This season, many classical organizations are focused on anniversary celebrations, most notably of the centennial kind. The City Choir of Washington, the Washington Chorus, and the Washington National Opera are among those with musical tributes to World War I, which ended 100 years ago this November. Also 100 years ago, Gustav Holst premiered his signature orchestral suite The Planets, highlights from which will be included in space-themed programs at DC Different Drummers as well as at two of the main area orchestras, the Baltimore Symphony and the National Symphony.
Speaking of symphonic centennial celebrations, the National Philharmonic strives for the “last but certainly not least” designation among the myriad toasts that have come over the past year to the centenary of Leonard Bernstein. Among many nods to the late, great legend scattered throughout its new season, November’s Bernstein Choral Celebration is a true standout — and timed for prime giving-back gratitude.

AMERICAN POPS ORCHESTRA

Arena Stage
1101 6th St. SW
theamericanpops.org

• You’ve Got a Friend: A Singer-Songwriter Celebration — Ubiquitous ’80s TV star Morgan Fairchild, The Voice contender Rayshun LaMarr, NPR’s Ari Shapiro, Broadway’s Mariand Torres, and winner of APO’s 2018 NextGen competition Nia Savoy all join to celebrate the music of James Taylor, Nina Simone, Carole King, Joni Mitchell, Joan Baez, and more (9/22, Fichandler Stage)
• Music & Mindfulness Series: Yoga with the American Pops Orchestra — It’s as bizarre as it sounds, a 70-minute yoga practice led by Michelle Peterson and accompanied by members of the orchestra performing songs from some of the greatest crooners. This first of three in the season is soundtracked by “classic Broadway melodies in a contemplative style” (10/21, Dupont Underground)
• A Very Silly Vaudeville feat. Luke Hawkins — Broadway tapper moves through APO’s modern take on classic American vaudeville acts (11/17, Molly Smith Study)
• Holidays in Black and White — Silent films created by Thomas Edison screen as Luke Frazier conducts the APO in an original score of holiday classics (12/15, Kogod Cradle) ^ Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly feat. Hilary Morrow — Actress joins in a madcap retelling of this classic children’s story (1/26/19, Molly Smith Study)

ATLAS PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

1333 H St. NE
202-399-7993
atlasarts.org

• UrbanArias: The Last American Hammer — The local short opera company opens its season with a topical work by composer Peter Hilliard and librettist Matt Boresi with stars Elizabeth Futral, Timothy Mix, and Briana Elyse Hunter (9/22-23, 9/28-29, Sprenger Theatre)
• Capital City Symphony: 51st Season Opening Concert — Leonard Bernstein is the toast of this program honoring the late legend’s 100th birthday, including a semi-staged presentation of his one-act opera Trouble in Tahiti (10/7, Lang Theatre)
• Capital City Symphony: Tan Nguyen — A showcase for the 2018 winner of the Ylda Novik Memorial Concerto Competition for Pianists, part of the Great Masters, Young Stars series (11/11, Sprenger)
• Capital City Symphony: Meet the Orchestra — Atlas Arts for Young Audiences presents (1/26/19)

BALTIMORE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

410-783-8000
bsomusic.org

• Opening Gala Concert: From Gershwin to Broadway w/vocalist Cynthia Erivo, emcee Wordsmith (9/15, Meyerhoff)
• Beethoven: Eroica Symphony (9/21, 9/23, Meyerhoff; 9/22, Strathmore)
• Star Wars: A New Hope – In Concert — Jack Everly conducts the BSO as the movie screens (9/28-30, Meyerhoff)
• Sibelius Symphonies (10/4, 10/6, Meyerhoff; 10/7, Strathmore)
• Music Box: 1,2,3 Count with Me feat. Percussion Quartet (10/6, Meyerhoff)
• Tony DeSare: I Love a Piano (10/11, Strathmore; 10/12-14, Meyerhoff)
• Vivaldi: Four Seasons (10/18, 10/20, Strathmore; 10/19, Meyerhoff)
• BSO Pulse: Kelela (10/25, Meyerhoff)
• Grieg: Piano Concerto feat. Freddy Kempf (10/27, Strathmore; 10/28, Meyerhoff)
• Midweek Concert: Symphony Space-tacular: Star Wars and Beyond! (11/1-3, Meyerhoff)
• Movie with Orchestra: The Nightmare Before Christmas (11/2-3, Meyerhoff) ^ Music Box: Dinosaurs feat. Brass Quintet (11/4, Gordon Center; 11/17, Meyerhoff)
• Poulenc Concerto for Two Pianos feat. Christina and Michelle Naughton (11/9, 11/11, Meyerhoff; 11/10, Strathmore)
• Copland Symphony No. 3 (11/15, Meyerhoff; 11/18, Strathmore)
• Off The Cuff: Copland Symphony No. 3 (11/16, Strathmore; 11/17, Meyerhoff)
• Chris Botti (11/23-25)
• BSO Pulse: Parquet Courts (11/29, Meyerhoff)
• Joshua Bell (11/30-12/1, Meyerhoff)
• Midweek Concert: A Swingin’ Nutcracker! Feat. FLY Dance Company (12/7-8, Meyerhoff)
• Handel: Messiah (12/8-9, Meyerhoff)
• Cirque Nutcracker feat. Troupe Vertigo (12/13, Strathmore; 12/14-16, Meyerhoff)
• Gospel Christmas w/CeCe Winans, plus Morgan State University Choir (12/21, Meyerhoff)
• Holiday Pops w/Baltimore Choral Arts Society (12/22, Meyerhoff)
• Leon Fleisher’s Birthday Celebration (1/4/19-1/5/19, Meyerhoff; 1/6/19, Strathmore)
• Turangalîla-Symphonie feat. Jean-Yves Thibaudet & Nathalie Forget (1/10/19, Meyerhoff; 1/13/119, Strathmore)
• Music Box: Bugs feat. Violin, Cello, Piano Trio (1/12/19, Meyerhoff)
• BSO Pulse: Dan Deacon (1/17/19, Meyerhoff)

BARNS AT WOLF TRAP

1635 Trap Road
Vienna, Va.
877-WOLFTRAP
wolftrap.org

• David Finckel, cellos w/Wu Han, piano — “The Power Couple of Chamber Music” (Wall Street Journal) kick off Han’s tenure as artistic advisor of the Chamber Music at the Barns series with Beethoven’s cello sonatas (11/4)
• Eileen Ivers: An Nollaig: An Irish Christmas — Virtuoso fiddler interweaves age-old Wren Day songs, beloved American carols, even a jigging Bach, telling the story of the holiday through music and dance (12/2)
• Arnaud Sussmann, violin, Paul Neubauer, viola, David Finckel, cello — An evening of string trios by Beethoven, Dohnányi, and Mozart, part of the Chamber Music series (1/11/19)

THE CHORAL ARTS SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON

202-244-3669
choralarts.org

• Dusk and Dawn: Music of Light and Dark — The Choral Arts Chamber Singers and Youth Choir team up for a themed program from artistic director Scott Tucker, with songs including Epitaph for Moonlight by R. Murray Schafer, Spirited Light by Jake Runestad, and Past Life Memories by Sarah Hopkins (10/20, Live! At 10th & G)
• Songs of the Season: Christmas with Choral Arts feat. soprano Esther Heideman — The 38th Annual Holiday Concert and Gala combines traditional favorites and choral jewels, plus masterpieces as performed by a guest vocalist (12/16-17, 12/24, Kennedy Center Concert Hall)
• A Family Christmas — Tucker conducts the Choral Arts Chorus in a concert “for the young and young at heart” and “with special guests Santa, Frosty, and Rudolph (12/22, Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall, Alexandria; 12/24, Kennedy Center Concert Hall)

THE CITY CHOIR OF WASHINGTON

National Presbyterian Church
202-495-1613
thecitychoirofwashington.org

• A Farewell to Arms: A World War I Centennial Concert — Maestro Robert Shafer opens the choir’s 12th season on the date the Great War ended, with works by composers deeply affected, including Hubert Parry, Gerald Finzi, and Vaughan Williams (11/11)
• A Twelfth Night Concert — An area high school choir will join as a Partner in Song marking the Christian holiday also known as Feast of the Epiphany (1/6/19)

CONGRESSIONAL CHORUS

202-629-3140
congressionalchorus.org

Poets, Painters and Dreams — An Afternoon of Music and Dance inspired by Marc Chagall, Sara Teasdale, and Langston Hughes with the full chorus and its Chamber Ensemble (11/18, Church of the Epiphany, 1317 G St. NW)

DC’S DIFFERENT DRUMMERS

202-403-3669
dcdd.org

• DC Swing! — The annual fall performance by the LGBTQ music organization’s contemporary swing and jazz band (10/28, MilkBoy ArtHouse, 7416 Baltimore Ave., College Park)
• Capital Pride Symphonic Band: Beyond Our World: Music Inspired by Space and Exploration — The organization’s 38th season officially launches into outer space with its primary ensemble performing a varied program centered around Gustav Holst’s The Planets (11/3, Church of the Epiphany, 1317 G St. NW)
• DC Swing! — A performance of the jazz band as part of a Musicians Showcase series presented by the Arlington County Public Library (11/10, Columbia Pike Branch, 816 Walter Reed Dr., Arlington)
• Holiday Concert — The annual organization-wide celebration (12/9, Church of the Reformation, 212 E. Capitol St. NE)

THE EMBASSY SERIES

202-625-2361
embassyseries.org
A 22-year-old series offering public access to foreign embassies and diplomatic homes in D.C. via classical concerts with native artists followed by receptions, aimed at “uniting people through musical diplomacy”

• The 100th Anniversary of the Birth of Nelson Mandela (9/26, Embassy of South Africa)
• Ann Schein, piano, Darrett Adkins, cello (10/5, Embassy of Hungary)
• De Maeyer-Kende Duo — Jolente de Maeyer, violin, Nikolaas Kende, piano (10/8, Belgian Ambassador’s Residence)
• Andrzej Wiercinski, piano (10/19, Polish Ambassador’s Residence)
• Myriam Avalos, piano (10/26, Peruvian Ambassador’s Residence)
• Ricardo Cobo, classical guitarist (11/2, Colombian Ambassador’s Residence)
• Yi-yang Chen, piano (11/15, Arts Club of Washington aka Home of President James Madison)
• Miriam Rodriguez Brüllová, guitar, Dalibor Karvay (11/19, Embassy of Slovakia)
• Elham Fanoos, piano (11/30, Afghan Ambassador’s Residence)

FAIRFAX SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

Center for the Arts Concert Hall
George Mason University
Fairfax, Va.
703-993-2787
fairfaxsymphony.org

• La Boheme in Concert — Puccini’s most celebrated opera is presented in a lightly staged production featuring the FSO conducted by Christopher Zimmerman, vocal soloists and the organization’s Opera Chorus led by Thomas Colohan (9/22)
• Tchaikovsky & Beethoven w/Amit Peled— One of the most influential classical musicians today joins for a performance of Tchaikovsky’s Variations on a Rococo Theme played on the historic 1733 Gofriller Pablo Casals cello (11/3)
• The Nutcracker — The annual performance with the Fairfax Ballet (12/16)

FOLGER CONSORT

Folger Elizabethan Theatre
201 East Capitol St. SE
202-544-7077
folger.edu

• Oktoberfest — Celebrating the Early Music of Germany with the Consort’s founding directors Robert Eisenstein on viol and Christopher Kendall on lute, plus other string and wind instrumentalists and tenor Mark Bleeke (10/12-14)
• A Christmas Messe — A Banquet of Seasonal English Music with strings, harp, organist Webb Wiggins, and an ensemble of voices (12/14-23)

GAY MEN’S CHORUS

202-293-1548
gmcw.org

• Rope Burn 2: Guardians of Equality — The organization’s fall fundraiser returns with a celebration of gay geekdom, spotlighting LGBTQ inclusion in fantasy and gaming through song and also dance, aerial arts, drag, and cosplay burlesque, plus panel discussions (10/18, SAX Lounge, 734 11th St. NW)
• The Best Worst Thing — An intimate cabaret featuring GMCW soloists relating bad experiences with silver linings via pop and Broadway songs (11/17, Atlas)
• The Holiday Show — An all-new sassy and sweet seasonal show with all manner of song and dance and other antics, including a visit from Santa for the naughty or nice — depending on his mood (12/8, 12/15-16, Lincoln Theatre)

THE IN SERIES

Source Theatre
1835 14th St. NW
202-204-7763
inseries.org

• Viva V.E.R.D.I.-The Promised End — This vocal/opera concert organization kicks off its season with a program conceived by its new artistic director Timothy Nelson that includes the most popular choral work of all time, Verdi’s towering Requiem, distilled for a core of eight singers (Now-9/23)
• Figaro in 4 Quartets — Nelson directs a re-imagined offering of Mozart’s beloved opera paired with T.S. Elliot’s last poem (10/20-28, GALA Hispanic Theatre)
• Operetta Wonderland: The Magic of Victor Herbert — Brian J. Shaw directs a selection of hits from Sweethearts, Naughty Marietta, The Enchantress, Babes in Toyland, and more (11/28-12/2, D.C. Scottish Rite Temple)
• From U Street to the Cotton Club — KenYatta Rogers and Stanley Thurston direct tales of a courageous people in turbulent times with the music of Duke Ellington, Fats Waller, and more (1/5/19-1/20/19)

KENNEDY CENTER

202-467-4600
kennedy-center.org

• Elizabeth DeShong, mezzo-soprano — A recital presented by Vocal Arts DC (9/28, Terrace Theater)
• 2018 Marian Anderson Vocal Award Winner: Ryan Speedo Green in Concert — This “scene-stealing bass-baritone” (New York Times) performs a recital co-presented by the Washington National Opera and the Fortas Chamber series and in recognition of getting an award whose past recipients include Denyce Graves, Eric Owens, and Lawrence Brownlee (10/4, Terrace)
• Dover Quartet — Young ensemble kicks off its first season as the Kennedy Center’s Quartet-in-Residence with a program of Schubert, Webern, and the Center’s Composer-in-Residence Mason Bates (10/10, Terrace)
• Hanzhi Wang, accordion — Washington Performing Arts promises that those who take in this young Chinese artist will have “expectations defied and your ears delighted by the sound, technique, texture, and repertoire of the accordion” (10/11, Terrace)
• Renee Fleming’s VOICES: Robert Fairchild — Former New York City Ballet principal and Tony-nominated star of An American in Paris (10/12, Terrace)
• The Kennedy Center Chamber Players: Works of Dvorak, R. Strauss & Brahms — The first concert of the season from this ensemble of NSO musicians (10/14, Terrace) ^ Mason Bates’s KC Jukebox: Future Folk — King Creosote, Pulitzer Prize-winner Caroline Shaw, and the Dover Quartet perform in this immersive, innovative evening of indie-rock and alt-classical (10/18, Atrium)
• Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio — “The greatest piano trio on the face of the Earth” (Washington Post) returns to its roost as Trio-in-Residence of the Fortas Chamber Music Concert series (10/23, Terrace)
• Yekwon Sunwoo, piano — The 2017 Van Cliburn Piano Competition winner performs a recital presented by Washington Performing Arts (10/24, Terrace)
• Hyesang Park, soprano — The Washington debut of young South Korean vocalist, presented by Vocal Arts DC (10/25, Terrace)
• Hilary Hahn, violin — Washington Performing Arts presents the star violinist in a return to the music that launched her career, the sonatas and partitas by Bach (10/26, Terrace)
• Opera Lafayette: Cerere Placata (Ceres Placated) — Local company premieres a new edition of a work inspired by mythology from Neapolitan master Niccolò Jommelli (10/28, Terrace)
• Czech Philharmonic — Washington Performing Arts presents the first performance of this orchestra with its new music director Semyon Bychkov (10/29, Concert Hall)
• West-Eastern Divan Orchestra w/Daniel Barenboim (11/7)
• John Brancy, baritone and Peter Dugan, piano: Armistice: The Journey Home — Vocal Arts DC presents young duo’s program of songs, with historical narrative, by composers who fought in and were influenced by World War I (11/12, Terrace)
• Escher String Quartet — A Fortas Chamber Music Concert featuring renowned ensemble, formerly BBC New Generation Artists (11/14, Terrace)
• Cécile McLorin Salvant: Ogresse — A classically trained, Grammy-winning jazz vocalist presents the D.C. premiere of her original concert concept, a Kennedy Center commission arranged and conducted by Darcy James Argue (11/17, Terrace)
• The Washington Chorus: Brahms: A German Requiem and Britten’s Ballad of Heroes (11/18)
• Simon Keenlyside, baritone and Malcolm Martineau, piano — Vocal Arts DC presents the long-awaited debut of versatile English singer accompanied by an eminent artist (11/30, Terrace)
• The Tallis Scholars — Richly textured holiday vocal music from a U.K.-based, Renaissance-focused group presented in the Fortas Chamber Music series (12/5, Terrace)
• Simone Dinnerstein, piano — Ever-inventive artist presents a centuries-spanning program of works by Satie, Couperin, Schumann, and Glass, presented by Washington Performing Arts (12/6, Terrace)
• Angel Blue, soprano and Catherine Miller, piano — A recital presented by Vocal Arts DC from this California native who wowed audiences at the Metropolitan Opera last year as Mimi in La bohème (12/19, Terrace)

NATIONAL CHAMBER ENSEMBLE

nationalchamberensemble.org

• Masters of the Italian Baroque — Led by Leonid Sushansky, the NCE launches its new season, “Adventures Through the Musical Time Machine,” with a program featuring the distinct, ordered, ornate, and emotive sounds of Vivaldi, Corelli, and Albinoni, plus Pergolesi’s masterpiece Stabat Mater featuring renowned soprano Sharon Christman and Washington National Opera mezzo-soprano Anamer Castrello (10/20, Gunston Arts Center)
• Holiday Time Warp — Classical masterpieces and holiday favorites, including a performance by NCE’s Outstanding Young Artist Achievement Award string competition winner performs (12/15, Unitarian Universalist Church of Arlington)

NATIONAL PHILHARMONIC

Music Center at Strathmore
5301 Tuckerman Lane
Bethesda, Md.
301-581-5100
Nationalphilharmonic.org

• Film with Live Orchestra: On the Waterfront — Elia Kazan’s iconic eight-time Oscar-winning film plays in remastered high-definition while Leonard Bernstein’s only work composed specifically for film is rendered live at the season-opening concert of an organization led by Bernstein acolyte Piotr Gajewski (9/29)
• Lenny’s Playlist — Gajewski conducts a program of Mozart’s Overture to The Magic Flute, Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5, and Barber’s Violin Concerto featuring Bella Hristova (10/13-14)
• Bernstein Choral Celebration — Stan Engebretson conducts the orchestra, the National Philharmonic Chorale, and the Strathmore Children’s Chorus in a program featuring selections from Mass, Candide, and West Side Story (11/17)
• Holiday Sing-Along with Guest Artist Iyona Blake — Local musical theater powerhouse joins the orchestra and members of its chorale for a program of holiday favorites led by Victoria Gau (12/7)
• Handel’s Messiah — Engebretson returns to lead this organization-wide concert with soloists performing the uplifting oratorio synonymous with Christmas — even though it was written for Easter (12/22-23)

NATIONAL SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

Kennedy Center Concert Hall
202-467-4600
kennedy-center.org

• NSO Pops: Get Out — The 2017 Oscar winner for Best Original Screenplay, this speculative thriller/comedy continues to surprise, now in the Concert Hall as the NSO performs Michael Abels’ score under his guest baton (9/20)
• Season Opening Gala Concert w/Joshua Bell — Music Director Gianandrea Noseda launches the NSO’s season into orbit with a space-themed program featuring renowned violinist (9/22)
• Musorgsky’s Pictures from an Exhibition — Noseda leads a program inspired by the visual arts also including Rachmaninoff and Respighi (9/27-29)
• Tchaikovsky’s Fifth, Emanuel Ax plays Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 1 — John Storgårds leads a program (10/4-6)
• Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto feat. Ray Chen — NSO Conductor Laureate Christoph Eschenbach returns for a program that also includes Mendelssohn’s Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6 (10/12-14)
• NSO Pops: Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (10/23-25)
• NSO Pops: Andrew Bird with Gabriel Kahane — Reineke leads a performance with these indie-pop/rock stars re-imagining their original compositions for an intimate orchestral experience (10/26-27)
• NSO Family Concert: Halloween Spooktacular (10/28)
• James Gaffigan conducts Russian Masterpieces w/Simon Trpceski, piano — Acclaimed American conductor returns for a program including Shostakovich’s Piano Concerto No. 2, Prokofiev’s Third Symphony, and Khachaturian’s Suite from Masquerade (11/1-3)
• Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3 feat. Denis Kozhukhin — Acclaimed Russian pianist makes his NSO debut in a program conducted by Carlos Miguel Prieto from Mexico and also featuring Copland and Revueltas (11/15-17)
• NSO Pops: Walt Disney Animation Studios: A Decade in Concert (11/23-25)
• Britten’s War Requiem — Noseda leads famed English composer’s epic work commemorating the end of the Great War, joined by some of today’s most gifted solo vocalists along with the Choral Arts Society of Washington and the Children’s Chorus of Washington (11/29-12/1)
• Mahler’s First Symphony — A program of spirited and expressive works led by Noseda and also including a new work by Kennedy Center Composer-in-Residence Mason Bates (12/6-9)
• NSO Pops: Under the Mistletoe with Ashley Brown — The originator of the title role in Mary Poppins on Broadway makes her NSO debut in a holiday concert also featuring the Washington Chorus (12/14-15)
• Handel’s Messiah — Vocal soloists and the University of Maryland Concert Choir join the NSO under guest conductor Nicholas McGegan for a holiday tradition in the festively decorated Concert Hall (12/20-23)

NEW ORCHESTRA OF WASHINGTON

Westmoreland Unitarian Christian Church
1 Westmoreland Circle NW
Bethesda, Md.
240-745-6587
neworchestraofwashington.org

• Día de los Muertos w/Choral Arts and the Aeolus Quartet — The Mexican Day of the Dead is celebrated with Mozart’s magnificent Requiem in D minor, featuring the Choral Arts Chamber Singers and NOW’s string-quartet-in-residence (11/3-4, Mexican Cultural Institute, 2829 16th St. NW)
• End of the War to End All Wars w/Washington Master Chorale and Musica Viva NY — NOW performs And Crimson Roses Once Again Be Fair, a co-commision from acclaimed American composer Joseph Turrin based on texts by war poets, with additional works by WWI-affected composers Holst and Ravel (11/10, Church of the Epiphany)

STRATHMORE

5301 Tuckerman Lane
Bethesda, Md.
301-581-5100
strathmore.org

• Maryland Lyric Opera — La Fanciulla del West in concert (9/14-15)
• Bill Murray, Jan Vogler & Friends: New Worlds — The celebrated comedian sings, reads prose and poetry, and narrates a mixed-genre program co-conceived by internationally renowned cellist Jan Vogler and also featuring violinist Mira Wang and pianist Vanessa Perez (9/28, Music Center)
• Shen Yun Symphony Orchestra — Melding the spirit, beauty, and distinctiveness of Chinese music with the precision, power, and grandeur of the Western symphony orchestra, presented by Falun Dafa Association of DC (10/10, Music Center)
• Windsync — Houston-based wind quintet performs a boundary-pushing thematic program mixing classical standards and new works by American composers with a pop-rock sensibility, and presented with the extra theatricality of choreography, costumes, and multimedia elements (10/25, Mansion)
• Goran Bregović: Three Letters from Sarajevo — A new work inspired by the “Jerusalem of the Balkans” from a beloved Balkan composer joined by his Wedding and Funeral Orchestra, international soloists, and a string quartet and vocal sextet (10/28, Music Center)
• Mexico beyond Mariachi: Día de Muertos (11/1, Mansion)
• Heath Quartet — A charismatic British ensemble and winners of the 2016 Gramophone Chamber Award (11/15, Mansion)
• Gil Shaham, violin and Akira Eguchi, piano — Washington Performing Arts presents a concert featuring one of today’s preeminent violinists” (New York Times) in an eclectic, wide-ranging program (11/15, Music Center)
• Salute to Vienna New Year’s Concert — This 18-year Washington tradition features the Strauss Symphony of America with vocal soloists plus dancers from Austria’s Europaballett St.Pölten and International Champion Ballroom Dancers (12/30, Music Center)

WASHINGTON BACH CONSORT

202-429-2121
Bachconsort.org

• Handel & Bach: Sing a New Song — The opening of the Consort’s 41st season welcomes its new Artistic Director, Dana Marsh (9/16, National Presbyterian Church)
• Bach to Mozart — Special guest artists The Franklin Quartet performs rarely heard Mozartian transcriptions in a concert that also includes selections from The Well-Tempered Clavier performed on fortepiano (11/2, 945 G St. NW)
• CHRISTMAS WITH THE CONSORT — Seasonal motets, including J.S. Bach’s masterful work for double choir, Komm, Jesu, Komm (12/16, National Presbyterian Church)

THE WASHINGTON CHORUS

202-342-6221
thewashingtonchorus.org

Brahms’s A German Requiem and Britten’s Ballad of Heroes — Artistic director Christopher Bell launches the organization’s 58th season with a program commemorating the centennial end of the Great War as well as Veterans Day (11/18, Concert Hall)

• Candlelight Christmas — The splendor of brass, organ, percussion, and 200 voices singing Christmas classics, led by artistic director Christopher Bell (12/7, 12/16, 12/22, Kennedy Center; 12/20-21, Strathmore)

• The Washington Chorus: Family Christmas — New this year, a special concert for families with favorite carols, sing-alongs, and special fun for all ages (12/23, George Mason University Center for the Arts)

WASHINGTON NATIONAL OPERA

Kennedy Center
202-295-2400
dc-opera.org

• Opera in the Outfield: The Barber of Seville — The 11th annual free opera broadcast (9/29, Nats Park)
• La traviata — WNO’s Francesca Zambello launches the season with a new production of Verdi’s everlasting story of love and sacrifice (10/13-21, Opera House)
• Holiday Family Opera: The Lion, The Unicorn, and Me — A revival of Francesca Zambello’s heartwarming adaptation of the famous children’s book, retelling the Nativity story from the perspective of a donkey (12/14-16, Terrace Theater)
• Silent Night — To commemorate the centennial end of the Great War, the WNO offers the Washington premiere of a hopeful work adapted from the 2005 film Joyeux Noël featuring Pulitzer Prize-winning music by Kevin Puts and a cast composed entirely of WNO family, including Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist alumni (11/10-25, Eisenhower Theater)