The Milligan arts programs will host a variety of events this spring semester, including visual, performing and communicative arts.
Music
“Youthful Inspirations” will be the first concert of the spring semester. The Johnson City Symphony Orchestra and the Milligan Orchestra will perform Georges Bizet’s L’Arlesienne Suites in Seeger Chapel. Dr. Kellie Brown will direct, and Robert J. Seebacher will conduct. Tickets are $40 dollars, plus taxes and fees, for the public. Milligan students can receive tickets free with their student ID.
“Shelter in a Time of Storm—Concert Choir and Heritage Tour Home Concert” will be held on March 22 in Seeger Chapel. The performance is open to the local community following the Concert Choir and Heritage’s return from their spring break tour. The concert will feature music centered on God’s care and protection during life’s trials.
“At the Threshold” will be the music department’s final concert of the semester and will be held April 18 in Seeger Chapel. The concert will feature a wide range of music, including film music from “Coco” and “Alice in Wonderland,” as well as songs from the Broadway musicals “Annie” and “Fiddler on the Roof.” The concert’s finale will feature John Rutter’s “Requiem,” performed by a joint choir made up of the Milligan Concert Choir, under the direction of Dr. Noah DeLong; the David Crockett High School Choir, under the direction of Kelly Davenport; and the Elizabethton High School Choir, under the direction of Ben Davenport.
Theatre and film
Milligan’s theatre program will perform “A Doll’s House,” by Henrik Ibsen and adapted by Frank McGuinness, from Feb. 19–22 in McGlothlin-Street Theatre. Directed by Frances Saxton, the production follows housewife Nora Helmer and explores themes of gender roles, inequality and the struggle for personal freedom amid social expectations. Tickets are available for $12, plus a service fee.
“Screen to Stage Cabaret” will be hosted by Milligan musical theatre March 27 at 7:30 p.m. in McGlothlin-Street Theatre, bringing film music to the stage. The program will feature music ranging from Golden Age Hollywood classics to modern-day blockbusters.
“An Evening of Celebration: A Showcase of Film, Musical Theatre and Theatre Arts” will close the semester April 24. The evening will begin with the Famous for 15 Minutes Short Film Festival, showcasing student work from Milligan’s film production courses. Milligan’s musical theatre and theatre arts students will then take the stage to act, sing and dance. Award presentations recognizing outstanding student work will conclude the event.
Visual Arts
“Two Cats + A Herd of Buffalo,” Milligan’s annual art and design show at Dos Gatos Coffee Bar in downtown Johnson City, will return in February. The opening reception will be held from 6–8 p.m. Feb. 6, and the show will run through March 2.
Kendall Arnold will present her work in her artist-in-residence exhibition in Milligan’s Art Gallery from Feb. 15–March 6. The opening reception will be held Feb. 15 from 2–4 p.m.
Milligan will host two graphic design senior showcases during the spring semester, March 22–27 and April 12–17. This year’s seniors are Adam Bengtson, Spencer Hall, Emy Rose Leggett, Joselin Martinez, Mary Grace Bitting, Ariana Floyd, Nathan McKissick and Marnie Tallon.
“I’m most looking forward to the senior graphic design showcase,” Floyd said. “It’s so exciting to get to put up the work we have through all four years and to see our growth and our skill set before going out into the world.”
Eloria Pelton will display her work in this year’s senior art exhibition. The opening reception will be held April 26, and the exhibition will run through April 30.
This year’s Juried Art Exhibition marks Milligan’s 30th juried art show and will feature juror-selected art and design works created by students in art, photography, graphic design and interactive media design during the 2025–26 academic year. The exhibition will run April 19–24, with an opening reception from 2–4 p.m. April 19.
“These events are super important because we get feedback,” Floyd said. “Even with our juried show at the end of the year, we get to see what work gets selected and awarded. It’s super important for graphic designers who spend so much time behind the screen to have their work up with their name and get to step forward.”
For more information about individual events, visit the Milligan website.
Photo: Orchestra Concert Spring Semester 2025 (by Emily Haas)
