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UNCG’s Concert and Lecture Series hosts a wide array of talent

Posted on May 28, 2026

Dance, Jazz, Musical Theatre, and Ben Folds highlight UNCG’s annual series

The season is set, and there is truly something for everyone in this year’s UNC Greensboro Concert and Lecture Series, from Tony- and Grammy-winners to street dance artists and jazz luminaries.

The series kicks off on Friday, Sept. 25 with Tony Award–winning actor and singer Alex Newell, known for their Broadway roles in Once on This Island and Shucked. Fans will also know Newell from performances on TV’s Glee and Zooey’s Extraordinary Playlist.

On Friday, Oct. 16, UCLS gets moving with Rennie Harris Puremovement American Street Dance Theater — the country’s leading street dance theater company dedicated to preserving and disseminating hip-hop aesthetics.

On Saturday, Oct. 24, the School of Music presents the 19^th annual Collage concert, which this year honors the United States’ 250^th  anniversary with the theme of “American Voices.” 

On Friday, Feb. 5, 2023’s Grammy-winning Best New Artist and six-time Grammy-winner, jazz superstar Samara Joy graces the stage.

And on Saturday, March 20, it’s an evening with North Carolina native and Emmy Award-nominated singer-songwriter Ben Folds.

Street dancer spiraling through the air — Alex Newell

Robinson Family Visiting Artists

John Scofield, three-time Grammy Award-winning jazz guitarist and composer, and Carmen Bradford, Grammy Award-winning vocalist of the Count Basie Orchestra perform.

UCLS and the Falk Visiting Artist Fund present Clarence Morgan, an American abstract painter whose work spans painting, drawing, printmaking, and a reflective writing practice. 

A 114-year history

Tickets for all performances are on sale now at ucls.uncg.edu or by calling ETix at 800.514.3849. There are special discounts for UNCG students, faculty, and staff. Bundle and save 10% by purchasing tickets at any level to all four of the performances by Alex Newell, Rennie Harris Puremovement, Samara Joy, and Ben Folds.

UCLS has an 114-year history of bringing world-class artists and speakers to campus. In addition to public performances, the series includes dedicated, selective interactions between visiting artists and UNCGstudents. It offers them unique learning opportunities — and sometimes once-in-a-lifetime experiences — in the form of moderated conversations, jam sessions, and masterclasses. Many UCLS artists engage with Guilford County Schools K-12 students by giving special, school-day matinee performances, class visits, or artist talks.

UNCG is a state university, and our mission includes not only the education of our students but also engagement with the broader community. For this reason, we intentionally keep our ticket prices low to allow access to as much of the local community as possible. The series is supported by several generous sponsors and the University, which allows us to bring leading artists to our campus and the community:

Presenting Sponsors: Joseph M. Bryan, Jr. and The Cemala Foundation
Underwriting Sponsors: Melissa Greer/Berkshire Hathaway Homeservices and UNCG Housing and Residence Life
Hospitality Sponsor: Quaintance-Weaver Restaurants and Hotels
Media Sponsor: Our State magazine
Performance Sponsors: Pam and David Sprinkle (Rennie Harris Puremovement American Street Dance Theater) and Pamela Pittman and Ward Robinson (Robinson Family Visiting Jazz Artists).

Watch UNCG’s David Furr announce the 2026-27 UCLS lineup

Full schedule and tickets

2026–2027 UNC Greensboro Concert and Lecture Series

Click the links for tickets

Alex Newell
Sept. 25, 2026  
8 p.m. 
UNCG Auditorium 

Rennie Harris Puremovement American Street Dance Theater
Oct. 16, 2026  
8 p.m.
UNCG Auditorium 

Collage 
Oct. 24, 2026 
7:30 p.m.
UNCG Auditorium 

Samara Joy  
Feb. 5, 2027 
8:00 p.m.
UNCG Auditorium 

Ben Folds  
March 20, 2027 
8 p.m.
UNCG Auditorium

Robinson Family Visiting Jazz Artists 

John Scofield and Electrospective  
Nov. 21, 2026  
7:30 p.m.
UNCG Auditorium 

Carmen Bradford with UNCG Jazz Ensemble
April 23, 2027  
7:30 p.m.
UNCG Auditorium 

Falk Visiting Artist
Clarence Morgan
Oct 1, 2026
5:30 p.m.
Benjamin Auditorium, Weatherspoon Art Museum 

Get your tickets at UCLS.UNCG.EDU. Tickets to CVPA and UCLS events are sold exclusively through our box office locations and ETix website, and nowhere else. Tickets purchased through third-party vendors cannot be honored.

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UNC Greensboro

Answering a New Call to Serve: Veteran’s Path to Educational Leadership

Posted on May 27, 2026

From the U.S. Army to the classroom, doctoral candidate Tyler Bacote’s journey is a powerful reminder that education can transform lives.

When Tyler Bacote stepped onto the UNC Greensboro campus in 2024, she knew what she wanted. The U.S. Army veteran tried on careers as a paralegal and in the corporate world before choosing UNCG’s School of Education to complete her doctoral degree in educational studies with a concentration in higher education. The deciding factor: the school’s social justice orientation.

Under the mentorship of Associate Professor Jesse Ford, Bacote’s passion has ignited, giving her opportunities to learn and to lead. She developed and now teaches the Black Women’s Leadership and Development course, and has become a mentor to other students.

“I fell in love with teaching because I know what education has done for me and what it could do for other people from all different backgrounds,” Bacote says. “Education is transformative.”

A path paved by the GI Bill

Bacote came to UNCG following a few turns in her career. After completing high school in her hometown of Columbia, S.C., she immediately joined the U.S. Army. The daughter of military parents, she was reared knowing that veterans’ benefits could serve her well.

“I figured that by the time I got out of the Army at age 22, I could be set up as an adult with some savings and the GI Bill to continue my education,” she says.

Bacote was stationed first in Fort Carson, Colo., for basic training before attending the Judge Advocate General’s Legal Center and School in Charlottesville, VA, where she trained to become a paralegal. Then she was deployed to Eastern Europe where she practiced as a paralegal specialist.

During four years of active duty, she also earned an associate of science degree in psychology. When she was discharged from the Army, she enrolled at UNC Charlotte for a B.S. in psychology, followed by a M.S. in business administration and management.

“The hottest job you could have at the time was consulting,” she recalls. She educated herself about the large consulting firms and two months after graduation she was hired by Deloitte’s Government and Public Service Sector, first as an analyst and then as a consultant. Her main clients were the Veterans Administration and the State of Georgia.

In time, she became disenchanted with the corporate environment. That’s when her curiosity and her love of learning led her to the field of higher education.

A mentor and kindred spirit

As Bacote anticipates completing her doctoral degree in 2027, she has her sights on becoming a university professor of education. That passion has been nurtured by her mentor, Dr. Jesse Ford.

“Dr. Ford took me under his wing,” Bacote says. “I give him a lot of credit because he has allowed me to be myself.”

In Ford, Bacote found a kindred spirit. They share their department’s social justice orientation, which was a deciding factor in Bacote’s choice to attend UNCG. Ford, whose research interests focus on the experiences of Black men in higher education, arranged a graduate assistantship for her and gave her teaching opportunities, including in his own master’s course.

“It has been great to watch Tyler thrive in the classroom and engage with her peers,” Ford says, “She has always seemed more like a colleague than a student. When she got here, I was struck not only by how much she knew, but by how much she was willing to stretch. Everything she took on, she did well.”

“UNCG has given me a lot of responsibility,” she says. “I built my own course, Black Women’s Leadership and Development, from the ground up, and I still teach it. That course gave me an opportunity to cultivate a space for young Black women who are ambitious, who aspire to be leaders and who take themselves seriously.”

She also teaches Changing the World through Education, which enables her to mentor undergraduates who aspire to become educators. Though the latter course had been taught before, Ford says Bacote has made it her own.

“I want other students to take advantage of all the opportunities that are available and not to be afraid to reach out,” she says. “People at UNCG are open, willing, and committed to making you a better professional and academic.”

Written by Mary Daily

Photography courtesy of UNCG School of Education and Tyler Bacote

School of Education Dr. Tiffanie Lewis-Durham places the doctoral hood on one of her students.