9/11 in Washington, DC: Museums, Music, Readings
Musical Remebrances 
At least three area concerts this Sunday, Sept. 11, pay tribute to the international tragedy from 10 years earlier. First comes mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves and gay baritone James E. Laws, Jr. performing with the joint choirs of St. Stephens Episcopal Church and the Unitarian Church of Fairfax, along with accompanist Mark Vogel, performing music by Dr. Marvin Curtis, who will conduct. WJLA-TV reporter Sam Ford hosts this concert, which commemorates 9/11 and is also a benefit honoring 25 years of the AIDS-supporting Damien Ministries. Sunday, Sept. 11 at 4 p.m. The New York Avenue Presbyterian Church, 1313 New York Ave. NW. Tickets are $25. Call 202-526-3020 or visit damienministries.org.
Stefan Willich will lead the World Doctors Orchestra, consisting of practicing physicians from around the world dedicated to peace, along with violinist Tamaki Kawakubo in a performance of Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 with the National Philharmonic Chorale, led by Stan Engebretson and featuring soprano Jeanine De Bique and mezzo-soprano Jennifer Johnson Cano. The performance benefits Whitman-Walker Health. (Read a feature with one of the orchestra’s local proponents, Dr. Joel Ang, here.) Sunday, Sept. 11, at 7 p.m. Music Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda. Tickets are $25 to $75. Call 301-581-5100 or visit strathmore.org.
University of Maryland students and faculty commemorate the 10th anniversary of 9/11 with readings and musical selections. Edward Maclary conducts the UMD Symphony Ochestra and the UMD Concert Choir in a performance of, among other works, Mozart’s last composition, left unfinished, the Requiem Mass in D Minor. Sunday, Sept. 11, at 7:30 p.m. Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center’s Dekelboum Concert Hall, University of Maryland, University Boulevard and Stadium Drive. College Park. Tickets are free but reservations required. Call 301-405-ARTS or visit claricesmithcenter.umd.edu.
Museum Exhibits
At least two museums in D.C. are commemorating the 10th anniversary of Sept. 11 this weekend. The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History’s “Remembrance and Reflection” offers more than 50 objects recovered from the three sites attacked that day — New York’s World Trade Center, the Pentagon and Shanksville, Penn. — as well as acquisitions that relate to how American lives have changed since. The artifacts will be displayed on open tables, not behind cases, and with short labels, not full descriptions, intended to give a more up close and personal view and trigger a museum-goer’s memories. Runs until Sunday, Sept. 11, National Museum of American History, 14th St. and Constitution Ave. NW. Call 202-633-1000 or visit americanhistory.si.edu.
Meanwhile, this weekend admission to the Newseum will be free for only the second time in its three-year history, allowing the public to see the first permanent museum exhibit devoted to the attacks (tickets are required). The Newseum’s “9/11 Gallery” includes a few artifacts from each area attacked plus an 11-minute video about the journalists who covered the attack and a display of newspaper front pages from around the globe the day after. In addition, the Newseum’s FBI exhibit has been expanded to include details about the agency’s role in fighting terrorism. As of press time, Saturday, Sept. 10, is sold out and only a few tickets remain for Sunday, Sept. 11, to the Newseum, 555 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Call 888-NEWSEUM or visit newseum.org.
Readings and Discussions
At least two local venues will offer free readings and discussions with authors and other experts focused on how 9/11 has changed our world and society. Politics and Prose offers two: A reading Saturday, Sept. 10, at 6 p.m., by Eric Schmitt and Thom Shanker, New York Times security correspondents and authors of Counterstrike: The Untold Story of America’s Secret Campaign Against Al Qaeda; and a panel discussion Tuesday, Sept. 13, at 7 p.m., with authors Robin Wright and Steve Coll (both formerly noted Washington Post staffers), Harvard-affiliated Olga Grushin and Virginia Quarterly Review contributor Elliott Woods. This discussion is co-presented with the British literary periodical Granta and based on Granta 116: Ten Years Later, which explores the view of 9/11 from as far away as Tunisia, North Korea and Somalia. Politics and Prose, 5015 Connecticut Ave. NW. Call 202-364-1919 or visit politics-prose.com.
Meanwhile, the 14th Street location of Busboys & Poets offers a discussion Monday, Sept. 12, at 12:30 p.m., with liberal Ralph Nader, conservative Bruce Fein and former FBI agent Mike German. Busboys & Poets, 2021 14th St. NW. Call 202-387-POET or visit busboysandpoets.com.
Photo: Dr. Joel Ang of the World Doctors Orchestra photographed for Metro Weekly by Julian Vankim
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