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School-Day Matinees

A crowd full of area PK-12 students participate during a school-day performance, raising their arms overhead in V shapes at the direction of a dancer on stage.

The Moss Arts Center at Virginia Tech is dedicated to providing transformative arts experiences to children through gallery tours, artist engagements, and special school-day matinee performances from renowned touring artists for children, teachers, and families.

Explore exciting new opportunities to connect with the arts through performances and study guides created especially for young audiences. Mark your calendar now and register to attend these engaging performances and discussions. You can also join our email list and select "K12 and school-day events" to learn more about the Moss Arts Center’s matinees and activities with visiting artists.

These free events are open to public, private, and homeschool students; teachers; and families; but reservations are required.

All school-day performances are held in the Street and Davis Performance Hall, Anne and Ellen Fife Theatre, unless otherwise noted.

Women drummers from Rwanda perform onstage. They are Black women with brightly colored long braids, some of which are flying through the air with their motion. They wear blue and brown patterned dresses in slightly different styles.
Ingoma Nshya, the Women Drummers of Rwanda, perform on stage.

Ingoma Nshya: The Women Drummers of Rwanda

Wednesday, September 27, 2023
10-11 AM
Recommended for grades 7-12
Find more information and register

View Study Guide

For centuries in Rwanda, drumming was an activity reserved exclusively for men. Women were not permitted to touch the drums or even approach the drummers. In 2004 Kiki Katese created the first-ever Rwandan female drumming ensemble, Ingoma Nshya — which is Kinyarwanda for "New Drum" or "New Power."

The members of Invoke, four white men wearing casual cloths, playfully pose in front of a light grey background. One member pulls back the strap on his mandolin like a bow and arrow and one jumps into the air.
Invoke

Invoke

Wednesday, November 15, 2023
10-11 AM
Recommended for students in grades 6-8
Find more information and register

Adding banjo, mandolin, fiddle, and voice to the string quartet, Invoke is reinventing classical music. Encompassing traditions from across America, including bluegrass, Appalachian fiddle tunes, jazz, and minimalism, the vibrant ensemble is fueled by its passion for storytelling.

A man does the splits between two wooden ladders, which are being propped up by two fellow cast members. A large windmill is visible in the background.
Cirque Mechanics: "Zephyr: A Whirlwind of a Circus"

Cirque Mechanics

Zephyr: A Whirlwind of a Circus

Wednesday, January 31, 2024
10:30-11:30 AM
Recommended for grades 3-7
Find more information and register

Instead of wind, Zephyr harnesses human power to generate an energetic experience, complete with a rotating windmill and breathtaking aerial acrobatics. An emotive and exhilarating tale about the choices humans have made regarding our planet and its resources, in Zephyr you will witness the tug of war that exists between man and nature, in the name of progress.

The members of Sō Percussion, four white men wearing casual clothes, hats, and face masks, perform on the same drum and cymbal contraption, while, nearby, hip-hop and breath artist Shodekeh, a Black man wearing a black hoodie and a light blue face mask, performs into a microphone.
Sō Percussion with special guest Shodekeh

Sō Percussion with special guest Shodekeh

Thursday, March 21, 2024
10-11 AM
Recommended for grades 5-9
Find more information and register

Multi-genre quartet Sō Percussion joins forces with two preeminent collaborators for a performance of music bridging the worlds of classical and pop. For 20 years and counting, Sō Percussion has redefined chamber music for the 21st century, and they are celebrated by audiences and presenters for a dazzling range of work.

Members of East Los Angeles Chicano indie-folk band Las Cafeteras, five brown men in navy blue suits, and one brown woman (in the middle) in a rockabilly-inspired A-line floral halter dress and black combat boots.
Las Cafeteras

Las Cafeteras

Wednesday, March 27, 2024
10:30-11:30 AM
Recommended for grades PK-2
Find more information and register

East L.A. Chicano indie-folk band Las Cafeteras has taken the music scene by storm with its infectious live performances, crossing many genres and borders along the way. With jaranas and requintos (Mexican ukulele-sized guitars) and the rhythmic percussion created by dancing on a wood floor, Las Cafeteras remixes roots music as modern day troubadours.

Cast members from "Small Island, Big Song" wear traditional costumes and accessories, and dance on stage. At left is a light-skinned Black woman, and at right is a brown man in a traditional hat and sunglasses with a traditional instrument, like a ukulele but with a rectangular body, hanging from his shoulder by its strap.
"Small Island, Big Song"

Small Island, Big Song

Wednesday, April 17, 2024
10:30-11:30 AM
Recommended for grades 3-7
Find more information and register

The musicians in Small Island, Big Song would tell you that the ocean does not divide their island homes. It connects them. Artists from Pacific and Indian Ocean nations unite to blend traditions and create music celebrating the ways we are all connected. The result is a breathtakingly beautiful sound made by those who sing for the seas.

FAQs

If you cannot attend or your party turns out to be smaller than the number of tickets you have reserved, please inform the Moss Arts Center as soon as possible by contacting Jon Catherwood-Ginn at rjginn@vt.edu so that Moss staff can release your tickets to those on the waiting list. 

The Moss Arts Center is committed to being accessible to all of our patrons. Those with disabilities and their companions are accommodated through wheelchair seating, parking, and other special requests throughout the center at all levels. Assisted listening devices are available. Service animals are permitted. Sign interpretations and large-print programs are available with advance notice. If you or your students have questions regarding accessibility or would like assistance, please contact Jamie Wiggert at wiggertj@vt.edu.

To supplement your students' learning, a study guide tailored to each performance will be provided via email in advance.

The bus drop-off location is on the Alumni Mall side of the Moss Arts Center, located at 190 Alumni Mall on the campus of Virginia Tech. Drivers may pull their buses into the driveway loop directly in front of the center. Staff will be on-site to assist. Recommended arrival time is 15-30 minutes before the start-time of the performance.

Those driving cars and vans may park in the North End Center Garage (300 Turner Street NW), which is one block from the Moss Arts Center's Turner Street entrance. A valid university parking permit, a validation from one of the retail tenants, or payment of the daily fee is required to park in the North End Center Garage.

Bus staging is located in the upper section of the Chicken Hill lot (Football Lot 5) on the campus of Virginia Tech. The lot entrance is on Southgate Drive, opposite Sterrett Drive. Parking passes will not be required for buses. For more information about parking at Virginia Tech, please visit parking.vt.edu. Please note that buses are not permitted to park adjacent to the Moss Arts Center's Turner Street entrance, except in special circumstances when permission can be granted.

When you arrive at the center, please check-in with Moss Arts Center staff to confirm that your party has arrived. Staff will be on-site to assist seating your group, directing you to restrooms, and answering any questions you may have.

In accordance with guidance from Virginia Tech, masks are no longer required in indoor public spaces, but remain recommended. Find more information about COVID safety at the Moss here.

We remain committed to assisting your group with safe, smooth entry to the performance venue. If you have any questions about this policy, please contact Shara at sappanaitis@vt.edu.

Unless otherwise noted, all school-day performances take place in the Street and Davis Performance Hall's Anne and Ellen Fife Theatre in the Moss Arts Center.

It is recommended that buses arrive back at the Moss Arts Center 15 minutes before the end of the performance. Following the performance, please remain in your seats; school groups will be dismissed by Moss Arts Center staff to ensure a smooth and speedy departure for all. Staff and volunteers will assist school groups in meeting their buses in the center’s Alumni Mall driveway.

Following the performance, you may receive an email requesting feedback on your group's experience. Please make time to respond, as doing so could significantly improve the Moss Arts Center's pre-K to grade 12 programs for you and future visitors.