(NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ) -- The 40th anniversary season at Mason Gross School of the Arts, the arts conservatory of Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, kicks off September 1, 2015, and features events in music, dance, theater, and visual arts. Many events are free, and all events feature discounts for Rutgers alumni, employees and students, as well as senior citizens.
Ticket prices listed below are for General Public / Rutgers Alumni, Employees, and Seniors / Students. Tickets may be purchased by phone at 848-932-7511 or in person at the ticket office at 85 George Street, New Brunswick, in the Mason Gross Performing Arts Center.
Mason Gross Galleries events are free. More information about gallery events is available by calling 848-932-5202. Information on all events is available at www.masongross.rutgers.edu/events.
PHOTO: The House of Influx by William M Brown
Dance
Alumni Dance Concert
Friday, September 11, and Saturday, September 12, 7:30 p.m.
New works by alumni of the Dance Department
Loree Dance Theater
$15/$10/$5*
Symposium: Dance and Parkinson’s, Moving Forward
Thursday, October 29, 4:30 p.m.
Participants will take a master class with Pamela Quinn, film an addition to Pamela Quinn’s Neurodance, and listen to a panel discussion on Parkinson’s disease.
Nicholas Music Center Studio 104
FREE
General parking adjacent; handicap-accessible parking also available.
The Symposium is co-sponsored by the Dance Department, Rutgers University; the New Jersey Ballet; and the Parkinson’s Information and Referral Service.
BFA Senior Solo Duet Concert
Wednesday, November 4–Saturday, November 7, 7:30 p.m.
New choreographic works by BFA senior dance majors in collaboration with composers from the Music Department
Loree Dance Theater
$15/$10/$5*
DancePlus Fall
Wednesday, November 18–Friday, November 20, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, November 21, 2 and 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, November 22, 2 p.m.
BFA dance majors in works by Mason Gross faculty and award-winning guest artists including Kyle Abraham, Camille A. Brown, Nicholas Bruder, and Jessica Lang
Victoria J. Mastrobuono Theater
$25/$20/$15*
Marathon Dancing: Letters to Wall Street in the Era of Wonderful Nonsense
Thursday, December 3–Sunday, December 6, 7:30 p.m.
Conceived, directed, and designed by Zishan Ugurlu, resident director at New York City’s La MaMa Theatre.
Choreography by Julia M. Ritter
A portrayal of the grueling and competitive world of 1930s dance marathons, this play parallels today’s exploitative reality-show culture, framed by economic crisis. Marathon Dancing features letters written to bank executives by angered individuals, which will be read live by the writers themselves, bringing to light the brutal effects of the economic collapse of 2008.
Loree Dance Theater
$15/$10/$5*
*Student price available during daytime ticket office hours only, Monday through Saturday.
Music
Rutgers Symphony Orchestra
Saturday, September 12, 7:30 p.m.
Bernstein’s Symphony No. 1, “Jeremiah,” Berg’s Violin Concerto, Brahms’s Symphony No. 3 in F major, Op. 90
Nicholas Music Center
$15/$10/$5
Experimental Music in Practice: Perspectives from Latin America Symposium
Thursday, September 24, 5 p.m.
Introductory keynote “City, Network, Ecology: Experimental Music and the Global Vernacular” by Benjamin Piekut, professor of musicology at Cornell University
Shindell Choral Hall (Mortensen Hall)
Free
Friday, September 25, 8:30 a.m.–4:45 p.m.
Interdisciplinary symposium exploring a wide variety of musical traditions—conceived and/or perceived as experimental—from Latin America, the Caribbean, and Latinos in the United States
Shindell Choral Hall (Mortensen Hall)
Free
Afro-Latino Performing Traditions
Friday, September 25, 8 p.m.
Concert with Latino artists who exemplify different approaches toward the preservation, adaptation, and creative renewal of Afro-Latino traditions within and beyond their respective cultural communities in the United States
Nicholas Music Center
$15/$10/$5
Rutgers Wind Ensemble: Exaltation
Friday, October 2, 7:30 p.m.
Works include Barnes’s Third Symphony, Op. 89, “The Tragic,” Bach’s “Fugue à la Gigue,” Grantham’s “Wondrous Love,” and Reed’s “Russian Christmas Music”
Nicholas Music Center
$15/$10/$5
Rutgers Jazz Ensemble I
Friday, October 9, 7:30 p.m.
Seventh Annual William “Prof” Fielder Memorial Concert, with guest artist Claudio Roditi, Brazilian jazz trumpeter. Jazz trombonist and professor Conrad Herwig leads the ensemble
Nicholas Music Center
$15/$10/$5
Rutgers Jazz Ensemble II: Tribute to Oliver Nelson
Saturday, October 10, 7:30 p.m.
A tribute to jazz composer, arranger, and saxophonist Oliver Nelson, featuring selections from his works including The Blues and the Abstract Truth, Afro/American Sketches, and Domination (with Cannonball Adderley)
Nicholas Music Center
$15/$10/$5
Rutgers Symphony Orchestra
Sunday, October 11, 2 p.m.
Mason Bates’s “Warehouse Medicine” and “Mothership,” Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 2, and Nielsen’s Symphony No. 5
Nicholas Music Center
$15/$10/$5
Master Classes with Péter Mezö and Mátyás Ölveti
Monday, October 12, 12:35 p.m.
Observe master classes in violin or cello conducted by the cofounders of Hungary’s Accord Quartet
Nicholas Music Center (violin)
Shindell Choral Hall (Mortensen Hall) (cello)
Free
Péter Mezö and Mátyás Ölveti
Monday, October 12, 7:30 p.m.
The cofounders of Budapest’s Accord Quartet play chamber music for violin and cello. Program includes works by Ravel, Bach, and Kodály.
Schare Recital Hall (Marryott Music Building)
Free
Rutgers Mingus Band
Wednesday, October 14, 7:30 p.m.
The music of bassist and bandleader Charles Mingus, featuring selections from Intrusions and Oh Yeah. Tenor saxophonist and alum Abraham Burton leads the ensemble
Nicholas Music Center
$15/$10/$5
Sisters at the Keyboard: Fortepiano/Harpsichord Duos from 18th-Century Germany
Thursday, October 15, 7:30 p.m.
Rebecca Cypess, harpsichord, Yi-heng Yang, fortepiano
Shindell Choral Hall (Mortensen Hall)
Free
Rutgers Symphony Band: Heroes
Saturday, October 17, 7:30 p.m.
LoPresti’s “Elegy for a Young American,” Gillingham’s “Heroes, Lost and Fallen,” Rodgers/Bennett’s “Victory at Sea”
Nicholas Music Center
$15/$10/$5
Celebration of the Schuke Organ
Friday, October 23, 7:30 p.m.
Performances by faculty, students, and special guests
Voorhees Chapel, New Brunswick
Free
NJDAC: Digital Audio Concert
Sunday, October 25, 7:30 p.m.
Performances of computer-based music by Rutgers students, faculty, and New Jersey-based guest artists. This concert is presented by Music Technology at Mason Gross.
Shindell Choral Hall (Mortensen Hall)
Free
Rutgers Kirkpatrick Choir: Joyful Light
Sunday, November 1, 4 p.m.
Bach Cantatas 161, 173, and 184; Aldridge’s Bless this House; Emily Dickinson settings by O’Regan, Grantham, and Carter
Kirkpatrick Chapel
$15/$10/$5
Brass Bash
Sunday, November 1, 7:30 p.m.
A celebratory showcase of Mason Gross brass chamber music students in a variety of ensembles and musical styles, including traditional brass quintet and orchestral low brass
Shindell Choral Hall (Mortensen Hall)
Free
Master Class with Michel Bouvard
Wednesday, November 11, 1–4 p.m.
Organ works of César Franck
In conjunction with the organ classes of Westminster Choir College and Princeton University
Princeton University Chapel
Free
Celebrity Recital: Organist Michel Bouvard
Friday, November 13, 7:30 p.m.
Christ Church, New Brunswick
Free
Rutgers Symphony Orchestra
Saturday, November 14, 7:30 p.m.
Adams’s “Short Ride in a Fast Machine,” Walton’s Violin Concerto, and Wagner’s “The Ring without Words” (arr. Maazel)
Nicholas Music Center
$15/$10/$5
Faculty Recital
Sunday, November 15, 5 p.m.
Tatyana Kebuladze, piano, with guest Inna Dukach, soprano, performing songs by Alexander Tcherepnin
Schare Recital Hall (Marryott Music Building)
Free
Rutgers Percussion Ensemble
Sunday, November 15, 2 p.m.
Works include Steve Reich’s “Drumming,” Edgard Varèse’s “Ionisation,” and Steven Snowden’s “Tacoma Narrows,” as well as a specially selected work by a student composer
Nicholas Music Center
$15/$10/$5
Rutgers Sinfonia
Wednesday, November 18, 7:30 p.m.
Missy Mazzoli’s “Holy Roller,” Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 2, and Dvořák’s Symphony No. 7
Nicholas Music Center
$15/$10/$5
Helix! New Music Ensemble
Friday, November 20, 7:30 p.m.
World premieres from faculty and student composers alongside chamber works of the 20th and 21st centuries
Shindell Choral Hall (Mortensen Hall)
Free
Opera Workshop presents: Scenes from German Opera
Saturday, November 21, 7:30 p.m.
Scenes from Ariadne auf Naxos and Der Rosenkavalier by Strauss, Die Entführung aus dem Serail by Mozart, and Marta by von Flotow
Schare Recital Hall
Free
A Baroque Opera Extravaganza: Opera at Rutgers, Opera Lafayette, and the Rutgers Baroque Players Sunday, November 22
Setting of Catone in Utica by Leonardo Vinci, 1 p.m., and setting of Catone in Utica by Antonio Vivaldi, 4 p.m.
Nicholas Music Center
$15/$10/$5
Enjoy a public presentation at 3 p.m. by performers and musicologists from Rutgers and Opera Lafayette, of Washington, D.C., as they explore the rich and curious history of the 16th-century opera Catone in Utica, including its contrasting settings by Vinci and Vivaldi
Shindell Choral Hall (Mortensen Hall)
Free
Rutgers Jazz Chamber Ensemble
Sunday, November 22, 7:30 p.m.
An evening of small-ensemble jazz heralding artists including Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk, and Dexter Gordon. A select four of the school’s 12 chamber jazz and alternate large jazz ensembles will perform, featuring student musicians
Shindell Choral Hall (Mortensen Hall)
Free
Rutgers Mingus Band
Monday, November 23, 7:30 p.m.
The music of Charles Mingus, featuring selections from his legendary album Epitaph. Tenor saxophonist and alum Abraham Burton leads the ensemble
Nicholas Music Center
$15/$10/$5
Rutgers Jazz Ensemble II: Tribute to Duke
Monday, November 30, 7:30 p.m.
A tribute to jazz composer, arranger, and pianist Duke Ellington, featuring selections from his acclaimed recordings including The Ellington Suites, Ellington at Newport, and Mood Indigo
Nicholas Music Center
$15/$10/$5
Rutgers Baroque Players: A Musical Miscellany: Works from the 17th and 18th Centuries on Period Instruments
Tuesday, December 1, 7:30 p.m.
Join students in their exploration of early music on the instruments for which it was first composed
Schare Recital Hall (Marryott Music Building)
Free
Rutgers Jazz Chamber Ensemble
Wednesday, December 2, 7:30 p.m.
An evening of small-ensemble jazz saluting such artists as Miles Davis, Gerry Mulligan, and Horace Silver. A select four of the school’s 12 chamber jazz and alternate large jazz ensembles will perform, featuring top student musicians
Shindell Choral Hall (Mortensen Hall)
Free
Rutgers Symphony Band: Fantasies
Friday, December 4, 7:30 p.m.
Grainger’s “Children’s March,” Del Tredici’s “Acrostic Song,” Turnbull’s “Scenes from Childhood,” Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Scheherazade”
Nicholas Music Center
$15/$10/$5
Sounds of Chamber Music
Saturday, December 5, 2 p.m.
Winners of the Mason Gross Chamber Music Competition present chamber works of the centuries for piano, vocal, string, brass, and woodwind duos, trios, quartets, and quintets as well as larger ensemble groups
Shindell Choral Hall (Mortensen Hall)
Free
Voorhees Choir
Saturday, December 5, 5 p.m.
Candlelight concert featuring works for women’s choir and the recently restored Voorhees Chapel organ. Music by Brahms and Faure as well as carols, gospels, and spirituals arranged by contemporary composers
Voorhees Chapel
Free
Christmas in Carol and Song
Saturday, December 5, 6 and 9 p.m.
Sunday, December 6, 5 and 7:30 p.m.
Kirkpatrick Chapel
$20/$15/$10
Tickets on sale October 1
Rutgers Brass Ensemble
Sunday, December 6, 2 p.m.
Music for brass and percussion, from the Renaissance to the 21st century
Nicholas Music Center
$15/$10/$5
Rutgers Jazz Chamber Ensemble
Monday, December 7, 7:30 p.m.
An evening of small-ensemble jazz honoring such artists as John Coltrane, Herbie Hancock, and Wayne Shorter. A select four of the school’s 12 chamber jazz and alternate large jazz ensembles will perform, featuring top student musicians
Shindell Choral Hall (Mortensen Hall)
Free
Rutgers Jazz Ensemble I: John Beasley and Monk’estra
Tuesday, December 8, 7:30 p.m.
John Beasley, jazz pianist and commercial composer for film and TV, joins Jazz Ensemble I on stage for a night of eclectic jazz featuring the music of Beasley’s own Monk’estra. Jazz trombonist and professor Conrad Herwig leads the ensemble
Nicholas Music Center
$15/$10/$5
Rutgers Wind Ensemble: Jungian Archetypes
Wednesday, December 9, 7:30 p.m.
Works include Maslanka’s “A Child’s Garden of Dreams,” Mackey’s “Frozen Cathedrals,” and Wagner’s “Entrance of the Gods into Valhalla”
Nicholas Music Center
$15/$10/$5
Rutgers University Choir
Thursday, December 10, 7:30 p.m.
Contemporary choral voices; music of Betinis, Britt, Graham, Marshall, Smallwood, and other modern composers
Nicholas Music Center
$15/$10/$5
FREE rush ticket to most music events for students with valid Rutgers ID starting 30 minutes prior to scheduled performance time. Exclusions apply—see Mason Gross website for details.
Theater
An Oresteia
Translations and adaptations of Aeschylus, Euripides, and Sophocles
Part I: Thursdays, October 22 and 29, 7:30 p.m; Saturday, October 24, 2 p.m.; Sunday, November 1, 2 p.m.
Part II: Fridays, October 23 and 30, 7:30 p.m; Saturday, October 24, 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, November 1, 7:30 p.m.
There is a curse on the House of Atreus. Blood will be paid for with blood. Drawn from the ancient Greek trilogy, this epic tale of revenge and justice is as potent and relevant today as it was in 458 BCE.
Victoria J. Mastrobuono Theater
$25/$20/$15
This event is underwritten by the Leora M. Sies Theater Fund Foundation.
Playwrights Festival
Wednesday, December 2–Friday, December 4, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, December 5, 3 and 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, December 6, 2 and 6:30 p.m.
Monday, December 7, 7:30 p.m.
New plays by MFA playwrights. Productions and staged readings will be held on alternating evenings. For titles and to reserve tickets, call 848-932-7511.
Jameson Studio Theater - Limited Seating
$15/$12/$10
Visual Arts
Welcome Back Show
Tuesday, September 1–Wednesday, September 16
Reception: Wednesday, September 2, 5–8 p.m.
The exhibition season kicks off with this annual show featuring the work of faculty, staff, and returning MFA students.
Mason Gross Galleries
FREE
Pop-Up Exhibition
Tuesday, September 22–Wednesday, October 14
Reception: Thursday, September 24, 5–8 p.m.
Students propose themes and are given creative liberty—then have just 48 hours to mount their shows showcasing art across a variety of mediums including painting, photography, sculpture, media, and print.
Mason Gross Galleries
FREE
Guest lecture: Mel Edwards
Wednesday, September 30, 6:30 p.m.
Civic Square Building, Room 110
FREE
The retrospective Melvin Edwards: Five Decades is showing at the Zimmerli Art Museum from September 1, 2015, to January 10, 2016.
Undergraduate Annual Art Open: Revolution
Tuesday, October 20–Wednesday, November 11
Reception: Thursday, October 22, 5–8 p.m.
In celebration of Rutgers’ 250th anniversary, all visual arts undergraduates are invited to submit their interpretation of “revolution.”
Mason Gross Galleries
FREE
MFA Open Studios
Saturday, October 24, 3–6 p.m.
Get a behind-the-scenes look into the practice of working MFA students as they welcome visitors into their private studios.
Civic Square Building
FREE
Visual Arts Open House
Saturday, October 24, 10 a.m.–3 p.m.
Curious about the world of visual arts at Rutgers? Prospective students and families are invited to information sessions with faculty and student-led tours of the facility.
More information is available by calling 848-932-5399 or by emailing visualarts@masongross.rutgers.edu.
Civic Square Building
FREE
Mason Gross Presents: Radical Means: Technology and Media Activism in the New Millennium
Tuesday, November 17, 5–7 p.m.
Panel discussion exploring Rutgers University’s 250th anniversary theme of revolution via multiple perspectives.
LOCATION TBD
MFA First-Year Exhibition
Tuesday, November 17–Wednesday, December 9
Reception: Thursday, November 19, 5–8 p.m.
Two months into their graduate study, first-year MFA students present this annual exhibition.
Mason Gross Galleries
FREE
All visual arts events are free. Gallery hours are from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays, with extended hours until 6 p.m. Wednesdays, and on Saturdays from noon to 4 p.m. Call 848-932-5202 for more information. The university is closed December 24 through January 2.
Location Information
Jameson Studio Theater: Jameson Residence Hall D, Jones Avenue at Townsend Street (Douglass Campus). This venue is not handicap accessible.
Kirkpatrick Chapel: 81 Somerset Street, downtown New Brunswick (Old Queen’s Campus)
Loree Dance Theater: 70 Lipman Drive on the Passion Puddle side of Loree Gym (Douglass Campus)
Mason Gross Galleries at Civic Square: 33 Livingston Avenue, downtown New Brunswick
Nicholas Music Center, Schare Recital Hall (in Marryott Music Building; this venue is not handicap accessible), Shindell Choral Hall (in Mortensen Hall), and Victoria J. Mastrobuono Theater are in the Mason Gross Performing Arts Center: 85 George Street, New Brunswick (Douglass Campus)
Voorhees Chapel: 5 Chapel Drive behind the Mason Gross Performing Arts Center (Douglass Campus)