Arts Quarter Music Series celebrates richness of American music traditions this fall

From chamber music and spirituals to big band jazz, folk traditions and forgotten classical works, this season's Arts Quarter Music Series invites audiences to experience the rich diversity of American music. 

The series opens on Sept. 13 with We the People (purchase tickets), featuring Duke University's acclaimed Ciompi Quartet with celebrate baritone Robert Sims. The quartet and Sims  present a program of chamber music and spirituals rooted in U.S. musical traditions. Opening with Samuel Barber’s powerful String Quartet, which includes his iconic "Adagio for Strings," this concert celebrates four centuries of American music, from the colonial days to the present. Sims, known for his powerful voice and stage presence, joins the quartet with a selection of beloved spirituals and contemporary classical work by Caroline Shaw. 

Jazz takes center stage when Bobby Jasinski and The Hot Lanes (purchase tickets) bring their energetic big band sound to the Arts Quarter. A composer, arranger and award-winning jazz artist, Jasinski draws on his roots of Columbian, Polish and Italian heritage, from Latin rhythms to Polish classicism to Italian folk melodies and other genres. His 16-piece ensemble celebrates the breadth of the jazz tradition while sharing its history and relevance with audiences. 

The series also welcomes Dom Flemons, the Grammy-winning musician, historian and storyteller known as "The American Songster." A Banjo Hall of Fame inductee and co-founder of the Carolina Chocolate Drops, Flemons explores more than a century of American roots music through country, folk, blues, bluegrass and Americana sounds.

Flemons will lead a free workshop open to the community in addition to a concert (purchase tickets). 

Rounding out the Arts Quarter fall series  is A Rich and Exciting Musical Culture in 19th Century America? Who Knew? (purchase tickets), a lively lecture by Katherine Preston, David and Margaret Bottoms Professor of Music Emerita at William & Mary. Drawing on decades of scholarship, Preston introduces audiences to the surprisingly rich world of 19th-century American classical music and the composers whose contributions deserve renewed attention. 

Through performance and conversation, this series offers audiences a chance to explore the many voices, traditions and stories that shape America's musical heritage.  

In the spring , the Arts Quarter Music Series returns with Javanese Shadow Play, Victoria Chung, Galan Trio and Violinist Leonid Sushansky & Pianist Thomas Pandolfi: Energy of Spring.