John Mark Rafacz, Town&Gown

Itzhak Perlman will return to Penn State’s Eisenhower Auditorium November 14 for a special evening of live music (announced from the stage), stories, and projected film and photos celebrating a storied career launched with his televised U.S. debut more than 60 years ago. The world’s most famous violinist, who will be joined for An…

A century ago, in the aftermath of World War I, a predominantly African-American neighborhood in uptown Manhattan emerged as one of the leading cultural centers of the country. Harlem 100: Celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the Harlem Renaissance, which features the nine-member band Mwenso and the Shakes, will bring the sound and spirit of the…

Cellist Yo-Yo Ma has spent a lifetime transcending cultural divides and bringing people together, so it’s only natural that the musical organization he founded at the turn of the century is devoted to relationships that cross borders. The Silkroad Ensemble, named for the ancient trade route that exchanged commodities and innovations between southern Europe…

It’s high summer in central Pennsylvania, but it won’t be long until autumn descends upon the ridges and valleys. It’ll be the ideal time of year for a musical inspired by Mexico’s Day of the Dead. In its first visit to State College, New York City’s Mexico Beyond Mariachi will perform Sugar Skull!, A…

The winds – and strings – of change are coming to Schwab Auditorium. Imani Winds and Catalyst Quartet will join talents for (im)migration: music of change, a September 18 concert featuring a new work by Catalyst violinist and composer Jessie Montgomery. The composition is inspired by the Great Migration of African Americans, during…

For the third year in a row, the Center for the Performing Arts at Penn State will open its season by showcasing a rising star of jazz at Schwab Auditorium. But when the 2019–20 season gets underway September 12, the up-and-coming talent will be joined by a master of the genre. The Emmet Cohen…

Last April, a Schwab Auditorium crowd responded enthusiastically to the Danish String Quartet’s performance of classical music. But audience members got especially excited when violinist Rune Tonsgaard Sørensen led the foursome in arrangements of half a dozen Nordic folk tunes. Sørensen will return to Schwab April 3 with Dreamers’ Circus, his trio that draws…