Events

When Ludwig van Beethoven published the 29th of his 32 piano sonatas, nicknamed “the Hammerklavier,” he is said to have quipped to his publisher in 1819 that the work would keep pianists busy for the next 50 years — and it’s still keeping pianists busy. Pianist Hui-Chuan Chen’s program, Beethoven Reimagined, features not only the massive and technically challenging Hammerklavier sonata, but also a new commissioned work by composer Daniel Pesca, Impromptu #2 (after Beethoven), directly inspired by Beethoven’s masterpiece.

In June 2025, three UMBC choirs took part in an extraordinary summer performance tour through Europe. In this Choirs Homecoming Concert, the three choirs — the UMBC Camerata, the UMBC Jubilee Singers, and the UMBC Gospel Choir — will perform selections from their European tour, talk about their experiences, present photos and videos from the trip, and thank all the supporters who made this event possible.

The Department of Music presents the UMBC Jazz Ensemble, directed by Matthew Belzer, in a program of music by Charles Mingus, Quincy Jones, Pat Metheny, Jack DeJohnette, Kenny Wheeler, and Fred Sturm.

The Livewire 15:  Blazing Trails new music festival presents RUCKUS, the faculty ensemble in residence at UMBC, in a concert of works by Zosha Di Castri, Sofia Gubaidulina, Tania León, George Lewis, and Joan Tower.

For the second evening of the Livewire 15 new music festival, the RUCKUS ensemble is joined by UMBC affiliate faculty to present Julius Eastman’s concert-length work, Femenine.

How often do you get a chance to eat a work of art? RUCKUS presents a lunchtime performance of Alison Knowles’s groundbreaking Fluxus work, Proposition #2: Make a Salad. In a radical turn away from the conventions of classical music, Knowles frames the concert experience around a simple, everyday act. The performers will trade their instruments for whisks, knives, and colanders, and every audience member will be served.

With characteristic elan and virtuosity, Ensemble Bravura and conductor Philip Mann present a multifaceted and eclectic Livewire 15 festival finale exploring human interconnection, with works by David Baker, Jennifer Higdon, Miroslav Skoryk, Karlheinz Stockhausen, and Joan Tower.

Embark on a journey through the cosmos, where mysteries of the universe unfold in all their glory and splendor. The Relic ensemble brings to life the rich mythology and awe of the celestial bodies through captivating masterpieces of the Baroque era. This evocative program tells the story of the universe through the timeless voices of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, featuring works by Lully, Vivaldi, Handel, and Bach.

Join us for a special afternoon with soprano Seyoung Jeong, pianist Edwin Kim, and cellist DoYeon Kim, as they explore Faces of Love, featuring Robert Schumann’s song cycle Frauenliebe und -leben, Clara Schumann’s Drei Romanzen for Cello and Piano, and five of the most popular Korean contemporary art songs.