The 2025-26 season at the Weis Center for the Performing Arts includes 24 professional performances – including world music, classical, contemporary cirque, Americana/folk music, modern dance, world dance, jazz, and much more.
When patrons return in the fall, they will notice a revitalization to the entrance, atrium, and side corridors. This summer, the Weis Center is receiving updated flooring to refresh the space, which has been in use for 37 years. The corridors and front entrances are also being updated.
Tickets go on sale to the public on July 7 for subscribers (5+ performances, 20% discount) and on August 13 for single tickets. At that time, patrons may call 570-577-1000, go online at Bucknell.edu/BoxOffice or use a mail-order form available at Bucknell.edu/WeisCenter.
Special Trees Series
As part of its 2025-26 season, the Weis Center will host a series of programs including performances, creative projects, walks and lectures centered on the theme of trees, just as we did 10 years ago with the Coal Collections series. Many of our season performances will align with the theme of trees and are noted as such. Additional trees-themed programming will be announced in early fall — stay tuned for much more!
2025-26 Season
A CAPPELLA QUARTET
Kings Return
Thursday, Sept. 11, 7:30 p.m.
Dynamic and soothing four-piece vocal group Kings Return takes pride in crafting a diverse yet supremely cohesive a cappella sound. The blend of their unique vocal timbres is so rich and so smooth that, at times, it sounds more like a full choir than merely four men. Their brand of rhythm and blues is entwined with free moments of jazz, soulful bursts of gospel and bright touches of pop — all built on a solid classical foundation.
JAZZ/WORLD MUSIC
André Mehmari Trio
Wednesday, Sept. 24, 7:30 p.m.
Weis Center Atrium
This performance is part of the Weis Center’s year-long Trees Series.
For pianist and composer André Mehmari, the world of music has no borders as he follows his muse to create musical journeys. Rooted in the Brazilian music of his homeland where he is the most prolific and extraordinary musician of his generation, he glides with ease into the realms of jazz and classical music as his ideas call for them. He now debuts a new trio with bassist Edward Perez and percussionist Rogerio Boccato as well as new repertoire inspired by nature. Having lived for over 25 years in the Mata Atlântica (Atlantic Forest), the tropical rain forest that stretches along the Atlantic coast of Brazil, his environment will again shape his music both in new compositions and arrangements of works by Tom Jobim.
MULTIMEDIA
National Geographic Live: From Roots to Canopy
Tuesday, Sept. 30, 7:30 p.m.
This engagement is part of the Weis Center’s year-long Trees Series.
National Geographic Explorer at Large Nalini Nadkarni interweaves her research on rainforest canopy biota with innovative public engagement. A biology professor at the University of Utah, she has written 150 scientific papers and books, and has presented new insights on the importance of canopy plants in ecosystem processes — and the effects of human activities on forest diversity and function.
CONTEMPORARY DANCE
Ailey II
Thursday, Oct. 9, 7:30 p.m.
Ailey II is universally renowned for merging the spirit and energy of the country’s finest early-career dance talent with the passion and creative vision of today’s outstanding and emerging choreographers. At the Weis Center, they will perform a mixed repertoire ideal for all ages, including Revelations. Since its creation in 1960, Revelations has enraptured audiences with the perfect blend of reverent grace and spiritual elation. Alvin Ailey’s signature masterpiece pays homage to and reflects the cultural heritage of African Americans, what Ailey thought of as one of America’s richest treasures — “sometimes sorrowful, sometimes jubilant, but always hopeful.”
WORLD MUSIC/UKRAINE
Kurbasy
On tour as part of Center Stage
Friday, Oct. 17, 7:30 p.m.
This performance is part of the Weis Center’s year-long Trees Series.
Kurbasy channels contemporary connections to an archaic past with its time-bending Songs of the Ukrainian Forest. The folk-based multimedia performances vibrate in tight vocal harmonies, resonant lyrics, distinctive instrumentation and phantasmagoric visual imagery. Songs of the Ukrainian Forest draws on the repertoires of the eastern, central and western regions of Ukraine. The language varies according to the origin of the songs, and the lyrics tell stories of boys and girls, love and joy, but also of war.
INDIAN CLASSICAL DANCE
Nrityagram Dance Ensemble
Tuesday, Oct. 21, 7:30 p.m.
This performance is part of the Weis Center’s year-long Trees Series.
One of the premier Indian dance ensembles performing today, the Nrityagram Dance Ensemble had the distinction of making The New York Times’ Best Dance of the Year list two consecutive years (2015 and 2016). More than a dance company, Nrityagram (pronounced NRI-thyuh-graam) was founded as a gurukula (or school) devoted to Indian dance. The all-female ensemble’s daily life of intensive training and meditation brings to the stage compelling and captivating performances that are at once sensual and lyrical. They will perform KHAṄKHAṆĀ: The Sound of Dancing Feet with live music.
WORLD MUSIC/DESERT BLUES/MOROCCO
Tarwa N-Tiniri
Friday, Oct. 24, 7:30 p.m.
In 2012 in the heart of Morocco, childhood friends came together to form a band that would become a musical force representing the soul of the Amazigh people and the vast, rugged landscapes of the desert. This musical odyssey is a tapestry of culture, tradition and heartfelt expression. The ensemble comprised of five self-taught musicians hails from the city of Ouarzazate in the southeastern region of Morocco. The name Tarwa translates to generation in the Amazigh language, while N-Tiniri is a nod to the desert, an awe-inspiring expanse that has shaped the lives and stories of countless generations. In the band’s own words: “We are a generation that has the responsibility to perpetuate the culture and dignity of desert peoples.”
CLASSICAL
Castalian String Quartet
Saturday, Nov. 1, 7:30 p.m.
This performance is part of the Weis Center’s year-long Trees Series.
Since its formation in 2011, the London-based Castalian Quartet has distinguished itself as one of the most dynamic, sophisticated young string quartets performing today. Gaining renown for interpretations “full of poetry, joy and sorrow, realized to such perfection” (The Observer), they are the first Hans Keller String Quartet in Residence at the University of Oxford and were named Young Artist of the Year at the 2019 Royal Philharmonic Society Awards. When at the Weis Center, they will perform:
- Schumann – Der Dichter Spricht (arr. for string quartet)
- Kurtàg – Aus der Ferne III
- Dvorak – selection from ‘Cypresses’
- Janaček – Intimate Letters
- Mendelssohn – Quartet in Eb-Major, Op. 44, No. 3
FOLK/AMERICANA
Yasmin Williams
Wednesday, Nov. 5, 7:30 p.m.
Weis Center Atrium
Yasmin Williams, from Woodbridge, Va., grew up surrounded by music and was inspired by a range of artists, from Chuck Brown to Jimi Hendrix. She developed her innovative fingerstyle acoustic guitar technique while studying music theory and composition at New York University. Williams has released two previous albums, Unwind (2018) and Urban Driftwood (2021), where she introduced unique approaches, such as playing kalimba and guitar simultaneously. Her music also incorporates instruments like the kora, harp guitar and banjo. Despite her use of folk instruments, she resists being categorized, valuing creative freedom over conformity. Her latest record, Acadia, is out from Nonesuch Records.
CLASSICAL
Modigliani Quartet
Sunday, Nov. 9, 4 p.m.
The Paris-based Modigliani Quartet, which celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2023, is a regular guest at the world’s top venues and finest string quartet and chamber music series. In 2017 they were the first string quartet to perform in the big hall of the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, Germany. In 2020, the quartet became artistic directors of the string quartet festival Vibre! Quatuors à Bordeaux as well as The Bordeaux International String Quartet Competition. In addition, the quartet members are founders and artistic directors of the Saint-Paul-de-Vence Festival. Since autumn 2023, they have taught at the École Normale de Musique de Paris. When at the Weis Center, they will perform:
- Haydn – String Quartet in F Major, Op. 77
- Beethoven – String Quartet No. 2 in G Major
- Brahms – String Quartet No. 2 in A Minor
FOLK/AMERICANA
Charly Lowry
Thursday, Nov. 13, 7:30 p.m.
This performance is part of the Weis Center’s year-long Trees Series.
Charly Lowry, a musical powerhouse from Pembroke, N.C., is proud to be an Indigenous woman belonging to the Lumbee/Tuscarora Tribes. She is passionate about raising awareness around issues that plague underdeveloped and under-served communities. Since her teenaged years, Lowry has been a professional singer-songwriter with unique passion and voice. In addition to performing solo, for 10-plus years, she has been the front-woman for the multi-award–winning band, Dark Water Rising. Lowry and the members of her project, Charly & The Sunshine, were selected by the U.S. Department of State and American Music Abroad to participate in the 2021–22 American Music Abroad Virtual Season.
JAZZ SAXOPHONE
Brent Birckhead Sextet
Wednesday, Nov. 19, 7:30 p.m.
Weis Center Atrium
Saxophonist Brent Birckhead is an award-winning artist, whose aesthetic is an intersectional amalgam of traditional and popular styles. Birckhead’s approach to woodwind artistry is driven by his compulsion for creative risk and deep respect for legacy. His place in a storied lineage begins with his surname, Birckhead, and extends to his extensive musical education and work ethic. Educated at Howard University, Birckhead was named best blues/pop/rock soloist and outstanding instrumental jazz soloist by Downbeat magazine as part of the annual Student Music Awards. In 2011 he was named Best Alto Saxophonist by the Washington City Paper. The New York Times calls Birckhead “one of the most riveting young improvisers in New York.”
JAPANESE TAIKO DRUMS
Drum Tao
Friday, Jan. 30, 7:30 p.m.
Drum Tao’s phenomenal performances consist of incomparable Wadaiko drums and the beautiful melody of Japanese flutes and harps. They were awarded Outstanding Cultural Contribution from Oita prefecture, earned a Culture Creators Award from Taketa city in Oita prefecture and received the sixth Japan Tourism Agency Commissioner Award and Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications Award from the Japanese government.
BLUEGRASS
East Nash Grass
Thursday, Feb. 5, 7:30 p.m.
East Nash Grass is one of the hottest young bands in bluegrass, having earned an International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) award for Best New Artist. The group is stacked with IBMA Best Instrumentalist winners including Grand Master fiddle champion and American Music Association Instrumentalist of the Year nominee Maddie Denton, Cory Walker (banjo) and Harry Clark (mandolin). They perform alongside charismatic frontman James Kee and bassist Jeff Partin (Rhonda Vincent, etc.) making them a powerhouse leader of the next generation in bluegrass excellence.
CLASSICAL
Beijing Guitar Duo
Sunday, Feb. 8, 2 p.m.
Praised by the distinguished Classical Guitar Magazine as “having the star potential to serve as inspiration for new generations of guitarists to come,” Beijing Guitar Duo made its New York debut in Carnegie Hall in 2010, launching an international concert career. Guitarists Meng Su and Yameng Wang, who are Beijing Guitar Duo, have performed around the world in halls such as Concertgebouw, Palau de Musica, Tchaikovsky Hall and National Theatre in Beijing. The duo regularly collaborates with orchestras as well as in ensemble with flutist Marina Piccinini, guitarists the Grigoryan Brothers and legendary guitarist Manuel Barrueco, and have toured in Europe, Australia, Asia and the U.S. When at the Weis Center they will perform:
- Franck – Prelude, Fugue et Variation, Op.18
- Debussy – Petite Suite
- Gnattali – Suite Retratos
- Tan Dun – From Eight Memories in Watercolor, Op. 1
- Albeniz – Bajo la Palmera
- Piazzolla – Tango Suite
CONTEMPORARY DANCE/JAZZ
Shadow Cities: Ephrat Asherie Dance with Arturo O’Farrill
Thursday, Feb. 12, 7:30 p.m.
Ephrat Asherie collaborates with Grammy Award-winning jazz musician and composer Arturo O’Farrill in the company’s newest creation, Shadow Cities. Bringing together Ephrat Asherie Dance’s exhilarating choreography that remixes and reconnects various street and club dance styles and an original composition featuring O’Farrill’s trademark Latin jazz sound, Shadow Cities explores what it means to be and to feel the in-between.
CONTEMPORARY DANCE
Pilobolus
Thursday, Feb. 26, 7:30 p.m.
This performance is part of the Weis Center’s year-long Trees Series.
Pilobolus is a rebellious dance company. Since 1971, it has tested the limits of human physicality to explore the beauty and the power of connected bodies. Pilobolus has created and toured over 120 pieces of repertory to more than 65 countries while being recognized with honors. In 2015, Pilobolus was named one of Dance Heritage Coalition’s Irreplaceable Dance Treasures.
CONTEMPORARY CLASSICAL/CHORAL
Bang on a Can All Stars feat. Bucknell Choir, under the direction of Professor Caleb Hopkins
David Lang’s before and after nature
Sunday, March 1, 2 p.m.
This performance is part of the Weis Center’s year-long Trees Series.
Since its first Marathon concert in 1987, Bang on a Can has been creating an international community dedicated to innovative music, wherever it is found. With adventurous programs, it commissions new composers, performs, presents and records new work, develops new audiences and educates the musicians of the future.
At the Weis Center, the ensemble will perform David Lang’s before and after nature, which is based on The End of Nature by Bill McKibben and After Nature by Jedidiah Purdy. Both books discuss humanity’s relationship to nature. The performance will feature the Bucknell Choir under the direction of Professor Caleb Hopkins and Bang on a Can All-Stars will provide instrumental support.
TRADITIONAL IRISH
Goitse
Thursday, March 19, 7:30 p.m.
The popular and multi-award-winning quintet Goitse was forged in the white-hot creative crucible of Limerick’s Irish World Academy. Named Live Ireland’s Traditional Group of the Year, Chicago Irish American News’ Group of the Year as well as winning the 2016 international Freiburger Leiter award in Germany, Goitse has become a leader of the new generation of traditional Irish ensembles. Their distinctive sound lies in the quality of their own compositions interspersed with age-old traditional tunes that make each performance unique.
JAZZ
Artemis: Arboresque
Friday, March 27, 7:30 p.m.
This performance is part of the Weis Center’s year-long Trees Series.
Founded by pianist and composer Renee Rosnes, Artemis is a powerful ensemble of instrumental virtuosos. Along with Rosnes, the quintet includes trumpeter Ingrid Jensen, saxophonist Nicole Glover, bassist Noriko Ueda and drummer Allison Miller. Fresh off its second consecutive win for Jazz Group of the Year in the DownBeat Readers Poll, Artemis returns with its third Blue Note album Arboresque, a vibrant eight-song set that presents original compositions by each of the band members as well as arrangements of pieces by Wayne Shorter, Burt Bacharach and Donald Brown.
JAZZ/PIANO
Dan Tepfer
Thursday, April 2, 7:30 p.m.
One of his generation’s extraordinary talents, Dan Tepfer has earned an international reputation as a pianist-composer of wide-ranging innovation, individuality and drive — one “who refuses to set himself limits,” according to France’s Télérama. The New York City-based Tepfer, born in 1982 in Paris to American parents, has recorded and performed around the world with some of the leading lights in jazz and classical music, from Lee Konitz to Renée Fleming, and released 11 albums of his own in solo, duo and trio formats.
CONTEMPORARY CIRQUE
Circa: Humans 2.0
Thursday, April 9, 7:30 p.m.
Since 2004 Circa has been at the frontier of a new vision of the circus arts — creating powerful works that challenge, thrill and delight. Featuring an ensemble of multi-skilled artists under the direction of Yaron Lifschitz, Circa’s award-winning works have been seen in 39 countries across six continents. At the Weis Center, they will present Humans 2.0, a reflection of our times the work becomes more intimate, internal and searching. It argues that we must evolve towards heightened connection, care and sensitivity — next level humanity, next level acrobatics.
WORLD MUSIC
Orchestra of Indigenous Instruments and New Technologies (OIANT)
Friday, April 17, 7:30 p.m.
This performance is part of the Weis Center’s year-long Trees Series.
Hailed by the international press as “a shamanic orchestra for a technological age”, the Orchestra of Indigenous Instruments and New Technologies (OIANT) brings to life long forgotten indigenous instruments. Its show Hidden Sounds of the Americas is a musical journey across the continent that blends traditional music and contemporary works. Through an immersive audiovisual experience, the performance melds ancient sounds to cutting-edge technology, featuring replicas of pre-Hispanic instruments alongside indigenous masks and dances.
CANADIAN FOLK DUO
Twin Flames
Thursday, April 23, 7:30 p.m.
This performance is part of the Weis Center’s year-long Trees Series.
Twin Flames has garnered recognition and acclaim throughout Canada and abroad. Their exceptional talent and artistry have earned them 44 awards and nominations as well as being four-time Canadian Folk Music Award winners. Offering modern indigenous music in both English and their ancestral languages, Twin Flames seamlessly blends various genres including contemplative folk and unapologetic rock ’n’ roll. The result is a harmonious blend that resonates deeply, leaving a lasting impact on the hearts and minds of the audience.
Season Brochure
The season brochure is now available at Bucknell.edu/WeisCenter. It can be downloaded directly, here. A mobile-friendly version is available here.
The Weis Center is closed for renovations and will reopen on Monday, August 11th. Hardcopies of the brochure are available for pick up at the following locations:
- Barnes & Noble in downtown Lewisburg
- The Public Library for Union County in Lewisburg
- Herr Memorial Library in Mifflinburg
- Milton Public Library in Milton
- Degenstein Community Library in Sunbury
- Priestley Forsyth Memorial Library in Northumberland
- Rudy Gelnett Memorial Library in Selinsgrove
- Thomas Beaver Free Library in Danville
- Bloomsburg Public Library in Bloomsburg
- Mount Carmel Area Public Library in Mount Carmel
- Shamokin-Coal Township Public Library in Shamokin
- Bucknell University Admissions Office (Freas Hall)
- Susquehanna River Valley Visitors Bureau in Montandon
- Columbia-Montour Visitors Bureau in Bloomsburg
- Central PA Chamber of Commerce in Milton
They are also available upon request: contact Lisa Leighton, marketing and outreach director, at 570-577-3727 or e-mail Lisa.Leighton@bucknell.edu and one will be mailed to you.
TICKETS
Tickets go on sale to the public on July 7 for subscribers (5+ performances, 20% discount) and on August 13 for single tickets. At that time, patrons may call 570-577-1000, go online at Bucknell.edu/BoxOffice or use a mail-order form available at Bucknell.edu/WeisCenter.
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