Sewanee Event Highlights

Dec. 4, 4:30 p.m.
Outside Convocation Hall

Join us as we light the Sewanee Christmas tree in front of Convocation Hall. Take photos with Santa and endulge in holiday treats at 4:30 p.m. Listen to Cambiata Sewanee at 5:15 p.m. Vice-Chancellor Pearigen will speak before the tree lighting.

Oct. 28 - Dec 12
University Art Gallery

Working with abstract forms and organic materials and processes, Stolz considers our conceptions of—and experience of inhabiting—our bodies. The artist makes use of materials and practices from the domestic sphere and puts these to new purpose, evoking care and intimacy, while rendering the familiar unfamiliar, and beyond easy or full understanding. 

Oct. 23 - Dec. 11 
Carlos Gallery

Raymond Thompson’s It’s hard to stop rebels that time travel is a photography project that utilizes archival fragments, historic ephemera, and Thompson’s images to focus on individual stories of slaves, maroons, and runaways whose existence is only now revealed through traces in the collective archive. Thompson, an interdisciplinary artist, educator, and visual journalist, is based in Austin, Texas. He is an assistant professor at the University of Texas at Austin. 

Sept. 1, 2025 - Jan. 30, 2026.
William R. Laurie University Archives and Special Collections

An Exhibition curated by introduction to Museum Studies Students, Easter 2025

Aug. 28 - Feb. 2027
Hunter Museum of American Art, Chattanooga, Tennessee

Associate Professor of Art and Chair of Art, Art History and Visual Studies Jessica Wohl will be showing“I Dreamed You Were Here”, transforming the Hunter Museums's mansion stairwell with layered textile banners sourced from found garments, linens, and discarded household items. She uses the softness of the material and the intricately stitched text to communicate with the viewer, inviting them to join her in a quiet revolution against exploitation and oppression.

Nov. 19, 4:30 p.m.
Naylor Auditorium

J. Holtham is an African American playwright, TV writer, and co-executive producer of the Emmy Award-winning The Handsmaid’s Tale. No stranger to critically beloved shows with passionate fan bases, he’s also written on such TV series as Marvel’s Jessica Jones and Cloak & Dagger, DC’s Supergirl, and Pitch. He’s recently expanded to writing for Marvel Comics, his work ranging from podcasts to Infinity Comics to the comics series Bishop and Night Thrasher. The Horizon Experiment: Motherfu*kin’ Monsters marks his first creator-owned comic. Holtham will also be hosting a comic book writing workshop on Nov. 19 in the Torian Room in duPont Library at 7:30 p.m.

Nov. 18, 4:30 p.m.
Naylor Auditorium

The Babson Center welcomes Kathryn Thompson, C'96, founding partner and chief executive officer of Thompson Research Group. In addition to managing and setting the strategic direction of the firm, she also serves as director of research. Thompson brings over 20 years of experience analyzing, modeling, and advising mutual funds, hedge funds, pension funds, private equity funds, and family offices on investment and portfolio management. A graduate of the University of the South and Vanderbilt University's Owen Graduate School of Management, Thompson has been a guest on CNBC and Bloomberg, and is quoted regularly by The Wall Street Journal, Barron's, Forbes, Fortune, and Bloomberg. All are welcome.

Nov. 17, 2:00 - 4:30 p.m. 
Convocation Hall

2:00 - 3:20 p.m. - Stories and Storytelling Poster Presentation
3:20 - 3:35 p.m. - Place and Place-making Performances
3:40 - 4:15 p.m. - Stories and Storytelling Performances
4:30 p.m. - Reception

Guerry Auditorium

Nov. 14, 7 p.m. 
Guerry Auditorium

This recital traces a dance-filled path across the Americas, from the smoky streets of Buenos Aires to the rolling hills of Appalachia. Piazzolla’s Libertango burns with passion and defiance, José Elizondo’s Danzas Latinoamericanas sings with color and warmth, and Mark O’Connor’s Appalachia Waltz offers a moment of reflection rooted in folk simplicity. Together, they remind us how rhythm and melody can travel freely across borders, speaking a language we all share. With Dr. Mario Alejandro Torres, viola, and Vicki Collinsworth, piano.

Nov. 13-15 at 7:30 p.m.
Nov. 16 at 2 p.m.
Proctor Hill Theatre, Tennessee Williams Center

The annual departmental dance concert, featuring choreography and performances by faculty, students, and guest artists. In Mystique, choreographers explore the indescribable, ephemeral, even magical realm of possibility in their dances, taking us beyond what is understood or universally held as true. Join us in experiencing the potential of dance to transcend language and tangible experiences as we embrace the world of imagination where everything is not as it seems. The performance will open with guest choreographer Noelia Garcia Carmona's new modern-flamenco fusion dance, which will be performed by students. Guest performer Jenny Ramos will appear in a violin-tap duet with Courtney World. Additional styles include contemporary/modern, jazz, hip-hop, and contemporary Paraguayan. Free ticket reservations here.

Nov. 13, 7:30 p.m.
Convocation Hall

In a roundtable format, Sewanee Professor of Religious Studies Kati Curts, nonfiction writer Jane Borden, and novelist Justin Taylor will discuss the varied ways in which they approach the idea of the cult in American society. Curts is currently working on an article about the very same cult that is one of the subjects of Taylor's recent novel, Reboot, and Borden has just published Cults Like Us: Why Doomsday Thinking Drives America with Simon & Schuster. 

Nov. 13, 7 p.m. 
Blackman Auditorium

Come see why this state is one of the top four places in the world for weird fish and freshwater biodiversity. Enjoy an engaging, photo-rich talk by Sewanee alum Luke Padgett, C'07, a photographer and storyteller who, despite having traveled the world on assignments for National Geographic, spends as much of his free time as possible floating face-down in Tennessee's rivers. Brace yourself for dropped jaw and bugged eyes. All are welcome! 

Nov. 12, 5:15 p.m. 
Kennerly Hall, Parish of Saint Mark & Saint Paul 

The Performing Arts Series invites music lovers of all ages to this family-friendly performance with interactive activities for children blending music, storytelling, and learning about the natural world.

Nov. 11, 5:15 p.m. 
Convocation Hall 

Ahead of the holidays, join us for this fun conversation and improv around difficult dinner table dynamics. Dinner & Dialogue provides a space for the campus community to talk about what we hold dear. Participants are invited to RSVP with a guest who is not like themselves. RSVP here. 

Nov. 10, 7:30 p.m. 
Guerry Auditorium

Faculty violinist Andrew Uhe presents a program of music for violin alone featuring works by Bach, Telemann, and Ysaÿe as well as a rare concert gem by Max Reger, the monumental G Minor Chaconne, Op. 117, No. 4. The program contrasts musical styles from the early 18th century with those from the early 20th century while considering ways in which the later works both allude to and diverge from Bach’s precedent. Free and open to the public.

Nov. 6-8, 7:30 p.m. 
Tennessee Williams Center

Eleanor Burgess' play examines power dynamics when a polite meeting between a liberal arts professor and her ambitious student turns into a struggle over the interpretation of history. A short educational component will take place at each show so be sure to get your tickets here. All shows are free and open to the public. Join Dr. Sylvia Gray and Dr. Brittney Threatt for a CREATE Conversation with the actors of The Niceties, Friday, Nov. 7, at noon in the Torian Room in duPont Library. No registration needed. Refreshments will be served. 

Nov. 7, 7 p.m. 
Guerry Auditorium 

Join the Sewanee Voice Studios for our Fall Vocal Showcase, Friday, November 7 at 7:00 in Guerry Auditorium! In this semi-annual performance, Sewanee singers offer an engaging mix of musical theatre, art song, pop, rock, soul, and jazz.

Nov. 6, 6 p.m.
All Saints' Chapel 

The choir will sing music by Dyson, Forbes L’Estrange, and Gardiner. Dr. Geoffrey Ward will conduct the choir, and Stephanie Yoder will be the service organist. The Very Rev. Chris Epperson, dean of All Saints’ Chapel and University chaplain, will serve as the officiant.

Nov. 6, 4:30 p.m. 
Naylor Auditorium, Gailor Hall

Dr. Sebastián Figueroa will deliver a talk, "Salt of the Future: on Lithium, Art, and Resistance", which explores the intersections of lithium extraction, art, Indigenous cultures, and environmental concerns in the Atacama Desert in South America.

Nov. 5, 7 p.m. 
Guerry Auditorium

Join “The American Songster” Dr. Dom Flemons for an evening of American roots music, encompassing his expertise in country, folk, bluegrass, and the blues. He is a singer and multi-instrumentalist, performing on instruments including the banjo, guitar, harmonica, and rhythm bones, and he is a scholar of the music and culture of Black cowboys in the American West.

Nov. 5, 4:30 p.m. 
Pavilion behind Stirling's

Poet and professor Rachel Richardson will lead a public workshop on nature writing and read from her poetry collection Smother. Richardson’s poems explore family, motherhood, and technology, in the context of climate change and climate catastrophe. Richardson will have a poetry reading Nov. 5, at 7 p.m., in the Torian Room, duPont Library.

Nov. 4, 11 a.m.
Convocation Hall

The Nashville Shakespeare Festival is excited to present Julius Caesar. This year’s Shakespeare Educational Experience Tour will feature five actors playing multiple roles in Shakespeare’s political tragedy, which spotlights themes of loyalty, conspiracy, and rhetoric. This is a 45-minute show, plus a 15-minute talkback.

Nov. 1, 6 p.m.
The Quad 

Meet at the Quad for 30 minutes of classical carillon music together with European folk songs and nostalgic songs from the 1960s.

Oct. 28-30, 8 p.m. 
All Saints' Chapel

Celebrate spooky season with Domain After Dark: Sewanee's walking ghost tour. New stories! New stops! New spine-tingling accounts! Bring a jacket and good shoes and meet us at All Saints' ... if you dare. This free event will happen rain or shine; all are welcome.

Oct. 30, 5 p.m.
University Bookstore 

"Sheri Joseph’s mesmerizing Angels at the Gate is more than a campus novel, more than a mystery, more than a reflection on memory. It’s a deeply felt story of a young student, Leah, and her friends and classmates, as they begin to create the person they will become, and the choices they make that forever remind them of what they left behind. It’s heartbreaking, joyful, and utterly unforgettable."—Kevin Wilson, author of Nothing to See Here and The Family Fang.

Oct. 29, 4:30 p.m.
Torian Room, duPont Library 

Mary Carol Harris, C’96, senior director of international product marketing at Airbnb, will return to Sewanee as the Bryan Viewpoints Speaker. This event is presented by the Babson Center for Global Commerce in collaboration with the French and Mathematics departments. Her talk, "From Lemonade Stands to Big Tech: Learnings from Rural America, a Liberal Arts Education and International Business," will explore how her Sewanee foundation paved the way for global success. Harris will share insights from her extraordinary international career in digital commerce and financial technology. All are welcome. 

Oct. 23, 7 p.m.
All Saints' Chapel 

Hailed by BBC Music Magazine as "faultless," the ensemble of soprano, mezzo, two tenors, and bass is known for demonstrating how powerful five voices singing without accompaniment can be. Their repertoire spans nine centuries and captivates audiences with a program of jazz, pop, classical, and early sacred music. Sewanee staff, faculty, and students receive one free ticket with Sewanee ID. Sewanee ID tickets should be picked up at the All Saints' Chapel office. All other tickets available at Eventbrite.com.

Oct. 22, 4:30 p.m.
McGriff Alumni House

As part of this year’s award celebration, poet Corey Van Landingham will lecture on Howell’s poetry. Van Landingham is the author of three books of poetry: Antidote, Love Letter to Who Owns the Heavens, and Reader, I. She is a recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship and a Wallace Stegner Fellowship from Stanford University. She teaches creative writing at the University of Illinois.

Oct. 21, 4:30 p.m.
Convocation Hall 

Every year since 1987, the Sewanee Review has honored a distinguished poet in the maturity of their career with the Aiken Taylor Award in Modern American Poetry. This year, University Vice Chancellor Rob Pearigen and Review Editor Adam Ross will present Rebecca Gayle Howell with the award. Catered reception afterward.

Oct. 15 - Oct. 21, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. 
Carlos Gallery

The 2026 senior art majors preview exhibition features drawings, paintings, textiles and video works by Roman Belton, Sunny Bowers, Savannah Brister, George Handley, Audrey Hoffman, and Sally Whitehead.

Oct. 16, 7:30 p.m.
Guerry Auditorium 

Blending classical, folkloric, and original works, Dal'Ouna brings a contemporary voice to Palestinian and Arab music, with special participation of the Sewanee Symphony Orchestra. Followed by a reception and an opportunity to meet the musicians at 9:30 p.m. in the Ayres Multicultural Center, sponsored by the Muslim Students' Association and the Office of Cross Cultural Understanding. Admission is free.

Oct. 16, 6 p.m.
The Social Lodge 

Mike Peed is an editor at the New York Times. Previously, he worked at the New Yorker. An article he wrote for that magazine on a blight destroying the world's banana crops was cited by the Best American Science and Nature Writing series. He has also edited at Men's Journal, and he began his career at the National Journal, in Washington.

Oct. 16, 4:30 p.m.
All Saints' Chapel 

The Very Rev. Christopher L. Epperson will be installed as dean of All Saints' Chapel and University chaplain. A reception will follow the service at Clement Chen Hall. Sewanee faculty, staff, students, retirees, and community members are all invited.

Aug. 27 - Oct. 15 
The University Art Gallery

In all of her installations, McKelvey explores her relationship with the land and the environment. Indigo Hallow is not a portrait of Shakerag Hollow, but an intuitive and poetic response to that place. Visitors are invited to share in McKelvey’s response, and also to consider the meanings and implications of materials, of process, and of the act of representation itself. 

Oct. 15, 3:30 p.m.
Naylor Auditorium 

The Department of German and German Studies welcomes Melanie Moltmann, consul general of Germany in Atlanta, for a talk on German-American friendship and cooperation. She previously worked on immigration policy in Berlin and was the deputy head of mission in Uzbekistan. 

Oct. 15, 8 - 11 a.m.
The Quad 

The vice-chancellor and the Order of the Gown invite all faculty, staff, and students to enjoy coffee on the Quad. No agenda, just coffee and conversations. 

Oct. 8 - 11, at 7:30 p.m. 
Oct. 12, at 2 p.m.
Studio Theatre, Tennessee Williams Center

The Oresteia by Ellen McLaughlin, and directed by Assistant Professor Sarah Lacy Hamilton, is based on three plays by Aeschylus—Agamemnon, The Libation Bearers, and The Eumenides. They are among the oldest plays in the Western canon and are the only surviving trilogy from the ancient Greek theatre. Register for free tickets here.

Oct. 9, 7:30 p.m. 
Guerry Auditorium

Join the Sewanee Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of Mario Alejandro Torres, for a special concert. Commemorating 500 years since the birth of Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina and 150 years since the passing of Georges Bizet, the concert will trace a musical journey from sacred Renaissance devotion to Romantic exuberance.

Oct. 9, 5 p.m.
Carlos Gallery

Dan Reidy’s Recent Work frames large scale oil paintings, sculptures, video and poetry filled with imagery that references stories that become oddly familiar. Visual references ranging from art history to pop culture co-mingle with objects and images from Reidy’s personal history. He is interested in overlapping narratives and how collision points between them speak to a shared humanity with fascination. 

Oct. 8, 6 p.m. 
Blackman Auditorium

Join us for our International Film Series. Gather to watch this month's feature film, Found. After DNA tests reveal them to be cousins, three girls adopted by different American families travel to China in hopes of meeting their birth parents. Enjoy a popcorn bar while connecting with friends and classmates. These film nights are a chance to share stories, discover traditions, and build community together.

Oct. 8, 5 p.m.
Naylor Auditorium

Join award-winning children's author Christina Soontornvat and Keri Lambert, vice president of the Rutherford County Library Alliance, to discuss how we can all support the right to read and learn how to push back against efforts to ban books in our communities. Soontornvat is an award-winning author, engineer, and STEM educator. Lambert is a founding member and vice president of the Rutherford County Library Alliance (RCLA), which formed in August 2023 in response to Murfreesboro’s “Decency Ordinance,” which caused their library board to begin restricting access to information. In April 2024, RCLA was presented with the Tennessee Library Association’s (TNLA) Intellectual Freedom Award. 

Oct. 4, 9 a.m.
Manigault Park

The 5K Color Run also welcomes walkers, rollers, and the like. Whether you're a seasoned runner or just looking for a fun day out, everyone is welcome, including community members, students, staff, and faculty. The Greek organization, student organization, or athletic team that gets the most people registered will get a special shoutout. Feel free to walk, or just come and enjoy seeing everyone get splashed with purple color! The purpose of this Title IX event is to raise awareness and show support for those affected by domestic violence. Register here

Oct. 2, 4:30 p.m. 
Torian Room in duPont Library

The Babson Center for Global Commerce is pleased to host Alex Harris, C’11, as a Bryan Viewpoints Speaker for the Advent semester. Harris is vice president in the Private Credit – Americas Direct Lending group within Goldman Sachs Asset & Wealth Management, where he focuses on originating transactions in the middle and upper middle market. His work centers on corporate lending to multigenerational family and founder-owned businesses across the U.S., Canada, and Latin America.

Oct. 1, 2 p.m. 
17 Lake O'Donnell road

The community is invited to attend an open house and ribbon cutting for the Sewanee Welcome Center. Light refreshments will be served. Currently, the site serves as the trailhead for the Mountain Goat Trail in Sewanee, a new Welcome Center, and headquarters for the rangers of Tennessee’s newest state park. This event is co-hosted by the Sewanee Civic Association, the University of the South, the Mountain Goat Trail Alliance, and the Sewanee Business Alliance. RSVP by Monday, Sept. 22.

Sept. 29, 5:15 - 7 p.m.
Convocation Hall 

Dinner & Dialogue brings together students, seminarians, and colleagues for a meal and structured conversation about what we hold dear. Join us to consider what it means to live into a tradition of honor at Sewanee. Guests are invited to RSVP in pairs, bringing a guest not like themselves. RSVP by Sept. 26.

Sept. 24, 5 p.m.
Guerry Auditorium

Join us as Baggs McKelvey speaks about her UAG installation Indigo Hallow. In all of her installations, McKelvey explores her relationship with the land and the environment. Indigo Hallow is not a portrait of Shakerag Hollow, but an intuitive and poetic response to that place. Reception afterward.

Sept. 21, 4 p.m.
All Saints' Chapel

The University Choir and All Saints' Chapel invite everyone to this reflective service of music, prayer, and scripture. Including music by Richard Ayleward, Herbert Brewer, and Herbert Sumsion sung by the University Choir under the direction of Organist and Choirmaster Dr. Geoffrey Harris Ward and accompanied by Stephanie Yoder, assistant organist. The service will be livestreamed for our alumni and friends unable to attend in person.

Sept. 18, 7:30 p.m.
Convocation Hall

Please join our guests from the Emmett Till Interpretive Center, Executive Director Patrick Weems and Special Projects Coordinator Jessie Jaynes-Diming for a conversation and presentation. The Emmett Till Memory Project is a response to the ongoing and often violent resistance to the commemoration and remembrance of the life and lynching of Emmett Till and the courageous Civil Rights legacies of his mother, Mamie Till-Mobley. 

Sept. 17, 7:30 p.m. 
St. Luke’s Chapel

The musicians Earl White, Victor Furtado, and Tray Wellington will perform songs in the oldtime, folk, and bluegrass tradition. White, Furtado, and Wellington are all acclaimed bluegrass performers, with Grand Ole Opry appearances and International Bluegrass Music Association awards among them. With White on fiddle and Furtado and Wellington banjo, the group will share songs first recorded by the Warren County trio of Gribble, Lusk, and York back in the 1940s. This concert and discussion—co-sponsored by the Deptartment of Music, Roberson Project, and the Office of Community Building and Connections—gives listeners a chance to learn more about such music and have fun doing it! Admission is free.

Aug. 7 - Sept. 15
TheCaverns.com/SingOff

Auditions now open for the Sing Off, a vocal competition inviting local talent of all ages from across the South Cumberland region until Sept. 15. The concert will take place on Friday, Dec. 5, 2025, inside The Caverns’ underground concert hall and is free to the public with advance RSVP required for limited seating for residents of Tennessee’s South Cumberland region. Free tickets will be available to community members to reserve starting Oct. 15 at TheCaverns.com.

Sept. 13, 6 p.m. Tour, 6:30 p.m. Concert
Shapard Tower

Meet inside of All Saints' Chapel at the iron gate at the front and climb Shapard Tower for a tour of the carillon and view the campus from the parapet of Shapard Tower. Stay afterwards or come at 6:30 p.m. to listen to a carillon concert on the Quad as evening comes and the day is done.

Sept. 13, 4 p.m.
Breslin Tower 

Join Raymond Gotko for a tour of the University's clock and change ringing bells with a demonstration.