Mason Gross announces spring events

• Dance events include a screening of the documentary Mr. Gaga: A True Story of Love and Dance on February 9 at 7:30 p.m.
• Most events feature student artists, but the schedule also includes work by faculty and visiting artists.
• Many events are free, and all events are discounted for Rutgers alumni, employees, and students, as well as senior citizens.

NEW BRUNSWICK - The Mason Gross Performing Arts Center and Galleries at Rutgers University is set to kick off its spring 2017 season of events on Jan. 27, with a slate of music, dance, and theater performances as well as visual arts exhibitions, lectures, master classes, and a book signing. Most events feature student artists, but the schedule also includes work by faculty and visiting artists. Many events are free, and all events are discounted for Rutgers alumni, employees, and students, as well as senior citizens.

Dance events include a screening of the documentary "Mr. Gaga: A True Story of Love and Dance" on Feb. 9 at 7:30 p.m. The film details the life of Ohad Naharin, director of Israel’s Batsheva Dance Co., and will be followed by a question-and-answer session with the film’s producer, Barak Heymann. From April 26 to 30, DancePlus Spring presents works by guest artists Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company, Soon-Ho Park of Bereishit Dance Company (South Korea), and Jodi Melnick as well as faculty members John Evans, Randy James, Robert Benford, Blair Ritchie, and Camille Moten.

From Jan. 27 to Feb. 5, Opera at Rutgers presents "Dialogues of the Carmelites", the story of a noblewoman who joins an order of nuns during the Reign of Terror — the French Revolution — and learns that religious vows are not a refuge from worldly fears. On Feb. 20, the public is invited to observe a free master class with contemporary music group Talea Ensemble, as they coach pieces by Rutgers composers performed by Rutgers’ HELIX! ensemble, as well as the undergraduate new music ensemble Split the Lark. Rutgers Symphony Orchestra takes the stage of Nicholas Music Center on March 4 at 7:30 p.m. for the first of two spring performances, featuring Andrew Norman’s "Unstuck," Frank Martin’s "Ballade," and Hector Berlioz’s "Symphonie Fantastique."

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The orchestra will perform Mahler’s Symphony No. 5 on March 25 at 7:30 p.m. The Rutgers University Glee Club celebrates its return from an appearance at the 2017 National Conference of the American Choral Directors Association with a concert on April 29 at 7:30 p.m. featuring Franz Schubert’s “Nachtgesang im Walde,” folk songs, spirituals, and the always-popular songs of Rutgers University. On May 1 at 5 p.m., Rutgers pianists offer a free preview of their concert at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall (May 8) with music from countries around the world including Russia, Chile, Spain, Korea, Georgia, Japan, Cuba, and the United States.

Rutgers Theater Company presents "The Cider House Rules," among four spring performance events, from Feb. 9 to 12. Adapted from the novel by John Irving, the play is set in the St. Cloud’s, Maine, hospital and orphanage, and spans an 80-year quest for love, home, and destiny. In addition, actors in the third-year company, returning from studying at Shakespeare’s Globe in London, present two Shakespeare plays performed in repertory: the tragedy "Julius Caesar," with an all-female cast, from April 20 to 23 and the comedy "As You Like It," with an all-male cast, from April 21 to 30.

In addition to several undergraduate and graduate student art exhibitions throughout the spring, the Visual Arts Department presents a distinguished lecture and reception with artist, educator, and cultural critic Amalia Mesa-Bains in honor of the graduating class of 2017 on April 4. Mesa-Bains has worked to define a Chicano and Latino aesthetic in the United States and in Latin America. The Mason Gross Galleries also invite the public to First Fridays each month from February through May, with extended gallery hours until 9 p.m. and rotating events and performances.

For ticket prices, location information, and event policies, visit www.masongross.rutgers.edu/events. Tickets may be purchased by phone at 848-932-7511 or in person at the ticket office at 85 George Street, New Brunswick, in the Mason Gross Performing Arts Center. Mason Gross Galleries events are free. More information about gallery events is available by calling 848-932-5211.

Spring 2017 Calendar of Events

All information subject to change.

Discounts: Rutgers alumni, employees, seniors: limit two; students, limit one.

Dance

Mr. Gaga: A True Story of Love and Dance Film Screening

Thursday, Feb. 9, 7:30 p.m. A documentary featuring Ohad Naharin, director of Israel’s Batsheva Dance Company. Following the screening, film producer Barak Heymann will engage in a Q&A with audience members. Nicholas Music Center. General Public $10 / Free to Rutgers students, staff, and faculty with Rutgers ID. Tickets on sale at bildnercenter.rutgers.edu or at the Mason Gross Performing Arts Center Ticket Office.

Spring Dance Concert
Wednesday, Feb. 22–Saturday, Feb. 25, 7:30 p.m. New choreographic group works by dance majors, featuring contemporary modern dance. Loree Dance Theater. General Public $15 / Rutgers Alumni, Employees, and Seniors $10 / Students $5.

Center for Women in the Arts and Humanities Dance Studies Lecture: The Aesthetics of Dance Improvisation: A Challenge for Philosophy
Monday, March 20, 7:30 p.m. Aili Bresnahan JD, PhD, presents a lecture on the ways dance improvisation challenges the philosophy of art to diverge from traditional theories of Western aesthetics. Schare Recital Hall (Marryott Music Building). Free.

BFA Senior Dance Concert
Wednesday, April 5–Friday, April 7, 7:30 p.m., Saturday, April 8, 2 and 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, April 9, 2 p.m. Victoria J. Mastrobuono Theater. General Public $20 / Rutgers Alumni, Employees, and Seniors $15 / Students $10.

Center for Women in the Arts and Humanities Dance Studies Lecture and Book Signing with Rosemary Candelario
Wednesday, April 12, 12:30 p.m. Candelario is the author of Flowers Cracking Concrete: Eiko & Koma’s Asian/American Choreographies, the first in-depth study of the 40-year career of Eiko & Koma, two artists from Japan who have lived and worked in New York City since the mid-1970s. Nicholas Music Center, Studio 110. Free.

DancePlus Spring
Wednesday, April 26–Saturday, April 29, 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, April 30, 2 and 7:30 p.m. Works by guest artists Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company, Soon-Ho Park of Bereishit Dance Company (South Korea), and Jodi Melnick as well as faculty members John Evans, Randy James, Robert Benford, Blair Ritchie, and Camille Moten. Victoria J. Mastrobuono Theater. General Public $25 / Rutgers Alumni, Employees, and Seniors $20 / Students $15.

Music

Opera at Rutgers: Dialogues of the Carmelites
Friday, Jan. 27 and Feb. 3, 7:30 p.m., Sunday, Jan. 29 and Feb. 5, 2 p.m. Nicholas Music Center. General Public $15 / Rutgers Alumni, Employees, and Seniors $10 / Students $5

Faculty Recital: Renée Anne Louprette, Organ
Sunday, Feb. 5, 5 p.m. Will include a pre-concert lecture with Dean George B. Stauffer at 4:15 p.m. Christ Church, New Brunswick. Free.

Family Harmony: Keyboard Duos by J.S. Bach and Sons
Monday, Feb. 6, 7:30 p.m. Rebecca Cypess and Yi-heng Yang present music for harpsichord and fortepiano together. Voorhees Chapel. Free.

Faculty Chamber Concert
Sunday, Feb. 12, 2 p.m. Mason Gross faculty members perform chamber music. Shindell Choral Hall (Mortensen Hall). Free.

Mid-Atlantic Wind Band Festival Concert
Thursday, Feb. 16, and Friday, Feb. 17, 7:30 p.m. Six ensembles of high school concert bands from the tristate region perform with the Rutgers Wind Ensemble and Rutgers Symphonic Winds. Nicholas Music Center. Free.

Mason Gross Presents: Talea Ensemble Master Class The new music group coaches pieces by Rutgers composers performed by Rutgers’ HELIX! ensemble, as well as the undergraduate new music ensemble, Split the Lark. Monday, Feb. 20, 12:35 p.m. Nicholas Music Center. Free.

Mason Gross Presents: Talea Ensemble
Monday, Feb. 20, 8 p.m. Works centered on and informed by the group’s namesake piece, “Talea,” by Gérard Grisey. Nicholas Music Center. General Public $15 / Rutgers Alumni, Employees, and Seniors $10 / Students $5.

Rutgers Wind Ensemble
Saturday, Feb. 25, 7:30 p.m. Featuring professor Paul Cohen in a performance of the original 1949 version of Ingolf Dahl’s Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Wind Orchestra, as well as works by Ron Nelson. Igor and Alberto Ginastera. Nicholas Music Center. General Public $15 / Rutgers Alumni, Employees, and Seniors $10 / Students $5.

Rutgers Jazz Ensemble II: Tribute to Freddie Hubbard
Friday, March 3, 7:30 p.m. Compositions by the legendary trumpeter, featuring guest artist Joe Magnarelli. Nicholas Music Center. General Public $15 / Rutgers Alumni, Employees, and Seniors $10 / Students $5.

Rutgers Symphony Orchestra
Saturday, March 4, 7:30 p.m. Kynan Johns, director. Andrew Norman’s Unstuck, Frank Martin’s  Ballade, Hector Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique. Nicholas Music Center. General Public $15 / Rutgers Alumni, Employees, and Seniors $10 / Students $5.

Brass Day
Sunday, March 5, 12:30 p.m. Recital featuring Mason Gross brass faculty, along with musicians from the New York Philharmonic and The Metropolitan Opera, among others. Shindell Choral Hall (Mortensen Hall). Free. Also, 7 p.m. concert. Nicholas Music Center. General Public $15 / Rutgers Alumni, Employees, and Seniors $10 / Students $5.

Bruk-Hoffmann Duo: Mostly Rhapsodies
Sunday, March 5, 2 p.m. Karina Bruk and Paul Hoffmann, piano, playing Johann Sebastian Bach, Rachmaninoff and Arutiunian/Babadjanian. Nicholas Music Center. General Public $15 / Rutgers Alumni, Employees, and Seniors $10 / Students $5.

Rutgers Jazz Ensemble I
Friday, March 6, 7:30 p.m. Selections from the Bop and Latin jazz eras. Nicholas Music Center. General Public $15 / Rutgers Alumni, Employees, and Seniors $10 / Students $5.

Rutgers Wind Symphony: New York, New York
Thursday, March 9, 7:30 p.m. Featuring faculty who are members of the New York Philharmonic and Metropolitan Opera Orchestra performing Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue and Bernstein’s Three Dance Episodes. Nicholas Music Center. General Public $15 / Rutgers Alumni, Employees, and Seniors $10 / Students $5.

Faculty Recital: Elena Chernova-Davis, Violin, and Vladimir Valjarevic, Piano
Friday, March 24, 7:30 p.m. Penderecki’s Violin Sonata No. 1, Aldridge’s Carolinian Dances, and George Enescu’s Sonata No 3. Schare Recital Hall (Marryott Music Building). Free.

Rutgers Symphony Orchestra
Saturday, March 25, 7:30 p.m. Kynan Johns, director. Mahler’s Symphony No. 5. Nicholas Music Center. General Public $15 / Rutgers Alumni, Employees, and Seniors $10 / Students $5.

Rutgers Kirkpatrick Choir
Sunday, March 26, 5 p.m. Heinrich Schütz’s Musikalische Exequien, for chorus, soli, and chamber orchestra. Kirkpatrick Chapel. General Public $15 / Rutgers Alumni, Employees, and Seniors $10 / Students $5.

Woodwind Extravaganza
Sunday, April 2, 2 p.m. Woodwind students in chamber ensembles and solo performances, including the Mason Gross Graduate Woodwind Quintet. Shindell Choral Hall (Mortensen Hall). Free.

Organ Program Recital
Sunday, April 2, 5 p.m. Works by Johann Sebastian Bach, Nicolaus Bruhns, Matthias Weckmann, Johann Adam Reincken, and more. Christ Church, New Brunswick. Free.

Split the Lark New Music Ensemble
Friday, April 7, 7:30 p.m. Premiere of the new opera Planet Mool Comes to Visit, an entirely student-run endeavor directed by Brianna Tagliaferro, with music by Steven Moreno, and libretto by Kevin Madison. Seating is first come, first served. Schare Recital Hall (Marryott Music Building). Free.

Afro-Cuban Ensemble
Friday, April 14, 1:30 p.m. Schare Recital Hall (Marryott Music Building). Free.

Split the Lark
Friday, April 14, 7:30 p.m. Schare Recital Hall (Marryott Music Building). Free.

Brass Bash
Saturday, April 15, 7 p.m. Brass chamber music students in a variety of ensembles and musical styles. Nicholas Music Center. General Public $15 / Rutgers Alumni, Employees, and Seniors $10 / Students $5.

Rutgers Jazz Ensemble I
Monday, April 17, 7:30 p.m. Arrangements drawn from classic jazz repertoire of the post-Bop era. Nicholas Music Center. General Public $15 / Rutgers Alumni, Employees, and Seniors $10 / Students $5

Rutgers Concert Band
Wednesday, April 19, 7:30 p.m. Nicholas Music Center. General Public $15 / Rutgers Alumni, Employees, and Seniors $10 / Students $5.

Rutgers Percussion Ensemble and Rutgers Kirkpatrick Choir
Friday, April 21, 7:30 p.m. Works by Lou Harrison including “La Koro Sutro,” “Song of Quetzalcoatl,” and Suite for Violin and American Gamelan. Nicholas Music Center. General Public $15 / Rutgers Alumni, Employees, and Seniors $10 / Students $5

Rutgers Sinfonia
Saturday, April 22, 5 p.m. Kynan Johns, director. Mendelssohn’s Hebrides Overture, Op. 26; Elgar’s Cello Concerto; and Schumann’s Symphony No. 4, Op. 120. Nicholas Music Center. General Public $15 / Rutgers Alumni, Employees, and Seniors $10 / Students $5.

Voorhees Choir
Sunday, April 23, 2 p.m. Works by American and Hungarian composers including Andrea Ramsey and Zoltán Kodály. Voorhees Chapel. Free.

Rutgers Kirkpatrick Choir and Rutgers Percussion Ensemble at Trinity Church, New York City Sunday, April 23, 5 p.m.
Works by Lou Harrison and American Gamelan. Trinity Church, 75 Broadway, New York City. Free.

Rutgers Chamber Jazz Ensembles
Sunday, April 23, 7:30 p.m. Small-ensemble jazz honoring artists including Miles Davis, Gerry Mulligan, and Horace Silver. Select groups of the school’s chamber jazz and alternate large jazz ensembles will perform. Shindell Choral Hall (Mortensen Hall). Free.

Sounds of Chamber Music
Sunday, April 23, 7:30 p.m. Performed by student winners of the Mason Gross Chamber Music Honors Competition. Schare Recital Hall (Marryott Music Building). Free.

Rutgers Jazz Ensemble II: Tribute to Paul Chambers
Monday, April 24, 7:30 p.m. Selections by bassist Paul Chambers from Bass on Top, We Three, and Just Friends. Nicholas Music Center. General Public $15 / Rutgers Alumni, Employees, and Seniors $10 / Students $5.

Rutgers Baroque Players: Concert or Combat? Baroque Concertos on Period Instruments
Tuesday, April 25, 7:30 p.m. Rebecca Cypess, director. Concerti for strings and winds by Bach and Vivaldi. Voorhees Chapel. Free

Rutgers Symphony Band
Wednesday, April 26, 7:30 p.m. William Berz, director. Nicholas Music Center. General Public $15 / Rutgers Alumni, Employees, and Seniors $10 / Students $5.

Rutgers Symphonic Winds: Bells for Stokowski
Thursday, April 27, 7:30 p.m. Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D Minor and Daugherty’s “Bells for Stokowski.” Nicholas Music Center. General Public $15 / Rutgers Alumni, Employees, and Seniors $10 / Students $5.

Rutgers Wind Ensemble: The Color of Wind
Friday, April 28, 7:30 p.m. Part one of a three-part cycle of impressions for wind ensemble connecting sight with sound. Works include Frank Ticheli’s “Dancing on Water,” Claude Debussy’s “The Engulfed Cathedral,” and John Mackey’s “Wine-Dark Sea.” Nicholas Music Center. General Public $15 / Rutgers Alumni, Employees, and Seniors $10 / Students $5.

Rutgers University Glee Club
Saturday, April 29, 7:30 p.m. A celebration of the return of the Glee Club from their appearance at the 2017 National Conference of the American Choral Directors Association. Featuring Franz Schubert’s “Nachtgesang im Walde,” folk songs, spirituals, and the always- popular songs of Rutgers University. Nicholas Music Center. General Public $15 / Rutgers Alumni, Employees, and Seniors $10 / Students $5.

Rutgers Brass Ensemble
Sunday, April 30, 2 p.m. Nicholas Music Center. General Public $15 / Rutgers Alumni, Employees, and Seniors $10 / Students $5.

Rutgers Chamber Jazz Ensembles
Sunday, April 30, 5 p.m. Small-ensemble jazz honoring artists including John Coltrane, Herbie Hancock, and Wayne Shorter. Shindell Choral Hall (Mortensen Hall). Free.

Opera at Rutgers: John Blow’s Venus and Adonis
Sunday, April 30, 7:30 p.m. Composed in 1683, Venus and Adonis is considered the earliest surviving English opera by The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. Patrick Gardner conducts the period ensemble. Nicholas Music Center. General Public $15 / Rutgers Alumni, Employees, and Seniors $10 / Students $5.

Rutgers at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall Preview Concert
Monday, May 1, 5 p.m. Around the world with student pianists featuring music from Russia, Chile, Spain, Portugal, China, Taiwan, Korea, Georgia, Japan, Cuba, Costa Rica, and the United States. Schare Recital Hall (Marryott Music Building). Free.

Rutgers University Choir: A Spring Awakening
Monday, May 1, 7:30 p.m. A celebration of the multidimensional awakening of springtime. Nicholas Music Center. General Public $15 / Rutgers Alumni, Employees, and Seniors $10 / Students $5.

Guest Recital: Brannon Cho, Cello
Tuesday, May 2, 7:30 p.m. Luigi Boccherini’s Sonata in C Major, G.17; Franz Schubert’s Arpeggione Sonata in A minor, D.821; Sergei Prokofiev’s Sonata in C Major, Op. 119. Shindell Choral Hall (Mortesen Hall). Free.

Rutgers at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall
Monday, May 8, 7:30 p.m. Around the world with student pianists featuring music from Russia, Chile, Spain, Portugal, China, Taiwan, Korea, Georgia, Japan, Cuba, Costa Rica, and the United States. Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, New York City. Tickets: 212-247-7800 or carnegiehall.org

Rutgers Theater Company

The Cider House Rules
By Peter Parnell, adapted from the novel by John Irving. Part One: Thursday, Feb. 9, 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, Feb. 11, and Sunday, Feb. 12, 2 p.m. Part Two: Friday, Feb. 10–Sunday, Feb. 12, 7:30 p.m. A two-part stage adaptation of John Irving’s novel. Victoria J. Mastrobuono Theater. General Public $15 / Rutgers Alumni, Employees, and Seniors $12 / Students $10; a separate ticket is required for each part.

Emperor of the Moon
By Aphra Behn. Tuesday, March 21–Friday, March 24, 7:30 p.m., Saturday, March 25, 2 and 7:30 p.m. Kiss the earth goodbye, and away we fly. Philip J. Levin Theater. General Public $25 / Rutgers Alumni, Employees, and Seniors $20 / Students $15.

Julius Caesar
Thursday, April 20, Wednesday, April 26, Friday, April 28, Sunday, April 30, 7:30 p.m, Saturday, April 22, and Sunday, April 23, 2 p.m. An all-female production of Shakespeare’s tragedy about power and ambition. Presented by the third-year company, returning from studying at Shakespeare’s Globe in London. Performed in repertory with As You Like It.
Philip J. Levin Theater. General Public $25 / Rutgers Alumni, Employees, and Seniors $20 / Students $15

As You Like It
Friday, April 21–Sunday, April 23, 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, April 25, 7:30 p.m., Thursday, April 27, 7:30 p.m., Saturday, April 29, 7:30 p.m., Sunday, April 30, 2 p.m. The men of the third-year company, just returning from studying at Shakespeare’s Globe in London, present Shakespeare’s comedy about exile, independence, and the search for love in Arden forest. Performed in repertory with Julius Caesar.
Philip J. Levin Theater. General Public $25 / Rutgers Alumni, Employees, and Seniors $20 / Students $15.

Visual Arts

Springtime in Visual Arts = Thesis Season. Both graduate and undergraduate programs culminate in self-curated thesis exhibitions that reflect the breadth of students’ practice. These ambitious shows also capture the interdisciplinary mission of the program, featuring work across a variety of mediums including design, drawing, media, painting, photography, print, and sculpture. All events are free and take place at the Mason Gross Galleries at Civic Square, 33 Livingston Avenue, New Brunswick, unless otherwise noted. No tickets required.

MFA Thesis Exhibition I
Friday, Jan. 27–Friday, Feb. 10 Reception: Friday, Jan. 27, 5–8 p.m.

MFA Thesis Exhibition II
Friday, February 17–Saturday, March 4. Opening reception: Friday, Feb. 17, 5–8 p.m.

BFA Thesis Exhibition I
Monday, March 20–Saturday, April 8. Reception: Thursday, March 23, 5–8 p.m.

Mason Gross Presents: Amalia Mesa-Bains
Tuesday, April 4, 5–7 p.m. Distinguished lecture in honor of the graduating class of 2017.

BFA Thesis Exhibition II
Monday, April 17–Friday, May 5. Reception: Thursday, April 20, 5–8 p.m.

NEW: First Fridays
Extended gallery hours until 9 p.m. on the first Friday of each month, featuring rotating events and performances.

Gallery hours are from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays, with extended hours until 6 p.m. Wednesdays, and on Saturdays from noon to 4 p.m. Call 848-932-5211 for more information.