2023-24 Cornell fine arts: Coleman, ‘Chorus Line,’ combined concerts

A retrospective exhibit of colorful paintings and pastel landscapes by longtime gallery coordinator and lecturer Susan Coleman has opened an exciting year of fine arts at Cornell College.

Upcoming highlights include productions of “A Chorus Line,” “Noises Off,” and “Macbeth,” and a performance of a modern masterwork by the combined Cornell-Mount Vernon High School choirs and the Cornell Chamber Orchestra.

The Cornell Concert Series will no longer be a separate performance series. Instead, performers and composers-in-residence will work directly with Cornell students to elevate the music department’s concert offerings, which are open and free to the public.

Up-to-date information on all performances and exhibits can be found on Cornell’s campus  calendar filtered by the category of fine arts (pick “fine arts” under “Choose an event group.”) Anyone can subscribe to the fine arts calendar, or choose among music, art, and/or theatre and dance events calendars to receive periodic email updates. Viewers may also download events to their personal calendars.    

Art exhibitions

“Echoes and Undercurrents: A Retrospective,” Susan M. Coleman, through Oct. 15 with a Homecoming reception from 3–5 p.m. Oct. 7

• In her retrospective, the former Cornell gallery coordinator and longtime lecturer will show a collection of pastels, collages, drawings, and oil paintings made over the last 35 years. Coleman imbues her landscapes with an awareness of nature as a living presence, embodying source and refuge.  

“Tart Cherry,” Emma Beatrez, Oct. 27–Dec. 20 with an opening reception from 4–6 p.m. Dec. 1

• Drawing on a range of influences including psychoanalysis, contemporary fashion, and human belief systems, Beatrez’s work involves ritual, the recontextualization of materials, and aspects of the body. Her recent paintings and multimedia installations explore core psychoanalytic notions of the symbolic and the real, and the emergence of new meanings through distortion of established iconography. By manipulating the physical data of the gallery with lighting, scent, display, and other interdisciplinary processes, Beatrez hopes to encourage transference of unconscious associations in the viewer. 

“Come Celebrate with Me …,” Nicole Davis, Jan. 19–March 8, 2024, with an 0pening reception: 4–6 p.m. Jan. 19; artist talk at 3 p.m.

• 

  Nicole Davis’s work is rooted in Black feminist practice, memory, and identity. The pieces created for this exhibition materialized through the process of breaking down and marrying reclaimed textiles to create “new” two-dimensional and three-dimensional art pieces.

All shows are in Peter Paul Luce Gallery, McWethy Hall, and are open and free to the public.

Theatre productions

Self-generated student monologues, Sept. 24, Kimmel Theatre

• Guest artist Cavan Hallman, founder of MirrorBox Theatre in Cedar Rapids, will host a block break workshop to help students develop their own self-generated monologue or short scene. The workshop will commence with a reading of the works.  

“A Chorus Line,” Dec. 8–10, Kimmel Theatre

• Broadway’s singular sensation and winner of 12 Tony Awards, “A Chorus Line” is one of musical theatre’s longest-running hits. Two dozen dancers audition for eight coveted spots in the chorus of a new production, sharing their stories and baring their souls in hopes of the chance to perform.  

“Noises Off,” directed by Patrick DuLaney, Feb. 22–25, Feb. 29, and March 1–2, 2024, Kimmel Theatre

• Quite possibly the funniest farce ever written, Michael Frayn’s comedy takes in the final hours of rehearsal for an ill-fated production and its opening night, where the antics backstage overshadow the action onstage. Filled with nonstop laughs and the amazing rotating set, “Noises Off” is sure to leave you rolling in the aisles.

“Macbeth,” directed by Patrick DuLaney, April 25–28 and May 2–4, Kimmel Theatre

• Shakespeare’s dark tragedy of bold ambition comes to life in an immersive, atmospheric telling filled with larger-than-life projections and lighting on Kimmel stage.

Theatre performances require tickets, and Cornell’s box office information is included in the calendar listings.

Music performances

Combined Cornell-Mount Vernon High School performance of Elaine Hagenberg’s masterwork “Illuminare,” Oct. 10, Mount Vernon High School Performing Arts Center

• The Department of Music’s major fall concert will be a combined performance by the Cornell and Mount Vernon High School choirs and the Cornell Chamber Orchestra. The composer will be on campus Oct. 9–11 to work with the musicians and share about her work and life as a composer. 

Combined Holiday Concert by the Cornell College Choirs, Chamber Orchestra, and Symphonic Band, Dec. 7, Mount Vernon High School Performing Arts Center 

Opera Scenes, April 5–6, 2024, Ringer Recital Studio, Armstrong Hall 

• The scenes are sung and acted entirely by Cornell students enrolled in a Cornell Lyric Theatre course and cast by audition. 

Many additional events are on the music calendar, and more events are being planned with guest artists. Subscribe to the music calendar for email updates.

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Photo header: Students perform during Opera Scenes in April 2023. Photo by Jacklyn Couppee.