The Department of Music and Dance recently announced Zoom Tunes, a new virtual performance series that will bring prominent guest artists to the campus community through Zoom sessions this fall. The semester-long series will include appearances by Rhiannon Giddens, Branford Marsalis, Wu Man, Third Coast Percussion, Akropolis Reed Quintet, Jasper String Quartet, Christine Lamprea, and Marié Abe ’01.

“This series gives Swarthmore students a unique opportunity to interact with some of the most dynamic and creative musicians of our time,” says Senior Lecturer in Music Andrew Hauze ’04. “While we’re very sad not to be able to present live events on campus, we are thrilled that we can offer these intimate virtual sessions to our students on Zoom, as well as to the general public on YouTube.”

Gerald Levinson, the Jane Lang Professor of Music and Chair of the Music Program, adds: “This is truly exciting, and an affirmation of music and the arts as an expression of life and positive energy in the midst of uniquely difficult times. That we can invite such world-class artists to be part of our community is simply extraordinary.”

This new series will take place over eight Sundays at 1 p.m. ET on Zoom for students, faculty, and staff of the College. A live stream of the event can be viewed by members of the public on YouTube, and each event will include an informal presentation from the artist and a Q&A session with students.

Schedule of performances:

Third Coast Percussion, Sept. 27
The Grammy-winning percussion quartet returns virtually to Swarthmore following its residency in 2019.

Christine Lamprea, Oct. 4
Lamprea, a Colombian American cellist, has appeared as a soloist with the Costa Rica National Symphony, Detroit Symphony, Houston Symphony, and New Jersey Symphony, among others.

Jasper String Quartet, Oct. 11
This award-winning ensemble will perform as part of a two-year residency, which includes rehearsals and performances with Swarthmore music students.

Marié Abe ’01, Oct. 18
Following the release of her book, Resonances of Chindon-ya: Sounding Space and Sociality in Contemporary Japan (Wesleyan University Press, 2018), Abe, an associate professor of music, musicology, and ethnomusicology at Boston University, will introduce chindonya, street music of Japan.

Akropolis Reed Quintet, Oct. 25
Akropolis will be joined by composer Jeff Scott and poet Marsha Music in this virtual concert. The ensemble will also work with the College Wind Ensemble and student composers later in the semester.

Branford Marsalis, Nov. 1
This virtual performance is part of the rescheduled residency from this April. Marsalis will also return to campus at a future date to complete the residency with a live performance with the College Jazz Ensemble.

Rhiannon Giddens with Francesco Turrisi, Nov. 8
MacArthur Fellow Giddens’s virtual lecture and demonstration is part of a larger engagement, which includes an on-campus performance and workshops with student composers at a future date.

Wu Man, Nov. 15
Recognized as the world’s premiere Pipa virtuoso, Wu Man rounds out this once-in-a-lifetime series.

This programming is made possible by the Gil and Mary Stott Concert Fund and the Elizabeth Pollard Fetter Fund. Additional funding is provided by a Serendipity Grant from the William J. Cooper Fund. The Gil and Mary Stott Concert Fund was established in 1997 on the 25th anniversary of the Lang Music Building. The fund was created as an expression of deep affection for the Stotts by the late Eugene M. Lang ’38, ’81 to recognize their special artistic talents and all that they have meant to the Swarthmore community. Beginning in 2010, the Stott Concert Fund is used to underwrite the Gil and Mary Stott Chamber Music Master Class Series, bringing prominent New York, national, and international artists to campus for one-day coaching sessions with student ensembles.

The Elizabeth Pollard Fetter Fund was initially established to honor the memory of Elizabeth Pollard Fetter ’25 by underwriting the cost of lessons and coaching for an advanced-study string quartet. Its focus has been expanded to allow for the coaching of additional chamber music groups. As a Swarthmore student, Fetter was deeply involved in college life through music, athletics, and service. The Elizabeth Pollard Fetter Fund has been endowed by her husband, the late Frank Fetter, Class of 1920, and children Robert P. Fetter ’53, Thomas W. Fetter ’56, and Ellen Fetter Gille.