No fooling – April is one of the busiest months of the year on the East Tennessee State University campus. 

Students are wrapping up term papers, presenting research, registering for summer and fall classes and enjoying outdoor activities. Amid all that is a flurry of arts events, with something going on nearly every day of the week in the areas of music, theater and fine arts.

ETSU is home to a thriving arts community, and the university invites the public to visit campus and take in art exhibits, concerts, films and more this spring.

SGA Spring Concert

  • Country music star Riley Green headlines the Student Government Association’s Spring Concert, with guest performances by Maddie & Tae and Jordy Searcy. The concert is April 21 at 7 p.m. at Freedom Hall Civic Center. Student and faculty/staff ticket sales continue, and tickets will be available to the public for $35 plus tax starting April 1. Visit etsu.edu/sga/events.php for details.

An Evening of Health, Wellness and the Arts

  • ETSU’s 10th annual Evening of Health, Wellness and the Arts will focus on “Art and Coal in Appalachia” April 3 with a 5:30 p.m. reception. The 6 p.m. program features music by the ETSU student band Twin Taters and a panel featuring three notable scholars with expertise in the history of the coal industry and its influence on the art and health of the Appalachian region.

Department of Music

  • The U.S. Army Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps will perform in concert on April 2 at the Martin Center for the Arts.
  • Three faculty and guest artist recitals will be held on April 6 at the Martin Center for the Arts: guest pianist Derek Parsons will perform at 2 p.m., faculty guitarist James West at 5 p.m., and a string chamber ensemble featuring faculty members David Kovac (viola) and Max Geissler (cello) with guests Evie Chen and Jinjoo Cho (violin) and Eric Wong (viola) at 7:30 p.m.
  • The ETSU Percussion Ensemble Concert will be held April 7 at 5 p.m. at the Martin Center for the Arts.
  • The ETSU Wind Ensemble and Concert Band will deliver the Closing Bands Concert on April 16 at 7:30 p.m. at the Martin Center for the Arts.
  • The ETSU Choirs will perform in concert on April 19 at 7:30 p.m. at the Martin Center for the Arts.
  • Guest artist Andy Jurik will perform in recital on April 20 at 2 p.m. at the Martin Center for the Arts.
  • The ETSU Orchestra will give its spring concert on April 20 at 7:30 p.m. at the Martin Center for the Arts.
  • A faculty recital by theory and composition faculty member Neal Endicott will be held April 24 at 7:30 p.m. at the Martin Center for the Arts.
  • An Opera Theatre Showcase on April 25 at 7:30 p.m. in the Bud Frank Theatre, Gilbreath Hall, will feature works by Mozart, Puccini and Korngold.
  • The ETSU Jazz Ensemble will present its spring concert, “The Standards,” featuring Greyscale, on April 27 at 7:30 p.m. at the Martin Center for the Arts.
  • The ETSU Community Music School End-of-Semester Recitals will be presented on April 28 at the Martin Center for the Arts, with performances at noon, 2 p.m. and 5 p.m.

For a full schedule of April events sponsored by the ETSU Department of Music, including recitals by individual students and instrumental studios, visit etsu.edu/cas/music/events.php. 

Department of Theatre and Dance

  • A cult classic film that is now a stage sensation, “Heathers: The Musical” will be presented by the Department of Theatre and Dance from April 10-13 at 7:30 p.m. and April 14 at 2 p.m. at the Martin Center for the Arts.

Reece Museum

  • Current exhibits at the Reece Museum include the Spring 2024 BFA Senior Exhibition, featuring the work of graduating students Elizabeth House, Ashley Johnson and Hunter Strutton, through April 26 (joint reception with Slocumb Galleries April 4 from 5-7 p.m.); “Reminiscence and Ruin” through May 3; “Ballet in Appalachia: 75 Years with Bristol Ballet” through June 28; and “Embodying Culture: Women in Appalachia” through July 5. “Appalachia and Yemen: Living in Mountain Spaces” opens April 1.
  • Oscar-nominated filmmaker Elaine McMillion Sheldon will give an artist talk, “Documenting Appalachia,” at the Reece Museum on April 2 at 1:30 p.m. as part of ETSU’s “Art and Coal in Appalachia” event.

ETSU Art Galleries

  • A BFA Exhibition by graduating senior Elise Gaffney runs from April 1-12 at Slocumb Galleries (joint reception with Reece Museum April 4 from 5-7 p.m.).
  • The Mary and Jim Martin Student Juried Exhibition runs from April 15-May 4 at Slocumb Galleries.
  • The Tipton Gallery in downtown Johnson City is hosting an MFA Exhibition by Delaney Rogers through April 5 (reception April 5 from 6-8 p.m.).
  • BFA Graphic Design Exhibitions run from April 15-May 3 at Tipton Gallery.

Martin Center for the Arts

  • Legendary rock band ZZ Top brings its Elevation Tour with Mike “The Drifter” Flanigin to the Martin Center on April 1 at 7:30 p.m. (low ticket warning).
  • “Shrek The Musical” will be presented at the Martin Center April 4-5 at 7:30 p.m.
  • Tribute bands The Chain and Petty Rewind will perform the works of Fleetwood Mac and Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers on April 13 at 7:30 p.m.
  • “RAIN: A Tribute to the Beatles” will be presented April 25 at 7:30 p.m.
  • The Broadway hit “Mean Girls” will be presented at the Martin Center April 29-May 1 at 7:30 p.m.

Cinema at ETSU

  • “King Coal,” a 2023 documentary that “meditates on the complex history and future of the coal industry,” will be screened April 2 at 5 p.m. at the Bud Frank Theatre, Gilbreath Hall as part of ETSU’s “Art and Coal in Appalachia” event. Oscar-nominated filmmaker Elaine McMillion Sheldon will be in attendance.
  • “Perfect Days,” described as “an empathetic and endearing perspective on the events of everyday life,” will be screened at the Bud Frank Theatre on April 5 at 7 p.m.

Bluegrass, Old-Time and Roots Music Studies

  • The Old-Time Bands of ETSU’s Bluegrass, Old-Time and Roots Music Studies will host and perform in a Square Dance event on April 3 at the Reece Museum.
  • A Songwriters Showcase featuring works by students in ETSU’s Bluegrass, Old-Time and Roots Music Studies will be held April 10 at 7 p.m. at the Martin Center for the Arts.
  • ETSU’s Bluegrass, Old-Time and Roots Music Studies bands will play at Down Home, 300 W. Main Street, Johnson City, at 7 p.m. each night from April 22-25.

For disability accommodations for events held on the ETSU campus, call the ETSU Office of Disability Services at (423) 439-8346.

 

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