Montclair State University — John J. Cali School of Music
Cali Alexander Kasser Theater Events
The 2024/25 Season John J. Cali School of Music
FALL 2024
Kaleidoscope Concert
Friday, October 4 @ 7:30 PM Tickets
Saturday, October 5 @ 8:00 PM Tickets
Alexander Kasser Theater
$20 Standard | $15 Seniors
Kaleidoscope is a 90-minute non-stop extravaganza of diverse repertoire celebrating the Cali School’s talented faculty and students. The concerts feature the MSU Wind Symphony, Symphonic Band, Chorale, University Singers, Jazz Band, Symphony Orchestra, and chamber and solo artists.
University Wind Symphony
and University Symphonic Band
with special guest Doreen Ketchens
Thomas McCauley, Conductor
Friday, November 1 @ 7:30 PM
Alexander Kasser Theater
$20 Standard | $15 Seniors
Tickets
Clarinetist Doreen Ketchens joins the Montclair State University Wind Symphony and Symphonic Band for an evening of classical and jazz music. The concert will also feature the music of composers Mary Lou Williams, Quinn Mason, Omar Thomas, Carol Brittin Chambers, and Ayatey Shabazz, among others.
University Symphony Orchestra
Kyle Ritenauer, Conductor
Saturday, November 2 @ 3:00 PM
Alexander Kasser Theater
$20 Standard | $15 Seniors
Tickets
The Montclair Symphony’s first concert of the season will be centered around Shostakovich’s Symphony no. 9. The program also includes two movements from Beethoven’s Symphony no. 9.
University Jazz Ensemble
Oscar Perez, Director
Sunday, November 2 @ 8:00 PM
Alexander Kasser Theater
$20 Standard | $15 Seniors
Tickets
The University Jazz Ensemble plays the repertoire of the great jazz masters as well as modern arrangements and contemporary music.
Choral Fall Concert
Vocal Accord, University Singers, Abigail Brodnick (MM ’24), soprano
Heather J. Buchanan, Conductor;
Steven W. Ryan, Accompanist
Sunday, November 3 @ 3:00 PM
Alexander Kasser Theater
$20 Standard | $15 Seniors
Tickets
The University Singers and Vocal Accord present traditional and contemporary choral repertoire, including music by contemporary composers Jake Runestad, Jocelyn Hagen, Melissa Dunphy, Karen Marrolli, and Gwyneth Walker. The featured guest artist soloist is alumna Abigail Brodnick, a coloratura soprano and grand prize winner of the 2023 Camille Coloratura Awards (student division), finalist in the 2023 Sherrill Milnes Opera Idol Competition, and a study grant artist with the 2023 Savannah Voice Festival.
Montclair State University
Opera Workshop Chamber Opera presents
Hansel & Gretel
Engelbert Humperdinck, Composer
Karen Driscoll, Director
William Hobbs, Conductor
Saturday, December 7 @ 3:00 PM Tickets & 6:00 PM Tickets
Alexander Kasser Theater
$20 Standard | $15 Seniors
This fairy tale opera follows brother and sister–, Hansel and Gretel, as they are sent away to gather strawberries after frustrating their exhausted mother. While on their quest, the children get lost in the haunted woods where the renowned evil Witch of Ilsenstein dwells. After encountering some other magical characters, the children come upon a beautiful and delicious gingerbread house, where a kind old woman lives. They are invited inside to enjoy sweets and treats, only to be captured by the evil Witch! She puts a spell on the children, making them eat until they are plump so that she can cook them to perfection. The children manage to overcome the Witch, and their parents find them, all celebrating their freedom.
Family friendly version: approximately 1 hour
Sung in ENGLISH
University Jazz Ensemble
Oscar Perez, Director
Sunday, December 8 @ 7:30 PM
Alexander Kasser Theater
$20 Standard | $15 Seniors
Tickets
The University Jazz Ensemble plays the repertoire of the great jazz masters as well as modern arrangements and contemporary music.
University Symphonic Band and Campus Band
Thomas McCauley and Theodora Sotiropoulos, Conductors
Tuesday, December 10 @ 7:30 PM
Alexander Kasser Theater
$20 Standard | $15 Seniors
Tickets
Join the Montclair State University Symphonic Band and Campus Band for an eclectic and entertaining evening of music. The concert will include music by Vincent Persichetti, Carol Brittin Chambers, and James Barnes, among others.
University Wind Symphony with special guests, the Zzyzx Quartet “Connections”
Thomas McCauley, Conductor
Friday, December 13 @ 7:30 PM
Alexander Kasser Theater
$20 Standard | $15 Seniors
Tickets
Composers David Maslanka, Quinn Mason, and Omar Thomas’s music, combined with the unique talents of the Zzyzx Quartet, join the Montclair State University Wind Symphony to explore their “Connections.”
University Symphony Orchestra
Kyle Ritenauer, Conductor
Saturday, December 14 @ 8:00 PM
Alexander Kasser Theater
$20 Standard | $15 Seniors
Tickets
Featuring Duke Ellington’s Three Black Kings in collaboartion with musicians from the jazz department. The concert will also feature Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker
2024 Beatrice Crawford Memorial Concert
Raising Her Voice!
Equality, Hope, Peace + Unity
#WeAreMadeofSong
Saturday, December 14 @ 2:00 PM FREE Tickets
Sunday, December 15 @ 3:00 PM FREE Tickets
Vocal Accord, University Singers, Chorale
+ Guest Artists Chamber Ensemble, Bergenfield HS Treble Choir, Chamber Orchestra
Heather J. Buchanan, Conductor; Steven W. Ryan, Pianist
PERFORMING
Here I Am – Jocelyn Hagen (East Coast Premiere)
Illuminare – Elaine Hagenberg
Undivided – Karen Marrolli (East Coast Premiere)
Beatrice Crawford Memorial Concert: This concert is a free public performance supported by a generous grant from the Keating Crawford Foundation.
SPRING 2025
Montclair State University
Mainstage Opera & University
Symphony Orchestra presents
La Calisto
Francesco Cavalli, Composer
Rebecca Jo Loeb, Director
Kyle Ritenauer, Conductor
Saturday, February 1 @ 8:00 PM Tickets
Sunday, February 2 @ 3:00 PM Tickets
Alexander Kasser Theater
$20 Standard | $15 Seniors
Cavalli’s poignant and ruckus opera begins in the heavens when we learn that a young, beautiful nymph, Calisto, has the chance to become immortalized as a constellation among the stars. Her story of being pursued by Zeus himself, devastated by the Goddess Diana, and finding herself in the middle of the follies and heartbreaks of an amusing cast of mythological creatures and star crossed lovers leads her down a path of ultimate humiliation and destruction. Will she find her way to the stars, or will she be cursed to live among the vengeful Gods in a beastly form?
University Jazz Ensemble
Oscar Perez, Director
Thursday, March 20 @ 7:30 PM
Alexander Kasser Theater
$20 Standard | $15 Seniors
Tickets
The University Jazz Ensemble plays the repertoire of the great jazz masters as well as modern arrangements and contemporary music.
University Wind Symphony and the New Rochelle High School Wind Ensemble
Thomas McCauley and Scott Byers, Conductors
Friday, March 21 @ 7:30 PM
Alexander Kasser Theater
$20 Standard | $15 Seniors
Tickets
Scott Byers and the New Rochelle High School Wind Ensemble join the University Wind Symphony and Dr. Thomas McCauley in a shared concert program that will feature the 2024-2025 Montclair State University Wind Symphony Concerto Competition winner.
University Symphony Orchestra
Beethoven Symphony No. 9 (Choral)
Kyle Ritenauer, Conductor
Heather J. Buchanan, Conductor;
Saturday, March 22 @ 8:00 PM
Alexander Kasser Theater
$20 Standard | $15 Seniors
Tickets
Celebrating the 200th anniversary of this epic masterwork, the Chorale (Dr. Heather J. Buchanan, conductor) is honored to collaborate with the Montclair State Symphony Orchestra (Kyle Ritendauer, conductor), performing Beethoven’s epic Symphony No. 9 under the baton of Kyle Ritenauer. Featuring graduate student and alumni soloists – TBA.
Choral Showcase #Inspired!
Vocal Accord, University Singers + Guest Choirs: Princeton Girl Choir Ensemble & Nutley HS Chamber Choir
Heather J. Buchanan, Conductor;
Steven W. Ryan, Accompanist
Sunday, March 23 @ 3:00 PM
Alexander Kasser Theater
$20 Standard | $15 Seniors
Tickets
Celebrating the unique and powerful artistic community created through choral singing, #Inspired! Welcomes guest artists: Princeton Girl Choir Ensemble, Dr. Lynnel Joy Jenkins, conductor, and the Nutley High School Chamber Singers, Stephone Gaines ‘15 conductor. Choral performances by collegiate and high school musicians showcasing a diversity of styles and genres in a concert that will elevate your spirit.
University Symphonic Band and Campus Band
Thomas McCauley and Theodora Sotiropoulos, Conductors
Tuesday, April 22 @ 7:30 PM
Alexander Kasser Theater
$20 Standard | $15 Seniors
Tickets
Join the Montclair State University Symphonic Band and Campus Band as they present an eclectic and entertaining evening of music.
University Symphony Orchestra
Kyle Ritenauer, Conductor
Wednesday, April 23 @ 7:30 PM
Alexander Kasser Theater
$20 Standard | $15 Seniors
Tickets
Join the Montclair State University Symphony Orchestra for another concert of wonderful music featuring the winner of this year’s concerto competition.
University Wind Symphony
“Dance Like Nobody’s Watching”
Thomas McCauley, Conductor
Friday, April 25 @ 7:30 PM
Alexander Kasser Theater
$20 Standard | $15 Seniors
Tickets
Join us for an evening of band dancing as the University Wind Symphony provides some unique perspectives on the music of J.S. Bach, Arturo Marquez, John Mackey, Jake Runestad, Gunther Schuller, and more.
Spring Choral Concert
Celebrating the Music of Jake Runestad
Vocal Accord, University Singers, Chorale
Heather J. Buchanan, Conductor;
Steven W. Ryan, Accompanist
Friday, April 25 @ 11:30 AM (HS Choral Concert)
Saturday, April 26 @ 8:00 PM
Alexander Kasser Theater
$20 Standard | $15 Seniors
Tickets
Jake Runestad’s compositions are driven by the power of music for positive change. Please join us for a special celebration of selected choral repertoire by the EMMY-winning and GRAMMY-nominated American composer and conductor for this 2024-25 season, culminating in Cali Immersive Residency.
University Jazz Ensemble
Oscar Perez, Director
Sunday, April 27 @ 3:00 PM
Alexander Kasser Theater
$20 Standard | $15 Seniors
Tickets
The University Jazz Ensemble plays the repertoire of the great jazz masters as well as modern arrangements and contemporary music.
973-655-5112
montclair.edu/arts/tickets
All Montclair State Undergrads receive a PREPAID ticket with a valid ID!
This season’s programs are made possible in part by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts.