MUSIC
WMU School of Music Concerts
Throughout the month
Various venues
From guest artists to student recitals, Western Michigan University Gilmore School of Music has a full roster of performances this month. Unless otherwise noted, the performances are at the Dalton Center Recital Hall, and tickets are $6 to $18.
• Brassology, brass ensemble, 7:30 p.m. Feb. 4
• Student Composers II, studio recital, 7:30 p.m. Feb. 5
• University Jazz Orchestra & University Jazz Lab Band,7:30 p.m. Feb. 12
• Choral Showcase, tenor & bass, 7:30 p.m. Feb. 14
• WMU Symphony Orchestra, 7 p.m. Feb. 15,Miller Auditorium
• Western Winds, woodwind group, 7:30 p.m. Feb. 17
• Carla Trynchuk, violinist, 7:30 p.m. Feb. 19
• Jihye Chang, pianist, 7:30 p.m. Feb. 20
• University Bands, Wind Symphony, Symphonic Band & Concert Band, 2 p.m. Feb. 22, Miller Auditorium.
• Double Reed Day, featuring Mass Ensemble, 4 p.m. Feb. 28
To purchase tickets, visit wmich.edu/music/events.
• Sibelius & Dugan
• Mahler’s Third Symphony
Feb. 7 & Feb. 21
Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra
The KSO performs at Miller Auditorium twice this month:
• Sibelius & Dugan, with the Kalamazoo Junior Symphony Orchestra joining the KSO for Sibelius’ Second Symphony, and Peter Dugan (host of NPR’s From the Top), premiering a jazz-influenced piano concerto at 7 p.m. on Feb. 7.
• For the first time in 100 years, the KSO brings the monumental Mahler’s Third Symphony to Kalamazoo at 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 21. Featuring 200 artists performing six exhilarating movements, it’s been called one of the top ten symphonies of all time, perhaps because of its finale — filled with profound emotion, blazing brass, and orchestral grandeur. Joining the KSO will be WMU’s Grand Chorus, Kalamazoo Children’s Chorus, and featuring mezzo-soprano Deborah Nansteel.
Tickets are $5–$68 and available at kalamazoosymphony.com.
Meg Okura Trio
Feb. 22
Fontana Chamber Arts
A Grammy® Award-nominated violinist and award-winning composer, Meg Okura has been dubbed “the queen of chamber jazz” by All About Jazz, and lauded by The New York Times. Okura has performed and recorded with many jazz greats and has contributed, to over 100 projects, including film, TV, live videos, and albums with seven albums under her
name.
Showtime is 7:30 p.m. at Dalton Center Recital Hall. Tickets are $5–$35 and available at fontanamusic.org.
Chico Pinheiro Jazz Quartet
Crawlspace Theatre
Feb. 26
Born and raised in Brazil, guitarist, composer and arranger Chico Pinheiro has released eight albums as a leader, appearing as a sideman on countless others. Grammy® Award-nominated twice, he has collaborated with artists including Herbie Hancock, Dave Grusin, Ron Carter, Placido Domingo, and Dianne Reeves. Joining him will be Matthew Fries (piano), Carlo De Rosa (bass), and Keith Hall (drums).
Showtimes are 7 and 9 p.m. at Crawlspace Theatre, 315 W. Michigan Ave. Tickets are $10–$25 at crawlspacecomedy.com.
The Great American Songbook
Kalamazoo Concert Band
Feb. 28
Enjoy favorite standards from jazz, film, the Big Band Era and Broadway with guest vocalist Jennifer Roberts. Free, 7 p.m. at Chenery Auditorium. More at kalamazooconcertband.org.
FILM
Ganja & Hess
Feb. 12
Dormouse Theatre
A screening of the 1973 black horror film that follows the exploits of anthropologist Dr. Hess Green, who becomes a vampire after his assistant stabs him with a cursed dagger.
Showtime is 8 p.m., with a pre-show at 7 p.m. at 1030 Portage Street. Tickets start at $5. Find more info at dormousetheatre.com.
THEATER
• The SpongeBob Musical
• Dogfight
Feb. 6–March 1
Kalamazoo Civic Theatre
The Civic Youth Theatre’s Penguin Project returns to the Civic with The SpongeBob Musical, Youth Edition, building social interaction, communication skills, assertiveness, and self-esteem for youth with disabilities. “Penguins” perform on stage with mentors as support. Show times are 7:30 p.m. Feb. 6 and 2 p.m. Feb. 7, 8, 14 & 15, at the Civic Auditorium, 329 S. Park St. Tickets are $15.
In Dogfight, a young soldier learns the power of compassion when he plays a cruel joke on an unsuspecting girl on the eve of the Vietnam War.
Show times 7:30 p.m. Feb. 20, 21, 27 and 28; and 2 p.m. Feb. 22 and March 1 in the Parish Theatre, 405 S. Lovell St. Tickets are $17–$32.
Tickets for both shows are available at kazoocivic.com or by calling 343-1313.
Pickleball Romance
Feb. 7
All Ears Theatre
Local writer Robert M. Weir’s all-audio tale about pickleball players who mesh on the court and off will be performed at 6 p.m. at Kalamazoo Nonprofit Advocacy Coalition, 315 W. Michigan Ave. Admission is free.
The Most Massive Woman Wins
Feb. 26–March 1
Kalamazoo College
A clinic waiting room is the setting as four women awaiting liposuction share their experiences with weight issues and body image.
Showtimes are 7:30 p.m. Feb. 26–28 and 2 p.m. March 1 in Kalamazoo College’s Balch Playhouse, 129 Thompson Street. Tickets are $6–$27 and available at festivalplayhouse.kzoo.edu.
VISUAL ARTS
Future Now: Virtual Sneakers to Cutting-Edge Kicks
Feb. 7–June 7
Kalamazoo Institute of Arts
An exhibition featuring footwear designs that push the boundaries of what footwear can be opens this month. Designers include fashion icons Rick Owens, Stella McCartney and Yohji Yamamoto. Highlights include the self-lacing Nike MAG, 3D-printed shoes and sneakers made from mushroom leather and reclaimed ocean plastics.
Find hours and admission cost at kiarts.org.
The Illustrated Accordion
Feb. 6–March 20
Kalamazoo Book Arts Center
The annual non-juried exhibition in the Kalamazoo Book Arts Center Gallery, 326 W. Kalamazoo Ave., will feature emerging and established artists from around the world and their creations of accordion form books — long papers folded into pages that can read like a book or displayed like a banner.
A reception for the artists will be held March 6 during Art Hop.
Continuing Exhibitions
Kalamazoo Institute of Arts:
Taekyeom Lee: Designed, Printed & Fired, through March 8.
Richmond Center for Visual Arts:
Escape Artist — Works by printmaker Sarah Smelser, through Feb. 14.
Home — Frostic School of Art student exhibition, through Feb. 14.
LITERATURE
• Hali Williams Workshop
• Ekphrastic Art Event
Feb.12 & 19 & Feb. 21
Kalamazoo Poetry Festival
The Festival has two opportunities this month for people to be creative.
Poet, papermaker and printmaker Hali Williams, will focus on the roles these activities can play in processing emotions related to grief, loss, and intimacy. The workshop, titled Concomitant: Reflections on Grief and Loss Through Monoprinting and Poetry, will take place in two sessions at 6 p.m. Feb. 12 and Feb. 19 in the Kalamazoo Poetry Festival space at the Kalamazoo Nonprofit Advocacy Coalition, 315 W. Michigan Ave.
With music, poetry readings and snacks, Ekphrastic Art Event: Beyond Resilience, to be held at Move with Joy, 1103 Portage St., on Feb. 21, will provide a creative space for participants to make their own visual artwork inspired by the festival’s 2025–26 theme, “Beyond Resilience.” Local artist Aerick Burton will guide and facilitate the event which runs from 1–4 p.m.
For more information on these events, visit kalamazoopoetryfestival.com.
Elizabeth Kerlikowski & Mary Hatch
Feb. 17
KVCC
The poet and visual artist discuss their joint project, Falling Women (2022), in this event that begins at 10 a.m. in the Kalamazoo Valley Community College Student Commons Theater on the college’s Texas Township campus.
For more information, visit kvcc.edu/visitingwriters.
