All Upcoming Events
Below are all upcoming events. To view the archives of past events, please click here.
2025
September October November December
2025
September
Art History Lecture: Sonja Drimmer
Tuesday, September 16, 2025 at 4:30pm
Boger Hall, Room 112, 41 Wyllys Avenue, Middletown, Connecticut
Tuesday, September 16, 2025 at 4:30pm
Boger Hall, Room 112, 41 Wyllys Avenue, Middletown, Connecticut
FREE!
Sonja Drimmer, Associate Professor of Medieval Art at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, will discuss the relationship between artificial intelligence and the practice of art history.
Opening Reception for Gary Red Oak O’Neil's Excavations Exhibition
Wednesday, September 24, 2025 at 4:30pm
Ezra and Cecile Zilkha Gallery
Wednesday, September 24, 2025 at 4:30pm
Ezra and Cecile Zilkha Gallery
FREE!
Gary Red Oak O’Neil presents a solo exhibition of his longstanding ceramic practice, including new works inspired by a current archaeological dig in Glastonbury that unearths material culture that offers glimpses of Wangunk (the Indigenous people of Central Connecticut) interactions with early 17th-century British settlers.
Opening Reception: DFT 2025 Exhibition
Wednesday, September 24, 2025 at 4:30pm
Ezra and Cecile Zilkha Gallery
Wednesday, September 24, 2025 at 4:30pm
Ezra and Cecile Zilkha Gallery
FREE!
Can evasion, insistence on privacy, and opting out facilitate freedom? Drawing from science fiction, “Dark Forest Theory” (DFT) suggests that civilizations (such as extraterrestrial life) hide in order to preserve themselves. Through a variety of media including sculpture, painting, video, installation, performance, and sound—this group exhibition, featuring an intergenerational group of artists across the Ezra and Cecile Zilkha Gallery, an online radio station, an online TV station, and a zine explores how this theory, when merged with Black critical theory, creates the possibility for individuals to gain agency through concealment.
B. Balasubrahmaniyan: Vocal Music of South India
Thursday, September 25, 2025 at 7:00pm
Crowell Concert Hall
Thursday, September 25, 2025 at 7:00pm
Crowell Concert Hall
Vocalist and Adjunct Professor of Music and Global South Asian Studies B. Balasubrahmaniyan will be joined by Adjunct Associate Professor of Music and Global South Asian Studies David Nelson PhD ’91 on mrdangam (double-headed drum) for their 21st anniversary Navaratri Festival concert together.
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Samavesha with Srikanth Natarajan and Aswathy Srikanth
Friday, September 26, 2025 at 7:00pm
Crowell Concert Hall
Friday, September 26, 2025 at 7:00pm
Crowell Concert Hall
In the New England premiere of Samavesha, husband and wife Indian dance stars Srikanth Natarajan and Aswathy Srikanth’s gender-bending transformation of characters in the Indian epic the Mahābhārata suggest this classic text was ahead of its time.
Saraswati Puja
Saturday, September 27, 2025 at 2:15pm
World Music Hall
Saturday, September 27, 2025 at 2:15pm
World Music Hall
FREE!
Saraswati Puja is a Hindu ceremony that marks the most auspicious day of the year for beginning new endeavors. Led by Joseph Getter MA ’99, this ceremony is open to all and invites participants to bring an instrument, text, or other item associated with learning, creativity, and knowledge–making for blessing.
Shashank Subramanyam
Saturday, September 27, 2025 at 7:00pm
Crowell Concert Hall
Saturday, September 27, 2025 at 7:00pm
Crowell Concert Hall
Hailed as one of the best bamboo flute artists in Indian classical music, Shashank Subramanyam returns to Wesleyan for the first time in a dozen years, accompanied by Sruthi Sarathy on violin and Patri Satish Kumar on mrdangam (double-headed drum).
Lunch and Learn: DFT 2025 and Excavations
Monday, September 29, 2025 at 12:00pm
Ezra and Cecile Zilkha Gallery
Monday, September 29, 2025 at 12:00pm
Ezra and Cecile Zilkha Gallery
FREE!
BYOL (Bring Your Own Lunch) to the Zilkha Gallery for a private tour of the current exhibitions, led by Associate Director of Visual Arts Benjamin Chaffee '00, followed by an informal gathering and discussion on the themes and works central to DFT 2025 and Excavations.
October
Listening Session
Wednesday, October 1, 2025 at 12:00pm
Reading Room, South Gallery, Ezra and Cecile Zilkha Gallery
Wednesday, October 1, 2025 at 12:00pm
Reading Room, South Gallery, Ezra and Cecile Zilkha Gallery
FREE!
Tune into the collective soundtrack of life at Wesleyan in lunchtime sessions at the Zilkha Gallery that make group listening a communal practice. Bring a piece of recorded music to share, listen, and discuss. First-come, first-served free pizza.
Fries Arts Building Opening Celebration
Saturday, October 4, 2025 at 2:00pm
Fries Arts Building, 56 Hamlin Street, Middletown, Connecticut
Saturday, October 4, 2025 at 2:00pm
Fries Arts Building, 56 Hamlin Street, Middletown, Connecticut
FREE!
Save the date for the opening celebration of the Fries Arts Building, an expanded home for the arts at Wesleyan. An exhibition of work by arts faculty will be accompanied by an afternoon of art activities and performances that celebrate the art in everything we do at Wesleyan. All events are free, family-friendly, and open to the public. Don’t miss the cupcake toast, and stay to cap off the event with WesGrooves dance party. A full event schedule and list of activities will be published in August 2025.
WesGrooves Social Dance Series: West African Dance with Iddi Saaka
Saturday, October 4, 2025 at 7:00pm
Fries Arts Building, 56 Hamlin Street, Middletown, Connecticut
Saturday, October 4, 2025 at 7:00pm
Fries Arts Building, 56 Hamlin Street, Middletown, Connecticut
FREE!
The third event in the new WesGrooves series of social dance events with a vision to create community connection through rigorous play and creative movement will feature a West African dance lesson from Associate Professor of Dance Iddi Saaka as the culmination of the opening celebration of the new Fries Arts Building.
Opening Reception for Forgotten but Once Known: Signs of Women’s Labor in Japan Exhibition
Tuesday, October 7, 2025 at 12:00pm
College of East Asian Studies Gallery at Mansfield Freeman Center
Tuesday, October 7, 2025 at 12:00pm
College of East Asian Studies Gallery at Mansfield Freeman Center
FREE!
The exhibition Forgotten but Once Known: Signs of Women’s Labor in Japan showcases a selection of rarely-displayed Japanese textiles, ceramics, children’s toys, and scroll painting from Wesleyan’s College of East Asian Studies Art and Archival Collection that explore the under-recognized contributions of Japanese women through domestic, productive, and creative labor.
The Bill of Rights: Ten Amendments in Eight Motets
Friday, October 10, 2025 at 5:00pm
Crowell Concert Hall
Friday, October 10, 2025 at 5:00pm
Crowell Concert Hall
FREE!
The Bill of Rights: Ten Amendments in Eight Motets, set to music by John Spencer Camp Professor of Music Neely Bruce, will be performed by Festival Harmony, members of Alchemy, and assisting instrumentalists conducted by the composer in partnership with Wesleyan’s Center for the Study of Guns and Society’s fourth annual fall conference.
Ukrainian Bandurist Chorus
Friday, October 17, 2025 at 8:00pm
Crowell Concert Hall
Friday, October 17, 2025 at 8:00pm
Crowell Concert Hall
A mesmerizing concert that celebrates Ukraine's cultural heritage through music featuring the bandura, a traditional 60-stringed instrument that tells the story of the Ukrainian people more powerfully than any textbook. Today, as Ukraine defends itself against a full-scale invasion, the Ukrainian Bandurist Chorus is a powerful symbol of cultural survival.
West End String Quartet
Sunday, October 19, 2025 at 3:00pm
Crowell Concert Hall
Sunday, October 19, 2025 at 3:00pm
Crowell Concert Hall
FREE!
The West End String Quartet–Sarah Washburn and Marianne Vogel on violin, Wesleyan Chamber Music Ensemble Director John Biatowas on viola, and Anne Berry on cello–will perform will perform a program that includes Ludwig van Beethoven's String Quartet No. 14 in C-sharp minor, Op. 131 and Eduardo Alonso-Crespo's String Quartet No. 2, "The Valley of the Menhires."
Artist Talk: Gary Red Oak O’Neil with J. Kēhaulani Kauanui
Friday, October 24, 2025 at 4:30pm
Ring Family Performing Arts Hall
Friday, October 24, 2025 at 4:30pm
Ring Family Performing Arts Hall
FREE!
Artist Gary Red Oak O’Neil will discuss his exhibition Excavations with curator J. Kēhaulani Kauanui, reflecting on the history of the Wangunk (one of the Indigenous peoples of central Connecticut) and the power of art in creating belonging as part of Wesleyan University’s Homecoming + Family Weekend.
New Haven Chinese Cultural Cooperative
Friday, October 24, 2025 at 7:00pm
Crowell Concert Hall
Friday, October 24, 2025 at 7:00pm
Crowell Concert Hall
FREE!
Established in 2023, the New Haven Chinese Cultural Cooperative will perform a concert of traditional Chinese and Taiwanese music.
Darius Jones: Samesoul Maker
Wednesday, October 29, 2025 at 7:00pm
Memorial Chapel, 221 High Street, Middletown, Connecticut
Wednesday, October 29, 2025 at 7:00pm
Memorial Chapel, 221 High Street, Middletown, Connecticut
FREE!
Assistant Professor of Music Darius Jones presents a performance of his Samesoul Maker, featuring two female-identifying voices and two male-identifying voices, bells, and vibraphone. The work premiered at Roulette in New York in 2023, and is a companion piece to Jones’ 2014 composition The Oversoul Manual.
November
She Walks in Beauty: Passion for Mother Earth
Saturday, November 1, 2025 at 7:00pm
Crowell Concert Hall
Saturday, November 1, 2025 at 7:00pm
Crowell Concert Hall
FREE!
Wesleyan Harp Instructor Megan Sesma and renowned soprano Janinah Burnett will perform an array of international and American art songs, folk, jazz, opera, and musical theater works, encouraging the audience to contemplate the impact their lives have upon the Earth, one another, and the destiny of humanity
True North
Sunday, November 2, 2025 at 3:00pm
Memorial Chapel, 221 High Street, Middletown, Connecticut
Sunday, November 2, 2025 at 3:00pm
Memorial Chapel, 221 High Street, Middletown, Connecticut
FREE!
A concert by True North--Wesleyan Cello Instructor Julie Ribchinsky, violinist Artemis Simerson, and pianist Bill Braun--will feature performances of Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Trio Op. 97 ("Archduke") and Rebecca Clarke's Piano Trio (1921), plus the world premiere of a new commissioned work, True North, written for the group by Darian Simerson.
Lunch and Learn: DFT 2025 and Excavations
Monday, November 3, 2025 at 12:00pm
Ezra and Cecile Zilkha Gallery
Monday, November 3, 2025 at 12:00pm
Ezra and Cecile Zilkha Gallery
FREE!
BYOL (Bring Your Own Lunch) to the Zilkha Gallery for a private tour of the current exhibitions, led by Associate Director of Visual Arts Benjamin Chaffee '00, followed by an informal gathering and discussion on the themes and works central to DFT 2025 and Excavations.
Listening Session
Wednesday, November 5, 2025 at 12:00pm
Reading Room, South Gallery, Ezra and Cecile Zilkha Gallery
Wednesday, November 5, 2025 at 12:00pm
Reading Room, South Gallery, Ezra and Cecile Zilkha Gallery
FREE!
Tune into the collective soundtrack of life at Wesleyan in lunchtime sessions at the Zilkha Gallery that make group listening a communal practice. Bring a piece of recorded music to share, listen, and discuss. First-come, first-served free pizza.
Marta Becket, Save Us All
Thursday, November 13, 2025 at 8:00pm
Fries Arts Building, 56 Hamlin Street, Middletown, Connecticut
Thursday, November 13, 2025 at 8:00pm
Fries Arts Building, 56 Hamlin Street, Middletown, Connecticut
Marta Becket, Save Us All is a new performance inspired by the life of Marta Becket, a Broadway dancer who left New York at the height of her career, moved into an empty opera house in an abandoned desert town, painted an entire audience on its walls, and performed there for the next 40 years whether anyone was there to watch or not.
Marta Becket, Save Us All
Friday, November 14, 2025 at 8:00pm
Fries Arts Building, 56 Hamlin Street, Middletown, Connecticut
Friday, November 14, 2025 at 8:00pm
Fries Arts Building, 56 Hamlin Street, Middletown, Connecticut
Marta Becket, Save Us All is a new performance inspired by the life of Marta Becket, a Broadway dancer who left New York at the height of her career, moved into an empty opera house in an abandoned desert town, painted an entire audience on its walls, and performed there for the next 40 years whether anyone was there to watch or not.
Marta Becket, Save Us All
Saturday, November 15, 2025 at 2:00pm
Fries Arts Building, 56 Hamlin Street, Middletown, Connecticut
Saturday, November 15, 2025 at 2:00pm
Fries Arts Building, 56 Hamlin Street, Middletown, Connecticut
Marta Becket, Save Us All is a new performance inspired by the life of Marta Becket, a Broadway dancer who left New York at the height of her career, moved into an empty opera house in an abandoned desert town, painted an entire audience on its walls, and performed there for the next 40 years whether anyone was there to watch or not.
Marta Becket, Save Us All
Saturday, November 15, 2025 at 8:00pm
Fries Arts Building, 56 Hamlin Street, Middletown, Connecticut
Saturday, November 15, 2025 at 8:00pm
Fries Arts Building, 56 Hamlin Street, Middletown, Connecticut
Marta Becket, Save Us All is a new performance inspired by the life of Marta Becket, a Broadway dancer who left New York at the height of her career, moved into an empty opera house in an abandoned desert town, painted an entire audience on its walls, and performed there for the next 40 years whether anyone was there to watch or not.
“Make As You Are” Event
Friday, November 21, 2025 at 3:00pm
Center for the Arts
Friday, November 21, 2025 at 3:00pm
Center for the Arts
FREE!
Wesleyan students who are part of the Center for the Arts’ Director’s Council, which gives students hands-on experience in arts leadership, host the fourth in a series of novice-friendly, interdisciplinary “Make As You Are” workshops for unconventional engagement, providing an open opportunity for creativity and material exploration. The purpose of the series is to lower the barrier of entry to the arts, bring together different disciplines, and create new forms of community among students.
Fall Faculty Dance Concert: Movement of the People Dance Company
Friday, November 21, 2025 at 7:00pm
CFA Theater
Friday, November 21, 2025 at 7:00pm
CFA Theater
Assistant Professor of the Practice in Dance and African American Studies Joya Powell’s Movement of the People Dance Company returns to Wesleyan to celebrate their 20th anniversary.
Fall Faculty Dance Concert: Movement of the People Dance Company
Saturday, November 22, 2025 at 7:00pm
CFA Theater
Saturday, November 22, 2025 at 7:00pm
CFA Theater
Assistant Professor of the Practice in Dance and African American Studies Joya Powell’s Movement of the People Dance Company returns to Wesleyan to celebrate their 20th anniversary.
Songs of Richard Winslow
Sunday, November 23, 2025 at 3:00pm
Crowell Concert Hall
Sunday, November 23, 2025 at 3:00pm
Crowell Concert Hall
FREE!
A concert featuring songs by the late John Spencer Camp Professor of Music Emeritus Richard K. Winslow ’40, Hon ’10, P ’71, GP ’23 (1918–2017) featuring poems by William Shakespeare, Robert Frost, Irene Orgel, and others. Performed by John Spencer Camp Professor of Music Neely Bruce on piano.
December
Students of Yvonne Troxler Fall Piano Recital
Wednesday, December 3, 2025 at 7:00pm
Crowell Concert Hall
Wednesday, December 3, 2025 at 7:00pm
Crowell Concert Hall
FREE!
Students of Piano Instructor Yvonne Troxler perform a concert of works for piano.
Chinese Music Ensemble Fall Concert
Wednesday, December 3, 2025 at 7:00pm
Crowell Concert Hall
Wednesday, December 3, 2025 at 7:00pm
Crowell Concert Hall
FREE!
Wesleyan’s Chinese Music Ensemble, under the direction of Chia-Yu Joy Lu, presents a fall concert highlighting their repertoire of traditional and contemporary Chinese and Taiwanese works.
West African Drumming and Dance Fall Concert
Friday, December 5, 2025 at 6:30pm
CFA Theater
Friday, December 5, 2025 at 6:30pm
CFA Theater
An invigorating performance filled with the rhythms of West Africa, featuring Assistant Professor of Music John Dankwa PhD ’18 and Associate Professor of Dance Iddi Saaka joined by students in West African music and dance classes.
Wesleyan University Orchestra Fall Concert
Friday, December 5, 2025 at 8:00pm
Crowell Concert Hall
Friday, December 5, 2025 at 8:00pm
Crowell Concert Hall
FREE!
The Wesleyan University Orchestra performs under the direction of Nadya Potemkina, Director of Private Lessons and Adjunct Associate Professor of Music and of Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies.
Advanced Javanese Gamelan Ensemble Fall Concert
Saturday, December 6, 2025 at 7:30pm
World Music Hall
Saturday, December 6, 2025 at 7:30pm
World Music Hall
FREE!
Wesleyan’s Javanese Gamelan Ensemble, under the direction of Winslow-Kaplan Professor of Music Sumarsam MA ’76 and University Professor of Music I.M. Harjito, presents the music of Central Java.
Worlds of Dance Fall Showcase
Sunday, December 7, 2025 at 2:00pm
Crowell Concert Hall
Sunday, December 7, 2025 at 2:00pm
Crowell Concert Hall
FREE!
Wesleyan students perform an exciting array of dance styles from a variety of courses, including Javanese Dance, Bharata Natyam (South Indian classical), Hip Hop, and "Introduction to Dance" classes.
Korean Drumming and Creative Music Ensemble and Taiko Japanese Drumming Ensemble Fall Concert
Sunday, December 7, 2025 at 4:00pm
World Music Hall
Sunday, December 7, 2025 at 4:00pm
World Music Hall
FREE!
A concert by Wesleyan’s Korean Drumming and Creative Music Ensemble, directed by Assistant Professor of the Practice in Music Jin Hi Kim, will be followed by a performance from the Taiko Japanese Drumming Ensemble, directed by Visiting Instructor in Music Fumi Tanakadate.
Ebony Singers Winter Concert
Monday, December 8, 2025 at 8:00pm
Crowell Concert Hall
Monday, December 8, 2025 at 8:00pm
Crowell Concert Hall
The Wesleyan University Ebony Singers present an inspirational evening of traditional and contemporary gospel music conducted by Marichal Monts '85. This joyful event is great for the entire family.
South Indian Music Student Fall Recital
Tuesday, December 9, 2025 at 6:00pm
World Music Hall
Tuesday, December 9, 2025 at 6:00pm
World Music Hall
FREE!
Students of Adjunct Professor of Music and Global South Asian Studies B. Balasubrahmaniyan and Adjunct Associate Professor of Music and Global South Asian Studies David Nelson PhD ’91 perform their fall semester recital of vocal music and drumming from the Karnatak tradition of South India.
WesWinds Fall Concert
Tuesday, December 9, 2025 at 8:00pm
Crowell Concert Hall
Tuesday, December 9, 2025 at 8:00pm
Crowell Concert Hall
FREE!
The Wesleyan University Wind Ensemble (WesWinds) performs a fall concert featuring a selection of concert band literature including contemporary American works under the direction of Salvatore LaRusso.
Senior Thesis Theater Production: The Fiercest Divas Are Stuck in New Jersey
Wednesday, December 10, 2025 at 8:00pm
Patricelli '92 Theater, 213 High Street, Middletown, Connecticut
Wednesday, December 10, 2025 at 8:00pm
Patricelli '92 Theater, 213 High Street, Middletown, Connecticut
A Senior Thesis Theater Production of The Fiercest Divas Are Stuck in New Jersey.
RESERVE NOW
Methods of Improvisation Ensemble Fall Concert
Wednesday, December 10, 2025 at 8:30pm
Crowell Concert Hall
Wednesday, December 10, 2025 at 8:30pm
Crowell Concert Hall
FREE!
Wesleyan's Methods of Improvisation Ensemble, under the direction of Assistant Professor of Music Darius Jones, performs an end-of-semester concert. In the course MUSC 459, graphic- and prose-based notations are employed to facilitate the forging of a musical language unique to the ensemble.
John Cage’s Musicircus
Thursday, December 11, 2025 at 1:30pm
Crowell Concert Hall
Thursday, December 11, 2025 at 1:30pm
Crowell Concert Hall
FREE!
Students from MUSC 109 “Introduction to Experimental Music,” taught by Professor of Music and Director of Electronic Music and Recording Studios Ron Kuivila ’77, present a series of overlapping performances in the 10th rendition of John Cage’s Musicircus at Wesleyan since fall 2013.
Beginning Javanese Gamelan Ensemble Fall Concert
Thursday, December 11, 2025 at 6:00pm
World Music Hall
Thursday, December 11, 2025 at 6:00pm
World Music Hall
FREE!
Beginning students from Wesleyan’s Javanese Gamelan Ensemble, under the direction of Winslow-Kaplan Professor of Music Sumarsam MA ’76 and University Professor of Music I.M. Harjito, present a fall concert of the classical music of Central Java.
Wesleyan Concert Choir Fall Concert
Thursday, December 11, 2025 at 8:00pm
Crowell Concert Hall
Thursday, December 11, 2025 at 8:00pm
Crowell Concert Hall
FREE!
The Wesleyan Concert Choir presents a fall concert featuring both a cappella and accompanied selections from classical and modern choral repertoire under the direction of Nadya Potemkina, Director of Private Lessons and Adjunct Associate Professor of Music and of Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies.
Senior Thesis Theater Production: The Fiercest Divas Are Stuck in New Jersey
Thursday, December 11, 2025 at 8:00pm
Patricelli '92 Theater, 213 High Street, Middletown, Connecticut
Thursday, December 11, 2025 at 8:00pm
Patricelli '92 Theater, 213 High Street, Middletown, Connecticut
A Senior Thesis Theater Production of The Fiercest Divas Are Stuck in New Jersey.
Wesleyan Organ Studio Fall Concert: Piping Performance
Thursday, December 11, 2025 at 9:30pm
Memorial Chapel, 221 High Street, Middletown, Connecticut
Thursday, December 11, 2025 at 9:30pm
Memorial Chapel, 221 High Street, Middletown, Connecticut
FREE!
Students from MUSC 441 "Piping Performance: An Exploration of Artistic Expression through the Pipe Organ" present a recital of organ music.
Chamber Music Ensemble Fall Concert
Friday, December 12, 2025 at 12:00pm
Memorial Chapel, 221 High Street, Middletown, Connecticut
Friday, December 12, 2025 at 12:00pm
Memorial Chapel, 221 High Street, Middletown, Connecticut
FREE!
Students from the Wesleyan chamber music program, under the direction of John Biatowas, perform a fall concert of works by various composers.
Winter Dance Concert
Friday, December 12, 2025 at 7:00pm
CFA Theater
Friday, December 12, 2025 at 7:00pm
CFA Theater
Wesleyan students across different class years present new group works focusing on a diversity of techniques, methods, and aesthetic approaches.
Wesleyan Jazz Orchestra and Jazz Ensemble Fall Concert
Friday, December 12, 2025 at 8:00pm
Crowell Concert Hall
Friday, December 12, 2025 at 8:00pm
Crowell Concert Hall
FREE!
The Wesleyan University Jazz Orchestra, directed by Professor of Music and African American Studies Jay Hoggard ’76, MA ’91, and the Wesleyan Jazz Ensemble, directed by Noah Baerman, present an exciting evening of classic and contemporary jazz repertoire.
Senior Thesis Theater Production: The Fiercest Divas Are Stuck in New Jersey
Friday, December 12, 2025 at 8:00pm
Patricelli '92 Theater, 213 High Street, Middletown, Connecticut
Friday, December 12, 2025 at 8:00pm
Patricelli '92 Theater, 213 High Street, Middletown, Connecticut
A Senior Thesis Theater Production of The Fiercest Divas Are Stuck in New Jersey.
Winter Dance Concert
Saturday, December 13, 2025 at 7:00pm
CFA Theater
Saturday, December 13, 2025 at 7:00pm
CFA Theater
Wesleyan students across different class years present new group works focusing on a diversity of techniques, methods, and aesthetic approaches.
