About Us

Welcome!

When Great Performances first made its debut at Vanderbilt University in 1974, few imagined the substantive legacy the series would enjoy and the efficacy of arts interventions in building communities. Hundreds and thousands of people from Vanderbilt, Nashville, and Middle Tennessee have been drawn to the array of performing companies while Great Performances in turn has provided a southeastern home for international works and remarkable artists. Great Performances reflects now on thirty-seven years of enriching the regions’ artistic and cultural scene. Vanderbilt looks forward to the series continuance for decades to come.

Join us this season in a definitive regional experience celebrating international performing arts! Assume your role in generations of art that is ancient and new from around the globe as an audience member, Master Class student or explorer at our POM Performance on the Move events.You don’t want to miss this season!

Great Performances Director Bridgette Kohnhorst and 2011-12 student Co-Chairs, Francesca Amiker and Leslie Schichtel would like to thank all the students, staff, and underwritingsponsors who continue to graciously give their support for the series. If youwould like to volunteer with Great Performances call 615.322.2471. If you wish to learn more about how you can help Great Performances in other educational endeavors or receive program reminders, send us your email at: great_performances@vanderbilt.edu.

Great Performances Mission

Great Performances at Vanderbilt is sponsored by the student-based Vanderbilt Programming Board (VPB) and greater Nashville community. The mission of Great Performances is to spark and sustain a passion for the arts within the Vanderbilt community and southeast region as a lead provider of international artistic excellence through diverse arts disciplines, interaction with artists and a core educational environment.

Bridgette Kohnhorst, Great Performances Director

Since 2002, Bridgette Kohnhorst has directed and produced Great Performances at Vanderbilt (University). In addition, she is Sarratt Art Gallery Director and Advisor to the university’s Speakers Series including the historic IMPACT symposium. Before joining Vanderbilt, Bridgette was founding Arts Education Director at the Bologna Performing Arts Center in Mississippi where she was a departmental recipient for the Governor’s Awards for Excellence in the Arts for Cultural Leadership. Under her tutelage, the Center received a first recognition from the National Endowment for the Arts. In 2007 Great Performances was named a National Dance Project Hub-Site and policy maker by the New England Foundation for the Arts with lead support from Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. Bridgette has served as a U.S. delegate and guest to numerous international cultural consulates including Canada, Holland, Israel and Taiwan among others. She is a New York trained dancer and published poet. Educated at the University of Tennessee and New York University, she holds degrees in English and Dance Performance; Bridgette formerly worked at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.