In this second teaching conference of the Organs and Origins series co-sponsored by the College of Science and the McGrath Institute for Church Life, scientists, philosophers and theologians will come together to consider initial causes in an interdisciplinary approach to “life, the universe and everything.” For more information, click here. Originally published at mcgrath.nd.edu.

A favorite holiday tradition, the Met's abridged, English-language version of Julie Taymor's whimsical production returns with conductor James Levine. Tenor Matthew Polenzani stars in the role of Tamino and Pamina is sung by soprano Ying Huang. The cast also features baritone Nathan Gunn as Papageno, soprano Erika Miklósa as the Queen of the Night, and bass René Pape as Sarastro. GET TICKETS  

A tradition the world over, including at Notre Dame, Alexander Blachly leads the Notre Dame Chorale, Festival Baroque Orchestra, and student soloists in Handel’s beloved masterpiece. Friday, December 6, and Saturday, December 7. For tickets, call 574-631-2800 or visit performingarts.nd.edu. Originally published at music.nd.edu.

The Muppets perform the classic Dickens holiday tale, with Kermit the Frog playing Bob Cratchit, the put-upon clerk of stingy Ebenezer Scrooge (Michael Caine). Other Muppets, like Miss Piggy, Gonzo, and Fozzie Bear, weave in and out of the story, while Scrooge receives visits from spirits from Christmas Past, Christmas Present, and Christmas Future. They show him the error of his self-serving ways with the hope that the miserable old man will embrace the season of the heart and, in that particular time of caring, make his love last all year. GET TICKETS!  

The University Band presents a concert with marches, contemporary concert band pieces, holiday music, and traditional Notre Dame favorites. The University Band is a concert band for current students and staff, faculty, and alumni of Notre Dame, Saint Mary’s, and Holy Cross. For tickets, call 574-631-2800 or visit performingarts.nd.edu. Originally published at music.nd.edu.

The Notre Dame Jazz Band program features two "traditional" jazz ensembles and a New Orleans Brass Band. The bands perform a wide variety of music, ranging from jazz classics and vocal selections, to new works and transcriptions. For tickets, call 574-631-2800 or visit performingarts.nd.edu. Originally published at music.nd.edu.

Anne M. Hyland is senior lecturer in music analysis at the University of Manchester. She earned her Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge, focusing on the function of repetition in Schubert’s chamber music. Her 2023 book, Schubert’s String Quartets: The Teleology of Lyric Form (CUP), explores innovative ways that Schubert’s music integrates lyricism with sonata form. Her research also engages the music of Hummel, Onslow, and Chopin as part of a British Academy/Leverhulme-supported project and a Collaborative Strategic Partnership with the University of Toronto. Prof. Hyland was awarded the Anthony Pople Mid-Career Research Award of the Society for Music Analysis in September 2024 and a Teaching Excellence Award at the University of Manchester (2024) for her efforts to make music analysis more accessible to a diverse student body. For the complete abstract, download Hyland abstract [PDF, 90k]. This lecture is free and open to the public. Originally published at music.nd.edu.

The Notre Dame Collegium Musicum presents the second of three concerts featuring the complete motets of J.S. Bach. The program will include the motets Der Geist hilft unsere Schwachheit auf, BWV 226 and Fürchte dich nicht, BWV 228, along Motets by Lassus and Gabrieli from the church service repertory of Bach's time in Leipzig. For tickets, call 574-631-2800 or visit performingarts.nd.edu. Originally published at music.nd.edu.

How can we stand in solidarity with Palestinians seeking justice, while also avoiding antisemitism—and resist those who seek to conflate the two? Authors Shane Burley and Ben Lorber will share personal stories, historical reflections, and interview data from their recent book to discuss how to combat antisemitism and build true safety for Jews and all people. The conversation will be moderated by Atalia Omer, professor of religion, conflict and peace studies. Lunch will be provided. Originally published at kroc.nd.edu.

Notre Dame Children's Choir perform songs of the season in its annual Lessons and Carols, featuring the younger ensembles: Cherub, Cantabile and Descant Choirs.  Originally published at sma.nd.edu.

The Notre Dame Glee Club and Symphony Orchestra present a festive array of classical and popular music for the season. Concerts on Saturday, December 14, 8:30 PM and Sunday, December 15, 2:30 PM. For tickets, call 574-631-2800 or visit performingarts.nd.edu. Originally published at music.nd.edu.

Not a hit upon release, It's a Wonderful Life gained its popularity mainly due to a clerical error at the copyright office that made it public domain and led to television stations being able to broadcast it for free during the holiday season, which they did repeatedly thus deepening the film's association with Christmas for generations. A variation on the A Christmas Carol theme, the Christmastime glimpse into the future here belongs to George Bailey (Jimmy Stewart) who has so many problems he is considering ending it all. As the angels discuss George, we see his life in flashbacks. As George is about to jump from a bridge, he rescues his guardian angel, Clarence (Henry Travers), who then shows George what his town would have looked like if it hadn't been for all his good deeds over the years. GET TICKETS!  

Faculty violinist Patrick Yim and guests perform recently discovered string quintets by French composer George Onslow. Publisher Ignace Pleyel called Onslow "our French Beethoven." Patrick Yim, violin Natalie Lin Douglas, violin Eric Wong, viola Jamie Clark, cello Matthew Baker, bass    Generous support for this event is provided by the Department of Music, the Institute for Scholarship in the Liberal Arts (College of Arts and Letters), and the Nanovic Institute for European Studies.   This event is free and not ticketed.  Originally published at music.nd.edu.

Register here  We hope you will join us each month for the Virtues & Vocations lunchtime webinar series, Conversations on Character & the Common Good. There is always time for audience questions. Sanford “Sandy” Shugart served from 2000 to 2021 as the fourth president of Valencia College in greater Orlando, Florida. He is a senior fellow with the Aspen Institute and the author of Leadership in the Crucible of Work: Discovering the Interior Life of an Authentic Leader. Our conversation will consider the broad landscape of higher education — and particularly pre-professional and professional education for flourishing within community colleges — along with issues of leadership and character. Virtues & Vocations is a national forum for scholars and practitioners across disciplines to consider how best to cultivate character in pre-professional and professional education. Virtues & Vocations hosts faculty workshops, an annual conference, and monthly webinars, and engages issues of character, professional identity, and moral purpose through our publications.

Experience the timeless beauty of Copland's iconic masterpiece, Appalachian Spring, as it vividly portrays the American landscape. Kojiro Uzmezaki joins the South Bend Symphony as he uses the shakuhachi to transform the landscape imagined in Angel Lam's "Empty Mountain, Spirit Rain," and Takuma Itoh's "Faded Aura."   GET TICKETS  

Join UZIMA! Drum and Dance Company for an inspiring evening as we journey down the road less traveled, following in the footsteps of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela, Mary Church Terrell, and other visionaries who have paved the way for peace and progress. Experience the power of expression through the art of music and dance that transformed the course of humanity. Together, we'll explore the desire for change that compels us forward, forever, as suffragist and activist Terrell wrote, "lifting as we climb." GET TICKETS  

Soprano Angel Blue makes her long-awaited Met role debut as the Ethiopian princess torn between love and country, one of opera's defining roles. Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin takes the podium for Michael Mayer's spectacular new staging, which brings audiences inside the towering pyramids and gilded tombs of ancient Egypt with intricate projections and dazzling animations. Mezzo-soprano Judit Kutasi, following her 2024 debut in Verdi's La Forza del Destino, is Aida's Egyptian rival Amneris, and tenor Piotr Beczala is the soldier Radamès — completing opera's greatest love triangle. The all-star cast also features baritone Quinn Kelsey as Amonasro and bass Dmitry Belosselskiy as Ramfis. GET TICKETS  

Gospel giants continue bringing epic concerts to fill the Leighton Concert Hall with praise. Grammy Award and Dove Award winner Fred Hammond — uplifted by a hand-selected choir of community singers — makes his Presenting Series debut. His concert concludes the center's contributions to Notre Dame's Walk the Walk Week. Hammond's smooth voice, distinctive flair for funk, and inspirational messages are why his career has flourished for nearly four decades. GET TICKETS  

Each year, one selected artist for the DeBartolo Center's organ recital series is a Program in Sacred Music alumnus or alumna. This season, we welcome Emma Whitten. She is an accomplished organist specializing in early Baroque and contemporary repertoire. An alumna of the University's Program in Sacred Music, she performs the program, A Spotless Rose: Marian Works for Organ, music celebrating the Blessed Virgin Mary from the early Baroque to the present. Highlights include Dietrich Buxtehude's Magnificat for organ and a stunning fantasia on the Salve Regina by Dutch composer Margaretha Christina de Jong. GET TICKETS  

Register here Anna Moreland is the chair and director of the Villanova University Honors Program and Thomas W. Smith is dean of the School of Arts and Sciences at The Catholic University of America. Moreland and Smith will discuss their recent book, The Young Adult Playbook: Living Like It Matters and their work in education for flourishing among undergraduates. We hope you will join the Institute for Social Concerns each month for the Virtues & Vocations lunchtime webinar series, Conversations on Character & the Common Good. There is always time for audience questions. Virtues & Vocations is a national forum for scholars and practitioners across disciplines to consider how best to cultivate character in pre-professional and professional education. Virtues & Vocations hosts faculty workshops, an annual conference, and monthly webinars, and engages issues of character, professional identity, and moral purpose through our publications.