The free program, Patrick Doyle’s Music of Shakespeare, will feature the music of composer and two-time Oscar nominee Doyle, who has served as the composer for Sir Kenneth Branagh’s Shakespearean films, including Hamlet, Much Ado About Nothing and Henry V.

The program will be presented Friday, April 15, at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts under the baton of conductor James Shearman. While the musicians perform the songs and underscores from Doyle’s cinematic scores, actors from the Prague Shakespeare Company and Orlando Shakespeare Theater will perform scenes from the films.

Doyle, a classically trained composer, has composed more than 45 internationally renowned feature film scores including Indochine, Sense and Sensibility, Carlito’s Way, Gosford Park, A Little Princess, Bridget Jones’s Diary, Nanny McPhee and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. He has also collaborated with a host of film directors including Robert Altman, Ang Lee, Brian de Palma, Alfonso Cuaron, Mike Newell and Regis Wagnier.

Shearman has gained worldwide recognition as a conductor and orchestrator of more than 60 feature film scores, from the Academy Award-winning score for Shakespeare in Love, Gosford Park, Brave, Thor and Doyle’s Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

Featured actors for the evening include Jessica Boone and Guy Roberts from Prague Shakespeare Company, as well as actors from the Orlando Shakespeare Theater and UCF. Doyle and his son, Patrick Neil Doyle, will narrate the event, telling the audience about the inspiration and creation of the music.

“Guy Roberts and Jessica Boone from Prague Shakespeare Company are accomplished international artists who have a history of working with Patrick Doyle and we are thrilled to have them in Orlando,” said Orlando Shakespeare Theater artistic director Jim Helsinger.

Helsinger said there are several highlights for patrons to look forward to, including Henry V’s “The Non Nobis” song for those who died at Agincourt, sung by a full choir and orchestra, the joyous songs from Much Ado About Nothing, and hearing Hamlet do his great monologues backed by beautiful live music.

“The power of music is an irreplaceable element in any good stage or theatrical performance,” said Helsinger. “Patrick Doyle is a master composer whose work has turned many productions into cinematic legend.”

The Shakespeare presentation is one of the many events that will be presented at UCF Celebrates the Arts, which is all free and open to the public.

More than 1,000 university students, 100 faculty members and some collaborative programs with outside partners will showcase theatre, dance, orchestra, choirs, big band, chamber music, cabaret, concert bands, opera, visual arts, studio art, gaming, animation, photography and film.

This is part of a series of stories about the April 8-16 events at UCF Celebrates the Arts 2016. All events are free, but tickets are required for performances and entrance into the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, 445 S. Magnolia Ave., Orlando. The full schedule is posted at ; ticket information will be posted later this month.

The festival, which is all open to the public, will reprise its second season April 8-16 at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Orlando with an extended program of student and faculty presentations and collaborations.

Two more days of events have been added to this year’s festival, which will feature offerings from more than 1,000 university students and 100 faculty members and include some collaborative programs with outside partners.

The festival will showcase the talents of the university’s artists and practitioners in theatre, dance, orchestra, choirs, big band, chamber music, cabaret, concert bands, opera, visual arts, studio art, gaming, animation, photography and film. There’s even a concert that organizers think may be the first of its kind: a presentation geared exclusively for expectant parents. (An ambulance will be on hand if needed to respond to any pregnant women who may go into labor!)

Collaborative music performances by UCF students will be under the direction of visiting composers Hans Zimmer (The Lion King, Pirates of the Caribbean, The Dark Knight, and more than 150 other films), and Patrick Doyle (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Sense and Sensibility, Bridget Jones’s Diary, and more than 45 other films, including several movie adaptations of Shakespeare works).

“The festival allows us to show the breadth and depth of UCF arts in one location,” said Jeff Moore, director of the UCF School of Performing Arts and artistic director of the festival. “Last year someone said to me: ‘We know UCF is big, but an event like this brings it home.’ This demonstrates the quality of programs we have at UCF.”

The festival also will provide an opportunity for high school arts students to attend workshops led by UCF faculty and perform at the new Dr. Phillips Center’s state-of-the-art venue in downtown Orlando.

The schedule for UCF Celebrates the Arts is still evolving, but the event will kick off April 8 with a dance concert to showcase about 80 student dancers. Six students were selected in competition to create the choreography of this 10th annual presentation.

Afterward, here are some of the highlighted events:

Events will be scheduled all nine days of UCF Celebrates the Arts, and the calendar is still building. All events will be free, but tickets will be required to enter the building.

“We had such positive response last year,” Moore said. “This platform gives us a chance to share with the community all those things we create and are happening at the university.”

This is part of a series of stories about the April 8-16 events at UCF Celebrates the Arts 2016. The festival will feature studio art, music, theatre, dance, gaming, animation, photography and film at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, 445 S. Magnolia Ave., Orlando.

“The celebration was designed to showcase the work of the ����ֱ�� and its partners — and, boy, did it,” Orlando Sentinel arts writer Matt Palm said in his review of the April 9-15 event. “Can’t wait for next year’s celebration.”

More than 13,600 free, advance-ticket reservations were made to see the various performances, said Jeff Moore, director of the UCF School of Performing Arts and artistic director of the festival, adding that the event exceeded his expectations. Ten of the events were “sold out.”

The festival featured more than 1,000 UCF students and faculty members showcasing studio art, music, theatre, dance, gaming, animation, photography and film at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts. All the presentations were put on by the School of Performing Arts and the School of Visual Arts & Design, both in the College of Arts & Humanities. Some of the events included community arts partners and K-12 students.

“When you do something the first time, it feels like you need time to ramp up. But this seemed to hit right out of the box,” Moore said.

This was the first time all the university’s artistic presentations could be experienced in one place.

 “There was so much vibrancy,” said Heather Gibson, marketing director for the UCF Theatre Department. “We in the arts have never felt this much hum going on.”

She said the biggest audiences of the festival attended Icarus at the Edge of Time and Shakespeare Swings!, both of which had people waiting in line to grab any of the seats left open by no-shows in the 2,500-capacity theatre.

Icarus was a multimedia performance by the UCF Symphony Orchestra based on a children’s book by Columbia ����ֱ�� physicist Brian Greene and narrated by actress Kate Mulgrew from the Star Trek: Voyager TV series. Shakespeare Swings! featured UCF’s Flying Horse Big Band and the Orlando Shakespeare Theater Cabaret Singers.

Moore said he attended every event at the festival and noticed that instead of seeing the same people at each performance, there were different audiences.

“It was meeting everybody on their own turf,” he said. “This was a celebration of the arts, but the arts reach into so many other disciplines. When you walked into the center lobby you were immediately immersed in the arts – and science, mathematics, literature and computers coming together with art.”

Moore advised marking calendars now for next year’s festival when UCF has the arts center reserved April 4-17, 2016. Next year’s festival will run during two weekends and the days between, he said.

He hopes to involve more K-12 students through workshops and performance showcases next year, and create more collaborative partnerships with community arts groups.

“Those were so enjoyable for students and everyone who came,” Moore said.

More than 1,000 UCF students and faculty members will participate in the festival of performing and visual arts that will showcase studio art, music, theatre, dance, gaming, animation, photography and film. This is the first time all the UCF artistic endeavors can be experienced in one place, and all activities are free and open to the public.

The week also will provide invited high school music and theater students unique access to workshops led by UCF faculty members and an opportunity to showcase their talents during select performances at a state-of-the-art venue.

“We’re presenting the depth and breadth of UCF’s arts units to Orlando, taking them off campus and presenting them in one of the best spaces in the southeast,” said Jeff Moore, director of the UCF School of Performing Arts and artistic director of the festival. “Also, this shows how arts integration across all disciplines happens at UCF. This creative environment is necessary to develop community outreach.”

Events are still being added to the UCF Celebrates the Arts schedule, but some of the highlights will feature:

*  Icarus at the Edge of Time. The UCF Symphony Orchestra will perform the music of composer Phillip Glass with an accompanying movie by Al & Al, based on a children’s book by Columbia ����ֱ�� physicist Brian Greene about a boy traveling in outer space who challenges the power of a black hole. Friday, April 10, at 7:30 p.m.

Kate Mulgrew, who portrayed Capt. Katharyn Janeway in the Star Trek: Voyager TV series, will provide live narration for the fable.

The Icarus presentation is part of a National Science Foundation project that seeks to broaden the participation of students in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) research activities, and each year UCF organizes some STEM activities in an artistic way. This event will be an interdisciplinary arts-and-sciences collaboration involving the School of Performing Arts and the College of Sciences. “It is an excellent example of the integration of science, literature, and the performing and visual arts,” said Debra Reinhart, UCF assistant vice president for Research and Commercialization.

*  Several musical collaborations are planned with UCF partners. The Flying Horse Big Band will perform a cabaret with the Orlando Shakespeare Theater, themed “Shakespeare in Love” (Saturday, April 11, at 8 p.m.); UCF Choirs will provide the vocals for the Orlando Repertory Theatre’s production of Civil War Voices, which uses diaries and letters to tell the true stories of people who lived through the war (several matinee productions throughout the week); and the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra will hold a rehearsal for Tosca with an instructional class for voice students following.

*  Theatre UCF performances will include scenes from Nine, Hair, class projects, alumni cameos, and scenes from students who have been nominated for Kennedy Center Irene Ryan Acting awards. The Theatre UCF Dance showcase will feature a selection of dance pieces choreographed and performed by UCF students and faculty members.

*  Music concerts will include performances from the Collide Percussion Music Festival, UCF Symphonic Band, UCF choruses, and the chamber and wind ensembles.

*  Students in the School of Visual Arts and Design will have works from digital media, film, animations, games and studio arts showcased on every floor at the Dr. Phillips Center. SVAD faculty will present lectures on the arts and will be available for portfolio reviews from high school students. A Game Jam will be held so patrons can watch games being developed during a 24-hour period.

* The Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy also will demonstrate the interactive development process of video-game design. Final products and artwork will be on display showcasing the works of students and professionals.

* Performances will be scheduled for select high school musicians. There also will be clinics and workshops for the participating musicians. Schools that would like to participate can contact Kelly Miller, coordinator of music education, at Kelly.Miller@ucf.edu.

Organizers of the festival hope to expand its length and scope in coming years.

“We are using this opportunity to share the products and performances of our university students and faculty. We want the world to know that UCF invests in the arts, and this festival makes that statement,” Moore said. “This celebration is a showcase for UCF to share the return on that investment with the city and the entire Central Florida region. We are looking forward to this inaugural event and sharing UCF’s arts activities, both on and off campus, with everyone for years to come.”

Visit  for more information and updated scheduling. All events are free, but tickets are required for many of the programs. Tickets will be available on the website later this month.

The center is planning a year full of concerts, Broadway shows, dance performances and other events, including the UCF Pegasus Arts Festival scheduled April 6-16. The new $514 million center is scheduled to open in November.

“The Dr. Phillips Center is a fantastic space and will be a draw from all over Florida and indeed the whole world,” said Paul Lartonoix, assistant vice provost who attended Thursday’s schedule announcement at the Aloft Orlando Downtown hotel. “This space allows us the opportunity to partner and create an event that will show off the UCF arts, including film, music, studio art, theatre, digital media, dance, animation and gaming.

“Much of the Orlando community knows that UCF is arts friendly but few know the depth that the university invests in the arts. UCF is very active in many arts disciplines in our academics, but we are also very involved in the Orlando arts community. We want everyone to know we are an arts university.”

Organizers are still working on details for the festival, but plan to feature the UCF Orchestra, UCF Big Band, visual/digital media installations, ensemble and dance performances, displays from the School for Visual Arts & Design, video game jam, theatrical performances and other works.

Part of the festival will be set aside for showcasing the arts to recruit high school students from all over the state. Those performances will be designed with a focus on education and to get participation by the high school student audience. The performances will encourage innovation and creative thinking across all disciplines, and present examples of that from UCF.

“This annual festival will provide the platform to share with all of Orlando and the Central Florida region not just the products and performances of the university’s arts units, but to feature the collaboration with our community partners,” said Jeff Moore, director of the School of Performing Arts and artistic director of the new festival. “UCF’s commitment to partnerships is well established and the festival celebrates these relationships as it demonstrates UCF’s strong positive impact in Central Florida and beyond.”

Moore said he hopes the festival expands to two weeks at the Dr. Phillips Center in the coming years.

Judy Duda, chair of the Dean’s Executive Council for UCF’s College of Arts and Humanities and (CAH) a local arts patron, endowed the fund as a way to encourage others to support UCF’s music program.

“My intent was to support the ����ֱ��’s comprehensive campaign, but I am also passionate about music and attracting talented young musicians. This was a way to serve both needs,” Duda said.

Duda met Yonetani 20 years ago. Yonetani had come to UCF from the Julliard School of Music and Duda was coordinator for the Concert Series at St. Luke’s Lutheran Church in Slavia.

UCF did not have a concert hall and St. Luke’s, less than 10 miles away, offered an acoustically appropriate setting for UCF Orchestra performances. Yonetani and her students participated in these performances and Duda grew to admire the violinist’s dedication to her protégés.

“I thought UCF had a treasure in Ayako and I wanted to do what I could to help her build the string section,” Duda said.

Duda, who over the years developed a personal friendship with Yonetani, decided to do something to help.

She contacted the UCF Foundation and the Dean of the College of Arts & Humanities and contributed the funds necessary to establish the Ayako Yonetani Music Endowed Scholarship for violin and viola students.

Yonetani learned of the scholarship following her performance for Music Department presentation at a CAH Dean’s Executive Council meeting. As she was packing her violin after the performance, Dean José Fernández made the surprise announcement.

Yonetani said although the endowment was unexpected she is excited about the prospect of attracting more donors to help bring more of the most talented students to UCF.

To contribute or for more information contact Laura Pooser at Laura.Pooser@ucf.edu – 407-823-1195.

Kansas will perform at The Venue with the UCF Symphony Orchestra as part of its Collegiate Symphony Tour. This is the second year the band will visit campuses throughout the nation, but the first time Kansas will perform at UCF.

The tour began last year after the band recognized the need for more funding of music programs at universities. A portion of the proceeds from the tour will benefit music programs at colleges and universities around the country.

Members of Kansas include original member and drummer Phil Ehart, singer and keyboardist Steve Walsh, guitarist Rich Williams, bassist Billy Greer and violinist David Ragsdale.

For more information or to buy a ticket to the performance, visit http://www.ucfarena.com.

To learn more about the UCF Symphony Orchestra, go to .

The center’s first phase, which opened this fall, enhances the academic experience for students in the performing arts with multiple teaching studios and voice rooms, an electro-acoustic music lab, percussion ensemble rooms and a recording studio.

Its second phase, which will be funded by private donations, will host first-class theatre and music performances for UCF and the surrounding communities to enjoy.

“We have been an excellent partner to arts organizations throughout the area,” UCF President John C. Hitt told guests at the Ballroom at Church Street. “Now it is time for that commitment to the performing arts to be expressed on our own great campus.”

The new space will not only help with recruiting future artists, but also will drive Central Florida’s economy. Recent estimates report that Florida’s nonprofit arts and cultural organizations generated about $2.8 billion in direct spending in 2007 and another $3.4 billion from indirect spending, which translated into about 73,000 jobs statewide.

“At UCF, we understand the contribution that our great state university can make to the economic well-being of our Central Florida city-state,” President Hitt said.

In addition to adding economic value, the arts contribute to Central Florida’s cultural vitality and help communities better understand the human experience.

During Wednesday’s breakfast, Board of Trustees Chair Rick Walsh also paid tribute to the university’s founding president, Charles Millican, who died Dec. 1.

“Charlie loved the theatre and musical performances,” he said. “In fact, one of his and Frances’ favorite nights of the year was a special performance by the UCF orchestra alongside the fountain behind Millican Hall.”

UCF is one of only a few universities in the country to have a theatre lighting lab where students can learn the skills necessary to light everything from a theatrical production to a rock ‘n’ roll show.

The second phase of the Performing Arts Center will feature a 600-seat concert hall and two theaters with 520 and 225 seats respectively, as well as costume, scene and prop shops.

“The UCF Performing Arts Center will help students in Music and Theatre achieve their dreams by learning, rehearsing and performing on stages equal to all the great stages where their dreams take place,” Walsh said.

Walsh also praised the new center’s customized spaces for UCF Music and Theatre students.

“Each room is built differently based on its acoustic needs, and indeed the building itself is tuned to allow those who come through it to experience the life and energy within,” he said. “Everything from the floor to angles of the walls is constructed for the artists who will use them.”

The Performing Arts Center is designed to have a small carbon footprint with abundant natural lighting. UCF is seeking silver-level Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification, the widely accepted benchmark for buildings that are environmentally friendly and healthy for occupants.

For more information on the center and how to donate to its second phase, visit http://foundation.cah.ucf.edu/pac.php.