Corey Harris performs in 2008 at ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College, where he is a member of the class of 1991. Photograph by Phyllis Graber Jensen/ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College.

Enjoy three distinctly different approaches to that quintessential American music, the blues, as ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College presents its new outdoor music series, Concerts on the Quad.

Concerts on the Quad performances take place at 6:30 on three summer Thursdays on ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½’ Historic Quad, at College Street and Campus Avenue. Admission to the series is free, and audience members are encouraged to bring picnics and chairs or blankets.

Blues, gospel and jazz singer Francine Reed returns to ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ Aug. 15.

Taking the place of the college’s Midsummer Lakeside Concerts, the new series continues ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½’ long and popular tradition of presenting outdoor music for the whole family. For more information, please call 207-786-6400.

Here are the Concerts on the Quad performers:

• Corey Harris, a singer-songwriter featured in the Martin Scorsese blues documentary Feel Like Going Home, opens the series with a solo show on July 18.
• A Portland bluesman praised as a “guardian of lightning,” Samuel James offers a solo performance on Aug. 1.
• In her third visit to ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½, veteran blues, gospel and jazz singer Francine Reed performs with her band on Aug. 15.

The Aquila Theatre Company performs “Cyrano de Bergerac” at ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ on Sept. 27.

ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ and the local arts agency L/A Arts have been collaborators for years, jointly presenting arts and cultural events, but the partnership has gained a new intensity for autumn 2012.

In part, this higher level of activity is simply reflecting a new excitement and cooperative spirit in Lewiston-Auburn. And in part, it’s directly attributable to Odelle Bowman, executive director of the arts agency for 18 months.

“I’m a collaborator by nature and a community person,” says Bowman. “It’s my nature to want to bring people together, because we are stronger together than by ourselves.”

The college and L/A Arts are jointly hosting the in a three-day residency (Sept. 27-29). Dedicated to bringing the greatest works of the stage to the greatest possible number of viewers, Aquila is known for a robust touring program that takes in some 70 cities across the country each year. Learn more.

Coinciding with the Aquila visit are two readings, Sept. 27-28, by , known as a soldier-poet who served as an infantry team leader in Iraq, and has two published poetry to his credit. Learn more.

As if all that weren’t plenty, ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½’ Olin Arts Center and L/A Arts are also jointly presenting a return performance by jazz-gospel-blues singer , whose 2011 date at the college was one of the highlights of the concert season. Learn more.

Here are the specifics:

Aquila Theatre: All at 7:30 p.m., Aquila performs Cyrano de Bergerac on Thursday, Sept. 27, in ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½’ Schaeffer Theatre; Ancient Greeks / Modern Lives: Poetry-Drama-Dialogue*, which combines a community discussion with excerpts from ancient Greek drama about war, on Friday, Sept. 28, in Lewiston Public Library’s Callahan Hall; and Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew on Saturday, Sept. 29, back at Schaeffer.

Schaeffer Theatre is located at 305 College St., Lewiston, and the public library is downtown at 200 Lisbon St. Admission to Cyrano and Taming of the Shrew is $15, and discussions precede each of those performances at 6 p.m. in the college Chapel, 275 College St.

Ancient Greeks is open to the public at no cost. For tickets or more information, please contact 207-782-7228 or visit .

Brian Turner: Both open to the public at no cost, Turner’s readings take place at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 27, at ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College’s Edmund S. Muskie Archives, 70 Campus Ave., as part of the Language Arts Live series of literary readings at ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½; and at 6 p.m. Friday, Sept. 28, in Callahan Hall, Lewiston Public Library, 200 Lisbon St. This Poet As Art series reading coincides with the monthly Art Walk Lewiston Auburn.

Also supporting Turner’s appearances are the library, the Harward Center for Community Partnerships and the Spanish department at ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½, and the Maine Humanities Council.

For more information, please contact L/A Arts at 207-782-7228 or .

Francine Reed: Reed takes the stage at the Olin Arts Center Concert Hall, 75 Russell St., at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 13, presented by the Olin Arts Alive concert series in collaboration with L/A Arts. Admission: $15 / $10, increasing to $20 /$10 on the day of the show. Available at . For more information, please contact 207-786-6135 or olinarts@bates.edu.

, the designated Local Arts Agency of the Twin Cities, has a 35-year history of arts and cultural initiatives, partnerships and performances. L/A Arts combines arts-centered educational programming, MainStage performance series, free summer concerts, gallery installations and more.

Frequently partnering with local community organizations, L/A Arts promotes the arts and culture in various forms — from benefit concerts for veterans to Art Walk Lewiston Auburn, the Auburn Art Wall to Arts in Education.

*Ancient Greeks/Modern Lives has been made possible by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities: great ideas brought to life. . Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Red Baraat

Opening with Ethiopian-born Finnish singer-songwriter Mirel Wagner and concluding with the college’s own Jazz Band, the autumn 2012 concert season at ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College represents the best of music from ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ and the world.

The season includes the debut of the Olin Arts Alive concert series featuring internationally renowned and emerging performers.

Classical music highlights include visits by the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and the contemporary music ensemble Momenta Quartet, performing a piece by a ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ composer. In addition, pianist Frank Glazer, an artist in residence at the college since 1980, will offer a season-long series comprising music from his most cherished ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ programs.

In a joint presentation with L/A Arts — one of several undertaken by ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ this academic year — rhythm and blues singer Francine Reed returns to Olin a year after her smash appearance here. Other familiar faces include the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College Orchestra and College Choir. And new to the college is Red Baraat, a most exciting ensemble combining the sounds of South Asia and the New World.

With exceptions as noted, most concerts are open to the public free of charge and take place in the Olin Arts Center Concert Hall, 75 Russell St. To buy tickets, please visit . For more information or to arrange tickets for the free concerts, please contact olinarts@bates.edu or 207-786-6135.

Here’s the season schedule:

Mirel Wagner (7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 12): Born in Ethiopia, raised in Finland, this folk and blues singer is known for her minimalist style and emotive depth. Note: This Olin Arts Alive series concert takes place at Keigwin Amphitheater at Lake Andrews, next to the Olin Arts Center. Rain site: Olin Concert Hall. Learn more.

Pianist Frank Glazer in 2006. Photograph by Phyllis Graber Jensen/ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College.

Frank Glazer Retrospective, Program I (7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 14): The renowned pianist begins a season of music from his most cherished ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ programs. Tonight: Handel, Mozart, Debussy, Chopin and Beethoven (Pathétique). Admission: $10 per concert or all eight programs at $65 per seat, at . Proceeds benefit the Frank & Ruth Glazer Scholarship Fund. A limited number of free tickets are available for seniors and students; contact olinarts@bates.eduor 207-786-6163.

ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½Downtown (5 p.m. Friday, Sept. 28): The college’s informal series of free downtown concerts resumes with an artist TBA. Note: The venue is 22 Park St., Lewiston.

An Evening of Chamber Music (7:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 29): Four friends — ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ pianist Jim Parakilas, violinist Mary Hunter, cellist Steve Witkin and violist Heather Cook — perform Mozart, Fauré and Dvořák, including the beloved “Dumky” piano trio. Free, but tickets required; contact olinarts@bates.edu.

Red Baraat (7:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 30): Driven by bandleader Sunny Jain’s dhol, a North Indian drum, this uproarious Brooklyn band blends Brit-Indi Bhangra with funky New World brass. Admission $15/ $10, available at . Free tickets are available for the first 100 seniors or students. To reserve, please email olinarts@bates.edu. .

Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center (7:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 6): One of America’s most compelling pianists, Jeremy Denk is among the six CMS players in an Olin Arts Alive performance. Featured is music by Bruch, Brahms and Dohnányi. Admission $15/ $10, available at . Free tickets are available for the first 100 seniors or students. To reserve, please email olinarts@bates.edu. .

Francine Reed

Frank Glazer Retrospective, Program II (7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 12): See Program I, above, for artist and admission details. Tonight: Schoenberg’s Six Short Pieces, along with music by Schubert, Brahms and Chopin.

Francine Reed (7:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 13): Olin Arts Alive and L/A Arts present an evening with this blues, gospel and jazz singer. A hit at Olin a year ago, the openhearted, full-throated Reed is the widely recognized voice in Lyle Lovett’s Large Band, but has a powerhouse career in her own right. Admission: $15 / $10, increasing to $20 /$10 on the day of the show. Available at . Learn more.

Alexandre Tharaud (7:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 21). Olin Arts Alive presents the up-and-coming French pianist. “Tharaud is dazzlingly nimble-fingered and often admirably sensitive, without romanticizing,” wrote the BBC. A program of Scarlatti, Ravel, Chopin and Liszt. Admission $12, available at ; free tickets are available for the first 100 seniors and students. Email olinarts@bates.edu to reserve. .

Rollin’ to Olin(12:30 p.m. on three Thursdays: Nov. 1, 8 and 15). The public is invited to this free arts-literacy program for local schoolchildren. A ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College Museum of Art presentation takes place at 12:30 p.m., followed by a mini-concert from 1 to 1:30.

Europa Galante

Europa Galante (7:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 2): Olin Arts Alive presents a Baroque music ensemble from Italy, founded and still directed by violinist Fabio Biondi. The program “Apotheosis and Folia” includes music by Vivaldi, Couperin, Mascitti, Corelli and C.P.E. Bach. Admission $12, available at . Free tickets are available to the first 100 seniors and students; reserve by emailing olinarts@bates.edu. .

Frank Glazer Retrospective, Program III (7:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 9): See Program I, above, for artist and admission information. Tonight: Ravel’s Valses nobles et sentimentales, along with music by Bach, Mozart, Beethoven and Chopin.

ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College Orchestra (7:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 10): Hiroya Miura directs the ensemble in a program including Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 in A major, Op. 92. Free, but tickets required.

ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College Choir (8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Nov. 30-Dec. 1): John Corrie directs the choir in a program TBA. Free, but tickets required.

Frank Glazer Retrospective, Program IV (3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 2): See Program I, above, for artist and admission information. Tonight: music by Franck, Weber, Gershwin, Barber, Copland and Brahms.

Momenta Quartet

Momenta Quartet (7:30 p.m. Monday, Dec. 4): Olin Arts Alive and the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College Museum of Art present this quartet whose repertoire ranges widely from the classics to contemporary — such as tonight’s premiere by ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ composer Hiroya Miura, commissioned for the museum’s exhibition Starstruck. Also on the program: music by Debussy, Kee Yong Chong and Jason Kao Hwang. Admission $12, available at . Free tickets are available to the first 100 seniors and students; reserve by emailing olinarts@bates.edu. .

ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College Jazz Band (7 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 5) Tom Snow leads the band in arrangements for large and small ensembles, and genres from big band to bossa nova to funk. Free, but tickets required.