Immersive Residency 2025-26

Born in New York City to Haitian emigrants and activists, Leyla McCalla finds inspiration from her past and present– her music vibrates with three centuries of history and influences from around the globe. McCalla possesses a stunning mastery of the cello, tenor banjo and guitar and, as a multilingual singer and songwriter, has risen to produce a distinctive sound that reflects the union of her roots and experience. In addition to her solo work, McCalla is a founding member of Our Native Daughters (with Rhiannon Giddens, Amythyst Kiah and Allison Russell) and alumna of Grammy award-winning Black string band The Carolina Chocolate Drops.

McCalla’s new album and fifth studio recording, Sun Without the Heat (ANTI, April 12), is playful and full of joy while holding the pain and tension of transformation. Throughout Sun Without the Heat’s ten tracks, McCalla achieves a balance of heaviness and light with melodies and rhythms derived from various forms of Afro-diasporic music including Afrobeat, Ethiopian modalities, Brazilian Tropicalismo, and American folk and blues.

Her 2022 album, Breaking the Thermometer (ANTI-), is the album companion to a multidisciplinary music, dance and theatre work commissioned by Duke Performances. Through the story of the brave journalists at Radio Haiti who risked their lives to report news in Haitian Kreyol, Breaking the Thermometer identifies the critical importance of a free and independent press to promote self and societal liberation. Breaking the Thermometer was named one of the Best Albums of the year by The Guardian, Variety, Mojo and NPR Music, and her song “Dodinin” made Barack Obama’s short list of favorites. McCalla was awarded the 2022 People’s Voice Award by Folk Alliance International, an award given to artists who unabashedly embrace social change in their creative work.

While conceiving her next project, McCalla expanded her musical palate and revisited her longstanding creative influences. “I like when music feels urgent,” McCalla says, “but I also wanted the new album to be playful and fun. I wanted that levity to come through.”

On Sun Without the Heat, McCalla draws lyrical inspiration from the writings of Black feminist Afrofuturist thinkers including Octavia Butler, Alexis Pauline Gumbs, and adrienne maree brown. Like these authors, McCalla looks to songwriting as a way to increase faith and hope, encourage community thinking, and catalyze personal transformation. “Songwriting is a modality to tell the stories that need to be told,” she explains. “Sometimes these are painful stories to tell.”

This is especially vivid in the album’s title track, which pulls from Frederick Douglass’s 1857 speech to a largely white crowd of abolitionists six years before the Emancipation Proclamation. His words echo in the song: “You want the crops without the plow / You want the rain without the thunder / You want the ocean without the roar of its waters.” Douglass’s point — which McCalla weaves into the song’s central message —is that liberation and equity are not possible without committing to transformative action.

“We all want the warmth of the sun but not everybody wants to feel the heat,” McCalla explains. “You have to have both.”

Moved by this speech, and by Susan Raffo’s 2022 book Liberated to the Bone, McCalla asserts this idea fully by adding the lyric: “Can’t have the sun without the heat.” This song serves as a reminder of the continued work for social change and the struggle that we still bear. “These wounds,” McCalla reminds us, “are so old.”

Sun Without the Heat was recorded in an intense nine-day session at Dockside Studies in New Orleans. Produced by Maryam Qudus, McCalla was joined by longtime bandmates and collaborators Shawn Myers on percussion and drums, Pete Olynciw on electric bass and piano, and Nahum Zdybel on guitars. Qudus is featured on synthesizers, organs and backing vocals.

“Usually, I go into the studio and have the songs and the framework already in mind,” says McCalla. “But with this album, we built the frame in real time. It was an intimidating process, but it also helped me realize how held I am by the musicians I work with.”

The result is a transcendent collection of songs that hold the personal and universal, carrying grief and joy at once. Through this album, McCalla explores the elements of transformation and the heat necessary to move from darkness toward light.

Sun Without the Heat will be released via ANTI- Records. McCalla is also currently the Artist in Residence at the University of Richmond.

Fall 2025
September 10–12, 2025
October 8–10, 2025
November 17–21, 2025

Spring 2026
February 2–6, 2026
March 24–27, 2026
April 13–17, 2026

Full schedule to come soon.

VISIT ONE

Sept. 10–12, 2025

Wednesday | September 10
Noon Cali Collective Class – Entrepreneurship, Room G33

2-3pm (FREE tickets not required)
Leshowitz Recital Hall, Chapin Hall, Cali School of Music
Cali Midweek Series
CONCERT + CALI CONVERSATION WITH
2025-26 Cali Artist-in-Residence
LEYLA McCALLA
AND CALI SCHOOL Of MUSIC DIRECTOR
SHEA SCRUGGS
Join Cali Artist-in-Residence Leyla McCalla and Director Shea Scruggs for a conversation on heritage, creativity, and the power of music to spark change. A GRAMMY-winning musician known for blending Haitian roots, Afro-Caribbean rhythms, and socially conscious songwriting, McCalla shares insights into her artistic journey and the role of music in shaping culture and community.

3:30-4:30pm Improv class for strings Room, Room G55
4:45pm Visit University Symphony Orchestra/Artist Vision Project

Thursday | September 11
1:20-1:30pm Visit Chorale/Artist Vision Project, Room G55
2:45-2:55pm Visit University Symphonic Band/Artist Vision Project 201
5:00-5:10pm Visit University Wind Symphony/Artist Vision Project 201

Friday | September 12
10am-1pm Observe Strings and Visit Classes and Chamber Coachings, Leshowitz Recital Hall
Noon-12:10pm Visit University Jazz Ensemble/Artist Vision Project, with Oscar Perez

Artist Vision Project Info

The cross-curricular project “Artist Vision Project” (AVP) is for rising juniors, seniors and graduate students seeking to present a less traditional performance for their recital requirement. It affords the opportunity for students to tap into their multifaceted interests and create a unique program.

VISIT TWO

October 8–10, 2025

Wednesday | October 8
8:00-10:25AM, MUHS 407, Section 2 Music: 1890 to Present, University Hall 3009, Prof. Cara Turnbull
NOON, Cali Collective, Room G33
1PM, Guitar Practicum, Room 430
3-4PM, Improv Class for Strings, Room G55, Prof. Kathryn Lockwood
5:30PM Artist Vision Program Meeting with Cali Pathways, Anais-Skye Clarke-Avignant

Thursday | October 9

Friday | October 10
11AM-1:45PM Visit Physical Theatre Dance Class, Life Hall 1250 (new location), Prof. Stefanie Batten Bland

VISIT THREE

November 17–21, 2025

Monday Nov. 17th
11am-1:45pm, Intro to the Music Industry, School of Communications and Media Room 0001
3:30pm – 4:30pm Strings Improv Class. Leshowitz Recital Hall, Chapin Hall

Tuesday Nov 18th
9:15am-10:45am  Intro to Poetry Blues, Langston Hughes, Dickson Room 430
4-5:50pm – Popular Music Techniques MUED 309 Freeman Hall Room 003
6-8:45pm  History of Latin American & Caribbean and Latino Music in the United States MUHS605 Room G1

Wednesday Nov 19th
11am or Noon Cali Collective Room G33
1pm Guitar Practicum Room 430
2pm Cali Midweek Series  – Chamber Music  Leshowitz Recital Hall, Chapin Hall
3-4pm Composition Practicum Leshowitz Recital Hall, Chapin Hall
5-6:30pm Improv class for Pathways Project Strings Leshowitz Recital Hall, Chapin Hall

Samora Pinderhughes is a composer, pianist, vocalist, filmmaker and multidisciplinary artist known for examining sociopolitical issues and fighting for change through his art. Lauded as “one of the most affecting singer songwriters today, in any genre” by The New York Times and “a magical being” by Forbes, Pinderhughes is shaping new worlds through his art, his honesty, and his vulnerability.

Born and raised in the Bay Area, Pinderhughes began playing music at two years old and went on to study music at Juilliard where he met his primary artistic mentor, MacArthur-winning playwright Anna Deavere Smith. Pinderhughes has collaborated and performed with a number of artists including Common, Robert Glasper, Karriem Riggins, Kyle Abraham, Sara Bareilles, Daveed Diggs and Herbie Hancock, and his works have been commissioned by institutions including Carnegie Hall, the Sundance Film Festival, The Kitchen, Yerba Buena Center for The Arts, and the Kennedy Center.

Pinderhughes was the first-ever Art for Justice + Soros Justice Fellow and a recipient of Chamber Music America’s 2020 Visionary Award. He is also a United States Artist Fellow, Creative Capital awardee, and Sundance Composers Lab fellow. He graduated from Juilliard and is getting his Ph.D. at Harvard University, where he is currently teaching the class ‘ Music in Social Practice: Sounding the Chorus of Community’. In 2025, Pinderhughes was named the Adobe Creative Resident at MOMA as well as a Pioneer Works Visual Art & Music Resident.

OCTOBER 13–18, 2025

Monday | October 13
9:45-11:10AM MUTC 101 Music & Computer Tech I (Room 122), Prof. Laura Montanari
11:30AM – 12:55PM MUTC 101 Music & Computer Tech I (Room 122), Prof. Laura Montanari
1PM Musical Composition (Leshowitz Recital Hall), Prof. Aaron Helgeson
2PM Jazz Combo (Room G1), Prof. Michael Lee
3PM-4:30PM Rehearsal with String Quartet and or Woodwind Quintet for Bridges (Room G55) 

Tuesday | October 14
9-9:55AM Keyboard Musicianship I (Room G22), Prof. Kim Mansoon
10-11AM Composition for the Young Jazz Musician Clinic (Room 206) Prof. Oscar Perez
12-1:15PM Death Penalty Class Discussion – HONP 202 15 undergradudate and honors students (Leshowitz Recital Hall), Prof. Jessica Henry
2-3:30PM Rehearse with String Quartet and/or Wind Quintet (Leshowitz Recital Hall) Prof. Bryan Powell students only
4-5:50PM MUED 309 – Popular Music Techniques –  Lecture on Songwriting and Recording (Freeman Hall Room 003) Prof. Bryan Powell students only
6-8PM MUED 518– Technology for Music Teachers -Lecture on Songwriting and Recording (Room 112) Prof. Bryan Powell students only

Wednesday | October 15
12-1PM Cali Collective Class (Room G33) students only

2PM Cali Midweek Series: “Meet Samora”
Leshowitz Recital Hall, Chapin Hall, Cali School of Music
FREE – Reservations Sugguested  PUBLIC
During this 50 minute Midweek Concert and Presentation, you will have the opportunity to meet Samora Pinderhughes and find out how this multidisciplinary artist can create music that makes listeners “live differently”.  Pinderhughes is lauded as “one of the most affecting singer-songwriters today, in any genre” (The New York Times) and “a magical being” (Forbes). Through honesty and vulnerability, he creates works that confront sociopolitical issues and imagine new worlds.

3PM Composition Practicum (Workshop/Masterclass) (Room G55) Prof. Aaron Helgeson Free and Open to the Public
4PM-5PM Electronic Music Ensemble Class in the Cali Computer Lab – Lecture on Electronic Music Production (Room G55) Prof. Bryan Powell students only

Thursday | October 16
12:10PM-3PM Special Music School Kauffman Center, NYC 

Friday | October 17
11:30AM-1:30PM  Studio Time “Talk on Alternative Methods to imagining life as a musician.” (Department of Animation, Film and Television, School of Communications and Media) Prof. Stuart MacLelland

Stefan Jackiw is one of America’s foremost violinists, captivating audiences with playing that combines poetry and purity with impeccable technique. Hailed for playing of “uncommon musical substance” that is “striking for its intelligence and sensitivity” (Boston Globe), Jackiw has appeared as a soloist with the Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, New York, Philadelphia, and San Francisco symphony orchestras, among others.

In the 2024-25 season, Stefan Jackiw’s schedule is studded with performances in the United States, Europe, and Asia. In November, he returns to the Cleveland Orchestra to perform Tchaikovsky’s violin concerto under the baton of Santtu-Matias Rouvali. That same month, Jackiw releases his recording of the complete violin sonatas of Charles Ives with his longtime collaborator, pianist Jeremy Denk on Nonesuch. Of the disc, Alex Ross wrote in The New Yorker, “Jackiw sets a new standard.” In the Winter of 2024, Jackiw will join the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland under Hans Graf’s baton and debut with the Suwon Philharmonic in South Korea. The Junction Trio will return to the 92NY stage to showcase a program featuring the world premiere of a New Work by John Zorn, followed by Jackiw’s residence at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where he will lead performances and masterclasses. Jackiw will then join the Pasadena Symphony for Mozart’s Violin Concerto, along with a Junction Trio performance at Rockefeller University and a performance of Korngold’s Violin Concerto with The Florida Orchestra in the Spring. Please note that the 2024-25 season is subject to additions, and performance updates will be added to Stefan Jackiw’s website as they are announced.

Jackiw opened his 2023-24 season returning to the New York Philharmonic to perform the Barber Concerto with Jaap van Zweden. His season also included a quadruple World Premiere of new works at Roulette, performances with the Taiwan Philharmonic, China National Symphony, and the Junction Trio’s highly praised debut at Carnegie Hall.

Jackiw recently performed a new violin concerto, written for him by Conrad Tao and premiered by the Atlanta Symphony and Baltimore Symphony. He has also premiered David Fulmer’s concerto Jauchzende Bögen with Matthias Pintscher and the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen at the Heidelberger Frühling.

A devoted chamber musician, Jackiw is the Artistic Director of the Hawaii Chamber Music Festival. In addition, Jackiw tours frequently with his musical partners, pianist Conrad Tao and cellist Jay Campbell, as part of the Junction Trio. Last season, Jackiw also collaborated in a special piano trio project at 92NY with Daniil Trifonov and Alisa Weilerstein. In 2019, he recorded Beethoven’s Triple Concerto with Inon Barnatan, Alisa Weilerstein, Alan Gilbert and Academy St. Martin in the Fields.

Jackiw has performed in numerous major festivals and concert halls around the world, including the Aspen Music Festival, Ravinia Festival, Caramoor International Music Festival, Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, New York’s Mostly Mozart Festival, the Philharmonie de Paris, Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, the Celebrity Series of Boston, and the Washington Performing Arts Society.

Born to physicist parents of Korean and Ukrainian descent, Stefan Jackiw began playing the violin at the age of four. His teachers have included Zinaida Gilels, Michèle Auclair, and Donald Weilerstein. He holds a Bachelor of Arts from Harvard University, as well as an Artist Diploma from the New England Conservatory, and is the recipient of a prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant. Jackiw plays a violin made by Domenico Montagnana “ex. Rossi” c. 1730, generously loaned by a private foundation. He lives in New York City.

OCTOBER 27–NOVEMBER 1, 2025

Monday | October 27

2-4PM Mendelssohn Octet Rehearsal (STUDENTS ONLY)
4:45-5:45PM Orchestra Rehearsal – Dvorak Violin Concerto (STUDENTS ONLY)
6-7PM Cali Pathways Class (STUDENTS ONLY)

Wednesday October 29
10-11:00AM Concert for High School Orchestras (SOLD OUT) Alexander Kasser Theater
Cali’s inaugural StringFest, an exciting new event bringing together over 200 local high school string players for a day of inspiration and world-class music-making. 
2:00 PM Cali Midweek Series: Stefan Jackiw
Leshowitz Recital Hall, Chapin Hall, Cali School of Music
Stefan Jackiw performs solo violin works and the dynamic opening movement of Mendelssohn’s String Octet with Cali Graduate String Students. 
Leshowitz Recital Hall, Chapin Hall, Cali School of Music
FREE – Reservations Suggested

3:15-3:45 Composition Readings, Leshowitz Recital Hall
4:45-5:45PM Orchestra Rehearsal – Dvorak Violin Concerto (STUDENTS ONLY)
6-8PM Montclair Violin Prize – Violin Masterclass (PUBLIC)

Friday October 31
10AM-12pm Violin Masterclass with Cali Students (PUBLIC)
Leshowitz Recital Hall, Chapin Hall, Cali School of Music

Saturday, November 1 at 3PM (PUBLIC)
University Symphony Orchestra Concert
With Cali Immersive Residency Guest
Stefan Jackiw,violin
Performing the Dvorak Violin Concerto
Kyle Ritenauer, conductor
Alexander Kasser Theater, Montclair State University
Tickets $25

Three-time Grammy Award-winning artist Isabel Leonard has established herself as one of the most in-demand performers, a star on the world’s leading stages and screens. The 2025–2026 season sees Ms. Leonard’s return to The Metropolitan Opera for two prominent productions: the title role in Bizet’s Carmen, under the baton of Fabien Gabel, with a production by Carrie Cracknell; and the leading role of Frida in Gabriela Lena Frank’s El Último Sueño de Frida y Diego, in a new production by Deborah Colker making its company premiere, with performances conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin. She will also return to Bayerische Staatsoper to sing her signature Angelina in the Jean-Pierre Ponnelle production of Cenerentola, as well as singing the title role in Ravel’s L’enfant et les sortilèges with the San Diego Symphony under Music Director Rafael Payare.

This season also features Ms. Leonard as a Perspectives Artist at Carnegie Hall, where she will present a series of concerts and performances throughout the season highlighting her perspective as a performing artist. Performances include a recital in Stern Auditorium with pianist John Arida, sing Knoxville: Summer of 1915 with The Met Orchestra, led by Yannick Nézet-Séguin, and participate in the prestigious 50th Anniversary of the Concert of the Century Gala, also conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin. Her Perspectives series closes with a Spanish Song and Dance Recital with vocalist Ismael Fernández and dancer Sonia Olla.

Additional engagements include a residency with the Asheville Symphony Orchestra, comprising of a recital with John Arida, an orchestral performance featuring Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915 with the Symphony, and a concert of Gershwin and American Music with the Youth Orchestra. She also appears in residency at Washington University in St. Louis, including a masterclass and recital with John Arida; and with Montclair State University, where she performs Knoxville: Summer of 1915 in conjunction with a masterclass.

The 2024–2025 season saw Ms. Leonard’s much anticipated return to Opéra National de Paris as Rosina in Damiano Michieletto’s production of Il barbiere di Siviglia, conducted by Diego Matheuz, and her house debut with Gran Teatre del Liceu as Anita in a concert performance of Bernstein’s West Side Story, conducted by Gustavo Dudamel. Ms. Leonard also returned to Houston Grand Opera to sing Angelina in Joan Font’s production of Cenerentola and for her directorial debut leading the HGO Family Day production of Cinderella, as well as her return to The Metropolitan Opera as Rosina in Bartlett Sher’s celebrated production of Il barbiere di Siviglia. Orchestral appearances include performances of Les Nuits d’été with Kevin John Edusei conducting the New York Philharmonic, and Mahler’s Resurrection Symphony conducted by Music Director Courtney Lewis. Residencies this season include with the Juilliard School, Rice University, and the Aspen Music Festival. Ms. Leonard also continues her collaboration with guitarist Pablo Sáinz Villegas, performing their all-Spanish program at the Gallo Center for the Performing Arts, and appears in recital with Matinee Musicale in Cincinnati, OH, Teatro de la Ciudad in Monterrey, Mexico, Sala Sao Paulo, and Teatro Municipal de Río de Janeiro.

Highlights of Ms. Leonard’s career include the title roles in Carmen, La Périchole, Cendrillon, Marnie, and Der Rosenkavalier, as well as Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia, Angelina in La Cenerentola, Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro, Dorabella in Così fan tutte, Zerlina and Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni, Sesto in La clemenza di Tito, Charlotte in Werther, Blanche de la Force in Dialogues des Carmélites, Costanza in Griselda, Musetta in La bohème, Der Komponist in Ariadne auf Naxos, Sesto in Giulio Cesare, Maria in West Side Story, and Marguerite in a concert performance of Berlioz’s La damnation de Faust

Ms. Leonard regularly appears on the stages of the world’s leading opera stages including The Metropolitan Opera, Opéra National de Paris, Wiener Staatsoper, Los Angeles Opera, Bayerische Staatsoper, Glyndebourne Festival Opera, San Francisco Opera, Teatro alla Scala, Aix-en-Provence Festival, Salzburg Festspiele, and Teatro Comunale di Bologna. She regularly enjoys collaboration with esteemed conductors including Valery Gergiev, Seiji Ozawa, Antonio Pappano, Charles Dutoit, Gustavo Dudamel, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Yannick Nézét-Seguin, Franz Welser-Möst, Plácido Domingo, Edward Gardner, James Levine, Edo de Waart, James Conlon, Marin Alsop, Sir Andrew Davis, Michele Mariotti, Harry Bicket, Andris Nelsons, and Michael Tilson Thomas. Orchestral highlights include appearances with Cleveland Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, Orquestra Acadêmica Mozarteum Brasileiro, in São Paulo, and at Teatro Positivo in Curitiba, Brazil, Boston Symphony Orchestra, and Vienna Philharmonic, and San Francisco Symphony, among others. She also enjoys a regular collaboration with celebrated international star Andrea Bocelli, performing with him at arenas around the world.

In the recital hall, Ms. Leonard has partnered with Spanish guitarist Pablo Sáinz Villegas for performances of an all Spanish program with Lincoln Center Presents the Metropolitan Opera at Alice Tully Hall, LA Opera at the Colburn School, San Diego Opera at the La Jolla Music Society, the Harris Theatre in Chicago, and the Conservatorìo de Música de Puerto Rico.

Television and film credits include an appearance in the Rebecca Miller film She Came to Me, starring Anne Hathaway and Marisa Tomei, an appearance in the Leonard Bernstein biopic Maestro, directed by Bradley Cooper, being featured on the season 43 finale of Sesame Street in Murray Monster’s “People in Your Neighborhood’ segment, scenes from Terrence McNally’s Masterclass directed by Nicole Alexander, and as a regular host of The Metropolitan Opera’s Live in HD broadcasts.

Ms. Leonard was named recipient of the prestigious Richard Tucker Award and currently has three Grammy Awards for Michael Tilson Thomas’ From the Diary of Anne Frank on SFS Media, Ravel’s L’enfant et les sortilèges on Decca, and The Tempest from The Metropolitan Opera on Deutsche Grammophon. She currently resides in New York and sits on the Board of Trustees at Carnegie Hall and on the Artistic Advisory Board of ArtSmart.

NOVEMBER 3 + NOVEMBER 9, 2025

Monday  | November 3 

[1st Event on Monday RESCHEDULED] to Wednesday. December 3 @ 1pm. Room G01 
Graduate Chamber Ensemble Lecture, Leshowitz Recital Hall, Chapin Hall
Isabel Leonard, joined by her manager Adam Cavagnaro, will share insights into the dynamic relationship between artist and manager.

The rest of Monday’s schedule remains unchanged:
1-2PM Undergraduate Masterclass – Leshowitz Recital Hall, Chapin Hall
3:30-4:45PM Opera Workshop, Room G55
5:15-6:15PM Symphony Orchestra Rehearsal, Room 201 students only

Sunday | November 9
3PM Performance of Knoxville: Summer of 1915 with University Symphony Orchestra, Kyle Ritenauer, conductor
Leshowitz Recital Hall, Chapin Hall, Cali School of Music
FREE – Reservations Suggested Open to the Public
Experience the brilliance of Grammy Award-winning mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard in this special Cali Immersive Residency event. The afternoon features a stunning performance of Knoxville: Summer of 1915 with the University Symphony Orchestra, followed by a vocal Masterclass with Cali voice students.

3:30PM Masterclass with Cali Voice Students, Open to the Public

For 50 years, San Francisco’s Kronos Quartet—David Harrington (violin), Gabriela Díaz (violin), Ayane Kozasa (viola), and Paul Wiancko (cello)—has expanded the definition of what a string quartet can be. Founded in 1973, when the form was largely tied to Western European traditions, Kronos reshaped it into a living art form that engages directly with the world’s people and issues.

The quartet has performed thousands of concerts worldwide, released more than 70 recordings, and collaborated with an extraordinary range of artists. Through its nonprofit Kronos Performing Arts Association (KPAA), it has commissioned more than 1,100 works and created the groundbreaking Fifty for the Future library, a free educational resource of 50 new string quartets. Honors include three Grammy Awards and the Polar Music, Avery Fisher, and Edison Klassiek Oeuvre Prizes. In 2024, the Library of Congress acquired the complete Kronos/KPAA Archive, preserving 50 years of scores, recordings, instruments, and more.

Kronos’ collaborations are extensive: Terry Riley, Philip Glass, Aleksandra Vrebalov, Steve Reich, Franghiz Ali-Zadeh, and many others have created seminal works for the ensemble. The group has performed with global icons from Wu Man and Zakir Hussain to Patti Smith, Asha Bhosle, Paul McCartney, and David Bowie. Its music has inspired dance by Merce Cunningham and Twyla Tharp, and appeared in films including Requiem for a Dream and the “live documentary” A Thousand Thoughts.

The quartet’s recordings have become milestones, from Pieces of Africa—inducted into the 2024 National Recording Registry—to Grammy-winning albums such as Sun Rings with Terry Riley and Landfall with Laurie Anderson.

Kronos continues to mentor young musicians and composers through residencies, workshops, and its annual Kronos Festival in San Francisco. With a mission rooted in curiosity, collaboration, and cultural exchange, Kronos remains one of the most influential ensembles of our time—redefining the possibilities of the string quartet for generations to come.

NOVEMBER 11–14, 2025

Tuesday | November 11
Leshowitz Recital Hall, Chapin Hall
10AM Coaching
NOON Coaching
2PM Rehearsal
3PM Quartet Reading
4PM Coaching

Wednesday | November 12
10AM Quartet Coaching
320, G33, Leshowitz Hall, 243
11AM Quartet Coaching
320, G33, Leshowitz Hall
12PM Cali Collective Entrepreneurship Class (Students Only)
Leshowitz Recital Hall, Chapin Hall

2-4PM Cali Midweek Series: Kronos Quartet Performance and Cali Conversation with Cali School of Music Director, Shea Scruggs
Kronos to perform a selection of works, followed immediately by the five Cali Student Quartets performing 50 For the Future works.
Leshowitz Recital Hall, Chapin Hall
FREE – Reservations Suggested

4PM Composition Practicum, Writing for String Quartet,
Leshowitz Recital Hall, Chapin Hall
5:15PM Performer Composers Class with Paul Wiancko, cello
Discussion of his Journey, Cali Pathways Student Coaching
Leshowitz Hall and Room 330, Chapin Hall

Friday | November 14, 7:30PM
KAUFMAN MUSIC CENTER & JOHN J. CALI SCHOOL OF MUSIC
CO-PRESENT BRIDGES SERIES:
Kronos Quartet in Concert
Featuring the John J. Cali School of Music String Quartet
TIckets $30
MERKIN HALL
Kaufman Music Center
129 West 67th Street
New York, NY 10023

Grammy-nominated vocalist Jazzmeia Horn describes her latest project, Messages, as both encouragement and reminder: tough choices and sacrifices can ultimately be worthwhile.

Touring has given Horn the opportunity to reflect on family, love, and relationships—how they change and inform her art—even as she misses time with her children. “If you want to sing your own song…whatever that love, that grit, that light is inside of you—you have to do that,” she explains.

Unlike her earlier big-band album, this new collection pares back the ensemble while retaining its adventurous spirit. Across ten original compositions, Horn explores themes of resilience, self-expression, and connection. In “Sing Your Own Song,” written for her mother who left music behind, Horn asserts her choice to pursue her own path. “Mother’s Love” tenderly portrays the push-pull of missing her children while continuing her career.

Horn also weaves history and tradition into the album, interpreting classics while penning new works that echo earlier eras of jazz. At the same time, she incorporates contemporary touches—layering in recordings, voicemails, and playful snippets of daily life that blur the line between personal experience and performance.

Relationships are a recurring theme. “Flip D Switch” humorously confronts a former partner, while “Mysteries of Us” offers a lush, extended meditation on enduring love, enhanced by contributions from trumpeter Marquis Hill and Horn’s ensemble.

Ultimately, Messages is both deeply personal and broadly universal. It reassures listeners to trust themselves and pursue their ambitions, while also offering Horn strength against life’s challenges. “My messages are for healing, for reconciliation, for freedom,” she says.

By combining reverence for the jazz tradition with forward-looking ideas and contemporary themes, Horn continues to affirm her place at the vanguard of the music—delivering songs that uplift, inspire, and encourage self-belief.

DECEMBER 10–14, 2025

Wednesday | December 10
2PM Cali Midweek Series: Cali Conversation with Jazzmeia Horn
and with Cali School of Music Director, Shea Scruggs
Leshowitz Recital Hall, Chapin Hall, Cali School of Music
FREE – Reservations Suggested

3-5PM Vocal Combo Workshop, Leshowitz Recital Hall
5:30PM Pathways Students Workshop, Leshowitz Recital Hall

Thursday | December 11
2:30-4PM Composition Workshop, Leshowitz Recital Hall
4:30-5:30PM Jazz Vocal Masterclass, Room G55, Chapin Hall
6-7:30PM  Television Production Class Interview for the Advanced TV Production Class (FMTV 451) School of Communication and Media

Friday | December 12
10-11:30AM “The State of Jazz” Discussion, Alexander Kasser Theater
2-4PM Combo Workshop, Alexander Kasser Theater

Sunday | December 14
3PM Crawford Memorial Concert
University Jazz Ensemble with Jazzmeia Horn
Dr. Oscar Perez, director
Alexander Kasser Theater, Montclair State University
FREE TICKETS – Reservations Required

For our fifth Crawford Concert offering, the University Jazz Ensemble will be joined by Grammy nominated vocalist Jazzmeia Horn. She is among the vanguard in jazz, using her knowledge of the canon to inform decisions firmly rooted in traditional parts of the genre, while still adding in contemporary ideas, themes and music.

Paquito D’Rivera, winner of 16 Grammys and Latin Grammys, is a clarinetist, saxophonist, composer, and writer whose career bridges jazz, classical, and Latin traditions. Born in Marianao, Havana in 1948, he studied under his father, Tito Rivera, and by age ten was performing with the National Theater Orchestra of Cuba. At 17, he co-founded the Cuban Modern Music Orchestra and later became a seminal figure in Irakere, the groundbreaking ensemble that fused jazz, rock, classical, and Afro-Cuban music, earning international acclaim and a Grammy in 1979.

Since then, D’Rivera has recorded over 40 solo albums and performed worldwide with groups such as his Chamber Jazz Ensemble, Big Band, and Quintet. A founding member of Dizzy Gillespie’s United Nation Orchestra, he helped shape a unique blend of jazz and Caribbean influences, winning a Grammy in 1991.

Equally at home in classical music, he has appeared as soloist with major orchestras including the London Philharmonic, Warsaw Philharmonic, National Symphony, and Simón Bolívar Symphony. His compositions, published by Boosey & Hawkes, have been performed globally, including collaborations with Yo-Yo Ma and commissions for ensembles like Imani Winds and the Turtle Island String Quartet. His chamber work Merengue won a Grammy for Best Instrumental Composition in 2004.

In addition to his musical output, D’Rivera is the author of memoirs and novels, including My Sax Life and Oh, Havana!. He has received the NEA Jazz Masters Award, the National Medal of the Arts, and numerous honorary doctorates, cementing his reputation as an ambassador of intercultural music.

In recent years, he reunited with longtime collaborator Chucho Valdés to release their Latin Grammy-winning album I Missed You Too! (2023), underscoring a lifelong commitment to innovation and collaboration across genres.

FEBRUARY 9–13, 2026
Schedule to come soon.

02/11/2026 Wed 2:00 PM
Cali Midweek Series:
Cali Conversation and Performance with PAQUITO D’RIVERA
Leshowitz Recital Hall, Chapin Hall, Cali School of Music
FREE – Reservations Suggested

He has an extensive career, including serving as the founding conductor of the Oregon Bach Festival Stangeland Family Youth Choral Academy and holding leadership roles with organizations such as Chorus America and the Choristers Guild. Armstrong is also the editor of several notable choral series (Earthsongs, Augsburg Fortress, and Gentry Publications) and has guest-conducted a range of prestigious ensembles worldwide, including the Tabernacle Choir, Houston Chamber Choir, and The Phoenix Chorale. His work has involved collaborations with artists like Bobby McFerrin and Garrison Keillor.

Armstrong is also known for his role as Artistic Director of the St. Olaf Christmas Festival which features over 500 student musicians, and has been recognized with multiple awards, such as the Robert Foster Cherry Award for Great Teaching (Baylor University), Distinguished Alumni Award (American Boychoir School and Michigan State University), and the Saltzman Award from the Oregon Bach Festival. In 2014 both The St. Olaf Choir and Dr. Armstrong received a Regional Emmy for the PBS television program Christmas in Norway with The St. Olaf Choir. In 2021 he was named an Honorary Life Member of the National Collegiate Choral Organization, in 2022 he received the Distinguished Legacy Award from the College of Fine and Applied Arts at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and in 2025 he was honored with the Melvin George Award by St. Olaf College. The Anton Armstrong Service Award in Choral Music was established in his honor in 2023 to recognize his remarkable service to the Oregon Bach Festival.

Armstrong is a frequent guest conductor at regional, national and international gatherings including the American Choral Directors Association, International Federation of Choral Music, National Association for Music Education, and Choristers Guild. He will continue his work as a guest conductor in various choral festivals and conferences across the U.S. in the 2025-26 season including Carnegie Hall (NYC), the Schermerhorn Symphony Center (Nashville, TN), the Meyerson Symphony Center (Dallas, TX), the Montana International Choral Festival, and the Arizona and Alabama All-State SATB choirs.

MARCH 19–21, 2026
Full schedule to come soon.

Thursday | March 19, 2026
7PM Cali Conversation with DR. ANTON ARMSTRONG
and Cali Choral Director DR. HEATHER J. BUCHANAN
Wednesday, February 11 at 7pm
Leshowitz Recital Hall, Chapin Hall, Cali School of Music
FREE – Reservations Suggested

Friday | March 20, 2026
Workshop with High Schools #inspired, on Bloomfield Campus
(Invitation Only)

Saturday, March 21, 2026
8pm Choral Showcase #Inspired! & Immersive Residency Concert
Alexander Kasser Theater, Montclair State University
Dr. Anton Armstrong & Dr. Heather J. Buchanan, conductors; Greg Stout, accompanist
Celebrating the transformative and unifying force of choral music. Featuring Cali IMR guest conductor Dr. Anton Armstrong and 5 choirs: Vocal Accord, University Singers, two HS choir showcase artists – Hillsborough HS Chamber Singers (Ashley Mathews, conductor) and TBA. Culminating in a massed choir performing music by Susan LaBarr, André Thomas, and Rollo Dilworth.
FREE TICKETS