a multi-year collaboration between the UMD School of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies and The National Academy of Chinese Theatre Arts. Staging, costumes, lighting and direction were jointly realized in the United States and China and the cast includes Chinese and American actors, who will each perform in their native language.
Sit in on the opening round of the annual competition as students vie for the opportunity to perform as a featured soloist with the UMD Symphony Orchestra.
Students perform six- to eight-minute excerpts of a concerto or concert piece for an independent jury panel.
The seven to ten finalists will compete in the Final Round on November 16.
The host of WAMU 88.5’s Kojo Nnamdi Show is no stranger to provoking people to talk. As the host of our Creative Dialogue series, he encourages artists to talk about the creative process.
As the conductor of the UMD Symphony Orchestra and the Artistic Director of the National Orchestral Institute, James Ross loves feeling like he’s somewhere nobody has been before.
By Hanna Morgan
Colorful. My first experience at an opera was, well, colorful. The costumes of the eleven UMD students who performed in the Dominick Argento opera, Postcard from Morocco, represented every hue on the color wheel. The various characters were dressed in beautiful purple Victorian dresses and striped vests and carried around decorated pieces of luggage of different shapes, sizes and hues. Besides the visual color, the opera itself was colorful, or unique, in its plot. This kept me engaged throughout the opera, as I had no idea what would happen next.
By Hannah Morgan
Students, parents, musicians and music aficionados alike crowded into CSPAC to groove with two UMD student jazz combos. The show was spectacular, and featured songs written by some of the combo members themselves.
