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Don’t miss this amazing evening of dance from Houston Ballet II, the second company of Houston Ballet, America’s fifth largest ballet company. Comprised of a stellar array of young dancers from around the world, this magical evening will feature The Sleeping Beauty Act III (1890), staging by Ben Stevenson after Marius Petipa with music by Tchaikovsky, the Grand Pas de Deux from Don Quixote, Act III, and A Dance in the Garden of Mirth, with choreography by Stanton Welch, the acclaimed Artistic Director of Houston Ballet. This is an evening of exquisite ballet you will not soon forget.

The JMU Concert Band is the band program's largest non-auditioned concert ensemble under the direction of Amy Birdsong.

The JMU Concert Band is the band program's largest non-auditioned concert ensemble under the direction of Amy Birdsong.

Recently crowned the 2024 North American Brass Association Championship Section winning band, the JMU Brass Band is one of the most successful collegiate brass bands in the world today. Formed by Professor Kevin Stees in the Fall of 2000, the band was named the North American Brass Band Association 1st Section Champion in 2004 and 2005, and was the 2006, 2007, 2010, 2016, 2019, and 2022 NABBA Championship Section Runner-up.

Annie Baker is a Pulitzer Prize-winner and one of America’s most provocative playwrights. Her 2019 play, The Antipodes, delivers a surreal writer’s room, a #MeToo premonition, and a many-layered meditation on storytelling. Part satire, part sacred rite, Baker’s play asks what value stories have for a world in crisis. “The Antipodes leaves you glowing with a wondering satisfaction…Ms. Baker has established herself as one of the freshest voices in American theater.” (The New York Times) Features students from JMU’s School of Theatre and Dance. Contains sexual content and adult language. Presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Samuel French, Inc. www.concordtheatricals.com

On his way home at last from the Trojan War, the King of Crete, Idomeneo, is shipwrecked at sea. In desperation, he promises to sacrifice the first creature he finds if he safely survives the storm. However, in a twist worthy of the greatest Greek tragedies, it is his son, Idamante, he first encounters along the beach. As conflicts swirl around Idomeneo and Idamante and the Trojan princess, Ilia, and Greek princess, Elektra, each character struggles with how to move on from crisis and war. Written in 1781 when Mozart was only 25, this 90-min distillation of his first operatic masterpiece brings the myth of Idomeneo to life, forcing us to confront timeless themes in our contemporary moment. Filled with stunning arias, choruses, and ensembles, this classical opera is a powerful reminder of why we continue to sing ancient songs. Sung in Italian with English Surtitles.

The JMU Wind Symphony, under the direction of Christopher Cicconi, is the premier woodwind, brass and percussion ensemble at JMU. The Wind Symphony is committed to performing the great works of the wind band’s core repertoire while also exploring the best of contemporary composition. Since 2007, the ensemble has hosted on-campus residencies with composers including David Maslanka, John Mackey, Michael Daugherty, Joel Puckett, Steven Bryant, Donald Grantham and JMU alumnus Brian Balmages. The ensemble has also presented consortium premieres of Maslanka’s Symphony No. 8, Puckett’s The Shadows of Sirius, Grantham’s Tuba Concerto, Plog’s Concerto 2010 and Balmages’ Portraits in Bluestone. As part of JMU’s annual Contemporary Music Festival, students have had the opportunity to work with composers such as Karel Husa, Joseph Schwanter, Don Freund, Donald Erb, John Harbison, Francis McBeth, Mark Camphouse and Samuel Adler.

Miró Quartet is one of America’s most celebrated chamber groups, captivating audiences around the world. Widely acclaimed for its thoughtful expressivity and imaginative interpretations as well as its “explosive vigor” and “technical finesse,” (The New York Times) the quartet has performed for 29 years on the world’s most prestigious concert stages, earning accolades from critics and audiences alike. The Miró takes pride in finding new ways to communicate with audiences of all backgrounds while cultivating the longstanding tradition of chamber music and their “approach…is consistently animated and imaginative.” (Gramophone) This concert includes selections from Hayden’s Quartet in D minor, Op. 76, No. 2, Mozart’s Quartet in C major, K. 465, Schubert’s Quartet in D minor, D. 810, No. 14 “Death and the Maiden,” Beethoven’s Quartet in E minor, Op. 59, No. 2 and more!

​​New Voices in Dance will feature JMU’s Contemporary Dance Ensemble, which is comprised of sophomore to senior JMU dance majors. This concert will highlight original choreography by five JMU dance majors and an inspiring piece choreographed by Doug Varone, who has been creating incredible works for over 30 years. This concert also includes student performances in guest artist and faculty works. Please come and share a wonderful evening of dance with us!

The literary canon explodes as the Reduced Shakespeare Company (RSC) once again unleashes a comic outrage on an unsuspecting public. The Bad Boys of Abridgment take audiences on a roller-coaster ride through a compact compendium of the world’s great books in All the Great Books (abridged). It’s a blast of bibliography! Confused by Confucius? Thoroughly thrown by Thoreau? Wish Swift was swifter? Tennyson tinier? Then buckle up as three cultural guerrillas zip through everything you didn’t get around to reading in school. Called a “trio of Modern Marx Brothers” (Boston Herald) RSC is London’s longest-running comedy troupe, and has charmed audiences at the White House, Lincoln Center, Off-Broadway, the Kennedy Center, and Montreal’s famed Just For Laughs Festival. RSC shows contain some occasional bawdy language and mild innuendo, so they rate their shows PG- 13: Pretty Good If You’re Thirteen.