Rider's College of Arts and Sciences announces spring 2023 performing arts schedule

Rider University's College of Arts and Sciences is excited to announce its spring 2023 performing arts schedule. With more than 30 performance offerings a year, Rider University’s comprehensive theatre, musical theatre, dance, music and voice programs have a rich tradition of preparing students for thriving careers as well-rounded performers and musical leaders. 

Experience the emerging talent of Rider’s students firsthand with this robust calendar of events.

Momentum: First Year Musical Theater Showcase
Feb. 17, 7:30 p.m.
Feb. 18, 7:30 p.m. Rider University, Bart Luedeke Center Theater
Louis F. Goldberg, director
John Viggiano and current students, choreography

First year musical theatre majors will present a cabaret showcase of selections from the American musical theatre repertoire that celebrate their new adventures at Rider.

Clean Slate: A World Premiere Musical
Feb. 24, 7:30 p.m.
Feb. 25, 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
Feb. 26, 2 p.m.
Rider University, Yvonne Theater

March 10, 7:30 p.m.
March 11th, 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
March 12th, 3 p.m.
The Mill Hill Playhouse, 205 E. Front Street, Trenton, New Jersey, 08611
Music and lyrics by Kate Brennan
Book by David Lee White
C. Ryanne Domingues, director
Louis Danowsky, music director

A co-production between Rider University and Passage Theatre Company, Clean Slate is a new musical that tells the story of a group of disaffected high school students who are sent to a rehabilitation camp that may, or may not, be haunted by the souls of former campers who have gone missing. A story of radical empathy, the piece explores the need to remember who we used to be in order to move forward.

Lindsay Christensen Art Song Festival: Heimatland
Feb. 25, 7:30 p.m.
Rider University, Gill Chapel
Lydia Brown, accompanist

A concert of German and English songs reflecting on the theme of heimatland, or “homeland,” featuring songs by Brahms, Reger, Mahler, Weill, Ives, Copland and more.

Rider Dances: Expanding Communities
March 4, 7:30 p.m.
March 5, 2 p.m.
Rider University, Bart Luedeke Center Theater 
John Barrella, Jen Gladney, Merli V. Guerra, Nikola Palivoda, Charly Santagado, Julia Johnson Thick, choreography 

A collaborative performance that pairs professional dance artists and innovators with University dance students to create original, contemporary dance works.

Love and Information
March 24, 7:30 p.m.
March 25, 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
March 26, 2 p.m.
Rider University, Yvonne Theater
Katharine McLeod, director

In this adaptation of Caryl Churchill’s unorthodox play, more than a hundred characters struggle to connect with and understand one another in an information-driven world.

Celebration of Black Music Concert
March 25, 7:30 p.m.
Rider University, Gill Chapel
Vinroy D. Brown, Jr. ’15, conductor

The Westminster Jubilee Singers will present José Nunes Garica’s Requiem of 1816 and works by George Walker at this inaugural celebration of Black music.

Spring Opera: Last Words
April 1, 7:30 p.m.
April 2, 2:30 p.m.
Rider University, Bart Luedeke Center Theater 
Susan Shiplett Ashbaker, maestra
Ross Beschler, stage director

Westminster Opera Theatre performs Last Words, an opera that includes The Ghosts of Gatsby: An Opera in One Act by Evan Mack and Joshua McGuire and Try Me, Good King by Libby Larsen, a song set drawn from the final letters and gallows speeches of the six wives of King Henry VIII. A discussion with the cast and creative team to follow the performance.

Westminster Choir Spring Concert
April 15, 7:30 p.m.
Rider University, Gill Chapel
James Jordan, conductor

The annual Westminster Choir spring concert will feature music from their recent tour as well as a performance of Morten Lauridsen's Mid-Winter Songs. 

Westminster Symphonic Choir: Carmina Burana
April 21, 7:30 p.m.
George Washington Ballroom - The War Memorial, 1 Memorial Drive, Trenton, New Jersey, 08608
Jenny Wong, guest conductor
James Jordan, director

Composed in 1935 and 1936 by Carl Orff, Carmina Burana is a cantata based on 24 poems from a medieval collection of the same name. The composition is a staple piece of the classical music repertoire. The opening and closing movement "O Fortuna" is one of the most recognizable compositions in popular culture.

Westminster Chapel Choir Spring Concert
April 22, 7:30 p.m.
Rider University, Gill Chapel
Alicia N. Brozovich '17, conductor

Westminster Chapel Choir’s spring concert featuring performances of Vivaldi's Gloria and Eric Whitacre's Five Hebrew Love Songs.



Westminster Jubilee Singers Spring Concert
April 23, 7:30 p.m.
Rider University, Gill Chapel
Vinroy D. Brown, Jr. ’15, conductor

The Westminster Jubilee Singers’ spring concert will feature graduate student Lydia Reifsnyder conducting works by George Walker, Nathan Carter, and Moses Hogan. The event will also include a performance of The Cry of Jeremiah, composed by Rosephayne Powell ’87.

Kiss Me, Kate
April 28, 7:30 p.m.
April 29, 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
April 30, 2 p.m.
Rider University, Bart Luedeke Center Theater 
T. Oliver Reid, director
Robin Lewis, choreographer
Louis F. Goldberg, music director

Passions run high in this award-winning musical as leading lady Lilli Vanessi and her ex-husband, actor/director Fred Graham, battle on and off stage in a production of Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew. With romance, comedy, sophistication and behind-the-scenes high jinks, Kiss Me, Kate combines the irreverent humor of four brilliant writers: Sam and Bella Spewack, Cole Porter and William Shakespeare. 

Westminster Concert Bell Choir: Despite The Storm
April 29, 4 p.m. 
Rider University, Gill Chapel 
Kathleen Ebling Shaw, conductor

Ringing on the world's largest range of handbells and Choirchime instruments, the ensemble will perform a collection of original works by McChesney and Moklebust, as well as transcriptions of light classics by Saint-Saens and Tchaikovsky. Hymns, folks tunes and popular favorites will also be performed.

Please note that all event dates and programs are subject to change. For more information and to purchase tickets, please visit rider.edu/arts or call the Box Office at 609-896-7775.