Lectures, concerts, and theatrical productions are free and open to the public

ANNAPOLIS, MD [August 18, 2025] — St. John’s College has announced its fall Formal Lecture Series on the Annapolis campus. On Friday evenings, members of the St. John’s College community—alumni, friends, faculty, staff, students, and neighbors—gather in the Francis Scott Key Auditorium to hear a lecture or concert from visiting scholars, artists, poets, or faculty. Lecturers include members of the St. John’s College faculty—known as tutors—and professors from notable universities across the country. Each lecture is followed by a question period and an engaging discussion between the lecturer and attendees.

“I’m excited to welcome these thoughtful speakers from many different areas of study, as well as the artists who perform with such beauty,” says St. John’s College Annapolis President Susan Paalman. “As always, all members of the community are welcome to join us for the lectures and performances this fall.”

All lectures begin at 7:30 p.m. ET on Fridays at St. John’s College, Mellon Hall, Francis Scott Key Auditorium, 60 College Avenue, Annapolis, MD 21401. They are free and open to the public. Seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis. The full list of concerts and lectures is here: Formal Lecture Series on the Annapolis Campus. Please visit this page for updates and lecture descriptions.

“That St. John’s is a genuine community of learning is shown to all when all members of the college community, joined by friends and neighbors from Annapolis and the area, gather for lectures and concerts at their leisure on Friday evenings,” says Dean of the College Joe Macfarland. “In the discussion period after lecture, all attendees form a community of inquirers, of whatever age or from whatever background.”

The 2025 lectures are:

• August 22: Annapolis President Susan Paalman will present the annual opening Christopher B. Nelson Lecture, “A Meditation on Multiplication.”
• August 29: The 2025-26 season of the St. John’s College Concert Series will begin with a jazz performance courtesy of the Elijah Jamal Balbed Quartet, with featured artist Anthony Hervey on trumpet.
• September 5: Tom Merrill, Professor at American University, will deliver his lecture on Adam Smith.
• September 12: Annapolis tutor Nicholas Bellinson will deliver his lecture, “The Womb of Time: Drama as Pregnancy in Shakespeare and Elsewhere.”
• September 19: Santa Fe Dean Sarah Davis will deliver her lecture, “A Timely Untimely Education.”
• September 26: Annapolis Dean Joe Macfarland will deliver his lecture, “Between the Book of Nature and the Phenomena: regarding the Origins of Galileo’s Natural Philosophy.”
• October 10: Annapolis tutor Khafiz Kerimov will deliver his lecture on Hegel.
• October 24: Mark Schiffman, Professor at St. Patrick’s Seminary, will deliver his lecture on Plato and Rousseau.
• October 31: Following her visit last year as part of the Gregorian Choir of Paris, Dr. Violaine Anger will deliver her lecture on polyphony.
• November 7: Lecturer to be announced.
• November 14: Annapolis tutor Matthew Linck will deliver his lecture, “Learning and Contemplation—Matisse”
• November 21: The Thirteen vocal quartet will continue the St. John’s College Concert Series, with vocal works from classical and contemporary composers.
• December 5: The St. John’s College theater troupe the King William Players will present T. S. Eliot’s Murder in the Cathedral. (Additional shows and performance dates and times to be announced.)

ABOUT ST. JOHN’S COLLEGE
In an age of political division and digital distraction, St. John’s College offers the education America needs. Through close reading of 200 great books across 3,000 years—from Plato to Toni Morrison, Augustine to Charles Darwin, Euclid to Albert Einstein—students wrestle with the deepest questions of law, justice, freedom, and human good. At a time when many institutions chase trends, St. John’s returns to first principles. The third-oldest college in America, with campuses in Annapolis, Maryland, and Santa Fe, New Mexico, St. John’s is a refuge for civic renewal, civil discourse, and intellectual courage. Learn more about our undergraduate, graduate, and lifelong learning programs at sjc.edu.

“St. John’s is a high-achieving angel hovering over the landscape of American higher education” —Los Angeles Times

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MEDIA CONTACT: Sara Luell, Senior Director of Communications and Operations, sara.luell(at)sjc.edu