The Arts

Past Events

May 13, 1:30 p.m., 5:30 p.m.

Jason Albaum, saxophone, Zhixian Xu, piano

 

May 12, 6:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.

Cameron Long, soprano and Shai Wexler, violin

An overhead view of four dancers in a huddle.
Apr 28, 7:00 p.m.

Choreographed by Vassar seniors Lily Gee, Danielle Lomi, Olivia Gotsch, and Zoe Muller.

Image of a conductor and orchestra
Apr 28, 8:00 p.m.

Eduardo Navega, conductor.

This is an in-person event that will also be streamed live

The silhouette of a figure wearing a fez and raising his arms.
Apr 27, 7:00–9:00 p.m.

In this Concert entitled Wajd—the ecstatic, blissful state induced by poetry and music—the Tarab Ensemble will perform selections of the Arabic Sufi repertoire.

three musicians playing horns
Apr 27, 12:00 p.m.

Lunchtime recital series by members of the Vassar College Chamber Music Program.

Three figure dancing and the words "The Impossibly Microcinema...dreams and nightmares...jazz and animation"
Apr 27 through Apr 29

A free community film screening festival at the Poughkeepsie Underwear Factory located at 8 North Cherry Street.

Image with text that reads: Experimental Theater of Vassar Collage, Mad Forest, A play from Romania, by Caryl Churchill, Directed by Christopher Grabowski. Presented through Concord Theatricals
Apr 26 through Apr 28

This timely drama resulted from a trip to Romania. Developed with students from London’s Central School of Drama, this is an incisive portrait of society in turmoil that focuses on two families to reveal what life is like under a totalitarian regime and what results when the regime collapses. Directed by Christopher Grabowski. Free and open to the public, reservations required.

seven dancers bend backwards on a dark stage
Apr 21 through Apr 22

Featuring choreography by Yoshito Sakuraba and Julian Llanos, Polka by acclaimed modern dance choreographer Mark Morris, excerpts from the classical ballet Don Quixote, student works, and more. Reserve free tickets. 

 

Three musicians playing piano, violin and a horn
Apr 20, 12:00 p.m.

Lunchtime recital series by members of the Vassar College Chamber Music Program.

Embroidered sampler with figures of Adam and Eve standing on either side of a tall tree with a snake wrapped around it; under the tree are the words, “Jane Pownall, Her Work, Aged 13, 1830.”
Apr 20, 6:00 p.m.–7:00 p.m.

Learn about historic embroidery methods, techniques, and materials by making your own stitched embroidery pattern at a fun night of creation at the Loeb.

Campus community only, please.

side-by-side headshots of Monica Macer and Anthony Sparks

Monica Macer ’93 and Anthony Sparks P’26 will discuss their paths as showrunners, screenwriters, and executive producers, insights into the TV writing process, and more!

Campus community only, please.

A collage-like artwork depicting a figure from the shoulders up who is wearing a headdress made of two large flowers.
Apr 20, 10:30 a.m. plus evening reception

Chelle Barbour’s multidisciplinary art practice reimagines the body of the Black female through the lens of Afro-Surrealism. Barbour’s morning talk will be followed by an evening reception.

A seated performer wearing robes strums a stringed instrument.

Mr. Junya Koikawa, a performer of Taishu Engeki (a Japanese performing art with Kabuki origins), will play Tsugaru-shamisen, a traditional Japanese musical instrument.

Cover of a book designed to look like grid of spiral notebooks with the title “Letters to a Writer of Color,” Edited by Deepa Anappara and Taymour Soomro,” and a blurb from Laila Lalami that says, “Electric essays that speak to the experience of writing from the periphery…a guide, a comfort, and a call all at once.”
Apr 18, 6:00 p.m.–8:00 p.m.

Deepa Anappara and Taymour Soomro, editors of the new essay collection Letters to a Writer of Color, will talk about race and craft with a multidisciplinary panel of Vassar faculty.

a woman singing onstage with her arms held up.

A Holocaust Remembrance Day presentation featuring a short film clip, a musical performance, and a discussion with the subjects and makers of a documentary about local musicians and Holocaust survivors in the Hudson Valley.

Apr 15, 1:30 p.m., 3:30 p.m., 5:30 p.m.

Eden Bartholomew, Raffaella Zanetti, Madeleine Donat

Wang Yi’an before cutting off his queue. Beijing, 1912
Apr 14, 5:00–7:00 p.m.

Art historian Wu Hung, who has published widely on both traditional and contemporary Chinese art, will speak about Chinese portrait photography.

Three students playing tuba, trombone and trumpet
Apr 13, 12:00 p.m.

Lunchtime recital series by members of the Vassar College Chamber Music Program. 

Headshot of Diane Robinson '91

Robinson’s film, The Young Vote, follows a diverse group of students and activists during the 2020 election to show young people’s perceptions of voting and civic engagement.

Apr 8, 1:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m.

Emmet Chilton-Sugerman and Clara Ross

An evening of arias and art songs featuring Brahms, Saint-Saëns, Massenet, and more. Assisted by Susan Brown, piano; with Clarissa Longoria, soprano, and piano quintet.

Four musicians performing in a large space
Apr 6, 12:00 p.m.

Join us for our 20-30 minute lunchtime recital series by members of the Vassar College Chamber Music Program. Four Thursdays in April in a relaxed atmosphere outside the Bridge Cafe.

Headshot of Courtenay Budd

Love songs and duets based on music and text from Iberian, Latin American, and Ladino traditions. Featuring Courtenay Budd, soprano, Mary Nessinger, mezzo-soprano, and Miriam Charney, piano

Photo of a chorus of women

We present Antonio Vivaldi’s Gloria RV 589 for treble voices with orchestra in Skinner Hall. After intermission, we move to the Chapel for contemporary choral works and a light installation by Rick Jones. Christine Howlett, conductor.

This is an in-person event that will also be streamed live

Picture of composer Shavon Lloyd; smiling wearing gray collared shirt with a black tie, hold his hand over his heart.

Premiere of Shavon Lloyd’s Earth Songs, with light installation by Rick Jones. Cappella Festiva Ensembles, and the Boys and Girls Club Choir of Poughkeepsie. Christine Howlett, director

Nicholas Dames standing in front of a bookcase

What is a “chapter” and what work does it perform in prose narrative? In this lecture, Dames (Theodore Kahan Professor of Humanities at Columbia University) will present work from his book-in-progress, The Chapter: A History of Segmented Life.

 

Mar 29 through Apr 1

Two original plays presented by students from the playwriting course in Drama.

Campus community only, please.

Headshot of Sophie Fetthauer

A multimedia lecture by musicologist Sophie Fetthauer, PhD of the HfMT University of Hamburg, Germany on the little-known story of how over 400 Jewish refugee musicians were integrated into the cafés, nightclubs, and ballrooms of the “Paris of the East.”

Anna Elashvili playing the violin

Anna Elashvili, violin, along with faculty Yves Dharamraj, cello, and Thomas Sauer, piano. A composer not often chosen for such an exposé, Maurice Ravel often found himself going against the grain.

 

photo of a woman holding her glasses on her head

Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright will give a talk and Q&A to the campus and public. The event is free, but reservations are required.

Noah Kalina seated on a stool in an art studio.

Noah Kalina has taken a picture of himself daily since 2000 for his series Everyday, which has amassed over 40 million views. He will discuss his photography career and matters of composition, concept, and duration.

A book cover featuring pigeons flying around a city basketball court with the words: “Lost in the Game: A Book about Basketball, Thomas Beller”

Beller, an Associate Professor of English at Tulane University and a regular contributor to the New Yorker, will read from his book Lost in the Game: A Book About Basketball.