You can find out at a special Nov. 4 concert titled “Music of Shakespeare’s London” by the University of Louisville’s Early Music Ensemble. The show is part of , the city-wide collaboration of more than 45 arts, cultural and educational organizations celebrating all things Shakespeare before the arrival of the national traveling exhibit, “.”

The concert will feature songs, dances and fantasias heard in England’s streets, pubs and common areas, as well as the stately homes of the upper class. Listeners will enjoy sounds of traditional renaissance instruments such as the viola da gamba, recorder, lute and virginal – a type of upright harpsichord – along with the cello and violin, which had just become popular at the time.

, Professor of Music History Emeritus at UofL’s School of Music and resident expert of renaissance music, is directing. There will be three guest performers, all of whom sang with the ensemble in years past and went on to highly successful careers in early music: of San Francisco, of New York City, and of Louisville.��

Ashworth said some of the songs will be the same ones Shakespeare mentioned in his plays.

“He obviously knew them and expected his audience would as well,” Ashworth said.

He also promised attendees will hear street cries – town-criers advertising wares for sale – set to music, just as those in the 17^th century would have heard in the streets of London.�� 

The music of the night will be fun and accessible to today’s audiences, Ashworth added. After all, it was largely written at the time for entertaining in people’s homes.

“It was a time of amateur involvement in music. Part of a person’s education was to read music and to sing. If you didn’t know how to do that, you weren’t considered sufficiently cultured,” he said. “The chamber music of the time – some of it quite difficult – was all intended for amateur players.”

The concert is 8-10 p.m. Nov. 4 in the School of Music’s Comstock Hall, 105 W. Brandeis Ave. It is free and open to the public.

“This season capitalizes on the range and diversity of our department’s faculty directors and deepens our relationships with talented colleagues in Louisville’s theater community,” said Nefertiti Burton, chair of the department. “The plays we are offering this season will provide challenging performance opportunities for our students and stimulating, thought-provoking entertainment for our audiences.”

The season kicks off with August Wilson’s “Fences” Sept. 21-25 by UofL’s African American Theatre Program. The drama examines the African American experience in the 1950s and is directed by Baron Kelly, who has acted in half of Wilson’s 10-play cycle in major regional theaters in Oregon, San Francisco and Los Angeles.

“King Lear,” an official event of , Louisville’s year-long celebration of all things William Shakespeare, runs Nov. 10-14 and Nov. 17-20.

The African American Theatre Program also presents “Baltimore” by Kirsten Greenidge Feb. 2-6 and Feb. 9-12. The play, directed by Burton, raises evocative themes of diversity and tolerance within the setting of a college campus.

From March 1-5, Russ Vandenbrouke directs “Vanya, Sonia, Masha and Spike,” a hit comedy by Christopher Durang derived from the works of Anton Chekhov.

The season wraps up April 19-23 with “Antigone.” Andrew Harris directs Sophocles’ classic Greek tragedy about sisters Antigone and Ismene who ask, which is mightier, the laws of God or man? 

All plays are at Thrust Theatre, 2314 South Floyd St., except for “King Lear” and “Antigone” which will run at The Playhouse, 1911 South Third St. All plays start at 8 p.m. with 3 p.m. Saturday or Sunday matinees.

Season tickets are $50, which saves as much as $25 on the purchase of all five plays. Individual tickets are available as well. To order tickets or for more information, call 502-852-6814 or click .��

Summer is the time to don your red shirt, show school spirit and brush up on Shakespeare with free UofL talks and outdoor Kentucky Shakespeare performances June 4, June 19 and July 10 in Louisville’s Central Park.

The College of Arts and Sciences, Alumni Association and Kentucky Shakespeare are encouraging audience members to wear red to The Bard’s Cards evenings at Shakespeare in the Park. People can order Bard’s Cards T-shirts when they register at uofl.me/as-bards-cards-2016.

Talks by theater arts and English professors will begin at 7:15 p.m. on the C. Douglas Ramey Amphitheater stage, where the Kentucky Shakespeare performances will follow at 8 p.m.

Kevin Gawley, resident scenic and lighting designer in theater arts, leads off with his June 4 talk preceding “The Two Gentlemen of Verona.”

Before “A Winter’s Tale” June 19, Renaissance drama scholar Hristomir Stanev from the English department will be the speaker.

Zhanna Goldentul, resident costume designer in theater arts, wraps up the series with her July 10 talk before “Romeo and Juliet.”

Seating on benches is first come, first served, but patrons also are allowed to bring chairs and blankets. Food and beverages are available for purchase. The park is at 1340 S. Fourth St.; parking is available along the bordering Fourth, Magnolia, Sixth and Park streets.

The events are presented as part of UofL’s sponsorship of , a communitywide collaboration marking the 400^th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death with activities surrounding the national First Folio traveling exhibit. Check for more information on related events at UofL and elsewhere.

This collaborative initiative — spearheaded by the University of Louisville, Frazier History Museum and the Louisville Free Public Library — involves more than 45 arts, cultural and educational organizations throughout the region. As part of the international commemoration of the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death, it aims to make Louisville a “city of Shakespeare.”

Shakespeare events begin this month and continue throughout 2016, with many happening on campus. The celebration culminates with the arrival of a national traveling exhibit, “First Folio! The Book that Gave Us Shakespeare,” on display at the Frazier History Museum Nov. 10–Dec. 10, 2016.

The First Folio, published in 1623, seven years after Shakespeare’s death, is the first collected edition of his plays, many of which were not published during his lifetime. Two of Shakespeare’s fellow actors compiled 36 of his plays, hoping to preserve them for future generations. Without it, we would not have 18 of Shakespeare’s greatest works, including “Macbeth,” “Julius Caesar,” “Twelfth Night,” “The Tempest,” “Antony and Cleopatra,” “The Comedy of Errors” and “As You Like It.”

When the First Folio arrives in Louisville, its pages will be opened to one of the most quoted lines in the world, “to be, or not to be,” from “Hamlet.” Accompanying the rare book will be a multipanel exhibition exploring the significance of Shakespeare, then and now, with additional digital content and interactive activities.

The exhibit — co-hosted by UofL, the Frazier and LFPL — is made possible through a grant from the Folger Shakespeare Library, the Cincinnati Museum Center and the American Library Association and is traveling to all 50 states. Louisville was selected as the representative site for the state of Kentucky.

“The University of Louisville is very excited to play a major role in bringing Shakespeare’s First Folio to Louisville. The enthusiasm for this project is shared among many of our faculty, staff and students on all our campuses. At least 13 departments already have programming planned as part of the celebration, and we are adding events every week,” said Pinto, citing several examples:

• The English Department is collaborating on several projects, including lectures, workshops and productions related to Shakespeare’s works.
• Several faculty experts will discuss Shakespeare and his works before some of the Kentucky Shakespeare Festival’s summer productions in Central Park.
• The Theatre Arts Department will stage a production of “King Lear” in October.
• Medieval and Renaissance Studies will run weekly gallery talks at the Frazier on items in the First Folio exhibit.
• Creative Writing is collaborating with Walden Theatre/Blue Apple Players and the Louisville Water Tower on a program called “Sonnets on a Sunday,” which will combine Shakespeare’s sonnets with poems composed by UofL undergraduates.
• Liberal Studies and the Atlantic Coast Conference will co-sponsor a public discussion and lecture from University of Notre Dame Professor Peter Holland in collaboration with Actors Theatre in connection with its production of “Macbeth.”

UofL played a significant role in Monday’s press conference at the Frazier, with representatives from many departments in attendance. Students, dressed in renaissance garb, livened the affair. Blake Herron, a grad student in Music Performance, sounded a herald trumpet to open the event, while freshman theatre majors Grace Roth and Jordan Lyons looked the part with costumes from the Theatre Arts Department’s costume shop. UofL’s Archives and Special Collections set the stage with a copy of Shakespeare’s Fourth Folio from the Rare Books collection.

An ever-growing schedule of programs, activities and performances is available online at . The public can follow the conversation on Twitter and Instagram using the hashtag #WillintheVille. Most will be free and open to the public.

“We’re thrilled to partner with so many community organizations for what will be one of the largest collaborations in Louisville history,” said UofL English professor Andrew Rabin, adding that the program is a testament to the worth of “the continuing study of literature and a liberal arts education.” Rabin coordinated the effort to make Louisville the Kentucky site for the First Folio visit as well as the related UofL programming.

View more photos from .