Electronic Music Midwest (EMM) celebrates its 23rd annual festival at Lewis University. Approximately 60 composers and performers will be on campus to present new, cutting-edge, electroacoustic concert music during seven concerts. Visit emmfestival.org for more information.

Gather with friends and family for the USAF Band of Mid-America's FREE Veterans Day Concert Series! These family-friend 90-minute concerts feature the unit's 45-member concert band, and will honor our nation's veterans, share stories of their sacrifices, and reflect on all that makes us flourish as individuals and as a nation. In addition to spectacular marches and patriotic music, the concert will include Broadway tunes, jazz selections, and more.

The Pete Ellman Big Band has been entertaining Chicagoland audiences since 2009 performing at locations such as Mullen's in Lisle and Fitzgerald's in Oak Park. Committed to developing the next generation of jazz musicians, Pete and his band are often guest clinicians throughout the area. Join us as we celebrate big band jazz at Lewis with Pete Ellman and his band.

Hailed as "one of the last pianists in the grand Romantic tradition of Liszt, Rachmaninoff, and Rubinstein," Barbara Nissman continues the grand bravura tradition of romantic pianism. Her recordings of Prokofiev, Bartók and Ginastera are considered "definitive," and she has been praised for her series of recordings of nineteenth-century composers, Beethoven, Chopin, Liszt, Schumann, Brahms, and Rachmaninoff. Join Nissman for an unforgettable afternoon spent with her favorite composer "friends"- Beethoven, Liszt, Chopin, and Prokofiev.

Learn more about Ms. Nissman at BarbaraNissman.com

A chamber music theatre work for singing actress and trio (cello, piano, and percussion), Tres Vidas brings three legendary Latin American Women to life: Mexican artist, Frida Kahlo, Savadoran activist Rufina Amaya, and Argentinean poet Alfonsina Storni. Weaving through popular and folk songs from Latin America, Highly-acclaimed actress Rosa Rodriguez portrays all three women in a performance the Boston Globe heralded as "...a dazzling command of musical vernacular, here the Latin American kind."

Featured regularly on Chicago's premiere jazz radio station, WDCB 90.9 FM, Matt Shevitz is an in‐demand musician in the jazz, blues, and popular music scenes of the Chicago area. He has performed with many internationally renowned musicians such as Dick Hyman, Ignacio Berroa, Howard Levy, Frank Capp, Frank Wess, Eric Lindell, and Spare Parts. This concert will feature works from his albums Forward Motion (2018) and First Take! Live on WDCB (2022), an album of songs recorded during live broadcasts for WDCB 90.9 FM. Join us for an incredible jazz experience with one of the preeminent Chicago saxophonists working today.

Monarch Winds presents an evening of woodwind quintet favorites from the 20th century & Romantic era featuring selections from Bernstein West Side Story, Persichetti Pastoral, with a side-by-side quintet from the Metropolitan Youth Symphony Orchestra, Arnold Three Shanties, Danzi Quintet No.3 and Pierne Pastoral. Since 2011 Monarch Winds has provided woodwind quintet programs at Lewis University, St John’s the Evangelist Episcopal Church in Lockport and other venues in Will & Dupage counties. As the in-resident woodwind quintet at Lewis University, Monarch Winds strives to provide cultural opportunities for students and residents in the Chicagoland area.

Two visiting authors will be reading from their newly published work and providing a Q and A session: Jameka Williams and Aricka Foreman. Jameka Williams s holds an MFA in poetry from Northwestern University and is the author of American Sex Tape, winner of the 2022 Brittingham Prize in Poetry from the Wisconsin Poetry Series. She works as a Production Assistant & Editor at Haymarket Books. Aricka Foreman is the author of Salt Body Shimmer from Yes Yes Books and has fellowships from Cave Canem, Callaloo, and the Millay Colony for the Arts. She is a publicist for Haymarket Books.

Editors from Lewis University's online literary journal Jet Fuel Review as well as alums, faculty, and staff, from a variety of departments, will read published creative work--fiction, creative nonfiction and poetry--that is gathered both nationally and internationally.

Artist Statement: This work was inspired after a friend asked me to capture the essence of her adopted city of Phoenix, Arizona. Once I started the journey, I was immediately captivated. The American West has been the subject matter of artists for hundreds of years. I add these images to that history.

Rosy Petri is a multidisciplinary artist fusing portraiture and storytelling as an act of witness. She's been an Artist-in-Residence at the bell hooks center and Pfister Hotel, a Nohl Emerging Artist Fellow, and Mildred Harpole Artist of the Year. Her work can be seen at www.thisisparadisehome.com

The Nation's oldest art society is well into its second century of exhibiting art. Chicago Society of Artists' exhibitions are sought by galleries, due to their ability to interpret the real and imaginary world via artistic versatility and eclectic styles across a variety of mediums.

The Lewis University Department of Art and Design is proud to present the Senior Capstone Exhibition. This biannual art show coincides with the capstone course, Senior Project. The course challenges graduating students to put their newly acquired skills and understanding of art to the test by participating in a professional exhibition experience.

More Info Coming Soon!

More Info Coming Soon!

More Info Coming Soon!

The little prince may have returned to his own tiny planet, to tend his Rose and look after his Sheep, before a short, enchanted time, he returns to us and comes alive on stage. This play tells the story of a world, weary and disenchanted Aviator, who sputtering plane strands him in the Sahara desert, and a mysterious, regal "little man" who appears an ask him to "Please, sir, draw me a sheep." During their two weeks together in the desert, the Little Prince tells the Aviator about his adventures through the galaxy, how he met the Lamplighter and the Businessman and the Geographer, and about his strained relationship with a very special flower on his own tiny planet. The Little Prince talks to everyone, he meets: a garden of roses, the Snake and a Fox who wishes to be tamed. From each, he gains a unique insight which he shares with the Aviator: "It is only with the heart that one can see rightly." "What is essential is invisible to the eye." At length, both the little man and the Aviator must go home – each with a new understanding of how to laugh, cry and love again.

Hilariously, everything which can go wrong in a production does so. II Fornicazione is a "grim" tale of operatic adultery, poison, and mayhem. Streuth is the crime story Agatha Christie would never have dared to write. A Collier's Tuesday Tea combines the kitchen with the coal mine with an irreverent glance at D.H. Lawrence. All's Well that Ends As You Like It pushes the genius of the bard to its limit while filching lines from most of his plays. In all, cues are missed, effects fail, and props are lost and confusion reigns, but the coarse actors struggle on.

The teachers of Tumbldn high school don't live in an inspirational teacher movie. They bring mouse traps from home, they make the toilet paper last, and they show up for the kids nobody else shows up for. So when the school is slated for closure at the end of the year, and the weight of the inevitable bears down on the community, students and teachers alike, discover their breaking points. Ricky, the vice principal has stayed firmly on the sidelines for all of the teachers previous battles, but now in the 11th hour, he's compelled to step up with a plan to save the school. Some risk their futures to follow his lead, but does he actually have any idea what he's doing? spiked with humor and brimming with fury, Exit Strategy is an exhilarating call to arms about what we owe each other.

"Godspell" was the first major musical theater offering from three-time Grammy and Academy Award winner, Stephen Schwartz, (Wicked, Pippin, Children of Eden); and it took the world by storm. Led by the international hit, "Day by Day", Godspell (2012) features a parade beloved songs, including "Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord", "Learn your Lessons Well", "All for the Best", "All God Gifts", "Turn Back, O Man" and "By My Side". A small group of people help Jesus Christ, tell different parables by using a wide variety of games, storytelling techniques, and a hefty dose of comic timing. An eclectic blend of songs, ranging in style from pop to vaudeville, is employed as the story of Jesus' life dances across the stage. Dissolving hauntingly into the Last Supper and the Crucifixion, Jesus' messages of kindness, tolerance, and love come vibrantly to life. Boasting a score with chart-topping songs, a book by a visionary playwright (John-Michael Tebalak) and a feature film, Godspell (2012) is a sensation that continues to touch audiences.

Join Assistant Professor of Music, Dr. Adrianne Honnold, in a discussion of Elise Hall, the pioneering 19th century saxophonist from Boston, on the occasion of the 100th Anniversary of her death. She is the subject of a newly published edited volume that investigates the historically underrepresented contributions of women to the history of the saxophone.

Dr. Jamil Mustafa (English Studies) will draw on his new book, The Blaxploitation Horror Film: Adaptation, Appropriation and the Gothic, to discuss how mainstream and Blaxploitation horror films interpret and adapt classic Gothic tales.

Purchase Book on Amazon

Sponsored by the Film Studies Program, we will screen four short films that have won or been nominated for major awards from the Hollywood academy and film festivals around the world. Dr. Christopher Wielgos, Director of Film Studies, will host, guide conversation and answer any questions.

English Studies professor, Dr. Philippian, will discuss his new co-edited collection Inclusive Shakespeares: Identity, Pedagogy, Performance (Palgrave, September 2023), a volume that responds to the growing concern to make Shakespeare Studies inclusive of prospective students, teachers, performers, and audiences who have occupied a historically marginalized position in relation to Shakespeare's poetry and plays.

Purchase Book on Amazon

A rapidly changing climate, accelerated by human actions (or inaction), impacts creation and the human community in multiple and complex ways. We're nearing a point when the effects of climate change will become irreversible. Communities of Color, including Indigenous peoples, regions struggling with poverty, and women with children are facing far greater consequences from our collective choices as individuals, nations, and corporations. Failure to act strategically with urgency is exacerbating ecological trauma to our earth, the compromise of health in vulnerable populations of human beings, animals and plants, and increasing the occurrence of devastating 'natural' disasters.

The 2023 Peace Teach-In seeks to explore the interdisciplinary and intersectional complexities of climate change and to seek responses together that will grow environmental justice and create greater health equity in our communities, nation and world.

Join Dr. Tina Bobo for a discussion on new technologies and treatments in medicine during this presentation, which is part of the Peace Teach-in Series.

Screening of the film The Last Drop, followed by a panel discussion with the Director of the film, advocates from Guardian Angel Community Services, and staff from Frontline Forensics. The Last Drop is a sci-fi film about abuse: a young woman links minds with her boyfriend, using a device that lets couples relive shared memories-but when she spots overlooked signs of abuse, she must escape before he can manipulate her memories in his favor.

TEDx Lewis University features short presentations with big ideas! Reception to follow in the lobby of the theatre.

What kind of thing is water? How do we know water, scientifically, experientially, and ethically? This lecture and conversation explore the manytextures and designations for fresh waters, including its life-giving and pollution-carrying dimensions in the Chicago area in recentvears. It describes the Catholic Church's theological and ethical identification of access to clean fresh water as a human right (as well as the complications that notion, especially in the legislative and judicial contexts of the United States). Finally, through the topic of fresh waters but also beyond, this lecture-discussion explores how the Catholic Church in the current era under Pope Francis engages environmental science in formulating ethical norms.

Christiana Zenner, Ph.D., is Associate Professor of Theology, Science, and Ethics and affiliated faculty in Environmental Studies at Fordham University- Lincoln Center. A scholar of the intersections between ecological science and religious ethics, Dr. Zenner is the author of the book, Just Water: Theology, Ethics, and Global Fresh Water Crises, an expert on the Catholic Church's turn to ecological justice, co-editor of two scholarly books on bioethics and sustainability, author of more than a dozen peer-reviewed articles on fresh water values, climate justice, and religious ethics, and a prominent interpreter of Laudato Si.

Join us for an evening of outstanding jazz performed by one of the hottest pianists currently playing in Chicagoland. Born in Buenos Aires, Leandro López Várady has been a staple in the Chicago jazz scene since 2000, and this concert will feature music from his latest album, Third Stream, which includes original jazz arrangements of traditional Ukrainian folk music commissioned by the Ukrainian Institute of Modern Arts. López Várady performs regularly at the Green Mill, Jazz Showcase, and Andy's Jazz Club among many other prestigious performance halls including Symphony Center, Harris Theater, and the Auditorium Theater. An international performer, López Várady has performed at festivals around the world, including the Chicago Jazz Festival; Taste of Chicago; South Shore Jazz Festival; Hyde Park Jazz Festival; Detroit Jazz Festival; Made in Chicago Festival in Poznan, Poland; Havana Jazz Festival in Havana, Cuba; Jazz y Pop Festival in Buenos Aires, Argentina and the 57th International Festival in Ruse, Bulgaria. The recipient of a Gold Record Award for his participation in Mietek Szcześniak's Nierówmi" album, López Várady is currently the pianist for the Orbert Davis' Chicago Jazz Philharmonic. He also is a member of Doug Lofstrom & New Quartet, Steve Hashimoto's "Sueños", Juli Wood's "Chicago Calling" and the Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre Music Ensemble.

Described as "Syria's leading young pianist" by International Piano, Riyad Nicolas has already established himself as a leading pianist of his generation having performed for audiences around the globe. Join Mr. Nicolas in the St. Charles Borromeo Convocation Hall for a concert featuring piano music written by Syrian composer. Through his performance and music from his homeland, learn how Mr. Nicolas has been promoting peace and raising awareness for the struggles and challenges of the Syrian people.

This event is supported by:

An inspiring one-woman show, Haunted by God: The Life of Dorothy Day is a moving dramatic portrait of one of the most outspoken and influential American Catholics of the 20th century. The production incorporates all the wit and prophetic grit of Dorothy's own words about war, peace, American society, compassion, and protest in the Spirit of Jesus.

Jack Helbig of New City proclaimed Haunted by God "a charming and compelling warts-and-all portrait," adding that "Wagner's performance is so riveting-she plays, with equal ease, Day as a young Greenwich Village bohemian, as middle-aged radical, and as an elderly wise leader-that even those not entirely sympathetic with Day's sadly unfashionable views on U.S. imperialism and feeding the poor will be moved."

A truly a Chicago jazz "supergroup," the Raven Sextet brings together some of Chicago's greatest jazz pioneers with some of today's most innovative emerging musicians. This concert will feature original compositions from leader Mira Raven, as well as compositions from other members including Robert Irving III and Kevin King. Inspired by Wayne Shorter, Thelonius Monk, and Miles Davis the sextet is a tribute to the legacy of jazz while also a pioneering spirit foraging ahead to build its innovation future. Enjoy new and innovative music that finds a balance between familiarity and experimentation.

Featuring:
Mira Raven-Vocals
Kevin King-Alto Saxophone/Flute
David Boykin-Tenor Saxophone
Robert Irving III-Piano
Ernie Adams-Drums
Josh Ramos-Bass

The internationally acclaimed Ensemble Chaconne transports the audience to Shakespeare's world with Measure for Measure: The Music of Shakespeare's Plays. The concert features music by leading composers of Shakespeare's time (Robert Johnson, Thomas Morley, John Dowland, and others) with songs from As You Like It, Twelfth Night, The Winter's Tale, The Tempest, Hamlet, Othello, Macbeth and other plays. The ensemble members are Peter H. Bloom, renaissance flute; Carol Lewis, viola da gamba; Olav Chris Henriksen, renaissance lute; and mezzo-soprano Burcu Gulec. Their Shakespeare concert has been called "the perfect Elizabethan evening" (The Portland Press Herald).

Mike Sobczyk graduated from Lewis College (now Lewis University) in 1970. He became interested in ethnographic art, mostly from New Guinea, by frequently visiting the Field Museum from a young age. Mike gained more knowledge on New Guinea and contemporary art when an architect friend recommended that he visit the many Chicago art galleries. This exhibition consists of works collected from the late 1970's through the present time.

Michael Pantuso is a celebrated graphic designer and fine artist from Chicago, known for his skillful integration of classical techniques with modern aesthetics. His work, showcased across global platforms, resonates with a wide audience for its distinctive visual narrative. A true innovator, Michael's career is a testament to the relentless pursuit of artistic excellence, shaping a dynamic and lasting legacy.

"My work reflects the dramatic effect of a lack of funding in depressed areas throughout the country. It's based on my own experience living and being raised in Chicago's Inner City." Jesse Howard

The Lewis University Department of Art and Design is proud to present the Senior Capstone Exhibition. This biannual art show coincides with the capstone course, Senior Project. The course challenges graduating students to put their newly acquired skills and understanding of art to the test by participating in a professional exhibition experience.

Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Tracy Letts weaves a heart-warming and humorous tale of unlikely friendships in one of Chicago's most diverse neighborhoods.

Arthur Przybyszewski's Superior Donuts has been a community hub for decades and both the neglected storefront and its rundown owner are evidence to that. The decrepit donut shop sits in the Uptown neighborhood of Chicago. Its wear and tear is evident, but when Franco Wicks, a young fast-talking dreamer, bounds into the shop, becoming the shop's only employee, the writing is on the wall that things are going to change—maybe even for the better. This comedy-drama explores the challenges of embracing the past and the redemptive power of friendship.

For seven years a certain boy wizard went to a certain Wizard School and conquered evil. This, however, is not his story. This is the story of the Puffs... who just happened to be there too. A tale for anyone who has never been destined to save the world.

This clever and inventive play "never goes more than a minute without a laugh" (Nerdist) giving you a new look at a familiar adventure from the perspective of three potential heroes just trying to make it through a magic school that proves to be very dangerous for children. Alongside them are the Puffs, a group of well-meaning, loyal outsiders with a thing for badgers "who are so lovable and relatable, you'll leave the theater wishing they were in the stories all along" (Hollywood Life). Their "hilariously heartfelt!" (Metro) and epic journey takes the classic story to new places and reimagines what a boy wizard hero can be.

Welcome to Colchester, a small town where everybody knows each other and the pace of life allows the pursuit of love to take up as much space as it needs. Our tour guide is Suzanne, the town photographer, who lets us peek into her neighbors' lives to catch glimpses of romance in all its stages of development. A play about love, nostalgia, the seasons and how we learn to say goodbye. Kodachrome is a beautiful play that highlights the mundane and shows how little moments create huge ones, and yet, still chooses to focus on the mundane to showcase how beautiful tiny moments can be in one's life. Written by playwright, Adam Szymkowicz.

Part comedy, part tragedy—and wholly unexpected—in this hilarious, outlandish, and wildly imaginative story, it delivers surprises at every turn.

The lives of six teenagers from a Canadian chamber choir are cut short in a freak accident aboard a roller coaster. When they awake in limbo, a mechanical fortune teller invites each to tell their story of a life interrupted—offering a prize like no other — the chance to come to terms with their fates & possibly the chance to return to life.

At once quirky and smart, edgy and beautiful, Ride the Cyclone ultimately reveals the resilience of the human spirit in spite of senseless tragedy. This popular musical is a funny, moving look at what makes a life well-lived!

Kate Schuenke-Lucien Director for Haiti and Senior Associate Director for Strategic Planning at the Global Center for the Development of the Whole Child (University of Notre Dame) will speak about her research and work in Haiti over the past decade, which focuses on activating local faith-based systems to support child development in the absence of an effective state presence.

Join Br. Peter Hannon and Dr. Mark Schultz of the history department as they discuss and debate the meaning of the 2nd amendment to the US Constitution, the right to bear arms.

What kind of thing is water? How do we know water, scientifically, experientially, and ethically? This lecture and conversation explore the manytextures and designations for fresh waters, including its life-giving and pollution-carrying dimensions in the Chicago area in recentvears. It describes the Catholic Church's theological and ethical identification of access to clean fresh water as a human right (as well as the complications that notion, especially in the legislative and judicial contexts of the United States). Finally, through the topic of fresh waters but also beyond, this lecture-discussion explores how the Catholic Church in the current era under Pope Francis engages environmental science in formulating ethical norms.

Christiana Zenner, Ph.D., is Associate Professor of Theology, Science, and Ethics and affiliated faculty in Environmental Studies at Fordham University- Lincoln Center. A scholar of the intersections between ecological science and religious ethics, Dr. Zenner is the author of the book, Just Water: Theology, Ethics, and Global Fresh Water Crises, an expert on the Catholic Church's turn to ecological justice, co-editor of two scholarly books on bioethics and sustainability, author of more than a dozen peer-reviewed articles on fresh water values, climate justice, and religious ethics, and a prominent interpreter of Laudato Si.