COLLABORATIVE CREATIONS: A rehearsal of Daniel Alexander Jones’ piece “Black Light,” among the events inspired by the Toni Morrison Papers. (Photograph courtesy of the artist)

McCarter Theatre will premiere a set of commissioned performances on March 24 and 25 as part of campus-wide programming celebrating author Toni Morrison’s life and legacy.

The performances are the result of collaborations with McCarter’s Associate Artistic Director Nicole A. Watson and Autumn Womack, curator of Princeton University Library’s exhibition “Toni Morrison: Sites of Memory” and assistant professor of English and African American Studies. Multidisciplinary artists Daniel Alexander Jones and Mame Diarra Samantha Speis visited the University Library’s Toni Morrison Papers archive, a large trove of personal papers, letters, manuscripts and objects that were acquired by the University in 2014 to inspire original creations. more

MUSIC FOR ST. PATRICK’S DAY: Maura Shawn Scanlin, left, and Conor Hearn, take a concert approach to performing Irish music. (Photo by L. Bichan)

The Princeton Folk Music Society celebrates St. Patrick’s Day with a March 17, 8 p.m. concert by Rakish, a duo comprising violinist Maura Shawn Scanlin and guitarist Conor Hearn, at Christ Congregation Church, 50 Walnut Lane.

In a performance that is something more akin to concert music, Rakish explores tunes and songs from Irish and American folk traditions. The duo stretches boundaries, going beyond basic session playing. more

The exhibition and sale of paintings by artist Cliff Tisdell honoring the late Southern writer Carson McCullers has been extended through the end of March at Labyrinth Books, 122 Nassau Street. Labyrinth owner Dorothea von Moltke and Tisdell hope to stir interest in McCullers’ work for those who might not be familiar with her.

The Delaware Valley Bead Society (DVBS) will sponsor a niobium workshop, “Resist Me If You Can,” with Marti Brown, founding member and president of the DVBS on Saturday, March 11, 2023, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (allows time for lunch – BYO or order out) at the Raritan Township Police Station, Municipal Courtroom, at One Municipal Drive, Building #2, Flemington. Pre-registration is required; the registration deadline is Saturday, March 4. more

The Princeton University Art Museum has announced the appointment of Jun Nakamura as assistant curator of prints and drawings. Nakamura joins the museum from the Philadelphia Museum of Art, where he was the Suzanne Andrée Curatorial Fellow in the Department of Prints, Drawings, and Photographs. He began his appointment at Princeton on February 20.

At Princeton, Nakamura will work with the museum’s extensive collections of more than 15,000 prints and drawings, comprising European, British, Latin American, and North American works from the 15th century to the present. In addition to organizing exhibitions and gallery installations, Nakamura will initiate scholarly and public programs, grow the collections, and cultivate new supporters. more

“WOMAN AND BUTTERFLY”: This painting by Angela Arrey-Wastavino is featured in “The Women’s Caucus for Art,” on view March 14 through April 15 in the Main Gallery at Artworks Trenton. An opening reception is on Saturday, March 18 from 6 to 8 p.m.

With its upcoming exhibitions, Artworks Trenton celebrates Women’s History Month and amplifies the voices of creatives Amy Louise Lee and the members of the Women’s Caucus for Art. These two exhibitions represent the mission of the organization, which is to promote artistic diversity by fostering creativity, learning, and appreciation of the arts. From March 14 through April 15, “The Women’s Caucus for Art” will be presented in the Main Gallery alongside Amy Louise Lee’s show, “Metal Lucidity,” in the Community Gallery. An opening reception is on March 18 from 6 to 8 p.m. more

“ADELE OF THE PRESCHOOL CROWD”: That’s what Princeton native Laurie Berkner, who will perform at the annual New Jersey Lottery Festival of Ballooning, has been called. Opening day is July 28.

Best-selling children’s recording artist Laurie Berkner , a native of Princeton, will headline this year’s children’s concert at the 40th annual New Jersey Lottery Festival of Ballooning. The three-day festival at Solberg Airport in Readington begins July 28. Berkner will perform that day at 1:30 p.m.

Berkner delivered the Festival’s first-ever kids’ concert in 2017 and has become a Festival staple. With an average of more than 22 million monthly streams and millions of CDs and DVDs sold, her songs have become classics for children worldwide. Her debut DVD, which went quadruple platinum, was the first-ever indie children’s music DVD to enter Billboard’s Top Music Video chart at number one. She has released 15 best-selling albums including the recently released Another Laurie Berkner Christmas, was the first recording artist ever to perform in music videos on Nick Jr., and has authored a number of picture books based on her songs.  more

RETURNING ROCKERS: America, the classic rock band best known for “A Horse With No Name,” comes to the State Theatre New Jersey in New Brunswick on March 3.

State Theatre New Jersey presents classic rock band America on Friday, March 3 at 8 p.m.

Celebrating their 53rd anniversary, America was founded by Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell, who quickly rose to the top of the charts with their signature song “A Horse with No Name.” America’s current members are the original leads Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell, alongside touring musicians Richard Campbell, Ryland Steen, and Steve Fekete.

Signed by Warner Bros in 1971, the British American rock band released their first self-titled debut album the following year, including “A Horse With No Name” and “I Need You.” Over the next several years the band would continue to release hit songs “Muskrat Love,” “Tin Man,” “Lonely People,” and more.  more

CELEBRATING BLACK COMPOSERS: Tenor Lawrence Brownlee, left, and pianist Kevin J. Miller perform at Princeton University’s Richardson Auditorium on March 8.

Tenor Lawrence Brownlee returns to Princeton University Concerts (PUC) to premiere a new program, “Rising,” on Wednesday, March 8, at 7:30 p.m. at Richardson Auditorium.

Alongside pianist Kevin J. Miller, Brownlee will perform newly commissioned songs by Black composers, including Jasmine Barnes, Margaret Bonds, Shawn Okpebholo, and Damien Sneed, which utilize texts drawn from Langston Hughes, Claude McKay, Georgia Douglas Johnson, James Weldon Johnson, and other great Black writers of the Harlem Renaissance.

“These past years have been a trial, both for humanity as a whole, and the African American population here in the United States,” said Brownlee, “but, through all these many challenges we have faced, I have also seen moments of strength, inspiration, hope, and great beauty. It is those themes of uplift, elevation, and rebirth that we have tried to focus on with this new project ‘Rising,’ taking poems from the giants of the Harlem Renaissance, and working with some of today’s most talented African American composers, to create something that speaks not just to our struggles, but to our triumphs.” more