Kansas State University

MANHATTAN -- A new year brings new performances, exhibitions and more to the Kansas State University campus.

The following events in January, all free unless otherwise indicated, are sponsored by the university's McCain Performance Series; the School of Music, Theatre, and Dance; and the Marianna Kistler Beach Museum of Art. They include:

* The Beach Museum of Art's exhibition of selections from the permanent collection of John Steuart Curry will open Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2014, and run through May 11, 2014.

* The university's String Fling will celebrate its 40th anniversary Jan. 18-19, 2014, in McCain Auditorium. Attracting more than 600 students in grades 5-9 from all over Kansas, young string players rehearse in seven different orchestras. David Littrell, distinguished professor of music, has been the director of String Fling for 25 years. The orchestras will present their final concerts beginning at 10 a.m. Sunday, Jan. 19, in McCain Auditorium.

* "Everybody's Hero: the Jackie Robinson Story" will be performed at 4 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 19, 2014, at McCain Auditorium. Tickets are $9-$45, plus applicable taxes and fees, and can be purchased at the McCain Auditorium box office, by calling 785-532-6428 or online at http://www.k-state.edu/mccain. This show is recommended for ages 8 and up. It is sponsored by the McCain Performance Series and Mad River Theater Works.

* The critically acclaimed Broadway musical "American Idiot," based on the Grammy Award-winning album by Green Day, will be performed at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2014, in McCain Auditorium. Tickets for this McCain Performance Series event are $22.50-$79, plus applicable taxes and fees, and can be purchased at the McCain Auditorium box office, by calling 785-532-6428 or online at http://www.k-state.edu/mccain. This show contains adult content and strong language.

* The Flint Hills Trio will make its debut at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 24, 2014, in Hale Library's Hemisphere Room, as part of the Hale Library Concert Series. The trio, founded in 2013 by David Littrell, distinguished professor of music, will perform arias for soprano, cello and keyboard, particularly those by Johann Sebastian Bach. Trio members are Littrell; Amanda Arrington, music program staff accompanist; and Janie Brokenicky, a university alumna who is now an assistant professor of choral music at Tabor College. Joining the trio will be flutist Karen Large, assistant professor of music at the university, for two pieces: a Bach aria and the premiere of a piece by composer Laurel Littrell, professor at K-State Libraries. Her piece, "Into the Garden," is for voice, flute, cello and percussion. Reservations are required and the cost is $30 per person or $10 per student. Reservations will be available online closer to the event at http://lib.ksu.edu/events.

* The Concert Band Clinic, coordinated by Frank Tracz, Kansas State University professor of music, will be Jan. 24-26, 2014. The clinic will include more than 600 students from the Midwest region, as well as six large ensembles, percussion ensembles, sectional rehearsals and master classes with the university music studio faculty. Performances by the six honor bands and their percussion ensembles will start at 1 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 26, on the McCain Auditorium stage.

* Singer and actress Bernadette Peters will perform an evening of Broadway music at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 31, 2014, at McCain Auditorium. Tickets for this McCain Performance Series event are $29.50-$125, plus applicable taxes and fees, and can be purchased at the McCain Auditorium box office, by calling 785-532-6428 or online at http://www.k-state.edu/mccain.