Community Event

In Conversation: Stew

February 15, 2019

Tony Award-winning playwright and singer Stew sits down with Talya Klein (Duke Theater Studies) for a lunchtime conversation spanning his career, influences, and current project, ‘Notes of a Native Song’ ...

In Conversation: Jason Moran

April 19, 2019

In this free lunchtime talk at The Pinhook in downtown Durham, trailblazing pianist, composer, bandleader, and 2010 MacArthur fellow Jason Moran sits down with Durham-based spoken word artist Dasan Ahanu ...

Black Atlantic Keynote: Derek Gripper

March 25, 2019

South African classical guitarist Derek Gripper — known for transcribing the intricate works of Malian kora master Toumani Diabaté for six-string guitar — kicks off Duke Performances’ second annual Black ...

In Conversation: Brother Ali

March 6, 2019

Iconic Muslim-American hip-hop artist Brother Ali sits down with Joseph Winters (Duke Divinity School) for a free public conversation touching on Brother Ali’s music, career, and activism in post-9/11 America. ...

Black Atlantic: The Campbell Brothers

March 29, 2019

The ‘Black Atlantic’ Package, which provides access to all ‘Black Atlantic’ shows at Motorco and best available reserved seats in Baldwin Auditorium, including performances by Derek Gripper, Fatoumata Diawara, Noura Mint ...

JACK Quartet: Chamber Music Master Class 3

February 20, 2019

The members of JACK Quartet lead a master class in Duke’s Rubenstein Arts Center, coaching student musicians on classic works for string quartet. Wednesday, February 20, 7 PM Rubenstein Arts Center Lounge, ...

In the Jazz Tradition’ Roundtable Discussion

December 7, 2018

Professor and Emmy-nominated producer Natalie Bullock Brown moderates this special roundtable discussion featuring four of the headlining artists from Duke Performances’ In the Jazz Tradition series: Jazzmeia Horn, Catherine Russell, ...

In Conversation: Jason Moran

September 14, 2018

Due to the potential impacts of severe weather on the region, we have opted to cancel Jason Moran’s Arts & Context conversation on Friday, September 14 at The Pinhook. We ...

In Conversation: Branford Marsalis

October 3, 2018

In this free lunchtime talk at The Pinhook in downtown Durham, renowned saxophonist, bandleader, and Durham resident Branford Marsalis joins Duke Performances executive director Aaron Greenwald for a conversation about ...

In Conversation: Anthony Roth Costanzo

October 12, 2018

The New York Times recently made the astonishing assertion that countertenor and Durham native Anthony Roth Costanzo “exists to transform opera.” On the afternoon of his performance with the acclaimed ...

In Conversation: Oddisee

October 18, 2018

Acclaimed rapper and producer Oddisee sits down with Durham videographer Saleem Reshamwala (aka KidEthnic) for a free public conversation touching on Oddisee’s music, career, and how his Sudanese-American heritage has ...

In Conversation: Emanuel Ax

October 19, 2018

In a special Friday-evening conversation, celebrated classical pianist and seven-time GRAMMY winner Emanuel Ax discusses his remarkable life, career, and collaborations. Moderated by Anthony Kelley (Department of Music). Friday, October ...

In Conversation: Steve Coleman

November 2, 2018

Maverick alto saxophonist Steve Coleman joins Mark Anthony Neal (Chair, African and African American Studies) for a wide-ranging discussion touching on his career, influences, and influential approach to creation and ...

Dancer & Choreographer Camille A. Brown

In Conversation: Camille A. Brown

November 8, 2018

Acclaimed dancer and choreographer Camille A. Brown sits down with Duke Performances Community Engagement Coordinator Michaela Dwyer for a conversation about Brown’s visionary trilogy on African American identity, which Duke ...

CABD

Camille A. Brown & Dancers
ink

November 9, 2018 - November 10, 2018

The Camille A. Brown Trilogy Package, which provides best available reserved seats in Reynolds Industries Theater to Camille A. Brown & Dancers’ trilogy, including presentations of ink, BLACK GIRL: Linguistic Play, and Mr. TOL ...

CABD Black Girl

Camille A. Brown & Dancers
BLACK GIRL: Linguistic Play

February 1, 2019 - February 2, 2019

The Camille A. Brown Trilogy Package, which provides best available reserved seats in Reynolds Industries Theater to Camille A. Brown & Dancers’ trilogy, including presentations of ink, BLACK GIRL: Linguistic Play, and Mr. TOL ...

Manual Cinema Ada Ava

Manual Cinema
ADA/AVA

February 8, 2019 - February 9, 2019

In less than a decade, the bold and talented Chicago collective Manual Cinema has become a theatrical powerhouse with its mesmerizing shadow-puppet spectacles. Blending techniques from animation and film and ...

Stew & The Negro Problem

Stew & The Negro Problem
Notes of a Native Song

February 14, 2019 - February 17, 2019

Nearly forty years passed before the Tony Award-winning playwright and singer Stew realized that James Baldwin had changed his life. As a Los Angeles teenager, Stew loved Baldwin’s Go Tell ...

CABD Mr. TOL E. RAncE

Camille A. Brown & Dancers
Mr. TOL E. RAncE

March 1, 2019 - March 2, 2019

The Camille A. Brown Trilogy Package, which provides best available reserved seats in Reynolds Industries Theater to Camille A. Brown & Dancers’ trilogy, including presentations of ink, BLACK GIRL: Linguistic Play, and Mr. TOL ...

Black Atlantic: Derek Gripper & Africa Strings

March 25, 2019

The ‘Black Atlantic’ Package, which provides access to all ‘Black Atlantic’ shows at Motorco and best available reserved seats in Baldwin Auditorium, including performances by Derek Gripper, Fatoumata Diawara, Noura Mint ...

Fatoumata Diawara

Black Atlantic: Fatoumata Diawara

March 26, 2019

The ‘Black Atlantic’ Package, which provides access to all ‘Black Atlantic’ shows at Motorco and best available reserved seats in Baldwin Auditorium, including performances by Derek Gripper, Fatoumata Diawara, Noura Mint ...

Noura Mint Seymali

Black Atlantic: Noura Mint Seymali

March 27, 2019

The ‘Black Atlantic’ Package, which provides access to all ‘Black Atlantic’ shows at Motorco and best available reserved seats in Baldwin Auditorium, including performances by Derek Gripper, Fatoumata Diawara, Noura Mint ...

Daymé Arocena

Black Atlantic: Daymé Arocena

March 28, 2019

The ‘Black Atlantic’ Package, which provides access to all ‘Black Atlantic’ shows at Motorco and best available reserved seats in Baldwin Auditorium, including performances by Derek Gripper, Fatoumata Diawara, Noura Mint ...

Dafnis Prieto Big Band

Black Atlantic: Dafnis Prieto Big Band

March 29, 2019

The ‘Black Atlantic’ Package, which provides access to all ‘Black Atlantic’ shows at Motorco and best available reserved seats in Baldwin Auditorium, including performances by Derek Gripper, Fatoumata Diawara, Noura Mint ...

Danilo Brito

Black Atlantic: Danilo Brito

March 30, 2019

The ‘Black Atlantic’ Package, which provides access to all ‘Black Atlantic’ shows at Motorco and best available reserved seats in Baldwin Auditorium, including performances by Derek Gripper, Fatoumata Diawara, Noura Mint ...

JACK Quartet + yMusic

April 25, 2019

In Durham, two of the world’s most enterprising and important new-music ensembles convene for a rare double-bill. The JACK Quartet, now at the end of a two-year Duke Performances residency, ...

Jason Moran

Jason Moran & The Bandwagon

April 18, 2019

Jason Moran is one of modern music’s most vital forces. Through a series of ambitious projects meant to bring jazz to a wider audience — such as the 2007 Duke ...

Tal National

Black Atlantic: Tal National

March 29, 2019

November 27, 2018: Duke Performances regrets to announce that Tal National’s spring North American tour, including their engagement at Duke Performances scheduled for Friday, March 29, 2019 during the Black ...

Dance for PD with John Heginbotham

March 19, 2018

Join acclaimed choreographer and Mark Morris alum John Heginbotham (Dance Heginbotham) for a dance class designed to benefit those with Parkinson’s disease. The class is offered in collaboration with American ...

Shai Wosner: Piano Master Class

February 23, 2018

Acclaimed classical pianist Shai Wosner leads a piano master class in Baldwin Auditorium with Duke student musicians. Friday, February 23, 5 PM Baldwin Auditorium, Duke East Campus Free and open ...

JACK Quartet: Chamber Music Master Class 2

February 13, 2018

The members of JACK Quartet lead their second chamber music master class of the 2017/2018 season, coaching Duke student musicians on works by Dvořák and Smetana. Tuesday, February 13, 5 PM ...

Public Conversation: Murs @ Beyù Caffè

February 6, 2018

In this wide-ranging talk at Beyù Caffè in downtown Durham, legendary Los Angeles-based hip-hop artist Murs discusses his career, influences, and record-setting 26-hour rap that landed him in the Guinness ...

Simone Dinnerstein: Piano Master Class

October 3, 2017

Simone Dinnerstein leads a piano master class in Baldwin Auditorium with Duke student musicians at 4 PM on Tuesday, October 3. Tuesday, October 3, 4-5:30 PM Baldwin Auditorium, Duke East ...

Thelonious Monk

Jam Sessions on Monk

October 21, 2017

As part of Duke Performances’ 10-day celebration of the music and legacy of Thelonious Monk, pianist and co-curator Ethan Iverson will host a pair of late-night jam sessions at Durham ...

Lost Bayou Ramblers

Lost Bayou Ramblers: Cajun Dance Class

September 7, 2017

Durham Cajun dance instructors Elvis Latiolais and Dianne Freund lead a free Cajun dance class for ticketholders an hour prior to Louisiana-based Lost Bayou Ramblers’ performance at the Pinhook in ...

11-02-17 Pharoahe Monch 1

Pharoahe Monch
& PitchBlak Brass Band

November 2, 2017

In February 2016, a quarter-century after his debut with the pivotal hip-hop duo Organized Konfusion, Queens emcee Pharoahe Monch took a chance, stepping onstage at New York’s Ecstatic Music Festival with Brooklyn’s uproarious PitchBlak Brass Band.

American Brass Quintet

September 30, 2017

Famously dubbed “the high priests of brass” by Newsweek, the American Brass Quintet has built a world of its own during the last sixty years, sculpting new repertoire and setting artistic standards for modern classical brass ensemble.

Jeremy Denk & Stefan Jackiw
Ives Violin Sonatas
with New York Polyphony

January 19, 2018

Merely programming the four violin sonatas of American original Charles Ives would not have been enough for Jeremy Denk, the inquisitive and exploratory pianist, writer, and musical collaborator. But that is what he and beguiling, intuitive violinist Stefan Jackiw do in the simply titled program Ives Violin Sonatas.

Murs-9th-composite-featured

Murs & 9th Wonder

February 8, 2018

The rapper Murs and the producer 9th Wonder were raised on different coasts: Murs is a product of South Central Los Angeles, a background that’s informed every aspect of his lyrics, from streetwise storytelling to the bits of Spanish he’s long woven into his lines

Alsarah & The Nubatones

Alsarah
& The Nubatones

March 1, 2018

Alsarah’s circuitous journey toward stardom began as a double refugee — first from conflict in her native Sudan, then from civil war in neighboring Yemen. After arriving in New York in the mid-1990s, Alsarah turned to music as a living link to her homeland, both as an ethnomusicologist and a singer with a velvety voice and socially conscious lyrics.

JACK Quartet b&w Shervin Lainez

JACK Quartet
American Music No. 2

April 26, 2018

The members of the JACK Quartet have been called “superheroes of the new music world” (The Boston Globe) and the “next-generation counterpart” to the benchmark Arditti (The Guardian).

Artist-In-Residence: Eric Whitacre

February 27, 2017

In Conversation: Eric Whitacre Verena Mösenbichler-Bryant, Assistant Professor of Music at Duke and Director of the Duke University Wind Symphony, speaks with internationally celebrated choral composer and conductor Eric Whitacre about his ...

Artist-In-Residence: Talib Kweli

February 17, 2017

**TWO PUBLIC CONVERSATIONS WITH GROUNDBREAKING HIP-HOP ARTIST TALIB KWELI** TALKING MUSIC: TALIB KWELI & 9TH WONDER GRAMMY-winning producer, DJ, and Duke professor 9th Wonder leads this discussion with groundbreaking Brooklyn-based hip-hop artist ...

Artist-In-Residence: Branford Marsalis

January 12, 2017

A Conversation with Branford Marsalis & Wayne Winborne The evening prior to the start of a two-night stand at Baldwin Auditorium with pianist Joey Calderazzo, jazz saxophonist and educator Branford ...

Artist-In-Residence: Jeremy Denk

December 9, 2016

Exploring Ives’ Sonata: A Conversation With Jeremy Denk The evening before his performance, renowned pianist Jeremy Denk will speak with Philip Rupprecht, Chair of the Music Department at Duke University, ...

Artist-in-Residence: Gerald Clayton

November 29, 2016

**TWO PUBLIC CONVERSATIONS EXPLORING GERALD CLAYTON’S PIEDMONT BLUES** GERALD CLAYTON’S PIEDMONT BLUES: HONORING A DURHAM TRADITION Celebrated jazz musician Gerald Clayton, award-winning theater director Christopher McElroen, and acclaimed vocalist and Piedmont native René Marie discuss the ...

Artist-in-Residence: Shara Nova (formerly Shara Worden)

November 17, 2016

A CONVERSATION WITH SHARA NOVA at Beyù Caffè Shara Nova (formerly Shara Worden), Detroit-based composer and guitarist, is the protean powerhouse behind the band My Brightest Diamond, “moving effortlessly between the worlds of indie rock ...

Artist-In-Residence: Sergei Babayan

November 13, 2016

Piano Master Class The day following his Piano Recital Series performance, Sergei Babayan will lead a piano master class with Duke student musicians in Bone Hall on the lower level ...

Artist-In-Residence: Ian Bostridge

October 21, 2016

Ian Bostridge Book Talk The celebrated English tenor Ian Bostridge will talk about his most recent book, Schubert’s Winter Journey: Anatomy of an Obsession (Faber 2014/Knopf 2015). This session will be ...

Artist-In-Residence: Belcea Quartet

October 15, 2016

Chamber Music Master Class The afternoon of their Chamber Arts Series performance, the Belcea Quartet will lead a chamber music master class with Duke student musicians in Baldwin Auditorium. Saturday, October ...

Artist-in-Residence: Saul Williams

October 6, 2016

MartyrLoserKing: A Conversation with Saul Williams & Mark Anthony Neal Iconic spoken word artist Saul Williams will speak with Mark Anthony Neal, Professor of African & African American Studies at Duke University, about Williams’ ...

Dover Quartet

September 24, 2016

The Dover Quartet shot to prominence after taking first prize at the 2013 Banff International String Quartet Competition. The Chicago Tribune hails their “expert musicianship, razor-sharp ensemble, deep musical feeling, ...

Artist-in-Residence: Conrad Tao

March 24, 2016

Conrad Tao will read new works for piano by Duke graduate composers Eren Gümrükçüoglu and Sid Richardson. Conrad Tao began his musical career as a wunderkind. As a pre-teenager he appeared as ...

Artist-in-Residence: Kassé Mady Diabaté

April 1, 2016

Talking Music: A Conversation with Kassé Mady Diabaté Duke Professor Laurent Dubois, a distinguished historian of the Black Atlantic and author of the recently released book The Banjo: America’s African Instrument, ...

Artist-in-Residence: Emerson String Quartet

April 2, 2016

Cellist Paul Watkins of the acclaimed Emerson String Quartet will hold a chamber music master class with Duke student musicians. The Emerson String Quartet have been lauded as “the one indispensible quartet” (Newsday). In their forty-year ...

Artist-in-Residence: Wu Man

April 5, 2016

A Conversation with Wu Man & Jennifer Chang A conversation with Wu Man and Jennifer Chang, Chapel Hill-based gu zheng musician and educator, on Wu Man’s career, featuring a pipa demonstration by Wu Man ...

Artist-in-Residence: Edgar Meyer

April 15, 2016

Talking Music: A Conversation with Edgar Meyer Acclaimed bassist and composer Edgar Meyer, praised by The New Yorker as “the most remarkable virtuoso in the relatively un-chronicled history of his instrument,” arrives in Durham ...

Artist-In-Residence: Talib Kweli

February 17, 2017

**TWO PUBLIC CONVERSATIONS WITH GROUNDBREAKING HIP-HOP ARTIST TALIB KWELI** TALKING MUSIC: TALIB KWELI & 9TH WONDER GRAMMY-winning producer, DJ, and Duke professor 9th Wonder leads this discussion with groundbreaking Brooklyn-based hip-hop artist ...

Artist-in-Residence: Rez Abbasi

January 21, 2016

In light of impending inclement weather, Duke Performances has cancelled the presentation of Rez Abbasi Invocation feat. Vijay Iyer and Rudresh Mahanthappa on Friday, January 22. We are planning to reschedule ...

Artist-in-Residence: Blitz the Ambassador

February 9, 2016

HIP-HOP & THE REVOLUTION: A CONVERSATION ON HIP-HOP & GLOBAL ACTIVISM WITH BLITZ THE AMBASSADOR & ANGEL DOZIER Ghanaian-born, Brooklyn-based rapper Blitz the Ambassador will speak with Angel Dozier, director ...

Artist-in-Residence: Fazıl Say

February 29, 2016

Artist-in-Residence Events: Fazıl Say • Fazıl Say: Music & Culture in Turkey • Turkish pianist and composer Fazıl Say speaks with Erdağ Göknar, Director of the Duke Middle East Studies Center, about music ...

Artist-in-Residence: Jennifer Koh

March 2, 2016

Artist-in-Residence Events: Jennifer Koh • Jennifer Koh performs Beethoven Violin Concerto as a featured guest of the Duke Symphony Orchestra •  Wednesday, March 2, 8 PM Baldwin Auditorium Free & open ...

Deviant Septet

March 11, 2016

In 2010, seven of New York City’s most sought-after and versatile instrumentalists connected over a shared love for Stravinsky’s magnificent L’Histoire du Soldat, and Deviant Septet was born. Scored for ...

Parker Quartet featuring Kim Kashkashian, viola

March 12, 2016

The GRAMMY-winning Parker Quartet brings “pinpoint precision and a spectacular sense of urgency” (Boston Globe) to their broad repertoire and multitude of musical collaborations. Recently appointed Artists-in-Residence at Harvard University’s ...

Artists-in-Residence: Cuarteto Casals

October 17, 2015

A MASTERCLASS WITH CUARTETO CASALS Characterized by “intense focus and a striking unanimity of gesture” (The New York Times), Cuarteto Casals is the first Spanish string quartet to achieve a genuinely international ...

Artist-in-Residence: Rennie Harris

October 21, 2015

#BLACKMOVEMENTMATTERS: DANCE, HIP-HOP AND SOCIAL JUSTICE Rennie Harris, founder and artistic director of hip-hop dance company Rennie Harris Puremovement, chats with Thomas DeFrantz, chair of the Department of African and African American ...

Artists-in-Residence: Hiss Golden Messenger

November 11, 2015

FROM THE ARCHIVES: HISS GOLDEN MESSENGER & WILLIAM GEDNEY M.C. Taylor, leader of the band Hiss Golden Messenger, and Jim Findlay, stage director and designer, are joined by photographer and William ...