WashU Music

09/08/2026

Kick off the WashU Jazz Series with Carolbeth True and Two Times True, longtime favorites on the St. Louis jazz scene!

Led by acclaimed pianist Carolbeth True, the quartet brings together Dave True on drums, Glen Smith on bass, and Larry Johnson on saxophones for an evening of instrumental jazz and jazz/rock. True has been a force in St. Louis music for decades, earning honors including Jazz Musician of the Year from the Riverfront Times.

🎶 Tuesday, September 8 | 7:30 p.m.
📍 Pillsbury Theatre, 560 Music Center
🎟️ FREE and open to the public!

Washington University in St. Louis WashU Arts & Sciences

08/26/2026

This is so exciting! Come hear her LIVE performing at our 10th Celebration Concert for the Great Artists Series! https://music.washu.edu/events/great-artists-series-26-27-10th-anniversary-celebration-pianist-yuja-wang
Tuesday, April 6th
7:30 pm
560 Music Center

Washington University in St. LouisWashU Arts & SciencesYuja Wang

A documentary on Yuja Wang is on the way! 🎹

‘YUJA’ sees the internationally-acclaimed pianist at a career crossroads, examining her life and career so far, and questioning what comes next.

Featuring contributions by renowned mentors, from Gary Graffman, Michael Tilson Thomas, Emmanuel Ax, her colleague Teddy Abrams, as well as Paul Dornian and others who have supported Yuja throughout her journey, the documentary has unprecedented access to the pianist’s inside circle. Directed by Lorna Tucker for Snowstorm Productions.

08/25/2026

WashU Music is celebrating the start of a new semester! More than 150 students are joining us for ensemble and private lesson auditions and placements, and we couldn’t be more excited to hear music filling the halls of the 560 Music Center again. Here’s to a semester filled with music-making, collaboration, and creativity!

Washington University in St. Louis

08/12/2026

This classical music off-season, St. Louis is hosting something of a classical music talent combine for new composers and the creative musicians who perform their work. Let us call the Collaborative Composition Initiative a summery Spring Training for the classical music season to come.

08/12/2026

On August 15, join us for an immersive musical experience in the Kemper Art Museum galleries with performances by Brooklyn-based ensemble Unheard-of, along with fellows from its Collaborative Composition Initiative (CCI). The group’s CCI program is hosted with Christopher Stark, associate professor of composition in the Department of Music in Arts & Sciences.

The group will present two sets of musical miniatures paired with artworks throughout the Museum. The first performance will begin at 3 pm, and the second will begin at 4:15 pm. Free and open to the public.

07/30/2026

Charles Metz (WashU Music alumnus, PhD '81) has helped highlight the beauty and significance of historical keyboards by featuring one on his latest recording and sharing his remarkable collection in his beautiful home. Read the full review of his recording at the link below and delve into Metz's collection in an article he wrote for Early Music America.

"[Metz] performs with a keen ear for the instrument’s range of colors and dynamics. He plays with unfailing clarity and elegant phrasing. And alongside his exploration of the Clementi piano’s sonic potential, Metz phrases with a restrained, highly artistic flexibility of phrasing."

(Photo of historical instrument by Marc Olivier Becotte)

Washington University in St. Louis WashU Arts & Sciences

07/29/2026

Congratulations to WashU Assistant Professor of Music in Composition Vicente Atria! The Zarabanda Variations, an album featuring his compositions, has been named The Guardian's Global Album of the Month—an outstanding international honor. Congratulations on this well-deserved recognition! See the full article in the link below and check out the trailer for this project.

"Otra Llorona, composed by Vicente Atria, calls to the sarabande’s Mexican influences with yearning folk vocal melodies from singer Mariana Flores Bucio. Tonada Americana (also by Atria) is a highlight, combining the swaying rhythm of the 17th-century Hispanic dance tonada with shards of frenetic atonal violin bowing that create a jolting sense of anticipation for a resolution that never arrives."

Washington University in St. Louis WashU Arts & Sciences

07/27/2026

Pre-order Recital by Lauren Eldridge Stewart, Assistant Professor of Ethnomusicology, today! 🎶📚

"Recital makes at least two significant contributions: it expands what the general public knows and thinks about Haiti, and it broadens our understanding of how classical music creates community." - Lauren Eldridge Stewart

Description:
Classical music has been a cultural mainstay in Haiti throughout the nation’s history, and it continues to serve as an enduringly powerful source of community in the present moment. Every summer, foreign volunteers visit Haiti to teach music in the Western art tradition in urban and rural settings. Author Lauren Eldridge Stewart joined them to observe how the actions of volunteers and campers, foreigners and citizens, are shaped by an American news media landscape that routinely provides a limited impression of everyday life in Haiti.

Her findings are collected in Recital: The Uses of Classical Music in Haiti, which offers a fresh framework for understanding the continuous yet evolving currency of the genre worldwide. Eldridge Stewart analyzes ways that Haitians prove classical music to be purposeful and meaningful throughout their individual lives and communities. News coverage of Haiti is frequently derogatory and consumed with deficits and lack. Recital reconsiders that messaging and posits that we all gain by understanding how this system of music education persists and succeeds.

Washington University in St. Louis WashU Arts & Sciences

07/14/2026

WashU faculty Vicente Atria's group Vex Collection is featured in this interesting article on microtonal jazz.
WashU MusicWashU Arts & Sciences

To Western listeners, microtonal jazz can sound a little “off." That's what makes it vital.

07/13/2026

✨ Don't miss our 10th Anniversary Great Artists Series!
We're celebrating this milestone season with an incredible all-star lineup featuring pianist Igor Levit, Imani Winds, mezzo-sopranoJennifer Johnson Cano, the incredible Yuja Wang, and more outstanding artists.
Link to more info ⬇
Washington University in St. Louis WashU Arts & Sciences Imani Winds