ASU School of Music Offers Eclectic Low-Cost Options — From Jazz to Mariachi

It’s tough to catch every concert around town, especially when you start adding up all those ticket prices. Local colleges and universities have some intriguing music offerings, with no-cost or low-cost admission.

ASU has an especially robust lineup, including events featuring students, alumni, and faculty. Some happen on campus, but others take place in venues that range from high schools to museums.

ASU Gammage has everything from touring Broadway productions to guest artists (if you don’t mind splurging a bit on tickets). This season’s Broadway musicals include Anastasia, Come From Away, Mean Girls, and more.

ASU presents a few music series in the community, at venues that include the Musical Instrument Museum, Tempe Center for the Arts, and Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts. You’ll also find ASU music events at Mesa Arts Center, The Nash, and The Phoenix Theatre Company this season.

Here’s a guide to ASU music offerings organized by musical styles, designed to help you start sampling their diverse line-up. Mark your calendars now, so you won’t forget about your favorites.


Choral/Orchestra

A Child's Garden of Dreams

ASU Gammage
Monday, November 4

Hear music exploring the impact the world has on children, and the ways children impact the world.

Herberger String Quartet Concert

Katzin Concert Hall
Tuesday, November 27

Hear a recital culminating the fall semester for the graduate scholarship quartet.

Barrett Pops Concert

ASU Gammage
Tuesday, February 26

Hear soloists, small groups, and the full chorus perform songs reflecting their chosen concert theme.


Contemporary

Towards a More Perfect Union

ASU Gammage

Saturday, October 5

Experience a theatrical concert with guest artists, which includes music, spoken word, and film.

Prisms Contemporary Music Festival Concerts

Katzin Concert Hall
Saturday and Sunday, November 9 and 10

Hear contemporary music performed during this two-day festival.

ASU Contemporary Percussion Ensemble

Katzin Concert Hall
Wednesday, December 4

Hear masterworks from the ensemble's repertoire.

ASU Rock Band

Evelyn Smith Music Theatre

Wednesday, April 29

Hear the rock band perform its fall concert.

Jazz

ASU Jazz Combos

ASU Music Building Recital Hall
Tuesday, October 8; Additional dates

Emerging artists will perform various styles of jazz.

ASU Latin Jazz Night

Evelyn Smith Music Theatre

Wednesday, October 30; Additional dates

Hear the band perform music with Afro-Cuban roots.

ASU Jazz Repertory Band

The Nash

Wednesday, December 4

Enjoy vintage selections from the history of big band music.

ASU Jazz Faculty Showcase

The Nash
Wednesday, February 5; Additional dates

Hear faculty perform jazz classics and original compositions.

ASU Big Band Night

Katzin Concert Hall

Wednesday, February 26

Enjoy an evening of vintage music spanning big band history.

Musical Theater/Opera

The Light in the Piazza

Evelyn Smith Music Theatre

Opens Thursday, October 3

See the musical set in 1953 Italy, which highlights cultural differences revealed by a sudden romance.

Buying a Home: A Requiem for Robert Ashley

ASU Music Building Recital Hall

Tuesday, January 18; Additional dates

Explore the search for meaning amid chaos as characters search for real estate in Phoenix.

Street Scene

Evelyn Smith Music Theatre
Thursday, February 27; Additional dates

See how music, dance, and dialogue reveal the complexities of life surrounding a New York tenement.

9 to 5 The Musical

Evelyn Smith Music Theatre
Thursday, April 23; Additional dates

See how women wronged in the workplace find friendship — and revenge.

Music Theatre Showcase and Alumni Night

The Phoenix Theatre Company
Monday, April 27

Hear students and alumni perform classic and contemporary musical theater songs.

New Works

New Work Reading: An Evening with Carmel Dean

ASU Kerr Cultural Center

Sunday, September 15

Enjoy selections from a theatrical song cycle called "Well-Behaved Women."

ASU Composition Studio

Katzin Concert Hall

Monday, November 18; Additional dates

Hear a concert featuring diverse works composed by music students.

New Work Reading: An Evening with Laura Kaminsky

ASU Kerr Cultural Center
Sunday, February 9

Hear "Hometown to the Wolf" and other selections from Kaminsky's operatic canon.

More Performances

Guitars-4-Vets

ASU Kerr Cultural Center
Tuesday, September 24; Additional dates

Hear music and stories reflecting the experiences of U.S. military veterans.

ASU Mariachi

Evelyn Smith Music Theatre
Monday, November 25; Additional dates

ASU Mariachi performs its fall semester culmination concert.

ASU Pan Devils Steel Band

Evelyn Smith Music Theatre

Friday, December 6; Additional dates

Graduate and undergraduate students perform sounds of the West Indies.

Spring Trombone Day

Trombones de Costa Rica
Evelyn Smith Music Theatre
Saturday, April 4

Experience a trombone twist on the sounds of Costa Rica.

Pop Fiction

ASU Gammage
Wednesday, April 15

Hear music inspired by pop culture, from Seinfeld to Saturday Night Live.

If you want to see the full 2019-20 season for ASU’s School of Music, you can visit their website or review their brochure online.