Melissa White and Pallavi Mahidhara | February 23, 2024 | Purdue Convocations

Violinist Melissa White made history in 2022 as concertmaster of Recollective Orchestra, the first all-Black orchestra to perform at the famous Hollywood Bowl. The occasion, aired live on CNN, was a Juneteenth program presented by the LA Philharmonic to mark the Bowl’s centenary.  Since then, White’s been enchanting audiences around the world on her recent European tour, which included her Irish debut and a smashing return to London.

Now, on the heels of her Carnegie Hall debut in June 2023, White makes her first visit to Purdue, where she will lead a chamber concert with pianist Pallavi Mahidhara, a highly decorated international sensation. The young musician is also a podcast host; Mahidhara’s The Conscious Artist explores musicians’ mental health.

Initiated in 1902, Purdue Convocations was one of the first professional performing arts presenters in the United States. Each year, Convocations offers the region 30-40 performances of widely varying genres: Broadway-style shows, theater, dance, children's theater, world music, jazz, and chamber music, along with rock, pop, country and comedy attractions. With a vision for connecting artists and audiences in artistic dialogue and for drawing in academic discourse, Purdue Convocations aims to promote frequent exposure to and familiarity with human cultural expression in a multitude of forms and media.

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