ASU Kerr

A Swingin’ Christmas!
2022-12-18 15:30 - 17:30 (America/Phoenix)
Back again! Join Shana Bousard and Brian Runbeck as they reunite with Scott Hay (drums) and Joe Bousard (piano and vocals) to bring back their holiday cabaret full of swingin’ favorites and unexpected new surprises. Come celebrate and join in the fun!

Join Shana Bousard and Brian Runbeck as they reunite with Scott Hay (drums) and Joe Bousard (piano and vocals) to bring back their holiday cabaret full of swingin’ favorites and unexpected new surprises.

Coffee at Kerr: Tosca
2022-12-14 09:30 - 11:30
Co-presented with Arizona OperaRefreshments provided by Renegade Coffee Company, renegadecoffeeaz.com

Coffee events are part of a series of free, informal presentations featuring Arizona Opera performers and guest musicians. We encourage patrons to contribute a suggested donation of $5 and bring a can of food or sealed personal item to be donated to Vista del Camino Food Bank.

Coffee and refreshments are served by Renegade Coffee in the Crescendo Garden at 9:30 am. Events begin at 10:30 am.

This event is also livestreamed and archived for future viewing. Visit youtube.com/asukerr to subscribe, watch live and see past programs.

Coffee events are part of a series of free, informal presentations featuring Arizona Opera performers and guest musicians.

A Christmas Night in Ireland
2022-12-08 19:30 - 21:30
Experience the joy of An Irish Christmas as seen on PBS! Enjoy all the holiday carols you know and love plus a spectacular high-energy display of Irish dancing at its very best. An Irish Christmas is a celebration of family and community that showcases some of the great Irish holiday traditions and features award-winning dancers from Riverdance, Lord of the Dance and Celtic Wings. Now everyone can be Irish for the Christmas holidays!

“… Genuinely astonishing … electric!” – The Village News“Magical … glorious Irish music … remarkable … pure joy … a great Irish night!” – The Irish Herald

Experience the joy of An Irish Christmas as seen on PBS! Enjoy all the holiday carols you know and love plus a spectacular high-energy display of Irish dancing at its very best.

Tuesday Morning Music & Tea: ASU Community Flute Ensemble
2022-12-06 09:30 - 11:30
Co-Hosted by Brenda Foley and Will Rogers with Musical Director Raymond Cusick

The ASU School of Music joins ASU Kerr in presenting free, informative and entertaining concerts that feature performances and commentary by faculty members and graduate and doctoral students. We encourage patrons to contribute a suggested donation of $5 and bring a can of food or sealed personal item to be donated to Vista del Camino Food Bank.

Tea and refreshments are served in the Crescendo Garden at 9:30 a.m., programs begin at 10:30.

The ASU School of Music joins ASU Kerr in presenting free, informative and entertaining concerts that feature performances and commentary by faculty members and graduate and doctoral students.

Broadway Curious: Faith Matters
2022-12-03 19:30 - 21:30
Co-Hosted by Brenda Foley and Will Rogers with Musical Director Raymond Cusick

Part cabaret, part talk show, BROADWAY CURIOUS is our chance to see the world through musical theatre-colored glasses.

Hosts Brenda Foley and Will Rogers use musical theater to spark curiosity about everyday topics from food to the environment in this innovative musical cabaret/talk show and newsletter. Join us for live performances by the Valley’s top talent and conversations with the area’s most engaging minds.

Featured Guests:Savannah Alfred, Rachel Bowditch, Daniela Crispo, Lance Gharavi, Simone Sanchez with a special treat from writer/lyricist/composer G. Victoria Campbell

Come early for the bar and the opportunity to chat with the artists before the show, then indulge in our digital newsletter with content from the live show as well as additional goodies to satisfy and pique your curiosity.

Cash bar opens at 7 p.m.

Hosts Brenda Foley and Will Rogers use musical theater to spark curiosity about everyday topics from food to the environment in this innovative musical cabaret/talk show and newsletter.

Songs and Stories from a Not-Quite-Kosher Life
2022-11-19 19:00 - 21:00
A solo show by Penny Orloff“Penny Orloff… assured and excellent in every way.” –New York Times

Penny Orloff was a working actor/dancer in LA when a Juilliard scholarship took her to New York. She had featured roles on Broadway, working for such directors as Harold Prince and Joseph Papp, and sang more than 20 Principal Soprano roles for New York City Opera under Julius Rudel and Beverly Sills. In a career spanning more than 50 years, she starred in over 100 productions off-Broadway, regionally and internationally. Her first solo show, “Jewish Thighs on Broadway” (based on her best-selling novel of the same name, available on Amazon), toured the U.S. for a decade, including a successful off-Broadway run in 2005. Having outlived most of her early competition for film roles, since 2012 she has enjoyed acting in a range of interesting shorts, indie and feature films (silver-white hair and a Botox-free face are, apparently, in short supply in LA…).

Broadway musical theater actress Penny Orloff’s solo show is back on the road, bursting with heirloom melodies, stories of her Jewish immigrant family and tales from her zany life in showbiz.

Coffee at Kerr: Ariadne auf Naxos
2022-11-16 09:30 - 11:30

Tuesday Morning Music & Tea: Horn, Tuba and Piano - AHA!
2022-11-15 09:30 - 11:30
Join ASU music faculty John Ericson, Deanna Swoboda and Hannah Creviston, celebrating the music of diverse composers with engaging and colorful sounds for piano, horn and tuba (and didgeridoo!).

The ASU School of Music joins ASU Kerr in presenting free, informative and entertaining concerts that feature performances and commentary by faculty members and graduate and doctoral students. We encourage patrons to contribute a suggested donation of $5 and bring a can of food or sealed personal item to be donated to Vista del Camino Food Bank.

Tea and refreshments are served in the Crescendo Garden at 9:30 a.m., programs begin at 10:30.

The ASU School of Music joins ASU Kerr in presenting free, informative and entertaining concerts that feature performances and commentary by faculty members and graduate and doctoral students. We encourage patrons to contribute a suggested donation of $5 and bring a can of food or sealed personal item to be donated to Vista del Camino Food Bank.

Jazz Etcetera 2022 with Pinna Joseph, voice and Charles Lewis, piano
2022-10-23 15:00 - 17:00
Pinna Joseph, voice, and Charles Lewis, piano, will perform a versatile collection of songs, drawn from the song genres of Broadway, standards, Brazilian and folk repertoire framed, interpreted and delivered in a jazz-influenced style. Dwight Kilian, stand-up bass and Dennis Yee, cello, will join them.

Composer's Choice featuring Nokuthula Ngwenyama, umama womama
2022-10-22 19:30 - 21:30
PCMS and ASU Kerr co-present a program curated by PCMS composer-in-residence and acclaimed viola soloist Nokuthula Ngwenyama. This annual show features contemporary composers from anything from video games and visual art to film and television. This is not a typical classical music concert; it’s a peek into the craft of working musicians today.

PCMS and ASU Kerr co-present a program curated by PCMS composer-in-residence and acclaimed viola soloist Nokuthula Ngwenyama.

Rising Sun Daughter — Grace Rolland
2022-10-14 19:30 - 21:30
Grace Rolland-Redwood is a singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist based in Mesa, Ariz. Her ear for melodies and poetic lyrics brings a rich, evocative texture to her songwriting. In 2010, Rolland joined the traditional folk-Americana band Run Boy Run as cellist and vocalist. They won the coveted Telluride Bluegrass Band contest in 2011, appeared on A Prairie Home Companion twice, released four studio records and toured across the United States in just five years. During that time, Rolland began writing new songs and performing as Rising Sun Daughter, releasing her debut EP “I See Jane” in 2019. It was named one of The 20 Best Folk Albums of the year by PopMatters.

She shares a beautiful history with ASU Kerr, her father first brought her to the venue to play music and watch his ensembles perform during her childhood. Rolland received the Arizona Commission on the Arts’ Research and Development grant for songwriting in 2022. Hear the music of a true artist with a deep connection to Arizona and our space, she’s one of indie folk and Americana’s most soul-stirring artists.

Hear Grace Rolland, one of indie folk and Americana’s most soul-stirring artists, based in Mesa, Arizona.

Birdsong: a Concert Event by Nicole Larsen
2022-10-08 19:00 - 21:00
Birdsong is a family friendly, artistic cultural concert event by Nicole Larsen, which includes an art talk by featured Southwest artist Virginia Primozic and catering by local, family-owned eatery Hatch It. The concert centers around themes of freedom, challenging social norms and expectations, and hope and joy that each morning can bring. From jazz, musical theater, classical and even operatic styles, there is sure to be something for everyone, and a night to remember!

Birdsong is a family friendly, artistic cultural concert event by Nicole Larsen, which includes an art talk by featured Southwest artist Virginia Primozic and catering by local, family-owned eatery Hatch It.

Tuesday Morning Music & Tea: Branded Degenerate: Voices Silenced
2022-10-03 09:30 - 11:30
Co-Hosted by Brenda Foley and Will Rogers with Musical Director Raymond Cusick

The ASU School of Music joins ASU Kerr in presenting free, informative and entertaining concerts that feature performances and commentary by faculty members and graduate and doctoral students. We encourage patrons to contribute a suggested donation of $5 and bring a can of food or sealed personal item to be donated to Vista del Camino Food Bank. Branded Degenerate: Voices Silenced has music related to the holocaust.

Featuring: Amanda DeMaris, soprano; Christopher Creviston, saxophone; Hannah Creviston, piano

Tea and refreshments are served in the Crescendo Garden at 9:30 a.m., programs begin at 10:30.

ASU Music joins ASU Kerr in presenting a concert featuring Amanda DeMaris, soprano; Christopher Creviston, saxophone; and Hannah Creviston, piano.

The Kissing Curse
2022-09-29 19:00 - 2022-10-01 19:00
B3 Theater presents “The Kissing Curse” Three nights: Thursday, September 29, Friday, September 30, and Saturday, October 1

The Kissing Curse by Kirt Shineman is a psychological terror full-length play based on historical events. Something beyond comprehension is happening to a Black patient in a mental hospital in Texas, and the head nurse of the Black ward is his last resort. Dr. Packchanian is on a mission for the National Institute of Health to find the cause of chagas disease. When he arrives at his host hospital in Austin, Nurse Elinor accepts him without question. But after she discovers the doctor’s methods, Nurse Elinor decides he’s a monster. With all her cunning, Nurse Elinor tries to stop Packchanian’s experiments. Based on real events, the research into the kissing bug and chagas disease reveals more about the pathology of racism than the pathology of parasites.

B3 Theater presents “The Kissing Curse,” a psychological play based on historical events.

Broadway Curious: Stage Mother Earth
2022-09-23 19:30 - 21:30
Co-Hosted by Brenda Foley and Will Rogers with Musical Director Raymond Cusick

Part cabaret, part talk show, BROADWAY CURIOUS is our chance to see the world through musical theatre-colored glasses.

Hosts Brenda Foley and Will Rogers use musical theater to spark curiosity about everyday topics from food to the environment in this innovative musical cabaret/talk show and newsletter. Join us for live performances by the Valley’s top talent and conversations with the area’s most engaging minds.

To kick off our season, we bring Mother Earth center stage where she belongs. The music spans from musical theater standards to work in development, and the conversation will bridge early nature worship to space travel and explore how theater and science intersect.

Featured Guests:Savannah Alfred, Rachel Bowditch, Daniela Crispo, Lance Gharavi, Simone Sanchez with a special treat from writer/lyricist/composer G. Victoria Campbell

Come early for the bar and the opportunity to chat with the artists before the show, then indulge in our digital newsletter with content from the live show as well as additional goodies to satisfy and pique your curiosity.

Cash bar opens at 7 p.m.

Coffee at Kerr: Falling and the Rising
2022-09-21 09:30 - 11:30
Co-presented with Arizona OperaRefreshments provided by Renegade Coffee Company, renegadecoffeeaz.com

Coffee events are part of a series of free, informal presentations featuring Arizona Opera performers and guest musicians. We encourage patrons to contribute a suggested donation of $5 and bring a can of food or sealed personal item to be donated to Vista del Camino Food Bank.

Coffee and refreshments are served by Renegade Coffee in the Crescendo Garden at 9:30 am. Events begin at 10:30 am.

This event is also livestreamed and archived for future viewing. Visit youtube.com/asukerr to subscribe, watch live and see past programs.

Tumbledown House
2022-09-16 19:30 - 21:30
Tumbledown House is tough to pin down. Their sound is saloon jazz, parlop pop and modern speakeasy all tumbled into a tight band, driven by smoky-voiced singer Gillian Wolfe and guitarist, harmony vocalist and producer Tyler Ryan Miller.

After releasing three full-length albums of original songs, the band released a collection of works originally published in the early 1920s to celebrate the new decade and the great Black artists and composers that inspired generations of sounds. The EP is called “Adoring the Roaring ‘20s” and features songs made famous by Bessie Smith, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday and the show “Boardwalk Empire.” Tumbledown House will perform selections from the album. Share in this swinging good time for our first concert of the 2022-2023 season!
