Vail Series - Denison University

The Vail Series was endowed by a generous gift from the late Mary and Foster McGaw in honor of Jeanne Vail, class of 1946. On this 80th year of her graduation, we reflect and give gratitude.

As a Spanish major and a straight-A student with a deeply sensitive and artistic spirit, Vail was active in many extracurricular activities while at Denison.

Vail was a member of Kappa Alpha Theta sorority where she was treasurer during her junior and senior years.

She was active in the Glee Club, the A capella Chorus, YWCA, Sigma Delta Pi (Spanish honorary), Phi Society (scholastic honorary), the Committee of 100, and the Denison Decade Committee.

Elected to Phi Beta Kappa in her junior year, Vail was one of only five students to receive general honors at her Commencement exercises in 1946.

Jeanne Vail died in 1949, a victim of Poliomyelitis, but her memory will live in perpetuity at Denison through the Vail Arts Program.

And just as it was intended to do, the Vail Series enriches the artistic experience of the entire Denison community, giving us the opportunity for faculty, staff, and Denison students to meet Vail artists in the classroom, and attend concerts with world-renowned artists at no cost.

Then and now, Denison acknowledges, with deep gratitude, this fitting memorial to a gifted alumna of great promise who exemplified the very best in our tradition and our continuing mission.

That's a wrap! Let's look back on another amazing season of The Vail Series...

Wrapping up our 25/26 Vail Series season was the incredible, two-time GRAMMY® Award-winning Attacca Quartet. Recognized and acclaimed as one of the most versatile and outstanding ensembles of the moment, they a true quartet for modern times.

While Attacca Quartet was on The Hill they kicked off concerts for our TUTTI New Arts Festival, with a performance including returning Vail artist, Gabriel Kahane.

During the week the quartet also coached and gave masterclasses to chamber students and music groups, had class visits with Ecology & Evolution, AI Basics and Big Questions, Diversity of Microbiology, and Issues in Feminism courses. Attacca Quartet also met with Denison's Outlook, and participated in roundtable discussions and a Philosophy Coffee on Arts and Politics as part of the festival.

We also sent off some of our senior student Vail staff with a final bow. Thanks for four great years!

Happy Student Staff Appreciation Week!

We are so grateful for our incredible team of students who make Vail such a wonderful place to be. Shoutout your favorite Vail employees and tag them in the comments below!

We wrap up our TUTTI New Arts Festival Week with our Vail Series Concert featuring Attacca Quartet, Saturday, March 28, 7PM in Swasey Chapel.

This concert features the works of TUTTI composers:
•David Lang (our TUTTI featured composer)
•Paul Novak
•Zoe Yost
•Jason Zhang
•Scott Lee
•Caroline Shaw

The two-time GRAMMY® Award-winning Attacca Quartet is recognized and acclaimed as one of the most versatile and outstanding ensembles of the moment — a true quartet for modern times. Gliding through traditional classical repertoire to electronica, video game music, and contemporary collaborations, they are one of the world's most innovative and respected ensembles.

Visit vailseries.org for tickets and information.

🎤 Attacca Quartet has collaborated and performed with numerous artists including the talented Caroline Shaw who is featured on several of the group's newer publications. Before Saturday's concert at Swasey Chapel, take a moment to watch some of their past performances on YouTube and browse the quartet's extensive website.

We can't wait to welcome you for our last concert of the season, which is of course free for Denison students, staff, and faculty, and just $20 for all other community members. Make sure to sn**ch your tickets at the link in our bio and check out Attacca's great website. We can't wait to see you there for a night of great music! 🎻