Prior Performing Arts Center

Curiouser & Curiouser
2026-04-16 - 2026-04-26 | DEPARTMENT OF THEATRE & DANCE – Boroughs Theatre –, 1 College St, Worcester, MA, 01610, United States
Department of Theatre & Dance

Curiouser & Curiouser

Directed by Lynn Kremer
Inspired by Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll

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In Curiouser & Curiouser, adapted and directed by Lynn Kremer and featuring original music composed by Karl Hinze ’10, an elderly Alice recalls her childhood memories of hearing fantastic stories from Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, better known as Lewis Carroll. Images and text from Carroll’s beloved books swirl on stage in this original dance/drama that asks the question, “Who am I in this world?” Music, puppets, projections, and dance are integrated into a devised piece in collaboration with artists I Nyoman Catra, Kevin Fulton, Kurt Hultgren, Lucas Tahiruzzaman Syed, Qingan Zhang, BOOM! (Leah Smith and Michael Townsend), and Dramaturg Christian Krenek ’12.
This production from the Holy Cross Department of Theatre & Dance is sure to charm lovers of Carroll and audiences of all ages.

EVENING PRESENTATIONS

April 16 @ 7:30 p.m.April 17 @ 7:30 p.m.April 18 @ 7:30 p.m.April 23 @ 7:30 p.m.April 24 @ 7:30 p.m.April 25 @ 7:30 p.m.

MATINEE PRESENTATIONS

April 19 @ 2 p.m. [SOLD OUT]April 26 @ 2 p.m.

Details

April 16-18, 23-25 @ 7:30 p.m. April 19 & 26 @ 2 p.m.

Price

$15 Public | $10 Holy Cross Community

Venue

Boroughs TheatreThe Prior Performing Arts Center

Lunchtime Concert: Two Piano Mini-Extravagana
2026-04-15 12:00 (America/New_York) | Luth Concert Hall, 1 College St., Worcester, MA, 01610, United States
Department of Music

Lunchtime Concert: Two Piano Mini-Extravaganza

This concert celebrates the two remarkable Steinway pianos housed in The Prior’s Luth Concert Hall with performances by students and faculty of the Holy Cross Music Department.

Details

April 15, 202612 p.m.

Price

Free entry

Venue

Luth Concert HallPrior Performing Arts Center

Student Piano Recital
2026-04-09 19:00 | Brooks Concert Hall, 1 College St., Worcester, MA, 01610, United States
Department of Music

Student Piano 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

April 9, 20267 p.m.

Price

Free Entry

Venue

Brooks Concert Hall

Sustainability, Environment and the Arts: Anna McNeary & Victor Pacheco
2026-03-31 12:00 | Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Art Gallery, 1 College St, Worcester, MA, 01610, United States
Cantor Art Gallery

Sustainability, Environment and the Arts

Anna McNeary & Victor Pacheco

Carly Thibodeau, Director of the Office of Sustainability and Jordan Lovejoy, Assistant Professor in Environmental Sciences, join exhibiting artists Anna McNeary and Victor Pacheco, whose works explore the impact of human action on the natural environment.
Through sculptures made of recycled materials and prints that consider the life cycle of consumer goods, McNeary and Pacheco offer space for reflecting upon our relationship with the natural world.

Details

March 31, 202612 p.m.

Price

Free Entry

Venue

Cantor Art Gallery
3rd Floor, Prior Performing Arts Center

yMusic
2026-03-29 18:00 | PRIOR PRESENTS – Luth Concert Hall –, 1 College St, Worcester, MA, 01610, United States
Prior Presents 2025–26

yMusic

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yMusic is a genre-leading and award-winning American chamber ensemble representing the vanguard of American and contemporary music.
Now in its seventeenth season, the group is renowned for its innovative and collaborative spirit. Since their inception, yMusic has had a unique mission: to work on both sides of the divide between classical and popular music without sacrificing rigor, virtuosity, charisma or style. NPR Music calls them “…Deeply, profoundly skilled,” adding that the group has “formed a language all their own.” Named for “Generation Y,” yMusic has been tapped to lend their orchestral sound and instantly-recognizable style to recordings and concert projects by a dizzying array of popular artists from John Legend to Paul Simon.
Recent projects include their acclaimed first album of self-composed (2023’s yMusic) and Stories x yMusic, a series of filmed performances featuring prominent artists such as Bruno Major, Amy Allen and Rufus Wainwright. The ensemble was also enlisted by the Park Avenue Armory to compose an original score for renowned choreographer Kyle Abraham’s production Dear Lord, Make Me Beautiful.
Finally, yMusic has released four full-length albums of commissioned music, 2020’s Ecstatic Science, 2017’s First, 2014’s Balance Problems, and 2011’s Beautiful Mechanical, which earned Time Out New York’s “#1 Classical Record of the Year.” Additionally, they can be found performing around the world at such venues as the Sydney Opera House, Carnegie Hall, the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, and Madison Square Garden.

Details

Mar 29, 20266 p.m.

Price

$35 | $45 | $55

Venue

Luth Concert Hall
The Prior Performing Arts Center

“A sextet notable for blurring the lines between classical-minded indie rockers and accessible bouts of 21st-century composition.”
Christopher R. Weingarten
Contributor, Rolling Stone Magazine

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Holy Cross College Choir: Hymns of Earth and Angels
2026-03-27 19:30 | Luth Concert Hall, 1 College St., Worcester, MA, 01610, United States
Department of Music

Holy Cross College Choir

Hymns of Earth and Angels

Live Stream the Performance

This program from the Holy Cross College Choir features the vibrant Baroque classic Gloria by Antonio Vivaldi for chorus, orchestra and soloists as well as arrangements of celebrated hymn settings by American composers including Alice Parker, Margaret Bonds, Moses Hogan and William L. Dawson. Audiences will also be delighted to hear a beloved Irish hymn on the program.
Join us at The Prior Performing Arts Center for this can’t-miss performance!

Details

March 27, 20267:30 p.m.

Price

Free entry

Venue

Luth Concert HallPrior Performing Arts Center

Working Writers Series: Diannely Antigua & Philip Metres
2026-03-26 19:30 | Alden Trust Performance Studio (3rd Floor, Prior Performing Arts Center), 1 College St, Worcester, MA, 01610, United States
Creative Writing Program

Working Writers Series

Diannely Antigua & Philip Metres

Poets Diannely Antigua and Philip Metres will read from and discuss their work as part of the Working Writers Series sponsored by the Creative Writing Program.
Diannely Antigua is a Dominican American poet, educator, and community organizer born and raised in Massachusetts. She is the author of the poetry collections Ugly Music, which was the winner of the Pamet River Prize and a 2020 Whiting Award, and Good Monster.
Philip Metres is the author of thirteen books, including Dispatches from the Land of Erasure (2025), Fugitive/Refuge, and Sand Opera. His work has garnered fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, Lannan Foundation, the NEA, and the Ohio Arts Council. He has received the William Carlos Williams Award, the Hunt Prize, the Adrienne Rich Award, three Arab American Book Awards, the Lyric Poetry Prize, the Pushcart Prize, and the Cleveland Arts Prize.

Details

March 26, 20267:30 p.m.

Price

Free Entry

Venue

“The Alden” Performance Studio3rd Floor, Prior Performing Arts Center

Traditional Irish Music Pop-Up Concert
2026-03-25 14:00 | Fenwick Music Library, 1 College St., Worcester, MA, 01610, United States
Department of Music

Traditional Irish Music Pop-Up Concert

Come as you are and drop by the Fenwick Music Library for a pop-up concert of traditional Irish music featuring Diarmuid Ó Meachair, accordion and Peadar Giles, Uilleann Pipes.

Details

March 25, 20262 p.m.

Price

Free Entry

Venue

Fenwick Music Library

Reframing Identity Through Our Histories: Hilary Doyle, Colleen Fitzgerald & Leslie Schomp
2026-03-25 12:30 | Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Art Gallery, 1 College St, Worcester, MA, 01610, United States
Cantor Art Gallery

Reframing Identity Through Our Histories

Hilary Doyle, Colleen Fitzgerald & Leslie Schomp

Hilary Doyle, Colleen Fitzgerald, and Leslie Schomp discuss their work currently on view at the Cantor Art Gallery. Each artist uniquely foregrounds the role of history in examining contemporary society, whether through familial history, historic figures, or cultural heritage traditions. Each mines personal or public archives to consider how we deal with the past to speak to contemporary issues around gender equality, social issues, memory, and the self.
Doyle explores the life and work of German scientific illustrator Maria Sibylla Merian (1647-1717) to highlight the persistent need for women to push against societal norms. Fitzgerald reimagines family portraiture and self-portraiture by examining how we hold on to memories and construct personal histories. Schomp uses the history of lace and needlework to address issues such as political polarization, gun violence, and women’s sexuality.

Details

March 25, 2026
12:30 p.m.

Price

Free Entry

Venue

Cantor Art Gallery
3rd Floor, Prior Performing Arts Center

Traditional Irish Music Pop-Up Concert
2026-03-25 12:00 | Dinand Library, 1 College St., Worcester, MA, 01610, United States
Department of Music

Traditional Irish Music Pop-Up Concert

Come as you are and drop by Dinand Library for a pop-up concert of fun traditional Irish music featuring Diarmuid Ó Meachair, accordion and Peadar Giles, Uilleann Pipes.

Details

March 25, 202612 p.m.

Price

Free Entry

Venue

Dinand Library

The Mediated Surface: Cristi Rinklin & Matthew Gamber
2026-03-24 11:45 | Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Art Gallery, 1 College St, Worcester, MA, 01610, United States
Cantor Art Gallery

The Mediated Surface

Cristi Rinklin & Matthew Gamber

Exhibiting artists Cristi Rinklin and Matthew Gamber discuss the relationship between painting and photography in their respective practices.
They explore how their chosen materials speak to the way they consider the natural environment, mimetic representation, and the cycle of perception and memory.

Details

March 24, 202611:45 a.m.

Price

Free Entry

Venue

Cantor Art Gallery
3rd Floor, Prior Performing Arts Center

Bradford Chin: Distinguished Visiting Practitioner Residency
2026-03-23 - 2026-03-27 | Alden Trust Performance Studio (3rd Floor, Prior Performing Arts Center), 1 College St, Worcester, MA, 01610, United States
Department of Theatre & Dance

Bradford Chin

Distinguished Visiting Practitioner Residency

Presented by Jimena Bermejo, Director of the Dance ProgramSponsored by the Office of the Provost

Bradford Chin is a disabled dance artist and educator whose work focuses on disability justice, accessibility in the arts, and critically inclusive pedagogy. During this residency, Chin will engage with students, faculty, and staff through classes, conversations and public events.

Join us for these public presentations during Chin’s residency:

Public LectureDance and Disability Narratives
March 26 @ 4 p.m.4th Floor Suite A, Hogan Campus CenterFree entry, open to all.

Moderated PanelDisability and the Arts
March 27 @ 1:30 p.m.Room 320, Prior Performing Arts CenterFree entry, open to all.

Details

March 23-27, 2026

Price

Free entry, open to all.

Venue

4th Floor Suite A, Hogan Campus CenterRoom 320, Prior Performing Arts Center

Faculty Recital: Rhythms of Spring
2026-03-21 19:00 | Luth Concert Hall, 1 College St., Worcester, MA, 01610, United States
Departments of Music and Theatre & Dance

Rhythms of Spring

The Music and Dance Departments at Holy Cross are joining forces for an unforgettable evening of two pianos and dance. Faculty pianists Sonya Ovrutsky Fensome, Matthew Jaskot, and Ulysses Loken share the stage with The Diamonds, a faculty dance group featuring some of the most beloved people on campus.
This performance features André Isaacs (yes, that André Isaacs, Professor of Chemistry who also loves to dance), Carmen Jarrin (Chair of Sociology), Karen Guth (Professor of Religious Studie), and Mary Ebbott (Professor of Classics), plus the Registrar, a medievalist, a psychologist, a mathematician, a biologist and more!
The program features Darius Milhaud’s Scaramouche, Chen Yi’s China West Suite, and Igor Stravinsky’s iconic Le Sacre du Printemps (The Rite of Spring), all pieces that abound with folk melodies, complex textures, and energetic rhythms.
Come and join us for this exciting program! Free entry, open to all.

Details

March 21, 20267 p.m.

Price

Free entry

Venue

Luth Concert HallPrior Performing Arts Center

SW!NG OUT
2026-03-19 19:30 | PRIOR PRESENTS – Luth Concert Hall –, 1 College St, Worcester, MA, 01610, United States
Prior Presents 2025–26

SW!NG OUT

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Audience participation limited to patrons seated in the orchestra section.
Acclaimed choreographer Caleb Teicher brings the best of the swing dance world to The Prior, with live music by the Eyal Vilner Big Band.
Conceived by Caleb Teicher alongside collaborators Evita Arce, LaTasha Barnes, Nathan Bugh, Macy Sullivan, and Eyal Vilner, SW!NG OUT features exciting Lindy Hop choreography and improvisation. This performance concludes with an on-stage jam session, inviting audiences seated in the orchestra section to join in the fun!

Arrive early for a free swing dance class!
Patrons are encouraged to arrive early to participate in a free swing dance class (beginners welcome!) at 6:30 p.m. taught by Magenta Dance Place‘s Sergiy Georgiyev before the show! More information about this offering will be included in the pre-show email delivered to all ticket holders.

Details

PERFORMANCEMar 19, 20267:30 p.m.

PRE-SHOW DANCE CLASS6:30 p.m.

Price

$35 | $45 | $55Audience participation limited to orchestra seating.

Venue

Luth Concert Hall
The Prior Performing Arts Center

“Sometimes, you can see it in their eyes: A split-second hesitation converts to an effortless spin that twirls along perfectly to the music. These bursts are captivating, even oddly adventurous, and for the audience, a chance to grasp something of the performers’ sensorial secret language.”
Gia Kourlas
Contributor, The New York Times

About The Artists

Caleb Teicher

Caleb Teicher is widely regarded as a leading performer, choreographer, director, musical collaborator, and curator of musically-driven dance and interdisciplinary collaboration.
A two-time Bessie Award winner (and five-time nominee), their work in concert dance and music has played some of the most prestigious venues in North America including Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, New York City Center, Carnegie Hall, the Joyce Theater, and countless others. They’ve performed duets with Regina Spektor and Ben Folds on Broadway, television, and on music albums. They’ve graced the cover of Dance Magazine, and they’re the only dancer to be featured on NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert series.
Many shows created by Caleb (SW!NG OUT, Counterpoint, Caleb Teicher & Nic Gareiss, B-Z-Z-Z) regularly tour performing arts centers in North America – their work will be presented in over twenty cities this year.

Eyal Vilner

Eyal Vilner is one of the leading new voices in the New York and global swing scene. Born in Tel Aviv, saxophonist, clarinetist, flutist, composer and bandleader Eyal moved to New York in 2007 and started his big band the following year. The Eyal Vilner Big Band has been performing widely in New York City’s landmarks such as Lincoln Center, the Guggenheim, Birdland, Dizzy’s Club, Smalls, Minton’s Playhouse, Harlem Jazzmobile and Central Park SummerStage. Internationally, Eyal has performed at the Red Sea Jazz Festival, Tel Aviv Museum, Jerusalem Theater; Ghent Festival, Belgium; Teatro Alameda, Spain; Théâtre Plaza, Montreal, as well as Paris Jazz Roots, the historical La Bellevilloise, Le Duc des Lombards, and Caveau de la Huchette in Paris, to name a few.
Eyal’s interest in the exchange between sound and movement within the jazz idiom inspired his musical journey and yielded collaborations with acclaimed dancers and choreographers. Among these projects are theater productions, dance festivals and competitions such as the International Lindy Hop Championships, The Xperience, Midsummer Night’s Swing, and the celebrated SW!NG OUT show at the Joyce Theater (co-creator and musical director). This show, which the New York Times has called “Groundbreaking,” has toured throughout the US, in venues such as the Jacob’s Pillow and the LA Music Center.​
The big band performs Eyal’s original compositions as well as his new arrangements of jazz classics. Their music, which derives from the tradition of jazz, swing and the blues, strives to bring a unique voice to this beautiful art form. The big band’s first seven albums: Introducing the Eyal Vilner Big Band, Almost Sunrise, Hanukkah, Swing Out!, Live in Washington Square Park!, The Jam!, and Swingin’ Uptown received rave reviews and made it to the Top Jazz Radio Charts of the US and Canada.

Evita Arce

Evita Arce is a renowned Lindy Hop dancer and teacher based in New York City. Highlights of her career include dancing with Jazz at Lincoln Center, competing on “So You Think You Can Dance“, touring with the Broadway show “SWING!”, and making her Broadway debut in Regina Spektor’s run at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre. Evita was also featured in the Swing documentary “Alive and Kicking” which follows her path in the international Lindy Hop community.
Since 2005 she has taught and performed all over the world including Europe, Asia and Australia. With her dance partner Michael Jagger, they were invited to bring their company “Syncopated City“ to perform at the Jacob’s Pillow Inside/Out Stage in 2012 and 2013. Evita has danced for Caleb Teicher & Company since 2017, performing in “Meet Ella” and “More Forever” both beautiful new works featuring American dance forms of Tap, Jazz, Swing and improvised partner dancing. Currently, Evita is part of the creative team for “Swing 2020“ which has been postponed and is in process to premiere at the Joyce Theatre in July 2021.
In the strange and difficult time of isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic, Evita was given a virtual art commission from the Guggenheim’s, “Works & Process” series that premiered June 18. Evita’s teaching experience has spanned across local Swing communities, Ballroom dance studios in L.A., 10 years on staff at Dance Manhattan and 5 years teaching experience in her own online school for Swing dance, SyncopatedCity.com.

LaTasha Barnes

Multi-Bessie award winner (2021/2023), New York Times lauded “Queen of Social Dance” and celebrated Best Dance & Breakout Star (2021) LaTasha Barnes is an internationally awarded and critically-acclaimed artist-scholar, curator, choreographer, and tradition-bearer of Black American Social Dance co-based in Phoenix, AZ and New York. A Richmond, VA native, she is globally celebrated for her musicality, athleticism, and joyful presence throughout the cultural traditions she bears: House Dance, Hip-Hop, Waacking, Authentic Jazz, and Lindy Hop, among them. Barnes’ expansive artistic, performative and wordsmithing skills have made her a frequent collaborator to The New York Times, Summer Dance Forever & Foundation Hip-Hop Center Amsterdam, International Center for Prince Studies, Singapore-based Timbre Arts Group, Jacob’s Pillow and many more.
Barnes’ leadership and business acumen have placed her in positions of service as Co-Chair of the Board of Trustees for Ladies of Hip-Hop Festival®, Directing Board Member of the Black Lindy Hoppers Fund, the Frankie Manning Foundation, and consulting artist to efforts such as the Al Minns Next Generation Project and events like Paris Jazz Roots Festival,Women’s Jazzination (Shanghai) and International Lindy Hop Championships.
Expanding the scope of impact for the communities she serves, Barnes completed her self-designed Masters in Ethnochoreology, Black Studies and Performance Studies thru New York University Gallatin School of Individualized Study (2019). Her thesis and continued applied research are working to bridge the gap between communities of practice and academic cultural dance research, performance, preservation and pedagogy as well as expand the reach of dance as a healing tool for disabled US military veterans like herself.
In support of this dialogue, Barnes was honored to be a contributing author to the 2022 National Dance Education Organization Ruth Lovell Murray Book Award winning text Rooted Jazz Dance: Africanist Aesthetics and Equity in the Twenty-First Century – Univ. FL Press (2021). Ensuring future artists and dance scholars maintain authentic cultural context as they move through the world bearing forth Black dance traditions. To further support this effort Barnes joined the esteemed faculty of Arizona State University School of Music, Dance & Theater in Fall 2021. Now Associate Prof. of Dance, Barnes is the second tenured Hip-Hop Dance professor in the US, proudly representing the class of academic educators who actively contribute to the cultures studied. She is also expanding dialogue and critical heritage efforts in service as a 2025 Race, Arts & Democracy Fellow of ASU’s Center for the Study of Race & Democracy.
From the analysis of her research and in deeper concert with the mission to strengthen Black artists reverence for and expression with Jazz, Barnes is honored to be the visionary creator and Artistic Director of the multi-award winning and NYT critically acclaimed intergenerational and intercommunal cultural arts project The Jazz Continuum. First commissioned by Guggenheim Works & Process, further supported by The Joyce Theater (2022) TJC is a recipient of the prestigious NEFA National Dance Project grant (2022), and two Bessie Awards for Outstanding Creation/Choreography & Outstanding Music Direction.
Additionally she is also honored to be a part of the Brain Trust that developed the ground-breaking stage production Sw!ng Out, bringing the passion and power of Lindy Hop and its community to the concert stage. The New York Times said of her collaboration with Caleb Teicher in Swing Out, “Barnes is especially extraordinary for the way the past and the present can pass through her…”
Across all her endeavors, Barnes’ eternal purpose is to inspire fellow artists and arts enthusiasts to champion artivism in their creative expressions and daily lives.

Nathan Bugh

Nathan Bugh is known worldwide for his intimately rhythmic style of Lindy Hop and vernacular jazz. He “rocked the stage” at Carnegie Hall, dancing Lindy Hop with the New York Pops Orchestra; he performed in Harlem’s famous Apollo Theater in Swingin’ Frankie’s Way; and he danced in the CT&Co’s More Forever, at Jacob’s Pillow.
Nathan is also co-creator/choreographer of the Joyce Theater’s SW!NG OUT, one of the greatest theatrical presentations of Lindy Hop in the modern era. His on-film appearances include: “My Fair Wedding” S.3 E.3 Great Gatsby Bride, Making Money w Charles Payne, Fox and Friends Christmas, Rebel In The Rye, and The Weepies – Be My Honey Pie. As a national jazz-dance competitor, Nathan has taken 1st place in Lindy, Slow Dancing, Solo, Team, Jill&Jack, Video, and Cabaret divisions.
Throughout the 2010s he was one of the most eminent solo-jazz contestants in the world, winning both the Ultimate Lindy Hop Showdown (2012) and International Lindy Hop Championships (2014), as well as achieving 3rd place in the ILHC invitational (2018). He was also the director and choreographer of “Yeah Man,” the 2015 ILHC Team champions.
Nathan is based in New York City, where he performs frequently and teaches social-dance classes. He has taught the Columbia University Swing Club since 2006, and he is adjunct dance faculty at Marymount College.

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Treadmill of Information: Art, Influencers and Wellness Culture
2026-03-18 12:00 | Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Art Gallery, 1 College St, Worcester, MA, 01610, United States
Department of Visual Arts

Treadmill of Information: Art, Influencers and Wellness Culture

Join Professor Rachelle Beaudoin, Liz Drexler-Hines (Director of Student Wellness Education), and Jeff Oliver (Head of Olympic Sports Performance) as they discuss Beaudoin’s work in the current exhibition, Impetus: Visual Arts Faculty 2026.
Beaudoin’s work addresses ideas around self-care and wellness, critiquing the online performance of and push towards constant optimization.
Free entry, open to all.

Details

March 18, 202612 p.m.

Price

Free Entry

Venue

Cantor Art Gallery3rd Floor, Prior Performing Arts Center

Lunchtime Concert: Enrique Quezada Llanes, Sergio Muñoz Leiva and Mia Beviglia
2026-03-18 12:00 | The Beehive in The Prior, 1 College St., Worcester, MA, 01610, United States
Department of Music

Enrique Quezada Llanes, Sergio Muñoz Leiva and Mia Beviglia

Lunchtime Concert Series

Three different instrument families. Three different countries. Three different Holy Cross departments and offices. One common goal.
This lunchtime concert showcases the musical talents of members of the Holy Cross community from across campus. Enrique Quezada Llanes (Political Science), Sergio Muñoz Leiva (Music), and Mia Beviglia (’23, J.D. Power Center for Liberal Arts in the World) come together to present some of the pioneering works for clarinet, viola, and piano trio by Bruch and Mozart, because our diversity is our strength!
Max BruchAndante and Andante con moto from Eight Pieces for Clarinet, Viola, and Piano, op. 83
Wolfgang Amadeus MozartKegelstatt Trio, K. 498
Enrique Quezada Llanes, clarinetSergio Muñoz Leiva, violaMia Beviglia, piano

Details

March 18, 202612 p.m.

Price

Free Entry

Venue

The BeehivePrior Performing Arts Center

Conversations on Contemporary Art and Faith: Marcus Clarke and Peter Fritz
2026-03-16 12:00 | Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Art Gallery, 1 College St, Worcester, MA, 01610, United States
Cantor Art Gallery

Conversations on Contemporary Art and Faith

Marcus Clarke and Peter Fritz

Exhibiting artist Marcus Clarke is joined by Professor Peter Fritz of the Religious Studies department to discuss the intersections of contemporary art, religion, and theology in society today.
​​Currently on view in Impetus: Visual Arts Faculty 2026, Clarke’s work explores the challenge of creating art that explores religion today, balancing belief, sentimentality, and criticism. Focusing on American Christianity and its varied forms, including Pentecostal worship, megachurch aesthetics, and Catholic devotional traditions, Clarke investigates the spectacle and theatricality of religious rituals.
At Holy Cross, Fritz teaches a wide variety of courses in Catholic and Protestant theology, modern history of Christianity, Catholic social thought, and courses in theological aesthetics and theology and contemporary art.

Free entry, open to all.

Details

March 16, 202612 p.m.

Price

Free Entry

Venue

Cantor Art Gallery3rd Floor, Prior Performing Arts Center

Kalaf Epalanga Residency: Keynote
2026-03-13 19:00 | Brooks Concert Hall, 1 College St., Worcester, MA, 01610, United States
Department of Music

Kalaf Epalanga Residency

Keynote

This March, Angolan musician and writer Kalaf Epalanga joins the Music Department as a 2026 Patrick E. Moriarty Visiting Scholar.
As a musician, Kalaf co-founded the record label Enchufada and is a member of the music collective Buraka Som Sistema. He co-curated the 2023 Africa Writes Book Festival in London (UK) and curated the 2021 Berlin African Book Festival (Germany). “Whites Can Dance Too” is his debut novel, translated to English by Daniel Hahn and published by Faber.
During his two-day residency, Kalaf will host public events and meet with students during in-class visits.

Details

March 13, 20267 p.m.

Price

Free Entry

Venue

Brooks Concert Hall

Sunny Jain's Wild Wild East
2026-03-12 19:30 | PRIOR PRESENTS – Luth Concert Hall –, 1 College St, Worcester, MA, 01610, United States
Prior Presents 2025–26

Sunny Jain’s Wild Wild East

A co-presentation with the Department of Music

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The career of composer, drummer and dhol player Sunny Jain is a celebration of cultural diaspora. Its deep-rooted tradition ripples outward, changing – and being changed by – the cultures that it touches. The ease with which Jain braids his sound highlights the interconnectedness of global styles — and that sense of connection goes beyond the music itself, as Jain leads his group across genre borders he knows are arbitrary.
Defined by its restlessness, and daring enough to encompass many different identities, Wild Wild East is raucous, powerful, gorgeous, jubilant, dissonant, and built of a truly American spirit. In other words, it recognizes a world that’s always changing: today’s cowboy or cowgirl learns how to adapt to their conditions, seeing that they’re just as conditional as everything around them.
Called the “Hendrix of dhol” by Manchester Salon (UK), Jain is most known for founding the pioneering band Red Baraat, a frenzied fusion of bhangra, hip-hop, jazz, rock, and sheer, unbridled energy. NPR called them “the best party band in years” and their 2017 NPR Tiny Desk concert was touted as the 8th best TDC of all time by New York Magazine. He and his current five-piece band have toured the country and the world with performances from his Smithsonian Folkways Recordings album Wild Wild East.

Details

Mar 12, 20267:30 p.m.

Price

$35 | $45 | $55

Venue

Luth Concert Hall
The Prior Performing Arts Center

“The indefatigable drummer and dhol player Sunny Jain is an unrepentant maximalist.”
Jay Ruttenberg
Contributor, The New Yorker

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Kalaf Epalanga Residency: Listening Session
2026-03-12 17:00 | Brooks Concert Hall, 1 College St., Worcester, MA, 01610, United States
Department of Music

Kalaf Epalanga Residency

Listening Session

This March, Angolan musician and writer Kalaf Epalanga joins the Music Department as a 2026 Patrick E. Moriarty Visiting Scholar.
As a musician, Kalaf co-founded the record label Enchufada and is a member of the music collective Buraka Som Sistema. He co-curated the 2023 Africa Writes Book Festival in London (UK) and curated the 2021 Berlin African Book Festival (Germany). “Whites Can Dance Too” is his debut novel, translated to English by Daniel Hahn and published by Faber.
During his two-day residency, Kalaf will host public events and meet with students during in-class visits.

Details

March 12, 20265 p.m.

Price

Free Entry

Venue

Brooks Concert Hall

Holy Cross Chapel Artist Series: Renee Louprette, Bard College
2026-03-10 19:00 | St. Joseph Memorial Chapel, 1 College St., Worcester, MA, 01610, United States
Department of Music

Renee Louprette, Bard College

Holy Cross Chapel Artist Series

American organist Renée Anne Louprette maintains an international career as recitalist, conductor, collaborative musician, and teacher.
Professor Louprette’s musicianship is renowned worldwide, and this is a recital not to be missed.

Details

March 10, 20267 p.m.

Price

Free Entry

Venue

St. Joseph Memorial Chapel

Courage to Remember: From Royal Roots to Living Legends - A Black History Month Celebration
2026-02-28 18:00 | Luth Concert Hall – Prior Performing Arts Center, 1 College St, Worcester, MA, 01610, United States
Courage to Remember

From Royal Roots to Living Legends – A Black History Month Celebration

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Kingdom Voice & Music will be highlighting powerful stories of Black history that deserve to be remembered and passed down—stories of African royalty, historical heroes, living legends within our communities, and the generational wisdom that continues to shape our future.
Featuring Award winning Storyteller, Valerie Stephens, local choirs, dance groups, and local food vendors will provide a fully immersive experience.
Kingdom Voice & Music is also partnering with the Alzheimer’s Association to shed light on Alzheimer’s and dementia within the African American community, providing both awareness and resources for families affected.

Details

February 28, 20264:30 p.m. | Art Collection Presentation (see below)5:30 p.m. | Pre-Show Presentation6 p.m. | Show8 p.m. | Vendor Exhibition

Price

$29 | $39 | $55

Venue

Luth Concert HallThe Prior Performing Arts Center

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Eddie Jenkins ’72 African Art Collection Showing

Join us before the Courage To Remember performance to witness a showing of African artwork collected by distinguished alumnus and Holy Cross football legend Eddie Jenkins ’72. Free entry, open to all.

Boroughs Theatre in The Prior4-9 p.m. | Showing4:30 p.m. | Collector’s Presentation

Music Worcester at The Prior: Aaron Diehl Trio
2026-02-27 20:00 | Luth Concert Hall – Prior Performing Arts Center, 1 College St, Worcester, MA, 01610, United States
Music Worcester at The Prior

Aaron Diehl Trio

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Pianist Aaron Diehl’s nuanced sound bridges the gap between jazz and classical music with sophistication. His trio, known from their Jazz at Lincoln Center performances, builds a program for piano, bass, and drums and explores the creation of musically diverse environments.
Aaron is a staple of the New York jazz scene, collaborating with artists like Benny Golson, Philip Glass, Cécile McLorin Salvant and more. His trio unites jazz standards with classical music, bringing them into focus, and infusing them with his trademark brilliance. His recent collaborations with ensembles like The Knights have invited listeners in for a taste of what Diehl has to offer.
Join Music Worcester at The Prior for a performance that’s fit for any musical palette.

There’s an entire world of jazz in Aaron Diehl’s playing . . . he makes the case that jazz is not one style or genre but many, gliding gorgeously among decades of artistic influences.
Philadelphia Inquirer

Details

February 27, 20268 p.m.

Price

Adults $50-$76Students $20Youths $10

Venue

Luth Concert HallThe Prior Performing Arts Center

Learn More

Eddie Jenkins ’72 African Art Collection Showing

Join us before the Aaron Diehl Trio performance to witness a showing of African artwork collected by distinguished alumnus and Holy Cross football legend Eddie Jenkins ’72. Free entry, open to all.
Boroughs Theatre in The Prior6:30-8:30 p.m. | Showing7 p.m. | Collector’s Presentation

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About Music Worcester

Celebrating More Than 160 Years of Music and Culture
Music Worcester has been bringing world-renowned musicians and ensembles to Central Massachusetts since its founding in 1858. Today, the organization regularly presents world-renowned orchestras, soloists, and ensembles from the worlds of classical, jazz, folk, world music, and dance to audiences of all ages and backgrounds.
In 2024, Music Worcester launched THE COMPLETE BACH, an 11-year project to present live performances of all J.S. Bach’s known works. Music Worcester’s education and outreach initiatives include in-school workshops and masterclasses, and the availability of free and reduced-price tickets. In 2026, Dr. Everett McCorvey will serve as the Artist-in-Residence, a bi-annual program that establishes deep community relationships with an individual artist.
Learn more at MUSICWORCESTER.ORG

Eddie Jenkins ’72 African Art Collection Showing at The Prior
2026-02-26 - 2026-02-28 | Boroughs Theatre (Prior Performing Arts Center), 1 College St, Worcester, MA, 01610, United States
From Benin, Nigeria to Roxbury, MA

How Art Imitates Life–A Painful But Inspired Journey

Eddie Jenkins ’72 African Art Collection Showing at The Prior

With two can’t-miss community concert presentations set to wrap up Black History Month in 2026, The Prior invites patrons to witness a showing of African artwork collected by distinguished alumnus and Holy Cross football legend Eddie Jenkins ’72.
This showing of the Jenkins collection will be on display in the Boroughs Theatre from February 26-28. In addition to an opening event on the evening of February 26, The Prior offers additional, pre-concert viewing opportunities for patrons planning to attend Music Worcester’s presentation of the Aaron Diehl Trio on February 27 and Kingdom Voice & Music’s presentation of their “Courage to Remember” choral program respectively.
Collector’s Presentations on February 26 & 27 will feature performances by rapper Wyatt Johnson (of We Move In Color) and drummer Stephen O’Neal.

Details

Thu Feb 26, 20266:30-8:30 p.m. | Showing7 p.m. | Collector’s Presentation

Fri Feb 27, 20266:30-8:30 p.m. | Showing7 p.m. | Collector’s Presentation

Sat Feb 28, 20264-9 p.m. | Showing4:30 p.m. | Collector’s Presentation

Price

Free entry, open to all.

Venue

Boroughs TheatreThe Prior Performing Arts Center

“African Art parallels African History. Throughout its vast continent of myriad cultures, languages, climates and politics, its people share a ceremonial respect of a spiritual authority; an admiration of nature and the animal kingdom; and an understanding of Slavery’s lasting influence on natural law and order. I believe these commonalities are bound together, and I have collected various pieces that highlight all three after first being introduced to this art in Roxbury, MA by Aboubacar in 1994. Throughout our friendship and trade, I began to understand the Diaspora and the journey of my people.”
Eddie Jenkins '72

Holy Cross Wind Ensemble & Orchestra: Beloved Classics from Broadway to the Silver Screen
2026-02-25 19:30 | Luth Concert Hall, 1 College St., Worcester, MA, 01610, United States
Department of Music

Beloved Classics from Broadway to the Silver Screen

Holy Cross Wind Ensemble & Orchestra

Join us for a program featuring some of the greatest show tunes and movie soundtracks arranged for orchestra and wind ensemble.

Details

Feb 25, 20267:30 p.m.

Price

Free entry

Venue

Luth Concert HallPrior Performing Arts Center

Brooks Scholars Concert
2026-02-19 19:30 | Brooks Concert Hall, 1 College St., Worcester, MA, 01610, United States
Department of Music

Brooks Scholars Concert

Sophie Rose Riopel ‘29, saxophoneLogan Sherwin Kornilov ‘28, pianoJohn Hannagan ‘28, button accordion Robert Gardner ‘26, piano
The Brooks Scholarship is a four-year, full tuition scholarship offered to a music major or double major in music and another discipline. Recipients demonstrate outstanding accomplishment in their area of musical study as well as significant academic achievement. The Department of Music proudly presents a concert featuring the Brooks Scholars, our most accomplished student artists.

Details

February 19, 20267:30 p.m.

Price

Free Entry

Venue

Brooks Concert Hall

Christine Sun Kim | Deaf Death [SOLD OUT]
2026-02-19 18:00 | PRIOR PRESENTS – Luth Concert Hall –, 1 College St, Worcester, MA, 01610, United States
Prior Presents 2025–26

Christine Sun Kim

Deaf Death

A co-presentation with the Department of Visual Arts

Reserve Tickets

This presentation is sold out. There is no wait list. Please check back at the reservation link above, as returned tickets will be added back to online sale inventory in real time.
Christine Sun Kim is a Berlin-based artist who works with sound, language, and the complexities of communication. She uses musical notation, infographics, and language—both in her native American Sign Language (ASL) and written English—to create drawings, site-specific murals, paintings, video installations, and sculptures.
In her lecture-performance Deaf Death, Kim explores the frequent autocorrection of “deaf” to “death” in text-based technologies. Through a study of popular media, memes, disability signage, and recent headlines, Kim questions what defines disability, and how different definitions reflect fears and hopes for the future.

Details

Feb 19, 20266 p.m.

Price

Free entry, reservation required.

Venue

Luth Concert Hall
The Prior Performing Arts Center

“Kim’s work . . . is often the first encounter museumgoers have with the question of what it is like to live in a hearing world as a Deaf person — with all the anger, frustration and, most strikingly when it comes to Kim’s work, the humor that it entails.”
Aruna D'Souza
Contributor, The New York Times

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Cantor Window Exhibition
Christine Sun Kim (b. 1980, active Berlin, Germany), Mind Touch Touch Touch, 2025, digital print of charcoal drawingCourtesy of the artist, François Ghebaly, Los Angeles and New York, and WHITE SPACE, Beijing.
Repetition and iteration define Christine Sun Kim’s work, which distinctly incorporates the visual representation of sign language. This mural was made exclusively for the Cantor’s front window and comes from a body of work that combines text and graphic representations of signs in American Sign Language (ASL). Here, Kim depicts the arc of the hand movement in the sign obsess, which is a compound formed by the signs for mind and touch. Through her practice, Kim foregrounds Deaf culture; explores the relationship between sound, language, and image; and explores the social politics of communication.
CLICK HERE for a video of obsess being signed in ASL.

Lunchtime Concert: Blue in the Beehive
2026-02-18 12:00 | The Beehive in The Prior, 1 College St., Worcester, MA, 01610, United States
Department of Music

Blue in the Beehive

Lunchtime Concert Series

Chaney Goldstein ‘28, saxophoneChris Maratea ‘28, bassSean Dooley ‘29, piano
Join us for a lunchtime set of jazz standards performed by Chaney Goldstein (saxophone), Sean Dooley (piano), and Chris Maratea (bass), and incorporating styles such as swing, ballads, Latin and funk.

Details

February 18, 202612 p.m.

Price

Free Entry

Venue

The BeehivePrior Performing Arts Center

Holy Cross Chapel Artist Series: American Guild of Organists (Worcester Chapter)
2026-02-15 15:00 | St. Joseph Memorial Chapel, 1 College St., Worcester, MA, 01610, United States
Department of Music

American Guild of Organists (Worcester Chapter)

Holy Cross Chapel Artist Series

Join us for this Chapel Artist Series presentation featuring Robert Potterton, Robin Dinda and Andrew Sheranian, all members of the Worcester Chapter of the American Guild of Organists.

Details

February 15, 20263 p.m.

Price

Free Entry

Venue

St. Joseph Memorial Chapel

Makers and Mentors: A Studio Faculty Roundtable
2026-02-11 16:00 | Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Art Gallery, 1 College St, Worcester, MA, 01610, United States
Faculty artists at Impetus exhibition opening (February 3, 2026), photo by Troy B. Thompson.

Cantor Art Gallery

Makers and Mentors: A Studio Faculty Roundtable

The ten exhibiting artists featured in Impetus: Visual Arts Faculty 2026 share insights about maintaining a professional creative practice. Facilitated by senior studio art majors at Holy Cross, these faculty members and artists answer questions about nurturing the creative process, balancing personal life and professional work, and how to find joy and motivation while navigating career growth.

Free entry, open to all.

Details

February 11, 20264 p.m.

Price

Free Entry

Venue

Cantor Art Gallery3rd Floor, Prior Performing Arts Center
