Demonstration Events '16-17

Three major events were held during the 2016-17 academic year to showcase the kinds of events that will take place at the Yale Schwarzman Center when the Center opens in 2021.

Blackstar Rising & The Purple Reign

Celebrating the work of David Bowie and Prince, "Blackstar Rising & The Purple Reign" explored the careers of two singular musicians who changed the face of popular music culture in the second half of the twentieth century. The Yale Schwarzman Center preview event, which took place January 25-28, 2017, brought together scholars, musicians, filmmakers, artists, journalists, and students for discussion, critical listening, and musical performance. This event examined the pathbreaking innovations of the remarkable musicians, and explored the legacies of two artists who recognized the ways that popular music can create liberating spaces where audacious cultural and social changes and transformations might flourish. Lectures and roundtable discussions examined how Bowie and Prince each championed aesthetic, social, and cultural freedom and rule-breaking in their respective repertoires and ultimately revolutionized racial, gender, and sexual identity politics in popular music culture. The event culminated in a concert featuring the band TV On The Radio.

Table Settings: Food Conversations at the Schwarzman Center

On Thursday, Oct. 27, 2017, "Table Settings: Food Conversations at the Schwarzman Center" featured four world-renowned chefs who talked with students about significant issues and trends in the changing world of food. The chefs designed a multi-course dinner for students’ enjoyment and discussed fundamental questions, such as: Where does our food come from? What does it mean to eat well? How does food affect our sense of community and identity, in addition to our health and happiness? Live and pre-recorded video footage provided context for the discussion of those and other issues. The conversation were moderated by Jeff Gordinier, Food & Drinks Editor of Esquire magazine.

Jazz: A Celebration of America’s Sound

March 10-11, 2017, the Yale Schwarzman Center hosted a two-day festival featuring headliner Wynton Marsalis, an internationally acclaimed musician, composer, bandleader, educator and a leading advocate of American culture. Also featured was the five-time GRAMMY award-winning Maria Schneider Orchestra and Anat Cohen, a clarinetist-saxophonist who has an international following. In addition to the concerts, the festival offered a jazz improvisation clinic with Marsalis and a performance by the Yale Jazz Ensemble.

A high resolution, side-view closeup of Wynton Marsalis playing the trumpet — Trumpeter, composer, teacher, music educator, and artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City, playing at the Yale Schwarzman Center. | Photo courtesy of Yale Conferences & Events

Featured image: Wynton Marsalis | Photo by Rob Waymen