Come Together, right now: Rowan's dance, music and theatre fall season

Rowan University’s College of Performing Arts launched its 2024-2025 performance series this week, with an ever-expanding lineup of ensemble concerts, MainStage productions and guest artists coming together to create, collaborate and perform. Once again, the students and faculty from the Departments of Music and Theatre & Dance will bring audiences more music, movement and memorable moments. 

Here’s what to look forward to:

The MainStage Season 
The Department of Theatre & Dance will kick off the MainStage season in November with The Tempest, Shakespeare’s fantastical tale of betrayal, exile, magic and revenge. Told through a collision of dance and theater, the exiled Prospero has washed up on a tiny forgotten island carrying his only daughter and grieving his post position. Years later, when those who wronged him fall into his clutches, his grand game begins. The story begs the questions: Can there be revenge without violence? Can we be redeemed through art? What happens when the things we threw away come back to haunt us? 

Then in December, the cabaret performance Come Together…informed by historical accounts and personalities like Timothy Leary, John Lennon and Yoko Ono, the newly devised dance cabaret will feature music from the late 1960’s and early 1970s and encourage peaceful collaborations.

Marie Rader Presenting Series 
This fall’s offerings from the Marie Rader Series bring artists to campus who are no strangers to some of the most prominent stages in the United States, including the Kimmel Center, Broadway and beyond. The series kicks off with a special celebration on September 28, featuring world-renowned pianist Mikhail Voskresensky. Then on October 19, see PHILADANCO! The Philadelphia Dance Company’s How We Sustain, which tells the story of natural cycles, continuity, shared purpose and spiritual power. In December, New Jersey’s own Tony award-winner Ali Stroker will perform an afternoon concert of Broadway favorites with some holiday flair, as well as special guest vocalists from Rowan’s Department of Theatre & Dance. 

For more on the Marie Rader Series, visit go.rowan.edu/marieraderseries

The Department of Music 
Rowan’s student bands, choirs and orchestras will present their fall concerts and performances throughout the semester, beginning with a collaboration from the Concert Choir and Wind Ensemble on October 13. The two ensembles will perform separate works before coming together for a combined performance of “Meridian” by Norwegian composer Ola Gjeilo. Collaborations continue with a collage concert on the 17th, featuring Rowan’s Wind Ensemble, Concert Band and Pride of the Profs Marching Band. The bands will phone home with music from the timeless classic, ET: The Extra Terrestrial. Later this fall, the Symphony Orchestra will present works from Korngold and Gershwin on December 5, featuring a performance from artist-in-residence and Cellist of the Philadelphia Orchestra, Udi Bar-David. 

In addition, the department’s Spotlight Series continues with special performances from faculty and guest artists throughout the semester. Spotlights include performances by Behn Gillece and Brian Betz, Timothy Schwarz, Earl Phillips Big Band, Denny DiBlasio and Lourin Plant, Alex Davis, the Halcyon Consort and the Navy Commodores, the United States Navy Band. 

For a full list of performances, visit go.rowan.edu/tickets.