Kansas State University

MANHATTAN — September is a great time to fall into the arts at Kansas State University's Manhattan campus. Enjoy a variety of musical performances, comedy shows, art exhibitions, artist talks and more offered by the Marianna Kistler Beach Museum of Art, McCain Performance Series and the School of Music, Theatre, and Dance.

Events, most free and open to the public unless otherwise noted, include:

• The Marianna Kistler Beach Museum of Art will present "In Conversation: Dawoud Bey and Hamza Walker" at 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 4, in the university's All Faiths Chapel. Bey is a photographer, curator and essayist whose photographs are featured in the Beach exhibition "Dawoud Bey: Picturing People." Walker is director of education at The Renaissance Society at the University of Chicago. The two will discuss the power of art and its potential as a means of social engagement. A public reception for Bey and Walker will precede the event at 5:30 p.m. at the museum.

• Blues icon, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member and Kennedy Center honoree Buddy Guy will open the 2014-2015 McCain Performance Series at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 5, in McCain Auditorium. Appearing with Guy will be 15-year-old guitarist Quinn Sullivan. Tickets are available by calling 785-532-6428 or online at http://www.k-state.edu/mccain.

• Slawomir Dobrzanski, associate professor of music, will perform a piano recital at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 9, in All Faiths Chapel.

• The Parent to Parent workshop, "Power of Music," will be at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 10, at the Beach Museum. The workshop will aid parents in developing positive musical and dancing experiences by providing simple activities, ideas and website resources for their children. How music helps with brain development will be discussed. Parents can bring their children for a tour and activities while they learn. Parent to Parent workshops are a collaboration with the Military Child Education Coalition's Parent to Parent Team Fort Riley, KS.

• The Friends of the Beach Museum of Art fundraising gala and opening exhibition celebration, "Celebrating Art: Transformations," will be at 6 p.m. Friday, Sept. 12, at the museum. The event celebrates the opening of the exhibitions "Tree of Life: The Art of Charles Bello" and "Life Forms: Chet Peters." Tickets are $125 per person. For event information or to purchase tickets call 785-532-7718 or email longpine@k-state.edu.

• Larry The Cable Guy will present two performances of his comedic show "Git-R-Done!" at 4 and 7 p.m. Sunday, Sept.14, in McCain Auditorium. Special guest Reno Collier will be a part of the shows. Tickets for this McCain Performance Series event are available by calling 785-532-6428 or online at http://www.k-state.edu/mccain.

• On Tuesday, Sept. 16, the Kansas State University Orchestra, directed by David Littrell, university distinguished professor of music, will perform a concert at 7:30 p.m. in McCain Auditorium. Guest soloist will be jazz violinist Doug Cameron. A veteran of the Los Angeles studio scene, Cameron has recorded and performed with a wide range of artists, including George Benson, Doc Severinsen, Tom Petty, Cher, the Allman Brothers and Dionne Warwick, among many others.

• Join the Beach Museum of Art for gameday refreshments from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 18, at the museum.

• The music program's Student Recital Series kicks off the school year with a General Student Recital at 11:30 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 18, in All Faiths Chapel. This one-hour performance features students from the program's voice, keyboard, winds, strings and/or percussion divisions.

• Guest violist Margaret Miller, professor of music at Colorado State University, will perform a recital at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 18, in McCain Auditorium's Kirmser Hall. Miller was the violist of the Da Vinci Quartet for 18 years, touring with the group throughout the U.S. The quartet was a prizewinner at both the Naumburg and Shostakovich quartet competitions.

• The McCain Performance Series will present "An Evening with Eric Stonestreet and Jesse Tyler Ferguson" at 8:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 19, in McCain Auditorium. Spend an evening with two of television's brightest stars. Tickets are available by calling 785-532-6428 or online at http://www.k-state.edu/mccain.

• On Tuesday, Sept. 23, Kristin Mortenson, instructor of music, will perform a violin recital at 7:30 p.m. in McCain Auditorium's Kirmser Hall. The program will feature works by Bach, Beethoven, deFalla and Brahms, and will include assisting musicians Nora Lewis, associate professor of music on oboe; David Littrell, university distinguished professor of music on cello; Jacqueline Fassler-Kerstetter, associate professor of music on French horn; and Amanda Arrington, staff accompanist on piano.

• The Beach Museum of Art will present "Moving Portraits" at 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 25. The performance features student dancers from the university's School of Music, Theatre, and Dance, who will share solos created for the themes of identity and presentation as experienced in the museum's "Dawoud Bey: Picturing People" exhibition.

• Enjoy an evening of big band jazz when Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis visits McCain Auditorium at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 25. The orchestra is composed of 15 of jazz music's leading soloists under the leadership of musical director Marsalis, one of the most outstanding jazz musicians of this generation. Tickets for this McCain Performance Series event are available by calling 785-532-6428 or online at http://www.k-state.edu/mccain.

• Join the Beach Museum of Art for the K-State Family Day Open House and gameday refreshments from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 27, at the museum. Come see "Salvage Yard Teapot DE4," the university's 2014 Common Work of Art by Patrick Taddy, with a self-guided gallery activity.

• Steven Maxwell, associate professor of music, and Susan Maxwell, instructor of music, will share a tuba and bassoon recital at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 29, in All Faiths Chapel.