Past Shows
Step Afrika!
Thursday, May 1, 2025 | 7:30 pm
Oscar Larson Theatre
The Oscar Larson Performing Arts Center
Step Afrika! is the first professional Company dedicated to the artform of stepping. Under Step Afrika! Founder Mr. Williams’ leadership, stepping has evolved into one of America’s cultural exports. Step Afrika! ranks as one of the top ten African American dance Companies in the United States, touring more than 60 countries across the globe. Step Afrika! blends percussive dance styles practiced by historically African American fraternities and sororities; traditional West and Southern African dances; and an array of contemporary dance and art forms into a cohesive, compelling artistic experience. Performances are much more than dance shows: they integrate songs, storytelling, humor, and audience participation. The blend of technique, agility, and pure energy makes each performance unique and leaves the audience with their hearts pounding.
Photo Credit: Benjamin Ealovega
Photo Credit: Bartek Barczyk
Academy of St Martin in the Fields, with Bruce Liu, piano
Tuesday, February 18, 2025 | 7:30 pm
Larson Memorial Concert Hall
The Oscar Larson Performing Arts Center
$60, $50, and $40
The Academy of St Martin in the Fields (ASMF) is one of the world’s finest chamber orchestras, renowned for fresh, brilliant interpretations of the world’s greatest orchestral music.
Formed by Sir Neville Marriner in 1958 from a group of leading London musicians, the ASMF gave its first performance in its namesake church in November 1959. Through unrivalled live performances and a vast recording output – highlights of which include the 1969 bestseller Vivaldi’s Four Seasons and the soundtrack to the Oscar-winning film Amadeus – the orchestra gained an enviable international reputation for its distinctive, polished, and refined sound. With over 500 releases in a much-vaunted discography and a comprehensive international touring program, the name and sound of the ASMF is known and loved by classical audiences throughout the world.
BY SPECIAL REQUEST
"Steamboat Bill, Jr.", Silent Film & Pipe Organ Featuring Ben Model, Silent Film Historian and Organist
Thursday, October 24, 2024 | 7:30 pm
Friday, October 25, 2024 | 7:30 pm
Founders Recital Hall
The Oscar Larson Performing Arts Center
In STEAMBOAT BILL, JR. (1928), Buster Keaton plays the son of a riverboat captain (Ernest Torrence) who comes home from college to help run the family business. As luck would have it, his girlfriend from school (Marion Byron) also has a father with a steamboat, who is trying to put Steamboat Bill, Sr. out of business. In the film’s climax, Buster faces a windstorm to save his father and his boat and win the heart of his girl. The film is known for what might be considered Keaton’s most famous film stunt: the facade of an entire house falls on top of him while he stands in the perfect spot to pass through the open attic window instead of being flattened. In 2016, the film was added to the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress. Preceding the feature will be the slapstick comedy short, THE RIVALS (1923), with Bobby Dunn and Slim Summerville.
The program will be introduced and live-scored by renowned silent film accompanist Ben Model on the Oscar Larson Center’s Reuter pipe organ.
Inspired by Woodbine Productions, this presentation is supported by Doug and Sandy Oleson
Photo Credit: Stephen Sorokoff
Michael Feinstein in "Because of You: My Tribute to Tony Bennett, featuring the Carnegie Hall Big Band”
Tuesday, October 15, 2024 | 7:30 pm
Larson Memorial Concert Hall
The Oscar Larson Performing Arts Center
Michael Feinstein brings to life big band celebrations and the Tony Bennett legacy. Supported by the Carnegie Hall Big Band, Feinstein pays a heartfelt tribute to the legendary Tony Bennett, bringing his iconic songs to life in a symphony of sound.
Feinstein has built a dazzling career over the last three decades, bringing the music of the Great American songbook to the world. From recordings that have earned him five Grammy Award nominations to his Emmy nominated PBS-TV specials, his acclaimed NPR series, and concerts spanning the globe – in addition to his appearances at iconic venues such as The White House, Buckingham Palace, Hollywood Bowl, Carnegie Hall, and Sydney Opera House – his work as an educator and archivist define Feinstein as one of the most important musical forces of our time.
Aaron Neville
Alex Fox: Guitars on Fire
Audra McDonald
Big Bad Voodoo Daddy
Brian Stokes Mitchell
Canadian Brass
Chanticleer
Count Basie Orchestra with Diane Schuur
Delfeayo Marsalis & Uptown Jazz Orchestra
Doc Severinsen Big Band
Dukes of Dixieland
Ethan Bortnick
Frankie Avalon
Gavin Lee and Emily Harvey
Glen Miller Big Band
Home Free
Il Divo
Imago Theatre, Frogz
John Tesh & his Big Band
Joshua Bell & Alessio Bax
Kristin Chenoweth
La Bohème
Ladysmith Black Mambazo
Leslie Odom, Jr.
Mandy Harvey
Marie Osmond
Mark O’Connor
Mnozil Brass
Moscow Symphony
New Shanghai Circus
Patti LuPone
Pentatonix
Pink Martini
Postmodern Jukebox
Rhythmic Circus
Sir James & Lady Jeanne Galway
Six Appeal
Soweto Gospel Choir
Take 6
TenThing
The 5 Browns
The Four Phantoms
The King’s Singers
The Manhattan Transfer
The Midtown Men
The Peking Acrobats
The Real Group
The Tenors
Wynton Marsalis & JLCO
Woodbine Productions is a project of the SDSU Foundation and an anonymous benefactor who underwrites all performance expenses. Thanks to the donor’s generosity, every dollar of every ticket sold for every Woodbine Productions concert, goes directly to providing substantial, competitive scholarships to students involved in performing arts at South Dakota State University.
The Woodbine Scholarship awards are divided into two categories of recipients, the Woodbine Scholars and Woodbine Performance Awards. Woodbine Scholars are selected for exceptional achievement and promise in the School of Performing Arts and receive multi-year awards to support their academic pursuits as Music or Theatre majors. Woodbine Performance Awards are awarded annually, following competitive auditions juried by South Dakota State University School of Performing Arts faculty for any incoming students participating in ensembles.
For the 2024-2025 academic year, nearly 200 prospective students auditioned. Thanks to Woodbine Productions funds as well as music and theatre scholarships funded by private individuals, more than 100 incoming freshmen were awarded talent scholarships. Please consider joining our generous donors by making a gift at any level. All gifts are tax deductible and will directly support music scholarships at South Dakota State University.
The School of Performing Arts at South Dakota State University brings the finest in performance and higher education opportunities in dance, music and theatre together in one academic unit, centrally housed in the Midwest’s newest comprehensive performing arts center.
More than ten percent of all SDSU students, regardless of their major, participate in the performing arts at State each year. Led by dedicated and knowledgeable faculty who were educated in some of the nation’s most prestigious music schools, music students are challenged to do their best in their studies, whether applied lessons, music theory and history courses, or in music ensembles. For those who want to major in music, three options are available – the Bachelor of Music Education (B.M.E.), the Bachelor of Arts in Music and the Bachelor of Arts in Music (Music Entrepreneurship Specialization).
Theatre and dance at SDSU offers opportunities for all students to participate. Theatre majors and minors, Dance minors, and any interested State student may become involved in the robust schedule of productions each year. Auditions are open to any enrolled student. Students may also be involved off the stage working in areas such as: stage management, costume design and construction, scenic design and construction, props design and construction, lighting and sound design and execution, theatrical rigging, publicity/promotion, ticket sales and front-of house management.