Mandell Presents:
Dahlak Brathwaite: Spiritrials
Feb 15, 2023 | 7PM | Mandell Theater

Tickets are free but registration is required. Tickets will be available here (starting Nov 1.)

Addiction, religion, and the law intersect in a timely and personal exploration of the criminal justice system. This multidimensional play takes its inspiration, as well as its name, from one of Dahlak’s most recent hip-hop albums, layering characters, poetic verse, and dialogue over the content of the songs to create a theatrical piece that blurs the lines between hip-hop and dramatic performance. A timely exploration of the criminal justice system, Spiritrials chronicles the journey of Dahlak’s own criminalization along with his struggle to be vindicated and decriminalized in the eyes of the law and society. The piece works through the personal shame of criminal stigmatization to examine the factors – both internal and external – that have misplaced him in what appears to be a cultural rite of passage.

Written and performed by Dahlak Brathwaite
Musical accompaniment by Dion Decibels
Directed by Marc Bamuthi Joseph and Sean San José
Produced by The Living Word Project

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Devised Theatre Project - Title TBA
A devised show about West Philadelphia’s Black Bottom Neighborhood

Created by Carlo Campbell, Brett Ashley Robinson and the Company along with Playwright/Dramaturg Adrena Williams
Directed by Brett Ashley Robinson

Opening: February 24, 2023 | 8:00 pm
February 25, March 2-4, 2023 | 8:00 pm
February 26, 2023 | 2:00 pm
URBN Annex Black Box Theater

General Admission: $20
Non-Drexel Students: $15
Drexel Students/Faculty/Staff/Industry: $10

Tickets can be reserved here (starting Jan 9.)

A deep dive of discovery into the Mantua neighborhood of West Philadelphia that was formerly known as the Black Bottom. Once a thriving neighborhood of middle-class Black residents, this neighborhood has forever been changed by the growth of University City. This piece will look at building community and how we all work together to make that a reality.

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Mandell Presents:
Brent White Jazz Ensemble: Broken Toy
March 1, 2023 | 7PM | Mandell Theater

Tickets are free but registration is required. Tickets will be available here (starting Nov. 1)

Broken Toy is a suite of jazz children’s music dedicated to all those who suffered emotional damage caused by losing a parent to incarceration, the arc of the compositions collected here both express and deconstruct the innocence, joy, and safety that children find in music. Brent White articulates his aesthetic sense, much of which issues from personal experience, in the traditions and historically responsive veins that flood into the recent 2021 recording, Broken Toy.

As suggested by the title, the composition takes up the work of repairing what is precious in a child’s life. The music reveals Brent White’s constructive method in the madness that flows from the prison industry, from violence, and from poverty into our families and communities. Ultimately, the Broken Toy suite, offers children and adults alike a lesson on how to listen and heal.

Audiences of all ages invited to attend.

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Mandell Presents:
Journeying to Justice in Global Prisons
with Dr. Baz Dreisinger

March 2, 2023 | 6PM | Mandell Theater

Tickets are free but registration is required. Tickets will be available here (starting Nov. 1)

Dr. Baz Dreisinger is the Founding Executive Director of Incarceration Nations Network, a global network that promotes prison reform and justice reimagining worldwide; a Professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York; the founder of John Jay’s groundbreaking Prison-to-College Pipeline program, which provides university-level education and reentry assistance to incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people throughout New York State; the author of the critically acclaimed book Incarceration Nations: A Journey to Justice in Prisons Around the World, named a notable book for 2016 by the Washington Post; and the director of Incarceration Nations: A Global Docuseries, which had its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival 2021.

A 2018 Global Fulbright Scholar and current Fulbright Scholar Specialist, Dr. Baz speaks regularly about justice issues on international media and in myriad settings around the world and is also a journalist who writes and produces for such outlets as The New York Times and National Public Radio (NPR).

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Percussion Ensemble Winter Concert

March 12, 2023 | 3PM | Mandell Theater

Tickets are free but registration is required.
Register here (starting Jan 9)

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Fusion Band and Rock Ensemble Winter Concert

March 14, 2023 | 7:30pm | Mandell Theater

Tickets are free but registration is required.
Reserve your tickets here (starting Jan 9)

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Chamber Strings Winter Concert

March 14, 2023 | 7:30pm | Main Auditorium

Tickets are free but registration is required.
Reserve your tickets here (starting Jan 9)

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Jazz Orchestra Winter Concert
featuring composer Anthony Tidd

March 16, 2023 | 7:30PM | Mandell Theater

Tickets are free but registration is required.
Reserve your tickets here (starting Jan 9)

The Drexel University Jazz Orchestra features musician, educator, clinician, audio engineer, and producer Anthony Tidd. Tidd has recorded and produced several records for multiplatinum artists such as The Roots, Macy Gray, and Lady Gaga. He also has a career composing scores for notable film and television projects, including Jay-Z’s Paramount/BET docuseries Rest in Power – The Trayvon Martin Story and Seven Years. As an educator and long-standing member of the M-BASE collective, Anthony has taught and presented masterclasses at several prestigious institutions, including Berklee College of Music, The Lincoln Center, Durban University (South Africa), and Paris Conservatory (France). In 2022, Tidd was part of the creative team that wrote and premiered the new Off-Broadway sensation Black No More, along with John Ridley, Tariq Trotter, James Poyser, Daryl Waters, and Bill T. Jones. Anthony will perform with the Jazz Orchestra featuring contemporary jazz arrangements.

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Drexel University Symphony Orchestra Winter Concert: Virtuosic Gems

March 17, 2023 | 7:30pm | Main Auditorium

Tickets are free but registration is required.
Reserve your tickets here (starting Jan 9)

Virtuosity in orchestral music comes in many guises. Join DUSO as we perform several of the virtuosic gems from the 19th through 20th century library.

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Mediterranean Ensemble Winter Concert

March 18, 2023 | 7PM | Mandell Theater

Tickets are free but registration is required.
Register here (starting Jan 9)

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All-College Choir and Chamber Brass and Winds Winter Concert

March 18, 2023 | 7PM | Main Auditorium

Tickets are free but registration is required.
Register here (starting Jan 9)

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University Chorus and Chamber Singers Winter Concert: Dona Nobis Pacem

March 19, 2023 | 3PM | The Presbyterian Church of Chestnut Hill

Free and open to the public

Ralph Vaughan William’s cantata, Dona Nobis Pacem, is a staple among the greats of 20th century choral repertoire. Hear the University Chorus and Chamber Singers alongside the Gallery Choir of the Presbyterian Church of Chestnut Hill as they perform this compelling masterpiece with a festival orchestra.

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Concert Band Winter Concert: From Darkness, Light

March 19, 2023 | 7PM | Mandell Theater

Tickets are free but registration is required.
Reserve your tickets here (starting Jan 9)

The Concert Band demonstrates the wide range of expression in band music of the modern era. Pieces from composers by Perkins, Maslanka, Copley, and Thomas connect the themes of darkness and light.

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