Featured Events
Below is a sample of the many events being offered around campus during the Spring 2025 semester. Please visit the respective departments' websites for a full list of performances and exhibitions.
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 | Mar. 1 | Green Music Center
We are very sorry about the passing of Zakir Hussain, one of the most influential tabla virtuosos of all time. Zakir Hussain was scheduled to perform with Thursday Coast Percussion on March 1 in Weill Hall. In his honor, Third Coast Percussion will be performing as scheduled with a special guest artist to be announced. The evening will include a groundbreaking composition by Zakir himself, showcasing his genius in weaving mesmerizing rhythms of tabla with the precision of a classically-trained percussion ensemble. More details to come.
Third Coast Percussion is a Grammy-winning, artist-run quartet of classically-trained percussionists. For 20 years, the ensemble's energetic performances have celebrated the extraordinary depth and breadth of musical possibilities in the world of percussion.
Perfect Arrangement | March 6-9 | Person Theatre
SSU Theatre Arts & Dance presents Perfect Arrangement, a comedy (!) about the 1950s Lavender Scare and the hunt for queer folx within the federal government. Smart, timely, and great theater.
Themes: identity, love, marriage, queer identity and history, the clset, the state v. the individual, assimilatin v. resistance
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
Community Jazz Dance Festival | May 1-4 | Person Theatre
The Theatre Arts and Dance Department presents the Community Jazz Dance Festival, which highlights the powerful, forgotten African American roots of jazz dance. Here is the 1-minute trailer for the groundbreaking documentary Uprooted: The Journey of Jazz Dance that serves as the Department's inspiration for this festival.
Themes: African-American history and expression; struggle and resistance; the body in motion; jazz, music, and popular culture
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.