
The School of Filmmaking's "Symposium" series opens a door into the world behind the screen, offering audiences a chance to engage with filmmakers, artists and creative thinkers from myriad disciplines who are shaping contemporary storytelling. Through screenings, conversations and engaging dialogue, each event becomes a unique space to come together and explore how art is made, why it matters and what it reveals about the world we live in.

In a world of surreal encounters and shifting realities, lives collide in 1980s America as friends, lovers and strangers navigate beautiful and challenging transformations in Tony Kushner's "Angels in America," the Pulitzer Prize-winning play that was also adapted into an acclaimed HBO miniseries.

Join virtuoso singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Tony Furtado for an unforgettable evening at the Muddy Creek Listening Room in Old Salem. Furtado is known for his work on banjo, cello-banjo, slide guitar and baritone ukulele.

Jennifer Rowley, lauded by the New York Times as "a singer of enormous gift and promise," illuminates Watson Hall with a voice of striking power and expressive nuance. From intimate reflection to soaring virtuosity, the program features music that demands both technical brilliance and deep emotional clarity, highlighting the full dramatic and lyrical range of the soprano repertoire. The recital moves between operatic arias and art song, showcasing the voice as both instrument and storyteller. Rowley is acclaimed for her powerful voice and commanding stage presence, with a repertoire spanning many of opera's great heroines. She has appeared on major international stages including the Metropolitan Opera, Staatsoper Berlin and Opernhaus Zürich and in roles such as Aida, Tosca and Turandot. She is also the founder of Aria Bootcamp and serves on the voice faculty at the Curtis Institute of Music. Jennifer Rowley performs at UNCSA as part of a year-long operatic celebration of the 25th anniversary of the A.J. Fletcher Opera Institute.

A vibrant showcase of woodwind artistry marks the arrival of new faculty members Steven Banks (H.S. Music '11) and Rachel Messing in a collaborative afternoon of chamber music. The program features the work of composers Reena Esmail and Madeleine Dring alongside new pieces by faculty composer Lawrence Dillon and alumna Phoebe Pylant (H.S. Music '25), showcasing a harmonious mix of voices across styles and generations. Banks, saxophone, and Messing, oboe, are joined by faculty artists -- Tadeu Coelho, flute; Oskar Espina Ruiz, clarinet; Stephanie Patterson, bassoon; Maria Serkin, horn, and special guests.

Bold, brilliant and full of energy, trumpet students shine in an evening of music showcasing the range and technical power of the instrument. Under the guidance of professor David Dash, the studio presents a recital highlighting both individual growth and collective artistry, offering a glimpse of the next generation of brass performers.

Creative Ideation Webinar – April 16, 2021
This fast-paced, practical workshop will help you learn how to generate new ideas to solve problems, meet a need in your business or just have fun and breathe new life into your day-to-day work or artistic practice.
Join the Thomas S. Kenan Institute for the Arts and your webinar host, artist entrepreneur, Krisha Marcano for this virtual Ideation experience. You'll learn new tools, and get a chance to put them to use in a live ideation session.

Krisha Marcano
Krisha Marcano is a dancer, singer, actor, teacher, coach, community-builder and "artpreneur." After a successful career in concert dance and musical theater, she now is an Assistant Professor of Theater Dance & Assistant Dean for Student Services and Entrepreneurial Studies at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, School of Drama. Her creative business, The Artistry Center Network, LLC provides education, inspiration and coaching to performing artists, on artistic and entrepreneurial wellness.