Events under 'Arts & Entertainment'

JAZZ UP YOUR NIGHT OUT!
Vibrant. Versatile. Visionary. 

The 2024-25 Starrlight Jazz Club features world-renowned artists that embody an incredible breadth of knowledge, talent and feel for this inspiring art form. From the lively sounds of Rio de Janeiro and New Orleans to the familiar tunes of the Great American Songbook and legendary musicians like Ella Fitzgerald, this series is a jazz lover’s paradise.

Starrlight Jazz Club performances are at 7:30 pm in Starr Theater where you can enjoy the exhilaration of live jazz performed in an intimate space, with both cabaret tables and tiered seating. When you purchase a five-show package, you receive 10% off tiered seating.

Starrlight Jazz Club lineup:

Sean Mason Quartet, Sept. 7
Rio Meets New Orleans with Peter Martin, Romero Lubambo and Anat Cohen, Oct. 18
Jonathan Kreisberg, Dec. 6
René Marie, Jan. 31
Billy Stritch, Feb. 15
Matt Wilson’s Good Trouble Quintet, March 8

In this delightful concert, SoNA pairs one of the most famous pieces ever written with some of the greatest music you’ve never heard! The whole first half of the evening is an exploration of relatively unknown pieces from three different continents (Australia, Europe, and South America), after which we return to Germany and Mozart’s “Jupiter” Symphony.

This powerful piece of music raised the bar for all composers who came after Mozart, complete with a barnstorming finale that combines all 5 of its opening themes into a “you-have-to-hear-it” fugal explosion. A “Russian Rag” from Australia? You just have to hear it and romp in the fun! Featuring SoNA’s principal trombonist Cory Mixdorf playing Grondahl’s fantastic concerto, as well as Argentine composer Osvaldo Golijov’s hauntingly beautiful and affecting “Tenebrae”, written just over 20 years ago, yet timeless.

The Burney Sisters, comprised of sisters Emma and Bella Burney, create music with a maturity and emotional intelligence that belies their age. They write keen and knowing songs while arranging for multiple instruments and structuring unique and resonant harmonies.

The result is personal and penetrating music that both connects with and captivates their listeners. Their soul-nurturing sibling harmonies and tunes are reminiscent of The Avett Brothers, First Aid Kit, Lake Street Dive, The Staves and Joseph.

JAZZ UP YOUR NIGHT OUT!
Vibrant. Versatile. Visionary. 

The 2024-25 Starrlight Jazz Club features world-renowned artists that embody an incredible breadth of knowledge, talent and feel for this inspiring art form. From the lively sounds of Rio de Janeiro and New Orleans to the familiar tunes of the Great American Songbook and legendary musicians like Ella Fitzgerald, this series is a jazz lover’s paradise.

Starrlight Jazz Club performances are at 7:30 pm in Starr Theater where you can enjoy the exhilaration of live jazz performed in an intimate space, with both cabaret tables and tiered seating. When you purchase a five-show package, you receive 10% off tiered seating.

Starrlight Jazz Club lineup:

Sean Mason Quartet, Sept. 7
Rio Meets New Orleans with Peter Martin, Romero Lubambo and Anat Cohen, Oct. 18
Jonathan Kreisberg, Dec. 6
René Marie, Jan. 31
Billy Stritch, Feb. 15
Matt Wilson’s Good Trouble Quintet, March 8

Inside of eight short years, American composers produced three masterpieces – all of them in completely different styles and written with distinctive voices. This concert celebrates this great American explosion by combining all three of them into one special evening of music.

Our centerpiece is Gershwin’s iconic “Rhapsody in Blue”, played by one of the great pianists of our generation, Stewart Goodyear. (Fun fact: the famous clarinet glissando at the beginning wasn’t written by Gershwin – it was a prank his clarinetist played on him at the first rehearsal, and it stuck!)

Arkansan William Grant Still – also known to many as the “Dean of African-American Composers” – wrote his tremendously emotional and satisfying Symphony no. 1 in 1930, infused with both the blues and traditional spirituals, and it was the first symphony by a Black American to be performed by an established orchestra, in 1931. Two years later, and finishing out our program, Arkansas native Florence Price became the second composer to achieve that status when her gloriously infectious Symphony no. 1 was performed by the Chicago Symphony in 1933.

If you don’t want to miss out on the concert everyone will be talking about, this one is mandatory!

Rodney Crowell is the songwriter’s songwriter and an icon among giants. A native Texan, Crowell is a multi-Grammy Award® winning troubadour with 15 No. 1 hits.

Over the course of his career, Crowell has gracefully blended his own mainstream success as an artist with a prolific catalog of songs cut by the likes of Emmylou Harris, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Keith Urban and more, making him a master among his peers.