Monday, Feb. 10 | 8 p.m.
Memorial Chapel
Lawrence faculty Andy Hudson (clarinet), Jenny Snyder Kozoroz (viola), and Catherine Kautsky (piano) perform works by Brahms, John Harmon ’57, and Mozart.
Free and open to the public!
Can’t make it to the Lawrence Memorial Chapel? Catch the live webcast.
Friday, Feb. 7 | 7:30 p.m.
Lawrence Memorial Chapel
Adrian Steele & Phoenix Avalon (violin)
Devin Moore (viola)
Joshua McClendon (cello)
Formed in 2019, the Isidore String Quartet, winners of the 2023 Avery Fisher Career Grant and the 14th Banff International String Quartet Competition in 2022, aims to refresh classical repertoire. Influenced by the Juilliard String Quartet, they approach music with a fresh perspective. Originating from the Juilliard School, they regrouped at the Kneisel Hall Chamber Music Festival in 2021 under Joel Krosnick’s mentorship. The quartet received coaching from luminaries including Joseph Lin, Astrid Schween, and Miriam Fried. Committed to revitalizing established works and embracing innovation, they bring a dynamic energy to their performances, embodying their ethos of treating tradition with innovation and the new with reverence.
You are invited to play at an informal recital hosted by the Lawrence University and Conservatory Chamber Music Collective! The recital will be held Wednesday, March 12 at 6:30 p.m.
Wednesday, Jan. 29 | 8-10 p.m.
Harper Hall
This dynamic duo is composed of Larry Bellorín of Monagas, Venezuela, a legend of Llanera music, and Joe Troop, a Grammy-nominated bluegrass musician from North Carolina. The two fell into step together when the pandemic sent Troop back home to The Tarheel State after ten years in South America, the same state where Bellorín happened to end up as an asylum seeker. Their unique blend of Venezuelan and Appalachian folk on the harp, banjo, cuatro, fiddle, guitar, maracas, and whatever else fits in the van unites their own unique cultures and traditions while bringing music to the forefront of social movements.
General admission tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for seniors. Students with a valid ID get in for free!
Saturday, Jan. 25 | 8 p.m.
Harper Hall
This concert will feature Conservatory faculty Brigit Fitzgerald (bassoon), Ann Ellsworth (horn), Zach Marley (tuba), Kivie Cahn-Lipman (cello), Andy Hudson (clarinet), and Cayla Rosché (voice), joined by eight students and narrator Marcia Bjornerud, Walter Schober Professor of Environmental Studies and professor of geosciences.
Saturday, Jan. 18
12-2 p.m. | Warch 225 – Esch Hurvis
Elise Knudson and rebeca medina will join to share their body-mind practices of listening to the pull of the earth and to each other. This class will start with a detailed warm-up of the spine and will move into exploring states of touch and movement. This will develop into a dance where the focus will be on discovering new challenges in the specific excavation of pouring weight.
No registration is required. Some understanding or knowledge of Contact Improvisation appreciated/expected.
Email Margaret Paek with questions (margaret.s.paek@lawrence.edu).
7 p.m. | Warch 225 – Esch Hurvis
U.F.O. (Uncharted Forms of the Occasion) is an improvisational performance practice bringing together musicians and movers to spontaneously compose for an audience. Inspired by a lineage of improvisational group performance formats such as Hyperlocal MKE and Lower Left’s Available Space in San Diego, U.F.O. is a site for artists to gather and create—relying on their years of individual improvisational research and practices to support this delightful and sometimes precarious community endeavor.
This iteration of U.F.O. is directed by special Dance Series artists Elise Knudson + rebeca medina and collaboratively and improvisationally created and performed by Elise Knudson, rebeca medina, Greg Riss, Jean Carlo Ureña Gonzalez, Loren Kiyoshi Dempster, Margaret Sunghe Paek, Matt Turner, Mauriah Donegan Kraker, and Tim Albright.
Monday, Jan. 13 | 8 p.m.
Memorial Chapel
Guest trombonist Megumi Kanda will perform works by Eugène Bozza, Keiko Takashima, Axel Jørgensen, and an original composition by Ms. Kanda. She will be joined by faculty pianist Michael Mizrahi.
This concert is free and open to the public!
There are many opportunities to support the Conservatory and listen to some wonderful music this week! Events are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted.
There are many opportunities to support the Conservatory and listen to some wonderful music this week! All events are free and open to the public.
Friday, Nov. 8 & Saturday, Nov. 9
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.
Below is a schedule of the weekend’s events. The events are subject to change. Please check prior to Jazz Weekend for any changes that may have occurred. All events are free and open to the public, unless otherwise noted.
Performing Arts Series: René Marie & Experiment in Truth
7:30 p.m. | Memorial Chapel | Tickets Required
In a span of two decades, 11 recordings, and countless stage performances, vocalist René Marie has cemented her reputation as not only a singer but also a composer, arranger, theatrical performer, and teacher. Guided and tempered by powerful life lessons and rooted in jazz traditions laid down by Ella Fitzgerald, Dinah Washington, and other leading ladies of past generations, she borrows various elements of folk, R&B, and even classical and country to create a captivating hybrid style. Her body of work is musical, but it’s more than just music. It’s an exploration of the bright and dark corners of the human experience and an affirmation of the power of the human spirit.
Morning – Instrumental Clinics
Morning – Lawrence University Jazz Combos Performances
Cloak Theater
Instrumental masterclasses by Lawrence University jazz faculty
11:15 a.m.
12 p.m. – Lunch
Lawrence University Jazz Band & Jazz Ensemble concert
1:30 p.m. | Memorial Chapel | Free admission
Afternoon – instrumental clinics
Afternoon – Lawrence University Jazz Combos performances
Cloak Theater – Free admission
Performing Arts Series: Sean Jones Quartet
7:30 p.m. | Memorial Chapel | Tickets Required
Music and spirituality converge in the multifaceted career of Sean Jones, trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator, and activist. Raised in Warren, Ohio, his journey from church choir to jazz stages reflects his versatility and dedication. Whether leading an ensemble or collaborating, Jones excels across genres. A former lead trumpeter for Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra and member of SFJAZZ Collective, his leadership cultivates talent and produces acclaimed recordings. Notable collaborations include performances with jazz luminaries like Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter. Jones’s legacy, spanning eight albums on Mack Avenue Records, including 2017’s Sean Jones: Live from the Jazz Bistro, underscores his enduring impact on contemporary jazz.
