On Saturday, April 1st, Julia Wolfe, Bang on a Can All-Stars, Bucknell University Camerata and Lycoming College Chamber Choir conducted by Dr. Beth Willer will come together to present Anthracite Fields — the next performance installment of Coal Collections: Local, National, and International Stories. Anthracite Fields is an oratorio — a large-scale musical piece consisting of orchestra and voices with a narrative theme performed without costumes or scenery. The show follows the lives of early 20th century coal miners in Pennsylvania, using music to illustrate the hardships and triumphs of the coal mining community. According to Wolfe’s website, Anthracite Fields “draws on […]

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From up-close portraits of coal miners and their families to landscapes of Pennsylvania’s coal region, Jack Delano’s photographs provide a retrospective of life in rural Pennsylvania during the 1930s. This photo series, Dust and Light, is currently on display at the Weis Center in partnership with the Samek Art Museum as part of the University’s year-long Coal Collections series. The black and white photos are presented in twos, as if they were pages in a scrapbook, giving a rustic, familiar feel to the exhibition. Delano, who came to the United States from Russia as a child in 1923, used his […]

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With glowing reviews from The New York Times, Rolling Stone, and The New Yorker, The Bad Plus was welcomed to the Weis Center by a crowd ready to hear some good jazz on an unseasonably warm Saturday evening. The jazz trio based in New York City includes a delightful mix of piano from Ethan Iverson, bass guitar from Reid Anderson, and drums from Dave King. The group began by playing several original songs. Some were melodic and piano heavy while others highlighted rhythm from the drums. Some of the most surprising yet enjoyable moments of the evening occurred in between […]

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The Color of Sound exhibition has been livening up the Weis Center’s lobby since the fall, although soon a new exhibit will greet guests whenever they pay a visit to the Weis Center beginning March 20th and running through September 10th. As part of Art at the Weis Center, a partnership with the Samek Art Museum, the exhibition Dust & Light: Images of PA Coal Communities will debut, featuring a collection of photographs from artist Jack Delano. The exhibition is also part of Bucknell’s Coal Collections series, a yearlong collaboration between the Weis Center and the Place Studies program of the Bucknell Center for […]

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Silencio Blanco, a touring group of puppeteers who use their puppets to tell stories, will perform twice at Bucknell on Friday, Feb. 17 (2 p.m. and 7 p.m.). As part of the Weis Center’s ongoing series, Coal Collections: Local, National, and International Stories, the ensemble will perform with marionettes made from a newspaper base in order to share stories about the significance of coal mining in Chilean culture. In what is likely a first for the Weis Center, patrons will be seated on-stage with the puppeteers and puppets, gaining intimate access to this unique performance. As the group’s name suggests, […]

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How much do you know about the Weis Center? Sure, it’s a beautiful space. The Atrium Lobby’s winding staircase and the theater’s high ceilings, wood paneling, and signature light fixtures are immediately recognizable to any student, staff, faculty or alumnus. It’s ranked as one of the country’s most beautiful university performing arts centers for a reason. However, when you dig a little deeper, there are many facts and eccentricities that make the Weis Center even more unique. Here are a few did you know?’s about Bucknell’s home for all things performing arts. The center has a “shoe box” shape. With […]

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I wasn’t sure what to expect when I attended Roomful of Teeth’s performance at the Weis Center on Tuesday, Nov. 15th.  However, I was surprised and enlightened throughout the performance. Tuesday’s performance was filled with all kinds of sounds—some harmonious; some cacophonous; some beautiful; some unsettling. Through their skills in various singing techniques, the performers created sounds that redefine the traditional description of music. Each member of the group offered a unique skill or technique, such as Dashon Burton’s deep, powerful bass sounds and Caroline Shaw’s beautiful, melodious notes. When performed together, these different sounds blended together to create music […]

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The GRAMMY award winning vocal performance group, Roomful of Teeth, isn’t your typical music group by any means. Through a mix of sounds from many different cultures, such as Tuvan throat singing, yodeling, belting, Inuit throat singing, Korean P’ansori, Georgian singing, Sardinian cantu a tenore, Hindustani music and Persian classical singing, the group has created a unique sound experience. The group’s nine members, including Williamsport, PA native Dashon Burton, will perform at the Weis Center on Tuesday, Nov. 15 at 7:30 p.m. If you’re interested in learning more about Roomful of Teeth’s unique style, make sure to arrive early for a […]

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  Lizt Alfonso Dance Cuba provided a captivating blend of art and history during Sunday’s performance at the Weis Center. “Cuba Vibra!” celebrates Cuban culture and history through music, dance, and costumes. The show shared music and dance from the 1950s to today, so the audience was able to watch the nation’s and characters’ evolution over time. “Cuba is fashionable today. The entire world has its eyes over us and everybody wants to know,” said Lizt Alfonso in her director’s note. “For over 25 years, we have been showing to the world the young Cuban art, that more than revolution, […]

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Bickram Ghosh’s Drums of India filled the Weis Center with captivating rhythm and melodies on Sunday, October 16th. Ghosh was joined by Anoor R. Ananthakrishna Sharma, Gopal Barman, Suresh Vaidyanathan, and Abhisek Mallick, all of whom are celebrated musicians worldwide. One of the most interesting elements of the performance is the fact that most of it was improvised. Ghosh explained to the audience that improvisation is typical of drumming in India, jokingly adding that things could go wrong at any moment. Nothing ended up going wrong during the concert, however, from my perspective; the music sounded and felt thoughtful yet […]

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