a Faculty Performance
“Songs of Our Lands”
Dr. Janani Sridhar, soprano
Dr. Yeon-Kyung Kim, piano
Tuesday, March 11 • 11:30 a.m.–12:20 p.m.
Music on the Square, 21 N. Indiana
Experience an afternoon of storytelling through song in this specially curated performance by soprano Dr. Janani Sridhar and collaborative pianist Dr. Yeon-Kyung Kim. A part of their spring recital tour, Songs of Our Lands highlights works by Asian composers from Singapore and Korea, alongside music by contemporary American composers of color, celebrating rich and diverse musical voices and traditions.
An optional "Add-On" lunch from The Whisk, available for $15 on a first-come, first-served basis, is free to seniors over 65. For additional information, contact: Ming Hui-Kuo (ming-huikuo@depauw.edu). The Lunch Box Music concert is free, but reservations are recommended:
an Ensemble Concert
"I Rise: Women in Song"
Bryon Black II, director of choirs
Orcenith Smith, orchestra director
As a follow-up to Reena Esmail's guest composer residency at the Institute of Music, 's treble choir Vox Animae and Strings will perform selections from Esmail's "I Rise: Women in Song." Each movement of "I Rise" is inspired by the words of female authors, such as Maya Angelou, Emily Dickinson, and Elenor Roosevelt. According to Dr. Esmail, "Each movement is a reflection on a single facet of the multifaceted experience of being a woman in this world."
a Global Music Experience
Green Guest Artist and Global Music Experience
Azaguno, West African Music and Dance Ensemble
Artist Residency: March 10–13, 2025
Concert: Thursday, March 13 • 7:30 p.m.
Green Center for the Performing Arts
Immerse yourself in a vibrant celebration of African culture with AZAGUNO, a dynamic music and dance ensemble led by the visionary duo of Professor Paschal Yao Younge and Professor Emerita Zelma Badu-Younge. Combining traditional and contemporary performance elements, this multi-ethnic ensemble of dancers, drummers and singers weave a rich tapestry of the performing arts from Ghana, Guinea and South Africa, as well as the vibrant musical movement traditions of the African diaspora in the Americas. More than a performance, the Azaguno ensemble invites audiences to celebrate and share in the lived artistic experiences of an ancient but constantly evolving culture.
a Faculty Performance
"Ode to Nature"
May Phang, piano
Tuesday, March 25 • 11:30 a.m.–12:20 p.m.
Music on the Square, 21 N. Indiana
For this lunch hour concert at Music on the Square, music faculty member May Phang celebrates spring with an eclectic, international program of piano music by Franz Liszt, Alexina Louie, Robert Schumann, Wang Lisan, and Jean Coulthard. Join her for this musical contemplation of the elements and reawakening of the earth.
An optional "Add-On" lunch from The Whisk, available for $15 on a first-come, first-served basis, is free to seniors over 65. For additional information, contact: Ming Hui-Kuo (ming-huikuo@depauw.edu). The Lunch Box Music concert is free, but reservations are recommended:
a Green Guest Artist Concert
Astral Mixtape
Residency: March 24–26, 2025
Concert: Wed, March 26 • 7:30 p.m.
Green Center for the Performing Arts
Astral Mixtape, the acclaimed Los Angeles-based string and keyboard quartet, will travel to for a three-day residency including a genre-bending concert in the Green Center’s Kresge Auditorium. Known for its dynamic original compositions combining elements from classical, jazz and modern electronic music, the innovative ensemble has performed at prestigious venues such as the Banff Centre and joined forces with filmmakers, visual artists and electronic producers to score soundtracks for several acclaimed films including prizewinners at the Cannes and BAFTA film festivals.
Each year, we invite artists of international renown to perform as part of our endowed Green Guest Artist series. Among the incredibly talented guests who have performed at the Green Center are Yo-Yo Ma, Rhiannon Giddens, Thomas Hampson, Bobby McFerrin, Postmodern Jukebox, The Kings’s Singers, Sweet Honey in the Rock, and Frederica von Stade, to name only a few. These concerts are often preceded by master classes, workshops, and classroom visits to give all of our students a chance to meet and work with some of the best artists in the world.
2023-24
Founders ensemble, trumpeter Sean Jones, and multi-instrumentalist Jerron Paxton.
2022–23: Sweet Honey in the Rock, The American Brass Quintet, Terell Stafford, Sinta Quartet, Wet Ink, Sandeep Das and the HUM Ensemble
2021–22: Rhiannon Giddens, Eighth Blackbird, Attacca Quartet, Baltimore Consort
From fully staged operas and musicals to more intimate revue-style performances, we do it all. Each fall, our beautiful Moore Theatre whirls into action as the collaborative process of presenting a musical begins. This is closely followed by our opera each spring. In the between-time, Thompson Recital Hall hosts the performances by our “Music for the Stage” class as they perform scenes from various operas and musicals.
The Global Music Experience (GME) at provides programming focused on musical traditions from different cultures. Each year, students, faculty, and staff delve into the culture and artistry of a different country or area of the world, exploring that region’s music through lectures, experiential learning opportunities, concerts, and other connected events. We host renowned experts to perform music and dance, share their scholarships, and teach a wide range of students about their musical traditions. The GME welcomes all members of the community, regardless of area of study, and involves collaborators across campus.
Creative Convocation is a showcase for diverse expressions of creativity from across . Launched in 2023, student artists, performers, and makers from all disciplines come together to share their creative work with the entire campus community co-presented by the Institute of Music and the Center for Diversity and Inclusion.
Music of the 21st Century is a week-long composer residency immersing the Institute of Music students, faculty and staff in the work of accomplished guest composers through a transformative shared learning experience. During the residency, our community is collectively focused on new music. Virtually all students, staff and faculty are involved in welcoming guest composers and their music into our classes, rehearsals and public events, including two culminating concerts of the guests’ music. This valuable opportunity for students to work directly with distinguished guest composers is generously funded by alumni Robert and Margaret Schmidt and coordinated by faculty member Eliza Brown.
Upcoming event information can be found here.
A choral extravaganza for high school vocalists led by director of choral activities Dr. Bryon Black II. It is a day for attendees to collaborate and make music with their peers from other schools and participate in master classes and workshops with voice faculty.
A celebration of all things piano and string through performance classes, creative workshops, demonstrations, ensemble collaborations, and a closing concert and reception. Open to piano and string students, age 12 and older, family members and music teachers.
Upcoming event information can be found here.
A day of music with the applied music faculty at our beautiful Judson and Joyce Green Center for the Performing Arts. Attendees will take part in master classes with our world-class instrumental wind and percussion faculty, participate in a large ensemble experience (which will include learning about conducting, large ensemble performance techniques, and repertoire selection), enjoy lunch in our expansive Hoover Dining Hall, tour our beautiful campus, and a have a personal Q & A session with our applied faculty.
Upcoming event information can be found here.
During this annual celebration of jazz music, various high school jazz ensembles perform and receive feedback from guest artists and our own professor of music, Steve Snyder. As the day progresses, master classes are held around campus, leading up to a performance by the Jazz Ensemble.
This lunchtime series features live music in downtown Greencastle. The free 50-minute musical presentations are offered at Music on the Square. Enjoy a catered lunch or bring your own and take a break with the Institute of Music.
The Institute of Music is home to five unique large ensembles: University Orchestra, University Band, Jazz Ensemble, Chamber Singers and Vox Animae.Students enrolled in these ensembles have the opportunity to make music communally with their peers and perform both classic and contemporary works.
Additionally, hosts various smaller ensembles and chamber groups, and its Symphonic Band, a collective ensemble open to students, faculty and staff from the campus community. The Putnam County Festival Choir, co-sponsored by the Greencastle Arts Council, is another opportunity for -Greencastle collaborations as students, faculty, and staff from our campus community and members from the local area come together with a single voice to create truly incredible performance experiences.
Orchestra
Pines of Rome — Ottorino Respighi
Symphony No. 7 — Ludwig van Beethoven
Pictures at an Exhibition — Modest Mussorgsky
Voices Shouting Out — Nkeiru Okoye
Hansel and Gretel — Engelbert Humperdinck
Band
Aurora Awakes — John Mackey
Symphony No. 6 for Band — Vincent Persichetti
magneticfireflies — Augusta Read Thomas
Hip Hop Etudes — Daniel Bernard Roumain
The Dog Breath Variations — Frank Zappa
Jazz Ensemble
“African Skies” — Michael Brecker, arr. Riss
“Dear Rudy” — Terell Stafford, arr. Gray
“Blame It on my Youth” — Oscar Levant, arr. Cunliffe
“Hey, It’s Me You’re Talkin’ To” — Victor Lews, arr. Sharpe
Vox Animae
“It Isn’t a Dream” — Melissa Dumphy
“Deer Song” — Craig Hella Johnson
“Not While I’m Around” — Stephen Sondheim
Chamber Singers:
Le Ballet des Ombres — Hector Berlioz
Geistliches Lied — Johannes Brahms
Ballade to the Moon — Daniel Elder
Great God Almighty — Stacey Gibbs
I Need You — Daniel Bernard Roumain
To the Hands — Caroline Shaw
Music Admission Liaison