Deanna Kolell

Thursday, November 16 | 5:30-6:30 p.m.
Riverview Gardens | 1101 S. Oneida St.
FREE

Through the Music for All initiative, we strive to expand the impact of music outside of the concert hall by using music to engage communities in new ways. We challenge Lawrentians to think outside the box, to create new and innovative performance opportunities for themselves, and to expand how they engage with their craft.

Through this initiative we lay the groundwork for students to create a rich, inclusive musical life after Lawrence that expands the possibilities of a career as a professionally trained musician.

Music for All is exactly what it sounds like:  music, for everyone. Regardless of color, age, orientation, or ability. 

This concert series features interactive musical performances by Lawrence students and faculty. The concerts are free and open to everyone. They last about an hour, and will take place locally.

Tuesday, Nov. 7 | 8:15-10 p.m.
Harper Hall

This concert is free and open all.

A workshop led by the duo will precede their concert:
4-5 p.m. | Music-Drama Center 254

Kevin Henderson is a fiddler who draws on the rich fiddle music tradition of his native Shetland and his experience with leading bands including Boys of the Lough, Fiddlers Bid, Session A9 and Nordic Fiddlers Bloc to create an expressive and adventurously individual musical style.

Brought up in the Shetland schooling system, whose concentration on fiddle music and encouragement to participate still inspire him, Kevin benefited in his teens from the teaching of the legendary Willie Hunter. Lessons with Hunter could comprise chatting over coffee and biscuits and even extend to being taught survival skills, as well as learning both the essentials and the finer points of playing Shetland reels, and every Saturday Kevin came away motivated to emulate his mentor.

With school friends Chris Stout, Andrew Gifford and Maurice Henderson, Kevin formed Fiddlers Bid, a band that – almost thirty years, innumerable gigs and four enthusiastically received albums on – continues to represent the finest of Shetland fiddling allied with harmonic invention, creative subtlety and enthusiastic vigour.

Multi-instrumentalist, step dancer and host of the TradCafe podcast, Neil Pearlman is a vital and distinctive voice in contemporary traditional music. Described as “a tremendous pianist” on BBC Radio Scotland and “a force to be reckoned with” by WGBH’s Brian O’Donovan, Neil is best known for his groundbreaking approach to the piano in Celtic music. Motivated by a deep musical curiosity and a love of collaboration, his playing is continually evolving and spontaneous without losing its roots in the traditional piano styles of Atlantic Canada, New England and Scotland. He has appeared at major festivals across North America and Europe including the Newport Folk Festival, Celtic Connections in Glasgow, Celtic Colours in Cape Breton, the Orkney Folk Festival, and has recorded, performed or otherwise collaborated with such artists as Natalie MacMaster, Darol Anger, Seamus Egan, Alasdair Fraser and many more.

Growing up in a musical family, Neil was immersed in Scottish and Cape Breton music and dance from the start. He began dancing at the age of 3 and the piano followed soon after. Joining his parents and siblings on stage as the family band Highland Soles, Neil learned the art of performance early at festivals and concert halls across New England. At the age of 11, he appeared several times as a dancer in Natalie MacMaster’s high-powered show alongside his mother Laura Scott and a few years later released his first album with his father, fiddler Ed Pearlman. Already at that age he was exploring a passion for other styles of music, especially a lifelong love of jazz that has always played a role in his creative voice.

Today Neil’s musical projects run the gamut from deeply traditional to refreshingly contemporary. His podcast TradCafe is a series of conversations and collaborations with traditional musicians from around the world. In 2021 TradCafe launched a video series featuring one-off musical collaborations between Neil and artists such as Troy MacGillivray, Jenna Moynihan, Begona Riobo, Anxo Pintos, Yann Falquet and Alasdair White. His 2020 release Burden Lake with acclaimed Shetland fiddler Kevin Henderson received 5 stars from The Scotsman. He tours regularly with Kevin Henderson, Katie McNally, The Pine Tree Flyers, and as a solo pianist, while playing more irregularly with a wide variety of side projects featuring top Celtic, Americana and Jazz musicians.

Join professional jazz artists and clinicians for a non-competitive educational jazz festival during the Fred Sturm Jazz Celebration Weekend!

The goal of the Fred Sturm Jazz Celebration Weekend is to create a low-pressure clinic environment and provide an inspirational boost at the start of the school year through extended ensemble workshops with renowned clinicians, a special focus on improvisation, an absence of ratings and trophies, and a world-class list of professional jazz artists.

For the 2023 festival, we are honored to feature visiting artists Alicia Olatuja Quintet and Magos Herrera Quartet at our Friday and Saturday evening concerts! We are excited to welcome the wider Appleton community to the festival and have an exciting schedule of events planned.

For full event details, visit lawrence.edu.

Schedule

Friday, Nov. 3

• 7:30 p.m. | Alicia Olatuja Quintet | Memorial Chapel
  Tickets Required
  Listening to acclaimed vocalist, composer, and arranger Alicia Olatuja, is truly an unforgettable experience. Olatuja gained global recognition for her stunning vocal performance during President Obama’s second inauguration, and has been praised in the New York Times as “a singer with a strong and luscious tone.” Olatuja combines the earthy with the sublime, bringing a grounded relatability to genres as lofty as classical, as venerated as jazz, and as gritty as R&B. Her debut album, Intuition: Songs from the Minds of Women, celebrates female composers.

Saturday, Nov. 4

• 8 a.m.-5:30 p.m. | High school & middle school clinics
• 10-11:30 a.m. | LU Mary Lou, Melba, and Elvin combos | Cloak Theater
  FREE
• 1:30 p.m. | Lawrence University Jazz Ensemble & Jazz Band concert | Memorial Chapel
  FREE
  Webcast
• 3-4 p.m. | LU Thelonious and Miles combos | Cloak Theater
  FREE
• 7:30 p.m. | Magos Herrera Quartet | Memorial Chapel
  Tickets Required
  A dazzling jazz singer-songwriter, producer, and educator known for her sultry voice and unique presence in the Latin American jazz scene, Magos Herrera’s style effortlessly blends contemporary jazz with Ibero-American melodies and rhythms, transcending language barriers. With nine albums and collaborations with renowned producer Javier Limón, she has received accolades and performed at prestigious venues and festivals worldwide. Recognized by Forbes as one of the most creative Mexicans in the world, Herrera has received a Grammy shortlist nomination for Best Jazz Vocal Album (Distancia, 2009) and a Berklee College of Music’s Master of Latin Music Award.

Tickets

Purchase tickets from the Box Office (920-832-6749) or online. The Box Office is open Monday-Saturday from 1-6 p.m. and an hour prior to events.

• Adults: $30/$25
• Seniors: $25/$20
• LU faculty/staff: $10/$9
• Students (LU and non-LU): FREE
  (Valid Lawrence ID must be presented for LU prices)

LUNME presents the music of Michael Gordon, David Lang, and Julia Wolfe

Wednesday, Nov. 1 | 8-9:30 p.m.
Harper Hall

The Lawrence University New Music Ensemble (LUNME) presents an evening of exhilarating music by renowned Bang on a Can composers: Michael Gordon, David Lang, and Julia Wolfe.

Between them, these composers have received two Pulitzer Prizes, a MacArthur “genius” grant, and commissions from nearly every major ensemble in the United States.

LUNME brings together students and faculty to work side-by-side on music that stretches ears and sparks creativity. In 2022, LUNME received the American Prize in Virtual Performance for their recording of Frederic Rzewski’s Coming Together.

This concert is free and open to the public!