Announcing ‘UNCSA Presents,’ the 2026-27 performance season

UNCSA has unveiled its 2026-27 performance season, “UNCSA Presents,” showcasing the extraordinary talent of UNCSA students alongside renowned faculty, celebrated guest artists and distinguished alumni in a diverse and lively new lineup of events. The season’s first performance is Tuesday, Aug. 25, and the full lineup continues with hundreds of events through May 2027, with free events, low-cost ticket options and affordable packages that give residents and visitors the opportunity to experience professional-caliber student work. The season also highlights the interdisciplinary collaboration central to UNCSA, with students and faculty working across the schools of Dance, Drama, Filmmaking, Music and Design and Production (D&P).

Six new curated performance packages go on sale Tuesday, July 21, at 10 a.m., including Dance, Drama, Classics in Rep, Symphony and Winds, Jazz & Roots and a Music Sampler. The flexible Arts Card, which allows patrons to build a personalized season, will also be available for purchase. Single tickets for all season performances go on sale Wednesday, Aug. 19, at 10 a.m.

In addition to the season packages, tickets to UNCSA’s beloved “The Nutcracker” will be available beginning at 10 a.m. on July 21. Nutcracker fans can use code MAGIC5 to save $5 on every ticket purchased from July 21 through Aug. 1. The production returns to its original Winston-Salem home at Reynolds High School Auditorium for five performances Dec. 3-6.

“This season shows the full creative force of UNCSA,” said Chancellor Brian Cole. “Across our five arts schools, students are bringing ambitious work to life alongside extraordinary faculty, alumni and guest artists, from the return of ‘The Nutcracker’ to Winston-Salem and Winter Dance’s American-themed collaboration with the UNCSA Symphony Orchestra, to major guest-directed Drama productions, new films, jazz and roots music, opera, and immersive design. It is a season that reflects both the depth of our training and the imagination of the artists preparing to shape what comes next.”

Ticket information

Packages and “The Nutcracker” tickets will be available beginning July 21 at 10 a.m. at uncsa.edu/packagesor by calling the box office at 336-721-1945. The six curated packages offer savings of up to 27%, while the flexible Arts Card allows patrons to build a personalized season and save $5 on each ticket. Single tickets go on sale Wednesday, Aug. 19, at 10 a.m.

School of Dance Highlights

The School of Dance season opens with Fall Dance, a program of new works performed by contemporary dance students. The performance explores movement across generations through works shaped by shared training, mentorship and creative exchange. Dance alumni Kevin Tate (H.S. Dance ’96) and Ian Spencer Bell (H.S. Dance ’96) return to create new works alongside guest choreographer Neta Pulvermacher, Dance alumna and faculty member Kate Jewett (B.F.A. Dance ’05), and Dance faculty member Britt Juleen Gonzalez.

In November, original works created by fourth-year contemporary dance students will be performed by fellow Dance students in Emerging Choreographers. The annual concert gives students the opportunity to move from interpreting choreography to developing their own works, testing ideas and shaping individual movement styles. The program highlights their creativity, curiosity and artistic growth while offering audiences an early look at the next generation of choreographers.

In December, the beloved holiday tradition “The Nutcracker” returns to Winston-Salem and its original home at Reynolds High School Auditorium for five performances. The return to Reynolds High School Auditorium also brings back special daytime performances for area school groups. Ballet and contemporary students bring Tchaikovsky’s classic to life through choreography by Dance faculty member Ilya Kozadayev, accompanied by the UNCSA Symphony Orchestra performing the score live under the direction of returning “Nutcracker” conductor Karin Hendrickson. Students from the schools of Dance, Music, and Design and Production collaborate across performance, music and theatrical design to reimagine the production for a new generation.

This season’s Winter Dance celebrates the nation’s 250th anniversary through ballet and contemporary works performed with live music by the UNCSA Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Mark Norman. School of Dance Dean Endalyn T. Outlaw will offer her choreographic interpretation of Aaron Copland’s “Appalachian Spring.” The program also includes world premieres by choreographers Jorma Elo and Phil Chan, and Dance alumnus and former Board of Trustees member Jeffery Bullock (H.S. Dance ’81), as well as a contemporary work by choreographer Armando Braswell. The second half opens with Copland’s “Fanfare for the Common Man,” performed by the UNCSA Symphony Orchestra, and continues with Chan’s new story ballet featuring original music by American composers Larry Moore and Doug Fullington. Composition student Victoria King will also premiere an original work set to choreography created by a Dance student.

Spring Dance closes the season with a program spanning classical ballet and new contemporary works, including a ballet by George Balanchine and the second act of “Giselle,” performed to Adolphe Adam’s score. The program also features new contemporary works by guest adjunct faculty member Michael Jackson Jr., a former principal dancer with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, and returning guest choreographer Darrell Moultrie. Dance faculty members Emily Nicolaou (H.S. Dance ’07, B.F.A. Dance ’09) and Ming-Lung Yang will collaborate on an additional new contemporary work.

Fall Dance, Emerging Choreographers, Winter Dance and Spring Dance are included in the Dance Package.

Fall and Winter 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, ranked among the top three drama schools in the world by The Hollywood Reporter, presents a season of contemporary works, award-winning plays, musical theater and reimagined classics. This season features two series:  Centerstage Series, offering fully realized theatrical productions that showcase Drama students alongside the design and technical artistry of the School of Design and Production; and Studio Series, featuring innovative, collaborative productions where students experiment with new ideas, work alongside guest artists and explore fresh approaches to storytelling. UNCSA also brings back the Classics in Rep series for its second year, featuring a rotating cast of students in three classic works.

Among the season’s major highlights is the April production of Nathan Alan Davis’ “Eternal Life Part 1,” directed by Helen Hayes Award winner Aaron Posner, who will come to UNCSA to work with students as a guest artist. The funny and profound contemporary fable follows a family in the near future confronting wealth, mortality, the natural world and the possibility of living forever. Combining space travel, an ancient goose and a mysterious immortality elixir, the play asks what gives human life meaning and how that meaning changes when life may never end.

The season opens in October with Lynn Nottage’s Pulitzer Prize-winning “Ruined,” set amid civil war in the Congo. The play follows Mama Nadi, a resourceful businesswoman whose bar becomes a refuge for women affected by violence and loss. Directed by Drama faculty member Cliff Odle, the production examines resilience, survival and the human cost of conflict.

In the fall, Tony Kushner’s Pulitzer Prize-winning “Angels in America, Part 1: Millennium Approaches” explores love, identity, politics and the AIDS crisis in 1980s America. As friends, lovers and strangers navigate a world of shifting realities and profound change, the play moves between heartbreak, humor and moments of transcendence. The production is directed by student Gianna Marullo as her senior thesis project.

In November, “Almost Famous,” the musical based on Cameron Crowe’s acclaimed film, follows aspiring teenage journalist William Miller as he lands an assignment from Rolling Stone and joins an up-and-coming rock band on tour in 1973. The production is directed by acclaimed guest artist and Broadway director Sarna Lapine, whose credits include “Sunday in the Park with George,” “Call Me Izzy” and “Into the Woods,” with music direction by Megan D’Amico and choreography by Dance faculty member Lisa Mayer.

In February, Brian Friel’s Tony Award-winning “Dancing at Lughnasa” follows five unmarried sisters living in a small village in 1930s Ireland as they navigate poverty, responsibility, family tensions and a longing for greater freedom. Told through the memories of a young boy named Michael, the play transforms moments of music, laughter and daily life into a lyrical portrait of resilience, connection and change. The production is directed by Brenda DeVita, artistic director of American Players Theatre.

In March, Caryl Churchill’s “Vinegar Tom” uses the witch trials of 17th-century England to examine how fear, judgment and systems of power shape women’s lives. As suspicion spreads through a rural village, ordinary women become targets of accusation and control. The production is directed by fourth-year student Breylyn Brown as a senior thesis project.

The April musical “Cabaret” brings audiences inside Berlin’s provocative Kit Kat Klub, where music, spectacle and indulgence offer an escape from the growing instability of 1930s Germany. As an American writer and a British cabaret performer are drawn into the city’s nightlife, the boundary between entertainment and reality begins to fracture amid the rise of the Nazi Party. The six-time Tony Award-winning musical features well-known numbers including “Willkommen,” “Don’t Tell Mama,” “Maybe This Time” and “Cabaret.” It is directed by Drama alumnus Michael Lluberes (B.F.A. Drama ’01), choreographed by School of Dance Dean Endalyn T. Outlaw and music directed by Drama faculty member Janine Hawley.

Starting in March, the Classics in Rep series returns, featuring one company of student actors performing three plays in rotation over two weeks: William Shakespeare’s romantic comedy “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”; George Bernard Shaw’s social satire “Major Barbara”; and “The Three Musketeers,” adapted from Alexandre Dumas’ adventure novel by Linda Alper, Douglas Langworthy and Penny Metropulos. The repertory format gives audiences the opportunity to see the range of the student company as actors take on multiple roles across three distinct productions.

In April, “Hippolytus and Phaedra,” a bold rap adaptation of Euripides’ Greek tragedy with book and music by Drama alumnus Luis Quintero (B.F.A. Drama ’16), is presented as part of Rep Forward, an initiative within the Centerstage Series that allows students to explore contemporary adaptations of classical plays. The work was commissioned by The Alley Theatre in Houston and Red Bull Theater in New York. Through rhythm, verse and contemporary musical form, the work reimagines an ancient story of forbidden desire, accusation and devastating consequence. The production is directed by Nathan Winkelstein, producing director at Red Bull Theater.

“Ruined,” “Angels in America, Part 1: Millennium Approaches,” “Almost Famous,” “Dancing at Lughnasa,” “Vinegar Tom” and “Cabaret” are included in the Drama Package. “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” “The Three Musketeers” and “Major Barbara” are included in the Classics in Rep Package. 

Several School of Drama projects are presented with support from the Thomas S. Kenan Institute for the Arts, including the returns of Lluberes for “Cabaret” and Quintero for “Hippolytus and Phaedra.”

School of Filmmaking Highlights

The School of Filmmaking, named a top film school in the U.S. by The Hollywood Reporter, presents screenings and conversations that bring audiences behind the scenes of contemporary filmmaking.

This fall, the School of Filmmaking’s Symposium Series invites filmmakers, artists and creative thinkers from a range of disciplines to share the ideas shaping contemporary storytelling through screenings, conversations and dialogue. The series explores how art is made, why it matters and what it reveals about the world in which we live. Highlights include conversations with producer Sabrina Sutherland; actor, writer and director Phil Matarese; Filmmaking alumna Jo Hatcher (B.F.A. ’21); Filmmaking alumna Emma Van Halsema (B.F.A. ’13); and filmmakers and installation artists Spooky Kind, along with a short-film program featuring original live scores by Ten Thousand Lakes.

As part of the Symposium in September, a special presentation features Teinosuke Kinugasa’s groundbreaking 1926 Japanese silent film “A Page of Madness,” accompanied by an original live metal score performed by The Silent Light. Set inside a mental institution, the experimental film uses fragmented imagery, rapid editing and surreal visual design to blur the boundaries between reality and hallucination. Film scholar and filmmaker Gary Mairs will host the screening. Led by multi-instrumentalist, visual artist and filmmaker Michael Formanski, The Silent Light reimagines silent cinema through immersive contemporary soundscapes and has previously created original scores for films including “Nosferatu,” “Faust” and “Metropolis.”

In December, Panorama celebrates storytelling on screen with a selection of recent work by Filmmaking students, alumni, faculty and staff, bringing emerging and established filmmakers together across a range of perspectives, styles and approaches to cinematic storytelling.

In February, Animapalooza showcases the art of animation through films that translate complex ideas and emotions into visual and sonic experiences. The program features recent work by students, alumni, faculty and staff, along with selected films by artists from across the industry. The program includes films created through a variety of techniques, including hand-drawn animation, computer-generated imagery, stop-motion and claymation.

The season concludes in May with the Fourth-Year Film Screening, featuring capstone films created by the Class of 2027. Graduating filmmakers and their creative teams will present work that demonstrates their range, technical craft and developing artistic voices as they prepare to enter the film and television industry. The films will be presented in person, with an online screening window also available.

Screenings and Symposium are free, but advance reservations are required. The full Symposium Series lineup is available at uncsa.edu/filmmaking/symposium.

School of Music Highlights

The School of Music presents a season spanning orchestral music, jazz, American roots, chamber music and opera, with performances by students, faculty, alumni and internationally recognized guest artists.

UNCSA Symphony and Wind Ensemble

The UNCSA Symphony Orchestra opens its season in September with internationally acclaimed saxophonist and alumnus Steven Banks (H.S. Music ’11), who joins the School of Music faculty this year as professor of saxophone. Banks will perform Billy Childs’ “Diaspora Concerto,” a three-part symphonic poem inspired by Black poets that traces a journey from ancestral homeland through trauma and resistance to resilience and triumph. Conducted by A.J. Fletcher Opera Institute Music Director James Allbritten, the program concludes with Johannes Brahms’ Symphony No. 4.

In October, guest conductor Ian Passmore, hailed by Fanfare as a “rising young conductor,” leads the UNCSA Symphony Orchestra in a program featuring works by Missy Mazzoli, Carl Nielsen and Sergei Prokofiev. Concerto Competition winner and Music alumnus Ilya Perepelitsa (B.M. ’26) will be featured on flute in Carl Nielsen’s Concerto for Flute and Orchestra.

The Symphony Orchestra closes its season in May with a program marking the 200th anniversary of Ludwig van Beethoven’s death and tracing his influence across generations of composers. Conducted by Allbritten, the program features Richard Wagner’s Prelude to Act III of “Lohengrin,” Beethoven’s “Choral Fantasy” for piano, chorus and orchestra, and Robert Schumann’s Symphony No. 3, the “Rhenish.”

The UNCSA Wind Ensemble and Chamber Winds open their season in September with “Cuentista!,” a vibrant program inspired by Latin American and Spanish traditions. Conducted by Mark A. Norman and featuring faculty oboist Rachel Messing, the concert includes works by Arturo Márquez, Gabriela Ortiz, Ferrer Ferran, Dennis Llinás and student composer Aarush Bothra.

In April, the UNCSA Wind Ensemble and Symphonic Winds close their season with “Frozen Cathedral,” conducted by Mark A. Norman with guest conductor Jon Caldwell, director of bands at UNC Greensboro. The program features Katahj Copley’s “Sol Intus,” Percy Grainger’s “Lincolnshire Posy” and John Mackey’s “Frozen Cathedral,” moving from radiant contemporary sound to folk-inspired color and sweeping cinematic scale.

Jazz and Roots

The UNCSA Improvised Music and Jazz Festival returns for a third year in April, bringing two full days of jazz to downtown Winston-Salem. Presented at The Ramkat, the festival brings together guest artists, UNCSA student musicians and regional middle and high school ensembles for performances, master classes and open jam sessions. The festival is coordinated by Steve Alford, chair of the Jazz and Contemporary Department.

Additional jazz highlights include the UNCSA Improvised Music and Jazz Studio Fall Showcase, featuring student musicians exploring structured jazz repertoire and open-ended improvisation, and “Big Band in Full Force,” a February concert of classic repertoire and modern arrangements performed by the UNCSA Jazz Ensemble under Alford’s direction.

With the launch of the American Roots Music Institute, UNCSA continues to expand its exploration of bluegrass, folk and other roots traditions. In October, the Nashville Trio brings together Music alumnus Eddie Barbash (H.S. Music ’07), Jeff Picker and Mark Raudabaugh for a program in which fiddle tunes meet jazz improvisation and traditional melodies are reshaped through the sounds of Americana. Barbash has performed with Cory Wong and Jon Batiste, Picker with Nickel Creek and Ricky Skaggs, and Raudabaugh with Sierra Hull.

In November, virtuoso singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Tony Furtado performs with mandolinist Matt Flinner and fiddler Luke Price at the Muddy Creek Listening Room in Old Salem. Known for his work on banjo, cello-banjo, slide guitar and baritone ukulele, Furtado first gained national attention after winning the National Bluegrass Banjo Championship and has since performed at major festivals including Telluride Bluegrass Festival, High Sierra Music Festival, Jazz Aspen and Kerrville Folk Festival.

Chamber Music

The annual UNCSA Chamber Music Festival, launched in 2021, brings together guest artists, faculty and students for three concerts this fall featuring works by Antonín Dvořák, Robert Schumann, Johannes Brahms and others. Returning guest violist Paul Neubauer, who participated in the inaugural festival, will be joined by violinist Amy Moretti and cellist Raman Ramakrishnan for the Oct. 24 concert, with additional guest artists collaborating with UNCSA musicians throughout the festival. The spring edition of the Chamber Music Festival in March will feature additional small-ensemble performances by guest, faculty and student artists (details to be announced at a later date).

The Reynolda Quartet, composed of renowned faculty artists from the School of Music at UNCSA, will present “The Ultimate Test” at Watson Hall on the UNCSA campus. The program explores the influence of Ludwig van Beethoven on Robert Schumann’s approach to the string quartet. Faculty artists Ida Bieler and Janet Orenstein, violin; Music faculty member Brett Deubner; and Brooks Whitehouse, cello, will perform Schumann’s String Quartet No. 1 in A minor, Op. 41, No. 1, alongside Beethoven’s String Quartet in E minor, Op. 59, No. 2.

Opera

The A.J. Fletcher Opera Institute celebrates its 25th anniversary this season. For a quarter century, the institute has prepared emerging artists for professional careers through fully supported fellowships, intensive study and professional-level productions. The anniversary season opens with “An Evening at the Opera,” featuring Fletcher Fellows performing scenes from the operatic repertoire under the direction of Allbritten and Artistic Director Steven LaCosse. The year-long anniversary celebration also includes a guest artist recital and master class with acclaimed soprano Jennifer Rowley.

In February, the Fletcher Opera Institute presents Pietro Mascagni’s rarely performed “L’amico Fritz,” a warm and humorous Italian opera about a confirmed bachelor whose certainty begins to unravel when he unexpectedly falls in love. The season concludes with Joseph Haydn’s “La fedeltà premiata” (“Fidelity Rewarded”), a comedic pastoral opera set in a mythical countryside where young lovers confront jealousy, shifting loyalties and an ancient curse. Directed by LaCosse with music preparation by Music faculty member Eric McEnaney, both operas will be sung in Italian with English supertitles.

The School of Music Sampler Package includes the UNCSA Improvised Music and Jazz Studio Fall Showcase, the UNCSA Chamber Music Festival, “La fedeltà premiata” and the May 1 UNCSA Symphony Orchestra concert. The Jazz & Roots Package includes the Fall Showcase, Nashville Trio, Tony Furtado with Matt Flinner and Luke Price, and “Big Band in Full Force.” The Symphony and Winds Package includes the Sept. 19, Oct. 31 and May 1 UNCSA Symphony Orchestra concerts, along with “Cuentista!” and “Frozen Cathedral.”

School of Design and Production Highlights

In addition to providing design, technical and production support for performances across the schools of Dance and Drama and the A.J. Fletcher Opera Institute, the School of Design and Production presents “Photona: In Flux,” an immersive showcase of light, projection, sound and space created by the senior lighting class of 2027.

Using state-of-the-art lighting, video and audio technology, students will transform the Freedman Theatre and surrounding spaces through dynamic performance pieces, an experiential lobby installation and an interactive Q&A with the creative teams. This year’s theme, “In Flux,” explores change and transformation and the ways light can reshape perception and alter how audiences experience space and reality.

Expanded to three performances this season, “Photona: In Flux” will be presented Dec. 11-12. The event is free, but advance reservations are required at uncsa.edu/performances. Strobing lights, lasers and atmospheric effects will be used.

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

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