Grammy-Nominated Composer, Pianist to Perform at Faulkner Center

Photo by Bart Babinski.

The Vijay Iyer Trio.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Grammy-nominated composer and pianist Vijay Iyer will visit the University of Arkansas for two days in mid-February as the McIlroy Family Visiting Professor in the Department of Music.

Iyer’s visit will consist of a public performance and lecture. He will also work extensively with students.

The Vijay Iyer Trio will perform at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 18, at the Jim & Joyce Faulkner Performing Arts Center. The concert is free and open to the public. Tickets can be reserved by emailing faulkner@uark.edu.

Vijay Iyer. Photo by Lena Adasheva.

Iyer will give a public lecture titled “I Feel You: Music and Empathy” at 3 p.m. Friday, Feb. 19, at Giffels Auditorium in Old Main. The lecture is free and open to the public. No tickets are required.

A MacArthur Fellow and Grammy nominee, Iyer is the Franklin D. and Florence Rosenblatt Professor of the Arts at Harvard University. To learn more about Iyer and his trio, visit vijay-iyer.com. 

“Vijay Iyer is a pioneering jazz pianist who writes compellingly about music and embodiment,” said Elizabeth Margulis, music professor and director of the Music Cognition Lab. “He’ll spend several days working intensively with students, in addition to presenting a public performance at the Faulkner Center and a public lecture at Giffels Auditorium. Students are ready to be inspired by his innovative musicianship, and the music department is thrilled to be able to offer the community the opportunity to hear him perform and speak live.”

The McIlroy Family Visiting Professorship in Performing and Visual Arts, established in 2005 through the philanthropy of Hayden and Mary Joe McIlroy and the Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation, supports the teaching and work of a professional artist who imparts highly specialized knowledge essential to students’ artistic, educational and career enrichment and valuable to the community at large.

About the University of Arkansas: The University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in more than 200 academic programs. The university contributes new knowledge, economic development, basic and applied research, and creative activity while also providing service to academic and professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the University of Arkansas among only 2 percent of universities in America that have the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the University of Arkansas among its top American public research universities. Founded in 1871, the University of Arkansas comprises 10 colleges and schools and maintains a low student-to-faculty ratio that promotes personal attention and close mentoring.