Washburn University Music & Theatre Department Offers Musical Performances throughout October; The Public is Invited

Topeka, Kan. - The Washburn University Music & Theatre Department will host performances throughout October featuring Washburn music students and faculty. These concerts are on the Washburn University campus; the majority are free (it is noted if there is an admission fee) and they are open to the public.

Washburn String Ensemble Concert
Time and date: 7:30 p.m. Oct. 2
Location: Hurd Recital Hall

The Washburn String Ensemble presents a program that travels three centuries in a single evening. It opens with Purcell's "Chacony in G minor," a stately English masterwork built on a repeating bass line that unfolds with quiet intensity and aching beauty. Next comes "Autumn" from Vivaldi's "The Four Seasons," featuring faculty violinist Caroline Beckman as soloist. The concert closes with Piazzolla's "Libertango," the tango nuevo classic that trades the concert hall for the streets of Buenos Aires. From baroque elegance to Argentine fire, this program shows just how much color a string ensemble can summon.

Capital City Marching Band Festival
Time and date: 12 - 8:30 p.m. Oct. 7
Location: Yager Stadium
*There is an admission fee.

The Washburn University Music & Theatre Department will host the annual Capital City Marching Band Festival on Wednesday, Oct. 7, in Yager Stadium. The festival will feature more than 750 students and their directors from nine Kansas high schools: Hayden Catholic High School, Holton High School, Leavenworth High School, Santa Fe Trail High School, Seaman High School, Shawnee Heights High School, Topeka High School, Topeka West High School, Wichita West High School.

Performance Schedule:
1:30 Santa Fe Trail
2:00 Leavenworth
2:30 Wichita West
3:00 Hayden Catholic
3:30 Washburn University Marching Band
3:45 Awards - Exhibition Class

6:00 Hayden Catholic
6:15 Holton
6:30 Topeka High
6:45 Topeka West
7:00 Shawnee Heights
7:15 Seaman
7:30 Washburn University Marching Band
7:45 Awards - Festival Class

Admission: Adults $15; students, children and seniors $10; children 5 and under free. Cash only at the gate. All proceeds support the Washburn University Marching Band program.

Trio Sorivoce Guest Artist Recital
Time and date: 7:30 p.m. Oct. 8
Location: Hurd Recital Hall

Trio Sorivoce is a piano trio with members Dr. Yunjung Lee, violin, an associate professor of music and director of string studies from Indiana State University, Dr. Dong Yeol Hong, cello, a faculty member at Western Illinois University, Augustana College and Indiana State University, and Dr. Jung-Won Shin, piano, assistant professor of piano at the University of Kansas. The program includes "Piano Trio in B flat major, D. 28" by Franz Schubert, "Piano Trio in One Movement, Op. 68" by Edmund Rubbra, "Allegretto for Piano Trio in B flat major, WoO 39" by Ludwig Van Beethoven, "Phantasie in A minor" by John Ireland and "Piano Trio No. 1, Op. 8 in C minor" by Dmitri Shostakovich.

Washburn Chorale Concert
Time and date: 7:30 p.m. Oct. 9
Location: White Concert Hall

The Washburn Chorale presents a concert celebrating Washburn's IMPACT values, with a special focus on community and inclusion. Through music that welcomes and connects, the program features Dolly Parton's "Light of a Clear Blue Morning," Kyle Pederson's "Arabic welcome song Ahlan Wa Sahlan," Gary Fry's "Heartland" and Craig Carnelia's "Flight," as performed by Sutton Foster. Together, these works celebrate the power of music to bring people together, honor diverse experiences and create a sense of belonging.

Washburn University Jazz Ensemble Concert
Time and date: 7:30 p.m. Oct. 15
Location: Hurd Recital Hall

The Washburn University Jazz Ensemble Concert will feature the Washburn University Jazz Orchestra and Jazz Combos. The performance will feature a variety of musical selections composed by noteable jazz artists, composers and arrangers.

Wind Ensemble Concert
Time and date: 7:30 p.m. Oct. 16
Location: White Concert Hall

The Washburn University Wind Ensemble presents a program spanning classic and contemporary works for winds and percussion. Featuring music by Clifton Williams, Frank Ticheli, Malcolm Arnold, Viet Cuong, Morton Gould and Kevin Day, the concert highlights the breadth, color and energy of the modern wind ensemble repertoire.

PianoFest
Time and date: 8:30 a.m.-6 p.m., Concert Performance at 5 p.m. Oct. 17
Locations: White Concert Hall, Hurd Recital Hall

PianoFest is a piano festival in Topeka that celebrates group learning for students grades 1 - 12 through workshops and clinics. Students also get a chance to perform and receive feedback during informal masterclasses. Students must have previously registered to participate.

PianoFest concludes with a piano recital by Dr. Katherine Petersen Eadie, a Chicago-based pianist and performing artist of Duo FAE! She will perform a piano recital featuring music by Florence Price and Kaija Saariaho. Petersen Eadie is the guest artist clinician at Washburn's PianoFest 2026. The public is invited to attend this free concert.

KMEA Trumpet All-State Band & Orchestra Workshop
Time and date: 2-4 p.m. Oct. 18
Location: Hurd Recital Hall

This workshop is for pre-registered students. The Washburn University Music & Theatre Department will host a free workshop for students preparing for the 2026-27 Kansas Music Educators Association (KMEA). All-State auditions. Dr. Coleman Scott, assistant professor of trumpet, Washburn University, will offer students guidance on approaching classical and jazz trumpet music, refining their preparation and performing with greater confidence.

Guest Artist Johnathan Scales Fourchestra
Time and date: 7:30-9 p.m. Oct. 22
Location: Hurd Recital Hall

Veering from in-your-face, jaw dropping chops and passion, to those quiet moments when the background noise disappears and you hold your breath to take in a soundscape of solitude, the power trio of E'Lon JD on electric bass, Maison Guidry on drums and Jonathan Scales on steel pans combines elements of jazz, classical and progressive rock, peppered with Latin rhythms and soulful outbursts of funk. From club and festival stages across North America and Europe, and tours of Africa, Southeast and Central Asia as a Cultural Ambassador for the U.S. Department of State, to their NPR Tiny Desk Concert featuring Béla Fleck, the Fourchestra's live shows make even the most jaded listeners forget where they are, even if just for a precious moment. This concert is funded by the Washburn Association of Percussionists.

Washburn University Faculty Showcase Recital
Time and date: 7:30-9 p.m. Oct. 23
Location: Hurd Recital Hall

Faculty Showcase Recital features performances by current Washburn University music faculty and guest artists.

Washburn University Symphony Orchestra and Washburn Chorale Concert
Time and date: 7:30-9 p.m. Oct. 28
Location: White Concert Hall

The Washburn University Symphony Orchestra and the Washburn Chorale saddle up for a Halloween journey into the music of the American Wild West. The evening rides out with two of the most iconic themes ever written for the screen, Elmer Bernstein's "The Magnificent Seven" and Ennio Morricone's "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly," alongside music by great American voices such as Aaron Copland and Ferde Grofé, with the Chorale joining the orchestra for part of the program. Big tunes, big landscapes and a night of frontier spirit. Wear your best Halloween costume, or your best cowboy hat.

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For further information, contact:
Joy Bailes
Director of Internal Communications and Brand Management
Telephone: (785) 670-2153
Cell: (785) 230-1648
Email: [email protected]