From the classics to jazz to blues and from touring artists to presentations by our own faculty, students, and alumni, the offerings are extensive.
Through both our Ovations! touring professional artists and series such as Sound Choices and Music Theater, we bring you a number of musical performances throughout the year.
View the Events Calendar for Lively Arts
Doc Severinsen
September 16, 2014 at 8:00 p.m.; Fisher Auditorium, IUP Performing Arts Center
A Grammy award winner, Doc has made more than 30 albums—from big band to jazz-fusion to classical. Two critically acclaimed Telarc CDs with the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra showcase his multifaceted talents from Bach to ballads. He received a Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Performance - Big Band for his recording of Doc Severinsen and The Tonight Show Band-Volume I.
The Litton Quartet
October 7, 2014 at 8:00 p.m.; Gorell Recital Hall, Sutton Hall 2nd Floor
The Litton, ϳԹ's faculty string quartet, will present a program that includes pieces by Haydn and Beethoven along with a special premiere work and guest artist.
Strings and Serpents
October 22, 2014 at 8:00 p.m.; Gorell Recital Hall, Second Floor of Sutton Hall
Strings and Serpents is a collaboration between pianist/composer Andy Milne and animator Saki Murotani that began touring in 2014. Musically, this project will explore a synthesis of Japanese and Western structures in terms of form, improvisational language, and rhythm. The video animation will employ 2-D and 3-D computer-generated imagery (CGI) techniques, inspired by preliminary musical sketches.
An Evening of Story Legends in Music and Dance
November 1 at 7:00 p.m.; Fisher Auditorium, IUP Performing Arts Center
IUP Dance Theater and IUP Music faculty, under the direction of Jack Stamp and Holly Boda-Sutton, will present two well-known dance works by composers Aaron Copland and Igor Stravinsky, Appalachian Spring and The Soldier's Tale (Histoire Du Soldat).
Celebrating Our Own
November 14, 2014 at 8:00 p.m.; Fisher Auditorium, IUP Performing Arts Center
Under the direction of Stephanie Caulder and Jason Worzbyt, the IUP Music Department celebrates the collective talents of its students and faculty.
Deborah Henson-Conant
December 4, 2014 at 8:00 p.m.; Fisher Auditorium, IUP Performing Arts Center
Deborah Henson-Conant, known for high-energy shows that fuse music, theater, and her evocative singing voice, is a Grammy-nominated one-woman orchestra. With electric harp, voice, and a looper pedal, she layers sounds in real time, then weaves solo lines and vocals above it. This return engagement features a program of ballads, blues, holiday music, and collaboration with the IUP Jazz Ensemble and PSO harpist Lucy Scandrett.
The Tender Land
December 4-6, 2014 at 8:00 p.m. and December 7 at 2:00 p.m.; Waller Hall Mainstage, IUP Performing Arts Center
Set in rural, depression-era America, two handsome drifters arrive at the Moss farm in search of work. Laurie, originally shaken by these outsiders, soon falls in love with one of them and must choose between her roots and her desire to explore the world, leaving the life she knows behind.
Sister Act
January 20 at 8:00 p.m.; Fisher Auditorium, IUP Performing Arts Center
When disco diva Deloris Van Cartier witnesses a murder, she is put in protective custody in the one place cops are sure she won't be found—a convent! Disguised as a nun, she finds herself at odds with both the rigid lifestyle and an uptight Mother Superior. Sister Act features an original Alan Menken/Glenn Slater score with a vast inspiration of musical styles from Motown, soul, and funk to great big disco anthems and Barry White-inspired musical comedy.
Heroes and Martyrs from WWII
February 1, 2015 at 8:00 p.m.; DiCicco Rehearsal Hall, 121 Cogswell Hall
Christine Clewell, accompanied by fellow faculty members, performs a variety works by different artists on IUP's new pipe organ.
Leaves of Grass
February 7, 2015 at 7:00 p.m.; Gorell Recital Hall, Sutton Hall 2nd Floor
Join us as Laura Ferguson, singer and IUP faculty member, performs the setting of Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman to the stylings of renowned jazz composer Fred Hersch.
Te Amo, Argentina
February 11 at 8:00 p.m.; Fisher Auditorium, IUP Performing Arts Center
After winning a Latin Grammy in 2010 for an original Lalo Schifrin piece called “Pampas,” Antonio Lysy was inspired to produce a performance that would combine chamber music, balletic tango dance, and scenic animations. The show's tango dancers, Miriam Larici and Leonardo Barrionievo, are two of the most beloved and talented tango dancers worldwide.
Vienna Boys Choir
March 18, 2015 at 8:00 p.m.; Fisher Auditorium, IUP Performing Arts Center
Established in 1498, the Vienna Boys Choir includes approximately 100 choristers between ages 10 and 14 divided into four touring choirs. According to the (Charleston, S.C.) Post and Courier, “Their tone is pristine, their dynamics perfectly rendered, but of course it is their youth and pure soprano voices that make them unique.”
Bach and Beyond
March 21, 2015 at 7:00 p.m.; DiCicco Hall, 121 Cogswell Hall.
The IUP music faculty combine talents, instruments, and voices to present chamber music from the Baroque era. A benefit reception is planned for after the concert.
Pablo Ziegler Classical Quartet for New Tango
March 26, 2015 at 8:00 p.m.; Gorell Recital Hall, Second Floor of Sutton Hall
For decades, Buenos Aires-born, Latin Grammy-winning pianist, composer, and arranger Pablo Ziegler has been one of the most important figures in Argentine New Tango, the vibrant musical hybrid of classic tango and American jazz. Mark Swed of the Los Angeles Times writes, “He is cool, understated and makes everything look easy and natural… Just as a really suave tango dancer seems not to move with feet but on wheels, Ziegler skates the keyboard.”
An Evening of Dance and Percussion
March 28 at 7:00 p.m.; Fisher Auditorium, IUP Performing Arts Center
Joining forces for a rousing evening of music and movement are two of IUP's most popular groups, the IUP Dance Theater and the IUP Percussion Ensemble. Under the direction of Holly Boda-Sutton and Michael Kingan, this unique presentation takes on a different beat as the two groups explore the music and dance of different cultures and genres.
Jones-Maruri Duo
April 9, 2015 at 8:00 p.m.; Gorell Recital Hall, Second Floor of Sutton Hall
Join us for a very special evening of rich cello and masterful classical guitar as we welcomes back the Jones-Maruri Duo to IUP. Since their first U.S. tour in 1991, they have performed each year throughout the U.S. as well as Canada, Cuba, Venezuela, and Europe.
Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
April 20, 2015 at 8:00 p.m.; Fisher Auditorium, IUP Performing Arts Center
The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra concert originally scheduled for Saturday, February 21, 2014, due to weather conditions has been rescheduled for Monday, April 20, at 8:00 p.m., in Fisher Auditorium. The concert will include works by Tchaikovsky and Dvorak under the baton of Manfred Honeck. If you have tickets for the February 21st concert and are unable to attend the rescheduled concert, information on receiving a refund (available through April 1), is available online.
Memphis the Musical
May 4 at 8:00 p.m.; Fisher Auditorium, IUP Performing Arts Center
Filled with high-octane dancing, songs that perfectly capture the era, and an absorbing tale of fame and forbidden love, Memphis offers soaring emotion and roof-raising rock ‘n' roll. Memphis takes place in the smoky halls and underground clubs of the segregated '50s, where a young white DJ named Huey Calhoun falls in love with everything he shouldn't: rock and roll and an electrifying black singer, Felicia Farrell.
