Prior Performing Arts Center

Shiny-Shop Workshop with Birgit Straehle
2025-06-28 10:00 - 12:00 (America/New_York) | Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Art Gallery, 1 College St, Worcester, MA, 01610, United States
Shiny-Shop with Birgit Straehle

Metal Leaf Application Workshop

Create your own Wunderkammer Object in this Metal Leaf Application workshop from Room of Wonders curator Birgit Straehle. Free and open to the public for patrons ages 10 and up, read more about this amazing opportunity below:

Bring Your Own Object
In preparation for the workshop: think about and bring your own individual wondrous object that you’d like to “glow-up.” Please choose an object with a firm surface (not made of paper, etc.) and please limit the size of your object to 4 inches in both directions. Note: the flatter the object, the easier the application process. Oyster shells are available for patrons unable to bring objects of their own. Please find examples of objects in the image below.

Timeline
Participants are encouraged to by 10 a.m. to begin application of glue. With up to 30 minutes of glue cure time, participants can enjoy their visit to the gallery during this time. Application of metal leaf comes next, which Birgit will demonstrate on one oyster shell, followed by a brush-in technique. Finally, the workshop will end before noon to allow for a transition to the next gallery event: a Luthier Talk and Soundkammer Performance from Dan Hunt, Charles Ketter & Nynez Lopez.

Details

Saturday, June 2810 a.m.-12 p.m.

Price

Free Entry

Venue

Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Art Gallery3rd Floor, The Prior Performing Arts Center

Artist Talk and Soundkammer Performance: Michael Rosenstein and Stella Silbert
2025-06-27 14:00 - 16:00 | Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Art Gallery, 1 College St, Worcester, MA, 01610, United States
Artist Talk & Soundkammer Performance

Michael Rosenstein constructed the 4-channel sound piece “Found Sound for Wunderkammer” for the Room of Wonders exhibit at the Cantor Art Gallery. For the piece, he utilized processed, manipulated, and distressed field recordings captured with a variety of DIY microphones and sensors. For his artist talk, he will discuss his approach to exploring and capturing the world of found sound, including a demonstration of some of the tools he utilizes. The talk will be followed by a series of improvisations where he and Stella Silbert will interact with the 4-channel sound piece.

About The Artists

Michael Rosenstein
Michael Rosenstein is an improviser based in New England. He collaborates in constantly evolving settings drawing on strategies of spontaneous interaction and collective structures. His work explores the mutable interplay of acoustic instrumentation, electronics, multiphonics, abraded and degraded recordings, and feedback within performance spaces.
Visit his SoundCloud and Bandcamp sites for more information.

Stella Silbert
Stella Silbert is an improviser, audio editor, curator, cook, field recordist, disorganizer of sounds and organizer of multi-disciplinary gatherings in Western Massachusetts.
Visit her website for more information.

Details

Friday, June 272-4 p.m.
Gallery open 12-5 p.m.

Price

Free Entry

Venue

Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Art Gallery3rd Floor, The Prior Performing Arts Center

Look Into The Wunderkammer: Curator's Talk with Birgit Straehle
2025-06-26 16:00 - 17:00 | Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Art Gallery, 1 College St, Worcester, MA, 01610, United States
Look Into The Wunderkammer: Curator’s Talk with Birgit Straehle

Meet Birgit Straehle, independent guest curator, for an insider’s look at Room ofWonders: A Worcester Wunderkammer.
Birgit has been a resident of Worcester for almost 20 years. Besides her institutional commitment as paintings and frame conservator at the Worcester Art Museum (2006-2022) she always had a strong connection to local art, various local institutions and many individuals who make Worcester original and wonderful as it is. As a curator she produced Golden Contemporaries: The Many Meanings of Gold (Sprinkler Factory, 2018) and Aura: Radiant-Illuminated-Iconic (White Room, 2023) among other co-curated exhibitions at Sprinkler Factory, Museum of Worcester, Worcester Center for Crafts and White Room since 2013.
Patrons who arrive early may join us for All About That Smile, a gallery talk from Bill Wallace from the Museum of Worcester at 3 p.m. in the gallery.

Details

Thursday, June 264-5 p.m.
Gallery open 12-5 p.m.

Price

Free Entry

Venue

Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Art Gallery3rd Floor, The Prior Performing Arts Center

Gallery Talk: All About That Smile with Bill Wallace
2025-06-26 15:00 - 16:00 | Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Art Gallery, 1 College St, Worcester, MA, 01610, United States
All About That Smile with Bill Wallace

The one and only original Smiley Face. A Worcester Wonder.
Join us in the Cantor Art Gallery on Thursday, June 26 at 3 p.m. and smile back at Bill Wallace, executive Director of the Museum of Worcester, and Smiley Face, who has spearheaded global happiness since 1964. Expect lots of insider stories, fun facts and shared happiness as Bill gives our patrons an introduction about Smiley’s history!
Stick around for Look Into The Wunderkammer, a Curator’s Talk from Birgit Straehle in the gallery at 4 p.m. that same afternoon.

Details

Thursday, June 263-4 p.m.
Gallery open 12-5 p.m.

Price

Free Entry

Venue

Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Art Gallery3rd Floor, The Prior Performing Arts Center

Room of Wonders: A Worcester Wunderkammer
2025-06-11 - 2025-07-17 | Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Art Gallery, 1 College St, Worcester, MA, 01610, United States
Cantor Art Gallery

Room of Wonders: A Worcester Wunderkammer

Room of Wonders is the first in a series of annual summer exhibitions that foregrounds and celebrates the Worcester arts community at the Cantor Art Gallery. Each year, a Worcester-based arts professional is invited to curate an exhibition of their choosing with the objective of focusing on the local community.
In this inaugural show, Birgit Straehle—co-owner of The White Room celebration hall and gallery and formerly co-manager of the iconic Sprinkler Factory—invites nearly 30 creatives to participate in this group exhibition. Each artist is based in or has a connection to Worcester, celebrating the individuality and scope of the talent in our community.
The word Wunderkammer translates to “cabinet of curiosity,” which refers to the mid-16th century European tradition of displaying personal collections of fascinating and unusual objects. The collections typically included all manner of scientific specimens, natural phenomena, artworks, antiquities, and anthropological artifacts. Straehle updates the tradition in a uniquely Worcester Wunderkammer that includes the spoken word, hand-crafted musical instruments, auditory experiences, fashion, and other works of art and wonder.

Featured Artists

Abu MwenyeAlice DillonAmanda Kidd-KestlerAndrew HainesBeryl RosenblumCaelum LamCesar RodriguesCliff HuntDan HuntEric Cruze

Eva RosenstielHarvey BallJames DyeJennessa BurksJesse Kenas-CollinsJosé CriolloKatie DyeKristen KiefferLouie DespresMadeleine Lord

Michael HacheyMichael RosensteinThe CreativesThe Poet’s CauldronTim DoyleTim GannonTim JohnsonTomo SakaiTrevor Toney

Exhibition Events

Artist/Curator Talks:Michael Hachey | 12-2 p.m.Cesar Rodrigues | 3-4 p.m.Wednesday, July 16 | 12-5 p.m.

Room of Wonders Closing ReceptionThursday, July 17 | 5-7 p.m.

Special Summer Hours

Wednesdays, Thursdays, & Fridays | 12-5 p.m.

Details

June 11-July 17, 2025

Price

Free Entry

Venue

Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Art Gallery3rd Floor, The Prior Performing Arts Center

Rhiannon Hurst ’25: Jazz Selections
2025-06-06 15:00 | HOLY CROSS COMMUNITY – Luth Concert Hall –, 1 College St, Worcester, MA, 01610, United States
Rhiannon Hurst ’25

Fenwick Scholar, Brooks Music Scholar

Jazz Selections

Buy Tickets: Fri Jun 6 @ 3 p.m.

Rhiannon Hurst ’25, Brooks Scholar, presents an afternoon of jazz selections drawing from her Fenwick Scholar project celebrating underrepresented voices in jazz.
At Holy Cross, Hurst has pursued a music major alongside an environmental studies and philosophy double minor, while also attending the world-renowned New England Conservatory for voice lessons.
Audiences will be wowed by this presentation from one of the College’s brightest musical talents and uplifted by Hurst’s sterling example of what it means to center the arts in a liberal arts education.

Details

June 6, 20253 p.m.

Price

Tickets $15

Venue

Luth Concert HallThe Prior Performing Arts Center

The Seventh Annual Gregorian Vespers
2025-05-05 18:00 | DEPARTMENT OF MUSIC – St. Joseph Memorial Chapel –, 1 College St, Worcester, MA, 01610, United States
Department of Music

The Seventh Annual Gregorian Vespers

For its seventh year, the Chant Class of Professor Daniel DiCenso, Department of Music, will sing Gregorian Vespers under the direction of Laurence Rosania, Director of Liturgy and Music. Over 30 students will bring to life this ancient and haunting music in the majestic acoustics of the Chapel during its 101st year! All are warmly invited to share in this evocative experience of sound and spirit.
Live stream the performance at the link below:

Details

May 5, 20256:00 PM

Price

Free Entry

Venue

St. Joseph Memorial Chapel

Holy Cross Wind Ensemble
2025-05-04 15:00 | DEPARTMENT OF MUSIC – Luth Concert Hall –, 1 College St, Worcester, MA, 01610, United States
Department of Music

Holy Cross Wind Ensemble

The Holy Cross Wind Ensemble will present a concert showcasing new and diverse music for wind ensemble composed in the 2020s.
The program will feature works that explore various genres and themes, highlighting underrepresented voices. Highlights include Before the Dawn by 14-year-old Liliana Alarcon, a mysterious and epic composition, and Golden Embers by deaf and neurodivergent composer Tyler Mazone.
Additional pieces like Michaele Fernández’s vibrant La Fiera Asturiana and Satoshi Yagisawa’s lush Amaranthus further illustrate the exciting and diverse world of recent works for wind ensemble.

Details

May 4, 20253:00 PM

Price

Free Entry

Venue

Luth Concert HallThe Prior Performing Arts Center

Rhiannon Hurst ’25 | Fenwick Scholar Recital
2025-05-03 14:00 | DEPARTMENT OF MUSIC – Luth Concert Hall –, 1 College St, Worcester, MA, 01610, United States
Department of Music

Rhiannon Hurst ’25

Fenwick Scholar

Rhiannon’s Fenwick Project, “Vanguard for a New Age: Artivism through Jazz,” aims to uplift the voices of women and nonbinary individuals throughout Jazz history. This recital will function as an actualization of her research, featuring jazz selections from the project album and will include reflections and songs performed during her musical journey here at HC. The concert aims to bring together a multigenerational, broad community through music.
This performance will include her students from OpporTUNEiety (Lincoln Street Elementary), professionals from the Boston area, Holy Cross students, and Holy Cross faculty.

Details

May 3, 20252:00 PM

Price

Free Entry

Venue

Luth Concert HallThe Prior Performing Arts Center

Spring Dance Concert
2025-05-01 19:00 | DEPARTMENT OF THEATRE & DANCE – Luth Concert Hall –, 1 College St, Worcester, 01610, United States
Department of Theatre & Dance

Spring Dance Concert

The students from the College’s dance classes will demonstrate what they have learned in an exuberant sample of pieces representing a dazzling variety of styles and genres. This spring tradition has become more varied and exciting with each new year, with course offerings that include Hip-Hop, Modern, Breakin’, Afro-Haitian Dance, and Ballet.
Assembled by our gifted dance professors: Jimena Bermejo, Audra Carabetta, Taylor Travassos-Lomba and Joanne Caidor.
Join us on May 1 for two performances (7 and 9 p.m.), each with free entry and general admission seating.

Details

May 1 at 7 p.m. & 9 p.m.

Price

Free Entry

Venue

Luth Concert HallThe Prior Performing Arts Center

Chamber Music Recital
2025-05-01 18:00 | DEPARTMENT OF MUSIC – Brooks Concert Hall, 1 College St., Worcester, MA, 01610, United States
Department of Music

Chamber Music Recital

This recital features the students who participate in the College’s Chamber Music course, who will perform the works they have studied during the semester.

Details

May 1, 20256:00 PM

Price

Free Entry

Venue

Brooks Concert Hall

Holy Cross Jazz Ensemble
2025-04-29 20:00 | DEPARTMENT OF MUSIC – Brooks Concert Hall, 1 College St., Worcester, MA, 01610, United States
Department of Music

Holy Cross Jazz Ensemble

The Holy Cross Jazz Ensemble will perform American Jazz standards under the direction of Mike Monaghan.

Details

April 29, 20258:00 PM

Price

Free Entry

Venue

Brooks Concert Hall

Holy Cross Chapel Artist Series | David Jonies
2025-04-29 12:40 | DEPARTMENT OF MUSIC – St. Joseph Memorial Chapel –, 1 College St, Worcester, MA, 01610, United States
Department of Music

David Jonies

Holy Cross Chapel Artist Series

Organist & Director of Music | Holy Name Cathedral, Chicago, IL
German organist David Jonies will present a program that includes works of Bach, Cabanilles and Widor.

Details

April 29, 202512:40 PM

Price

Free Entry

Venue

St. Joseph Memorial Chapel

End of Semester Student Recitals
2025-04-25 16:00 | DEPARTMENT OF MUSIC – Brooks Concert Hall, 1 College St., Worcester, MA, 01610, United States
Department of Music

End of Semester Student Recitals

Music students who participated in the College’s private lesson program perform the works they have studied during the semester.

Details

April 25, 20254:00 PM

Price

Free Entry

Venue

Brooks Concert Hall

Holy Cross Orchestra & College Choir | Academic Conference Concert
2025-04-23 20:00 | DEPARTMENT OF MUSIC – Luth Concert Hall –, 1 College St, Worcester, MA, 01610, United States
Department of Music

Holy Cross Orchestra & College Choir

Acadmic Conference Concert

The Holy Cross Orchestra & College Choir join forces for their annual Academic Conference Concert in the Luth Concert Hall at The Prior.

Details

April 23, 20258:00 PM

Price

Free Entry

Venue

Luth Concert HallThe Prior Performing Arts Center

Everything/Nothing | 2025 Senior Studio Concentration Seminar Exhibition
2025-04-23 - 2025-05-23 | DEPARTMENT OF VISUAL ARTS – Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Art Gallery, 1 College St, Worcester, MA, 01610, United States
Department of Visual Arts & Cantor Art Gallery

Everything/Nothing

2025 Senior Studio Concentration Seminar Exhibition

The Cantor Art Gallery and the Department of Visual Arts are honored to present Everything/Nothing, an exhibition of the work of studio art majors from the College of the Holy Cross. Throughout their senior year, the students have participated in a rigorous capstone seminar, honing their artistic practice through independent work and experimentation.
Featuring work by Jane Doyle, Peyton Ellinghaus, Aine Frisch, Jackson MacLeod, Serena McCarthy, Alex Raper, Marley Rehm, and Isaac Trius.

Exhibition Events

Academic Conference Presentations by Senior Studio MajorsWednesday, April 23 | 12:30 – 2:30 p.m.
Opening ReceptionThursday, April 24 | 5:30 – 7 p.m.

Details

April 23-May 23, 2025

Price

Free Entry

Venue

Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Art GalleryThe Prior Performing Arts Center

Holy Cross Chapel Artist Series | Loreto Aramendi
2025-04-22 19:00 | DEPARTMENT OF MUSIC – St. Joseph Memorial Chapel –, 1 College St, Worcester, MA, 01610, United States
Department of Music

Loreto Aramendi

Holy Cross Chapel Artist Series

Organist | Santa Maria del Coro, San Sebastian, Spain
Internationally renowned organist Maestra Loreto Aramendi will perform her first recital on the Taylor and Boody organ at Holy Cross.

Details

April 22, 20257:00 PM

Price

Free Entry

Venue

St. Joseph Memorial Chapel

Lunchtime Concert Series | The Late 20th Century Piano Music of Japan: Contrasts in Modern
2025-04-16 12:00 | DEPARTMENT OF MUSIC – The Beehive –, 1 College St, Worcester, MA, 01610, United States
Department of Music

The Late 20th Century Piano Music of Japan: Contrasts in Modern

Lunchtime Concert Series

Ulysses Loken, piano
The Messiaen-influenced harmonic and gestural language of Toru Takemitsu (1930-1996) is set against the elegant modal counterpoint of Takashi Yoshimatsu (b. 1953), with influences of Bach, Satie, jazz, and progressive rock.
Takemitsu’s Rain Tree Sketch (1982) and Rain Tree Sketch II – In Memoriam Olivier Messiaen (1992), written in his mature compositional language, melds western classical music with Japanese aesthetics and traditions. The concept of ma, of empty space, influences the structure and sound of these pieces.
Yoshimatsu describes the Pleiades Dances IV (1992) as “a new form of preludes for the modern piano.” This set is a study of pedal points, the subtle counterpoint dancing around the fixed notes.

Details

April 16, 202512:00 PM

Price

Free Entry

Venue

The BeehiveThe Prior Performing Arts Center

Holy Cross Chapel Artist Series | Jessica Nguyen, Holy Cross Organ Scholar
2025-04-15 19:00 | DEPARTMENT OF MUSIC – St. Joseph Memorial Chapel –, 1 College St, Worcester, MA, 01610, United States
Department of Music

Jessica Nguyen, Holy Cross Organ Scholar ‘28

Holy Cross Chapel Artist Series

Holy Cross Organ Scholar Jessica Nguyen (Class of 2028) will perform her first recital at Holy Cross featuring works by Da Grigny, Mendelssohn, Bohm, and Bach.

Details

April 15, 20257:00 PM

Price

Free Entry

Venue

St. Joseph Memorial Chapel

CANCELED: Bala Brass Quartet
2025-04-14 19:30 | DEPARTMENT OF MUSIC – Luth Concert Hall –, 1 College St, Worcester, MA, 01610, United States
Department of Music

Bala Brass Quartet

THIS PRESENTATION HAS BEEN CANCELED.
The award-winning Bala Chamber Brass presents their second concert of the season, featuring two new works for brass quintet by Holy Cross faculty composers Chris Arrell and Matthew Jaskot. Other pieces include Morley Calvert’s Suite from the Monteregian Hills, and Robert Bradshaw’s “Right Then. Same Time Tomorrow?”

Details

April 14, 20257:30 PM

Price

Free Entry

Venue

Luth Concert HallThe Prior Performing Arts Center

Holy Cross Chamber Singers
2025-04-13 17:00 | DEPARTMENT OF MUSIC – St. Joseph Memorial Chapel –, 1 College St, Worcester, MA, 01610, United States
Department of Music

Holy Cross Chamber Singers

Chamber Singers presents a program of music centered around Holy Week.
Composers have been inspired throughout history by this most spiritually charged week in the Christian liturgical calendar. Musical selections reflect the solemnity and contemplation inspired by the biblical texts describing the events preceding the crucifixion and include settings of Miserere mei Deus, Ubi Caritas, Wondrous Love, Crucifixus, and the celebrated Easter Cantata by J.S. Bach, Christ lag in Todes Banden.

Details

April 13, 20255:00 PM

Price

Free Entry

Venue

St. Joseph Memorial Chapel

Piano Studio Recital
2025-04-08 20:00 | DEPARTMENT OF MUSIC – Brooks Concert Hall, 1 College St., Worcester, MA, 01610, United States
Department of Music

Piano Studio Recital

Join us for an inspiring evening of diverse repertoire performed by the talented students of the College of the Holy Cross Piano Department.

Details

Apr 8, 20258:00 PM

Price

Free Entry

Venue

Brooks Concert Hall

Irish Music Concert | Diarmuid Ó Meachair & Friends
2025-04-08 14:30 | DEPARTMENT OF MUSIC – Brooks Concert Hall, 1 College St., Worcester, MA, 01610, United States
Department of Music

Irish Music Concert: Diarmuid Ó Meachair & Friends

Diarmuid Ó Meachair (button accordion & melodeon) performs with friends Seamus Noonan (flute), Joe de Georgeo & Ellie Egan (fiddle), and Simon Lace (guitar).

Details

Apr 8, 20252:30 PM

Price

Free Entry

Venue

Brooks Concert Hall

Working Writers Series: Michelle Nijhuis
2025-04-03 19:30 | CREATIVE WRITING PROGRAM – Rehm Library in Smith Hall –, 1 College St, Worcester, MA, 01610, United States
Creative Writing Program

Michelle Nijhuis

Working Writers Series

Michelle Nijhuis is the author of Beloved Beasts: Fighting for Life in an Age of Extinction. She is a contributing editor of High Country News and a regular contributor to The New York Review of Books. She has reported on science and the environment for National Geographic, The Atlantic, and The New York Times Magazine.

Details

April 3, 20257:30 PM

Price

Free Entry

Venue

Rehm LibrarySmith Hall, 3rd Floor

Enron by Lucy Prebble
2025-04-03 - 2025-04-13 | DEPARTMENT OF THEATRE & DANCE – Boroughs Theatre –, 1 College St, Worcester, MA, 01610, United States
Department of Theatre & Dance

Enron

by Lucy Prebble

Buy Tickets: April 3-13

How much is an idea worth? For the American energy company Enron, it was worth billions . . . until it wasn’t. When CEO Kenneth Lay gives golden boy Jeff Skilling free rein at Enron, the company soars to new financial heights, while whiz kid Andy Fastow struggles to keep the bubble from bursting. If more is always better and rules are only for everyday folks, how could they possibly lose?
The British playwright Lucy Prebble’s darkly comic take on real-life events shows how ambition, delusion and boy’s-club insiderism led to one of the biggest financial scandals of the new millennium.
Scott Malia directs.

EVENING PRESENTATIONS

THU APR 3 @ 7:30 PMFRI APR 4 @ 7:30 PMSAT APR 5 @ 7:30 PMTHU APR 10 @ 7:30 PMFRI APR 11 @ 7:30 PMSAT APR 12 @ 7:30 PM

MATINEE PRESENTATIONS

SUN APR 6 @ 2:00 PMSUN APR 13 @ 2:00 PM

Details

April 3, 4, 5, 10, 11, and 12 at 7:30 PMApril 6 and 13 at 2:00 PM

Price

$15 Public | $10 Holy Cross Community

Contact the box office at priorboxoffice@holycross.edu for assistance with Card to Culture ticket purchases.

Venue

Boroughs TheatreThe Prior Performing Arts Center

Brooks & Organ Scholars Concert
2025-04-01 20:00 | DEPARTMENT OF MUSIC – Brooks Concert Hall, 1 College St., Worcester, MA, 01610, United States
Department of Music

Brooks Scholars Concert

The Brooks and Organ Scholarships are four-year, full tuition scholarships offered to a music major or double major in Music and another discipline. These students demonstrate outstanding accomplishment in their area of musical study as well as significant academic achievement.
The Department of Music is proud to present this concert featuring the Brooks and Organ Scholars, its most accomplished student artists.

Details

April 1, 20258:00 PM

Price

Free Entry

Venue

Brooks Concert Hall

Sphinx Virtuosi | American Form/s
2025-03-30 16:00 | PRIOR PRESENTS – Luth Concert Hall –, 1 College St, Worcester, MA, 01610, United States
Prior Presents 2024–25

Sphinx Virtuosi

American Form/s

A co-production with Music Worcester, Inc.

Buy Tickets: Sun Mar 30, 2025 @ 4:00 PM

Described by the Washington Post as musicians who demonstrate “immeasurable power, unwavering command and soulful beauty,” the Sphinx Virtuosi is a dynamic and inspiring chamber orchestra. It serves as the flagship performing entity of the Sphinx Organization, a Detroit-based leading social justice non-profit dedicated to transforming lives through the power of diversity in the arts. Comprised of 18 accomplished Black and Latinx artists, a critical aim of the Sphinx Virtuosi is to evolve and transform the face of classical music through artistic excellence, pioneering programming, and impassioned community engagement. As a bilingual ensemble, these artist-citizens break down existing barriers to foster connections with the broader community.

This co-production with celebrated Worcester arts presenter Music Worcester features American Form/s, a journey through classically-framed infusions of soul, bluegrass, jazz, blues, and rag.

“With a burst of new attention to phrases like diversity, equity and inclusion over the past two years, Sphinx’s steady, patient work has come to seem prescient.”
— The New York Times

Details

March 30, 20254:00 PM

Price

$55 | $45 | $35Prices are subject to change without notice

Venue

Luth Concert HallThe Prior Performing Arts Center

About The Artists

About The Sphinx Organization
The Sphinx Organization is dedicated to transforming lives through the power of the arts and has reached more than 100 million people worldwide. Focused on increasing representation in classical music and celebrating excellence, Sphinx programs serve beginner students, seasoned classical music professionals, cultural entrepreneurs, and artistic administrators by addressing the systemic lack of access within Black and Latino communities.
Based in Detroit, Michigan, with global reach, Sphinx envisions a day in which our art form reflects our greater society, where every young person has the opportunity to express themselves and learn classical music, where audiences reflect the breadth of our community, and where leadership – on stage and off – includes all deserving voices.
Read more about Sphinx’s programs at www.sphinxmusic.org.

About The Sphinx Virtuosi
The Sphinx Virtuosi is a dynamic and inspiring professional self-conducted chamber orchestra and serves as the flagship performing entity of the Sphinx Organization – the leading social justice non-profit dedicated to transforming lives through the power of diversity in the arts. Comprised of 18 accomplished Black and Latino artists who reflect the highest level of musicianship in America, a critical aim of the Sphinx Virtuosi is to evolve the breadth and impact of classical music through artistic excellence, pioneering programming, and impassioned community engagement. Its members serve as cultural ambassadors for audiences and communities around the United States and abroad.
Since 2004, the Sphinx Virtuosi’s concerts have been presented by leading arts organizations, including annual return visits to Carnegie Hall as an established highlight of the fall season. Frequently selling out venues, the ensemble has garnered effusive accolades, including from The New York Times, that has described the group as “top-notch…more essential at this moment than ever…a vibrant, assured performance” and The Washington Post that wrote “true to their name, the Sphinx Virtuosi call up the vision of an iconic mythological feline with its immeasurable power, unwavering command, and soulful beauty.” Their debut album, Songs for Our Times, was released on Deutsche Grammophon in July 2023 and represents the rich history of the Sphinx Organization and the vibrant future of classical music by centering the artistry of extraordinary composers and artistic visionaries.
Their 2024-25 season includes performances for Washington Performing Arts and the John F. Kennedy Center, the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, the Symphony Center Presents in Chicago, IL, and a return performance at the New World Symphony in Miami.
Heralded for its kaleidoscopically varied repertoire and bold thematic programming, Sphinx Virtuosi concerts give prominence to historically excluded composers such as Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, Alberto Ginastera, Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson, Florence Price, Heitor Villa-Lobos, and George Walker. In an effort to expand its repertoire and engage new audiences, the ensemble commissions new works annually. Commissions have included major new works from Michael Abels, Terence Blanchard, Valerie Coleman, Xavier Foley, Ricardo Herz, Jimmy Lopez, Jessie Montgomery, Daniel Bernard Roumain, and Carlos Simon.
Members of the Sphinx Virtuosi have performed as soloists with major American orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic and the Cleveland, Detroit, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Seattle, and Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestras. Members also hold professional orchestral and academic positions. The Sphinx Virtuosi’s community engagement initiatives regularly extend beyond masterclasses and workshops to members leading community empowerment initiatives within arts organizations and connecting with other Sphinx programming to further the mission of achieving excellence through inclusive programming. As a bilingual ensemble, these artist-citizens frequently break down existing barriers empowering the artform to connect with the broader community. During the pandemic, the ensemble found creative ways to connect with audiences and communities virtually through performances, panel discussions, masterclasses, Q&A sessions, and more reaching over 30,000 people across 20 organizations.
The Sphinx Virtuosi has collaborated with major artists such as Terence Blanchard, Denyce Graves, Sweet Honey in the Rock, Damien Sneed, Will Liverman, J’Nai Bridges, and Davóne Tines, among others. Outside of the classical realm, its musicians have also worked with leading international artists such as Beyoncé and Jay-Z and made high-profile appearances, including on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and the broadcast of the 2022 GRAMMY Awards.
Sphinx Virtuosi Tours are made possible through the support of Robert F. Smith, JPMorgan Chase, and the National Endowment for the Arts. Learn more at www.sphinxmusic.org/sphinx-virtuosi.

About percussionist Josh Jones

A native of Chicago, Illinois, Josh Jones started hitting things at age 2 and received his first drum set at age 3. Josh began his formal studies in percussion with the Percussion Scholarship Program under the direction of Chicago Symphony member Patricia Dash, and Chicago Lyric Opera member Douglas Waddell. He earned his Bachelor’s in Music from DePaul School of music and was the orchestra fellow of both the Detroit and Pittsburgh symphonies. In 2022, Josh joined the Grant Park Festival Orchestra as Principal Percussionist. Josh has been featured at Carnegie Hall, on radio and television, and has had two short documentaries made about his musical development and experience. He also authored a percussion method book series, “Spatial Studies for Hitting Things”, and writes musical and philosophical blogs on his website, drummojo.com. Josh really enjoys giving back to the community as well as mentoring young musicians and traveling.

About co-presenter Music Worcester
Celebrating More Than 160 Years of Music and Culture
Music Worcester, Inc., originally known as the Worcester County Music Association, for years ran the Worcester Music Festival. Current programs reflect the merger in the mid-1990s of the Festival with International Artists Series and the MA Jazz Festival. Great performances by world-renowned orchestras and guest soloists, chamber music, ballet, world music and dance, jazz and choral masterworks are hallmarks of Music Worcester’s annual operations.
Multiple educational programs currently serve youth and families of greater Worcester: masterclasses by visiting artists, Tickets to Opportunity, Festival Singers, in-schools residencies, and the Young Artist Competitions. Integral to Music Worcester’s annual operations, The Worcester Chorus has been part of the organization since the very first concert season in 1858.
Learn more at MUSICWORCESTER.ORG

Explore More

Holy Cross College Choir
2025-03-29 16:00 | DEPARTMENT OF MUSIC – Luth Concert Hall –, 1 College St, Worcester, MA, 01610, United States
Department of Music

Holy Cross College Choir

The Holy Cross College Choir presents a program inspired by Gerald Gould’s poem “Wander-Thirst,” featuring a setting by Florence Price.
The program explores themes and images present in the poetry pertaining to a thirst for adventure, beautiful landscapes, and personal transformation through the lens of choral music by 20th-century American composers.
Celebrated selections include works by Moses Hogan, Rollo Dilworth, Margaret Bonds, and Morten Lauridsen.

Details

March 29, 20254:00 PM

Price

Free Entry

Venue

Luth Concert HallThe Prior Performing Arts Center

Sonya Ovrutsky Fensome Piano Recital
2025-03-28 20:00 | DEPARTMENT OF MUSIC – Luth Concert Hall –, 1 College St, Worcester, MA, 01610, United States
Department of Music

Sonya Ovrutsky Fensome Piano Recital

In this one-hour recital, pianist Sonya Ovrutsky Fensome invites you on a captivating journey through time and sound, exploring the evolution of The Prelude.
From its origins as a simple introduction in Bach’s day, to the rich and varied forms it has taken across centuries, this intimate program weaves together history and music, illuminating the transformations of the prelude from the Baroque to the present.
Through Sonya’s insightful commentary, you will be guided to a deeper, personal connection with the genre’s remarkable journey.

Details

March 28, 20258:00 PM

Price

Free Entry

Venue

Luth Concert HallThe Prior Performing Arts Center

Lunchtime Concert | Two Piano Mini-Extravaganza
2025-03-26 12:00 | DEPARTMENT OF MUSIC – Luth Concert Hall –, 1 College St, Worcester, MA, 01610, United States
Department of Music

Two Piano Mini Extravaganza

Lunchtime Concert Series

This concert celebrates the two remarkable Steinway D pianos housed in Luth Concert Hall with performances by Music Department students and faculty.

Details

March 26, 202512:00 PM

Price

Free Entry

Venue

Luth Concert HallThe Prior Performing Arts Center
