Legendary artists have played Lawrence Conservatory of Music stages through the years

Since its founding 150 years ago, the Lawrence University Conservatory of Music has seen hundreds of notable visitors perform on its stages.

Some have come as part of an Artist Series that launched in 1908 and continues today as the Performing Arts Series. Others have performed at the Fred Sturm Jazz Celebration Weekend, which has roots dating back to the early 1970s. Others have come in partnership with community organizations. Many have performed at Memorial Chapel, which was dedicated in December 1918.

Here are 12 visiting artists of note (and eight more who deserve a mention):

John Philip Sousa, 1924, 1926: “The March King” made two visits to Lawrence, leading performances in Memorial Chapel. He was an American composer and conductor of the late Romantic era whose work lives on in the form of military marches—The Stars and Stripes Forever, The Washington Post March, and the Marine Corps’ Semper Fidelis, among them. His performances were among the early musical draws to the Chapel.

Vladimir Horowitz, 1930: An all-time great pianist, Vladimir Horowitz came to Memorial Chapel from his native Russia for this spring performance in Appleton. He would move to America a decade or so later, his status as one of the greatest piano talents well-earned. Born in Ukraine, he was known for his virtuoso technique and timbre.

Marian Anderson, 1941: The groundbreaking contralto delivered a brilliant concert performance at Memorial Chapel, the overflow audience calling her back for multiple encores. “No artist in recent years in Appleton has received the tribute which the audience gave Marian Anderson,” The Lawrentian reported. In 2014, Lawrence held a concert in tribute to Anderson, recreating the repertoire from her 1941 performance.

The Trapp Family Singers, 1954: The family that inspired The Sound of Music came to Appleton in the fall of 1954. They performed at Memorial Chapel five years before the musical based on Maria Von Trapp’s memoir opened on Broadway and 11 years before the film debuted in 1965.

Louis Armstrong, 1960: The jazz pioneer nicknamed “Satchmo” made a late-career visit to Lawrence’s Memorial Chapel. The Lawrentian previewed Armstrong’s visit, calling him “the greatest of all jazz musicians” and urged the campus community to get their $2 tickets early or risk being left out. “Because of the interest expressed by townspeople and high schools in the area, it seems that the concert will be quickly sold out,” the student newspaper reported. Indeed, it was.

Ella Fitzgerald, 1961: The “First Lady of Song” was a full-on jazz superstar when she performed in concert at Memorial Chapel in early May 1961. Her visit to Lawrence was a cross-country stopover between a two-and-a-half-week stand at New York’s Basin Street East and a three-week engagement at the Crescendo in Los Angeles. “Ella rocked Lawrence College’s staid, old Memorial Chapel with a battery of upbeat material Tuesday night,” The Post-Crescent reported. “And she appeared to enjoy every minute of it. She carried the torch, too, as only she can do. A house just short of capacity couldn’t have loved the first lady of song more.” 

Pete Seeger, 1964: An iconic performer during the ’60s, Seeger was a well-known folk singer and activist when he made his way to Memorial Chapel. He was two years removed from his blacklisting at the hands of Wisconsin Senator Joe McCarthy.

Yo-Yo Ma, 1986: One of the most accomplished cellists of all time paid a visit to Memorial Chapel in 1986. The one-time child prodigy was 31 when he performed at Lawrence as part of the 1985-86 Performing Arts Series. He was fresh off winning a 1985 Grammy for Outstanding Solo Performance. That would be the first of 18 Grammys he would win in a career that has also seen him awarded the National Medal of Arts and a Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Dianne Reeves, 1987: The jazz vocalist extraordinaire led a star-studded lineup into the 1987 Jazz Weekend Celebration. She was joined by icons Dizzy Gillespie and Clark Terry. Reeves was early in her career at that point, but she wouldn’t be overshadowed. She had released her first album in 1981 and had just signed with Blue Note Records in 1987. She was an ascending star, and the audience at Memorial Chapel got a first-hand look.

Wynton Marsalis, 1988 and 2022: The legendary trumpeter was 27 when he came to Lawrence to perform at Jazz Celebration Weekend. The concert sold out so fast that Lawrence officials arranged for a second concert. He met with students while on campus, challenging them to be culturally aware as they pursue music and other studies. “If you don’t research the world of possibilities, you always will accept less,” he told the students, according to The Post-Crescent. “It’s not a matter of right or wrong; it’s a question of possibilities.” He returned to Memorial Chapel as part of the Performing Arts Series in 2022.

Joshua Bell, 1990 and 1998: The violin virtuoso came to Lawrence to perform early in what would become a highly decorated career. He’s been among the most honored musicians of his time, taking home Grammy, Mercury, Gramophone, Echo Klassik awards and the Avery Fisher Prize. And he took a liking to Appleton. Bell had first come to Appleton in 1983, then as a teenager, to play with the Fox Valley Symphony Orchestra. He’d return seven years later to perform in Lawrence’s Memorial Chapel as part of its Performing Arts Series. He was back in the Chapel in 1998 and has since come back to Appleton twice for symphony performances at the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center (2003 and 2017).

Marilyn Horne, 1994: The American mezzo-soprano sits among the greatest voices of opera. She has received the National Medal of Arts, the Kennedy Center Honors, and four Grammy Awards. She came to Lawrence for a performance at Memorial Chapel as part of the 1993-94 Performing Arts Series.

And a sampling of eight more: Dave Brubeck, 1959; Muddy Waters, 1968; Frank Zappa, 1969; Dizzy Gillespie, 1987; Diana Krall, 1997; Branford Marsalis, 2007; Audra McDonald, 2013; and Samara Joy, 2022.