Announcing ‘UNCSA Presents,’ the 2025-26 performance season

UNCSA has unveiled its 2025-26 performance season, “UNCSA Presents.” Tickets go on sale Thursday, Aug. 21 at 10 a.m., for a vibrant and wide-ranging season of dance, drama, music and more, performed by talented UNCSA students, world-class faculty, distinguished alumni and acclaimed guest artists. “UNCSA Presents,” featuring hundreds of events from August to May, offers a mix of free events and low-cost ticket options including new affordable package options, giving residents and visitors the chance to experience professional-caliber student work.

“Each performance season at UNCSA offers a rare glimpse into the future of the arts,” said Chancellor Brian Cole. “Audiences experience the vision, skill and passion of the next generation of artists—right here, right now. This year’s lineup features an extraordinary range of productions that reflect the talent and imagination of our students, alongside our remarkable faculty and guest artists. With the Stevens Center renovation well underway, we continue to have an opportunity to share our work in creative ways and in inspiring spaces across our community. We look forward to welcoming audiences for a season that promises to engage, challenge, and delight.”

Ticket information

Tickets for all season performances are available at uncsa.edu/performances or by calling the box office at 336-721-1945. Tickets for most events start at $25 and non-UNCSA student tickets start at $20 with valid ID. Group rates and gift certificates are available. Film screenings and student recitals, among other events, are free of charge, with selected events priced individually as noted. New this year, patrons can also choose from seven curated performance packages, including Dance, Drama, Opera+, Symphony and Winds, Jazz, Faculty and Guests, and free Film Symposium, which offer savings of up to 20 percent, or purchase the flexible Arts Card to save $5 on each ticket while building a personalized season.

School of Dance Highlights

The School of Dance season opens with Fall Dance, in which choreographers will create and present new works featuring all Contemporary Program students. North Carolinian artists Gavin Stewart and Vanessa Owen, founders and artistic directors of Asheville-based Stewart/Owen Dance, will work with fourth-year contemporary students on new works. Additionally, the program includes a premiere by Da’Von Doane based on T.S. Eliot’s “The Hollow Men,” with music by David Fennessy; a new work by Dance alumna Adrienne Westwood; a new work by Dance faculty member Fernando Carrillo; and a new work by Dance alumna Kate Jewett.

In November, original works developed and executed by innovative fourth-year Contemporary Program students will be performed by fellow Dance students in Emerging Choreographers. This annual concert highlights the creativity, skill and perseverance of the graduating class and offers audiences a first look at the next generation of dance innovators.

In December, the beloved holiday tradition of “The Nutcracker” returns for its 60th annual production, once again at the Steven Tanger Center for the Performing Arts in Greensboro. Ballet and contemporary students perform favorite roles such as Drosselmeyer and Mother Ginger in choreography by faculty member Ilya Kozadayev, accompanied by the UNCSA Symphony Orchestra performing the Tchaikovsky score live and conducted by Music alumnus Felipe Tristán. The production is presented by Flow Automotive.

This season’s Winter Dance includes a new contemporary work by MacArthur Fellow Kyle Abraham, whose choreography bridges concert dance and popular culture; a new contemporary work by Bessie Award-winning choreographer and Dance alumna Kimberly Bartosik; a new ballet work by Dance faculty member April Ball; a new work for ballet and contemporary students by Thang Dao; and a staging of “Flower Festival in Genzano” by Dance faculty.

Spring Dance features a wide-ranging program of classical and contemporary works, including a restaging of a Salvatore Aiello work by Dance alumna and retired faculty member Dayna Fox; guest artist Lauren Anderson’s staging of the prologue from “Sleeping Beauty”; Jessica Lang’s restaging of “Escaping the Weight of Darkness,” originally commissioned by the National Ballet of Japan; a new premiere by Madison Ballet Artistic Director Ja’ Malik; and Dance faculty member Abby Yager’s restaging of “Set and Reset/Reset” by Trisha Brown.

Fall, Winter and Spring Dance are presented with support from the Thomas S. Kenan Institute for the Arts Alumni in Residence (AIR) Project.

School of Drama Highlights

The School of Drama opens its season in October with “Choir Boy,” directed by faculty member Cliff Odle. From Oscar-winning playwright Tarell Alvin McCraney, this powerful coming-of-age story follows Pharus, a student at the Charles R. Drew Prep School for Boys, as he strives to lead the school’s legendary gospel choir and find his voice, blending heart, hope and soul-stirring music.

Directed by Dean John Langs, Stephen Sondheim’s witty and romantic “A Little Night Music” weaves a web of lovers, old flames and new entanglements over one unforgettable weekend in November, brought to life in collaboration with the UNCSA Symphony Orchestra conducted by Jeffery Saver.

In February, alum and guest artist Avery Glymph returns to direct Martin Crimp’s bold, modern adaptation of “Cyrano de Bergerac,” which transforms the classic love story into a high-energy tale of rap, rhyme and romance, as Cyrano helps another man win the heart of the woman he loves.

New this year, the School of Drama presents Classics in Rep, classic theater featuring students performing “in repertory” as the cast of multiple rotating works. This year’s Classics in Rep will include Noël Coward’s sparkling comedy “Present Laughter,” Chekhov’s poignant farewell “The Cherry Orchard” and Shakespeare’s biting satire “Troilus & Cressida.”

School of Filmmaking Highlights

The fall Panorama Screening showcases “Animapolooza,” featuring animated and VFX shorts from current students and acclaimed alumni in celebration of more than 30 years of animation at the School of Filmmaking. The Filmmaking season continues in the spring with “Panorama Presents Then and Now: A Film Phantasma” pairing alumni films with standout student work to connect the school’s filmmaking legacy to its future.

Throughout the performance season the School of Filmmaking’s Symposium brings filmmakers, artists, scholars and innovators to campus for screenings, lectures and conversations on the cultural power of creative work. Highlights include Dreyer’s “The Passion of Joan of Arc” with a live metal score by The Silent Light and a 50-voice choir, led by Michael Formanski and hosted by filmmaker and scholar Gary Mairs; “Sampling as Storytelling: De La Soul and the Legal Limits of Creativity” with law scholar Enrique Armijo; “Art Spiegelman: Disaster is My Muse,” an award-winning documentary directed by Filmmaking faculty member Molly Bernsteinon the “Maus” author; “Can I Kick It? The Last Dragon,” with DJ 2Tone Jones performing a live score blending funk, soul, hip-hop, rock and jazz; and “Bridging Communities through Ancestral Traditions” with Mathew Sandoval, spotlighting Phoenix’s Día de los Muertos festival and its role in cultural exchange and solidarity, among many other events.

School of Music Highlights

The School of Music presents a season of standout performances, traditions and innovative programs featuring faculty, guest artists and students across a wide range of genres.

The “UNCSA Presents” season kicks off Aug. 28 with the high-energy UNCSA “Wind Ensemble Pops Concert – Band Wars!” An outdoor “Star Wars”-inspired showdown, the program splits the ensemble into the “Band of the Resistance” and the “Band of the First Order,” battling through John Williams' iconic score.

The UNCSA Symphony Orchestra season begins in September with a dynamic program led by Michelle Merrill, conductor of the Winston-Salem Symphony. The concert will feature Elgar’s “Enigma Variations,” Tomasi’s Concerto for Alto Saxophone performed by Carter Doolittle, winner of the 2025 UNCSA Concerto Competition, and Jessie Montgomery’s “Transfigured to Grace.” In October, the orchestra performs Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4 and the world premiere of “Vanishing” by faculty composer Lawrence Dillon. The orchestra will also collaborate with the Wake Forest University Symphony Orchestra in a free, side-by-side performance conducted by J. Aaron Hardwick. The program, “Inter Alia, North Carolina Forests,” will feature Sibelius’s Symphony No. 3 and the world premiere of David Kirkland Garner’s "Inter Alia," inspired by a poem from 2023 T.S. Eliot Prize finalist Ishion Hutchinson. February brings “An Evening of the Baroque,” conducted by Robert Franz, with works by Rameau, Bach, Geminiani and Haydn. In April, Franz leads the UNCSA Symphony in Mahler’s Symphony No. 4: A Vision of Heaven, and a premiere of Music alumnus Malek Jandali’s Symphony No. 5. The year concludes in May with the annual Orchestral Premieres concert, a free event showcasing original works by student composers conducted by Mark Norman.

The UNCSA Cantata Singers Holiday Concert, a cherished tradition with Home Moravian Church, ushers in the season with the joyous voices of voice and opera students led by James Allbritten. This free event brings warmth, harmony and holiday cheer to the heart of Winston-Salem.

The fifth season of the UNCSA Chamber Music Festival, led by artistic directors and faculty members Ida Bieler and Dmitri Vorobiev, features both fall and spring installments showcasing outstanding performances by students, faculty and guest artists. The fall concert includes violinist Ilya Kaler, bassoonist Marcelo Padilla and cellist Edward Arron, with a program highlighted by Sergei Taneyev’s rarely performed and technically demanding “Piano Quintet.” Vorobiev will take the stage for this monumental piece, joined by students, other faculty and guest artists. The spring installment of the Chamber Music Festival features renowned German violist Matthias Buchholz, praised by Seen and Heard International for his “richly expressive solo,” performing alongside students and faculty for two evenings of chamber masterworks.

The school honors the 270th birthday of Mozart in January with “Happy Birthday, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart!” a nearly 50-year UNCSA tradition showcasing faculty artists in a program of chamber works by the legendary composer.

This season’s opera presentations from the A.J. Fletcher Opera Institute include “Of Sorcery & Songbirds” scenes from two French operas, one tragic and one comedic. The evening begins with Milhaud’s “Médée,” in which a woman’s scorn drives her to an unthinkable act of revenge after being abandoned by her lover, and continues with Gounod’s “La Colombe” (“The Dove”), which follows a poor nobleman who considers sacrificing his beloved pet to impress a wealthy countess, only for mistaken intentions to upend his plan.

In February, Fletcher Opera students bring Mozart’s “Idomeneo” to the stage, telling the story of a king who survives a storm at sea by promising Neptune he will sacrifice the first person he sees upon returning home — only to find it is his son. The opera follows the father and son’s struggle with fate, set against a love triangle with the Princess Ilia and the jealous Elettra.

Percussion Rocks reimagines beloved rock and metal anthems through percussion in an electrifying celebration of rhythm, creativity and innovation led by faculty artist Ksenija Komljenović.

Many concerts will have the option to be livestreamed for free.

School of Design and Production Highlights

In addition to providing all of the design, technical and production support for performances and productions in the schools of Dance, Drama and the A.J. Fletcher Opera Institute, the School of Design and Production (D&P) also presents its annual “Photona,” the dazzling multimedia show of lighting, projection and sound that is created by students using state-of-the-art equipment provided by industry-leading lighting companies. Audience members can engage with the student design teams through interactive Q&A sessions and vote for their favorite show at the end of the night.

Other special events

The UNCSA Presents season will also feature two special presentations made possible by the Thomas S. Kenan Institute for the Arts: the world premiere of “Johnny Loves Johann,” a groundbreaking collaboration of live music and dance led by Grammy Award-winning violinist Johnny Gandelsman, co-commissioned by the Kenan Institute for the Arts at UNCSA and Carolina Performing Arts at UNC-Chapel Hill; and the second regional rendition of the Black Sacred Music Symposium.

Tickets and information including dates and times of all performances are available at uncsa.edu/performances.

Contact Media Relations(opens in new tab)(opens in new tab)(opens in new tab)(opens in new tab)(opens in new tab)(opens in new tab)

Get the best news, performance and alumni stories from UNCSA.
SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTERS(OPENS IN NEW TAB)(OPENS IN NEW TAB)(OPENS IN NEW TAB)(OPENS IN NEW TAB)(OPENS IN NEW TAB)(OPENS IN NEW TAB)