We Have Voice Collective opens music department’s spring semester

The Department of Music is gearing up for a busy semester that will kick off next week with a panel discussion and performance by the We Have Voice Collective, which includes new Jazz Studies director Nicole Mitchell Gantt.

Maria GrandThe collective of 14 musicians, performers, scholars and thinkers from different generations, races, ethnicities, cultures, abilities, gender identities, economic backgrounds, religious beliefs and affiliation focuses on bringing awareness to issues of inequity, including sexual harassment and bullying, and to shift the cultural landscape to foster awareness of creating safer spaces.

Gantt and three other members of the collective — María Grand (saxophones), Kavita Shah (vocals) and Fay Victor (vocals) — will present a free panel discussion on “Music, Equity and Safe(r) Spaces” at 6:30 p.m. Jan. 17 at Bellefield Hall, followed by a ticketed performance of original music at 7:30 p.m. Tickets for the performance are $10; $5 for students and seniors, and are available through the University of Pittsburgh Stages Box Office — 412-624-7529 or music.pitt.edu/tickets.

An additional improvisation workshop, hosted by Fay Victor, will be offered to musicians and vocalists for free at 11 a.m. Jan. 18 at Carnegie Library, Homewood Branch, 7101 Hamilton Ave. Contact the Jazz Studies office at 412-624-4187 or pittjazz@pitt.edu for further details.

A semester of sound

Several other performances sponsored by the Dietrich School of Arts & Science’s Department of Music are coming up this semester. Tickets are available through the University of Pittsburgh Stages Box Office — 412-624-7529 or music.pitt.edu/tickets — unless otherwise noted.

Music on the Edge 

  • TAK Ensemble, 8 p.m. Jan. 25, Bellefield Hall Auditorium. The New York-based new music ensemble will present compositions by Pitt’s graduate student composers. Free

  • Duo Cortona, 8 p.m. Feb. 8, Andy Warhol Museum. This ensemble focuses on mezzo-soprano vocals and violin. Tickets: $15, $20 at the door; $10 for Pitt students and seniors advance; $15 for non-Pitt students and seniors at the door.

  • Beyond 2020: Microtonal Music Festival, Feb. 28-March 1. Featuring concerts and symposia by leading performers, composers, and theorists of microtonal music. Visit music.pitt.edu/mote for a complete schedule. Tickets for individual shows at 7 p.m. Feb. 28-29 at 8 p.m. March 1: $15, $20 at the door; $10 for Pitt students and seniors advance; $15 for non-Pitt students and seniors at the door. Festival passes available for $30; $25 for students and seniors.

Vocal performances

  • Heinz Chapel Chamber Choir Festival, 3:30 p.m. Feb. 16, Heinz Memorial Chapel. Free

  • Men’s Glee Club Spring Concert, 8 p.m. March 28, First Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church, 531 N. Neville St. Tickets: $15; $10 for non-Pitt students and seniors; free for Pitt students with valid ID.

  • Women’s Choral Ensemble Spring Concert, 5 p.m. April 5, Heinz Memorial Chapel. Free

  • Heinz Chapel Choir Spring Concert, 3 p.m. April 19, Heinz Memorial Chapel. Free

  • Heinz Chapel Choir Tour Farewell Concert, 7:30 p.m. April 27, Heinz Memorial Chapel. Free

University of Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra

  • 8 p.m. Feb. 26, Bellefield Hall Auditorium, featuring Stravinsky’s Symphonies of Wind Instruments, Judith Weir’s “Winter Song” and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 4. Free

  • 8 p.m. April 15, Bellefield Hall Auditorium, featuring Debussy’s “La Mer” and a new work for strings by Nicholas Grieneisen. Free

Other performances

  • Big Band Festival, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Feb. 22, Bellefield Hall Auditorium. Free

  • Jazz Composers Concert, 2 p.m. March 22, Bellefield Hall Auditorium. Free

  • African Music and Dance Ensemble, 8 p.m. April 10, Bellefield Hall Auditorium. Tickets: $8.50; $5 for non-Pitt students and seniors in advance. $12; $8 for non-Pitt students and seniors at the door. Free for Pitt students valid ID.

  • Pitt Jazz Ensemble Spring Concert, 8 p.m. April 16, Bellefield Hall Auditorium. Tickets, cash at the door only: $10; $5 for students.

  • University Gamelan, 8 p.m. April 18, Bellefield Hall Auditorium. Tickets: $8.50; $5 for non-Pitt students and seniors in advance. $12; $8 for non-Pitt students and seniors at the door. Free for Pitt students valid ID.

— Susan Jones