Shenandoah Conservatory announces its 2022/23 season of live music, theatre and dance. The Conservatory Performs season features dozens of opportunities to witness and experience the arts, including a rich variety of performances by students, faculty and internationally renowned guest artists.
The season kicks off Thursday, Sept. 8, 2022, with a performance by the Grammy Award-winning band Ranky Tanky and a reception in the Armstrong Hall Courtyard. Throughout the year, a wide array of guest artists will visit Winchester as part of the Performing Arts Live and Shenandoah New Music series. Artists include legendary hip-hop dance company Rennie Harris Puremovement, Aizuri Quartet, Jasper String Quartet, Brubeck Brothers Quartet and Flutronix and Third Coast Percussion.
World-renowned pianists will be featured as part of the World of the Piano series, which includes recitals by the conservatory’s own Assistant Professor of Piano Alexander Bernstein ’16, D.M., and guest artists Drew Petersen, Kenny Broberg, Joanna MacGregor and Terrence Wilson.
The 2022/23 season also features a robust lineup of performances by the conservatory’s instrumental ensembles, including the Symphony Orchestra, Wind Ensemble, the new music group EDGE Ensemble, along with jazz ensembles, such as the Studio Big Band and Little Big Band. This year, student ensembles are joined by an all-star roster of special guests, including new and returning conservatory faculty, as well as the Grammy Award-winning soprano, songwriter and actress Hila Plitman. New this year, the conservatory introduces CONTEMPO Ensemble. Under the direction of Director of Contemporary Music, Coordinator for Conservatory in the Community and Assistant Professor of Contemporary Music Rod Vester, Ph.D., CONTEMPO Ensemble uses music for positive social change and is composed of students from a wide range of musical backgrounds.
The Vocal/Choral Division presents performances by the Conservatory Choir, Shenandoah Chorus and Shenandoah Voices, as well as opera performances of “Hydrogen Jukebox” featuring music by Philip Glass and lyrics by beat poet Allen Ginsberg, and a performance of Benjamin Britten’s 1960 “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” (libretto adapted by Peter Pears), featuring the full force of the Shenandoah Conservatory Symphony Orchestra.
Additionally, the conservatory’s Dance Division will present a season of new original dance works featuring a dynamic range of dance styles from traditional to contemporary.
Finally, the Theatre Division presents popular musicals “Sweet Charity,” “Tuck Everlasting” and “The Apple Tree,” as well as award-winning contemporary plays, including “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time,” “The Wolves” and “12 Angry Jurors.”
To view an entire calendar of events, purchase tickets and learn more, visit Conservatory Performs online at www.conservatoryperforms.org, in person at the Shenandoah University Box Office located in the Ohrstrom-Bryant Theatre lobby or by phone at (540) 665-4569. Regular box office hours are Monday through Friday from noon to 5 p.m.
Tickets go on sale Wednesday, July 27, and patrons are able to save 20 to 30 percent off general admission tickets with a flexible Pick 5 or Pick 8 subscription package.
