Visual & Performing Arts

Visuals are decorative and audio is absent.

Create. Explore. Interpret. Innovate.

Welcome future students, friends of the Arts, and the larger La Crosse community! Experience the award-winning exhibits, performances, and shows that thrive in the departments of Art, Music, & Theatre & Dance.

MapVisit us: Truman T. Lowe Center for the Arts, 333 North 16th Street.

Click here for new parking information.

Upcoming events

Starts 5 p.m. Fri, Sept. 18 Ger Xiong: Hold on Tight

Starts 3:20 p.m. Thu, Oct. 15 John Fedchock Masterclass with UWL Jazz Orchestra

7:30 to 8:30 p.m. Thu, Oct. 15 Concert Band: Momentum

2:15 to 3:15 p.m. Fri, Oct. 16 Arizona Echoes with visiting composer Russell Platt

Multiple dates (6 upcoming) The Welkin

12:45 to 2:45 p.m. Sat, Oct. 17 14th Annual High School / Alumni Band Day with the Screaming Eagles Marching Band

7:30 to 8:30 p.m. Tue, Oct. 20 Jazz Combos Concert Saxophone Colossus: Celebrating the Music of Sonny Rollins

5 to 7 p.m. Thu, Oct. 22 5th Annual Art Open House

7:30 to 9 p.m. Fri, Oct. 23 Fall Choral Showcase Concert Choir, Treble Chorus, Choral Union

4 to 5 p.m. Sat, Oct. 24 Symphony Orchestra With HS Honor Orchestra

7:30 to 8:30 p.m. Tue, Oct. 27 Jazz Concert "Seasons," Featuring the Jazz Ensemble & Jazz Orchestra

4 to 5 p.m. Fri, Oct. 30 Home, Again: UWL Alumni Triennial Artist Roundtable Discussion

Starts 5 p.m. Fri, Oct. 30 UWL Alumni Triennial Exhibition

Multiple dates (4 upcoming) Gruesome Playground Injuries

7:30 to 8:30 p.m. Thu, Nov. 5 Wind Ensemble ft. Viet Cuong: ArtsFest Advance! Artist in Residence

1 to 2 p.m. Sun, Nov. 15 Screaming Eagles Marching Band Revue

7:30 to 8:30 p.m. Thu, Dec. 3 Jazz Combos Concert

Starts 5 p.m. Fri, Dec. 4 Fall Senior Art Student Exhibition

Multiple dates (7 upcoming) A Christmas Carol by John Mortimer, adapted from the story by Charles Dickens

2 to 3 p.m. Sat, Dec. 5 Concert Band

4 to 5 p.m. Sat, Dec. 5 Symphony Orchestra

7:30 to 8:30 p.m. Wed, Dec. 9 SceneWorks An evening of opera and musical theatre

7:30 to 8:30 p.m. Fri, Dec. 11 Miles Davis at 100 Jazz Ensemble & Jazz Orchestra Concert

4 to 5 p.m. Sat, Dec. 12 Wind Ensemble & Honor Bands

7:30 to 8:30 p.m. Sat, Dec. 12 Treble Chorus

Starts 5 p.m. Fri, Feb. 5, 2027 67th Annual All-Student Juried Art Exhibition

2 to 3 p.m. Sat, Feb. 13, 2027 2027 Honors Recital

Multiple dates (4 upcoming) Art in Motion: A Concert of Dance

7:30 to 9:30 p.m. Fri, Feb. 26, 2027 39th Annual Big Band Cabaret & Dance Party Free dance lessons & cash bar

Multiple dates (3 upcoming) La Crosse New Music Festival

7:30 to 8:30 p.m. Tue, March 2, 2027 Jazz Combos Concert

Starts 5 p.m. Fri, March 5, 2027 Jeremy Chen: There is no silence ArtsFest Advance! Featured Artist

7:30 to 8:30 p.m. Fri, March 5, 2027 Concert Choir & Treble Chorus

4 to 5 p.m. Sat, March 6, 2027 Symphony Orchestra

7:30 to 8:30 p.m. Wed, March 10, 2027 Wind Ensemble

7:30 to 8:30 p.m. Thu, March 11, 2027 Symphonic Band

Multiple dates (5 upcoming) Flora and Ulysses

4 to 5 p.m. Sun, April 18, 2027 Chamber Music Concert

6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Thu, April 22, 2027 Jazz Combos Concert & Jam Session ArtsFest Signature Event

Starts 5 p.m. Fri, April 23, 2027 Spring Senior Art Student Exhibition

Multiple dates (7 upcoming) Anastasia: The Musical

7:30 to 8:30 p.m. Sat, April 24, 2027 Symphony Orchestra ArtsFest Signature Event

7:30 to 8:30 p.m. Wed, April 28, 2027 Treble Chorus

7:30 to 8:30 p.m. Thu, April 29, 2027 Jazz Concert

7:30 to 8:30 p.m. Fri, April 30, 2027 SceneWorks An evening of opera and musical theatre

2 to 3 p.m. Sun, May 2, 2027 Symphonic Band

4 to 5 p.m. Sun, May 2, 2027 Wind Ensemble

A letter from our director

October brings us into cooler days, vibrant foliage, and into a packed season of programming at UWL’s School of Visual & Performing Arts!

Tickets are now on sale online for the Department of Theatre & Dance’s 2026-2027 season. Don’t miss our opening production – “The Welkin” by Lucy Kirkwoord playing October 16-25. Think “The Crucible” meets “12 Angry Jurors.” Come see why UWL Theatre & Dance is consistently praised by the American College Theatre Festival as one of the best in the region! Click here for tickets.

Theatre & Dance patrons can now make use of our new Auracast Bluetooth system, either by checking out a receiver from the House Manager, or by streaming audio directly to your own compatible hearing aids, cochlear implants or headphones/earbuds. Inquire at the box office when you arrive for your performance!

One of my favorite events of the year is the annual Art Open House, set for Thursday, October 22 from 5-7 p.m. throughout the Lowe Center for the Arts. Ger Xiong’s exhibition "Hold on Tight" remains on display in the UWL Art Gallery through October 18, to be followed with “Home, Again,” a triennial exhibition featuring nine alumni artists. Join us for a free, public opening reception for the exhibition from 5-6:30 p.m. on October 30 in the Lowe Center for the Arts.

Patrons for gallery exhibitions beginning at 5 p.m. may register in advance for free parking in the South Ramp by visiting uwlax.edu/vpa and clicking on the "Parking" button, or by registering your vehicle at the UWL Art Gallery front desk upon arrival.

The Music Department ramps up to present a series of performances across ensembles, including Concert Band (Oct 15), a tribute to Sonny Rollins (Oct. 20), a Fall Choral Showcase (Oct. 23), the UWL Symphony and Honor Orchestra (Oct. 24), and a Jazz Concert (Oct. 27). We also welcome a number of guest artists to campus, including trombonist John Fedchock (Oct. 15), composers Russell Platt (Oct 16) and ArtsFest Advance! guest Viet Cuong (Nov. 5), and singer-songwriter Livingston Taylor (Nov. 11).

Complimentary parking is available in the new “South Ramp” (15th & Vine) starting at 6:30pm for weekday evening performances, as well as for all weekend performances.

Our fall schedule is in the mail! If you would like to receive a copy of your own, please send your mailing address to vpa@uwlax.edu. Get bonus behind-the-scenes content and interviews by joining our VPA digital newsletter clicking here.

Director of VPACheers!
Pete Rydberg