VIVID 2018 at Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University

Roosevelt University’s Chicago College of Performing Arts (CCPA) will mark 150 years of its music conservatory and the 20th anniversary of its theatre conservatory with an evening of music and theatre. Featuring CCPA faculty, students and alumni, VIVID 2018 will kick off with a gala fundraiser where alumni and friends of the University’s music and theatre conservatories will have an opportunity to meet TV, film and Broadway star Merle Dandridge, one of Roosevelt’s first theatre graduates who will receive CCPA’s inaugural Distinguished Artist Award. The VIVID concert begins at 7:30 p.m. with the CCPA Chamber Orchestra and soloist CCPA faculty member Winston Choi, internationally acclaimed concert pianist, led by guest conductor Andrew Grams, music director of the Elgin Symphony Orchestra. The show’s second half will feature Roosevelt theatre students offering a retrospective medley of songs, dance and spoken word presented over the last 20 years by the theatre conservatory, accompanied by a CCPA jazz combo under the direction of faculty member Scott Mason, head of jazz. Theatre faculty member Jane Lanier, a Tony and Drama Desk-nominated Broadway actor and choreographer, will direct the retrospective, with music direction by guest artist Ryan Brewster. The performance also will feature a world premiere by award-winning CCPA graduate music composition student Mitch Weakley. VIVID 2018 performances are free, but tickets are required and donations made for CCPA scholarships are encouraged.