26-27 Austin Arts Center Events

Arts Welcome Back Cookout

Wednesday, September 9 (5:00-7:00 PM)
Austin Arts Center

Arts and arts-curious faculty, staff, and students are invited to meet & greet at this annual celebration of the start of the new academic year. Co-sponsored by the TrinArts Collaborative.

Trinity Organ Series: Thursday Lunchtime Series
Christopher Houlihan

Thursday, September 10 (12:15-1:15 PM)
Trinity Chapel

Trinity Organ Series presents outstanding artists in recital at Trinity College Chapel. Our exceptional pipe organ, built by the Austin Organ Company of Hartford, contains over four-thousand pipes that range in size from pencils to large trees. Each pipe has its own unique sound, combining to a thrilling sonic experience. Enjoy 30-minute recitals on the first Thursday of the month. A complimentary light lunch is offered during the carillon performances.

Presented by Trinity College Chapel and Department of Music. All performances are free and open to the public.

Fellows: Work by Select Alumni of the Studio Arts Postbaccalaureate Fellowship Program

Thursday, September 24-Friday, October 30
Gallery Hours: Monday-Friday, 10:00 AM-5:00 PM, and by appointment
Reception: Thursday, October 1 (4:00-6:00 PM)
Widener Gallery

Fellows brings together work by three Trinity College Studio Arts Postbaccalaureate Fellowship Alumni: Ciara Rubí, Sydney Smith, and Weixi Zhang ’18. The exhibition includes sculpture, video, installation, drawing, and mixed media work.

Albert Schweitzer Organ Festival

Biennial Young Professional Competition — Final Round Recitals
Saturday, September 26 (10:00 AM)
Trinity Chapel

Festival Concerts ft. the Hartford Symphony Orchestra
and Christopher Houlihan (soloist)
Saturday, September 26 (8:00 PM)
Sunday, September 27 (2:30 PM)
Trinity Chapel

The mission of the Albert Schweitzer Organ Festival Hartford is to support and encourage young organists in the earliest stages of their education and careers, and to increase appreciation of organ music in the general public. At the heart of the Festival is an annual, national competition for young organists hosted at Trinity College, Hartford. Alternating biennially between a High School and Young Professional Division (up to age 26), competitors earn significant cash prizes to support their education and career endeavors.

Now over 25 years old, the Albert Schweitzer Organ Festival is proud to be one of the top competitions for young organists in North America. The festival’s third artistic director, Christopher Houlihan, was appointed in 2022.

Trinity Organ Series: Thursday Lunchtime Series
Mary-Katherine Fletcher

Thursday, October 1 (12:15-1:15 PM)
Trinity Chapel

Trinity Organ Series presents outstanding artists in recital at Trinity College Chapel. Our exceptional pipe organ, built by the Austin Organ Company of Hartford, contains over four-thousand pipes that range in size from pencils to large trees. Each pipe has its own unique sound, combining to a thrilling sonic experience. Enjoy 30-minute recitals on the first Thursday of the month. A complimentary light lunch is offered during the carillon performances.

Presented by Trinity College Chapel and Department of Music. All performances are free and open to the public.

Fellows: Work by Select Alumni of the Studio Arts Postbaccalaureate Fellowship Program

Reception: Thursday, October 1 (4:00-6:00 PM)
Widener Gallery

Fellows brings together work by three Trinity College Studio Arts Postbaccalaureate Fellowship Alumni: Ciara Rubí, Sydney Smith, and Weixi Zhang ’18. The exhibition includes sculpture, video, installation, drawing, and mixed media work.

Following the Drum:
The Warwick Gombeys of Bermuda

Thursday, October 8 (12:15-1:15 PM)
Gruss Recital Hall

Trinity’s Department of Music welcomes the return of the Warwick Gombeys of Bermuda to engage with the Trinity community through class visits, a Common Hour lecture/demonstration, and a parade through campus. The Common Hour program will include an introduction by Trinity’s Dorothea Hast (Visiting Lecturer in Music) and Irwin Trott (Founder and Managing Director of The Warwick Gombey Troupe), followed by a performance and interactive dance session.

Gombey developed in colonial Bermuda more than two centuries ago, bringing enslaved people of West African, Caribbean, and Native American heritage together to celebrate during the Christmas season. Bands of male dancers would dance down the street to the accompaniment of multiple instruments, drawing people from their homes to follow the festivities. Because the British colonial government in Bermuda attempted to suppress Gombey street performances throughout its history—during slavery, after emancipation, and well into the twentieth century—the genre developed both as a festive celebration and a highly symbolic art form of embodied resistance. Today, the Gombey tradition is not only thriving but also considered an emblem of Bermuda.

The Gombey genre also has roots closer to our home in Connecticut, as Native peoples, including the Pequots from Connecticut, the Narragansetts from Rhode Island, and the Wampanoags from Massachusetts, were enslaved and shipped throughout the Caribbean after the Pequot War (1636-38) and the King Phillips War (1675-76). A reconnection of Bermudians with their New England Native cousins took place three centuries later in 2002 when a delegation of members from these three tribal nations traveled to Bermuda. This initial meeting has led to two decades of sharing expressive culture at powwows in New England and Bermuda.

Sponsored by the Music Department, with support from the History Department.

A Lesson from Aloes

Trinity College’s Austin Arts Center presents HartBeat Ensemble’s production of Athol Fugard’s A Lesson from Aloes, featuring ensemble members Brian Jennings and Godfrey L. Simmons, Jr., along with longtime Hartford Stage A Christmas Carol veteran (and recently Theater Works’ Circus Fire!) Rebecka Jones. Set in 1963 South Africa’s apartheid-era Port Elizabeth, A Lesson from Aloes explores themes of loyalty, betrayal, and survival through the reunion of an anti-apartheid white Afrikaner couple, Piet and Gladys, and their Black activist friend, Steve, who has just been released from prison on a one-way exit visa. The play uses the symbolism of the aloe plant to represent endurance, while the characters confront their past anti-apartheid activism, the psychological toll of the police state, and the painful realities of their tattered relationships and lost country. A Lesson from Aloes is HartBeat’s latest interpretation of Fugard’s work, following their acclaimed production of My Children! My Africa! in 2022.

HartBeat Ensemble creates provocative theater that connects the people and communities of Greater Hartford across traditional barriers of race, gender, class, and geography. HartBeat Ensemble is one of the few arts institutions in Greater Hartford using theater and storytelling to build the Beloved Community. As an ensemble of Citizen Artists, we create and present innovative theatrical experiences based on critical civic issues that directly affect our constituents in their neighborhoods, their jobs, their schools, and their institutions. HartBeat not only offers audiences the opportunity to witness world-class theater, but through storytelling and facilitation, engages them in telling their own stories in a variety of settings. At the same time, HartBeat is preparing the next generation of Citizen Artists and Civic Leaders through its Youth Play Institute. HartBeat Ensemble is currently the Resident Theater Company at Trinity College.

Encounters: Discussing A Lesson from Aloes

Sunday, October 18 (2:00 PM)
Garmany Hall

Concluding the two-week run of A Lesson from Aloes, HartBeat Ensemble and the Austin Arts Center invite you to continue exploring the play’s intersecting themes of activism, trauma, ging, and their costs through the Encounters framework developed by UConn’s Gladstein Family Human Rights Institute. The Encounters Series is dedicated to fostering unexpected conversations around divisive issues and obscure knowledge. The program dives deeply into subjects that are of interest to the Greater Hartford community through facilitated, small-group dialogues followed by a question-and-answer-style conversation with UConn faculty and community partners. HartBeat Ensemble is the only theatre company in Connecticut that regularly partners with Encounters to support engagement around its productions.

“Casting By”

Documentary Screening, Followed by a Talk with Trinity alumna Joanna Colbert
Sunday, October 18 (7:00 PM)
Cinestudio

ABOUT THE FILM
Casting By (2012, dir. Tom Donahue) is an HBO documentary that charts the history of casting directing in Hollywood, centering on the pioneering work of Marion Dougherty, who transformed casting from a clerical function into a creative discipline. The film features interviews with major directors, actors, and producers — including Martin Scorsese, Woody Allen, and Clint Eastwood — and makes a compelling case for why casting directors have long been the industry’s most undervalued collaborators. Its release coincided with a renewed push for formal industry recognition, a conversation that has since culminated in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences establishing a dedicated Oscar category for casting directors.

FEATURED GUEST
Joanna Colbert is a professional casting director and a graduate of Trinity College’s Theater and Dance program. Her career spans both film and television, bringing her firsthand experience with the creative and logistical dimensions of casting that the documentary explores. As a Trinity alumna working at the intersection of performance and production, Colbert is uniquely positioned to connect the film’s themes to the experiences of current students considering careers in entertainment — and to speak directly to the THDN community she came from.

Organized by Emma Baskin with support from the Department of Theater and Dance, the Women & Gender Resource Action Center (WGRAC), and the Austin Arts Center. 

Quiara Alegría Hudes Reading

Monday, October 19 (4:30 PM)
Reese Room, Smith House

For over two decades, Quiara Alegría Hudes’s writing has been produced and read around the world. Her stage plays include the Pulitzer Prize-winning drama Water by the Spoonful, the Tony Award-winning musical In the Heights, and the Pulitzer finalist Elliot, A Soldier’s Fugue. Quiara’s 2025 fiction debut, The White Hot, was shortlisted for the Carol Shields Prize for Fiction and the PEN/Faulker Award for Fiction. Her 2021 memoir, My Broken Language, was longlisted for the Andrew Carnegie Medal and was One Book, One Philadelphia’s citywide read. Hudes also wrote the animated feature Vivo and has contributed essays for The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Cut, The Nation, and American Theater Magazine. With her cousin Sean, she co-founded a prison writing program: Emancipated Stories. Musical collaborations include Lin-Manuel Miranda, The Cleveland Orchestra, Erin McKeown, Michel Camilo, Elio Villafranca, and Alex Lacamoire. A daughter of the Puerto Rican diaspora, Quiara was born and raised in West Philly and now lives in New York. 

Sponsored by the Trinity College Creative Writing Program.

Jazz in the Goodwin:
Steve Davis ft. Abena Koomson-Davis/
Ed Fast & CongaBop

Saturday, October 24 (7:30 PM)
Family and Friends Weekend
Goodwin Theater

The acclaimed Latin jazz ensemble Ed Fast & Congabop delivers a high-energy performance featuring some of the most celebrated names in the Northeast jazz scene. Blending the rhythms of Afro-Caribbean traditions with straight-ahead jazz improvisation, Congabop promises a powerful and joyful performance not to be missed. Drummer, composer, and founder Ed Fast leads the ensemble with a driving sense of rhythm and purpose. A veteran of symphonic, Broadway, and jazz stages, Fast formed Congabop to explore the crossroads of Latin percussion and hard bop jazz. His original compositions and arrangements have earned acclaim for their spirit, sophistication, and irresistible groove.

Steve Davis is widely regarded as one of today’s leading voices on the trombone. Davis has worked with jazz luminaries such as Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers (he penned the title track of Blakey’s final album, One For All), Jackie McLean, Chick Corea, Benny Golson, Freddie Hubbard, Ron Carter, Hank Jones, Harold Mabern, Larry Willis, and Roy Hargrove. Raised in Binghamton, NY, Davis’s many notable performances include The Jimmy Fallon Show with Stevie Wonder and The White House Tribute to Ray Charles (PBS). Davis appears on nearly 200 recordings (20 as a leader), including his latest acclaimed release, Bluesthetic (Smoke Sessions). Davis appears on multiple Grammy-winning recordings, including Chick Corea and Spanish Heart Band’s Antidote and Christian McBride Big Band’s Bringin’ It.

In addition to leading his own bands, Davis continues to work regularly with Nat Reeves, One For All, and Dizzy Gillespie & His All Stars. He also collaborates regularly both with his son, guitarist Tony Davis, and his wife, vocalist Abena Koomson-Davis. Abena and Davis each appear on Natalie Merchant’s  Keep Your Courage. As a faculty member at the Hartt School’s Jackie McLean Institute of Jazz at the University of Hartford, Davis was honored for over 30 years of service. Davis’s other notable academic affiliations include San Francisco Conservatory of Music’s Roots Jazz & American Music Program, New England Conservatory, University of Massachusetts’s Jazz in July, Skidmore Summer Jazz Institute, Jamey Aebersold’s Summer Jazz Workshop, and Stanford Summer Jazz Workshop. In Fall 2022, Davis joined Berklee College of Music’s Brass Department as professor of trombone.

Abena Koomson-Davis is a performer, educator and wordsmith. Abena originated the role of Fela’s mother in the Off Broadway musical FELA! and reprised her role in the Broadway production which earned 3 Tony awards. She has performed alongside Stevie Wonder, Carly Simon, Angelique Kidjo and many other luminaries.  Abena can be heard on Natalie Merchant’s most recent album ‘Keep Your Courage’  where she is featured on two duets, “Come on Aphrodite” and “Big Girls.” Abena’s debut jazz album on WJ3 Records, entitled “Where is Love” features time-honored standards and original compositions co-written with her husband, acclaimed jazz trombonist Steve Davis.

For over 15 years, Abena has been the lead vocalist of the funk rock band Van Davis. She is the musical director for the Resistance Revival Chorus, and her song “Joy in Resistance” is featured on their debut album, entitled “This Joy.” She is also a member and featured collaborator of Scapegoat Garden, a  New England-based creative engine whose most recent project, Liturgy|Order|Bridge, conceived by Deborah Goffe, was the recipient of a Creative Capital Award.

Presented by the Department of Music and the Austin Arts Center.

Object + Exhibition-Based Learning

Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) Panel Discussion
Thursday, October 29 (12:15-1:30 PM)
Dangremond Family Commons

Have you ever wondered how to bring the Watkinson Library’s Special Collections and Archives or the Widener Gallery’s exhibitions into your teaching? Join the Center for Teaching and Learning for a panel conversation on object-based and exhibition-based learning at Trinity. Hear from faculty who have incorporated these extraordinary on-campus resources into their courses, and meet Christina Bleyer, PhD, College Librarian, Eric Johnson-DeBaufre, PhD, Rare Books and Special Collections Librarian, and Lisa Lynch, Director and Organizing Curator for Widener Gallery. Whether you are just curious or ready to dive in, this event is designed to spark new ideas and open new possibilities for your classroom.

Midnight Organ

Saturday, October 31 (11:59 PM)
Trinity Chapel

On Halloween, come hear the organ played and spooky stories at midnight—if you dare!

Trinity Organ Series: Thursday Lunchtime Series:
Sarah Kennedy ’20

Thursday, November 5 (12:15-1:15 PM)
Trinity Chapel

Trinity Organ Series presents outstanding artists in recital at Trinity College Chapel. Our exceptional pipe organ, built by the Austin Organ Company of Hartford, contains over four-thousand pipes that range in size from pencils to large trees. Each pipe has its own unique sound, combining to a thrilling sonic experience. Enjoy 30-minute recitals on the first Thursday of the month. A complimentary light lunch is offered during the carillon performances.

Presented by Trinity College Chapel and Department of Music. All performances are free and open to the public.

Milwaukee 1980
Photographs by Bud Glick

Monday, November 16 – Wednesday, February 24
Gallery Hours: Monday-Friday, 10:00 AM-5:00 PM, and by appointment
Reception: November 19 (4:00-6:00 PM)
Widener Gallery

Milwaukee features photographs by Bud Glick, Visiting Professor of the Practice in Fine Arts. This documentary photography project features Milwaukee’s Mexican American and Puerto Rican Communities from 1979 to 1980.

Triadic Memories: Amy Williams Performs Morton Feldman

Pre-Concert Lecture
Monday, November 16 (6:30 PM)
Gruss Recital Hall

Piano Concert
Monday, November 16 (7:30 PM)
Gruss Recital Hall

The “fresh, daring and incisive” (Fanfare) compositions of Amy Williams have been presented by leading international performers, including the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, JACK Quartet, Bent Frequency, Ensemble Musikfabrik, Wet Ink, International Contemporary Ensemble, Junction Trio, Orpheus, pianist Ursula Oppens, soprano Tony Arnold and bassist Robert Black. Her pieces appear on the Albany, Parma, Blue Griffin, Centaur and New Focus labels. As a member of the Bugallo-Williams Piano Duo, she has performed throughout Europe and the Americas and recorded six critically-acclaimed CDs for Wergo (works of Nancarrow, Stravinsky, Varèse/Feldman and Kurtág), as well as appearing on the Neos and Albany labels. Ms. Williams has been awarded a Howard Foundation Fellowship, Fromm Music Foundation Commission, Guggenheim Fellowship, Koussevitsky Music Foundation Commission, two awards from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, a Fulbright Scholars Fellowship to Ireland, a MacDowell fellowship and the 2024 Henri Lazarof International Commission Prize. Ms. Williams holds a Ph.D. in composition from the University at Buffalo, where she also received her Master’s degree in piano performance. She has taught at Bennington College and Northwestern University and is currently Professor of Composition at the University of Pittsburgh. She is Artistic Director of the New Music On The Point Festival in Vermont.

Sponsored by the Trinity College Department of Music.

What’s Your Move? An Evening of Student Performance

Thursday-Saturday, November 19-21 (7:30 PM)
Goodwin Theater

What’s Your Move? An Evening of Student Performance launches viewers into the dynamic range of dance practice at Trinity College. This concert showcases the kinetic diversity of bantams from across campus, asking them to share their “moves” with you. 

Music Ensembles Week

Ensembles Concert
Tuesday, December 17 (12:15-1:15 PM)
Gruss Recital Hall

Jazz Ensemble Concert
Tuesday, December 17 (7:30 PM)
Goodwin Theater

Samba + Steel Concert
Wednesday, December 18 (7:30 PM)
Goodwin Theater

Lessons Concert
Thursday, December 19 (7:00 PM)
Gruss Recital Hall

At the end of each semester, students from ensemble courses and private lessons in Trinity’s Department of Music share their work in performance.

Sponsored by the Trinity College Department of Music.

Trinity/La MaMa Showcase + 40th Anniversary Celebrations

Showcase Performance + Reception
Wednesday, December 9 (7:30 PM)
Performance Lab, Trinity Commons

Showcase Performance + Panel Discussion
Thursday, December 10 (4:00 PM)
Performance Lab, Trinity Commons

The unique and life-changing Trinity/La MaMa program was founded in 1986 by Judy Dworin, co-founder of the department of Theater and Dance at Trinity, and the late Leonardo Shapiro, resident director at La MaMa ETC in New York. The intention was, and still is, to expose students to the vibrant, multifaceted arts scene of New York City and to open their eyes to the limitless possibilities in the creative process. Since then, it has inspired generations of students and shaped their paths in the arts as well as in many other walks of life.

See the newest generation of Trinity/LaMaMa students perform original works and hear from alums about their experiences and the exciting directions their lives have taken. Engage with us in envisioning the future role that true interdisciplinary collaboration in the arts can play in a time that needs fresh thoughts and new commitments to the importance of a living and thriving arts and culture scene.

67th Annual Trinity College Christmas Festival of Lessons and Carols

Sunday, December 13 (4:00 PM + 7:00 PM)
Trinity Chapel

The annual Christmas Festival of Lessons and Carols marks the beginning of the holiday season for the Greater Hartford community. This service is offered to all as a moment of comfort and hope.

Doors open at 3:15 p.m. No tickets are required. A freewill offering will be taken to support students in need and local initiatives.

Last Night

Monday, December 14 (5:30 PM)
Performance Lab, Trinity Commons

A joy-filled and comradery-building showcase of projects and coursework from the Department of Theater and Dance this semester.