Duke Performances

Duke Performances is a performing arts presentation company at Duke University in Durham, NC. The company presents performance artists throughout the year from a range of art forms. Duke Performances showcases these artists through formal performances, master classes, and open discussion panels with Duke and Durham community members.

Origins / AbOUT

Duke Performances informally began in 1956 after Duke University invited Ella Fountain PRATT to develop arts programs for the student union on campus. During Pratt’s time at Duke she presented artists as diverse as Pete Seeger, Janis Joplin, Leontyne Price, and The Grateful Dead. Pratt retired from her director position at Duke's Institute for the Arts in 1984.

Kathy Silbiger was appointed to replace Pratt as the director of the Institute. Under her tenure she presented great artists, created the artist residency program at Duke University, and co-created arts-related academic programming with other departments at Duke. Additionally, the Institute of the Arts was renamed Duke Performances in 2004, two years before Silbinger’s retirement in 2006.

Aaron Greenwald, Duke Performance’s current director, assumed his position in 2007. Since the start of his directorship the University has made a significant commitment to the arts in a new strategic plan. This plan has allowed Duke Performances to commission, develop, and premiere exciting and innovative work from several world-class artists. Greenwald’s direction has brought Duke Performances to a superior level of performance art presentation.

Duke Performances currently focuses on the appreciation and presentation of forward-thinking performing arts of the highest quality on Duke University’s campus and throughout the city of Durham, NC. The program features a range of art forms that aim to cater to the entire Duke and Durham community.

The Chamber Arts Society (CAS), founded by Ernest Nelson in 1945 at Duke University, remains a part of Duke Performances annual programming. Under Silbiger’s tenure as director, CAS joined the Institute of the Arts in 1998. This element of programming is dedicated to showcasing classical music by distinguished, small chamber ensembles in Duke University’s Bryan Center.

Initiatives and Programs

The largest component of Duke Performances’ programming is its annual schedule of performances. Duke Performances presents 60 to 70 artists every year in a variety of art forms including classical, new music, jazz, Americana, hip hop, independent rock, international music, theater, and dance. The creation of their schedule focuses on variety in their performances and the value of these performances for prospective attendees. This array of performances also includes recurring programs like the Piano Recital Series, which showcases a number of notable pianists throughout the season. The performances are presented at venues throughout Duke’s campus and Durham.

All Duke student tickets are subsidized by the University in order to promote the appreciation of the arts on campus. Duke Performances concentrates on providing the most in-depth experience with their guest performers possible. Residencies with performers focus on providing students and community members access to the artists brought to campus by Duke Performances. The program organizes around 100 residency events each performance season. These events include panel discussions, master classes, and classroom visits. Duke Performances works with over 3,500 students and community members, 45 campus partners, and 25 community partners each year in order to organize and execute their residency events. According to Associate Director, Eric Oberstein, the goal of residency programming is to reach as many Duke and Durham community members as possible in a valuable, educational way.

Expansion

Duke Performances works with a faculty advisory committee to work on improvement and expansion. The committee consists of 18 Duke University members from the humanities, arts, science, engineering, and Duke University Hospital. Their focus is to engage Duke Performances’ event participants and bring Duke Performances to the forefront of the Duke and Durham educational experience.

Duke Performances focuses on specific initiatives in addition to their annual performance season. Their future initiatives include a hip hop initiative aimed to create meaningful dialogue on campus and in Durham, and a Muslim art initiative meant to be a 3-year project that focuses on bringing 5 American Muslim artists to Duke University for residencies and educational programming.

Performance Spaces

Duke Performances operates out of 12 performances spaces both on campus and in Durham, NC. Duke University holds 8 of those spaces and 4 are off-campus Durham sites.

The 8 spaces on Duke’s campus are Baldwin Auditorium, Reynolds Industries Theater, Page Auditorium, Duke Chapel, Nelson Music Room (originally East Duke Music Room), Sarah P. Duke Gardens, Sheafer Lab Theater, and Nasher Museum Atrium.

The 4 spaces in Durham are Motorco Music Hall, Carolina Theater of Durham, 21c Museum Hotel Durham, and Durham Performing Arts Center.

Each space provides Duke Performances with a different aesthetic and physical capacity for their events. Depending on the expected turn out and atmosphere of the event Duke Performances will utilize these space to provide the most appropriate performance experience for the artist and audience.

Notable Artists

• Gerald Clayton
• Malpaso Dance Company
• The Grateful Dead
• Janis Joplin
• Talib Kweli
• Branford Marsalis
• Merce Cunningham Dance Company
• Sergei Babayan

Premieres

US

Malpaso Dance Company – Dreaming of Lions (February 24, 2017)

World

Geral Clayton & The Assembly ft. René Marie – Piedmont Blues (December 2, 2016) Hiss Golden Messenger & William Gedney – Heart Like a Levee (November 13, 2015) Kronos Quartet ft. Maria Schneider – (April 10, 2010) Jenny Scheinman + H. Lee Waters – Kannapolis: A Moving Portrait (March 20,2015) William Tyler – Corduroy Roads (November 21, 2014) Jamie Laval with the Ciompi String Quartet – Skye & Glass (February 4, 2017)