Our popular Date Night events will be back when we reopen the UIS Performing Arts Center in the fall of 2026. Until then, enjoy looking back on the Date Nights we’ve held since this series began in January 2023. Date Night events feature skilled local artists in short performative/informative events that provide entertaining insight into the artistic process.
Spring 2025:
• Date Night with Ten-Minute Plays – staged readings of ten-minute plays by area playwrights, developed during Tim Crawford’s 2024 workshop. January 25, 2025
• Date Night with Love Songs of Broadway – an enchanting Valentine’s evening of Broadway’s most heartfelt love songs, performed by local artists. February 14, 2025
• Date Night with Relax Your Ears – hammered dulcimer/piano by Springfield native Joel Styzens and cellist Herine Coetzee Koschak. In partnership with UIS Music February 28, 2025
Fall 2024:
• Date Night with Comedy Magic & Mentalism – return engagement by locally-based magicians Jesse James and Rha-Bea. September 6, 2024
• Date Night with Electric Bass Quintet – an ensemble of four bass guitarists presenting the unique sound of his original compositions that use only bass and vocals; assembled by Max Beckman. In partnership with UIS Music September 13, 2024
• Date Night with It Takes Four to Tango – the UIS Music Faculty String Quartet shared and discussed dance traditions from around the world, with a special emphasis on the tango. In partnership with UIS Music October 12, 2024
• Date Night with Voice and Guitar: Love Songs – Singer-songwriter and guitarist Kevin Aldrich and vocalist Diane Dietz shared an assortment of love songs across several genres and time periods. November 15, 2024
Spring 2024:
• Date Night with Magic – locally-based magicians Rha-Bea and Jesse James shared the theatrical art form of magic. January 20, 2024
• Date Night with Jazz – collaborative duo of Adib Young (saxophone) and Eli Naragon (bass) performed songs from the Great American Song Book, Jobim classics, and originals by jazz giants. In partnership with UIS Music February 3, 2024
• Date Night with the World of Percussion – Percussionist Brant Roberts showcased the wide range of styles and sounds that can only come from percussion instruments with music from around the world. In Partnership with UIS Music February 29, 2024
• Date Night with Fingerstyle Guitar – return engagement by Adam Maletich, singer-songwriter/fingerstyle guitar player from Springfield. March 15, 2024
Fall 2023:
• Date Night with Mother Road Bones – a trombone quartet that performs in all genres of music from Classical and Jazz to Broadway and Pop. In partnership with UIS Music September 16, 2024
• Date Night with Improv – Capital City Improv with an event of favorite short-form improv games. September 22, 2023
• Date Night with Jazz – Groove Merchants in a night of jazz, players included: Manley Mallard (guitar), local legends Buddy Rogers (sax), Nick Groesch (piano) and Jaro Howse (drums), will join with featured Chicago-based musicians Will Mallard (trumpet) and Marion Mallard (bass). In Partnership with UIS Music October 5, 2024
Spring 2023:
• Date Night with Fingerstyle Guitar –concert by Adam Maletich, live competition winner of Fingerstyle Collective Guitar Festival in Exeter, England. January 28, 2023
• Date Night with Jazz – concert of “The Ride of Springfield” album by the Gobbo/Stark Quartet with Jose Gobbo (guitar), Brian Stark (saxophone), Drew Cox (drum set), Andrew Binder (bass). In partnership with UIS Music February 23, 2023
• Date Night with Classical Piano Improvisation – pianist Juan Camacho Castro in a concert influenced by research on Neapolitan schools of Partimento and Solfeggio, an international revival of “Historical Improvisation”. In partnership with UIS Music March 3, 2023
• Date Night with Spontaneous Music – Freedom Therapy Trio, comprised of free jazz drummer and percussionist Richard Gilman-Opalsky, improvising guitarist Adam Larison, and jazz saxophonist Brian Stark. In partnership with UIS Music April 14, 2023
• Date Night with Sondheim on Broadway – local musicians led a musical journey through the songs of Broadway composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim. April 20, 2023
• Date Night with Spoken Word – poet Shatriya Smith and other local poets in an evening of spoken word. April 22, 2023
