MUSIC AND HEALING: A November 2023 appearance by pianist Jon Batiste and writer Suleika Jaouad at Richardson Auditorium was among the highlights of Princeton University Concerts’ 2023-2024 season. Upcoming concerts continue the focus on community-oriented musical events. (Photo by Alexis Branagan/Princeton University Concerts)
By Anne Levin
Princeton University Concerts (PUC) has been presenting musical events on campus for the past 132 years. While classical music continues to be its core, the organization has broadened its focus in recent years to create events that are as much about performance as they are about community engagement.
The concert season that begins Thursday, September 25 with the Takacs String Quartet and violist Jordan Bak runs through the end of April and includes related book discussions at Princeton Public Library, documentary screenings at the Princeton Garden Theatre, “Do-Re-Meet” speed dating and “speed friending” sessions, and free “Live Music Meditations.”
“We’ve been doing many of these programs for a bunch of years. It’s nice to have a fresh take,” said Marna Seltzer, PUC director. “What’s happened over the past few years is that PUC has made the community engagement a priority in a different way. And it has taken off.”
Most of the musical events in the series take place at Richardson Auditorium, a prized venue on campus. But they aren’t limited to that location.
“What is really interesting is that community engagement today has to go so far beyond putting musicians on stage and hoping people will show up,” said Seltzer. “This feels like the real work. It’s about reimagining the role of music and musicians in public life, and then designing experiences that invite participation.”
The first book discussion at the public library is Thursday, September 18 at 12 p.m. The topic is choreographer Mark Morris’ book Out Loud; the talk is led by Tina Fehlandt, a founding member of the Mark Morris Dance Group and senior lecturer in dance at Princeton University. Morris himself will appear at Richardson on October 8 at 7:30 p.m. as part of the Music and Healing series. His topic is “The Dance Lives On: Contemplating Artistic Legacy.”
Among the many other artists scheduled through the season are the Marmen String Quartet, mezzo soprano Joyce DiDonato and Time for Three, the Australian Chamber Orchestra, and accordionist Theo Ould. The Music and Healing series includes director Peter Sellars with “Mourning through Music,” and violinist Lisa Batiashvili with “Sounding Defiance: Georgia and Ukraine.” Visit concerts.princeton.edu for a full roster.
One of PUC’s goals is making classical music more approachable. “We are always thinking about how to extend a hand to people who feel the world of classical music is not a party they’ve been invited to,” said Seltzer. “But with all of our programs, the idea isn’t just to build audiences. It’s to build belonging. We live in an amazing community where there are so many amazing organizations to partner with, like the [Princeton Public] Library and the Garden Theatre. These help us build relationships and foster more curiosity, and foster that sense of belonging. Especially with ‘Music and Healing,’ there are so many conversations that start in the event, and then people want to keep talking about it.”
Among the most memorable of those was an appearance two years ago by pianist Jon Batiste and his wife, writer and Princeton University graduate Suleika Jaouad. Since Jauoad has been very public about her struggles with cancer, PUC partnered with the organization Be the Match, which facilitates the pairing of donors and recipients for bone marrow transplants.
“I think we saved lives,” said Seltzer. “This is not something I’d ever imagined I could say about my work. We had dozens and dozens of people in a line outside, having their teeth swabbed. Something like that is just so fundamentally and crucially important.”
The “Do-Re-Mi” speed dating and speed friending idea “started out as a playful twist, combining social experiences with concerts,” said Seltzer. “I think it has created a totally welcomed space, which lets people get to know each other in a completely different way. Speed friending is especially for people who, for whatever reason, were coming to concerts on their own and wishing they had friends to experience them with.”
PUC works with professional matchmaker Risa Grimaldi of TheSinglesGroup.com. “I’m still waiting for the onstage wedding,” joked Seltzer. “But we do know that the match rate is very high. It’s because people are walking in with an already deep shared love of music. It’s a different kind of impact, but one that feels very important to arts and culture.”