Weis Center Season Finale Features Indigenous Instruments, Modern Technology Concert

The Orchestra of Indigenous Instruments and New Technologies, which bills itself as a "shamanic orchestra for a technological age," will close the Weis Center for the Performing Arts' 2025-26 season with a performance of "Hidden Sounds of the Americas" at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, April 17, at Bucknell University in Lewisburg.

The ensemble, known as OIANT, pairs replicas and reconstructions of pre-Hispanic indigenous instruments with contemporary electronic and audiovisual technologies to build an immersive concert experience. The program draws on musical traditions spanning the Americas, weaving together indigenous mask and dance elements, contemporary composition, and digital production to surface instruments that have historically gone undocumented or been pushed to the margins of the performing arts mainstream.

At its core, OIANT's mission centers on reviving long-forgotten indigenous instruments and presenting them in a format that connects with modern concertgoers. The April 17 show will extend well beyond a standard orchestral or chamber program: visual projections, amplification, and electronic processing will run throughout the performance alongside the acoustic dimensions of the reconstructed instruments.

The Weis Center is one of the Susquehanna Valley's primary presenting venues, drawing audiences from Lewisburg, across Union County, and into the wider region through its year-round series. Closing the 2025-26 season with OIANT fits the center's pattern of pairing academic inquiry with live performance, a natural alignment given Bucknell's institutional investment in both scholarship and the arts. For music educators and school groups in Union County, the intersection of ethnomusicological research and contemporary stagecraft makes the April 17 date a practical anchor for curriculum tie-ins or group outings before the spring semester ends.

Tickets are available through Bucknell's box office by phone, online through the university's ticketing portal, and in person at the Weis Center lobby or the CAP Center Box Office. Curtain is at 7:30 p.m.