UMass Amherst Department of Music and Dance

10/20/2026

Watch a free livestream of tonight's Beethoven lecture, given by Gilles Vonsattel at the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center at 6:30 PM!

Vonsattel will discuss the three pieces that he will be performing at UMass this Thursday night:

Sonata No. 1 in F minor for Piano, Op. 2, No. 1
Sonata No. 21 in C major for Piano, Op. 53, “Waldstein”
Sonata No. 29 in B-flat major for Piano, Op. 106, “Hammerklavier”

Masshttps://www.chambermusicsociety.org/cms-on-screen/digital-events/watch-live/26-27/beethoven-lecture-i

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10/20/2026

Our 2026 Studio Series continued this morning performances by the flute and clarinet studios.

More music is on tap tonight in Bezanson, when the Trombone Choir, Jazz Trombone Choir, and Trombone Quartets perform. The free concert starts at 7:30 PM!

10/19/2026

Help our amazing Dance and Theater students experience the transformative power of global study and performance in Tuscany!

Help UMass Amherst Foundation raise $5,000 for the project: Dance and Physical Theater Study Abroad in Italy Scholarship. Your gift will make a difference!

10/16/2026

Behind the scenes at Multibands, hundreds of performers set up to the soundtrack of the groups playing ahead of them. They take their spot and focus in on their performance, waiting for the moment when the curtain opens to 1,500 students silent with anticipation or screaming in delight.

Thanks to producer Jeffrey W. Holmes, the crew at the Fine Arts Center, and all of the ensemble directors who make this amazing event run smoothly!

Come see the primetime performance of the 52nd Annual Multiband Pops tonight at 7:30 PM in Frederick C. Tillis Performance Hall

10/15/2026

It's Multibands week!

10/13/2026

Piano professor Gilles Vonsattel gave an impressive and insightful lecture and a remarkable performance of Beethoven's Hammerklavier Sonata in this morning's Listening Room series.

Vonsattel is in the midst of a multi-year journey through one of the most challenging and important catalogs in the classical music canon, performing all 32 of Beethoven's piano sonatas in a series of concerts. That showcase will include four FREE concerts each semester at Bezanson Recital Hall, with each presenting different pieces out of Beethoven’s repertoire.

The fall performances will be held on Oct. 22, Oct. 29, Nov. 19 and Dec. 16, which happens to be Beethoven’s birthday. The spring concerts are scheduled for Jan. 22, Feb. 26, March 6 and March 22.

*We anticipate a high demand for this exciting concert series. We suggest you plan to arrive early for the best chance to secure seats. The hall will be closed when it has reached capacity, and unfortunately anyone not seated at that point will not receive entry. Additionally, because of contractual obligations, we are not able to livestream any of the concerts in this series.*

10/09/2026

Last night, we celebrated the opening of the new UMass Amherst Dance Program studios at 472 North Pleasant Street. Guests took an immersive tour of the space, experienced improvisational solos and music from the graduate jazz quartet, and heard remarks from Department Chair Matthew Westgate, Director of Dance Lauren Cox, and dance faculty Tom Vacanti and Molly Fletcher Lynch-Clark. The evening finished with a performance by dancer Samantha Bean and voice professor Marjorie Melnick, and a demonstration by the Ballet 5 class, overseen by Vacanti.

Thank you to all the students, faculty, administration and alumni who attended this special event, including Marilyn V. Patton, who founded the dance program in 1965. Miss Patton spent some time speaking with the undergraduate dance students and sharing stories of the early days of UMass Dance!

10/08/2026

Another sneak peek of next week's Multibands concert came at this morning's Jazz Recital Hour!

The graduate jazz quartet performed Michael Brecker's "Both Sides of the Coin", featuring Aidan Higgins (saxophone), Greer Lambert (vibraphone), Fletcher Clark (bass) and Nate Scott (drums).

Catch this quartet plus a ton more amazing performances at the 52nd Annual Multiband Pops Concert - October 16th, 7:30 PM in Tillis Hall!

Tickets available at the Fine Arts Center Box Office, https://arts.umass.edu/box-office/music-and-dance-department/events

10/07/2026

Tomorrow night, celebrate the opening of our new dance studios at 472 North Pleasant Street!

Tour the two new studios in a unique immersive experience celebrating the past, present and future of UMass Dance!

Improv dancers and live musicians will greet guests at the door and guide them through the space, where they will encounter archival exhibits and projections, informal spontaneous performances, and examples of student work from our Italy study abroad program.

Schedule:

5:30pm: Space introduced with dancers from Freshman Improvisation and Advanced Composition

Installation: Large Studio with Graduate Jazz Quartet in collaboration with Jazz Dance III and V

Ongoing Installations: Small Studio archival exhibit and projections of current classes and senior thesis projects throughout the space

6:00pm: Introductions and remarks with Professors Matthew Westgate, Lauren Cox and Tom Vacanti

6:15pm: Installation: Ballet V presentation with Paul Arslanian on Piano

6:45pm: A presentation of student work from our Italy Study Abroad Program, Samantha Bean w/ Opera Professor Marjorie Melnick

7:00pm: Light fare and drinks available

10/06/2026

Tonight! Jazz Ensemble I & Chapel Jazz perform (7:30 PM, Bowker Auditorium)

With special guest, new Vocal Jazz faculty member, Atla DeChamplain!

Featuring music by Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Thelonious Monk, Charles "Majeed" Greenlee, George Cables, Marcus Miller, Bob Mintzer & Rodgers & Hart.