.jpg)
Washington and Lee University’s Lenfest Center for the Arts is looking forward to its 2023-2024 season inspired by the classical, the entertaining and the magical.
Tickets are available to buy with a credit card online or in-person and phone at the Lenfest box office beginning Sept. 11 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and one hour prior to performance.
The full 2023-2024 calendar of events can be found in its entirety online at my.wlu.edu/ lenfest-center/current-season.
Lenfest Season
W&L’s Lenfest season, featured in the Keller Theatre, opens on Friday, Sept. 29, at 7:30 p.m. in the Keller Theatre with “Honoring Our Roots of Influence.” The concert features four internationally acclaimed performing and recording artists — Scarlet Rivera, Chris Van Cleave, Ray Shell, Daryl Davis — together at last on the same stage. Rivera was a legendary violinist with Bob Dylan, singer-songwriter, activist; Van Cleave performed in “Jesus Christ Superstar” and “Les Misérables,” and is a singersongwriter, playwright; Davis was the Boogie Woogie piano player with Chuck Berry, and an actor, singer and bridge builder; and Shell, via video from London, is a West End star, singer-songwriter, and bestselling author.
On Oct. 9 at 7:30 p.m., W&L will host “Odyssey,” Lisa Peterson’s (acting company) adaptation of “The Odyssey”— bringing new life to this ancient epic.
On Jan. 24, 2024, at 7:30 p.m., W&L celebrates Step Afrika!’s 30th anniversary with a return performance on the Keller stage. Step Afrika! blends percussive dance styles practiced by historically African-American fraternities and sororities and introduces audiences to Zulu and South African gumboot dance.
W&L’s Lenfest Season concludes with a family friendly show, on May 1 at 7:30 p.m., with the “Illusionist of the World” — Rick Thomas’ “Mansion of Dreams.”
Tickets are required for all Lenfest Series events. Performances are sponsored in part by the Class of ’64 Performing Arts Fund.
Concert Guild
W&L’s Concert Guild season boasts five ticketed performances in Wilson Concert Hall.
The season opens with The Los Angeles Piano Trio at 8 p.m. on Sept. 30. The Trio brings a new level of refinement, emotional depth and artistry to the piano trio repertoire, reflecting the City of Angels’ rich cultural legacy, global impact and vibrant energy.
Ilonka Rus, piano, an international recitalist and concert artist performs Oct. 21 at 8 p.m.
The Antioch Chamber Ensemble makes its third appearance in Wilson Concert Hall on Jan. 20 at 8 p.m. for an evening of choral music.
On Feb. 10 at 8 p.m., the Manhattan Chamber Players close out the season.
SonoKlect
W&L’s SonoKlect’s season opens with “The Kenny Werner Trio” — Ari Hoenig on drums and Johannes Weidenmueller on bass — creating music as one voice that is filled with passion, surprise and cutting edge rhythm at 8 p.m. on Sept. 23 in the Wilson Concert Hall. No tickets are required.
The season concludes on Feb. 17 at 8 p.m. with the James Madison University Brass Band.
Pickens World Music
W&L’s Pickens World Music Concert features oud virtuoso Simon Shaheen and his trio on Oct. 28 at 8 p.m. in the Wilson Concert Hall. One of the most important Arab musicians of his generation, Shaheen performs everything from traditional Arabic music to modern jazz on the oud, a type of short-necked lute that is a staple of the Arab music tradition, and the violin.
Theater, Dance, Film
W&L’s Department of Theater, Dance, and Film Studies kicks off its upcoming season with “Speech & Debate,” Nov. 1-3 at 7:30 p.m. and Nov. 4 at 2 p.m. in the Johnson Theatre. Tony Award-winner Stephen Karam’s “Speech & Debate” is a snappy dark comedy, sarcastic yet sincere — a hilarious and genuinely emotional story of misfit teens who explore sexuality, identity and personal power as they learn to deal with misunderstanding and dismissal from the adult world. Tickets are required.
“W&L Dancers Create …” will be performed on Nov. 30 and Dec. 1 at 7:30 p.m. and Dec. 2 at 2 p.m. in the Keller Theatre. These performances are entirely choreographed, designed and performed by the students themselves.
The award-winning W&L Repertory Dance Company will perform pieces created by both faculty and nationally and internationally renowned guest artists on March 14-15 at 7:30 p.m. and March 16 at 2 p.m. Tickets are required.
The season closes with Qui Nguyen’s “Begets: Fall of A High School Ronin” on April 3-5 at 7:30 p.m. and April 6 at 2 p.m. in the Johnson Theatre. Nguyen turns his attention to the highs and lows of the American high school. What if your high school was a video game? What if its divisive cliques were controlled by shoguns and threatened by samurai warriors?
Musical Highlights
W&L’s Department of Music’s season will be full of exciting performances from faculty, guests and talented students. Highlights include numerous faculty recitals in the Wilson Concert Hall including piano faculty member Akiko Konishi, and artist colleagues; Anima e Grazia featuring Julia Goudimova, cello, and Anna Billias, piano; the Marlbrook Chamber Ensemble; and the Robert O. and Elizabeth M. Bentley Opera, “Dido and Aenas.” The choral program offers a number of performances featuring the University Singers, Men’s Glee Club and Cantatrici throughout the year.
W&L’s Fall Choral Concert will be held on Oct. 24 at 8 p.m.; tickets are free, but required.
The University Wind Ensemble will perform on Nov. 6 at 8 p.m.; no tickets are required.
Music lovers can mix it up with the University Jazz Ensemble performance on Nov. 9 at 8 p.m.; no tickets are required.
The University Orchestra opens its season on Nov. 16 at 8 p.m.; no tickets are required.
The Holiday Pops concert will span two days, Dec. 4 and 5 at 7 p.m.; tickets are free with nonperishable food or monetary donation to Campus Kitchen.
“Lessons & Carols,” a long time tradition favorite, will return to the University Chapel on Dec. 7 at 8 p.m.; no tickets are required.
In Staniar
W&L’s Staniar Gallery season features numerous exhibits, opening with Mary Mattingly’s “Proposals,” Sept. 4–Oct. 25 with a lecture and reception on Sept. 19.
Nestor Armando Gil’s “Taller Workshop: Rastros” exhibition runs Nov. 1–Dec. 8 with a lecture and reception on Nov. 14.
Start the new year off right with “Florence As It Was: The Digital Reconstruction of a Medieval City” Feb. 13–March 22, with a lecture and reception on Feb. 13.
A highlight of the Staniar Gallery season will be the Senior Theses Exhibition April 1-12, with the lecture and reception to be announced.
Concluding the season is Sandy De Lissovoy’s exhibit “Floating Topographies, New Work and Collaborations,” on April 29–May 31, with lecture and reception to be announced.
