Events
Millikin Chamber Orchestra Workshop: Brahms
Millikin Chamber Orchestra Workshop: Brahms
September 26, 2018, 10:00am to 6:00pm
Millikin Chamber Orchestra Workshop: Brahms
Wed Sep 26, 2018, 10:00am-6pm | Kirkland Fine Arts Center
A day dedicated to exploring the music of Brahms. Selected high school orchestras rehearse with Millikin string students and Millikin applied faculty, receive expert coaching on repertoire, sightreading, and All-State excerpts. The day culminates in a public concert and scholarship presentations!
Free and open to the public | Kirkland Fine Arts Center
Concert: 5:00 PM
Brahms: Variation on a Theme of Haydn
Taikoza Drums
Taikoza Drums
September 29, 2018, 7:30pm
Roughly translated, Taiko means big drums-and that’s exactly what Taikoza brings. Big Drums, powerful rhythms, and electrifying, room-thumping energy. This exciting group draws from Japan’s rich tradition of music and performance to create a highly visual performance.
Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar
October 4, 2018, 7:30pm to October 7, 2018, 2:00pm
A sharp new retelling of the classic tragedy. A world is thrown into chaos when the ends justify the means. Who can one trust, when those in positions of power begin to fracture as democratic and dictatorial philosophies collide?
Homecoming 2018 Concert
Homecoming 2018 Concert
October 5, 2018, 7:30pm
The Annual Homecoming Concert will be held on Friday, October 5, 2018 at 7:30p.m. in the Kirkland Fine Arts Center. The Millikin Alumni Band and the Millikin Symphonic Wind Ensemble will be led by guest conductor Stacey (Larson) Dolan’92, and faculty tubist Tim Schachtschneider.
Millikin alumni return to campus to perform on the Kirkland stage along with the Millikin Symphonic Wind Ensemble. Join fellow alumni during Homecoming weekend 2018 for the annual performance of the Millikin Alumni Band.
Joel Kim Booster
Joel Kim Booster
October 6, 2018, 9:00pm
Joel Kim Booster is one of the hottest entertainers and stand-up comedians in Hollywood today! You may recognize him from Conan, Comedy Central, or truTV. He’s also a Millikin alum, one of the 2018 Forbes’ “30 Under 30” in entertainment, and on Esquire’s “10 Comedians to Watch” list! Don’t miss his return to campus during Homecoming at Millikin University!
MDSO Masterworks II:
MDSO Masterworks II:
October 20, 2018, 7:30pm
Celebrate the Bernstein Centenary with an evening of American art music! This program features all twentieth-century composers whose music together paints a vibrant portrait of what it means to be American. Selections include Charles Ives’s Variations on America as well as Bernstein’s overture to Candide and his Symphonic Dances from West Side Story. Faculty vocalist Ian Greenlaw joins the MDSO for Aaron Copland’s Old American Songs. Tickets will be available for purchase through the Kirkland Ticket Office beginning September 10th.
Percussion Halloween Concert
Percussion Halloween Concert
October 25, 2018, 7:30pm to October 26, 2018, 8:00pm
The Children's Museum of Illinois, WAND TV, and Pepsi proudly sponsor the 12th annual Halloween concerts performed by the Millikin Percussion Ensembles. This all-ages, family-friendly event of the season will take place in the infamously haunted Albert Taylor Theater on the campus of Millikin University. Guests are invited to join the ensemble in costume; best costume prizes will be awarded. All proceeds go toward MU students attending the Percussive Arts Society International Convention.
Carrie: The Musical
Carrie: The Musical
October 26, 2018, 7:30pm to November 10, 2018, 10:00pm
Carrie: The Musical
Pipe Dreams Studio Theatre, West Towne Square Plaza
1099 W. Wood St.
Decatur, IL 62522
John O'Conor
John O'Conor
October 27, 2018, 7:30pm
The Irish pianist and Steinway artist John O’Conor has been gathering wonderful reviews for his masterly playing for over forty years.
Millikin Chamber Orchestra Live with Film
Millikin Chamber Orchestra Live with Film
November 3, 2018, 2:00pm to 7:30pm
Transport yourself to the early days of film with the Millikin Chamber Orchestra providing live accompaniment to the classic 1921 silent film, The Kid!
Charlie Chaplin's The Kid
Charlie Chaplin's The Kid
November 3, 2018, 2:00pm
Transport yourself to the early days of film with the Millikin Chamber Orchestra providing live accompaniment to the classic 1921 silent film, The Kid. Tickets for this performance will be available starting September 10th!
Sister Act
Sister Act
November 9, 2018, 7:30pm to November 11, 2018, 2:00pm
After witnessing a violent crime, night club singer Deloris Van Cartier, takes refuge in a Philadelphia convent where she awaits a date in court to testify against the perpetrators. Her values, however, are put to the test when a group of Carmelite nuns unwittingly make their way into her heart and enlighten her on the power of faith and sisterhood.
Colors for Trombone and Wind Ensemble by Bert Apermont
Colors for Trombone and Wind Ensemble by Bert Apermont
November 15, 2018, 7:30pm
The Symphonic Wind Ensemble will perform with special guest Peter Steiner on trombone in their concert, Colors for Trombone and Wind Ensemble by Bert Apermont. The concert will take place on Thursday, November 15, 2018 at 7:30 p.m.in the Kirkland Fine Arts Center.
Vespers
Vespers
December 1, 2018, 2:00pm to December 2, 2018, 7:30pm
The 60th Annual Vespers will be held on Saturday, December 1 & Sunday, December 2 at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. on both days at the Kirkland Fine Arts Center. Ticket packages available for purchase beginning July 9th!
Solstice
Solstice
December 6, 2018, 7:30pm to December 8, 2018, 2:00pm
The technical expertise and creative imagination of our students and faculty are on display in a collection of original dance works designed to stimulate our audience’s understanding of art and the value it brings to our community.
Holiday Jazz
Holiday Jazz
December 8, 2018, 7:30pm
Celebrate the sounds of the season during the 11th anniversary of Holiday Jazz! The Millikin University Jazz Sextet features School of Music faculty Dave Burdick, Brian Justison, Chris Nolte, Perry Rask, Randy Reyman, and Steve Widenhofer returning once again to get you in the Holiday spirit with their jazzy swing on Holiday classics. Upbeat and soothing favorites are sure to make everyone in the family tap their toes and sing along.
Featuring vocal Jazz great and Millikin alum Angel Spiccia https://www.angelspiccia.com/, it will be a night to remember!
Advent Service
Advent Service
December 9, 2018, 10:30am
Advent Service at Central Christian Church with
Millikin Chamber Orchestra
Sun Dec 9, 2018, 10:30am
Free and open to the public
Millikin Chamber Orchestra
Sun Dec 9, 2018, 10:30am
Free and open to the public
MDSO Masterworks III:
MDSO Masterworks III:
February 2, 2019, 7:30pm
Edward Elgar’s clever Enigma Variations were dedicated “to my friends depicted within”: musical portrayals of his close companions in a series of unnamed orchestral sketches. Since its premiere in 1899, listeners have delighted in pairing friends with sketches and have been perplexed by Elgar’s enduring unresolved question: who, or what, is ‘The Enigma’? Millikin’s own friends, winners of the annual Concerto and Aria Competition, will make their solo debuts with the MDSO.
12 Moods of Jazz: Ask Your Mama
12 Moods of Jazz: Ask Your Mama
February 9, 2019, 7:30pm
The Langston Hughes Project features Hughes’ homage through music and verse to the struggle for artistic and social freedom of the 1960’s through poetry slam, a live jazz band, and multimedia showcase of the Harlem Renaissance. This is a truly one-of-a-kind event that should not be missed!
Synergy
Synergy
February 24, 2019, 4:00pm
The annual Synergy concert will take place on Sunday, February 24, 2019 at 4:00 p.m. in the Kirkland Fine Arts Center.
Percussion Ensemble Synergy showcases the distinctiveness of Millikin's interdisciplinary alliances through a collaborative concert featuring performance by student and faculty across the College of Fine Arts. This year's Synergy program will highlight musical influences on percussion music by cultures from around the world.
The Wolves
The Wolves
February 28, 2019, 7:30pm to March 3, 2019, 2:00pm
From the safety of their suburban stretch circle, a girls indoor soccer team navigates big questions and wages tiny battles with all the vim and vigor of a pack of adolescent warriors. A portrait of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for nine American girls who just want to score some goals. Finalist for the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
MDSO Masterworks IV:
MDSO Masterworks IV:
March 2, 2019, 7:30pm
Famed composer-conductor Gustav Mahler believed that “to write a symphony is, for me, to construct a world.” Hear the MDSO and the Millikin Union of Choirs recreate this musical process in their performance of Mahler’s Symphony No. 2. Known as the “Resurrection Symphony,” this monumental piece brings together over 300 performers to celebrate the profound beauty of afterlife and redemption.
Concertino for Percussion by David Gillingham
Concertino for Percussion by David Gillingham
March 3, 2019, 4:00pm
The Millikin Symphonic Wind Ensemble will perform Concertino for Percussion by David Gillingham on Sunday, March 3, 2019 at 4 p.m. in the Kirkland Fine Arts Center. They will be joined by current Millikin percussion faculty along with Millikin alumni Jeremy Brunk ’97, Aaron Villareal ’13, and recent graduate Justin DeBo ’18.
Each year we invite an outstanding high school band to share the stage with the Millikin Symphonic Wind Ensemble. This performance features the Morris (Illinois) Community Symphonic Winds, conducted by Millikin graduate Brock Feece ’15.
Chelsea Sunrise
Chelsea Sunrise
March 22, 2019, 7:30pm to March 24, 2019, 2:00pm
Dusty is a Toronto kid who loves the music of the 1960’s British Invasion – so much so that he models himself and his band after it. But his dreams of stardom are tested by the real world as he is forced to confront his ideas of love, loyalty, and authenticity in this exciting new musical.
MDSO: Sleeping Beauty with Alabama Ballet
MDSO: Sleeping Beauty with Alabama Ballet
March 30, 2019, 7:30pm to March 31, 2019, 2:00pm
Audiences young and young at heart will be enchanted by the artistry of the Alabama Ballet’s performance of Tchaikovsky’s Sleeping Beauty, accompanied by members of the MDSO. In this classic fairytale featured in film and bedtime stories for generations, Princess Aurora falls victim to an evil spell forcing her to sleep for a hundred years and to be awoken only by the kiss of a prince. In addition to its international prominence as a premiere classical and contemporary ballet company, the Alabama Ballet emphasizes dance education and community outreach as vital to its mission.
Pink Floyd Laser Spectacular
Pink Floyd Laser Spectacular
April 6, 2019, 7:30pm
The Pink Floyd Laser Spectacular has become a cult classic, presenting the music of Pink Floyd like you've never seen it before. Driven by cutting-edge effects, full-color lasers, Hi-Def multi-screen video projection, concert quality sound and lighting effects, your senses are confronted with an array of visual displays, choreographed to the soundtrack of this incredible experience. The Laser Spectacular brings together multiple generations of Pink Floyd fans.
Silvan Negrutiu Piano Recital
Silvan Negrutiu Piano Recital
April 7, 2019, 4:00pm
Millikin School of Music faculty member Silvan Negrutiu will perform a solo piano recital in the Kirkland Fine Arts Center on Sunday, April 7, 2019 at 4p.m. The program will include the world première performance of Robert Chumbley's Five Bagatelles for Piano (2018), commissioned by Millikin Piano Club and dedicated to Negrutiu.
HAIR
HAIR
April 11, 2019, 7:30pm to April 14, 2019, 2:00pm
In the shadow of the Vietnam War, a group of young hippies challenge the government’s role in drafting their friend into service while exploring their right to live in a world of peace, joy, and free love. Will burning a draft card ease the rage of a generation questioning their government’s ethical role in shaping the world? This is the dawning of the age of Aquarius.
MDSO Masterworks V:
MDSO Masterworks V:
April 13, 2019, 7:30pm
The MDSO brings its 2018-19 season of rhapsodic stories and American dreams to a brilliant close with Dvorak’s Symphony no. 9, “From the New World.” Inspired by the “wide open spaces” of the prairies and the rich sounds of folk music, Dvorak composed this symphony on commission from the New York Philharmonic to represent uniquely American music. MDSO principal cellist and faculty member Amy Catron will perform Argentine composer Osvaldo Golijov’s bold Azul, for cello, obbligato group and orchestra.
Almost 76 Trombones
Almost 76 Trombones
April 26, 2019, 7:30pm
Dr. Gray Shaw will join the Guest Trombone Choir and the Millikin Symphonic Wind Ensemble for their performance of Almost 76 Trombones on Friday, April 26, 2019 at 7:30p.m. in the Kirkland Fine Arts Center.
In his final Concert at Kirkland Fine Arts Center, Dr. Gary Shaw is joined by former trombone students, friends, colleagues, and the Millikin Wind Ensemble to celebrate 37 years of performing and teaching at Millikin University.
Percussion Ensemble Masterworks Concert
Percussion Ensemble Masterworks Concert
May 3, 2019, 7:30pm
The Percussion Ensemble Masterworks Concert will be held on Friday, May 3, 2019 in the Kirkland Fine Arts Center at 7:30 p.m.
Percussion Ensemble Masterworks showcases the depth and breadth of contemporary percussion chamber music through a program including the genre's leading composers. Senior music majors in percussion will be featured, as well as the world premiere of a new composition as supported by the Percussion Music Commissions Fund.
A World Premier Play
A World Premier Play
May 9, 2019, 7:30pm to May 11, 2019, 7:30pm
A World Premiere Play
(Title Yet to Be Determined)
The School of Theatre and Dance turns the tables on the traditional process of producing plays by casting a show before it is written. In collaboration with playwright Paul Shoulberg, this world premiere work will be written to feature the unique qualities of the cast and currently relevant themes.
Triplets of Belleville
Triplets of Belleville
May 11, 2019, 7:30pm
This much beloved animated film is screened as composer Benoit Charest leads Le Terrible Orchestre de Belleville in the live performance of his original score for the film, including his academy award nominated best song. In the spirit of the film, Le Terrible Orchestre de Belleville transports audiences to the exciting streets of 1920’s Paris and Le Jazz Hot.
Experience the Academy Award nominated French film the Triplets of Belleville as the story is told almost exclusively through visual arts! Rolling Stone called it a “bracing blend of silliness and sophistication,” while Roger Ebert proclaimed, “‘The Triplets of Belleville’ will have you walking out of the theater with a goofy grin on your face, wondering what just happened to you.”