Sue Barber is an active music educator and performer as a bassoonist. During the summer season she performs and teaches at the Brevard Music Festival. She is an active freelance bassoonist, performing as principal bassoon with CityMusic Cleveland Chamber Orchestra and the North Charleston Pops! Orchestra.
The JMU Wind Symphony is the premier woodwind, brass and percussion ensemble at James Madison University, committed to performing the great works of the wind band’s core repertoire while also exploring the best of contemporary composition.
Clarinetist Šarūnas Jankauskas enjoys a rewarding performance and teaching career. Most of his professional activities take place at James Madison University in Virginia, where he guides an enthusiastic group of aspiring young musicians, teachers and entrepreneurs. Jankauskas joined the faculty in 2016 and is dedicated to exploring new ways of addressing playing techniques, expanding teaching literature and maintaining a highly positive learning environment.
Named 'Best Group/Duo’ by the International Acoustic Music Awards, Ryanhood has spent more than 20 years engaging crowds with highly energetic, powerfully genuine performances. Having shared stages with Jason Mraz, Matt Nathanson, Train, Lifehouse and many more, Ryanhood's sound threads folk, rock and pop together with virtuosic guitar work and inquisitive lyrics.
Dr. Sonya Gabrielle Baker,soprano, made her Carnegie Hall debut with conductor Michael Tilson Thomas, singing music of Aaron Copland. Noted for her performances of American music, Baker has been heard in concert both nationally and internationally, including performances in Havana, Cuba with the Yale Alumni Chorus and at the World Equestrian Games opening ceremonies with the American Spiritual Ensemble.
Yuriy Rakevich has performed in various violin recitals and as a concertmaster in orchestras around the world, including Mozart Nº 5 and Tchaikovsky in Mexico, and Sibelius in the old USSR. Olga Kopilova has performed as a soloist in the main concert halls in Moscow and the surrounding region and is a solo piano artist who has performed with several Brazilian and international orchestras.
The JMU Symphony Orchestra is the premier orchestra within the School of Music at James Madison University. Membership is open, through the audition process, to all JMU students who attend the University.
The JMU Brass Band is one of the most successful collegiate brass bands in the world. Formed by Professor Kevin Stees in the fall of 2000, the band quickly rose to prominence, winning the North American Brass Band Association 1st Section Championship in 2004 and 2005. They were also the NABBA Championship Section Runner-up six times between 2006 and 2022, before being crowned the NABBA Championship Section Champions in 2024.
This fully instrumentated Concert Band is blended with talents from both non-music and music majors; freshmen through fifth-year students with a variety of experience and musical backgrounds. The Symphonic Band performs two to three concerts per semester with music ranging from standard wind band repertoire to the latest in contemporary composition.
In this recital, pianist and composer Masa Ishikawa will perform with David Pope, saxophone, Sam Suggs, bass, and Karl Tietz, drums. Ishikawa has performed at various jazz festivals and concerts in Italy, China, Japan, Taiwan, and the United States.
Three-time GRAMMY Award nominee, Stile Antico, is one of the world's most accomplished and innovative vocal ensembles. Working without a conductor, they thrill audiences with their fresh, vibrant and moving performances of Renaissance polyphony. If you’ve never experienced Renaissance music before, there is simply nothing else like it.
Recipient of the 2022 Avery Fisher Career Grant, American pianist Mackenzie Melemed is known for performances that combine refined pianism, thoughtful curation, and a natural gift for bringing audiences closer to the music.
Get ready to kick off your Sunday shoes and cut loose with Footloose: The Musical! Bursting with high-energy dance numbers, electrifying music and a story that celebrates freedom, friendship and finding your voice, this stage adaptation of the iconic film will have audiences on their feet from start to finish.
Contains adult content and violence. Parental discretion advised. FOOTLOOSE is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals. www.concordtheatricals.com
The JMU Jazz Band is open to all JMU students and typically includes students from majors across campus. Students study repertoire that includes all major styles of big band jazz, as well as student arrangements and compositions. The ensemble has performed with a variety of well-known jazz artists. Recent guests include NEA Jazz Master Sheila Jordan, Joe Sullivan, Mike Titlebaum, Jim White, and Steve Wilson.
The JMU Jazz Ensemble has performed at the Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage in Washington, DC, the Montreux International Jazz and Blues Festival, the North Sea Jazz Festival, and the Virginia Music Educator's Association annual convention.
Hailed by the Gramophone Magazine as “brilliant and intrepid”, violinist Airi Yoshioka has concertized throughout the United States, Europe, Asia, and Canada as a recitalist, soloist and chamber musician. Versatile, Grammy-nominated pianist John Novacek regularly tours the Americas, Europe, Asia and Australia as solo recitalist, chamber musician and concerto soloist; in the latter capacity he has presented over thirty concerti with dozens of orchestras.
The JMU Madison Singers is the premier advanced auditioned choral chamber ensemble at James Madison University, performing a wide variety of musical genres from the Renaissance to the present and maintains an active and demanding concert schedule. The Treble Chamber Choir is the select auditioned soprano and alto ensemble.
Angela Brown personifies the ideal soprano: sheer vocal power, luxurious finesse and shimmering, high pianissimos. She has graced the leading opera and symphonic stages on six continents including Lincoln Center, The Kennedy Center, National Opera of Paris and more. Join us for an evening that unites opera, pop and gospel in one sensational voice.
This event is sponsored by Madison Trust. Madison Trust is an initiative of Philanthropy and Engagement, managed by the Office of Corporate and Foundation Relations in collaboration with partners across campus, and it embodies the JMU spirit of collaboration, creativity and community.
Dr. Kirsten Ann Blair, soprano, enjoys a vibrant musical lifestyle as a singer and educator. Blair is a versatile performer, having recently participated in opera, classical and contemporary performances on both national and international stages in Africa, Mexico, Europe and the United States.
Imagine 30+ musicians filling the Concert Hall with a wall of brass that is precise, powerful and deeply alive. From the Welsh Valleys town of Ton Pentre,, the Cory Band is the most decorated brass band on the planet and delivers the kind of night you won't forget.
Ian Zook is an active orchestral and solo performer and has appeared in concerts throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia. He joined the faculty of James Madison University in 2009 and performs frequently with the Madison Brass and Montpelier Winds, both faculty ensembles in-residence at JMU.
Join us for the 45th Annual JMU Contemporary Music Festival featuring music from guest Korean American composer, Texu Kim. Kim creates sophisticated, culturally grounded works described as “exuberant, colorful washes of sound… punchy bass lines, snappy brass fanfares and suave... solos” (San Diego Story).
The JMU Percussion Ensemble, directed by Casey Cangelosi, consists of nearly 30 students and has performed throughout the East Coast, including concerts at the Virginia Music Educators Association Convention and Virginia Days of Percussion.
The JMU Wind Symphony is the premier woodwind, brass and percussion ensemble at James Madison University, committed to performing the great works of the wind band’s core repertoire while also exploring the best of contemporary composition.
Using the music and themes from one of Mozart’s great operas, young audiences learn the dangers of bullying, the beauty of friendship and the power of music to bring people together when fairytale creatures band together to teach the Big Bad Wolf a lesson. 35-minute children’s opera sung in English. Recommended for ages 4 and up.
Hayde Bluegrass Orchestra blends bluegrass and Nordic folk, a style often dubbed “Nordicana.” Featuring fiddle, dobro, banjo, mandolin, guitar and even an accordion alongside four-part vocal harmonies, the group delivers a fresh take on American roots music wrapped in a finely tuned folk sound.
The JMU Brass Band is one of the most successful collegiate brass bands in the world. Formed by Professor Kevin Stees in the fall of 2000, the band quickly rose to prominence, winning the North American Brass Band Association 1st Section Championship in 2004 and 2005. They were also the NABBA Championship Section Runner-up six times between 2006 and 2022, before being crowned the NABBA Championship Section Champions in 2024.
Women of the World, an award-winning international vocal ensemble made up of four singers and an instrumentalist/percussionist, performs original and traditional folk music with a contemporary twist, in 37 languages. The blend is unparalleled and reminds us of what music can do when it has no borders.
The JMU Symphonic Band is an ensemble of 50-60 select woodwind, brass and percussion players, performing two to three concerts per semester with music ranging from standard wind band repertoire to the latest in contemporary composition.
This fully instrumentated wind band is blended with talents from both non-music and music majors; freshmen through fifth-year students with a variety of experience and musical backgrounds.
The New York Times describes GRAMMY Award-nominee pianist and vocal artist Simone Dinnerstein as "a unique voice in the forest of Bach interpretation." Solo Dialogues is an intimate conversation that weaves together Bach's complete Fifteen Inventions and Fifteen Sinfonias with works by two of the greatest jazz pianists of the modern era, Brad Mehldau and Keith Jarrett.
The JMU Jazz Band is open to all JMU students and typically includes students from majors across campus. Students study repertoire that includes all major styles of big band jazz, as well as student arrangements and compositions. The ensemble has performed with a variety of well-known jazz artists. Recent guests include NEA Jazz Master Sheila Jordan, Joe Sullivan, Mike Titlebaum, Jim White, and Steve Wilson.
The JMU Jazz Ensemble has performed at the Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage in Washington, DC, the Montreux International Jazz and Blues Festival, the North Sea Jazz Festival, and the Virginia Music Educator's Association annual convention.
The JMU Symphony Orchestra is the premier orchestra within the School of Music at James Madison University. Membership is open, through the audition process, to all JMU students who attend the University.
Immerse yourself in a spectacular celebration as the JMU Choral Area and JMU Wind Symphony present HolidayFest 2026:Magic and Memories. Ring in the holiday season with an enchanting blend of timeless classics and contemporary holiday selections, highlighted by music from esteemed British composer and conductor Sir John Rutter
With only a magic flute, Prince Tamino and his friend, Papageno, set off to rescue Pamina, the daughter of the Queen of the Night. Mozart’s classic opera explores how we move past division and come together in harmony, with the help of a little music. Sung in German with English surtitles and English dialogue.
With original compositions rooted in Korean folk melodies and infused with global sensibilities, CelloGayageum creates a sound that is ancient and refreshingly modern. Founded by Austrian cellist Sol Daniel Kim and Korean gayageum virtuoso Dayoung Yoon, CelloGayageum bridges Western classical music with Korean gug-ak (traditional music).
Nicole Mitchell is an award-winning creative flutist, conceptualist and composer. Her first concern is creating projects where she combines her love for nature, liberation and music in effort to contribute towards the deepening of human consciousness.
Different Ships, Same Boat invites audiences to celebrate not only America but Americans. Unfolding through a series of chapters with podcast-like narration, it guides audiences through stories from small towns, cities and ports of entry and uses old-world music and lyrical American Blues to explore the joys, tensions and complexities of who we are and whom we wish to be.
The JMU Symphonic Band is an ensemble of 50-60 select woodwind, brass and percussion players, performing two to three concerts per semester with music ranging from standard wind band repertoire to the latest in contemporary composition.
Anastasia: The Musical is about discovering who you are and defining who you’re meant to be. From Tony winners Terrence McNally, Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens, this dazzling show will transport you from the twilight of the Russian Empire to 1920s Paris, as a brave young woman sets out to discover the mystery of her past. Contains violence. Parental discretion advised. Inspired by the Twentieth Century Fox Motion Pictures by special arrangement with Buena Vista Theatrical. From the play by Marcelle Maurette as adapted by Guy Bolton. ANASTASIA is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals. www.concordtheatricals.com.
The JMU Brass Band is one of the most successful collegiate brass bands in the world. Formed by Professor Kevin Stees in the fall of 2000, the band quickly rose to prominence, winning the North American Brass Band Association 1st Section Championship in 2004 and 2005. They were also the NABBA Championship Section Runner-up six times between 2006 and 2022, before being crowned the NABBA Championship Section Champions in 2024.
Carl Donakowskiwas a prize winner in the 1989 Mendelssohn Competition in Berlin. His recital performances have aired on WQRS Detroit, WQXR New York and Sudwestfunk Radio Baden-Baden. Gabriel Dobner has won high praise from BBC Music Magazine, Fono Forum and the West German Radio in Cologne, who referred to Dobner as a “master among collaborative pianists.”
The JMU Jazz Band is open to all JMU students and typically includes students from majors across campus. Students study repertoire that includes all major styles of big band jazz, as well as student arrangements and compositions. The ensemble has performed with a variety of well-known jazz artists. Recent guests include NEA Jazz Master Sheila Jordan, Joe Sullivan, Mike Titlebaum, Jim White, and Steve Wilson.
The JMU Jazz Ensemble has performed at the Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage in Washington, DC, the Montreux International Jazz and Blues Festival, the North Sea Jazz Festival, and the Virginia Music Educator's Association annual convention.
Diane Phoenix-Neal performs nationally and internationally as a collaborative chamber musician and as a soloist, and her performances have taken her to concert venues and music festivals throughout the world to four continents. Dr. Paulo Steinberg enjoys an active international career as a soloist and collaborative pianist, with performances across the United States, Canada, South America and Europe.
The JMU Madison Singers is the premier advanced auditioned choral chamber ensemble at James Madison University, performing a wide variety of musical genres from the Renaissance to the present and maintains an active and demanding concert schedule.
Since 1995, Danú's virtuosi players on flute, tin whistle, fiddle, button accordion, bouzouki and vocals (Irish and English) have delighted audiences worldwide with their mix of ancient Irish music and new repertoire. Strings Magazine describes their performances as, “impressive, immersive and uniquely and unmistakably Irish.”
Hailed by Opera Magazine as “At once powerful, radiant, timbrally beautiful, and balanced throughout the range, her soprano is that of a singer at the top of her game,” Durban-born South African Fulbrighter Bronwen Forbay has earned acclaim in opera, concert, and recital across three continents.
The JMU Symphony Orchestra is the premier orchestra within the School of Music at James Madison University. Membership is open, through the audition process, to all JMU students who attend the University.
Hailed by the Gramophone Magazine as “brilliant and intrepid”, violinist Airi Yoshioka has concertized throughout the United States, Europe, Asia, and Canada as a recitalist, soloist and chamber musician. Versatile, Grammy-nominated pianist John Novacek regularly tours the Americas, Europe, Asia and Australia as solo recitalist, chamber musician and concerto soloist; in the latter capacity he has presented over thirty concerti with dozens of orchestras.
Come hear faculty members of the JMU School of Music in various chamber ensembles as they perform a wide variety of chamber repertoire and highlight the collaborative spirit and artistry within the School of Music.
Ladysmith Black Mambazo warms the hearts of audiences worldwide with uplifting vocal harmonies, signature dance moves and irresistible onstage charm. The group was designated "South Africa's cultural ambassadors to the world" by the late Nelson Mandela and are the most decorated group in world music history with five GRAMMY Awards and 19 nominations.
This fully instrumentated wind band is blended with talents from both non-music and music majors; freshmen through fifth-year students with a variety of experience and musical backgrounds.
Flutist Beth Chandler Cahill enjoys a varied performance career as soloist and chamber musician. Dr. Paulo Steinberg is a soloist and collaborative pianist, with performances across the United States, Canada, South America and Europe.
The JMU Brass Band is one of the most successful collegiate brass bands in the world, winning the North American Brass Band Association 1st Section Championship in 2004 and 2005. The Massanutten Brass Band, from Virginia’s beautiful Shenandoah Valley, is comprised of outstanding musicians from Northern Virginia, Charlottesville and the Shenandoah Valley.
The JMU Symphonic Band is an ensemble of 50-60 select woodwind, brass and percussion players, performing two to three concerts per semester with music ranging from standard wind band repertoire to the latest in contemporary composition.
The JMU Wind Symphony is the premier woodwind, brass and percussion ensemble, committed to performing the great works of the wind band’s core repertoire while also exploring the best of contemporary composition.
Formed by members of Amsterdam's Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Camerata RCO performs chamber music with a focus on the classical and romantic repertoire for winds and strings. The Washington Post called an evening with them "a satisfying evening of sophisticated, expressive music making with a precision ensemble as snug as the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle." This is chamber music at its finest.
Join JMU Opera Theatre for an evening of opera scenes, including the world premiere of The Friendly City. Composed by JMU student Colin Cossi, this community opera is based on the book by Sofia Samatar and explores what it means to call the Shenandoah Valley home. Sung in diverse languages with English surtitles.
The Hot Sardines have built what Vanity Fair calls "a unique repertoire, and a sound and style that are distinctly their own." This jazz ensemble, co-led by pianist Evan Palazzo and vocalist Elizabeth Bougerol, is celebrated for its electrifying take on hot jazz and early swing and its live shows feel like a roaring club brought to the present.
The JMU Jazz Ensemble, under the direction of Dr. Chuck Dotas, was founded in 1971 and is the premier jazz group in the School of Music at James Madison University.
Immerse yourself in the enchanting world of classical music as JMU’s Symphony Orchestra unites with the celebrated winners of the 2026 School of Music Concerto Competition to bring you a captivating concert. Talented students from woodwinds, brass and percussion, strings, piano and voice showcase their artistry, with each area selecting two standout finalists to vie for a place on this prestigious stage.
In addition to translating simply to the word for drum, taiko is also a powerful, full-body art form that is felt as much as it is heard. Founded in Los Angeles in 2000, TAIKOPROJECT has performed at the Academy Awards, GRAMMY Awards, NBC’s The Voice and The X-Factor among others. Come ready to feel every note as it vibrates through your seat—a taiko performance is an experience unlike any other.
The JMU Madison Singers is the premier advanced auditioned choral chamber ensemble at James Madison University, performing a wide variety of musical genres from the Renaissance to the present and maintains an active and demanding concert schedule. The Treble Chamber Choir is the select auditioned soprano and alto ensemble.
The JMU Brass Band is one of the most successful collegiate brass bands in the world. Formed by Professor Kevin Stees in the fall of 2000, the band quickly rose to prominence, winning the North American Brass Band Association 1st Section Championship in 2004 and 2005. They were also the NABBA Championship Section Runner-up six times between 2006 and 2022, before being crowned the NABBA Championship Section Champions in 2024.
This fully instrumentated Concert Band is blended with talents from both non-music and music majors; freshmen through fifth-year students with a variety of experience and musical backgrounds. The Symphonic Band performs two to three concerts per semester with music ranging from standard wind band repertoire to the latest in contemporary composition.
