UTC LIVE! is getting a new home for much of its 2026-27 season, giving audiences a more intimate setting to experience music from around the world.
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga performing arts series will move most of its upcoming performances to Cadek Hall, where the building’s 217-seat recital hall offers a setting organizers say is well suited to the artists and programs UTC LIVE! brings to campus.
The season will range from jazz and Danish folk music to Beethoven performed on a period instrument and a contemporary marimba recital.
Known for presenting noted artists who often fall outside the musical mainstream, UTC LIVE! has traditionally used the larger Roland Hayes Concert Hall in the UTC Fine Arts Center. Cadek Hall will put audiences much closer to the performers.
The recital hall also is especially suited to piano, jazz and other acoustic performances. For concertgoers, parking is available nearby in the adjacent Lupton Hall garage.
The move also brings much of UTC LIVE! into a building with a long history of music education and performance on campus.
Cadek Hall was dedicated on March 26, 1961, as the first university building constructed specifically for the fine arts, according to a February 2026 history of the building by university archivist Noah Lasley. It was named for Joseph Ottokar Cadek, a violinist and founder of the Cadek Conservatory of Music whose legacy remains closely tied to music education at UTC.
Performance schedule
The season begins Thursday, Sept. 17, with jazz pianist Benny Green performing a benefit concert for WUTC-FM 88.1 in Roland Hayes Concert Hall.
Born in New York City and raised in Berkeley, California, Green began performing professionally as a child before going on to work with some of jazz’s most prominent figures.
His career has included stints with Betty Carter, Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, Freddie Hubbard and the Ray Brown Trio, as well as recordings with Oscar Peterson and Diana Krall.
Green has also built an extensive career as a bandleader, recording and touring with his own groups.
His appearance at UTC was made possible by a gift from Ken and Nancy Dryden to benefit WUTC.
The series moves to Cadek Hall on Tuesday, Oct. 6, with Stundom, a rising Danish folk group making its first American tour.
Blending violin, cittern and piano, Stundom draws on Scandinavian dance music and storytelling traditions while incorporating elements of chamber and symphonic music. The group has received multiple nominations for Danish Music Awards roots and folk honors, including Artist of the Year and Album of the Year.
After the new year, UTC LIVE! will turn to a milestone in classical music history.
Vienna-based pianist Daniel Maltz will perform Tuesday, Jan. 26, in a program marking the 200th anniversary of Ludwig van Beethoven’s death. Rather than performing Beethoven on a modern concert grand, Maltz will bring a fortepiano – the early keyboard instrument for which Beethoven’s piano music was written.
The season concludes Tuesday, April 6, with percussionist and composer Britton René-Collins.
Performing on marimba, a keyboard percussion instrument, René-Collins will present a contemporary program while also engaging UTC students in conversations about marginalized composers and efforts to broaden recognition of their music.
In addition to their public concerts, visiting artists will work directly with UTC students through masterclasses and conversations exploring their music, its history and the ideas that shape their work.
The 2026-27 season also marks the return of a UTC LIVE! season subscription for the first time in several years. The package, priced at $105 for adults and $75 for seniors, includes admission to the three Cadek Hall performances as well as a complimentary ticket to a Friday, Dec. 4, concert featuring New Orleans jazz clarinetist Doreen Ketchens with the UTC Wind Ensemble.
All UTC LIVE! performances begin at 7:30 p.m.
For ticket information, visit the UTC Fine Arts Center website. For more information, contact Bob Boyer at Bob-Boyer@utc.edu.