Three-time Grammy Winner Branford Marsalis at Nazareth on October 25
The Nazareth College Arts Center presents 11 concerts and events in October, many of which are free.
Star power comes to Callahan Theater at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, October 25 with three-time Grammy Award winner and NEA Jazz Master Branford Marsalis. Described as the "most respected living U.S. jazz instrumentalist" by the Las Vegas Sun, Marsalis comes to the Arts Center to lead his unparalleled quartet on saxophone. Tickets: $45-$75.
"We're thrilled to bring Branford Marsalis back to Rochester," said Arts Center Executive Director Rita Mannelli. "Rochester loves jazz, and we look forward to welcoming the community to Nazareth for this one-night-only engagement with an artist of his caliber."
Two weeks prior, Savannah, Ga. boys Velvet Caravan bring gypsy jazz and low country swing to Beston Hall in the new Jane and Laurence Glazer Music Performance Center (Saturday, October 13 at 8 p.m.). The high-energy quintet played at the Rochester International Jazz Festival in 2016 and performs upbeat tunes from all over the world with thunderous virtuosity and a relentless sense of humor. They will be joined by guest vocalist (and Nazareth alumna) Jessica Ann Best. Tickets: $38.
"This is gypsy jazz music, so imagine yourself in Paris or Seville or different places around the country and have it infused with the sound of people who are always traveling and on the move," said Jessica Ann Best, who graduated from Nazareth in 2006 with a degree in vocal performance. "We are thrilled to be one of the first groups on the Arts Center Series to open the Glazer Music Performance Center. It's an intimate, yet very accessible and broad space that's pretty acoustically perfect and we're so excited to have this new space in Rochester."
In addition to touring with Velvet Caravan, Best has been a featured artist with LA Opera, The Savannah Music Festival, The Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, The Florida Orchestra, The Santa Fe Opera, Opera Tampa, Gotham Chamber Opera, Nickel City Opera, and Finger Lakes Opera.
Highlights from the Nazareth Music Department include a Music Faculty Showcase on Sunday, October 21 at 3 p.m. in Beston Hall in the new Jane and Laurence Glazer Music Performance Center. The program features duos, trios, quartets, and quintets performing works such as Jennifer Higdon's Summer Shimmers and Dvořák's Piano Quintet. The Nazareth College Wind Symphony and Symphonic Band will have their first performance in Beston Hall on Sunday, October 28 at 3 p.m. Festmusik! features the symphonic band, wind symphony, and a festival brass ensemble of faculty, guests, and alumni performing music by Gabrieli, Strauss, Bernstein, Shostakovich, and others. These events are free, no advance reservation required.
"This concert will feature the Symphonic Band, Chamber Winds, and Wind Symphony in a concert themed around party music," said wind symphony director and associate professor of music Jared Chase. "We are celebrating the opening of the new Glazer Music Performance Center and each group's' first concert in Beston Hall! There will be a variety of pieces from large ensemble works to chamber pieces for woodwinds, and fanfares for brass all to showcase the amazing versatility of Beston's state of the art acoustics."
The Nazareth College Theatre and Dance Department will shine in Noel Coward's comedic play, Hay Fever, October 18-21 in Callahan Theater. From the writer of classic works like Private Lives and Blithe Spirit, Hay Fever is a comedy of (bad) manners set in the Roaring 20s. Hay Fever is directed by Bob Moss, the founder of Playwrights Horizons in New York City, a writer's theatre designed to give playwrights a voice. Tickets: $12 general admission, $10 seniors.
Also in October, the Nazareth Art Department will open the exhibition Architectural Vessel in the Arts Center Gallery. The exhibition explores the vessel as a sculptural and innovative form and features works by guest artists Bryan Hopkins, Richard Hirsch, and Peter Beasecker. An opening reception on Saturday, October 13 at 5 p.m. will celebrate the exhibit which runs through Sunday, December 2. The Arts Center Gallery is open Sunday 12-5 p.m., Tuesday-Thursday 12-5 p.m., and Friday and Saturday 12-8 p.m. Gallery events are free and open to the public.
"Architectural Vessel is an exhibition that will highlight three renowned artists working within the field of clay and porcelain," said gallery director and assistant professor of art Holland Webster-Houdek. "The show's reception was conceptualized to coincide with the Flower City Pottery Invitational at the Flower City Arts Center. This collaborative event will bring together clay enthusiasts, master craftsmen, and makers alike!"
October Calendar of Events
Sunday, October 7 at 3 p.m.
Free, Wilmot Recital Hall
Faculty Recital: Summer Shimmers: The Magic of the Season
Nazareth's resident faculty woodwind quintet offers a program evoking the sounds and images of a summer's day.
Saturday, October 13 at 8 p.m.
$38, Beston Hall
Velvet Caravan with special guest Jessica Ann Best
A musical caravan of gypsy jazz and low country swing plays upbeat tunes from all over the world with thunderous virtuosity and a relentless sense of humor.
Sunday, October 14 at 3 p.m.
Free, Wilmot Recital Hall
Faculty/Guest Recital: A Baroque Kaleidoscope
Nazareth faculty and guests, including Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra violinist Margaret Leenhouts, perform baroque works by Telemann, Bach, and Brandenburg.
October 18, 19, 20 at 7:30 p.m.
October 20, 21 at 2 p.m.
$12, $10 senior, Callahan Theater
Noël Coward's Hay Fever
Presented by the Nazareth College Theatre and Dance Department, Hay Fever is a comedy of (bad) manners set in the Roaring '20s. Directed by Bob Moss.
Sunday, October 21 at 3 p.m.
Free, Beston Hall
Music Faculty Showcase Concert
Nazareth's music faculty perform in trios, quartets, and quintets in a wide variety of musical styles in the new Beston Hall, Jane and Laurence Glazer Music Performance Center.
Thursday, October 25 at 7:30 p.m.
$45-$75, Callahan Theater
An Evening with Branford Marsalis
Jazz quartet featuring the three-time Grammy Award-winner and "most respected living U.S. jazz instrumentalist" (Las Vegas Sun).
October 26-28
Classes, $5. MAD Showcase on 10/28, $10 cash at door. Located in the Arts Center. More info available at naz.edu/MAD
MAD (Movement and Dance) Weekend
MAD Weekend will offer more than 30 events and dance/movement master classes in a variety of levels and styles for dancers and movers age 15 and older. NYC-based company 10 Hairy Legs will perform a special lecture demonstration on Friday, 10/26. MAD artists showcase on Sunday, October 28 at 6:30 p.m. naz.edu/MAD
Friday, October 26 at 7:30 p.m.
Free, Wilmot Recital Hall
Faculty Recital: Modern Clarinet Sonatas
Showcasing the lyrical, klezmer-inspired Sonata for Clarinet and Piano by faculty composer Octavio Vazquez, and complemented by Jennifer Higdon's Clarinet Sonata.
Saturday, October 27 at 7:30 p.m.
Free, Wilmot Recital Hall
The Raymond Shiner Jazz Award Big Band
Steve Frank, conductor
The Raymond Shiner Jazz Award for Nazareth music majors with talent in motivation in the area of jazz was established in 2000 in memory of Raymond Shiner, who was a world class jazz and classical musician as well as a beloved teacher. The Raymond Shiner Jazz Award Big Band is made up of local professionals and former winners of this award. Donations to the scholarship award will be accepted at the concert.
Sunday, October 28 at 3 p.m.
Free, Beston Hall
Festmusik!
Nazareth College Wind Symphony and Symphonic Band
Jared Chase and Steven Zugelder, conductors
This concert features the symphonic band, wind symphony, and a festival brass ensemble of faculty, guests, and alumni performing music by Gabrieli, Strauss, Bernstein, Shostakovich, and others.
TICKETS
Ticket prices for individual shows are noted above and are available online at artscenter.naz.edu, by phone (585) 389-2170 or in person at the Nazareth College Arts Center Box Office at 4245 East Avenue, Rochester, N.Y. 14618. Free events do not require advance tickets or reservations
Regular box office hours are Monday-Friday, 11 a m. - 5 p.m. and 11 a.m. until curtain time on performance days.
For More Information
Michelle Shippers | Marketing & Publicity Manager | 585-389-2093 or mshippe0@naz.edu |
Nazareth University is an inclusive community of inspired learners, educators, and changemakers who for nearly 100 years have been driven by a bold commitment to action, empathy, equity, and leading innovation for the common good. Impact experiences are at the heart of a Nazareth education, preparing each student to discover within themselves the potential to cultivate positive change in their life's work, in any career field, and in a world that is constantly evolving and infinitely interconnected.
Our broad academic offerings present a range of study options typical of larger universities, yet achieved in our supportive campus culture. Nearly 2,100 undergrad and 600 graduate students enroll in degree and certificate programs and engage in collaborative, transformative learning experiences, preparing for the professions and society of today and tomorrow. In a learning community that purposefully integrates liberal arts and professional programs, Nazareth University graduates are able to launch a lifetime of impactful leadership in communities and workplaces near and far.
