NIU Today

Top 40 legend Rick Springfield and contemporary Christian artists Casting Crowns both are coming to the NIU Convocation Center in 2015. Springfield, the voice of 1981 smash hit “Jessie’s Girl,” arrives Friday, May 15, in DeKalb. Casting Crowns, touring in support of new CD “Thrive,” are coming Friday, Feb. 27. Tickets for both shows go...

The Kishwaukee Symphony Orchestra invites the public to its Holiday Pops Concert: Winter Wonderland. The concert begins at 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 12, in the Boutell Memorial Concert Hall of the NIU Music Building. Pre-concert music, beginning at 6:15 pm, will be provided by the NIU Suzuki Program. Post-concert music will be provided by the...

The NIU Community School of the Arts has announced the schedule for winter and holiday recitals. Soloists and ensemble performances are featured in December on the stages of the Recital Hall and Concert Hall of the NIU Music Building. Most performances end with a reception. All are free and open to the public. Saturday, Dec....

Country music superstar Brad Paisley’s extension of his Country Nation World Tour will include a show Thursday, Feb. 5, at the NIU Convocation Center. Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday, Nov. 21. Special guests on the tour will be Stoney Creek Records family band Parmalee and Arista Nashville recording duo The Swon Brothers....

The NIU Philharmonic, under the direction of Lucia Matos, will perform its final concert of the fall semester at 8 p.m. Monday, Nov. 24, in the Boutell Memorial Concert Hall in the Music Building. The concert is free and open to the public, and the auditorium is accessible to all. Performing “Polonaise” from “Eugene Onegin” by...

NIU’s Avalon String Quartet will continue its fall season at 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 21, in the Boutell Memorial Concert Hall. The program includes Brahms’ String Quartet No. 3 Op. 67 in Bb Major, the Debussy String Quartet Op. 10 in G Minor and the Garrop String Quartet No. 4, “Illuminations.” The concert is free...

NIU and DeKalb-area high school students join instructors from the School of Music every year for a trip to the annual Illinois Music Education Conference in Peoria. The all-state event promotes life-long learning and leadership among music enthusiasts. In attendance are those widely considered the who’s who of high school and collegiate music programs across...

The Kishwaukee Symphony Orchestra will present a family-oriented concert, “The Many Moods of Music,” at 11 am, Saturday, Nov. 15, at the Egyptian Theatre, 135 N. Second St. in downtown DeKalb. A variety of music will be presented, demonstrating the many moods that music can convey. Tickets are $5; children younger than 13 are admitted...

The NIU Percussion Ensemble will take the Boutell Memorial Concert Hall stage at 8 p.m. Monday, Nov. 10, performing a wide variety of exciting modern works for percussion. Under the direction of NIU School of Music professors Greg Beyer and Michael Mixtacki, the concert will feature Western percussion compositions influenced from musical traditions around the...

UPDATE: Marquis Hill is the winner! Congratulations! Marquis Hill, a 2009 alumnus of the NIU School of Music, is a semifinalist in the Thelonius Monk International Jazz Competition. Widely regarded as the most prestigious jazz competition in the world, this year’s competition is strictly for trumpeters. Hill will join 12 other trumpeters Saturday, Nov. 8,...

Come relive the musical highlights of football halftime shows Thursday, Nov. 6, when the NIU Huskie Marching Band performs its annual year-end concert at the Convocation Center. The marching band, the drumline, the color guard and the Silverettes will present favorite pieces from this autumn’s Brigham Field extravaganzas as well as some of the familiar...

The Kishwaukee Symphony Orchestra will present its free Halloween concert, appropriate for children and adults, Tuesday, Oct. 28. Performances are planned at 5:30 and 7:30 p.m. in the Boutell Memorial Concert Hall of the NIU Music Building. The earlier show is geared toward a younger audience. Indoor trick-or-treating will be provided from 5 to 5:30...