Author: Liam Otten

In their acclaimed chamber opera “The Tongue and The Lash,” composer Damien Sneed and librettist Karen Chilton imagine a conversation between James Baldwin and William F. Buckley Jr. following their iconic 1965 debate. WashU will present a performance at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 19, in Graham Chapel.

Adrian Luchini, the Raymond E. Maritz Professor Emeritus of Architecture at the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts, died Feb. 12 while visiting his native Argentina. He was 71.

The Kemper Art Museum will celebrate the opening of “Looking Back Toward the Future: Contemporary Photography from China” Feb. 27.

Pianist and composer Conrad Tao, an artist of “probing intellect and open-hearted vision” (The New York Times), will perform Sunday, March 1, as part of the WashU Department of Music’s Great Artists Series.

Donald Royse, a professor emeritus of architecture in the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts, died Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026, surrounded by family at his home (which he designed) overlooking Lake Washington in Seattle. He was 93.

Kathleen Finneran, senior writer-in-residence in the Department of English in Arts & Sciences, and author of the celebrated memoir “The Tender Land: A Family Love Story” (2000), died Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. She was 68.

The Performing Arts Department will present Thornton Wilder’s Pulitzer Prize-winning drama “Our Town” in Edison Theatre beginning Feb. 20. Though familiar to generations of audiences, the play’s pastoral setting can disguise its formal inventiveness, says director Andrea Urice.

Sowande’ Mustakeem, associate professor of history and of African and African American studies, both in Arts & Sciences, will receive a 2026 Dred Scott Freedom Award March 7.

In his new book, “Michelangelo & Titian: A Tale of Rivalry & Genius,” WashU’s William Wallace explores a mutual admiration, and simmering competition, that unfolded over decades.

James Baldwin Review, the preeminent peer-reviewed journal dedicated to Baldwin’s life and legacy, which is co-edited by WashU’s Dwight A. McBride and Justin A. Joyce, has been named Best Special Issue of 2025 from the Council of Editors of Learned Journals.