Featured Events
Please check back soon for more Spring 2025 opportunities.
Land, Sky, and Sea: A Tapestry of Perspectives | University Art Gallery | Feb. 6 - Mar. 15
Opening Reception: Feb. 6 from 4-6 p.m.
Artist Talk: Feb. 27 at 12-1 p.m. | Moderated by Taryn M. Nicoll
Land, Sea, and Sky focuses on environmentalism through the lens of three Sonoma County artists: Catherine Daley, Adrian Mendoza, and Bambi Waterman. Through their artworks, the artists aim to insipre an awareness that can lead to positive change.
Themes: art, sculpture, painting, photojournalism, photography, sustainability, environmentalism, oceans, flora, fauna
Jason Moran Presents Duke Ellington: My Heart Sings | Feb. 15 | Green Music Center
Known for his incomparable talent and innovative approaches, jazz pianist brilliantly reimagines the timeless music of Duke Ellington in a celebration of Duke's enduring legacy on the 125th anniversary of his birth. Moran's incomparable talent and unyielding drive towards innovation has earned him a prestigious MacArthur "Genius Grant" and the title of Kennedy Center Artistic Director for Jazz.
Music Department Concerts & Events | Various Dates | Green Music Center
Performances throughout the semester by students, faculty, and guest artists, including SSU's Jazz Orchestra, Symphonic Wind Ensemble, Concert Choir and SonoVoce, Brass Ensemble, Concert Jazz Ensemble, Symphony Orchestra, Concert Band, Jewish Music Series, and more.
Third Coast Percussion & Zakir Hussain | Mar. 1 | Green Music Center
Grammy-winning Third Coast Percussion has commissioned tabla virtuoso Zakir Hussain to compose a major new work that blends the sounds of tabla with a classically-trained percussion ensemble. A shared spirit of collaboration and curiosity reverberate among the artists who will share the stage for this concert.
Zakir Hussain is one of the world's most esteemed musicians whose mastery of his instrument has taken it to a new level, transcending cultures and national borders. Third Coast Percussion educates thousands of students each year, and in their 20 years as an ensemble, they have commissioned over 100 new works from a diverse range of composers.
Okaidja Afroso: Jaku Mumor - Ancestral Spirit | Mar. 6 | Green Music Center
Okaidja Afroso's Jaku Mumor brings fresh musical flavors from Ghana's coast, rooted in the ecological wisdom of the indigenous Ga-Dangme fishermen and the nature-based rituals of his ancestors. Blending percussion, guitar, dance, and native language vocals, Okaidja extends ancestral traditions into a contemporary African oral tradition. Jaku Mumor showcases the Ga fishermen's a cappella singing and chants while addressing global challenges, like rising sea levels and the impact of economic development on cultural preservation. In Okaidja's culture, water symbolizes both creation and destruction, a theme he uses to promote cross-cultural understanding and inspire audiences to reflect on the choices shaping our world.
Themes: Indigenous African cultural traditions, climate change, music, dance, cultural preservation
Naghash Ensemble | Mar. 27 | Green Music Center
The idea for the Naghash Ensemble came to John Hodian after hearing Hasmik Baghdasaryan sing medieval Armenian spiritual music in a pagan temple near Yerevan, Armenia. Inspired, he spent years searching the libraries of Yerevan, New York, and Berlin for the right text until he discovered the 16th-century poet Mkrtich Naghash. Struck by Naghash's words, particularly about the plight of the "Ghareeb" of exiled, Hodian decided to set 15 of his poems to music. As the grandson of Armenian Genocide survivors, Hodian deeply connected with Naghash's timeless reflections on exile and loss. Though written in the 1500s, it is amazing how timeless Naghash's texts are in light of these troubling times.
Themes: Medieval poetry, Armenian culture, exile, contemporary music composition
Julia Keefe Indigenous Big Band | May 9 | Green Music Center
The Julia Keefe Indigenous Big Band is an ensemble of Native and Indigenous jazz musicians from across Indian Country, performing works by their under-appreciated predecessors in jazz, like Mildred Bailey (Coeur d'Alene) and Jim Pepper (Kaw/Mvskoke), alongside works by contemporary Indigenous composers. The band highlights the ongoing legacy of Indigenous improvised music.
Led by celebrated vocalist Julia Keefe (Nez Piece), the band's goals are to honor the tradition of storytelling through music and foster a community that supports future generations of Indigenous jazz artists.