Past Crowell Concert Series Events

The Crowell Concert Series at the Center for the Arts features a wide array of world-class musicians.

Past artists that have performed as part of the Crowell Concert Series include Afro-Cuban All-Stars, Amelia Piano Trio, American Brass Quintet, AnDa Union, Anonymous 4, Ahmad Jamal, Balfa Toujours, Bang on a Can All-Stars, Bill Frisell Trio, Boston Chamber Music Society, Bulgarian Bebop, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Charles Lloyd Quartet, Cherish the Ladies, Claude Frank, Crooked Still, David Krakauer & Klezmer Madness, Dither Electric Guitar Quartet, Don Byron: "Jungle Music for Postmoderns," Donald Berman: "Celebrating Chopin’s 200th Birthday," Dünya, Eddie Palmieri, eighth blackbird, Eileen Ivers, Entrequatre, Ernest Dawkins, Eugenia Leon, Fernando Otero Quartet, FleytMuzik, FLUX Quartet, Henry Threadgill, Hugh Masekela, Ignacio Berroa Trio, Joshua Roman, Juice Vocal Ensemble, Kronos Quartet, Le Vent du Nord, Les Percussions de Strasbourg, Lionel Loueke Trio, Lionheart, Margaret Leng Tan, Maya Beiser & Anthony de Mare, Midori, Minneapolis Guitar Quartet, "Music at Thomas Jefferson's Monticello," Near Eastern Music Ensemble, Omar Sosa, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Otis Taylor, Parthenia, Paul Brady, Pedro Carboné, Peter Serkin, Randy Weston, Regina Carter Quintet, St. Lawrence String Quartet, San Jose Taiko, sfSoundGroup, Shanghai Quartet, Stanley Cowell Quartet, The American Piano, The Assad Brothers, The Baltimore Consort, The Hilliard Ensemble, The Mystical Arts of Tibet: Drepung Loseling Monastery, Thomas Mapfumo/Blacks Unlimited, Tiempo Libre, Tokyo String Quartet, Toumani Diabaté, Trio Globo, Turtle Island String Quartet with Stefon Harris, Van Cliburn International Piano Competition Gold Medalist Vadym Kholodenko, Vieux Farka Touré, Voices of Afghanistan, and Zakir Hussain & L. Shankar.

These events were also part of the Performing Arts Series.


2016
April
2015
November October September April January
2014
November October

2016

April

Wu Man and the Shanghai Quartet: A Night in Ancient and New China
Friday, April 1, 2016 at 8:00pm
Crowell Concert Hall

The Shanghai Quartet returns to Wesleyan for their Connecticut debut with pipa virtuosa Wu Man performing A Night in Ancient and New China, plus Beethoven's String Quartet No.11.

2015

November

Brooklyn Rider
Saturday, November 21, 2015 at 8:00pm
Crowell Concert Hall
Click here to view the full album on Flickr.

Hailed as “the future of chamber music” (
Strings), groundbreaking string quartet Brooklyn Rider performs works by Franz Schubert, Bill Frisell, Vijay Iyer, Glenn Kotche, and a U.S. premiere by Assistant Professor of Music Paula Matthusen

October

Martin Hayes and Dennis Cahill
Saturday, October 17, 2015 at 8:00pm
Crowell Concert Hall

Click here to view the full album on Flickr.

Violinist Martin Hayes and guitarist Dennis Cahill perform adventurous interpretations of traditional Irish tunes with irresistible rhythm.

September

Nicholas Payton Trio featuring Gerald Cannon and Herlin Riley
Friday, September 18, 2015 at 8:00pm
Crowell Concert Hall
Grammy Award-winning trumpet player Nicholas Payton performs with his Trio featuring bassist Gerald Cannon and drummer Herlin Riley.

April

The Nile Project
Friday, April 10, 2015 at 8:00pm
Crowell Concert Hall
The dozen musicians in The Nile Project perform “joyous and even raucous” (NPR Music) songs from traditions of Burundi, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Sudan, and Uganda in this Connecticut premiere.

January

Calefax Reed Quintet
Friday, January 30, 2015 at 8:00pm
Crowell Concert Hall
Amsterdam’s Calefax Reed Quintet breathes new life into classical chamber music by Bach, Shostakovich, and others arranged for oboe, clarinet, sax, bass clarinet, and bassoon.

2014

November

Riffat Sultana and Party
Friday, November 7, 2014 at 8:00pm
Crowell Concert Hall
The New England debut of Sufi fusion singer Riffat Sultana and Party. Her divinely soulful voice evokes her musical ancestry, blending Indian and Pakistani influences with guitar, tabla, dhol, bansuri, and harmonium.

October

Vijay Iyer Trio
Saturday, October 11, 2014 at 8:00pm
Crowell Concert Hall
A “distinctive redefinition of the jazz piano trio” (JazzTimes) by pianist Vijay Iyer, with bassist Stephan Crump and drummer Tyshawn Sorey MA '11.