Events – Arizona Arts Live

Upcoming Events

April 25, 2025

Brooklyn Rider

The String Quartets of Philip Glass
Celebrate 20 years of GRAMMY-nominated Brooklyn Rider in a special commemoration honoring legendary composer and pianist Philip Glass. Presented and fully seated in Tooley’s Cafe for an up-close and intimate audience experience. Brooklyn Rider celebrates the string quartets of Philip Glass for their 20th anniversary. A principal figure of the American minimalist movement, Glass’ works for string quartet have found inspiration from Shakespeare to Beckett. From the life of Yukio Mishima to the legend of Dracula. From Schubert to Bach. Taken as a whole, they document the unique and inimitable spirit that powerfully encapsulates our time. With their gripping performance style and unquenchable appetite for musical adventure, Brooklyn Rider has carved a singular space in the world of string quartets over their fifteen-year history. Claiming no allegiance to either end of the historical spectrum, Brooklyn Rider most comfortably operates within the long arc of the tradition, seeking to illuminate works of the past with fresh insight while coaxing the malleable genre into the future through an inclusive programming vision, deep-rooted collaborations with a wide range of global tradition bearers, and the creation of thoughtful and relevant frames for commissioning projects.

May 2, 2025

Jon Nakamatsu

Pianist
Experience an evening of virtuosic brilliance with American pianist Jon Nakamatsu whose electrifying performances have captivated audiences worldwide for over three decades. Presented and fully seated on stage for an up-close and intimate audience experience in Centennial Hall. Now in his third decade of touring worldwide, Jon Nakamatsu continues to draw critical and public acclaim for his intensity, elegance and electrifying solo, concerto, and chamber music performances. Catapulted to international attention in 1997 as the Gold Medalist of the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition—the only American to achieve this distinction since 1981—he subsequently developed a multi-faceted career encompassing recording, education, arts administration, and public speaking. From major symphony halls to intimate chamber performances, Jon Nakamatsu brings music to life in a way that feels both powerful and personal. Whether he’s playing Beethoven, Gershwin, or something in between, his performances are full of nuance and emotion.

May 7, 2025

Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr.

2025 Black Faculty Speaker Series
Join Arizona Arts Live and the Office of the Provost for a lecture exploring community building as a collective practice with Emmy and Peabody Award-winning filmmaker Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Presented live in Centennial Hall. Emmy and Peabody Award-winning filmmaker, literary scholar, and journalist Henry Louis Gates, Jr. is an acclaimed cultural critic and institution builder. He is the Alphonse Fletcher University Professor and Director of the Hutchins Center for African & African American Research at Harvard University. Among his dozens of books are recent New York Times bestsellers Stony the Road: Reconstruction, White Supremacy, and the Rise of Jim Crow and The Black Church: This Is Our Story, This Is Our Song. He has also produced and hosted an array of documentary films. The Black Church (PBS) and Frederick Douglass: In Five Speeches (HBO), which he executive produced, received Emmy nominations. Finding Your Roots, Gates’s groundbreaking genealogy and genetics series is now in its tenth season on PBS. Professor Gates has received countless awards and honors, including a George Polk Award for his social commentary in The New York Times, a MacArthur Fellowship, the Chicago Tribune Literary Award for lifetime achievement, and the prestigious Gold Medal from the National Institute of Social Sciences, among many others. His filmmaking has received Emmy, Peabody, and NAACP Image Awards and an Alfred I. duPont Columbia University Award. Recently, he received the coveted Spingarn Medal from the NAACP. Professor Gates serves on the boards of many notable institutions, including the New York Public Library, the Aspen Institute, and the Brookings Institution, and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

April 2025

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Silkroad Ensemble: Uplifted Voices

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Silkroad Ensemble Uplifted Voices Join Grammy-winningSilkroad Ensemblein an unforgettable musical journey around the world offering a fresh perspective on the history and migration of music Presented in Centennial HallSilkroad brings...
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Silkroad Ensemble: Uplifted Voices

Learn More
Silkroad Ensemble Uplifted Voices Join Grammy-winningSilkroad Ensemblein an unforgettable musical journey around the world offering a fresh perspective on the history and migration of music Presented in Centennial HallSilkroad brings...

Circa: Opus

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Circa Opus Ten acrobats and a live string quartet celebrate the music of composer Dmitri Shostakovich in a stunning work of power virtuosity and physical poetry with Opus by Circa Presented in Centennial HallAustralian company Circa...
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Circa: Opus

Learn More
Circa Opus Ten acrobats and a live string quartet celebrate the music of composer Dmitri Shostakovich in a stunning work of power virtuosity and physical poetry with Opus by Circa Presented in Centennial HallAustralian company Circa...
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Brooklyn Rider

Learn More
Brooklyn Rider Celebrate 20 years of GRAMMY-nominated Brooklyn Rider in a special commemoration honoring legendary composer and pianist Philip Glass Presented and fully seated in Tooley8217s Cafe for an up-close and intimate audience...
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