Past Events

Penn Samba, an ensemble open to the entire community at Penn and comprising some 100 members, performs a wide variety of rhythms from many different regions of Brazil. Instruments, used in the ensemble include the surdo, caixa, repinique, tamborim, gaiza, and agogo, among others.

The Penn Symphony concludes the Fall semester with a magnificent, wondrous journey to Finland and the music of Jean Sibelius. The ever so familiar and well-known Finlandia opens the concert along with his 2nd symphony finishing off the evening, showcasing PSO's amazing array of orchestral colors.  In the middle of the program is Tchaikovsky's delightful Rococo Variations, featuring cellist Hun Choi as soloist.  Mr. Choi has won many awards including first prize in various competitions overseas and is currently a student of Peter Wiley at the Curtis Institute of Music.

A “double-bill concert” that will first feature undergraduate students Eric Wang, Daniel Gerhardt, and Lance Sy Lato performing and reimagining works by Mozart, Brahms, Schumann, Scarlatti, and Faure. The second half of the program will include music by graduate composer-performers Brendan McMullen, Max Johnson, and Andrew Burke, as well as by undergraduate composers Gabrielle Gillen, William Stewart, and Eric Wang.

This performance is a window into the Arab world - a vast geographical region between the Atlantic Ocean and the Persian/Arabian Gulf. The Penn Arab Music Ensemble, directed by Hanna Khuri, will present popular songs from the Arab world. These songs capture the region’s intricate musical and political history in the twentieth century. This era witnessed rapid social and political change triggered by the collapse of the Ottoman Empire in the aftermath of World War I, the birth of the nation-state system, colonization, and the rise of independence movements.

The Penn Sound Collective (PSC) is pleased to present eight new works composed by doctoral fellows in music composition at the University of Pennsylvania. Featuring the music of Erin Busch, Brendan McMullen, Emma Mistele, James Díaz, Andrew Burke, Susanna Payne-Passmore, Max Johnson, Kris Bendrick, the program includes works for solo cello, string quartet, electronics, fixed media, audience cell phones, and more!

Wadada Leo Smith joins us as part of this year's Penn Music Colloquium Series. Smith will play excerpts and exhibit sections from scores that illustrate what the  “sonic-field” looks and sounds like. This information will demonstrate the why and what conditioned him to focus on composing string quartets for over fifty years.

Join us for a celebration of song as we journey from the glittering courts of Germany to the evocative sounds of colonial America. Penn Collegium Musicum is a select chamber choir that specializes in music from the Medieval, Renaissance, and early Baroque period.