On September 9, 1739, the largest insurrection of enslaved Africans in North America began in South Carolina on the banks of the Stono River. Step Afrika! commemorates this moment in American history and the 281st Anniversary of the Stono Rebellion with the world premiere of Stono.
Past Season Events
Hancher Auditorium has long been known as “the largest classroom on campus.” We asked our friends from Quixotic, the amazing organization that helped us open the auditorium in 2016, to design a magical array of spots outside Hancher where UI student performers could be highlighted.
Online Event | Music
ONLINE EVENT: Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra Septet with Wynton Marsalis
The Sound of Democracy
Tuesday, October 27, 2020
Online Event | Music
ONLINE EVENT: Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra Septet with Wynton Marsalis
The Sound of Democracy
Tuesday, October 27, 2020
Led by trumpeter/composer Wynton Marsalis, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra Septet's performance of The Sound of Democracy aims to entertain, inspire, and uplift audiences with the full vigor, vision, and depth of America’s music.
The man in the big red suit is headed to Hancher again this year, but he knows the importance of social distancing! So, Santa will visit with children via Zoom on Saturday and Sunday, December 12 and 13.
This free, family-friendly show introduces a wide array of percussion instruments and the sounds they make. Through interactive activities and musical demonstrations, Third Coast Percussion invites everyone to play with the building blocks of music.
Online Event | Multidisciplinary
The Hancher Youth & Family Talent Show Finale
An online celebration of young artists in the community
Sunday, February 14, 2021
Online Event | Multidisciplinary
The Hancher Youth & Family Talent Show Finale
An online celebration of young artists in the community
Sunday, February 14, 2021
The amazing artists of Third Coast Percussion host a celebration of all of the kids and families who submitted a video to the Hancher Youth & Family Talent Show. Gather up the family and tune in to see singers, instrumentals, dancers, and beatboxers as they are honored for their performances.
Online Event | Discussion
Mark Morris in conversation with Peter Sellars, director
Moderated by journalist Paula Zahn
Thursday, March 4, 2021
Online Event | Discussion
Mark Morris in conversation with Peter Sellars, director
Moderated by journalist Paula Zahn
Thursday, March 4, 2021
Journalist Paula Zahn will moderate a live conversation with acclaimed choreographer Mark Morris and director Peter Sellars.
Online Event | Discussion
Mark Morris in conversation with Nico Muhly, composer
Moderated by journalist Paula Zahn
Thursday, March 11, 2021
Online Event | Discussion
Mark Morris in conversation with Nico Muhly, composer
Moderated by journalist Paula Zahn
Thursday, March 11, 2021
Online Event | Discussion
Mark Morris in conversation with Alice Waters, chef
Moderated by journalist Paula Zahn
Thursday, March 18, 2021
Online Event | Discussion
Mark Morris in conversation with Alice Waters, chef
Moderated by journalist Paula Zahn
Thursday, March 18, 2021
Sold Out
Online Event | Lecture
Louis Armstrong and the Explosion of Swing
Part of United We Swing: Jazz and American History
Wednesday, March 24, 2021
Online Event | Lecture
Louis Armstrong and the Explosion of Swing
Part of United We Swing: Jazz and American History
Wednesday, March 24, 2021
We open our series by celebrating the most influential musician of the 20th century: Louis Armstrong. His peerless trumpet work, his effortlessly swinging vocal work, and his supreme genius provided the 1920s with a road map for expanding popular music.
Renowned for its brilliant combination of virtuosity and exuberance, the Pacifica Quartet has a topflight musician in every chair. Joined by Anthony McGill, principal clarinet of the New York Philharmonic, the quartet will perform a concert recorded specifically for the Hancher audience.
Online Event | Lecture
Billie Holiday and the Art of Swing Song
Part of United We Swing: Jazz and American History
Wednesday, March 31, 2021
Online Event | Lecture
Billie Holiday and the Art of Swing Song
Part of United We Swing: Jazz and American History
Wednesday, March 31, 2021
With the burst of jazz's popularity in the 1930s, Billie Holiday revolutionized singing with small ensemble vocal jazz called Swing Song. Her innovations would provide the blueprint for generations of singers and instrumentalists to come.
Online Event | Lecture
Charlie Parker and the Revolution of BeBop
Part of United We Swing: Jazz and American History
Wednesday, April 14, 2021
Online Event | Lecture
Charlie Parker and the Revolution of BeBop
Part of United We Swing: Jazz and American History
Wednesday, April 14, 2021
The revolution of bebop in the 1940s saw jazz get faster, more virtuosic, and more daring. And no one was more extraordinary than the alto saxophone master Charlie Parker.
Online Event | Lecture
John Coltrane and the 1960s
Part of United We Swing: Jazz and American History
Wednesday, April 21, 2021
Online Event | Lecture
John Coltrane and the 1960s
Part of United We Swing: Jazz and American History
Wednesday, April 21, 2021
The musical and spiritual journey of John Coltrane, expressed through his relentless pursuit in music, would inspire generations upon generations of artists to devote themselves completely to their craft.
Online Event | Lecture
The Democracy! Suite and Wynton Marsalis
Part of United We Swing: Jazz and American History
Wednesday, April 28, 2021
Online Event | Lecture
The Democracy! Suite and Wynton Marsalis
Part of United We Swing: Jazz and American History
Wednesday, April 28, 2021
As we weave together the strands of the previous five sessions, we will look at what Marsalis' writing shows us in terms of the legacy of the music, his role in preserving it, and what the continuum of jazz shows us about healthy communication, leadership, and democratic ideals.
Online Event | Music
Layale Chaker, violin/composer
Featuring her quintet and special guest Kinan Azmeh
Thursday, April 29, 2021
Online Event | Music
Layale Chaker, violin/composer
Featuring her quintet and special guest Kinan Azmeh
Thursday, April 29, 2021
In this performance created for Hancher, Chaker and her ensemble will perform music from her critically acclaimed Inner Rhyme album as well as new music from the forthcoming Bards project, performed here for the first time.
The evening will include five works highlighting a diverse range of performers, all with ties to Iowa: the professional company dancers of Ballet Des Moines, performers from the University of Iowa’s Dance Company, and special guests from the acclaimed Miami City Ballet.
The evening will include five works highlighting a diverse range of performers, all with ties to Iowa: the professional company dancers of Ballet Des Moines, performers from the University of Iowa’s Dance Company, and special guests from the acclaimed Miami City Ballet.
The evening will include five works highlighting a diverse range of performers, all with ties to Iowa: the professional company dancers of Ballet Des Moines, performers from the University of Iowa’s Dance Company, and special guests from the acclaimed Miami City Ballet.
Online Event | Music
Archetypes
Third Coast Percussion with Sérgio Assad (guitar) and Clarice Assad (vocals, piano, bass guitar, percussion)
Friday, May 7, 2021
Online Event | Music
Archetypes
Third Coast Percussion with Sérgio Assad (guitar) and Clarice Assad (vocals, piano, bass guitar, percussion)
Friday, May 7, 2021
This unique blending of musical voices will take the stories and characters that recur throughout the world’s disparate myths and legends as a jumping off point for an expansive musical journey that is at once idiosyncratic and universal.
Extraordinary illusionist, mentalist, and performance artist Scott Silven invites you on a mesmerizing journey from your home to his in rural Scotland. Silven brings an all-new, immersive, and intimate experience, live and online, that will captivate and astonish you.