Category Archives: Events

JAMMING ON THE JOB – LIVE, Featuring 123 Andrés Pierce Freelon | April 17, 2027 | Aronoff Center

JAMMING ON THE JOB – LIVE

Featuring 2024 Grammy-Winners and Grammy-Nominee
for Best Children’s Music Album: 123 Andrés and Pierce Freelon

April 17, 2027
Aronoff Center – Jarson-Kaplan Theater

Tickets on sale now!

[Cincinnati, OH] – The hit podcast from PBS KIDS, “Jamming on the Job,” will turn into an interactive live show when it plays the Aronoff Center’s Jarson-Kaplan Theater on Saturday, April 17, 2027, at 10:30 AM & 1:30 PM. The fun and educational family-friendly event is part of the Cincinnati Arts Association’s 2026-27 Season. 

Tickets are currently on sale at www.CincinnatiArts.org, (513) 621-ARTS [2787], and the Aronoff Center Ticket Office. For group sales (10 or more), call (513) 977-4155.

This live, fully interactive show features the three original characters from the podcast – Andrés, Christina ,and BoomBox, played by Pierce Freelon – and brings to life songs and storylines from the from “Jamming on the Job.” Just like the podcast, the trio hops on their tour bus and travels from place to place, making music. But in the live show, when they encounter a problem, the trio will need the audience to help. Kids will be singing along, shouting out answers, teaming up with their grown-ups, and wiggling with silly dance moves. 

The learning goal of the live show and podcast is for kids to learn about jobs and careers in which opportunities are growing, and that go beyond the stereotypical list of jobs kids are already familiar with. For example, kids who are fascinated by firetrucks will learn about fire managers, who work in forests to prevent uncontrolled forest fires. In a fast-changing world, Jamming on the Job – LIVE strongly emphasizes deeply human skills and traits – like teamwork, critical thinking, flexibility, and creativity – that will be essential no matter how the future evolves. 

“At a time when AI is reshaping the job market, it’s vital to equip kids with the skills to imagine, prepare for, and create tomorrow’s jobs,” says Pierce. “Jamming on the Job – LIVE helps kids explore careers – with a beat!”

During the live show, kids participate by taking on the role of the featured jobs to help the characters solve problems and get unstuck. When the trio sings “Stick with It” for example, the audience will be play-acting as wind turbine service technicians who show perseverance instead of giving up. 

“On the podcast and at the live show, our goal is for kids to find out about cool careers and know they are capable of having any of these jobs in the future if they want to,” says Andrés. 

The “Jamming on the Job” podcast continues PBS KIDS’ legacy of high-quality and thoughtful educational content for young children. It has been a hit with families, with over 26 million streams across podcast platforms. Every aspect was developed in consultation with PBS KIDS educational experts. For example, the careers were carefully selected to represent a range of industries, job types, and required levels of education. The podcast earned “Best Podcast of the Year for Kids” by Common Sense Media in 2023 and an “Excellence in Early Learning Digital Media Honor” from the American Library Association in 2024. 

The performers also have a storied trajectory in kids’ music. Pierce Freelon is a 2024 Grammy® nominee for “Best Children’s Music Album,” and 123 Andrés (Christina Sanabria and Andrés Salguero) are 2024 Grammy® winners in the same category. Just like their characters on the show, 123 Andrés and Pierce Freelon tour nationally, performing for kids and families at some of the country’s most recognized venues and festivals.

Following Jamming on the Job – LIVE performances in cities including Los Angeles, CA, Austin, TX, and Durham, NC, the Aronoff Center performances will mark the first time the show makes a stop in Ohio. “We’re thrilled that Jamming on the Job – LIVE is coming to the Aronoff Center,” says Christina. “The Aronoff Center is recognized as a world-class venue, and they’re committed to putting on age-appropriate events for kids, so families can have that magical ‘theater experience’ together.”

ABOUT PIERCE FREELON
Pierce Freelon is a Grammy®-nominated artist, picture book author, and podcaster. His Grammy®-nominated children’s music albums AnceStars and Black to the Future have been featured on NPR, Billboard, and The Today Show. Pierce is the co-creator of the PBS Kids podcast “Jamming on the Job” and the voice of its beat master Boombox. He also co-created the Emmy-winning PBS web series Beat Making Lab. He is the author of two children’s picture books with Little, Brown Books for Young Readers – Daddy and Me: Side by Side (2023) and Daddy-Daughter Day (2022). Pierce is a dad to two creative and hilarious kids, loves reading Octavia Butler books with his wife of eighteen years, and is proud that he can still dunk a basketball in his 40s!

ABOUT 123 ANDRÉS
123 Andrés are Andrés and Christina, the Grammy®- and Latin Grammy®-winning, husband-wife music duo. Both native Spanish-speakers, they tour the US and Latin America performing for thousands of children and families each year, in Spanish and English. They have published five bilingual children’s picture books with Scholastic and recently received their plaque from YouTube for surpassing ten million subscribers on their channel. Their songs are incorporated in lesson plans for early learners at schools across the US and Latin America.

ABOUT THE “JAMMING ON THE JOB” PODCAST
In each episode of this music-infused podcast, produced by PBS-NC for PBS KIDS, kids and families learn about a different fascinating job. Listeners join Christina, Andrés, and BoomBox, as they tour the country performing concerts. But at every stop, they run into an obstacle that threatens to derail the show! The trio jumps into problem-solving mode and meets a grownup with an interesting job who can help them along their way. As they learn about the inspiring career-of-the-day and the skills needed to be successful in that job, Christina, Andrés, and BoomBox solve the big problem and compose an original song about their new friend’s job.

Stream the “Jamming on the Job” podcast on the PBS KIDS website, YouTube, Spotify, or anywhere you find podcasts.

Cincinnati Arts Association SPONSORS 

The Cincinnati Arts Association is supported [in part] by an investment of public funds from the Ohio Arts Council (OAC). The OAC is a state agency that funds and supports quality arts experiences to strengthen Ohio communities culturally, educationally, and economically.

Season Sponsors:  AMERITAS (Founding Season Sponsor), MIAMI UNIVERSITY, ARTSWAVE, LOCAL 12 WKRC-TV, PROCTER & GAMBLE, TRIHEALTH 

SEASON PRESENTING SPONSORS:  21C Museum Hotel, altafiber, Bahl & Gaynor, CityBeat, Harlan Graphics, Heidelberg Distributing, Kinley Cincinnati, The Party Source, Pepsi, Summerfair Cincinnati

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CALENDAR INFORMATION

WHAT:                Jamming on the Job – LIVE

                             featuring 123 Andrés and Pierce Freelon

WHEN:                Saturday, April 17, 2027 – 10:30 AM & 1:30 PM

WHERE:              Aronoff Center – Jarson-Kaplan Theater

PRICES:               Start at $20.75, inclusive of all fees 

RUNTIME:          60 minutes, with no intermission

INFO:                   The live, fully interactive show features the three original characters from the podcast “Jamming on the Job” – Andrés, Christina, and BoomBox, played by Pierce Freelon – and brings to life songs and storylines from “Jamming on the Job.” Just like the podcast, the trio hops on their tour bus and travels from place to place, making music. But in the live show, when they encounter a problem, the trio will need the audience to help. Kids will be singing along, shouting out answers, teaming up with their grown-ups, and wiggling with silly dance moves. 


TICKET INFORMATION – on sale now

  • www.CincinnatiArts.org
  • (513) 621-ARTS [2787]
  • Aronoff Center Ticket Office
  • Group sales (10 or more): (513) 977-4155

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Cincinnati Opera on WGUC

Cincinnati Opera and 90.9 WGUC bring opera to the airwaves with fall broadcasts of the 2026 Summer Festival and a live 2027 Season Preview

CINCINNATI (October 26, 2026)—Cincinnati Opera and 90.9 WGUC, Cincinnati’s classical public radio station and the Opera’s media partner, continue their collaboration to bring local opera to the airwaves this fall and winter.

Beginning November 1, 2026, WGUC will broadcast six performances from Cincinnati Opera’s 2026 Summer Festival on Sunday evenings at 8 p.m. ET. Then, on Saturday, January 23, 2027, WGUC will air Cincinnati Opera’s 2027 Season Preview live from the Cincinnati Public Radio studios, and the public is invited to join the studio audience.

Cincinnati Opera’s 2026 Summer Festival took place June 18–August 2, 2026, at Cincinnati’s historic Music Hall. The fall broadcasts include Richard Strauss’s Salome; the world premiere of Kevin Day and Tifara Brown’s Lalovavi, the first work in Cincinnati Opera’s Black Opera Project; Georges Bizet’s Carmen; Ricky Ian Gordon’s Orpheus and Euridice; and both of Cincinnati Opera’s 2026 Studio Sessions: “Soul & Sound 2.0: The Gospel of Tomorrow” and “Matthew White in Recital.”

The 2027 Season Preview in January offers an early look at Cincinnati Opera’s 107th Summer Festival, which features the world premiere of Maria Thompson Corley and Diana Solomon-Glover’s John Lewis: Good Trouble, the second work in the Black Opera Project; the all-star concert Viva Verdi!; Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro; Puccini’s Turandot; and the return of Studio Sessions.

All broadcasts can be heard locally on air at 90.9 FM and online at wguc.org.


CINCINNATI OPERA’S 2026 SUMMER FESTIVAL ON 90.9 WGUC

Broadcast Schedule:

Sunday, November 1 | 8 p.m. ET

Salome
Originally performed June 18 and 20, 2026, at Cincinnati Music Hall
Music by Richard Strauss; libretto by Hedwig Lachmann, based on the play by Oscar Wilde
Robert Spano, conductor; Jose Maria Condemi, stage director

Featuring: Kathryn Lewek, Alfred Walker, Chad Shelton, Michelle DeYoung, Zach Borichevsky; Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra

Description: Salome, the teenage princess of Judea, becomes dangerously fixated on the imprisoned prophet John the Baptist. When he rejects her advances, her desire curdles into obsession. At her stepfather Herod’s birthday feast, Salome dances and, at her maniacal mother’s behest, demands a gruesome reward. Set to Richard Strauss’s lush score, Salome is a fever dream of lust, power, and prophecy, where every glance is loaded, and no desire is without cost.

Sunday, November 8 | 8 p.m. ET

Studio Sessions—Soul & Sound 2.0: The Gospel of Tomorrow
Originally performed June 25, 2026, at Cincinnati Music Hall’s Wilks Studio

Featuring: Tifara Brown (poet and host), G. Thomas Allen (countertenor), Donald Lee III and Kevin Miller (pianos)

Description: Hosted by poet Tifara Brown and featuring countertenor G. Thomas Allen and pianists Kevin Miller and Donald Lee III, this intimate cabaret-style performance is more than a concert—it is a living, breathing ceremony, rooted in the gospel tradition and expanded through virtuosic performance and storytelling. The artists remember and reimagine the power of Black music across time, from the sacred foundation of spirituals into the heart of gospel, through the freedom of jazz and the depth of Black classical excellence, and into a bold Afrofuturist horizon.

Sunday, November 15 | 8 p.m. ET

Studio Sessions—Matthew White in Recital
Originally performed July 1, 2026, at Cincinnati Music Hall’s Wilks Studio

Featuring: Matthew White (tenor), James Maverick (piano)

Description: Cincinnati audiences will remember tenor Matthew White from his 2025 starring role as Cavaradossi in Tosca and his Don José in 2026’s Carmen. During this Studio Session, White takes to the cabaret stage for his first-ever solo recital, featuring an enthralling evening of music, from opera arias to Appalachian folk tunes, with Cincinnati Opera’s Head of Music Staff James Maverick at the piano.

Sunday, November 22 | 8 p.m. ET

Lalovavi (world premiere)
Originally performed July 9 and 11, 2026, at Cincinnati Music Hall
Music by Kevin Day; libretto by Tifara Brown
Kevin Miller, conductor; Kimille Howard, stage director and dramaturg

Featuring: Brittany Olivia Logan, Adrienne Danrich, Morris Robinson, Talise Trevigne, Zoie Reams, Terrence Chin-Loy, Michael Preacely, G. Thomas Allen; Cincinnati Opera Chorus; Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra

Description: Set 400 years into the future, Lalovavi (lah-low-VAH-vee) is an Afrofuturist adventure that follows Persephone, the youngest daughter of the ruler of Atlas, the city formerly known as Atlanta. Currency and status in Atlas are determined based on the presence of Syndica, a gene that promotes vitality and longevity. When Persephone is found to possess a version of Syndica that confers immortality, she is betrayed by her family and must run for her life. She is thrust into an epic journey, uncovering a hidden past that leads her to discover love’s true meaning and the power to determine her destiny. 

Sunday, November 29 | 8 p.m. ET

Carmen
Originally performed July 25, 29, 31, and August 2, 2026, at Cincinnati Music Hall
Music by Georges Bizet; libretto by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy
Ramón Tebar, conductor; Paul Curran, original stage director; Anderson Nunnelly, revival stage director

Featuring: J’Nai Bridges, Matthew White, Teresa Perrotta, Ryan McKinny, Sam Smith, Kayleigh Decker, Jeysla Rosario Santos, Thomas Dreeze, Jack Keller, Nathan De’Shon Myers; Cincinnati Opera Chorus; Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra

Description: The fiercely independent Carmen lives—and loves—on her own terms. When she sets her sights on Don José, a straitlaced soldier with a sweetheart back home, he quickly unravels, abandoning everything for her. But Carmen’s heart doesn’t stay in one place for long, and when the charismatic toreador Escamillo enters the ring, jealousy turns deadly. Set to Bizet’s iconic, rhythm-driven score, Carmen is a story of desire, freedom, and fatal choices.

Sunday, December 6 | 8 p.m. ET

Orpheus and Euridice

Originally performed July 28, 30, and August 1, 2026, at Cincinnati Music Hall’s Wilks Studio
Music and text by Ricky Ian Gordon
Stephen Mulligan, conductor; Audrey Chait, stage director

Featuring Heidi Middendorf (soprano), Christopher Pell (clarinet); members of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra

Description: Orpheus, a grieving musician, loses his beloved Euridice too soon—and is granted one impossible chance to bring her back from the underworld. Guided by music and memory, he descends into a realm of shadows with only one rule: don’t look back. Ricky Ian Gordon’s Orpheus and Euridice retells the ancient myth with lyrical intimacy and emotional clarity, blending classical voice with contemporary style.

Thanks to the L and L Nippert Charitable Foundation and the Willard and Jean Mulford Charitable Fund and the Victoria L. Memmel Charitable Fund of the Cambridge Charitable Foundation for supporting WGUC’s Cincinnati Opera broadcasts.


CINCINNATI OPERA’S 2027 SEASON PREVIEW: LIVE ON 90.9 WGUC

Saturday, January 23, 2027 | 11:45 a.m.–1 p.m. ET

Cincinnati Public Radio, 2117 Dana Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45207

Broadcast live on 90.9 FM and wguc.org

Tickets: $15; to order, visit www.cincinnatiopera.org beginning Monday, October 26.

Description: Be part of the live studio audience for an inside look at Cincinnati Opera’s 2027 Summer Festival. Hosted by Evans Mirageas, Cincinnati Opera’s Harry T. Wilks Artistic Director, the program explores the history behind each work and shares behind-the-scenes details about the productions coming to Music Hall. Live singers will perform excerpts from the 2027 Summer Festival, which features John Lewis: Good Trouble, Viva Verdi!, The Marriage of Figaro, Turandot, and Studio Sessions. 


About Cincinnati Public Radio
Cincinnati Public Radio is home to 90.9 WGUC, Greater Cincinnati’s classical music station, and 91.7 WVXU, the region’s NPR news and information station. In addition to its broadcast programming, Cincinnati Public Radio offers a variety of music experiences through its digital streams, including JazzWorks, Inhailer Radio, and Radio Artifact. Through music, journalism, and community engagement, Cincinnati Public Radio connects audiences to the arts, culture, and stories that enrich our region. Learn more at Cinradio.org.


About Cincinnati Opera
Cincinnati Opera’s mission is to enrich and connect our community through diverse opera experiences. Founded in 1920, it is the second-oldest opera company in the U.S. It presents a season of grand opera every summer at Cincinnati Music Hall, a National Historic Landmark, featuring world-renowned artists and the esteemed Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. The company also offers year-round education and community engagement programming throughout the Greater Cincinnati region.

The company’s repertoire spans beloved classics and bold new works, with a distinguished tradition of producing opera that resonates far beyond the stage. Select regional, national, and world premieres include Margaret Garner (2005), Fellow Travelers (2016), and Blind Injustice (2019), which have gone on to productions across the country. Cincinnati Opera is also the originating home of The Black Opera Project, a first-of-its-kind initiative creating three full-length operas from 2026 through 2028 celebrating the Black American experience. Through Opera Fusion: New Works, its long-running creative partnership with the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, the company shepherds new American operas from workshop to world premiere. Cincinnati Opera is a proud member of OPERA America. Learn more at cincinnatiopera.org.

Cincinnati Opera is supported by The Louise Dieterle Nippert Musical Arts Fund as well as the generosity of tens of thousands of contributors to the ArtsWave Community Campaign. Programming is made possible in part by an investment of public funds from the Ohio Arts Council (OAC), a state agency that funds and supports quality arts experiences to strengthen Ohio communities culturally, educationally, and economically. Cincinnati Opera also receives support from The Harry T. Wilks Family Foundation Fund for Leading Artists, along with many other generous individuals, corporations, and foundations.

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MAROONED! A Space Comedy | Sat., Jan. 23, 2027 | Aronoff Center

ALEX and OLMSTED’S
MAROONED! A Space Comedy


“Achingly beautiful…” – Maryland Theatre Guide 

“…amusing, charming, delightful and, at times,

utterly and completely astonishing.” – DC Theater Scene

January 23, 2027
Aronoff Center – Jarson-Kaplan Theater

[Cincinnati, OH] – The award-winning, 60-minute, family-friendly puppet sensation Marooned! A Space Comedy will touch down at the Aronoff Center’s intimate Jarson-Kaplan Theater on Saturday, January 23 at 2:00 PM for an out-of-this-world live performance. The show is part of the Cincinnati Arts Association’s 2026-27 CAA PRESENTS! season.

Tickets are on sale now at www.CincinnatiArts.org, (513) 621-2787 [ARTS], and the Aronoff Center Ticket Office. For group sales (10 or more), call (513) 977-4155. Prices include all applicable fees and taxes and are subject to change.

An astronaut crashes on an uncharted planet. Will she survive strange creatures, an abnormal atmosphere, and isolation in order to find her way home? See for yourself… in MAROONED! Featuring music from the Voyager Golden Record, this innovative new puppet show takes place at the outer reaches of space. Internationally acclaimed puppet theater and filmmaking company Alex and Olmsted presents this Jim Henson Foundation grant–awarded production.

Alex and Olmsted (Alex Vernon and Sarah Olmsted Thomas) is an internationally acclaimed puppet theater and filmmaking company based in Baltimore, Maryland. They have toured original shows in France, Portugal, Italy, South Korea, Germany, Denmark, and Canada. USA highlights include the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., Symphony Space and HERE Arts in New York City, the Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival, the Detroit Institute of Arts, the Puppeteers of America Festival, and many stages in their beloved city of Baltimore. Alex and Olmsted has been recognized by The New York Times, featured in the Washington Post, and awarded four Jim Henson Foundation grants, several awards from the Maryland State Arts Council, the Baker Artist Award, and two UNIMA-USA Citations of Excellence: the highest honor for puppetry arts in the United States. Alex and Olmsted has led masterclass workshops at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts and the Eugene O’Neill Theatre Center, among others. Their work was presented by Mid Atlantic Arts in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts and named an official selection of the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival, Maryland Film Festival, Paris Art Film, and others. Alex and Olmsted is a resident company at Baltimore Theatre Project. Vernon and Thomas are also proud company members of Happenstance Theater with whom they have created twelve productions since 2012. In addition to their work in live performance, Vernon maintains and repairs the automata on exhibit at the American Visionary Art Museum and Olmsted serves as President of the National Capital Puppetry Guild.

For more information, visit https://www.alexandolmsted.com/marooned-a-space-comedy.html.


Cincinnati Arts Association SPONSORS

The Cincinnati Arts Association is supported [in part] by an investment of public funds from the Ohio Arts Council (OAC). The OAC is a state agency that funds and supports quality arts experiences to strengthen Ohio communities culturally, educationally, and economically.

Season Sponsors:  AMERITAS (Founding Season Sponsor), MIAMI UNIVERSITY, ARTSWAVE, LOCAL 12 WKRC-TV, PROCTER & GAMBLE, TRIHEALTH 

SEASON PRESENTING SPONSORS: 21C Museum Hotel, altafiber, Bahl & Gaynor, CityBeat, Harlan Graphics, Heidelberg Distributing, Kinley Cincinnati, The Party Source, Pepsi, Summerfair Cincinnati

#  #  #

CALENDAR INFORMATION

WHAT:                MAROONED! A Space Comedy

WHEN:               Saturday, January 23, 2027 – 2:00 PM

WHERE:             Aronoff Center – Jarson-Kaplan Theater

PRICES:             Start at $20.75, inclusive of all fees.

INFO:                   An astronaut crashes on an uncharted planet. Will she survive strange creatures, an abnormal atmosphere, and isolation in order to find her way home? See for yourself… in MAROONED! A Space Comedy. Featuring music from the Voyager Golden Record, this innovative new puppet show takes place at the outer reaches of space. Internationally acclaimed puppet theater and filmmaking company Alex and Olmsted presents this Jim Henson Foundation grant–awarded production.

TICKET INFORMATION – on sale now

  • www.CincinnatiArts.org
  • (513) 621-ARTS [2787]
  • Aronoff Center Ticket Office
  • Group sales (10 or more): (513) 977-4155

 

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PIPPIN at Anderson High School Runs Nov. 13-15

PIPPIN
Anderson High School
Nov. 13-15
Titus Auditorium [Anderson Township]

Directed by Nate Bissinger

Framed in the world of performance and acrobatics, Pippin shatters the fourth wall as a troupe of traveling players invite audiences into the world of a young prince in search of the meaning of life. Pippin is heir to the Frankish throne and he seeks glory and honor through war and political power. When Pippin usurps his father King Charlemagne the Great, however, his beliefs about life and leadership start to unravel.

  • Fri-Sat, Nov. 13-14 at 7pm
  • Sun, Nov. 15 at 3pm

Official page |

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THE OLD MAN AND THE OLD MOON at Mason High School Theater Runs Oct. 16-24

THE OLD MAN AND THE OLD MOON
Mason High School Theater
Oct. 16-24
MHS Black Box Theater

For as long as anyone can recall, the Old Man’s sole duty has been to fill the leaking moon with liquid light. But when his wife is drawn away by a mysterious song, he must abandon his post to cross the globe and find her. Along the way, he encounters chaotic sailors, apocalyptic storms, giant sea monsters, and a world falling into darkness without its moon. Told through rich folk music, creative shadow puppetry, and vibrant ensemble storytelling, The Old Man and the Old Moon is a breathtaking adventure about memory, love, and the enduring power of a good story.

  • Fri, Oct. 16 at 7pm
  • Sat, Oct. 17 at 2pm (ASL Interpreted) & 7pm
  • Fri-Sat, Oct. 23-24 at 7pm

Official page | Facebook event |

 

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