When the Arts Align: Fall 2025 Season

This week, Rowan University’s newly-named College of the Arts launched its 2025-2026 season, a lineup of exhibits and performances from guest artists, ensemble concerts and MainStage productions in music, theatre and dance.

As of August 1, the College of Performing Arts became Rowan University’s College of the Arts, home to the Departments of Art, Music and Theatre & Dance and supporting several community programs including the George Family Center of the Healing Arts, Art Gallery & Museum, Marie Rader Series and Rowan Community Music School. 

“We are excited to unify the arts at Rowan and launch new collaborations to serve our students, campus and community,” said Rick Dammers, Dean of the College of Performing Arts. “This season will provide enriching experiences and bring a defining cultural dimension to our university.” 

Here’s what to look forward to this fall:

The MainStage Season
The Department of Theatre & Dance will usher in spooky season this October with its production of Dracula: A Feminist Revenger Fantasy, Really, which upends the familiar tale of Victorian vampires and promises to drive a stake through toxic masculinity. Guest choreographer Doug Varone joins the department for a re-staging for Strict Love in November’s Fall Dance Concert. Then in December, the devised cabaret explores the story of everyone’s favorite girl detective, Nancy Drew, as she and her pals sing and dance through a day of sleuthing.

The Department of Music

Rowan’s Vocal Division will participate in a residency with internationally renowned collaborative pianist Laura Ward and mezzo soprano Suzanne DuPlantis, founders of Lyric Fest. Their expertise on art song literature comes to the stage in a two-day celebration of art song set to poetry by Emily Dickinson in October. The Rowan Opera Company will present their staged scenes program in November. Later in December, the division tackles another musical milestone when the Concert Choir and Orchestra perform Mozart’s Requiem, K. 626.

On the instrumental side, the college’s ensembles will present fall concert performances throughout the semester, including the Small Jazz Ensembles, Concert Band, Jazz Band, Collegium Musicum, Contemporary Music Ensemble, Percussion Ensemble and Wind Ensemble.

The department’s Spotlight Series will also continue with special performances from faculty and guest artists throughout the semester. Spotlights include performances by Timothy Schwarz, Denny DiBlasio, Noa Even, String & Piano Faculty and the Du Bout du Monde saxophone quartet.

Marie Rader Presenting Series
This fall, the Marie Rader Series will offer two family-friendly weekend performances, both free for children 12 and under. First, ride the Magic School Bus into the Solar System with Ms. Frizzle in September with The Magic School Bus: Lost in the Solar System. Then in November, visit Mexico and the mythological Aztec underworld when Calpulli Mexican Dance Company presents Día de Muertos.  

Read more on the Marie Rader Series here.

Art Gallery & Museum
Committed to presenting diverse forms of contemporary art with thought-provoking and relevant content, the Rowan University Art Gallery & Museum serves as a vibrant cultural destination for the Rowan community, South Jersey and surrounding region. First this fall is Breathe from the Diaphragm: our eyes are in our lungs from vanessa german. Establishing her own self-taught approach and distinctive artistic language, german’s influential practice employs mineral crystals, beads, glass, found objects and other sourced material to create expressive figurative sculptures that resound through the physical and metaphysical worlds.

An opening reception and artist talk will be held on September 10. Reserve your seat here.

Beginning November 10, see Qualeasha Wood’s code_anima, a collection of digital collages tapestries embedded with a “code” and serving as a symbol for the inner workings of the dual experiences felt by Black people and the multifaceted online identities that mirror or oppose their physical existence.

For tickets and more information, visit go.rowan.edu/boxoffice