Friday Music Series

The Friday Music Concert Series offers free performances each semester in McNeir Hall (New North Building) on Friday afternoons (12:30–1:45 pm) for the university community of students, staff, faculty, and neighbors in the city. Register for tickets below.

Spring 2025

February 7

Taisha Estrada
Rooted in the traditions of Latin and American jazz, with an innovative, multi-genre sound, Puerto Rican vocalist Taisha Estrada is a compelling songwriter and storyteller. Taisha engages audiences through carefully crafted lyrics and dynamic stage performance. Her musical projects have been featured in the Washington Post and NPR, and she has headlined at such venues as the Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage and Blues Alley.  Visit Taisha’s Instagram page here.

REGISTER FOR TICKETS HERE.


February 21


The Walker Chronicles: Music of Gregory T.S. Walker. Featuring Lori Wolf Walker, Frederick Binkholder, and the Georgetown University Concert Choir

Violinist, composer, and guitarist Gregory T.S. Walker has developed unique collaborations with the Colorado Symphony, Detroit Symphony, Cleveland Chamber Symphony, and the Philadelphia Orchestra. He has been engaged at Norway’s Tromsø Cathedral Series, the Centro Mexicano para la Musica y las Artes Sonoras, the Cork Orchestral Society Concert Series in Ireland, the Genesis Concert Series in Beijing, the NWEAMO Festival in Tokyo, and at the U.S. Library of Congress. An American Academy of Arts and Letters fellowship-winning composer, University of Colorado Denver professor, and sometime guitar hero profiled in Guitar for the Practicing Musician magazine, Walker was featured in the documentary film, Song of the Untouchable.

Multi-instrumentalist Lori Wolf Walker received her Master of Music degree in piano performance at the University of Colorado Boulder. She was a prizewinner in several competitions in the Southwestern United States and has performed around the world as part of the Walker Duo. Her broad range of musical experience includes several years performing as an electric bassist and synthesist with rock bands in Los Angeles, and as a violinist in the Boulder Philharmonic Orchestra. A CD entitled Electric Vivaldi, on which she is featured as synthesist, was released on the Newport Classic label in 2006.

REGISTER FOR TICKETS HERE.



March 14

New Opera Explorations, with Joshua Brown, Kervy Delcy and Anita Gonzalez

Artists fellows from American Opera Projects Composers and the Voice share new work before their May 2025 premiere. 

Ms. Delcy is a Haitian-American composer, librettist, poet, conductor, producer, and the president of Vox Feminarum. Her artistic journey began at five with acting, followed by award-winning performances in poetry and singing competitions. After moving to New York in 2012, she pursued music and theater studies at City College of New York, where she earned accolades such as the ASCAP: Louis Dreyfus Warner-Chappell City College scholarship for her short musical Turning Tables. She made her conducting debut on October 11, 2024, at The National Opera Center, leading her chamber opera A Dusted Veil, for which she also served as composer, librettist, and dramaturg.

In 2020, Delcy founded the Kervy Delcy Performing Arts School to nurture young talent. Recognizing the need for more excellent representation of women in classical music, she launched Vox Feminarum in 2024, an organization dedicated to showcasing women composers. Vox Feminarum hosts events such as the Female Composers Award Ceremony, the Emerging Composers Award Ceremony, and the Masquerade Opera Ball.

On December 15, 2024, she produced Vox Feminarum’s inaugural concert at Carnegie Hall, amplifying women’s voices in classical music. Delcy is a mentee of Dr. Philip Lasser, a professor at Juilliard, and Marie-Jeanne Serero, a professor at the Conservatoire de Paris, both of whom have profoundly shaped her musical career.

She is a fellowship composer with the American Opera Project’s Composers & the Voice program (2023–2025). Delcy’s numerous accolades include two Bronze Medals from the Global Music Awards, the Manhattan School of Music Presidential Scholarship Award, and the Tow International Research Grant Award from Brooklyn College. Multiple academic excellence awards from The City College of New York and Rockland Community College. She also received a grant from the James and Nicole Cho Foundation in 2015. She remains a champion of inclusion and innovation in the arts through her work.

Josh Brown (1996) is a queer composer and multimedia designer whose work combines the mundane and the catastrophic in an effort to create and communally process hyper-specific emotional experiences. Coming of age in a binary good-evil Evangelical household, Josh now uses their art practice to explore the myriad shades of grey that make life interesting. As a composer, poet, and dramaturg, Josh seeks out stories that are worth feeling with the whole body. Themes frequently found in their work are the crushing ebb and flow of time; the increasing impossibility of daily life; and the idea that cultivating a sense of everyday wonder can stave off the paralyzing fear of death. Josh’s writing and music have found a home with Thompson Street Opera, New Opera West, Strange Trace, La Jolla Playhouse, Boston Opera Collaborative, the International Computer Music Conference, Actors Theatre of Louisville, The Tank, and the Pittsburgh Opera. They are currently a Composition Fellow in American Opera Projects’ 12th cohort of Composers & the Voice. BHA: Carnegie Mellon; MS: Northeastern. Jdbrown.me.

Anita Gonzalez (She/her) advocates for beautiful art crafted for social activism and consciousness raising. Musicals: Kumanana (Gala Hispanic Theater), Ybor City (Latiné Musical Theater Lab), Zora on My Mind (The Woodshed), Ayanna Kelly. Plays & Librettos: Faces in the Flames (Atlanta Opera and recipient of the Opera America IDEA award) Courthouse Bells (Boston Opera Collaborative), Finding the Light (Louise Toppin and Marquita Lister), Sunset Dreams (The Vagrancy), Home of My Ancestors (HGOCo). Books: Shipping Out, Black Performance Theory, Afro-Mexico. Gonzalez is a Professor at Georgetown University and a Co-Founder of the Racial Justice Institute. She is a member of the National Theatre Conference, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Lincoln Center Director’s Lab and sits on the Board of Directors of the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation. Gonzalez believes the art of storytelling connects people to their cultures. Over 60,000 students have taken her massive open online courses Storytelling for Social Change and Black Performance as Social Protest. 

REGISTER FOR TICKETS HERE.


March 21


Ben Capps and PostClassical Ensemble

Cellist Ben Capps enjoys a versatile performing career as a soloist, chamber musician, orchestral principal, collaborator, and creator. NYC-born, Capps grew up in Washington Heights, started cello at age 4, first tried composing at 10, and studied conducting at 13. He holds degrees from the Manhattan School of Music, New England Conservatory, and Juilliard – where he served as teaching assistant to David Soyer and Bonnie Hampton. He is currently a candidate for a Doctorate in Music Arts at Michigan State University. When not playing or teaching music, Capps enjoys listening to sound, improvising and composing music, surfing, and yoga. Capps currently serves as the lead professor of chamber music at Georgetown University in DC. and is the principal cellist with the innovative DC-based chamber orchestra PostClassical Ensemble, a resident ensemble at the Kennedy Center. Mr. Capps’ artistry has been praised as “most appealing” by the New York Times, “and virtuosic and impassioned” by the Barre Montpelier Times. Most recently Capps has appeared as solo and chamber music recitalist at the National Gallery of Art, the Washington National Cathedral, and Rockport Music Festival where the Boston Musical Intelligencer reported that “this fearless soloist…left us in staggered disbelief”. With “dazzling technique and a fearsomely meaty tone” he has performed at the American University, Manchester Music Festival, Strathmore, universities, and concert spaces throughout the US, Greece, Spain, Italy, and more. Past highlights include unaccompanied and accompanied solo cello tours in the Midwest, West Coast, Vermont, NYC and surrounding areas, Chicago, Athens, Fujian in China, and South Africa.

Capps can be heard as a soloist, chamber musician, and or orchestral principal on LP Classics, Innova Records, Tzadik Records, Sony, and Naxos. He was also featured on Vermont Public Radio and in multiple performances of the complete cello sonatas of Beethoven, Mendelssohn, and Brahms. He is dedicated to contemporary music and art forms, experimental sounds, electronics, world music, and improvisational music, as well as being an advocate for sound as an integral component of holistic healing. When not playing or teaching music, Capps enjoys listening to sound, improvising and composing music, surfing, and yoga.

REGISTER FOR TICKETS HERE. 


March 28


Jessica Boykin-Settles. Making Noise: Songs of Protest, Peace, and Power


Jazz vocalist Jessica Boykin-Settles and her band, Making Noise, mine jazz standards and contemporary music to reveal messages of liberation and social justice. Performing a repertoire of original compositions and unique arrangements of jazz and pop standards this ensemble addresses issues such as racism and social injustice while encouraging healing through unity and understanding.

Vocalist, composer, arranger and educator, Jessica Boykin-Settles began her training at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, DC under the tutelage of voice teacher Dr. Mary Jane Ayers and saxophonist and jazz educator Davey Yarborough. She earned a BFA in Jazz Performance at New School University in New York City where she studied with jazz legends and musicians such as Reggie Workman, Junior Mance, Arnie Lawrence, Buster Williams, Dr. Richard Harper, Amy London, Sheila Jordan and Teri Thornton. Jessica earned an MM in Jazz Studies at Howard University and while there, she sang in the premier vocal jazz ensemble Afro Blue.

Jessica is currently a doctoral student in the Jazz Studies program at George Mason University (Fairfax, Virginia) and serves as an Adjunct Lecturer at Georgetown University where she teaches Jazz History and Music Theory. Most recently, she culminated a successful eighteen year career as Assistant Professor of Jazz Voice at Howard University where she taught private voice lessons, jazz vocal improvisation, vocal arranging, jazz theory and directed the female vocal ensemble, SAASY. She also conducts workshops on jazz singing and gives lectures and multi-media presentations on topics in jazz history. Jessica has served on the faculties of the Washington Jazz Arts Institute (WJAI) and the Blues Alley Jazz Summer Camp; has appeared as a Guest Artist at George Washington University, University of Pittsburgh and Cuyahoga Community College in Cleveland, Ohio and is a regular presenter at the Washington Women In Jazz Festival held annually in Washington, DC. She maintains an active performance schedule, appearing at various venues in the DMV area. Highlights include performances at the Kennedy Center with her ensemble, The Settles Quintet; with The Bullettes female big band under the direction of trombonist Shannon Gunn; and with The Jazz Gallery All-Stars in a performance that was broadcast on NPR’s Toast of the Nation 2021 hosted by bassist Christian McBride. In November 2024, Jessica appeared as a member of an ensemble assembled to pay tribute to jazz luminaries Reggie Workman and Roger Humphries at University of Pittsburgh’s Jazz Seminar.

Jessica is also a published author, penning “Two Heads Are Better Than One: The Artistry of Shirley Horn,” an in-depth study of the stylings of jazz pianist and vocalist Shirley Horn in Resonance: The Journal of Sound and Culture in 2020 and “Love, Music, Womanhood, and Being: A Life Examined Through the Music of Shirley Horn” in The Turnaround magazine in 2024. A collection of interviews and remembrances of renowned jazz pianist and composer, Geri Allen conducted by Jessica will be published in the University of Pittsburgh’s Jazz and Culture journal in 2025. 

REGISTER FOR TICKETS HERE.


April 4

Wan-Chi Su and Friends

Li-Mei Liang (violin), Joseph Gotoff (cello), and Wan-Chi Su (piano) first crossed paths as students at a summer music festival, where their shared passion for chamber music sparked an enduring collaboration.

Dr. Liang, described as a “powerhouse” by the Boston Musical Intelligencer, is a versatile violinist known for her dynamic performances. She regularly performs with the East Coast Chamber Orchestra, bringing her energy and precision to both solo and ensemble work. As a faculty member at the New England Conservatory, she mentors aspiring musicians, fostering their growth with her skill and insight.

Dr. Gotoff, praised for his “clarity and approachable sensitivity,” blends technical excellence with emotional depth. A passionate advocate for contemporary composers, he performs on international stages and serves as Assistant Professor of Cello at Towson University, alongside his role at the Levine School of Music.

Dr. Su, recognized for her “sensitivity and imagination” by The American Scholar, has performed on renowned stages, including Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, and Salle Cortot. As a faculty member at Georgetown University and Loyola University Maryland, she inspires the next generation of artists through her teaching and extensive performance experience.

REGISTER FOR TICKETS HERE.


April 11

Ben Bolt

Armed with a plywood classical guitar his brother had given him, a Spanish/English dictionary stowed away in his jeans back pocket, and a dream; Ben Bolt set sail for Spain when he was seventeen. His goal was to study with the “Father of Classical Guitar,” Andrés Segovia.

It would take this boy nearly three years to turn his vision into reality. First, he would have to work hard and prove himself with his first teacher in Spain, Jose Luis Rodrigo, Segovia’s assistant.

On his eighteenth birthday while registering for the Vietnam War draft, at the United States Embassy in Madrid, his destiny magically appeared before him. Sitting just two meters away was maestro Andres Segovia. Segovia was waiting to sign his visa papers to enter America for his celebrated annual tour. Ben naturally introduced himself.

All of Ben’s sacrifice would soon be rewarded in Madrid, His dream finally intersected with reality. At nineteen, out of his own pocket, Segovia bequeathed a full scholarship for Ben to continue his international music studies at Musica de Santiago, Spain. The following Spring, Ben headed to Paris to meet Abel Carlevaro to learn more about his technique because Segovia only taught music interpretation.

Impressed with Ben’s enthusiasm, Carlevaro invited him to study under full scholarship at his yearly Master Classes held in Porto Allegre Brazil. Bolt now decided to make Montevideo, Uruguay his new home. Bolt completed music studies under the direction of maestro Guido Santorsola at the “Escuela Normal de Musica”.

Along with Walt Disney, Luciano Pavarotti, and Shinichi Suzuki, Ben Bolt is the first guitarist inducted into Delta Omicron as a National Patron. He won first place in the “Concurso Internacional A.E.M.U.S.” by unanimous decision held in Montevideo Uruguay. Columbia Music published his first publication, Valses Poeticos by Enrique Granados. The San Francisco Conservatory of Music invited Ben Bolt to assist maestro Carlevaro in his debut in North America. Medaled with the St Andrews Cross, Ben Bolt is a knight of the Ducal Order of the “Cross of Burgundy”. Composers have also written original works for him.

Abel Carlevaro awarded him the coveted medal, “Premio al Merito” at the National Library of Montevideo. Ben also was included in Carlevaro’s biography entitled, “Un Nuevo Mundo de la Guitarra”. For 25 years Ben Bolt served on the Faculty of Carson Newman University.

Mel Bay Music Publishers Inc., the foremost publisher of guitar instructions in the world, credits Ben Bolt with being the first guitarist ever to introduce the classical guitar to the masses using notation, tablature, and the recording format, in the same package. Ben Bolt has inked numerous bestsellers for his achievements with Mel Bay and Cherry Lane. Ironically, his most notable students are not classical but in major rock bands. Brian Bell, lead guitarist of “Weezer” and Brian Vohdin, drummer of “Ten Years” who began as a guitar player. His endorsements include Takamine Guitars, D’Addario Strings, etc.

REGISTER FOR TICKETS HERE.


April 25

David Grubbs

David Grubbs is a Distinguished Professor of Music at Brooklyn College and The Graduate Center, CUNY. His books include Good Night The Pleasure Was Ours, The Voice in the Headphones, Now that the audience is assembled, and Records Ruin the Landscape: John Cage, the Sixties, and Sound Recording (all published by Duke University Press).

Grubbs has released sixteen solo albums and appeared on more than 200 releases. In 2000, his The Spectrum Between (Drag City) was named “Album of the Year” in the London Sunday Times. He is known for his cross-disciplinary collaborations with poet Susan Howe and visual artists Anthony McCall and Angela Bulloch, and his work has been presented at, among other venues, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, MoMA, the Tate Modern, and the Centre Pompidou. Grubbs was a member of the groups Gastr del Sol, Bastro, and Squirrel Bait, and has performed with Tony Conrad, Pauline Oliveros, Luc Ferrari, Will Oldham, Loren Connors, Jan St. Werner, the Red Krayola, and many others. He is a recipient of the Berlin Prize and a Foundation for Contemporary Arts award in Music/Sound, a member of the board of directors of Blank Forms, and director of the Blue Chopsticks record label.

REGISTER FOR TICKETS HERE.


Past Performances