The University of Tampa College of Arts and Letters and the Tampa Museum of Art are bridging the river with a new, collaborative performing arts series.
The UT/TMA Performing Arts Series, which is free and open to the public, will occur on the first Wednesday of every month at noon at the Tampa Museum of Art in downtown Tampa. Both UT students and faculty will perform, and the performances will span many of the musical and performing arts genres that students from across the country come to UT to study and practice.
David Gudelunas, dean of UT’s College of Arts and Letters, said the performing arts series is a wonderful opportunity to showcase the incredible talent and creativity of the College of Arts and Letters and bring some entertainment to the downtown crowd. “From opera and musical theatre to dance recitals and jazz ensembles, the wide variety is sure to make even the most humdrum hump day that much more festive,” Gudelunas said.
Michael Tomor, executive director at the Tampa Museum of Art, remarked that “the Tampa Museum of Art is thrilled to launch this new avenue of arts learning with The University of Tampa. It is a great opportunity to understand the interrelationships between music and the performing arts and the visual arts, and we are looking forward to furthering that conversation with our community.”
The schedule follows:
- Sept. 5: Musical performances from the students and faculty in the Department of Music.
- Oct. 3: UT Dance under the direction of Susannah LeMarquand, assistant professor of dance.
- Nov. 7: “Pirates of Penzanze” preview, directed by Paul Finocchiaro, associate professor of theatre.
- Dec. 5: Midday Opera, featuring vocal students with Associate Professors of Music Hein Jung and Grigorios Zamparas.
- Feb. 6: The UT Jazz Ensemble conducted by Brandon McDannald, assistant professor of music.
- March 6: UT Choirs Sing! Conducted by Ryan Hebert, associate professor of music, and Rodney Shores.
- April 3: Midday Opera, featuring vocal students with Jung and Zamparas.
- May 1: OPUS: Forever Young. Musical theatre show choir under the direction of Tara Swartzbaugh.
The Tampa Museum of Art is located at 120 Gasparilla Plaza, Tampa, FL 33602.
For more information about the College of Arts and Letters or to see related events on campus, go to ut.edu/CAL.
For more information of the Tampa Museum of Art, go to tampamuseum.org.
The Tampa Museum of Art opened its award-winning new building in 2010 with a commitment to provide innovative public programs with a focus on ancient, modern, and contemporary art. The Museum balances a growing collection, including one of the largest Greek and Roman antiquities collections in the southeastern United States, with a dynamic annual schedule of special exhibitions. The region’s largest institution devoted to the art of our time, the Museum has fostered a reputation for presenting contemporary photography and new media; most notably, Leo Villareal’s Sky (Tampa), a 14,000-square-foot LED installation on its south façade, has become an iconic landmark for Tampa. Since its founding in 1979, the Museum has been dedicated to providing quality education to students and adults, with more than half of its programs offered free of charge. The Museum is home to Riverwalk Café at TMA, operated by SaltBlock Hospitality. The cafe overlooks the Hillsborough River, and has emerged as Tampa’s premier venue for special events.
The University of Tampa is a private, residential university located on 110 acres on the riverfront in downtown Tampa. Known for academic excellence, personal attention and real-world experience in its undergraduate and graduate programs, the University serves approximately 9,200 students from 50 states and 140 countries. Approximately 60 percent of full-time students live on campus, and more than half of UT students are from Florida.
