The Meadows School of the Arts is hosting the 33rd annual benefit concert, Meadows at the Meyerson, on Tuesday, March 31, at the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center. Broadway star Brian Stokes Mitchell, this year’s Meadows Award honoree, will join the Meadows Symphony Orchestra, Meadows Chorale, Concordia and Chamber Singers.
Supported by the Meadows Impact Scholarship Fund, the evening will be full of various performances by promising graduate and undergraduate students.
Jennifer Burr Altabef, chair of the Meadows Executive Board, emphasizes the amount of preparation, rehearsal and promotion that is involved for the concert, especially since it is performed at the Meyerson Center in Downtown Dallas.
“The program is part of the curriculum that the students work on all year up until the time of the concert,” Altabef said. “So it’s both part of their studies and a major event for them to be able to perform in the Meyerson downtown, which is one of the best acoustic performance halls in the country, so it’s a big, big deal for them.”
The Meadows Award, which will be presented to Mitchell during the concert, has been conferred by the Meadows School since 1983 to renowned artists who have led distinguished careers in their profession. Previous recipients have included Stephen Sondheim, Angela Lansbury and most recently Stewart Copeland in 2024.
“Brian Stokes Mitchell is a leader and iconic figure in the entertainment industry not only due to his incredible talent and dedication to the art form, but also on account of his legacy of supporting and giving back to the community throughout his career,” Meadows Dean Sam Holland said in a November 2025 press release.
Mitchell was chosen for the award in conjunction with the Sexton Institute of Musical Theater’s inaugural class set to commence classes next fall.
The Sexton Institute is currently performing a joint production of “Ragtime” with the Dallas Theater Center, which opened on March 27. Mitchell originated the role of Coalhouse Walker Jr. in the 1998 Broadway production of “Ragtime” and earned a Tony nomination for his performance.
Being able to perform with a Broadway star at a performance hall in front of audiences is a very unique opportunity for students, Altabef said.
“I can tell how hard they work all year to get ready for this, and the joy that they exhibit when they’re performing is really the best part of the evening for me,” Altabef said. “But it is a really big deal to be able to perform together as professionals would in the largest arts district in the country.”
Sophomore Thu Dang, a biology and musical therapy student, will perform with the Meadows Chorale in their rendition of Ralph Vaughn Williams’ “Dona nobis pacem” (Give us peace).
Dang has rehearsed three times a week with the chorale and looks forward to sharing the performance with audiences.
“I think that music is a very powerful thing, and that it’s a way to communicate without actually communicating,” Dang said. “The preparation is difficult, but once you’re on stage and you see all the faces in the audience that showed up to listen to you and your group, it’s a very good feeling.”
Dang hopes audiences can take away a feeling of peace from their performance in the concert.
“I think the world needs a lot of peace right now, so that’s one thing I hope that they gain from our performance,” Dang said.
To purchase your tickets online, visit smu.universitytickets.com.
