Forbes Center for the Performing Arts

Cellist Jonathan Ruck will join forces with pianist Ingrid Keller to perform Beethoven’s Sonata in F Major for Piano and Cello, Op. 5, No. 1; Stravinsky’s Suite Italienne for Cello and Piano; and Brahms’ Sonata in F Major for Cello and Piano, Op. 99. More

This year’s festival features the music of Bright Sheng, one of today’s foremost composers. A MacArthur Fellow and former student of Leonard Bernstein, Sheng creates stage, orchestral, chamber and vocal works that are widely commissioned—including by The White House in 1999—and regularly performed throughout North America, Europe and Asia. JMU faculty, ensembles and students will present Sheng’s music and other contemporary works in three main concerts during the festival. More

Minnesota Orchestra members John Snow and Peter McGuire make their debut performance at the Forbes Center! More

The Madison Singers is the advanced, auditioned choral chamber ensemble at JMU. Ranging from 60-80 voices, the JMU Chorale is an auditioned and highly select choir. More

The JMU Symphonic Band is under the direction of Stephen P. Bolstad. More

This collaborative program features Lowell Liebermann’s Ice Music (2012) for Chamber Ensemble, Sofia Gubaidulina’s Sounds of the Forest for Flute and Piano, Katherine Hoover’s Kokopeli for Solo Flute, Ian Clarke’s Spiral Lament for Flute and Piano, and other works. This multimedia presentation features stunning videography of the Arctic wilderness by photographer/flutist Brooks de Wetter-Smith. More

The JMU Percussion Ensemble, directed by Casey Cangelosi, consists of nearly 30 students and has performed throughout the East Coast, including concerts at the Virginia Music Educators Association Convention and Virginia Days of Percussion. More

Hailing from South Wales, the world’s top brass band ensemble will play an eclectic and engaging collection of repertoire bursting with energetic precision in a fun and rousing concert! More

From Marguerite’s celebrated “Jewel Song” to the beloved “Soldiers’ Chorus,” Gounod’s searing and sumptuous score propels Goethe’s tale of redemption and damnation into a dizzying dance with the devil that is impossible to forget. More

An electrifying fusion of film, dance and music, Taj Express is an international sensation that captures the expressive spirit of Bollywood movies that have been entertaining billions of people for generations. A feast for the eyes and ears, this pulsating production featuring nearly 30 performers donning over 2,000 costumes will have you dancing in the aisles! More

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The JMU Brass Band is the university’s premier brass ensemble. Directed by professor of music Kevin Stees, it is one of only a few collegiate brass bands in the United States. More

The JMU Symphonic Band is under the direction of Stephen P. Bolstad. The JMU Concert Band is under the direction of Amy Birdsong. More

In commemoration of the 150th anniversary of Hector Berlioz’s death, the Orchestra will perform Symphonie fantastique, a wild love story gone wrong that takes audiences from the ballroom to the meadows, ending with a vivid execution and witch’s dance. The program also features Rebecca Clarke’s Viola Sonata in a masterful orchestration by Ruth Lomon, featuring faculty violist Diane Phoenix-Neal. More

JMU faculty member Paulo Steinberg has performed as a soloist and as a collaborative pianist across the United States, Canada, South America and Europe. More

The JMU Jazz Ensemble and Jazz Band, along with JMU jazz faculty guest artists, will perform classic recordings by Nat King Cole, the great jazz singer and pianist who recorded over 100 songs that became hits on the pop charts in the 1950s and 1960s. The year 2019 marks the centennial of Cole’s birth. More

The JMU Wind Symphony, under the direction of Stephen P. Bolstad, is the premier woodwind, brass and percussion ensemble at JMU. The Wind Symphony is committed to performing the great works of the wind band’s core repertoire while also exploring the best of contemporary composition. More

Be transported to France as the JMU Chamber Orchestra plays music by Delibes and Debussy. More

This concert features performances by the JMU Treble Chamber Choir and the University Men's, Women's and Combined Choruses. The JMU Treble Chamber Choir and the University Men’s and Combined Choruses are under the direction of Dr. W. Bryce Hayes. The University Women’s Chorus is under the direction of Dr. Jo-Anne van der Vat-Chromy. More

The JMU Symphony Orchestra joins the combined Madison Singers and JMU Chorale for an inspired Christmas collage of holiday works for choirs and orchestra, featuring Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Fantasia on Christmas Carols and the finale (Ring Out, Ye Crystal Spheres) from the Christmas cantata Hodie. More

Experience a thrilling interpretation of the ancient Japanese tradition of taiko drumming with Yamato, whose members use “every bit” of their bodies to create an intense and high-energy performance that sends audiences home with a new vitality and passion for life. Jhonetsu-Passion is an innovative program that highlights the group’s virtuosity, strength, spirit, and sheer endurance. More

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A captivating crew of storytelling musicians bring Oscar Wilde’s classic fairy tales to life in Tall Stories’ new show, Wilde Creatures, a fantastical journey through palaces, forests and beyond direct from London’s West End. Founded in 1997, England’s Tall Stories is internationally recognized for its exciting blend of storytelling, original music, and laughs. More

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Bluestone Winds is the faculty woodwind quintet-in-residence in the James Madison University School of Music. Featuring Beth Chandler (flute), Jeanette Zkyo (oboe), Sarunas Jankauskas (clarinet), Sue Barber (bassoon) and Ian Zook (horn), the ensemble will present a varied program of standard quintet repertoire as well as literature by lesser-known composers. More

Prepare to be uplifted and transformed by the critically-acclaimed American Spiritual Ensemble featuring some of the finest singers in the classical music world. ASE aims to keep the American Negro Spiritual alive by performing renditions of classic spirituals, jazz and Broadway favorites that highlight the black experience. The Madison Singers will sing a few select numbers with ASE in this concert. More

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The JMU Percussion Ensemble, directed by Casey Cangelosi, consists of nearly 30 students and has performed throughout the East Coast, including concerts at the Virginia Music Educators Association Convention and Virginia Days of Percussion. More

Award-winning conductor Vladimir Lande will lead the Siberian State Symphony Orchestra, one of the best orchestras in Russia, and a world-class piano soloist in a dazzling concert of Russian favorites including Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3 in D Minor, Op. 30; Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5 in E Minor, Op. 64; and Shostakovich’s The Bolt, Suite from the Ballet, Op. 27a - Tango. More

Be swept away by the romance of hot Latin breezes in this enchanting evening of scenes and arias from your favorite operas! JMU Opera Theater students will perform songs from Massenet’s Don Quixote and Rossini’s The Barber of Seville, “Granada” and “Tico-Tico no fubá,” as well as others by Granados, Rodrigo, and more. Join the cast members for Latin-inspired desserts and coffee in the lobby following the performance! More

The JMU Jazz Ensemble and Jazz Band were founded in 1971 and are under the direction of Dr. Chuck Dotas. JMU jazz groups have performed at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts’ Terrace Theater, Montreux International Jazz and Blues Festival, North Sea Jazz Festival and VMEA annual convention. More

Three of opera’s most critically-acclaimed rising stars perform the world’s greatest arias, duets, and trios from Rigoletto, Faust, I Lombardi, La traviata, Manon Lescaut, La bohème, and more! This concert commemorates the 70th anniversary of the original Bel Canto Trio, and features the program that toured the United States in the 1947-1948 season. More

The JMU Brass Band is the university’s premier brass ensemble. Directed by professor of music Kevin Stees, it is one of only a few collegiate brass bands in the United States. More

“One of the most exciting classical guitarists today,” (The New York Times) Miloš Karadaglić is topping record charts and delighting audiences worldwide with playing that is “crisp, colorful and rhythmically alive.” (NPR) Voice of the Guitar features Miloš and a world-class musical quintet playing classical and pop favorites by musicians ranging from J.S. Bach and Enrique Granados to Astor Piazzolla and The Beatles. More

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Violet and Daisy Hilton shared a rare bond: they were literally attached at the hip. The conjoined twins are the real-life inspiration behind the 2014 Broadway musical revival Side Show, which follows the story of the English entertainers and their search for love and acceptance amidst exploitation and fame in the 1930s’ side show, vaudeville and Hollywood communities. Features students from JMU’s School of Theatre and Dance and School of Music. More

The JMU Symphonic Band is under the direction of Stephen P. Bolstad. More

The powerhouse all-male Argentinian dance company Che Malambo performs a percussive dance and music spectacle that celebrates the unique South American cowboy tradition of the gaucho. Malambo is a dynamic blend of precision footwork, rhythmic stomping, drumming, singing, and whirling of boleadoras (lassos with stones on the end). Don’t miss this exhilarating show that has captivated audiences across the globe! More

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This vocal celebration brings together beatbox sensation Blake Lewis from American Idol fame and a cappella groups Committed, Grammy-nominated gospel/R&B legends and Season 2 champions of The Sing-Off; Filipino-American boyband The Filharmonic, whose unique hip-hop and 90s’ nostalgia sound was featured in Pitch Perfect 2; and the internationally inspired Women of the World, who perform folk music in 32 languages. Features select members of JMU’s nine a cappella groups. More

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Seventeen JMU School of Music faculty and alumna will perform an arrangement for chamber ensemble of Gustav Mahler’s stirring song-symphony Das Lied von der Erde (The Song of the Earth), which consists of six songs based on a collection of Chinese poems about the joys and sorrows of life. Features the solo voices of tenor Jamison Walker and baritone Kevin McMillan under the direction of Foster Beyers. More

Under the direction of Dr. Chuck Dotas, the JMU Jazz Ensemble was founded in 1971 and is the premier jazz group in the School of Music at JMU. The ensemble has performed at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts’ Terrace Theater, Montreux International Jazz and Blues Festival, North Sea Jazz Festival and VMEA annual convention. More

Micheal Boyd is a Steinway artist who has performed with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, and at guest recitals across Europe and the United States, including Carnegie Hall. Boyd is a professor of piano at the University of Toledo. More

The Amernet is one of today’s exceptional string quartets, praised by The New York Times for its “intelligence” and “immensely satisfying” playing of new music and commissions as well as neglected works of the past. Currently the ensemble-in-residence at Florida International University in Miami, the Amernet will perform with special guests Heather Coltman, JMU Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, and JMU faculty bassist Sam Suggs. More

The JMU Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of Foster Beyers, is the premier symphonic ensemble for the JMU School of Music. More

Amsterdam-based Calefax Reed Quintet is acclaimed for its contemporary yet timeless interpretations of classical music. The Times of London has called the group, “five extremely gifted Dutch gents who almost made the reed quintet seem (like) the best musical format on the planet.” More

The JMU Wind Symphony and Symphonic Band, under the direction of Stephen P. Bolstad, are committed to performing the great works of the wind band’s core repertoire while also exploring the best of contemporary composition. More

The JMU Percussion Ensemble, directed by Casey Cangelosi, consists of nearly 30 students and has performed throughout the East Coast, including concerts at the Virginia Music Educators Association Convention and Virginia Days of Percussion. More

The JMU Brass Band is the university’s premier brass ensemble. Directed by professor of music Kevin Stees, it is one of only a few collegiate brass bands in the United States. More

This special show commemorating the centennial of the birth of jazz giant Dave Brubeck features stories by the Brubeck brothers, video interviews with Dave Brubeck and musicians he influenced, as well as music by the Brubeck Brothers Quartet, “a wondrous combination of swing, melodic majesty, masterful arrangements and a truckload of truly inspirational solos.” (The Seattle Times) More

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Brimming with a lush score, compelling plot and brilliant wit, the hilarious and satirical operetta Iolanthe is a send up to Gilbert and Sullivan’s topsy-turvy world of misalliances, contradictions, and English political peculiarities. Passions are ignited, lovers are thwarted and then reunited, and in true G&S style, irreconcilable differences vanish with a pencil stroke and the wave of the Fairy Queen’s magic wand. More

Experience the JMU Symphony Orchestra as they accompany the winners of the prestigious School of Music Concerto Competition. The second half of the program will feature the strings of the JMU Symphony Orchestra along with The Madison Singers, JMU Chorale and JMU dance students in Triptych, a fast-moving, three-movement work by Grammy-nominated composer Tarik O’Regan. More

Under the direction of Dr. Chuck Dotas, the JMU Jazz Ensemble was founded in 1971 and is the premier jazz group in the School of Music at JMU. The ensemble has performed at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts’ Terrace Theater, Montreux International Jazz and Blues Festival, North Sea Jazz Festival and VMEA annual convention. More

The JMU Jazz Band was founded in 1971 and is under the direction of Dr. Chuck Dotas. More

The JMU Symphonic Band is under the direction of Stephen P. Bolstad. The JMU Concert Band is under the direction of Amy Birdsong. More

A multi-ethnic Latin pop songstress, Gina Chavez is a 10-time Austin Music Award winner whose NPR Tiny Desk Concert has garnered over 800,000 views. Her latest all-English release Lightbeam, “steeped in slow-burn soul and up-tempo R&B,” (NPR) adds diversity to her passionate collection of bilingual songs that traverse cumbia, indie folk, blues, and Latin pop. Chavez “possesses the vocal abilities to dig deep into your soul with her melodies.” (Nanobot Rock Reviews) More

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The JMU Wind Symphony, under the direction of Stephen P. Bolstad, is the premier woodwind, brass and percussion ensemble at JMU. The Wind Symphony is committed to performing the great works of the wind band’s core repertoire while also exploring the best of contemporary composition. More

After a full day of fun adventures at school and the store, Baby Llama can’t wait to put on his red pajamas. But where’s Mama? This hilarious new musical will warm every Llama and Llama Mama’s heart. Wear your pajamas and join us for a pre-show reception and crafts at 6 pm! Founded in 2004, Bay Area Children’s Theatre reaches 125,000 children and adults per year in the San Francisco Bay Area. More

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This concert benefitting Any Given Child Shenandoah Valley features the Valley Wind Ensemble, a group of more than 60 local area music educators and freelance musicians. An ensemble of students selected from Harrisonburg City Schools return to the lineup in an evening that combines performance, education and dialogue to engage audiences of all ages. Check back for program updates. More

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