The Vail Series

Rita Moreno for The Vail Series
Here are just a few notable speakers from past years:
  • Itzhak Perlman
  • Yo-Yo Ma
  • Renée Fleming
  • Wynton Marsalis
  • Jessye Norman
  • Chris Thile and Edgar Meyer

About the Series

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.

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Series Archives

2024 - 2025

Nathan Laube

The Vail Series welcomes organist Nathan Laube.

2023 - 2024

Kittel & Co.

The Vail Series welcomes GRAMMY®-nominated Kittel & Co.

Wild Up

The Vail Series welcomes GRAMMY®-nominated ensemble Wild Up as part of the TUTTI New Arts Festival

YCA on Tour

The Vail Series welcomes YCA on Tour.

Third Coast Percussion - ‘Metamorphosis’

The Vail Series welcomes GRAMMY® Award-winning and Denison’s own Ensemble-in-Residence, Third Coast Percussion.

Take 6

The Vail Series welcomes GRAMMY® award-winning a cappella group Take 6.

collectif9

The Vail Series welcomes Juno- nominated Montreal string nonet collectif9.

2022 - 2023

MJFonTour2023

The Vail Series welcomes the Monterey Jazz Festival on Tour.

Terence Blanchard, the E-Collective, Turtle Island Quartet & Andrew F. Scott

The Vail Series welcomes Terence Blanchard featuring the E-Collective, Turtle Island Quartet & Andrew F. Scott.

TERENCE BLANCHARD, the E-COLLECTIVE, TURTLE ISLAND QUARTET & ANDREW F. SCOTT.

The Vail Series welcomes Terence Blanchard featuring the E-Collective, Turtle Island Quartet & Andrew F. Scott.

Ukraine Orchestra

The Vail Series welcomes Lviv National Philharmonic Orchestra of Ukraine.

Fazil Say and Jamal Aliyev

The Vail Series welcomes Fazıl Say and Jamal Aliyev.

The Queen’s Cartoonists

The Vail Series welcomes The Queen’s Cartoonists.

2021 - 2022

Roomful of Teeth

The Vail Series welcomes multi-Grammy Award-winning vocal octet Roomful of Teeth.

Red Sky

Denison University’s Dance Department, Laura C. Harris Series and Vail Series presents Red Sky Performance.

Fifth House Ensemble

The Department of Music presents the TUTTI Festival Concert X: "We Are Good" presented by the Vail Series.

American Spiritual Ensemble

The Vail Series presents American Spiritual Ensemble.

BLACKBIRD

"BLACKBIRD, FLY" A Concert for Voice, Body and Strings: Marc Bamuthi Joseph, Spoken Word. Daniel Bernard Roumain (DBR), Violin, Piano.

Aoife O'Donovan

The Vail Series welcomes Grammy Award-winning artist Aoife O’Donovan.

2020 - 2021

Third Coast Percussion

The Vail Series is partnering with Music Institute of Chicago to bring you a Livestream performance with Third Coast Percussion.

JLCO_piper_ferguson

The Vail Series presents a co-sponsored livestream event, Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis.

American Spiritual Ensemble

The Vail Series welcomes the American Spiritual Ensemble.

Aoife O’Donovan

The Vail Series welcomes Aoife O’Donovan presenting a virtual concert.

2019 - 2020

Roomful of Teeth

The Vail Series welcomes Grammy award winners Roomful of Teeth.

SYBARITE5

The Vail Series and TUTTI 2020 partner to present SYBARITE5 in a grand finale concert.

Brasil Guitar Duo with JIJI

The Vail Series welcomes Brasil Guitar Duo with JIJI presenting an evening of classical guitar music.

Brasil Guitar Duo with JIJI

The Vail Series welcomes Brasil Guitar Duo with JIJI presenting an evening of classical guitar music.

Matt Haimovitz

The Vail Series welcomes acclaimed cellist Matt Haimovitz and his brilliant musical variation on the concept of "A Moveable Feast."

Tarpaga Dance

The Vail Series presents Baker + Tarpaga Dance Project "When Birds Refused to Fly," winner of a National Dance Project Award.

Béla Fleck, Zakir Hussain and Edgar Meyer with Rakesh Chaurasia

The Vail Series welcomes Béla Fleck, Zakir Hussain and Edgar Meyer with Rakesh Chaurasia.

2018 - 2019

ETHEL

The Vail Series presents ensemble-in-residence ETHEL in concert.

Isabel Leonard

100 Years of Leonard Bernstein- The Czech National Symphony Orchestra under the direction of John Mauceri featuring soloist Isabel Leonard

Dee Dee Bridgewater

The Vail Series presents Grammy Award-winning jazz vocalist Dee Dee Bridgewater in concert.

Pablo Ziegler

The Vail Series welcomes GRAMMY-winning pianist, composer and arranger Pablo Ziegler presenting a U.S. premiere performance titled "12 Hours."

2017 - 2018

Photo of contemporary classical ensemble Eighth Blackbird in concert

The Vail Series presents contemporary classical ensemble Eighth Blackbird in concert.

Photo of South African a cappella group Ladysmith Black Mambazo

The Vail Series presents Grammy-winning South African a cappella group Ladysmith Black Mambazo in concert.

Photo of Catherine Russell

The Vail Series presents Catherine Russell in concert.

Photo of the Grammy nominated chamber music ensemble Eroica Trio

The Vail Series presents the chamber music ensemble Eroica Trio in concert.

2016 - 2017

Photo of Sam Bush

The Vail Series welcomes Sam Bush performing at the 2017 Bluegrass Concert.

Photo of NOW Ensemble

The Department of Music welcomes NOW Ensemble in concert.

Photo of Wynton Marsalis and vocalist Catherine Russell

The Vail Series welcomes the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis performing "Big Band Holidays."

Image of Gabriel Alegría and the Afro-Peruvian Sextet

The Vail Series presents Gabriel Alegría and the Afro-Peruvian Sextet.

2015 - 2016

Denison’s ensemble-in-residence, ETHEL

Denison’s ensemble-in-residence, ETHEL,, presents "Documerica," a multimedia concert.

Image of Cyrille Aimée

The Vail Series presents Cyrille Aimée.

Portrait of Regina Carter

The Vail Series welcomes genre-spanning violinist Regina Carter for her Southern Comfort Concert.

The Metropolitan Opera Rising Stars

Vail Series presents the Metropolitan Opera Rising Stars Concert, featuring the next generation of leading men and women at the renowned "Met."

Vail Series presents: Dafra Kura Band

The Vail Series welcomes the Dafra Kura Band, hailing from Burkina Faso and performing world music, traditional and contemporary sounds from Africa.

2014 - 2015

Photo of the quartet "Sweet Honey In The Rock."

The Vail Series presents "Sweet Honey In The Rock."

Turtle Island Quartet

The Vail Series presents "Turtle Island Quartet."

Billy Collins

The Vail Series presents Poet Laureate Billy Collins.

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