2024 Winter-Spring Season
From Herb Alpert’s Brazilian jazz to the renowned voice of Lawrence Brownlee, Chapman University’s Musco Center for the Arts winter season will feature a diverse lineup of international and homegrown talent.
Sixteen performances encompassing dance, choral, classical, folk music and more will grace the stage through April.
“I am excited to welcome back both Herb Alpert and Lani Hall and Kishi Bashi because I know from previous visits how amazing they sound in Musco Center, but I’m equally excited to hear The Wailin’ Jennys,” says Musco Center Director of Programs and Public Engagement Jennifer Marchese-Ernst.
The winter season kicks off January 26 with “ink,” featuring Camille A. Brown and her dancers. Brown, a dancer, choreographer, director and dance educator, has choreographed major Broadway shows, including “Choir Boy,” “Once on This Island” and “Jesus Christ Superstar: Live in Concert!” She also choreographed Alicia Keys’ new Broadway musical “Hell’s Kitchen,” which opens in March.
Husband-and-wife team Alpert and Hall will bring their talents to Musco on January 28 (see page 23). And the February 3 performance by Small Island Big Song combines the music of seafaring cultures from the Pacific and Indian Oceans, while conveying an urgent message about the climate crisis.
For the third time, Brown University professor, Chapman Presidential Fellow and saxophonist Stephon Alexander will bring his group of world-class musicians and cutting-edge physicists to Musco for a “Jazzy STEAM” performance.
Dr. Lawrence Brown, Chapman University Associate Dean of Undergraduate Pharmacy Programs and Partnerships, created Jazzy STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics) with Alexander in fall 2021. The event includes musical performances and a panel discussion on science, revealing how the two disciplines connect.
“The concept was to bring jazz lovers in for the music and expose them to science, and to bring science lovers in and expose them to the music,” Brown says.
Musco’s season includes numerous performances and residencies under the Leap of Art program, where artists teach master classes at Chapman in addition to performing at Musco. Small Island Big Song will lead a student workshop on environmental issues and music students will work with Kishi Bashi, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and opera singer Brownlee. The Camille A. Brown dancers and Momix will also lead a workshop with the dance department as part of their residency.
Judy Crum, a regular patron at Musco, is looking forward to next year’s productions, particularly the annual “Disney Side-By-Side Movie in Concert” that includes a live orchestra playing the movie’s score. “I always enjoy being in such a beautiful concert hall,” she says.
Marchese-Ernst says community members who haven’t yet attended a Musco event should consider doing so because the venue is both intimate and grand at the same time. “The hall is so-often praised for its stunning acoustics, and yes, the sound is incredible, but I can never get over how easy it is to enjoy world-class talent right here in our backyard,” she says.
Musco’s Spring Season Includes:
• Jan 26: Camille A. Brown & Dancers, “ink”
• Jan 28: Herb Alpert & Lani Hall
• Feb 3: Small Island Big Song
• Feb 4: Jazz at the Lincoln Center: “Sing and Swing”
• Feb 23: MOMIX, “Alice”
• Mar 2: University Wind Symphony
• Mar 3: Chamber Music Society of the Lincoln Center
• Mar 8: The Chapman Orchestra
• Mar 9: The Wailin’ Jennys
• Mar 14: Jazzy STEAM
• Mar 17: Spring Choral Celebration
• Mar 27: Lawrence Brownlee,Tenor
• Mar 29: University Choir & Singers
• Apr 6: Song & Culture: An Italian Perspective
• Apr 23: Chapman Big Band & Jazz Combo
• Apr 27: Kishi Bashi
Musco Center for the Arts
415 North Glassell St, Orange CA 92866 / 714-997-6812
Learn more and purchase tickets at www.MuscoCenter.org
