Performing Arts

This event has been postponed

This program will introduce attendees to Hmong music and what makes it unique. Hmong music is the last surviving musical language in the world. It is able to mimic Hmong speech by using musical intervals, ornamentation, and chords to mimic linguistic tones, consonants, and vowels. This enables Hmong musicians to speak with music. As such, Hmong music not only gives us a window into where music and language meet, but also into the ability of human brains to assign and attribute meaning and significance.

October 1-7, 2023 is Banned Books Week!

* This program is in-person only. *
 

Join Beni Daiko, Madison's premiere mainland taiko drumming group, for a demonstration on Japanese taiko drumming and culture. Taiko drumming is a form of traditional Japanese musical expression that combines mental discipline and physical demand. 

*This event will take place in the green space across the street from the library, weather permitting.

LNU QTKrip* Showcase + Mini Artists Market is brought to you by 

In celebration of the Irish in all of us, we are delighted to welcome Jeff Pockat, Gaelic harpist and storyteller. Jeff is a self-taught Gaelic harp musician and composer. The music is performed on the Ancient Wire Strung Celtic Harp. These are traditional and original pieces that soothe the mind, soul, body, and spirit.

Join us for an all-ages music performance by local favorite David Landau.

Join us for a festive program that will include graham cracker houses, Wisconsin Dickens Carolers, and a holiday book display. The carolers will provide music history and country origins between musical selections. We will display literature that includes Charles Dickens as well as holiday stories from many cultures. All ages welcome!

Please join us for an evening of slam poetry brought to us by Charles Payne. Charles's workshop will help participants delve into crucial conversations across differences. And by doing so, participants will foster a deeper understanding of themselves. The learning objectives were designed to challenge participants to think, write, and share experiences they've had that contributed to their sense of belonging by giving participants a brave space to share their personal stories and challenging them to listen critically. 

Paul Robeson -- Ballad of an American is an excerpted reading in performance of Sharon Rudahl's beautiful work Ballad of an American: A Graphic Biography of Paul Robeson (2020), edited by Paul Buhle and Lawrence Ware. Interspersed with Robeson's own music and words, beginning with an eleven-minute excerpt of his compelling interview before HUAC (House Un-American Activities Commitee), it uses the frank, direct writing, and imagery of Rudahl.