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AU Arts
4400 Massachusetts Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20016
United States
AU Arts
The arts have a prominent role at American University. Rotating exhibitions at the AU Museum in the state-of-the-art Katzen Arts Center emphasize regional, national, and international contemporary art. The Department of Performing Arts, comprised of Arts Management, Audio Technology, Dance, Music, and Theatre/Musical Theatre, provides dynamic, connected, expressive, and fulfilling experiences for all of our majors, minors, and participating students. The Department of Art encompasses Studio Art, Art History, Photography, and Graphic Design.
To stay up-to-date on performances, exhibitions, and events, join the AU Arts mailing list and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
Questions? Call 202-885-ARTS or email us.
AU Arts Events
AU Museum Exhibitions and Events
Fall 2024 Exhibitions Opening September 7
Learn more about upcoming exhibitions and see the museum event calendar.
- Ralph Steadman: And Another Thing
- Joseph Holston: Call and Response
- Endless Transformations: The Alchemy of Connie Imboden
- Faces of the Republican Party
- New American Landscapes
- A Sight to Behold: The Corcoran Legacy Collection of Nineteenth and Early Twentieth-Century American Landscape Paintings at the American University Museum
- Mira Hecht: in the center thereof rose a fountain
- PEGAN BROOKE: FLUX II, Light on Water
Music
Tickets to Department of Performing Arts events are free for AU students with ID, $10 for alumni, staff, faculty, children (under 18), and senior citizens (55 and older), $15 general public unless otherwise noted.
AU Gospel Choir Concert
Saturday, September 28 5 p.m. | Katzen Arts Center, Abramson Family Recital Hall
Sylstea Sledge, director
Tickets: $5, free for AU students with ID
Celebrate Sylstea Sledge’s 25th anniversary as director of the AU Gospel Choir with an uplifting concert featuring different styles within the genre of gospel music. The AU Gospel Choir encourages and empowers students, alumni, and the community through singing and by sharing the ministry of gospel music.
AU Chamber Singers
International Tour Preview Concert: Colombia
November 2, 7:30 p.m., November 3, 3 p.m. | Katzen Arts Center, Abramson Family Recital Hall
Daniel Abraham, director
The AU Chamber Singers present an international pre-tour concert program at AU before they visit Colombia in May 2025, returning to South America for the first time since the 1990s. With joint programs planned with The Universidad Autónoma de Bucaramanga (Autonomous University of Bucaramanga) and concert stops leading to Bogata, this program will be the first preview of the a cappella program to be presented during this historic tour. This mixed program will feature traditional choral music from across the Americas including Colombian and Latin American composers.
AU Chorus
Tree of Peace
November 8-9, 7:30 p.m. | Katzen Arts Center, Abramson Family Recital Hall
Casey Cook, director
Barbara Wilkinson, pianist
Regardless of the outcome of the 2024 election, we can all agree that we've been through some trying times over the past few years. Tree of Peace offers a moment of respite—a musical sanctuary where harmony can take root and flourish in our lives, if only for an evening. Join the AU Chorus for a concert revolving around the themes of peace, tranquility, and nature, concluding with a performance of Gwenyth Walker's "Tree of Peace".
AU Symphonic Band
Folk Song
November 10, 3 p.m. | Katzen Arts Center, Abramson Family Recital Hall
Matthew Brown, conductor
The AU Symphonic Band explores pieces inspired by folk songs and dances from around the world. The program will include works by Frank Ticheli, Robert W. Smith, Carol Brittin Chambers, and others, and conclude with Ralph Vaughan Williams' iconic classic, "English Folk Song Suite."
AU Jazz Orchestra
Fall for Jazz
November 15, 7:30 p.m. | Katzen Arts Center, Abramson Family Recital Hall
Joshua Bayer, director
Welcome autumn with the AU Jazz Orchestra as they play a full menu of works and styles including bop, swing, Latin, funk, rock.
AU Symphony Orchestra
Dvořák Symphony no. 7
November 16, 7:30 p.m., November 17, 3 p.m. | Katzen Arts Center, Abramson Family Recital Hall
Matthew Brown, conductor
The AU Symphony Orchestra tackles Antonin Dvořák’s formidable Symphony no. 7. Written in 1885, it is a staple of the symphony orchestra canon. The program will begin with Beethoven's Egmont Overture, Sibelius' haunting "Valse triste," and the AU Symphony Orchestra premiere of Barbara Harbach's Symphony no. 1, "Veneration."
Art All Night
Art All Night at the Katzen Arts CenterSaturday, September 28, 5-10 p.m. | Katzen Arts Center
Come see American University's visual and performing arts in action as part of Tenleytown Main Street's Art All Night. Then, head into Tenleytown for more!
- 5 p.m. AU Gospel Choir Concert. Tickets: $5, free for AU students
- 6-10 p.m. Visit the AU Museum at the Katzen Arts Center after dark to explore eight new exhibitions.
- 7:30 p.m. See AU student acapella group, On a Sensual Note, perform in the AU Museum.
- 8-9 p.m. From AU Theatre, Overture 2024 brings first year students to the stage with dialogue, music, and movement that explores the passions, fears, triumphs, trials, and wonder of this stage of life. In the Katzen Arts Center Studio Theatre. Tickets: $10-$15, free for AU students.
- 6-10 p.m. Open studios for the AU Master of Fine Arts program. Meet student artists and see their work.
- 6-10 p.m. Explore the Group 93 exhibition Jamming: Art & Music on view in the Katzen Rotunda.
Dance
Tickets to Department of Performing Arts events are free for AU students with ID, $10 for alumni, staff, faculty, children (under 18), and senior citizens (55 and older), $15 general public.
Dance Capstone Performances 2024November 15-16, 7:30 p.m. | Harold and Sylvia Greenberg Theatre
Amber Daniels, artistic director
The AU Dance Program's graduating majors present an evening of creative research and original choreography.
Fall Dance Concert 2024 November 16, 2 p.m. | Harold and Sylvia Greenberg Theatre
Amber Daniels, artistic director
The Fall Dance Concert is a mainstage event from the AU Dance Program featuring new work by guest artists and student choreographers. Join us as we welcome fresh choreographic voices to the AU stage.
Katzen Exhibitions
Jamming: Art & Music
Group 93 2024
On view in the Katzen Arts Center Rotunda
September 16–October 17
Reception: September 21, 2-5 p.m.
Art and music have always been fast friends. In the early twentieth century, artists interested in color as form found connections in music theory. The artworks chosen for this exhibit call to mind sounds, rhythms, and tunes through color, movement, compositional elements, imagery, participation, and even silence. Group 93 was formed in 1990 to explore a critique method developed by artist and AU Professor Emeritus Luciano Penay. The artists include professor emeriti and artists with deep connections to AU and DC’s art culture.
Image: Joan Birnbaum, Untitled.
Theatre/Musical Theatre
Tickets to Department of Performing Arts events are free for AU students with ID, $10 for alumni, staff, faculty, children (under 18), and senior citizens (55 and older), $15 general public.
OVERTURE 2024 September 27-28 | Katzen Arts Center, Studio Theatre
Directed by Nancy Bannon
Overture welcomes to the stage AU’s newest actors from the Class of 2028. This performance piece features dialogue, music, and movement that explores the passions, fears, trials, and triumphs of this stage of life. Overture is conceived and directed by faculty member Nancy Bannon and performed by the student company.
As You Like ItA Musical Adaptation of William Shakespeare's As You Like It | October 17-19 | Harold and Sylvia Greenberg Theatre
Adapted by Shaina Taub and Laurie Woolery
Music and Lyrics by Shaina Taub
Directed by Aaron Posner
Music Direction by Manny Arciniega and Susan Derry
Choreography by Nikki Mirza
"Love is merely a madness..."
This delightful adaptation of As You Like It is a hope-filled, musical celebration of love in its many forms. A 32-member cast of actors, musicians, and dancers bring this classic story to life in a way that celebrates the transformative power of nature and love.
Forced from their homes, Orlando, Duke Senior, his daughter Rosalind, and niece Celia escape to the Forest of Arden, a fantastical place of transformation, where all are welcomed and embraced. Lost amidst the trees, the refugees find community and acceptance under the stars. Featuring an original folk-pop score by Shaina Taub, As You Like It is an immersive dream-like tale of faithful friends, feuding families, and lovers in disguise.
AS YOU LIKE IT is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals.
In Pieces: A New Musical
October 24-26 | Katzen Arts Center, Studio Theatre
Music and Lyrics by Joey Contreras
Directed by Carl Menninger
Music Direction by Deborah Jacobson
Choreography by David Singleton
You never know who might be around the corner if you take a chance on love. In Pieces: A New Musical reflects on the romantic journeys of eight characters as they look back at their pasts, learn to embrace all the pieces of who they are, and discover what it means to find love. Set in New York City and featuring a pop score by Joey Contreras, In Pieces is a candid take on self-identity, growth, and acceptance.
Sometimes the Rain, Sometimes the Sea
November 19-22 | Katzen Arts Center, Studio Theatre
By Julia Izumi
Directed by Nick Martin
The Little Mermaid is Hans Christian Andersen’s most beloved and well-known fairytale, which is why it’s not the story our friend Dolan is going to tell you. No, he’s going to tell you the story of a Little Rain Cloud who falls in love with a human. They are not the same story at all—he swears.
“Sometimes the Rain, Sometimes the Sea” is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Samuel French, Inc.
