What's happening at Penn State? Here's a look at some of the cultural events — both in-person and virtual — taking place across the University:
Performances
Ivyside Pride: 'Night and Dreams' — 7:30 p.m., Nov. 30-Dec. 1, Wolf Kuhn Theatre, Misciagna Family Center for Performing Arts, Altoona campus. The Ivyside Pride vocal ensemble will offer music inspired by the themes of night, dreams, and hope, including holiday-inspired selections, along with pieces from classical, musical theatre, and contemporary genres.
Old Dominion — 7:30 p.m., Dec. 1, Bryce Jordan Center, University Park campus. Old Dominion will visit Penn State on their renowned U.S. No Bad Vibes tour. The tour will stop at the Bryce Jordan Center with special guests Chase Rice and Kylie Morgan.
Get The Led Out — 8 p.m., Dec. 1-2, The Pullo Center, York campus. Get The Led Out (GTLO) have captured the essence of the recorded music of Led Zeppelin and brought it to the concert stage. The Philadelphia-based group consists of six veteran musicians intent on delivering Led Zeppelin live, utilizing the multi-instrumentalists at their disposal. GTLO brings a high-energy Zeppelin concert with heart-thumping intensity.
"Company" — 8 p.m., Nov. 30-Dec. 2, 111 Forum, University Park campus. A performance from No Refund Theatre, directed by Ella Bradner.
"Bonnets: How Ladies of Good Breeding are Induced to Murder" — Through Dec. 2, Pavilion Theatre, University Park campus. Penn State Centre Stage will produce Jen Silverman's "Bonnets: How Ladies of Good Breeding are Induced to Murder," directed by Jenny Lamb, assistant teaching professor of movement. Weaving between the 17th and 19th centuries, this absurdist, comic and highly physical exploration of love and violence shows how easily "ladies of good breeding are induced to murder."
Mosaic — 4-5:30 p.m., Dec. 3, Eisenhower Auditorium, University Park campus. The Penn State School of Music presents Mosaic, the annual showcase of the finest ensembles and soloists. Through special lighting effects and placement of musicians, jazz melds into 17th-century masterworks. Each performance merges into the next, all in a rich display of dynamic and fast-paced sonic color.
John Mulaney In Concert — 8 p.m., Dec. 3, Bryce Jordan Center, University Park campus. Comedian John Mulaney will visit Penn State’s Bryce Jordan Center as part of his ongoing tour with a new hour of stand up comedy.
Philharmonic Orchestra — 7:30-9 p.m., Dec. 5, Eisenhower Auditorium, University Park campus. The Penn State Philharmonic Orchestra performs its last concert of the semester in celebration of Rachmaninov’s 150th birthday. The orchestra will perform Rachmaninov's last major symphonic work, which draws themes from previous compositions and includes some ecclesiastical chants.
Concert and Symphonic Band — 7:30-9:30 p.m., Dec. 6, Eisenhower Auditorium, University Park campus. Join the Penn State Concert Band and Symphonic Band for an evening of music. Concert Band will feature a variety of pieces highlighting the vitality of the modern wind band, and the Symphonic Band will perform contemporary works by Stamp and Svanoe and will also feature standard works by Grainger and Dello Joio.
Bach's Lunch — 12:10 p.m., Dec. 7, Eisenhower Chapel, Pasquerilla Spiritual Center, University Park campus. "Bach's Lunch" is a weekly concert series during the school year. Concerts are brief in order to make it possible for the University community to attend during the lunch hour. Free.
Events
Transgender Awareness Month events — Through November, Multiple locations. The Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity will offer events at the University Park campus to recognize Transgender Awareness Month.
Café Laura Theme Dinner: From Chicago to LA: Take a Trip Down Route 66 — Nov. 30, Café Laura, Mateer Building, University Park campus. Students in HM 430 Advanced Food Production and Service Management prepare a series of themed dinners throughout the semester to be served in the student-run Café Laura restaurant. Reservations required.
Student art sale — Nov. 30-Dec. 1, Woksob Family Gallery, University Park campus. The Woskob Family Gallery will host a student art sale in collaboration with clay cOven and the Sculpture Club. Students will be selling cups, other ceramic pieces and crochet crafts.
Learning Factory Showcase — 1-3:30 p.m., Dec. 5, Bryce Jordan Center, University Park campus. The Penn State Learning Factory will host its end-of-semester showcase for engineering students to present their capstone design projects with both in-person and virtual formats. The virtual showcase will take place Dec. 5-15. Both versions of the event are free and open to the public.
Lectures
"Illuminating the Hidden Connections: Unraveling Muscle Form-Function through the Study of a Wide Range of Muscles and Populations" — 3:05 p.m., Nov. 30, 127 Noll Laboratory, University Park campus. Silvia Salinas Blemker, the Robert Thomson Distinguished Professor at the University of Virginia, will present the 2023 Richard Nelson Memorial Lecture hosted by the Department of Kinesiology. Free.
Dreamery Speaker Series: Creating a Culture of Belonging: Inclusive Physical and Digital Spaces" — 1:45-3:15 p.m., Dec. 4, the Dreamery, University Park campus. Adam Finkelstein, the co-lead of EDUCAUSE's Learning Spaces Design Community Group, will lead sessions on inclusive learning environments over two days, including a lecture on how the design of physical and digital spaces can facilitate active and inclusive learning and highlight the influence learning environments have on student engagement. He also will share ways to enhance student learning while keeping faculty and student wellness in mind.
In-person exhibits
“Andrea Doria: Dive to An Era” — Through Nov. 30, Friedman Art Gallery, Wilkes-Barre campus. The Friedman Art Gallery will feature a collection of items recovered on more than 200 dives to the shipwreck of the Andrea Doria. Diver and author Gary Gentile has recovered dishes, cups, glasses, plates, jewelry and ceramic panels created by the internationally known artist Romano Rui and more.
"Eudaimonia" — Through Dec. 5, Ronald K. DeLong Gallery, Lehigh Valley campus. Featuring works from artists Sasha Meret and Michelle Neifert, "Eudaimonia" explores themes related to mindfulness, acceptance, purpose, skill mastery and positive relationships.
High School Art Exhibit — Dec. 7-Jan. 31, Friedman Art Gallery, Wilkes-Barre campus. The Friedman Art Gallery's fifth annual High School Art Exhibit includes more than 60 pieces of original local high school student artwork in the categories of two-dimensional drawings and paintings, photography and three-dimensional artwork. Participating high schools include Lake-Lehman, Crestwood, Wilkes-Barre Area’s Creative and Performing Arts Academy (CAPAA) and Sue Hand’s Imagery. For the exhibit, the schools’ art teachers were asked to select and submit some of their best student artwork.
"Unplucked Gems" — Through Dec. 9, McLanahan Gallery of the Misciagna Family Center for Performing Arts, Altoona campus. The exhibit by Juried Art Exhibition winner Taylor Pilote reveals ties to notable aspects of car culture, both personal and industrial, using physically distorted recognizable vehicle features. Free.
"I Sang You A Song Though I Didn't Know the Words" — Through Dec. 9, Sheetz Gallery of the Misciagna Family Center for Performing Arts, Altoona campus. Juried Art Exhibition winner Boryana Rusenova-Ina utilizes experiences of learning English in post-communist Bulgaria to influence this exhibition. Free.
"High Strung" — Through December, Woksob Family Gallery, University Park campus. Sculptures by local artist and educator Melissa Forkner Lesher transform commonplace materials into delicate works of art. Lesher weaves her creations with precision and efficiency by carefully assembling small hand-built pieces into larger, meticulously crafted configurations.
"Sad Purple and Mauve: A History of Dye-Making" — Through Jan. 15, 2024, Special Collections exhibition space, 104 Paterno Library, University Park campus. The science, art and history and textile and paper dyes and their uses in books and manuscripts will be the focus of this exhibit.
“Invisible Bodies” — Through Feb. 8, 2024, Art Alley, HUB-Robeson Galleries, University Park campus. The HUB-Robeson Galleries present "Invisible Bodies," an exploration of migrant labor through an artistic lens, curated by the Border Gallery and Emireth Herrera Valdés.
“Magnificare” — Through Feb. 22, 2024, HUB-Robeson Center, University Park campus. The HUB-Robeson Galleries present "Magnificare," an exhibition of ceramic sculptures by Marguerita Hagan.
"I Am a Penn Stater: Nittany Lions in World War II" — Through June 2025, Penn State All-Sports Museum, Beaver Stadium, University Park campus. Timed to coincide with the 80th anniversary of the conflict, "I Am a Penn Stater" chronicles the contributions of Nittany Lion varsity lettermen and Women’s Recreation Association athletes during the conflict and follows their service from training in the United States, to fighting on battlefields around the globe, to their postwar occupations. Free.
Virtual exhibits
In addition to in-person events, a number of virtual exhibits are available through University departments. The Palmer Museum of Art and University Libraries offer a rotating selection of historical and artistic collections to view online.
Current exhibitions include an examination of women’s athletics at Penn State and Title IX, editorial cartoons from The Jerry Doyle Papers, and an exploration of the impact of the 1918 influenza pandemic.