University of Indianapolis announces 2017-18 performing arts season
Fall lineup offers wide variety of world-class classical, jazz and piano concerts, theatre, fine arts and film
The University of Indianapolis delivers a broad range of diverse cultural activities to the Indianapolis metropolitan area with the announcement of the 2017-18 performing arts season. The campus serves as a destination point for vocal and instrumental music performances, theatre productions, art exhibitions, readings and lectures and highlights a progressive arts and musical culture in the region. Fall performances at UIndy include the Indianapolis Quartet, a celebration of Artist-in-Residence Raymond Leppard’s 90th birthday and pianist and Artist-in-Residence Drew Petersen.
The University has launched a new interactive website, events.uindy.edu, to coincide with the start of the fall performing arts season. See the website for event details and ticket information.
University Faculty Concert Series is sponsored by Katz, Sapper & Miller.
The Indianapolis Quartet, which returns Oct. 2 with a concert at Ruth Lilly Performance Hall, continues to showcase the elite musical talent in Indianapolis and the greater Midwest. The ensemble of world-renowned musicians welcomes new second violinist Joana Genova, who joins the University faculty, and fellow musicians Zachary De Pue, concertmaster of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, on violin; Michael Isaac Strauss, former principal violist for the ISO, on viola; Austin Huntington, principal cellist of the ISO, on cello with guest clarinetist Todd Palmer. Genova has an illustrious career as a chamber musician, orchestral player, teacher, and soloist performing throughout Europe and is a former concertmaster of the Amsterdam Bach Consort and a member of Amsterdam Sinfonietta.
The concert will feature major works associated with Vienna, from the Classical procedures in Beethoven’s G-Major Quartet, Op. 18, No. 2, to the lyrical intensity of Johannes Brahms in his A-minor quartet, Op. 51, No. 2. Three-time Grammy-nominated clarinetist Todd Palmer joins the Quartet for Mozart’s eloquent 1789 masterpiece, the Quintet for clarinet and strings, K. 581.
—7:30 p.m., Oct. 2, Ruth Lilly Performance Hall, Christel DeHaan Fine Arts Center.
The Quartet, which formed in 2016, is the result of a collaboration between the University and the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. The project was made possible, in part, through a transformational gift by University trustee and philanthropist Yvonne Shaheen, namesake of the Shaheen College of Arts & Sciences. This year, the Quartet also was awarded a $100,000 grant from the Christel DeHaan Family Foundation.
Ruth Lilly Performance Hall, a Viennese-style performance hall housed in the Christel DeHaan Fine Arts Center on campus, has hosted thousands of world-class performers since being built in 1994.
To arrange an interview or on-set performance with the Indianapolis Quartet, contact Sara Galer at galers@uindy.edu.
Maestro Raymond Leppard 90th Birthday Celebration features Artist-in-Residence Raymond Leppard, who also is conductor laureate of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. Maestro Leppard, one of the most respected international conductors of modern times, has appeared with multiple leading orchestras across the world in more than 60 years on the podium. The performance features the University of Indianapolis Festival Orchestra and Choral Ensemble, with Zachary De Pue on violin, Michael Isaac Strauss on viola, Kathleen Hacker, soprano, and Daniel Narducci, baritone. The event celebrates Maestro Leppard’s 90th birthday with music of Mozart, Schubert and Sir Edward Elgar. –7:30 p.m, Sept. 18, Ruth Lilly Performance Hall, Christel DeHaan Fine Arts Center.
Drew Petersen, winner of the 2017 American Pianists Awards and the Christel DeHaan Fellowship of the American Pianists Association, will perform Sept. 25. Petersen has been named artist-in-residence for two years by the University of Indianapolis, where he will perform and teach with faculty and students as part of a unique partnership with the American Pianists Association. He has been a prizewinner in major international competitions (Leeds, Hilton Head, Kosciuszko Foundation) and has been profiled in the New York Times, New York Magazine and the documentary Just Normal. —7:30 p.m., Sept. 25, Ruth Lilly Performance Hall, Christel DeHaan Fine Arts Center.
Other fall highlights include the Kenny Phelps All-Stars Sept. 6, “Pressing On: The Letterpress Film” Sept. 20, “Frankenstein” starting with free previews Oct. 26 and the world premiere of “The Mary Shelley Project” by local playwright K.T. Peterson on Oct. 31.
See a complete list of the UIndy 2017-18 performing arts season at events.uindy.edu.