The Vail Series is an endowed concert series free to Denison students, faculty and staff with tickets for sale to the larger community if available.
The Vail Series presents world-renowned performers in the intimate and historic Swasey Chapel where the stage is just six feet away from a front row seat. Artists spend time on campus interacting with students, teaching master classes and answering questions – in other words, it’s personal. There’s no need to hang around stage doors to meet performers when they come to Denison, they’re right there, up close and totally accessible.
Since the Vail Series’ founding in 1979, performances and residencies have included luminaries such as Joshua Bell, Renée Fleming, Mark O’Connor, Itzhak Perlman, Wynton Marsalis, Leontyne Price, Dizzy Gillespie, Emanuel Ax, Béla Fleck, Bobby McFerrin, Chris Thile and Yuja Wang. Denison’s ensemble-in-residence, ETHEL, spends four weeks a year on campus visiting classes in a variety of disciplines, and playing mini-concerts in the most unlikely…and coolest locations!
Denison University is a leading national college of liberal arts and sciences where students from around the world come to pursue academic inquiry and research, to analyze and solve problems, and to forge the skills needed to succeed. On a beautiful, fully residential campus, students build enduring relationships and pathways to the professions, supported by faculty mentorship in classrooms, laboratories and studios; through a wealth of career-launch programs and internships; and in partnership with a thriving, far-reaching alumni network. Denison’s place at the forefront of higher education is recognized by “Colleges That Change Lives,” U.S. News, and Forbes, among others.
The Vail Series brings to Denison University the world's premier performers, as well as emerging young artists, enriching the artistic experience of the entire Denison community.
