Professor
Vail Series Coordinator
Director of Music Theatre
Welcome to Vail 24-25!
This is a year of celebrations. As we celebrate Swasey Chapel’s 100th, we welcome legendary singer, dancer, and actress Rita Moreno to The Hill for a one-night engagement in a riveting conversation with Denison President Adam Weinberg. Mark your calendars for September 15 for the rededication of the completely refurbished and updated 1924 Austin organ with a concert by Nathan Laube. Old friends and new come together to bring you the American Patchwork Quartet. Lara Downes will celebrate the centennial of George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue with our own Denison Symphony Orchestra. Lorelei Ensemble, an all female vocal ensemble, collaborates with dance company Pilobolus for a two-night
engagement. The Merz Trio will astonish you with their virtuosity and musicality,
capping off an exciting season for all.
About The Vail Series
The Vail Series was endowed by a generous gift from the late Mary and Foster McGaw in honor of Jeanne Vail, class of 1946. Just as it was intended to do, the Series enriches the artistic experience of the entire Denison community, giving us the opportunity for faculty, staff, and Denison students to attend concerts with world-renowned artists for free. Programmed creatively with the mindful pursuit of learning across traditional academic boundaries, the Vail Series was directed by Lorraine Wales from its inception in 1979-2013 and by Michael Morris from 2013-2019. Ching-chu Hu is currently the Director of the Vail Series.
Since 1979, more than 200 individual Vail Series artists have found their way to Denison’s classrooms and stages, but that doesn’t include the dozens of ensembles or full symphony orchestras that have played here over the years. And some stay for a while. Last time he was here, Bobby McFerrin presented two concerts, performing with ten student groups over the two-night engagement. Many artists arrive on campus days ahead of their concert to visit classes and student groups.
The Vail Series really is much more than a series of concerts by world-class artists. It’s seeing Yo-Yo Ma or Béla Fleck or Ladysmith Black Mambazo or the Lviv National Philharmonic Orchestra of Ukraine. You’ll see them on a small stage, six feet away from your front-row seat, knowing they’ll be spending enough time here to interact with students personally and answer a question if you have one.
The Vail Series joins in bringing the contemporary classical Grammy Award-winning string quartet ETHEL, who have been awarded honorary degrees for their impact at Denison, and Grammy Award-winning Third Coast Percussion to campus, each for two full weeks a year, as Denison’s ensembles-in-residence. They take the arts from the performance stage to classrooms. They play in a variety of surprising locations across campus, and often just grab lunch and chat with students in the student union.
