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.

The Maine duo Cinder Conk plays music from the Balkans and elsewhere in Eastern Europe.

The ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College outreach program “Rollin’ to Olin,” launched last fall to give local schoolchildren experience with music and visual art at the college’s Olin Arts Center, resumes this month.

Fourth-graders from Geiger Elementary School will be bused to the arts center for hourlong programs consisting of a visual art presentation and a short concert, both in the Olin Arts Center Concert Hall, 75 Russell St.

Starting with the visual art presentations at 12:30 p.m., the Wednesday programs take place Feb. 29, March 7 and March 14.

The programs are open to the general public, and elementary schools are invited to send classes. Teachers can RSVP to Anthony Shostak, the museum’s education curator, or to education fellow Catherine Jones at 207-786-6158.

Maine pianist Brian Meldrum.

A generous grant from Liberty Mutual pays for Geiger’s transportation costs.

On Feb. 29, the art presentation will explore the depiction of animals in art, using examples from the museum collection. Music begins at 1 p.m. by La Morra, a Swiss ensemble dedicated to late medieval and early Renaissance music.

(NOTE: La Morra holds a second concert that day at 7:30 p.m., also in the Olin Concert Hall. Tickets are $6, and available at www.batestickets.com. For more information, please contact 207-786-6135 or olinarts@bates.edu.)

On March 7, the program features an introduction to abstraction, followed by Cinder Conk, a Portland duo that performs Eastern European music on accordion and bass. While the art presentation for March 14 is still being planned, the music will be provided by local pianist Brian Meldrum, playing music by Chopin and Beethoven.

Following each visit to ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½, the grade-schoolers will write about their experiences, connecting the program to their language arts curriculum.

La Morra performs European music of a period roughly defined by the dates 1300 and 1500, with occasional escapades outside this time frame. The ensemble pays particular attention to the secular art song, sacred para-liturgical genres and instrumental music.

Cinder Conk plays across the Northeast and has shared the stage with Petar Ralchev’s Live from Bulgaria Ensemble, Fishtank Ensemble and Slavic Soul Party. Notable performances include the Free Range Music Festival, the Golden Festival and the Common Ground Fair.

Michal Gondko and Corina Marti of La Morra.

Meldrum, of Wayne, has performed in south-central Maine for four decades. Familiar to ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ audiences from the Noonday Concert Series, Meldrum studied for more than 30 years with Natasha Chances, a legendary member of the college’s applied music faculty.

The Rollin’ to Olin program is part of new programming introduced in conjunction with the 25th anniversary of the Olin Arts Center.