Upcoming Events

In this presentation, Darius and Catherine Brubeck will take us to apartheid-era South Africa, where in 1983 they established a pioneering jazz curriculum and performance program at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. This resilient program brought black and white musicians together to explore and expand the landscape of South African jazz, providing a soundtrack to the freedom struggle and its…

The Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) brings crude oil from the oilfields of the Bakken Formation in North Dakota to the Patoka Terminal here in Illinois. Protests led by Lakota and Dakota activists in the Standing Rock Sioux tribe against the construction of the DAPL pipeline in South Dakota drew international attention in 2016 and 2017. Less well-known but vitally important were protests against…

American composer and pianist Amy Williams will speak about her work, especially its connection to poetry, art, and dramatic literature, including artist Kurt Schwitters’ groundbreaking Ursonata (1922-32), Samuel Beckett’s radio play Embers (1957), and others. Professor Williams’ lecture will be accompanied by a concert featuring University of Illinois bassoon professor, Ben…