Students from the UT Dallas advanced orchestra and chamber music ensembles will perform with faculty members and guest artists under the direction of composer-conductor Robert Xavier Rodrguez on Friday.
This week, the Fall Student Art Festival will showcase the work of more than 600 students from more than 40 courses, and the annual Holiday Sing will cap off the week with songs of the season.
A highlight of the festival will be at 8 p.m. Friday, when UT Dallas’ Musica Nova Ensemble performs in the Jonsson Performance Hall. At the concert, students from the UT Dallas advanced orchestra and chamber music ensembles will perform with faculty members and guest artists under the direction of composer-conductor Robert Xavier Rodríguez, who holds the Chair in Art and Aesthetic Studies.
Drawing from “Italian inspiration,” students will play Vivaldi’s Concerto for Two Trombones and Orchestra, Cimarosa’s Concerto for Two Flutes and Orchestra, and Rota’s Trio for Flute, among others.
Guest artists for the concert will be Chloé Trevor on violin and Shannon Layman on viola.
UT Dallas’ Musica Nova ensemble performs music written for large and small ensembles, plus multimedia and theater works of all periods. Musica Nova guest artists have included members of the Dallas Symphony and Dallas Opera Orchestra and singers from the New York City Opera and Metropolitan Opera.
Music from past Musica Nova concerts has ranged from Medieval and Renaissance dances and motets to standard repertoire to experimental mixed-media works written for or developed by the ensemble.
Venue Information
Access to the University Theatre and the Jonsson Performance Hall is limited because of construction. Temporary directions to both venues can be found online.
A temporary walkway leading to the University Theatre has been constructed and can be accessed from the second floor of Jonsson from the doorway that faces south.
Concerts have included an evening of jigs, an evening of tangos, an evening of improvisation, French cabaret and mariachi songs, chamber opera, video art, ballet and a fully staged commedia dell'arte pantomime.
The concert is free and open to the public. Patrons should arrive early to ensure they find seats.
On Saturday, UT Dallas’ oldest continuous cultural tradition celebrates “Holidays Around the World.” Performed by the UT Dallas Chamber Singers, the UT Dallas Community Chorale and the UT Dallas Wind Ensemble, the 38th annual Holiday Sing will be at 8 p.m. in the Edith O’Donnell Arts and Technology Building Lecture Hall.