Fall 2023

Sonic Spectacular: Organist Greg Zelek and Trombonist Electronic Arts Mark Hetzler
September 8
8:00 p.m. in the St. John's Abbey and University Church

A performance of new and old music for pipe organ, trombone, and electronic instruments. Music of Camille Saint-Saëns, Crespo, J.S. Bach, Charlie Chaplin, Alfred Lefébure-Wély, and Mark Hetzler. Performers Zelek and Hetzler will discuss the music.
No advance registration needed; Free will offerings accepted

Man Cave: A One Man Sci-Fi Climate Change Tragicomedy
September 13
7:00 p.m. in the Pellegrene  Auditorium, SJU

What if you were the last man on earth, but weren't SURE if you were the last man on earth? What message would you send out to your imagined fellow "last men?" And how long would you wait for a reply?

Hanging by a thread, at the tail end of climate change, the last man broadcasts his existential warning to whatever Klingons, Vulcans or Tralfamadorians might still be out there listening. Burrowed into a "Hobbit home" in Northern Canada, our hero broadcasts into a microphone for whoever might yet be listening. Realizing that there may not be ANYONE out there picking up radio signals, he tries to explain how NOT to do what we did, working his way through a new "Ten Commandments" for a changing planet.

World-traveling touring artist, Tim Mooney, brings this existential peek into the apocalyptic future to CSB and SJU on Wednesday, Sept 13 at 7 p.m.

"Man Cave" is the rare event that leaps across disciplines, integrating the sciences and the humanities in a powerful way, to rise to the defining challenge of our age.

Free event

Hymn Fest celebrating the new Saint John's Abbey Hymnal
September 24
5:00-6:00 p.m. in the St. John's Abbey and University Church

With renowned master organist Bill Chouinard, celebrating the new abbey hymnal, and the expansion of the abbey pipe organ to be the largest on any Catholic college campus in the U.S. With CSB/SJU Chamber Choir, Men's Chorus, Women's Chorus, All-College Choir, and grad Chapel Choir, plus a pick-up choir of singers from area Catholic and Protestant parishes. Hymns are sung by the choirs and by everyone in attendance. Free event. More details.

Language, Silence, and the Spaces that Shape Us
A Public Reading & Conversation with Three Eastern European Poets
(Literary Arts Institute event)
September 28
7:00 p.m. in Upper Gorecki (CSB)

Join the Literary Arts Institute for a poetry reading and Q&A with three eastern European poets: Ilya Kaminsky (originally from Odessa in Ukraine, and author of the award-winning Deaf Republic); Valzhyna Mort (originally from Minsk in Belarus, and author of Music for the Dead and Resurrected); and Nikola Madzirov (from Macedonia, and author of Remnants of Another Age).

More details about poets

Dead Man’s Cell Phone by Sarah Ruhl
Directed by Kaarin Johnston
Colman Theater (CSB)
October 12, 13,14 at  7:30
October 14, 15 at 2:00

A single woman eating lobster bisque in a café hears a man’s cell phone ringing; it just won’t stop.  She answers it, and so begins a web of lies that draw her into a bizarre adventure combining love, international crime, and life-after-death.

Fall Choral Showcase 
featuring: Chamber Choir, Men's Chorus, and Women's Choir
Friday, October 13, 7:30 p.m., Escher Auditorium (CSB)

Free and open to the public.

Orchestra
Sunday, October 15, 2:00 p.m., Escher Auditorium (CSB)

Members of the Orchestra (made of violin, viola, cello, and double bass), will perform a variety of music, showcasing a variety eras, composers, and techniques. Throughout the performance, the director of the ensemble will announce each piece proving the audience with the necessary information to create a starting point to begin their musical journey as they listen and enhance their overall experience.

Free and open to the public.

Jazz Ensemble
Tuesday, October 17, 7:30 p.m., Brother Willie's Pub (Sexton - SJU)

Members of the Jazz Ensemble (made of woodwinds, brass, percussion/rhythm section) will perform a variety of music showcasing different musical stylings of Jazz Music by various composers. Throughout the performance, the director of the ensemble will announce each piece informing the audience of the title, composer and history (genre, musical styles, time period, etc.), creating a starting point to begin their musical journey as they listen, enhancing their over all experience.

Free and open to the public.

Wind Ensemble and Symphonic Band 
Wednesday, October 18, 7:30 p.m., Escher Auditorium (CSB)

The Wind Ensemble and Symphonic Band (made of woodwinds, brass, percussion/aux. percussion), will perform works by various composers and musical styles. During the performance, audience members will be able to learn about each piece (composer, history, genre, musical styles, time period) as they are introduced by the ensemble director, creating a starting point to begin their musical journey as they listen, enhancing their overall experience. 

Free and open to the public.

Public Reading and Conversation with Fiction Writer Antonia Angress
(Literary Arts Institute event)
October 24
7:00 p.m. in Upper Gorecki (CSB)

Antonio Angress is the author of the novel Sirens & Muses, which was a finalist for the Minnesota Book Award and was named a Best Book of 2022 by Glamour Magazine. She is a graduate of Brown University and the University of Minnesota MFA program, where she was a Winifred Fiction Fellow and a College of Liberal Arts Fellow. Born in Los Angeles and raised in Costa Rica, she currently lives in Minneapolis with her family.

The Great Pumpkin Returns
Monday, October 30, 8:00 p.m., Abbey Church (SJU)

Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare
Directed by Sean Dooley
Gorecki Theater (CSB)
November 9, 10, 11 and 16, 17, 18 at 7:30
November 12 at 2:00

A Queen is taken captive. Denied lover's escape to the forest. The fairy King wages war against the fairy Queen and a group of average Joes make plans for the performance of the decade. By the end it all seems to work out. This popular and timeless story that explores the tension between the civilized and the wild is Shakespeare's most wildly popular comedy.

Chamber Ensembles
Monday, November 20, 7:30 p.m., Escher Auditorium (CSB)

The CSB and SJU Chamber Ensembles, created from a variety of instrumentation, will perform a concert of music specifically written for chamber ensembles. Works to be performed span numerous musical styles and time periods.

Free and open to the public.

Christmas with Saint Ben's and Saint John's*

Friday, December 1, 7:30 p.m., Great Hall (SJU)
Saturday, December 2, 1:00 p.m., Great Hall (SJU)
Saturday, December 2, 8:00 p.m., Basilica of St. Mary (MPLS)

*Ticketed Event​*/Open to the public.

Jazz Ensemble
Tuesday, December 5, 7:30 p.m., Brother Willie's Pub (Sexton - SJU)

Members of the Jazz Ensemble (made of woodwinds, brass, percussion/rhythm section) will perform a variety of music showcasing different musical stylings of Jazz Music by various composers. Throughout the performance, the director of the ensemble will announce each piece informing the audience of the title, composer and history (genre, musical styles, time period, etc.), creating a starting point to begin their musical journey as they listen, enhancing their over all experience.

Free and open to the public.

Wind Ensemble and Symphonic Band
Wednesday, December 8, 7:30 p.m., Escher Auditorium (CSB)

The Wind Ensemble and Symphonic Band (made of woodwinds, brass, percussion/aux. percussion), will perform works by various composers and musical styles. During the performance, audience members will be able to learn about each piece (composer, history, genre, musical styles, time period) as they are introduced by the ensemble director, creating a starting point to begin their musical journey as they listen, enhancing their overall experience. 

Free and open to the public.

Orchestra
Sunday, December 10, 2:00 p.m., Escher Auditorium (CSB)

Members of the Orchestra (made of violin, viola, cello, and double bass), will perform a variety of music, showcasing a variety eras, composers, and techniques. Throughout the performance, the director of the ensemble will announce each piece proving the audience with the necessary information to create a starting point to begin their musical journey as they listen and enhance their overall experience.

Free and open to the public.

All-College Choir
Sunday, December 10, 4:00 p.m., Great Hall (SJU)

This performance will present works from various composers sung by the All-College Choir. Works performed will present audience members with a holistic/community experience as they learn about the history, genre, and musical stylings of the piece and apply that to their overall listening experience.

Free and open to the public.

Spring 2023

Red by John Logan
Directed by Sean Dooley
Gorecki Theater (CSB)
February 21, 22, 23 24 at 7:30
February 25 at 2:00

Master abstract expressionist Mark Rothko has just landed the biggest commission in the history of modern art, a series of murals for New York’s famed Four Seasons Restaurant. In the two fascinating years that follow, Rothko works feverishly with his young assistant, Ken, in his studio on the Bowery. But when Ken gains the confidence to challenge him, Rothko faces the agonizing possibility that his crowning achievement could also become his undoing. Raw and provocative, RED is a searing portrait of an artist’s ambition and vulnerability as he tries to create a definitive work for an extraordinary setting. 

Orchestra
Sunday, February 25, 2:00 p.m., Escher Auditorium (CSB)

Members of the Orchestra (made of violin, viola, cello, and double bass), will perform a variety of music, showcasing a variety eras, composers, and techniques. Throughout the performance, the director of the ensemble will announce each piece proving the audience with the necessary information to create a starting point to begin their musical journey as they listen and enhance their overall experience.

Free and open to the public.

Jazz Ensemble
Tuesday, February 27, 7:30 p.m., Brother Willies Pub (location TBC)

Members of the Jazz Ensemble (made of woodwinds, brass, percussion/rhythm section) will perform a variety of music showcasing different musical stylings of Jazz Music by various composers. Throughout the performance, the director of the ensemble will announce each piece informing the audience of the title, composer and history (genre, musical styles, time period, etc.), creating a starting point to begin their musical journey as they listen, enhancing their over all experience.

Free and open to the public.

Wind Ensemble and Symphonic Band
Wednesday, February 28, 7:30 p.m., Escher Auditorium (CSB)

The Wind Ensemble and Symphonic Band (made of woodwinds, brass, percussion/aux. percussion), will perform works by various composers and musical styles. During the performance, audience members will be able to learn about each piece (composer, history, genre, musical styles, time period) as they are introduced by the ensemble director, creating a starting point to begin their musical journey as they listen, enhancing their overall experience. 

Free and open to the public.

Women's Choir
Sunday, March 17, 2:00 p.m., Sacred Heart Chapel (SJU)

This performance will present works from various composers sung by the Women’s Choir. Works performed will present audience members with a holistic/community experience as they learn about the history, genre, and musical stylings of the piece and apply that to their overall listening experience.

Free and open to the public.

Men's Chorus Home Concert
Monday, March 25, 7:30 p.m., Great Hall (SJU)

The Men’s Chorus will perform a home concert for our CSB/SJU community in the Great Hall at SJU. This performance will feature works by various composers and musical styles. During the performance, audience members will be able to learn about the piece as they are introduced, giving a starting point to their musical journey, enhancing their overall experience at the Welcome Home Concert.

Free and open to the public.

Chamber Choir Home Concert
Sunday, April 7, 7:30 p.m., Great Hall (SJU)

The Chamber Choir will perform a home concert for our CSB/SJU community on Sunday, April 7. This performance will feature works by various composers and musical styles. During the performance, audience members will be able to learn about the piece as they are introduced, giving a starting point to their musical journey, enhancing their overall experience at the Welcome Home Concert.

Free and open to the public.

Museum by Tina Howe
Directed by Kaarin Johnston
Colman Theater (CSB)
April 11, 12, 13 and 18, 19, 20 at 7:30
April 14 at 2:00

Watch characters who come to look at “modern art” in a “museum gallery exhibit”.  Visitors come and go commenting on what they like and don’t like.  Should a painting match your couch?  Can you try and copy a painting that is covered in white paint? If this one-act play is really a metaphor for how we “see” the world, what does it say about you and me?

Chamber Ensembles
Monday, April 22, 7:30 p.m., Escher Auditorium (CSB)

The CSB and SJU Chamber Ensembles, created from a variety of instrumentation, will perform a concert of music specifically written for chamber ensembles. Works to be performed span numerous musical styles and time periods.

Free and open to the public.

Choral Spring Concert
featuring: Chamber Choir, Men's Chorus, Women's Choir
Friday, April 26, 7:30 p.m., Great Hall (SJU)

Free and open to the public.

Orchestra
Sunday, April 28, 2:00 p.m., Escher Auditorium (CSB)

Members of the Orchestra (made of violin, viola, cello, and double bass), will perform a variety of music, showcasing a variety eras, composers, and techniques. Throughout the performance, the director of the ensemble will announce each piece proving the audience with the necessary information to create a starting point to begin their musical journey as they listen and enhance their overall experience.

Free and open to the public.

All-College Choir 
Sunday, April 28, 4:00 p.m., Great Hall (SJU)

This performance will present works from various composers sung by the All-College Choir. Works performed will present audience members with a holistic/community experience as they learn about the history, genre, and musical stylings of the piece and apply that to their overall listening experience.

Free and open to the public.

Jazz Ensemble
Tuesday, April 30, 7:30 p.m., Brother Willies Pub (location - TBC)

Members of the Jazz Ensemble (made of woodwinds, brass, percussion/rhythm section) will perform a variety of music showcasing different musical stylings of Jazz Music by various composers. Throughout the performance, the director of the ensemble will announce each piece informing the audience of the title, composer and history (genre, musical styles, time period, etc.), creating a starting point to begin their musical journey as they listen, enhancing their over all experience.

Free and open to the public.

Wind Ensemble and Symphonic Band
Wednesday, May 1, 7:30 p.m., Escher Auditorium

The Wind Ensemble and Symphonic Band (made of woodwinds, brass, percussion/aux. percussion), will perform works by various composers and musical styles. During the performance, audience members will be able to learn about each piece (composer, history, genre, musical styles, time period) as they are introduced by the ensemble director, creating a starting point to begin their musical journey as they listen, enhancing their overall experience. 

Free and open to the public.

Circus Extravaganza
Choreographed by David DeBlieck, CSB+SJU Students and Guest Visiting Artists
Colman Theater (CSB)
May 2, 3, 4 at 7:30
May 4 at 2:00

Delight your senses with dazzling aerial acrobatics, physical comedy, partner balancing, juggling and dance! Watch for free community workshops in April!