Arts & Culture

Acclaimed baritone Eric Owens and renowned pianist Jeremy Denk will join forces Dec. 8 for a recital of Franz Schubert’s beloved “Die Winterreise” as part of Washington University’s Great Artists Series.

Nearly 40 dancers, selected by audition, will perform six original works by faculty and visiting choreographers as part of “Coalescence,” the 2019 Washington University Dance Theatre concert.

The Performing Arts Department in Arts & Sciences will present “for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf,” Ntozake Shange’s beloved Broadway drama, in the A.E. Hotchner Studio Theatre Nov. 21-24.

New York’s acclaimed Momenta String Quartet will perform a new work by Washington University’s own Christopher Stark, along with pieces by Roberto Sierra and György Ligeti, Nov. 17 in the 560 Music Center.

With her pink suits, chippy chihuahua and Greek chorus of sorority sisters, Elle Woods seems to have it all. But when her well-bred boyfriend, Warner Huntington III, leaves UCLA for Harvard Law, Elle’s dreams for the future come crashing down. So begins “Legally Blonde,” a musical adaptation of the 2001 film, which explores themes of personal identity, social expectations and what it means to be authentic.

In “Mrs. Kelley’s Igloo,” senior Sophie Tegenu explores themes of family, romantic love and the difficulties of saying “I do.”  This weekend, the play will be one of three to receive world premier staged readings as part of the Performing Arts Department’s annual A.E. Hotchner Playwriting Festival.

This summer, Christopher Stark, assistant professor of music in Arts & Sciences, presented two world-premiere compositions at major venues for contemporary classical music.

Kate Smith was the “songbird of the south” and “the First Lady of radio,” a 20th-century superstar whose recording of “God Bless America” was still being played during Philadelphia Flyer and New York Yankees home games. But recently, both teams distanced themselves from Smith due to racist lyrics in a pair of her early recordings. Arts & Sciences’ Todd Decker, chair of music, helps unpack the controversy for USA Today.

Musicologist Todd Decker, of Arts & Sciences and author of “Hymns for the Fallen: Combat Movie Music and Sound After Vietnam” (2017), examines how films such as “Platoon,” “Apocalypse Now,” “Saving Private Ryan” and “The Hurt Locker” shape how audiences view soldiers, veterans and the experience of war.