Feb 23, 2025 | Music, News, Regional Arts Events
The Weis Center will welcome classical ensemble Esmé Quartet on Friday, February 28 at 7:30 p.m. in the Weis Center Concert Hall.
The Quartet includes: Wonhee Bae, violin I, Yuna Ha, violin II, Dimitri Murrath, viola and Ye-Eun Heo, cello.
When at the Weis Center, they will present: “Spring” from Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter by Kui Dong, “Fall-Winter” from Infinite Season by Juri Seo, String Quartet in F Major by Maurice Ravel and String Quartet No. 14 in C-sharp minor, Op. 131 by Ludwig van Beethoven.
Praised for their warm sound and powerful stage presence, the Esmé Quartet was formed in 2016 at the Hochschule für Musik in Cologne, Germany by four musicians who had been friends since their youth. The Quartet has rapidly gained a worldwide reputation as a chamber ensemble of exceptional artistry and achievement.
In Spring of 2018, the quartet won the first prize as well as sweeping four special prizes at the prestigious Wigmore Hall International String Quartet Competition in London, and in the same year it became HSBC Laureate of the Académie du Festival d’Aix. This recognition followed prizes at the Trondheim International Chamber Music Competition and the 55th Possehl Musikpreis Lübeck. In October 2020, the quartet was awarded the first Hans-Gál Prize by the Academy of Sciences and Literature Mainz, and Villa Musica.
The Esmé Quartet was named the first Artists-in-Residence at the Lotte Concert Hall, Seoul, Korea for the 2020-2021 season. Recent appearances include the Lucerne Festival, Wigmore Hall, the Flagey Musiq3 Festival in Brussels, Auditori Barcelona, Opéra de Lille, and as the quartet in residence at the Aix-en-Provence Festival, the McGill International String Quartet Academy in Montreal, the Heidelberg String Quartet Festival and Classic Esterházy in Eisenstadt.
They made their highly acclaimed debut tour of the United States and Canada in Spring 2022 followed by their debut tour of Japan in Fall 2022. In Spring 2024, the Esme Quartet made their debut Australian tour to high acclaim, and toured the US and Canada with the 2017 Cliburn Competition gold medalist Yekwon Sunwoo. Other recent highlights include a tour of Italy, and return engagements to the Festival Musiq3 and Wigmore Hall, along with concerts in Austria, Germany and Portugal.
The Esme Quartet performed John Adams’ “Absolute Jest” with the Tokyo Metropolitan Orchestra with the composer conducting in January 2024. They performed Michel van der Aa’s The Book of Water with British actor Samuel West at the Hong Kong Arts Festival in February 2023.
Their first CD “To Be Loved” on Alpha Classics of works by Beethoven, Unsuk Chin, and Frank Bridge, was released in January 2020 and was named one of the best classical CDs of 2020 by WQRX Public Radio in New York City. Their second CD “Yessori” Sound from the Past, also on Alpha Classics of works by Mozart, Tchaikovsky, and Soo Yeon Lyuh, was released in March 2023.
Belgian-American violist Dimitri Murrath joined the Esme Quartet in April 2023, upon the departure of violist Jiwon Kim.
The Esmé Quartet studied with Heime Müller and was mentored by artists such as Günter Pichler, Oliver Wille, Eberhard Feltz, Andraś Keller, Christoph Poppen and Jonathan Brown.
The Quartet takes its name “Esmé” from the old French word for “beloved.”
TICKETS
Tickets are $30 for adults, $24 for seniors 62+ and subscribers, $20 for youth 18 and under, $20 for Bucknell employees and retirees (limit 2), free for Bucknell students (limit 1) and $20 for non-Bucknell students (limit 2).
Tickets can be reserved by calling 570-577-1000 or online at Bucknell.edu/BoxOffice.
Tickets are also available in person from several locations including the Weis Center lobby (weekdays 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.) and the CAP Center Box Office, located on the ground floor of the Elaine Langone Center (weekdays 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.).
For more information about this event, contact Lisa Leighton, marketing and outreach director, at 570-577-3727 or by e-mail at [email protected].
For more information about the Weis Center for the Performing Arts, go to Bucknell.edu/WeisCenter or search for the Weis Center on Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube.
Feb 16, 2025 | Music, News, Regional Arts Events
The Weis Center will welcome Grammy nominated drummer Nate Smith on Friday, February 21 at 7:30 p.m. in the Weis Center Concert Hall. Joining Nate will be Tim Lefebvre on bass and Jason Lindner on piano/keys.
The performance is sponsored, in part, by ViaMedia and Karl Voss and Chanin Wendling and family.
For nearly two decades, Nate Smith has been a key piece in reinvigorating the international music scene with his visceral, instinctive, and deep-rooted style of drumming. Smith fuses his original compositions with an eclectic mix of music, including everything from jazz to rhythm and blues and hip-hop to pop.
He holds a diverse and ample résumé — which includes work with esteemed jazz leading lights such as Pat Metheny, Dave Holland, Chris Potter, José James, John Patitucci, Ravi Coltrane, and Somi among many others.
His 2x GRAMMY-nominated debut album, KINFOLK: Postcards from Everywhere, sees Smith fusing his original modern jazz compositions with R&B, pop, and hip-hop. He’s also ventured into the pop/rock world with recent collaborations with Vulfpeck spinoff band The Fearless Flyers, Brittany Howard (of Alabama Shakes) and performances with songwriters Emily King and Van Hunt. In recent years, through a series of viral videos, he has emerged as one of the most influential and popular drummers of his generation.
His videos have been viewed millions of times and have inspired countless musicians and fans. In September of 2018, he released his first ever solo drumset album Pocket Change.
As a composer and arranger, Mr. Smith received two (2) GRAMMY nominations for his composition “Home Free (for Peter Joe)” for best instrumental composition and best arrangement (instrumental or a cappella). Of the KINFOLK: Postcards From Everywhere project, Mr. Smith says: “It was my goal to start with the simplest of elements, singable melodies with familiar harmonies, and use them to weave stories that felt nostalgic without being overly sentimental. Pieces like ‘Retold’ and ‘Pages’ use familiar, consonant harmonies as a means of evoking the listener to “reach back” for a memory, while ‘Skip Step’ and Spinning Down’ use layers of rhythm to express a feeling of unsettled tension. ‘Disenchantment: The Weight’ uses an ascending/descending chord progression to simulate a deep sigh of resignation, while ‘Home Free (for Peter Joe)’ uses a hymn-like melody as a means of evoking feelings of both solemnity and ceremony.”
TICKETS
Tickets are $25 for adults, $20 for seniors 62+ and subscribers, $15 for youth 18 and under, $15 for Bucknell employees and retirees (limit 2), free for Bucknell students (limit 1) and $15 for non-Bucknell students (limit 2).
Tickets can be reserved by calling 570-577-1000 or online at Bucknell.edu/BoxOffice.
Tickets are also available in person from several locations including the Weis Center lobby (weekdays 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.) and the CAP Center Box Office, located on the ground floor of the Elaine Langone Center (weekdays 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.).
For more information about this event, contact Lisa Leighton, marketing and outreach director, at 570-577-3727 or by e-mail at [email protected].
For more information about the Weis Center for the Performing Arts, go to Bucknell.edu/WeisCenter or search for the Weis Center on Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube.
Feb 16, 2025 | Music, News, Regional Arts Events
The Susquehanna Valley Chorale will present Alzheimer’s Stories: A Monument to Memory on Saturday, March 8 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, March 9 at 3 p.m. at Stretansky Hall at Susquehanna University in Selinsgrove.
Alzheimer’s Stories, with music by Robert S. Cohen and lyrics by Herschel Garfein, is a poignant and inspiring performance that includes firsthand accounts of Chorale members and their families. The moving work is filled with compassion, love, and humility.
The performance will feature three acclaimed soloists: Alyssa Ronco, Amanda Stante and Ted Keegan. Holly Kyle, Alzheimer’s and dementia care representative at Union-Snyder Agency on Aging, Inc., will serve as the emcee for the event.
“Much of the text of Alzheimer’s Stories is derived from firsthand accounts of the disease offered by members of the Susquehanna Valley Chorale, who commissioned the work. The members of the Chorale and its community of friends submitted personal narratives to a weblog concerning the experience of those they love who had suffered through Alzheimer’s. Taken together, these accounts form a moving testimonial to all that is best in human beings: qualities of compassion, love, tirelessness, humor; and an inspiring resilience in confronting…an incurable disease,” according to librettist Herschel Garfein.
At the beginning of the second half of the performance, Fiona Powell will interview Cohen and Garfein about their experience writing the songs and lyrics.
Co-sponsors include: Lois and Tom Clark, Leta Jo and Fred Maue, Judy and Domenick Ronco. Underwriters include Ruth Anderson and William Payn, Jean and Bob Hormell, and Elsbeth Steffensen.
ABOUT THE WORK
In 2008, a member of the Susquehanna Valley Chorale, who asked to remain anonymous, made a donation to the chorale to help fund the commissioning of a musical work about Alzheimer’s disease. He did this to honor his parents, who both died of it.
In collaboration with Grammy Award-winning opera librettist Herschel Garfein, the SVC set up a blog to record chorale and community members’ experiences with loved ones who had Alzheimer’s disease. A select group of the stories shared became the basis for the work.
Alzheimer’s Stories premiered on October 9, 2009, at the Weis Center for the Performing Arts, conducted by Dr. William Payn. It was recorded for broadcast by PBS television station WVIA and subsequently performed throughout the U.S. and Europe over the last 15 years.
Tickets are available at SVCMusic.org or by calling 570-547-0455. For more information, visit SVCMusic.org.
SOLOISTS
Alyssa N. Ronco, soprano, is a native of Mifflinburg, PA. She has performed all over the United States, Canada, and Italy including performances with New Jersey Opera, The Susquehanna Valley Chorale (soprano solo in Poulenc’s Gloria, Gabriel in Haydn’s Creation), Green Valley Presbyterian Church Concert Series, Henderson, NV(soprano solo in Handel’s Messiah) and made her Carnegie Hall Debut under the baton of Mr. John Rutter (Soprano solos in Rutter’s Gloria and Monteverdi’s Gloria). She holds her Bachelor of Music degree from Oberlin Conservatory where she was awarded a Dean’s Merit Scholarship and her Master of Music degree from Manhattan School of Music. Ms. Ronco is also a voice teacher and instructs students of all ages, founding Cadenza Voice Studio in Mifflinburg PA. Many of her students have gone on to top universities and conservatories and have begun their own performance careers.
Amanda Stante: Amanda serves on the music faculty at Susquehanna University as Assistant Professor of Voice. This summer, Amanda will return to New England Music Camp to teach voice and other courses for the second time. Prior to her appointment at Susquehanna University, Amanda taught courses at the IU Jacobs School of Music and served on the voice faculty at Indiana State University. She has also been on the voice faculty for the IU Jacob School of Music’s College Audition Preparation Workshop and Carnegie Mellon University’s Pre-College Program. Amanda has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree with a minor in German and Master of Music and Doctor of Music degrees at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music.
Ted Keegan: Ted is a native of Watertown, New York with an undergraduate degree from Ithaca College and a graduate degree from UNC-Greensboro. He was last seen as the Phantom in Phantom the Las Vegas Spectacular. He starred in the National Tour of The Phantom of the Opera following a very successful run in the Broadway Company. Ted was deeply involved in the George Gershwin Centennial Celebration. He performed unpublished Gershwin at the opening of the George and Ira Gershwin Room at the National Archives in Washington, DC, which The New York Times reviewed as one of the ten best musical events of the year. Ted made his Broadway debut in the highly acclaimed revival of Sweeney Todd, where he was seen as Anthony. Other Broadway and National Tour credits include Cyrano: The Musical, Mordred in Camelot with Robert Goulet, Freddy in My Fair Lady, Herman in The Most Happy Fella, Constantine in Hollywood/Ukraine and another Phantom too – in the European Tour of the Kopit/Yeston version.
For more information, visit SVCMusic.org or call Kelly Beard, SVC Executive Director, 570-547-0455.
Feb 16, 2025 | Music, News, Regional Arts Events
Wednesday, Feb. 26
7:30 PM
Weis Center for the Performing Arts
FREE ADMISSION
Salim Washington is a composer and multi-instrumentalist, playing tenor sax, flute, oboe and bass clarinet. He has played and recorded with many of the luminaries of the art form, and has been featured in festivals and other venues throughout the United States, Europe, Africa, and Latin America. Washington has combined a life in music with a life of the mind, and is a renowned scholar of Black music and culture. He will perform at Bucknell University’s Weis Center on February 26th as part of the Jazz@Bucknell series.
The band includes an incredible lineup of New York-based musicians including trombonist Frank Ku’umba Lacy, pianist Yayoi Ikawa, drummer Taru Alexander, and bassist Tarik Shah.
Washington, a Harvard University Ph.D. scholar, and in-demand lecturer, is also a prolific composer and an arranger. Washington has performed with many of New York’s finest musicians, including Randy Weston, Pharoah Sanders, John Hicks, Hilton Ruiz, Charles Tolliver, Oliver Lake, David Murray, and Billy Bang. His body of work—spanning four decades, from Mozambique to Mexico—has been lauded as one of the most compelling modern voices in jazz. Dr. Cornel West celebrates Salim’s work as a “new synoptic vision of what jazz can be and do. The fundamental spirit behind this music…lives on in new ways and novel sounds.”
After teaching African-American history and culture at Brooklyn College for nearly a decade, Salim Washington emigrated to Durban, South Africa, after many years of following the music, culture and history of that nation, starting in 1976 at the time of the Soweto rebellion. Salim taught at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, the Centre of Jazz and Popular Music, and led workshops in various townships, including Soweto, Thembisa, KwaMashu. While in South Africa, he performed frequently in Grahamstown, Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban, Irini. Washington also participated in the 8th Pan African Congress in Joburg in January 2014.
Washington currently serves as professor of Global Jazz Studies and Music at UCLA. He works to combine his artistry and pedagogy with his political conviction that we must work to improve our society with greater justice for all.
Jazz@Bucknell is Bucknell University’s flagship jazz concert series. Each year, the program brings unique voices in jazz and African American music to Bucknell’s campus, often focusing on the intersection of social change and creative musical work. With an emphasis on interdisciplinarity and global cultural flows, Jazz@Bucknell highlights the transformative power of jazz as both an art form and a means of transnational social communication. By showcasing artists and scholars who challenge conventional boundaries, the program fosters an inclusive environment that encourages critical engagement with music’s role in shaping cultural and political landscapes.
Feb 8, 2025 | Music, News, Regional Arts Events
The Weis Center will welcome bluegrass ensemble Henhouse Prowlers on Friday, February 14 at 7:30 p.m. in the Weis Center Concert Hall.
The performance is sponsored, in part, by The News Item.
Founded two decades ago, this Chicago-bred quartet finds itself at the intersection of performance, diplomacy and education. Onstage, the group’s performances give audiences a sense of how much they love what they do. In recordings — including 2023’s Lead and Iron — the band explores their collective life experiences through songwriting and intricate instrumentation.
While bluegrass is the undeniable foundation of the Henhouse Prowlers’ music, the band bends and squeezes the traditional form into a keenly developed sound all its own.
All four members possessing a knack for storytelling, compelling songwriting and intricate instrumentation, each offers the utmost artistic prowess, building on one another’s magic night after night.
Working with the U.S. State Department and under their own nonprofit, Bluegrass Ambassadors, the Prowlers have toured more than 29 countries on 5 continents. The group’s experiences with people and musicians in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East have shaped the band’s worldview and broadened the group’s direction towards bridging cultural gaps with music, educational programs and workshops. Using traditional American music as a foundation and connecting folk music, customs and history the world over, the Prowlers incorporate international elements into their already robust repertoire of unique traditional American music.
Whether playing live or presenting seminars, the Henhouse Prowlers find and spread the commonality we share as human beings through the universal language of music.
The group’s experiences with people and musicians across the globe have shaped their worldview and bolstered the bridges they establish between cultures. For this troupe, the work doesn’t end at making music – they are actively striving toward a kinder world.
Jon Goldfine: Bass
Jon’s drive and love shows through his commitment to the business at the bands’ inception and his powerful voice and songwriting. Before the Prowlers, Jon’s bass playing was all over the spectrum of rock and world music. He’s kind, measured and loves dogs more than pretty much anyone you’ve ever met.
Chris Dollar: Guitar
Chris comes from the heart of Bill Monroe country (Central Indiana) and it shows immediately on stage through his fierce guitar picking and ridiculous vocal chops. He cut his teeth with the excellent New Old Cavalry and Flatland Harmony Experiment and has become a foundational presence in the Prowlers. In his spare time, Chris works on both cars and guitars alike.
Jake Howard: Mandolin
Originally from the Akron, OH region, Jake picked up the mandolin at 15 and never put it down. His early years consisted of performing with friends & family and the Prowlers actually had a discussion with him early on about trying out for the band. Serendipity intervened and Jake was accepted into the world famous Berklee College of Music where he honed his skills, landing on stage with the Prowlers in 2020 with an undeniable presence & unmatched musicality. Jake’s propensity for teaching & video editing have helped the band level-up considerably.
Ben Wright: Banjo
Ben is a founding member of the Prowlers, having started his bluegrass journey in Chicago after seeing a banjo in the window of the Old Town School of Folk Music in mid-October of 1999. That $200 impulse buy turned itself slowly into a career spanning thousands of notes, friends and miles. When not playing the banjo, Ben not-so-quietly obsesses over shipwrecks and Nintendo.
TICKETS
Tickets are $30 for adults, $24 for seniors 62+ and subscribers, $20 for youth 18 and under, $20 for Bucknell employees and retirees (limit 2), free for Bucknell students (limit 1) and $20 for non-Bucknell students (limit 2).
Tickets can be reserved by calling 570-577-1000 or online at Bucknell.edu/BoxOffice.
Tickets are also available in person from several locations including the Weis Center lobby (weekdays 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.) and the CAP Center Box Office, located on the ground floor of the Elaine Langone Center (weekdays 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.).
For more information about this event, contact Lisa Leighton, marketing and outreach director, at 570-577-3727 or by e-mail at [email protected].
For more information about the Weis Center for the Performing Arts, go to Bucknell.edu/WeisCenter or search for the Weis Center on Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube.
Feb 8, 2025 | News, Regional Arts Events, Theater
[Williamsport, PA] – The Community Theatre League proudly presents RENT, Jonathan Larson’s groundbreaking rock musical that redefined a generation. This electrifying production will run for three weekends, February 7-9, 13-16, and 20-23, 2025, at CTL’s downtown theatre.
What would you do if you had only one year to live? RENT invites audiences to experience the raw emotion and exhilarating energy of Jonathan Larson’s iconic rock musical that forever changed Broadway.
A story of love, loss, and the pursuit of artistic dreams, RENT follows a group of struggling young artists navigating life in New York’s East Village during the height of the HIV/AIDS crisis. This Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning musical continues to inspire audiences with its timeless message of resilience, found family, and living for today. Thirty years after its premiere, RENT’s themes of love, loss, and fighting for survival remain as relevant as ever. With a cast of powerhouse performers and a score that pulses with life, this production is not just a show—it’s an experience.
“RENT is more than just a musical; it’s a movement. It’s about fighting for what matters, embracing love in all its forms, and refusing to let fear define us,” said Seth Sponhouse, CTL’s Executive Artistic Director and Director of RENT. “We are honored to bring this powerful show to our stage and share its urgent, unforgettable message with our community.”
A DYNAMIC CAST BRINGS RENT TO LIFE
Leading the cast are Timothy Hippensteel as Roger Davis, Seth Confer as Mark Cohen, Camden Hare as Tom Collins, Maxwell Theiss as Benjamin Coffin III, Marisa Sponhouse as Joanne Jefferson, Malachi Watson as Angel Schunard, Rubie Natal as Mimi Márquez, and Brandy Aguirre as Maureen Johnson. They are joined by a talented ensemble and pit singers who bring Larson’s unforgettable score to vibrant life. Marisa Sorrentino Hickey, the production’s Music Director, added, “This isn’t just a show; it’s an experience. Jonathan Larson’s music is powerful, emotional, and demands everything from its performers. This cast has embraced the challenge, pouring their hearts into every note and every lyric to create something truly unforgettable.”
TICKETS ON SALE NOW
Don’t miss this unforgettable theatrical event! Tickets are available at ctlshows.com/season-48/#rent. Secure your seat today and experience the power of RENT! Audiences can also purchase special $5 onstage seating for a unique, immersive perspective that is perfect for a second (or third!) viewing! For those who want to see RENT from another perspective, CTL is offering special $5 onstage seating, allowing audiences to immerse themselves in the show’s raw energy up close—an unforgettable way to experience this groundbreaking musical, especially for a second or even third time!
HONORING THOSE IMPACTED BY THE HIV/AIDS CRISIS
The cast and crew dedicates the run of RENT to the lives lost and those affected by the AIDS epidemic. We encourage audiences to learn more and support local resources by visiting AIDSResource.com
DON’T MISS THE CHANCE TO WITNESS THE PASSION, THE HEARTBREAK, AND THE TRIUMPH OF RENT. GET YOUR TICKETS TODAY AND JOIN US IN CELEBRATING LIFE, LOVE, AND THE POWER OF COMMUNITY—BECAUSE THERE TRULY IS NO DAY BUT TODAY.
NOTE: RENT is not intended for young children, but CTL always leaves viewer discretion to the legal guardian.
Tickets and Information:
Visit ctlshows.com/season-48/#RENT to purchase tickets or learn more about the production.
Performance Dates:
February 7-9, 13-16, 20-23
Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays @ 7:30 PM
Sundays @ 2:00 PM
EVENT DETAILS:
• What: Community Theatre League presents “RENT”
• When: February 7-9, 13-16, 20-23
• Where: Community Theatre League, 100 West Third Street, Williamsport, PA
• Tickets: Available at CTLSHOWS.COM
LEGAL ATTRIBUTION:
BOOK, MUSIC AND LYRICS BY JONATHAN LARSON
MUSICAL ARRANGEMENTS STEVE SKINNER
ORIGINAL CONCEPT/ADDITIONAL LYRICS BILLY ARONSON
MUSIC SUPERVISION AND ADDITIONAL ARRANGEMENTS TIM WEIL
DRAMATURG LYNN THOMSON
RENT WAS ORIGINALLY PRODUCED IN NEW YORK BY NEW YORK THEATRE WORKSHOP AND ON BROADWAY
BY JEFFREY SELLER, KEVIN MCCOLLUM, ALLAN S. GORDON AND THE NEW YORK THEATRE WORKSHOP
RENT Is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI).
All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI.
www.mtishows.com
ABOUT COMMUNITY THEATRE LEAGUE: The Community Theatre League is dedicated to enriching the cultural fabric of the
Williamsport area through live performance and education in the theatre arts. Now entering its 48th season, CTL contin-
ues to provide high-quality productions that entertain, educate, and inspire.
