Classical and Choral Music
Fall Arts Preview 2007
BACH SINFONIA
301-362-6525
www.bachsinfonia.org
From High To Low: Dramatic Cantatas for Soprano and Bass — Jennifer Ellis Kampani, soprano, and David Newman, bass-baritone (10/20) · Annual Chamber Program — Bach’s brilliant ”Goldberg” Variations are considered the most important set of variations from the baroque era. Joseph Gascho, winner of the 2002 Jurow International Harpsichord Competition, will perform the masterwork (2/23/08) ·
D.C. DIFFERENT DRUMMERS’ CAPITAL PRIDE SYMPHONIC BAND
202-269-4868
www.dcdd.org
Drama Queens on the Potomac — Dramatic music from opera and the classics, including ”Lohengrin” by Richard Wagner, the ”Dies Irae” from the Verdi Requiem, and a work inspired by Moby Dick — ”Ahab!”, a piece for symphonic band and actor. Also featured: dramatic music from films, including The Empire Strikes Back by John Williams, and from the stage. There will be plenty of Halloween surprises, including a medley of tunes for a ”House of Horrors” and a solo feature, ”The Devil Went Down to Georgia” (10/26-27) · Holiday Jam — Classic holiday songs with the Symphonic Band and swinging Yuletide favorites to get you in the mood by D.C. Swing (12/15) ·
FAIRFAX SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
703-563-1990
www.fairfaxsymphony.org
Freedom Symphony — A concert of both traditional southern Indian Karnatic music and a number of East-West fusion orchestral works, featuring guest artists Dr. L. Subramaniam and his wife, Kavita Krishnamurti, one of India’s most celebrated Bollywood film singers (9/15, GMU Center for the Arts) · Alon Goldstein, piano — The Israeli pianist performs Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 3 on a bill that includes Glinka’s lively Overture to Russlan and Ludmilla and Mussorgsky’s expansive Pictures at an Exhibition, in the masterful orchestration by Maurice Ravel (10/20, GMU) · Guillermo Figueroa, violin — The concert opens with the overture to Wagner’s first truly grand opera, Rienzi. It’s followed by the local debut of violinist Figueroa, playing the gorgeous concerto by Samuel Barber. Rounding out the program is Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 1 (11/10, GMU) · Holiday Pops — Favorite carols, popular holiday songs, and holiday music from around the world featuring Fred Wygal and the Reston Chorale and Michael Ehrlich and the W.T. Woodson High School Select Vocal Ensemble (12/16, GMU) · Dean Woody, bassoon — Brahms’ crowning masterpiece, his Symphony No. 4, is the evenings highlight. Also on the program, Mozart’s rarely-performed Bassoon Concerto and Wagner’s Suite from Die Meistersinger (1/26/08, GMU) · Amanda Gosier, soprano — The program opens with Hindemith’s Symphonic Metamorphosis of Themes by Weber. Gosier will sing Mozart’s Exsultate Jubilate and will also join the FSO for Mahler’s Symphony No. 4, which ends with a song about a child’s view of heaven (3/1/08, GMU) ·
 Folger Consort |
FOLGER CONSORT
201 East Capitol St. SE
202-544-7077
www.folger.edu
Groves of Antiquity — Delightful French and Italian cantatas tell tales from ancient myths about the desires, foibles, and supernatural powers of gods and demi-gods. Baroque instrumental music for transverse flute, violin, viola da gamba, theorbo, and harpsichord transports listeners to Arcadian splendor in works by Vivaldi, Monteclair, Leclair and Rameau. With soprano Rosa Lamoreaux and instrumentalists Robert Eisenstein, Christopher Kendall, Colin St. Martin, Linda Quan and Webb Wiggins (10/5-7) · The Second Shepherds’ Play — A rich blend of music and theater, the earthly and the divine, this charming holiday tale captures both the rustic life of the peasantry and the marvel of the Nativity. With Holly Twyford, an ensemble of actor-singers, and instrumentalists Robert Eisenstein, Charles Weaver and Tom Zajac (12/12-30) · Seven Songs of Love — Western Europe’s first song cycle depicts the longing of a woman waiting on the beach at Vigo for her lover to return from the sea. With soprano Johana Arnold and instrumentalists Robert Eisenstein and Christopher Kendall (2/15-17) ·
GAY MEN’S CHORUS OF WASHINGTON, D.C.
202-293-1548
www.gmcw.org
THE GREAT AMERICAN SONGBOOK — GMCW’s fall cabaret returns this season with a cast of eight singers performing 24 songs made famous by 24 American singers (11/3-18, Westminster Presbyterian Church) · AMERICAN CAROLS — Special guests Mosaic Harmony and Tach’shitim join GMCW in Act I to celebrate the diversity of American carols and songs. Act II features A Gay Christmas Carol, an original mini-musical by Matt Conner (Nevermore) (11/30-12/2, Lisner Auditorium) · AMERICAN MASTERPIECES — GMCW and Rock Creek Singers present a celebration of American composers, including Aaron Copland, Steven Paulus and Leonard Bernstein (2/22-23, Church of the Epiphany) · That ’80s Show — Accompanied by an ’80s-inspired soundtrack and video, GMCW sings and dances its way through the music that opened the door for many of today’s out and proud pop singers (3/15-16, Lisner Auditorium) · LET US ENTERTAIN YOU: POTOMAC FEVER TURNS 25 — A silver anniversary celebration of GMCW’s community outreach a cappella group (5/3 and 5/10/08, Westminster) · America, the FABULOUS! — GMCW’s 2008 Pride Concert opens Pride Week and celebrates American popular music genres. GMCW visits Nashville for country music, New Orleans for jazz, Detroit for soul, Southern California for pop rock and Manhattan for Broadway (6/8-9) ·
GLBT Arts Consortium
www.dcglbtarts.org
Remembrance of Martin Luther King, Jr. (1/22/08, location tbd) ·
LESBIAN AND GAY CHORUS OF WASHINGTON, D.C.
202-546-1549
www.lgcw.org
Celebrating the People and History of Washington, D.C. (1/26-1/27/08, Capitol Hill Presbyterian Church ·
LEVINE SCHOOL OF MUSIC
202-686-8000
www.levineschool.org
Jazz and Rock for Classical Music Lovers — A thrilling concert with Vasily Popov on electric cello and Eric Ulreich on electric guitar as they recreate the jazz sounds of Chick Corea’s Crystal Silence and Kenny Dorham’s Blue Bossa (9/20, Jane Lang Recital Hall) · Vocalist Marilyn Moore and jazz pianist Bob Sykes — Showcasing pieces from The Great American Songbook (10/9, Church of the Epiphany) · Pianists Lina Morita and Hyeweon Lee — An evening of French music for two pianos (11/8, Jane Lang Recital Hall) · Honors Recitals — Performances by Levine’s top honor students (12/1, 12/6) · Lords of the Dance — Grace McFarlane’s concert includes the dance music of Bach, Schubert, Barber, Joplin and Gershwin (12/6, Music Center at Strathmore) ·
LISNER AUDITORIUM AT GWU
730 21st St. NW
202-994-6800
www.lisner.org
Bellini’s I Puritani — Presented by the Washington Concert Opera (9/23) · Global Drum Project — Grateful Dead percussionist Mickey Hart with Zakir Hussain, Sikiru Adepoju and Giovanni Hidalgo in a boundary-shattering musical journey that reaffirms the drum’s primal potency in today’s high-tech world (10/11) · Caetano Veloso –The Brazilian artist incorporates elements of rock, reggae, fado, tango, samba canao, baiao and rap, bringing his bossa-nova guitar stylings to each performance and making each song luminous, shimmering with poetics and insight (11/4) ·
NATIONAL SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Kennedy Center Concert Hall
2700 F St. NW
202-467-4600
www.kennedy-center.org
Season Opening Ball Concert — Leonard Slatkin, conductor, Renée Fleming, soprano, and Peng Peng, piano (9/16) · NSO Pops: An Evening with Roberta Flack — Marvin Hamlisch, conductor (9/27-29) · Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony — Leonard Slatkin, conductor (10/4-6) · Midori — The violinis performs Bartók’s Violin Concerto No. 2 (10/11-13) · Emanuel Ax — The acclaimed pianist performs Brahms’s Piano Concerto No. 2 (10/18-20) · NSO Pops: The Music of John Williams — Erich Kunzel conducts (10/25-27) · Heinrich Schiff — The renowned cellist performs Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto No. 1 (11/15-17) · NSO Pops: Show Boat in concert — Marvin Hamlisch conducts (11/23-24) · NSO Pops: Happy Holidays! — Marvin Hamlisch conducts (12/13-16) · Handel’s Messiah (12/20-23) · Sarah Chang — The violinist performs Brahms’s Violin Concerto in a program also featuring Mozart’s Magic Flute Overture and Corigliano’s Symphony No. 2 (1/17-1/19/08) · Jean-Yves Thibaudet — The pianist performs Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in a concert also featuring Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition (1/24-1/28/08) · NSO Pops: Pink Martini — This popular world music ensemble has been described as ”somewhere between a 1930s Cuban dance orchestra, a classical chamber music ensemble, a Brazilian marching band, and Japanese film noir” (2/28-3/1/08) · NSO Pops: Jazz Saxophonist Dave Koz — Marvin Hamlisch conducts (5/15-5/17/08) · Salute to Slatkin — Cellist Yo-Yo Ma and others help celebrate Leonard Slatkin’s final concert as the NSO’s Music Director (6/29/08) ·
 Marin Alsop |
STRATHMORE MUSIC CENTER & MANSION
North Bethesda, Md.
301-581-5100
www.strathmore.org
National Philharmonic: National Voices — The young violin marvel Sandy Cameron helps usher in the season with a performance of Sibelius’ Violin Concerto (9/15) · The Maestra Begins — A program marking Marin Alsop’s inaugural concerts as Music Director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra features Mahler’s Fifth Symphony and John Adams’ Fearful Symmetries (9/27) · La Scala Philharmonic — A special co-presentation with WPAS and BSO at Strathmore brings the La Scala Philharmonic of Italy, on its first extended symphonic tour of the United States in 20 years (10/10) · Symphony with a Twist: Frankenstein — HK Gruber conducts his own take on the classic tale, as well as selections from Beethoven and Saint-Saëns (10/19) · Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony — Marin Alsop conducts (12/1) · Handel’s Messiah — The National Philharmonic with soprano Danielle Talamantes and baritone Jason Stearns (12/22-23) · Superpops: Sci-Fi Spectacular — Narrated by George Takei (Mr. Sulu), the BSO presents selections from Star Wars, E.T. and Superman, along with a spectacular laser-light show (1/17/08) · SUPERPOPS: Art Garfunkel — The singer performs ”Bridge Over Troubled Water,” ”Mrs. Robinson,” along with works from his newest recording, Some Enchanted Evening (2/14/08) ·
THE THOMAS CIRCLE SINGERS
202-232-3353
www.thomascirclesingers.org
A TCS Christmas — With the Bel Canto Chorus of the Children’s Chorus of Washington, and orchestra (12/16, St. Paul’s Lutheran Church) ·
WASHINGTON PERFORMING ARTS SOCIETY
202-833-9800
www.wpas.org
Ravi Shankar — Legendary virtuoso sitarist Ravi Shankar is renowned throughout the world for his pioneering work in bringing Indian music to the West. He is joined on stage by his daughter and protégé, Anoushka (10/13, KenCen Concert Hall) · The Cleveland Orchestra — Music director Franz Welser-Möst conducts (10/15, Kennedy Center Concert Hall) · Orpheus Chamber Orchestra — Yefim Bronfman, piano (10/18, Strathmore) · Murray Perahia — The pianist has ”the soul of a poet, the mind of a thinker, the hands of a virtuoso,” writes The Seattle Times (10/28, Strathmore) · Yo-Yo Ma, cello — Joined by Kathryn Stott on piano (11/12, KenCen Concert Hall) · Gabriela Montero — In addition to performing staggeringly difficult piano repertoire, this pianist has stunned audiences with her unique gift of improvisation (12/15, Harman Hall) · Artis Quartet Vienna — Program includes Mozart and Beethoven (1/11/08, KenCen Terrace Theater) · Orli Shaham, piano & Gil Shaham, violin — Brother and sister perform a program that includes Mozart and Bartok (2/8/08, Strathmore) · Sir James Galway — The flautist is joined by Lady Jeanne Galway, also on flute (2/25, KenCen Concert Hall) · Joshua Bell — The superstar violinist is joined by Jeremy Denk on the piano (3/3/08, KenCen Concert Hall) · Lang Lang — The incomparable pianist returns (3/11/08, KenCen Concert Hall) · Sergey Khachatryan — Violin (3/18/08, Harman Hall) · Itzhak Perlman — Violin (5/4/08, Strathmore) ·
WASHINGTON WOMEN’S CHORUS
202-244-7367
www.washingtonwomenschorus.org
Songs and Stories of Christmas — A holiday concert featuring special guest, the Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart women’s choir and handbell ensemble (12/1, St. Patrick’s Episcopal Church in D.C., 12/2, St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Arlington) ·
WASHINGTON OPERA
Kennedy Center Opera House
202-295-2400
www.dc-opera.org
La Boheme — Giacomo Puccini’s masterpiece, featuring Adriana Damato, Sabina Cvilak and Vittorio Grigolo. There will be a free live simulcast on Sunday, Sept. 23, at 2 p.m. on the grounds of the National Mall, and at the Old Town Theater in Alexadria and the AFI Silver Theater in Silver Spring (9/15-30) · Don Giovanni — Widely regarded as the greatest opera ever composed, Mozart’s celebrated tragicomedy tells the story of the famous womanizer who is given one last chance to repent of his philandering ways. New production conducted by Placido Domingo and featuring Erwin Schrott (10/25-11/16) · A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE — Composed by William Bolcom from a libretto by Arnold Weinstein and Arthur Miller, this operatic adaptation of Miller’s play features Kim Josephson and Christine Brandes (11/3-17) · Flying Dutchman — Richard Wagner’s German opera tells the nautical legend of the fearsome Flying Dutchman, cursed to sail the seas until he finds a woman who will love him until death. With Alan Held (3/15-4/20/08) · Rigoletto — Verdi’s masterpiece about a jaded jester whose misdirected revenge proves his undoing (3/29-4/13/08) · Tamerlano — Handel’s rarely-performed work, starring Placido Domingo (4/30-5/22/08) · Elektra — Richard Strauss’ classic take on the ancient myth. Featuring Susan Bullock and Daniel Sumegi (5/10-5/27/08) ·
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