MICHAEL D. EISNER CENTER
MUSIC THEATRE DANCE
FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS
The Eisner Center for the Performing Arts is a hub of artistic activity on the Denison campus. Home to the Departments of Dance, Music, and Theatre, the Eisner Center produces a diverse array of performances by students, faculty, and visiting artists each year. This year we are excited to share works both contemporary and classic. From a fresh look at Macbeth, to the TUTTI Festival of new works, to a visit with Mozart, Brahms, and Vivaldi, to the creation of a dance of Rare Birds, the Eisner Center will be filled with the energy of collaboration and exploration. Whether you’re a dedicated arts enthusiast or simply curious, the Eisner Center welcomes you to experience performances that can spark a lifelong love of the arts.
The events and performances listed here are just the start. Throughout the year, we’ll add senior recitals, student-led projects, and special events to the lineup. Be sure to check Denison.edu/Eisnerevents for the full list of events, descriptions, and ticketing information. With over 100 performances each year, we know you’ll find something to be excited about.
All events are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted. Artsatdenison.ludus.com is your one-stop shop for all ticketed events.
TICKETS OR QUESTIONS?
Eisnercenter@denison.edu | 740-587-6220
Use the QR code to access tickets via the online box office. Visit denison.edu/eisnerevents for full listing.
MUSIC
At Denison, students from all majors engage with professional visiting artists in the classroom and have opportunities to take part in rehearsals, performances, and workshops. Groups and ensembles formed of talented students, faculty, and guest artists explore a multitude of collaborative opportunities and genres, including jazz, bluegrass and American roots, musical theatre, classical, contemporary, and digital music technology.
The Department of Theatre engages students across campus in collaborative and generative theatre-making. Our courses and productions integrate the challenges, tactics, and artistry of theatre-making through experiences in acting, design, directing, playwriting, and other areas, preparing students for careers in the contemporary arts as well as forming the basis of a dynamic liberal arts education. Participation is open to any student from any discipline.
The music theatre program provides students from any major the opportunity to integrate music and theatre in new and exciting ways. With a flexible curriculum, students will gain both fundamental skills in music theatre performance/production while taking part in opportunities designed to meet their unique interests. Our goal is to provide students with engaging creative experiences and prepare them for postgraduate pursuits in music theatre as well as for lives as active supporters of the arts.
DANCE
The Department of Dance’s mission supports the development of student artists who are interested in dance performance, arts leadership, and scholarship. We believe dance training is life training. Students get experiential knowledge into the worlds of choreographers, performers, and researchers that help them become informed citizens of positive change in the world and confident future professionals. Exposing students to a wide breadth of cutting-edge dance practices and global perspectives is embedded in our curriculum. All students are welcomed, regardless of previous experience in dance.
MUSEUM
As a teaching museum, the Denison Museum engages in and supports learning and inquiry in the liberal arts through its collection and exhibitions. The museum serves all divisions of the college by integrating object-based learning into the curriculum, internships, and world-class exhibitions.
HOURS: M–F: 9 a.m.—3 p.m. and by appointment. Free and open to the public. Closed university holidays and breaks. denisonmuseum.org
M(OTHERHOOD)S
AUGUST 28-DECEMBER 5 | DENISON MUSEUM
This exhibition explores the many forms and meanings of motherhood and caregiving. Featuring historical and contemporary works from local and international artists, the show invites viewers to consider who mothers, how, and why. From intimate family moments to broader cultural narratives, M(otherhood)s expands traditional ideas to include chosen families, community care, and otherhood. It’s a reflection on love, labor, identity, and connection across time.
BROADWAY AT DENISON PRESENTS: AN EVENING WITH ANDREW LIPPA
7 PM | SHARON MARTIN HALL
The Broadway at Denison series welcomes Andrew Lippa - awardwinning composer /lyricist of musicals including Big Fish, The Addams Family, and The Wild Party — for an unforgettable evening of music and conversation.
PETE MILLS B3 4TET
7 PM | HYLBERT FAMILY STUDIO THEATRE
Pete Mills B3 4tet performs music from their new recording, For The Record, featuring Zach Compston, drums, Tom Davis, guitar, and Jon Eshelman on the Hammond B3 organ.
THE GROWN-UP
By Jordan Harrison
SEPTEMBER 26, 27, OCTOBER 3, 4 • 7 PM
SEPTEMBER 28, OCTOBER 5 • 2 PM | SHARON MARTIN HALL
Directed by Eleni Papaleonardos
The Grown-Up is a funny, bittersweet, and fantastical adventure about growing up. Ten-year-old Kai uses a magic crystal doorknob to travel through space and time to see his future. But something is wrong; it’s all going too fast. A play NPR called “charming and painfully universal,”
The Grown-Up plays with imagination and the power of storytelling to remind us to savour every bit of our fast-moving lives.
GUEST ARTISTS: TOWER DUO
7 PM | BURKE RECITAL HALL
Tower Duo is a modern flute and saxophone duo based in Columbus, Ohio, that specializes in performing works by living composers.
FALL DANCE FESTIVAL
7 PM | THORSEN DANCE STUDIO
Curated and produced by Department of Dance fellows, this event celebrates emergent student choreographers and provides a platform for diverse dance voices.
13 11 22
DENISON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA: PASSIONS OF YOUTH
7 PM | SHARON MARTIN HALL
Directed by Philip Rudd
Encompassing love, heartbreak, tragedy, triumph, and joyful exuberance, the Denison Orchestra explores the full range of youthful experiences and emotions, featuring music by Leonard Bernstein, Tchaikovsky, Mahler, and Brahms.
JONATHAN SCALES FOURCHESTRA
7 PM | SHARON MARTIN HALL
Jonathan Scales Fourchestra is a power trio of electric bass (E’Lon JD), drums (Maison Guidry), and steel pans (Jonathan Scales) that combines elements of jazz, classical, and progressive rock, peppered with Latin rhythms and soulful outbursts of funk.
DENSION PRISM CONCERT
7 PM | SHARON MARTIN HALL
Join us for a special evening as the Denison Department of Music ensembles come together for one spectacular concert, featuring performances by the Wind Ensemble, Orchestra, Choirs, Jazz Ensemble, and American Roots Ensemble.
VAIL SERIES: GABRIEL KAHANE
7 PM | SWASEY CHAPEL
A singer, songwriter, and storyteller whose work increasingly exists at the intersection of art and social practice.
RULES FOR LIVING
By Sam Holcroft
OCTOBER 24, 25, 30, 31, NOVEMBER 1 • 7 PM
OCTOBER 26, NOVEMBER 2 • 2 PM
HYLBERT FAMILY STUDIO THEATRE
Directed by Braxton Rae
Everyone creates their own coping strategies or rules for living. But what happens when an extended family gathers in the kitchen for a traditional Christmas and they each follow those rules, rigidly? In Sam Holcroft’s theatrically playful, dark comedy the family does just that. Long-held rivalries and resentments play out, accusations fly, relationships deconstruct, the rules take over.
GUEST ARTIST RECITAL: MICHAEL NOBLE, PIANO
7 PM | BURKE RECITAL HALL
JAZZ GUITAR FESTIVAL
OCTOBER 31 • 7:30 PM
NOVEMBER 1 • 7:30 PM
SHARON MARTIN HALL
The 29th annual Denison University Jazz Guitar Festival presents afternoon clinics and evening concerts with top artists from across the country. Friday features Bruce Forman, acclaimed West Coast guitarist and educator at USC. Saturday highlights Sheryl Bailey, celebrated New York guitarist and Berklee faculty member.
WIND ENSEMBLE CONCERT: MID-CENTURY MODERN
7 PM | SHARON MARTIN HALL
Directed by Chris Westover-Muñoz
As mid-century design achieves renewed popularity, the DU Wind Ensemble takes you back in time to explore the music of mid-century modern design. Dr. John Cipolla joins the ensemble as a guest soloist in works by Stravinsky and Mingus. The program also features classics by Barber, Persichetti, and Schumann.
STUDENT RECITAL
11:45 AM | BURKE RECITAL HALL
JAZZ ENSEMBLE AND JAZZ COMBO CONCERT
7 PM | BURKE RECITAL HALL
Directed by Pete Mills
08 13 13 15 19 20
CONCERT CHOIR AND CHAMBER SINGERS CONCERT
7 PM | SWASEY CHAPEL
Directed by Harris Ipock
FALL DANCE CONCERT: RARE BIRDS
7 PM | BURKE RECITAL HALL 15
NOVEMBER 15 • 7 PM, NOVEMBER 16 • 2 PM
SHARON MARTIN HALL
In this Denison Dance Company performance, dancers find their wings and take flight.
VAIL SERIES: LES ARTS FLORISSANTS WITH THÉOTIME LANGLOIS DE SWARTE, VIOLIN
7 PM | SWASEY CHAPEL
Celebrating the 300th Anniversary of Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons
OPERA ENSEMBLE: SCENES FROM MOZART
LUCKY STIFF
Directed by Adam Schlenker 03 OPENING 04 05 08 04 06 12
Book and Lyrics by Lynn Ahrens
Music by Stephen Flaherty
DECEMBER 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, 10 • 7 PM, DECEMBER 7 • 2 PM
HYLBERT FAMILY STUDIO THEATRE
Directed by Brad Frenette
Lucky Stiff is an offbeat, hilarious murder mystery farce, complete with mistaken identities, six million bucks in diamonds, and a corpse in a wheelchair. The story revolves around an unassuming English shoe salesman who is forced to take the embalmed body of his recently murdered uncle on a vacation to Monte Carlo.
STUDENT RECITAL
11:45 AM | BURKE RECITAL HALL
STUDENT COMPOSERS CONCERT
7 PM | BURKE RECITAL HALL
GOSPEL CHOIR CONCERT
7 PM | SWASEY CHAPEL
Directed by Rev. Timothy Carpenter
HOLIDAY POPS ORCHESTRA CONCERT
7 PM | SWASEY CHAPEL
Directed by Philip Rudd
The Denison Symphony Orchestra presents its beloved holiday pops concert, celebrating the joyful sounds of the season!
CHAMBER ENSEMBLE CONCERT
7 PM | BURKE RECITAL HALL
AMERICAN ROOTS ENSEMBLE CONCERT
7 PM | SWASEY CHAPEL
CURIOSITY
JANUARY 19 – APRIL 3 | DENISON MUSEUM
Step inside a modern-day Wunderkammer—a cabinet of curiosity—built from the Denison Museum’s permanent collection. What happens when a philosopher, neuroscientist, or musician selects an object not for its historical significance, but simply because it intrigued them?
This exhibition invites you to see how curiosity shapes meaning. Each object was chosen by Denison faculty and staff, guided only by their impulse to wonder. Curious? Come discover the surprising stories and hidden gems tucked within this thought-provoking collection.
GUEST
7 PM | BURKE RECITAL HALL
CONTEMPORARY SOUNDS
7 PM | SHARON MARTIN HALL
Featuring Timothy Hagen, flute and electronics, Denison’s annual Contemporary Sounds concert series explores the art of storytelling through musical works.
VAIL SERIES: THE OTHER MOZART
FEBRUARY 11, 12 • 7 PM | SHARON MARTIN HALL
An award-winning play telling the forgotten story of Mozart’s genius sister, Nannerl Mozart.
BLUEGRASS AND
FEBRUARY 20, 21 • 7
MACBETH
By William Shakespeare
MARCH 5, 6, 7 • 7 PM
MARCH 8 • 2 PM
SHARON MARTIN HALL
Directed by Aviva Neff
“False face must hide what the false heart doth know.”
Shakespeare’s iconic tragedy draws from real historical events, politics, and religious upheaval of 17th-century England, set against the backdrop of ancient Scotland. Journey through the Scottish highlands and experience the ambition, subterfuge, magic, and cycles of violence and vengeance that comprise the world of Macbeth.
SENIOR RESEARCH DANCE CONCERT
MARCH 6, 7 • 7:30 PM
THORSEN DANCE STUDIO
This performance event illuminates dance research carried out by seniors. The projects feature artistic investigations and interdisciplinary projects.
TUTTI NEW ARTS FESTIVAL
MARCH 25-28
EISNER CENTER AND SWASEY CHAPEL
Celebrate original works in music, dance, and more with featured string ensemble, the Attacca Quartet and featured guest composer and artist David Lang.
VAIL SERIES: ATTACCA QUARTET
7 PM | SWASEY CHAPEL
The Grammy® award-winning Attacca Quartet is recognized as one of the most versatile and outstanding ensembles of the moment.
STUDENT RECITAL
11:45 AM | BURKE RECITAL HALL
PICASSO AT THE LAPIN AGILE
By Steve Martin
APRIL 10, 11, 16, 17, 18 • 7 PM
APRIL 12, 19 • 2 PM
HYLBERT FAMILY STUDIO THEATRE
Directed by Cheryl McFarren
Steve Martin’s Picasso at the Lapin Agile imagines a 1904 Parisian bar where young Picasso and Einstein--on the brink of changing art and science forever--spar, flirt, and philosophize with a host of eccentrics. Their witty debates about creativity, fame, and the future are as hilarious as they are profound. The play cleverly explores how genius is shaped by its time and, in turn, shapes the world.
FACULTY RECITAL:
Directed by Philip Rudd and Harris Ipock 10 OPENING 16 OPENING 09 11 13 18
JAZZ ENSEMBLE AND JAZZ COMBO CONCERT
7 PM | SHARON MARTIN HALL
Directed by Pete Mills
SAN SUNG AUM, PIANO
7 PM | BURKE RECITAL HALL
SPRING DANCE CONCERT: IRIDESCENCE
APRIL 16, 17 • 7 PM
THORSEN DANCE STUDIO
This spring, Denison Dance Company’s performance will elicit a rainbow-like play of color that reflects light waves that flow through space.
COMBINED ORCHESTRA AND CHOIR CONCERT
7 PM | SWASEY CHAPEL
STUDENT COMPOSERS CONCERT
7PM | BURKE RECITAL HALL
STUDENT RECITAL
11:45 AM | BURKE RECITAL HALL
AMERICAN ROOTS ENSEMBLE CONCERT
7 PM | SWASEY CHAPEL
Directed by Adam Schlenker
SENIOR VISUAL ARTS EXHIBITION 2026
APRIL 24-MAY 15
DENISON MUSEUM
Denison celebrates the annual exhibition of senior visual arts majors at the museum.
GOSPEL CHOIR CONCERT
7 PM | SWASEY CHAPEL
Directed by Rev. Timothy Carpenter
CHAMBER ENSEMBLE CONCERT
7 PM | BURKE RECITAL HALL
SPRING AWAKENING
Book and Lyrics by Steven Sater
Music by Duncan Sheik
APRIL 30, MAY 1, 2 • 7 PM
MAY 3 • 2 PM
SHARON MARTIN HALL
Directed by Alison Morooney
Winner of eight Tony Awards, Spring Awakening is a powerful, rock-driven coming-of-age musical that explores the restless yearning and suffocating alienation of adolescence. Set in 1891 Germany, the story follows a group of young classmates as they navigate desire and self-discovery in a rigid, unforgiving society.
