Performing and Creative Arts

CSI PCA students in Art Studio working on a woman's head sculpture

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Performing and Creative Arts Department Overview

Our departmental programs share a mission to educate, mentor, and train students who wish to pursue both the practice and theory of the arts. In addition to preparing students majoring in the arts and those planning to receive advanced degrees in graduate school, the Department’s courses meet the needs and interests of students in the liberal arts and sciences, and foster the role of the arts within the framework of a liberal arts education.

CSI GALLERY

The Art Gallery of the College of Staten Island Presents:

Nevarez & Tevere, The Lonesome Rose, 2021. Archival Pigment Print on Hahnemühle Photo Rag Baryta, 17 x 30" Alt Text: interior view of an empty stage in a bar. — Nevarez & Tevere, *The Lonesome Rose*, 2021. Archival Pigment Print on Hahnemühle Photo Rag Baryta, 17 x 30"Alt Text: interior view of an empty stage in a bar.

Angel Nevarez and Valerie Tevere: Synchresis

February 9 – March 12, 2026
CSI Art Gallery, 1P-112

Tuesday, March 10, 2:30 PM - Filling the Void
A conversation with Nevarez and Tevere, Edward Miller (Media Culture), Natalia Viera Salgado (National Academy of Design), Siona Wilson (PCA)

A solo exhibition of installation work featuring video, musical collaboration, and photography by Valerie Tevere (Media Culture) and her artistic collaborator of more than 25 years, Angel Nevarez. Join us to explore the intermingling of contemporary music, collaborative engagement, collective dissent, and a reflection on the performative and spatial implications of the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The exhibition is part of a year-long series commemorating the 25th anniversary of the founding of the Department of Media Culture.

CSI STUDENT ART GALLERY

Student Photography Exhibition

March 24th-April 14th

Curated by CSI Photography Students

Opening reception for the artists: March 24, 2:30-4:30pm

STUDENT ART GALLERY, 1P-118B

Open by appointment, enquire in PCA office, 1P-203

DRAMA SPRING PRODUCTION

Join us for an evening of mystery, comedy, and unexpected twists!

This Murder Was Staged

A Murder Mystery Comedy by Patrick Greene & Jason Pizzarello

A CSI Student Production Directed by Austin Maida

Tickets $12

BUY TICKETS HERE

This Murder Was Staged is produced by special arrangement with Stage Partners (www.yourstagepartners.com)

Tickets are sold electronically only. If available, tickets may be purchased at the door by credit card. No cash accepted.

For accessibility needs, please contact Access@csi.cuny.edu or 718-982-2510 before you purchase your ticket.

ABOUT THE PLAY
It's opening night of a brand-new mystery play, but just as the killer is about to be revealed, the body of the play's director falls onstage instead. In that moment, the theater becomes an active crime scene, and everyone from cast to crew to even the audience becomes a suspect. But how is the intrepid detective supposed to find the killer when everyone and their mother (literally) has a motive to want the demanding director gone? This Murder Was Staged is a fast-paced, backstabbing, backstage comedy from two of the writers of The Alibis and Rogues' Gallery.

MUSIC PROGRAM EVENTS

Thursday, March 19, 3:00 PM
Midterm Recital: CSI Jazz Ensemble
Darrell Smith, director
Recital Hall, 1P-120
Professor Darrell Smith leads the CSI Jazz Ensemble in a program of jazz standards and original compositions.

Thursday, March 19, 6:30 PM
SI Drag Show & PanelStarring Lagoona Bloo, Britney Virrazano, and Hibiscus
WILLIAMSON THEATRE
This event is organized by the CSI LGBTQ+ Resource Center and the Department of Performing and Creative Arts.

Tuesday, March 24, 2:30-4:30 PM
Opening Reception for the artists
Student Art Gallery, 1p-118B
This event is part of the Student Photography Exhibition.

Tuesday, March 24, 3:00 PM
West Point Army Band Masterclass
Recital Hall, 1P-120
Members of the West Point Army Band share their love of jazz and their expertise in jazz improvisation with students from CSI's jazz performance program. The event culminates with a jam session featuring all participants.

Thursday, March 26, 3:00 PM
Midterm Recital: CSI Jazz Repertory Combo
Darrell Smith, director
Recital Hall, 1P-120
Professor Vincent Guarna leads the jazz combo in a program of jazz standards and original compositions.

Tuesday, March 31, 3:00 PM
Voices of Palestine
William R. Bauer, director
Recital Hall, 1P-120
Composer-improviser William R. Bauer reads the remarkable work of Palestinian poets in English translation, spontaneously creating musical settings at the piano. Featured poets include Mahmoud Darwish, Fadwa Tuqan, Samih Al Qasim, Tawfiq Zayyad, Khaled Juma, and Refaat Alareer. Discover how Palestine lives on in their work, even as its people are being erased before our very eyes.

Tuesday, April 28, 3:00 PM
The OMNI Ensemble
David Wechsler, director
Recital Hall, 1P-120
Professor David Wechsler leads this ever-evolving chamber ensemble in a program of contemporary and traditional classical compositions.

Tuesday, May 12, 3:00 PM
The CSI Chorus
Marina Alexander, director
Recital Hall
Professor Marina Alexander leads the CSI Chorus in a program of contemporary and traditional choral compositions.

Wednesday, May 13, 7:00 PM
The CSI Jazz Ensemble
Darrell Smith, director
Lab Theater
Professor Darrell Smith leads the CSI Jazz Ensemble in a program of jazz standards and original compositions.

Thursday, May 14, 3:00 PM
The CSI Jazz Repertory Ensemble
Vince Guarna, director
Recital Hall
Professor Vincent Guarna leads the jazz combo in a program of jazz standards and original compositions.

Thursday, May 14, 7:30 PM
The CSI Guitar Ensemble
Edward Brown, director
Recital Hall
Professor Edward Brown leads the CSI Guitar Ensemble in a program of works for guitar ensemble from a wide variety of styles and genres.

Tuesday, May 19, 7:30 PM
The CSI Young Artists’ Recital
Sylvia Kahan, director
Recital Hall
Professor Sylvia Kahan supervises this showcase of student performances that feature works from a variety of genres, including classical music and jazz.

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