Music: Classical & Choral — Spring Arts Preview 2020

Some of the classical world’s brightest stars will light up the region’s stages this season, along with a treasure trove of thrilling up-and-coming talents. Hometown favorite Denyce Graves returns to the Kennedy Center Opera House performing the featured role of Maria in Washington National Opera’s hot-ticket production of Porgy and Bess, and several pop and R&B stars get into the classical act, with Grammy-winner Maxwell joining the BSO for a night of orchestral arrangements of hits like “Pretty Wings,” while acclaimed singer-songwriter Amos Lee debuts his new album alongside the NSO Pops. But the true star to keep your eyes and ears open for this spring might be the biggest name in the history of classical music — Ludwig van Beethoven, whose 250th birthday will be celebrated by ensembles, soloists, orchestras, opera companies, institutions, and audiences alike.

Editor’s Note: Some events might be postponed or cancelled due to the COVID-19 coronavirus. Please check ahead with the individual venues.

AMERICAN POPS ORCHESTRA

Arena Stage
1101 6th St. SW
www.theamericanpops.org

• The 3rd Annual NextGen: Finding the Voices of Tomorrow — The APO’s third annual vocal competition features 30 semifinalists representing colleges and universities from around the region, including American University, Catholic University, George Mason University, Howard University, Temple University, and the College of William and Mary, among others (3/28, Kreeger)
• Music & Mindfulness Series: Yoga with the American Pops Orchestra — Yoga instructor Dan Carter leads the third of this season’s mindful yoga and meditation sessions, accompanied by calming live music courtesy of a select APO ensemble (4/18, Molly Smith Study)
• Comedy Tonight: Broadway’s Greatest Laughs — A family-friendly night of fun, featuring APO musicians, comedians, and more, immediately followed by a VIP After-party (5/30, Fichandler)

ATLAS PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

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

• Capital City Symphony’s Symphonic Spring — CCS welcomes spring with Frederick Delius’ lush tone poem On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring and Copland’s heartland ode The Tender Land Suite, concluding with Brahms’ bucolic Symphony No. 2 (3/15, Lang Theatre)
• Capital City Symphony’s Meet the Orchestra — Grab the kids and join CCS for an instrument petting zoo, to meet the musicians and see their instruments up close, and then learn about the music they play and hear the beautiful sounds come to life (4/4, Lab Theatre II)

BALTIMORE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

Meyerhoff Symphony Hall
1212 Cathedral St
Baltimore, Md.
410-783-8000
www.bsomusic.org

• Ray Chen Performs Shostakovich — Violin sensation Chen performs Shostakovich’s formidable First Violin Concerto, in addition to pieces by Ravel, Strauss, and Messiaen (3/19, Meyerhoff)
• Music Box: Celebrate Springtime — Spring into springtime with a BSO brass quintet (3/21, Meyerhoff and 3/28, AMP by Strathmore)
• Off The Cuff: Shostakovich Violin Concerto — Violinist Ray Chen illuminates the hidden messages of this highly personal work (3/21, Meyerhoff)
• BSO Performs at SHIFT Festival of American Orchestras — As part of The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts’ and Washington Performing Arts’ SHIFT: A Festival of American Orchestras, the BSO is joined by members of the esteemed Silk Road Ensemble (3/25, Kennedy Center Concert Hall)
• Mozart and Mendelssohn — A work newly commissioned by the BSO from British composer Anna Clyne is juxtaposed with Fanny Mendelssohn’s Overture in C Major (3/28, Meyerhoff and 3/29, Strathmore)
• Midweek Concert: Through the Telescope — Experience otherworldly images of galaxies far, far away projected on a large screen above the stage, as a Hubble Scientist guides you through this concert featuring music by Strauss, Mozart, Holst and more (4/1-2 and 4/4, Meyerhoff)
• Maxwell: A Night at the Symphony — The soul star performs reimagined orchestral versions of songs from his hit-filled career, including thirteen #1 R&B chart-toppers (4/3-4, Meyerhoff)
• Movie With Orchestra: The Wizard of Oz (4/16, Strathmore and 4/17-19, Meyerhoff)
• Holst The Planets — Celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Hubble Telescope, the BSO salutes this historic milestone with performances of Holst’s The Planets, complete with Hubble photos and a special guest from NASA (4/23 and 4/26, Meyerhoff; 4/25, Strathmore)
• Off The Cuff: Holst The Planets (4/24, Strathmore and 11/23, Meyerhoff)
• Music Adventures: Bach and Friends: The Viola Suites and Their New Companions — The second of three class sessions designed to to enhance your appreciation of classical music (4/27, Meyerhoff)
• Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto — The great Russian pianist Olga Kern, first prize winner of the Rachmaninoff International Piano Competition when she was just 17, performs the composer’s dauntingly difficult Third Piano Concerto (4/30, Strathmore and 5/1-3, Meyerhoff)
• Music Box: Birdie Melodies — Soar like the little birdies flying through the air and nesting in the trees with a BSO flute, violin and viola trio (5/2, Meyerhoff and 5/9, AMP by Strathmore)
• Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back – In Concert Episode V of the Jedi Saga screens as the BSO, led by Associate Conductor Nicholas Hersh, performs John Williams’ score live (5/7 and 5/10, Meyerhoff; 5/8, Strathmore)
• Gala Concert with Itzhak Perlman — World-renowned violinist Perlman joins the BSO for its annual Gala Concert (5/9, Meyerhoff)
• Music Adventures: Preparing for Upcoming Performances…as a Bassoonist — The third Music Adventures session focuses on bassoons (5/12, Meyerhoff)
• Baroque Favorites — A conductor-less program that puts the musicians of the BSO front and center, exploring the mastery of Bach and musical story-telling at its finest (5/16, Strathmore and 5/17, Meyerhoff)
• Evgeny Kissin In Recital — One of the most gifted classical pianists of his generation, Kissin performs a recital of Beethoven’s treasured piano sonatas (5/17, Meyerhoff)
• Symphony in the City: Patterson Park — The free Symphony in the City series brings the BSO out of the concert hall and into the park for a program of works by Beethoven as part of the BSO’s 2020 celebration of the composer’s 250th birthday (5/20, Patterson Park)
• Star Wars: The Return of the Jedi – In Concert — Episode VI screens as the BSO performs John Williams’ score live (5/22-23, Meyerhoff)
• Lerner and Loewe Classics — The most popular Broadway hits of the dynamic composer and lyricist duo, including selections from My Fair Lady, Camelot, Gigi and Brigadoon, performed by three exciting vocalists along with the BSO (5/28 Strathmore and 5/29-31, Meyerhoff)
• Pastoral Symphony — Commemorating the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth, this concert features the composer’s beloved “Pastoral” Symphony, plus the long-awaited BSO debut of renowned Russian violinist Viktoria Mullova, performing Beethoven’s Violin Concerto (6/4 and 6/6, Strathmore; 6/5 6/7, Meyerhoff)
• Beethoven’s Ninth — Reimagining the “Ode to Joy” as a 21st-century call for unity, justice, and empowerment, Music Director Marin Alsop and the BSO boldly interpret Beethoven’s ideas in response to today’s world (6/11-12 and 6/14, Meyerhoff and 6/13, Strathmore)

BENDER JCC

6125 Montrose Rd.
Rockville, Md.
301-881-0100
www.benderjccgw.org

• Gryphon Trio — One of the world’s preeminent piano trios performs Beethoven, Shostakovich, and Brahms (3/29)
• Mount Vernon Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra Concerts: Beethoven’s 250th Anniversary Extravaganza — A new chamber orchestra established by Peabody Conservatory cello faculty artist Amit Peled is joined by famed violinist Judith Ingolfsson for a concert celebrating Beethoven’s 250th Anniversary with special arrangements of beloved masterpieces (4/5)
• Benjamin Grosvenor — The virtuosic British pianist, winner of the Keyboard Final of the 2004 BBC Young Musician Competition at the age of eleven, performs a program of Beethoven, Rameau, and Liszt (5/3)
• The Mount Vernon Virtuosi: From Haydn to Hollywood With Cellist Amit Peled — A concert by the MVV featuring Artistic Director Amit Peled as cello soloist along with famous Hollywood film music, including John Williams’ Oscar-winning score for Schindler’s List (5/17)

THE CHORAL ARTS SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON

202-244-3669
www.choralarts.org

• Music by Women on a Mission — The women of the Choral Arts Chorus and the Choral Arts Chamber Singers showcase the breadth, depth, and richness of choral music composed by a diverse group of women, including Melissa Dunphy, Carol Barnett, and Undine Smith Moore (3/28, Live! at 10th & G)
• A More Perfect Unison — The Capital Hearings and 18th Street Singers join The Choral Arts Chamber Singers for a joint concert honoring our shared histories and D.C.’s evolving culture of choral music (4/19, National City Christian Church)
• Schumann: Requiem, Op. 148 — Artistic Director Scott Tucker conducts a program with mezzo-soprano Elizabeth Bishop performing In the Beginning and Alto Rhapsody, and a quartet of accomplished soloists, including Katie Baughman, Hillary Grobe, Matthew Hill, and Matthew Scollin featured in Schumann’s Requiem (5/3, Kennedy Center Concert Hall)
• To Shiver the Sky — The world premiere of Christopher Tin’s oratorio exploration of space, featuring accompaniment by the United States Air Force Band (5/30, The Anthem)

THE CITY CHOIR OF WASHINGTON

National Presbyterian Church
4101 Nebraska Ave. NW
202-495-1613
www.thecitychoirofwashington.org

• Duruflé Requiem — The West Springfield High School Madrigals directed by Dustin Brandt, and the Shenandoah University Cantus Singers directed by Dr. Karen Keating join City Choir for an unforgettable evening of collaborative music making (3/15, St. Luke Catholic Church, McLean)
• Bach Mass in B Minor — The choir closes its season with a stirring and spectacular performance of Bach’s monumental, and most memorable, masterpiece (5/17, Schlesinger Concert Hall, Alexandria)

THE CLARICE

Gildenhorn Recital Hall
University of Maryland
College Park, Md.
301-405-ARTS
www.theclarice.umd.edu

• Trio Solisti — The ensemble of violinist Maria Bachmann, cellist Alexis Pia Gerlach, and pianist Fabio Bidini perform Beethoven and Chausson (3/25, Gildenhorn)
• Women’s Voices: UMD Treble Choir — In honor of Women’s History Month, the UMD Treble Choir and guest choirs from the area join together to celebrate women’s voices (3/28, Memorial Chapel)
• Rachel Barton Pine, violin and Matthew Hagle, piano (4/2, Gildenhorn)
• Masterful Strings: Masterclass with Amir Eldan, cello (4/3, Gildenhorn)
• The Cunning Little Vixen — Under the direction of Craig Kier, Maryland Opera Studio presents this Czech opera by Leoš Janáček, inspired by a comic book about a sharp, young, female fox and the gamekeeper who tries to control her (4/3-11, Kay Theatre)
• Masterful Strings: Beethoven Cellobration 250! (4/4, Gildenhorn)
• Conductors’ Concert: UMD Symphony Orchestra and UMD Wind Orchestra (4/4, Dekelboum Concert Hall)
• Opera Resonates Discussion: The Cunning Little Vixen: Maryland Opera Studio (4/5, Michelle Smith Performing Arts Library)
• University and Community Band (4/5, Dekelboum)
• Faculty Artist Series: Stern and Andrist Duo (4/12, Gildenhorn)
• Chamber Music Recitals (4/13-14, Gildenhorn)
• TEMPO (4/15, Gildenhorn)
• Piano Division Showcase (4/17, Gildenhorn)
• UMD Korean Percussion Ensemble (4/18, Dekelboum Concert Hall)
• Zodiac Duo: Celestial Sounds — The duo formed by acclaimed pianists Mika Sasaki and George Xiaoyuan Fu performs George Crumb’s Celestial Mechanics, an iconic avant-garde masterwork for four-hand piano(4/19, Gildenhorn)
• Balinese Gamelan — Directed by I Nyoman Suadin, the UMD Gamelan Saraswati Ensemble performs with guest musicians and dancers from the Indonesian Embassy (4/24, Kay Theatre)
• Japanese Koto (4/26, Dekelboum)
• Opera al Fresco — Maryland Opera Studio offers a casual preview of the singers’ scene study performances (4/30, Grand Pavilion)
• Brooklyn Rider: Healing Modes (4/30, The Arthouse)
• Coming Together: UMD Wind Ensemble (5/1, Dekelboum)
• Chamber Music Celebration (5/3, Gildenhorn)
• Only the “B”est Composers: UMD Chamber Singers — The UMD Chamber Singers present a concert of only the “B”est composers: Brahms, Britten, Barber, Byrd, Barnett and Burleigh (5/3, Gildenhorn)
• Spring Concert: Femmes de Chanson and MännerMusik (5/4, Gildenhorn)
• University and Community Band (5/6, Dekelboum)
• Bach Cantata Series: BWV 72 (5/7, Grand Pavilion)
• Opera Scene Study (5/7-8, Gildenhorn)
• Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring: UMD Symphony Orchestra (5/8, Dekelboum)
• UMWO Goes “Classically Dope” — UMD Wind Orchestra goes “Classically Dope” on its season finale concert, featuring rapper and hip-hop artist Konshens the MC (5/9, Dekelboum)
• Prince George’s Philharmonic: Season Finale (5/16, Dekelboum)
• Maryland Lyric Opera presents Le Nozze di Figaro (6/10, 6/12, 6/14, Kay Theatre)

CONGRESSIONAL CHORUS

Calvary Baptist Church
733 8th St. NW
202-629-3140
www.congressionalchorus.org

• VOGUE: Return to the 90’s — A program celebrating America’s women composers (3/21)
• GO WEST! Music from the Rockies and Beyond (5/30)

DC’S DIFFERENT DRUMMERS

202-403-3669
www.dcdd.org

• Precious Moments: Symphonic Band Spring Concert — Joined by guest conductor Dr. Thea Kano, of the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, DCDD celebrates its 40th year making music with highlights from past concerts, including Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man (4/4, Church of the Epiphany)

DUMBARTON CONCERTS

3133 Dumbarton St. NW
202-403-3669
www.dcdd.org

• The Westerlies — The self-described “accidental brass quartet” brings their program Wherein Lies the Good, weaving a common thread through the colorful tapestry of American music by Charles Ives, Duke Ellington, and more (3/28)
• PUBLIQuartet: American (RE)Invention — The quartet performs works by zeitgeisty composer Jessie Montgomery, a newly commissioned work by Jessica Meyer, Philip Glass’s Quartet No. 3, and PUBLIQuartet’s own Mind the Gap project.(4/18)

THE EMBASSY SERIES

202-625-2361
www.embassyseries.org
The series presents its 25th season of “uniting people through music diplomacy,” via concerts and cultural events

• Annalene Lenaerts, harp (3/23, Residence of the Belgian Ambassador)
• Members of the “President’s Own Marine Band and Chamber Group — Brahms and Dvořák chamber music (3/26, Embassy of the Czech Republic)
• Alexandra Nowakowski, coloratura soprano; William Woodard, piano (4/7, Polish Ambassador’s Residence)
• Bratislava Boys’ Choir (4/22, Embassy of Slovakia)
• Siow Lee Chin, Violin (5/13, Embassy of Singapore)

Balázs Fülei, piano (5/22, Embassy of Hungary)

FAIRFAX SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

GMU Center for the Arts
Fairfax, Va.
703-993-2787
www.fairfaxsymphony.org

• Beethoven at 250: Soulmates with Philippe Bianconi, piano — A program featuring Brahms’ Piano Concerto No. 2 and Beethovens’ “Symphony of Symphonies” (3/20)
• Beethoven at 250: Peace & Joy — Performing Beethoven’s Ninth (4/25, GMU Harris Theatre)
• Inspiring the Next Generation — The Fairfax County All-Stars and violin soloist Alexander Kerr join the FSO for a program including Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition (5/9)
• Peabody Peled Cello Gang with Amit Peled — Internationally renowned cellist Peled joins his cello students from the Peabody Institute for a spectacular afternoon of music (5/31, JCC of NoVa)

FOLGER CONSORT

202-544-7077
www.folger.edu

• Monteverdi in Venice: The Birth of the Baroque — Performing works by the great composer who stood “astride the transition from the Renaissance to the Baroque,” the early music ensemble offers Monteverdi’s madrigals, selections from his operas, and his rousing setting of Torquato Tasso’s Il combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda, first performed in Venice in 1624 (4/24-26, St. Mark’s on Capitol Hill)

GAY MEN’S CHORUS

202-293-1548
www.gmcw.org

• Spring Affair 2020 — GMCW’s 17th annual black-tie gala fundraising event, hosted by Emmy-winner Leslie Jordan (5/9, The Ritz-Carlton)
• Unbreakable — A new musical written by Andrew Lippa (I Am Harvey Milk, The Addams Family) showcasing 100 years of queer stories (6/6-7, Lincoln Theatre)

GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY CENTER FOR THE ARTS

Fairfax, Va.
888-945-2468
www.cfa.gmu.edu

• Mason Community Arts Academy Family Concert: Words Matter: The Written Word and Music — GMU’s Wind Symphony joins forces with acting and music students from Mason Community Arts Academy to highlight selected poetry, literature, and text from famous speeches, along with music by composers, past and present, who were influenced by those words (3/29)
• Percussion Ensemble Concert (3/29, Harris Theatre)
• American Festival Pops Orchestra: Spotlight on Broadway — Maestro Anthony Maiello reunites with Broadway veteran and soprano Lisa Vroman for an evening of iconic Broadway hits, memorable show tunes, and unforgettable musical theater scores (4/4)
• Dr. Balakerskaia Piano Studio Recital — A recital performed by the piano students of Dr. Anna Balakerskaia (4/9, Harris Theatre)
• Tuba Studio Recital (4/10, Harris Theatre)
• Guitar Ensemble Concert (4/11, Harris Theatre)
• Chorale Broadway Showcase (4/18)
• Wind Symphony & Symphonic Band Concert (4/23)
• The Coronation of Poppea — The Mason University Opera Theater presents a production of Monteverdi’s final opera, set in ancient Rome (4/24-25, Harris Theatre)
• A Concert Presentation of Spring Awakening — Mason Musical Theatre student performers offer a concert of the Tony Award-winning musical by Duncan Sheik and Steven Sater (5/1)
• Mason Symphony Orchestra & University Choirs Concert (5/2)
• GMU Tuba Euphonium Ensemble Concert (5/3, Harris Theatre)
• School of Music Honors Recital (5/9, Harris Theatre)
• Choralis 20th Anniversary: An Experiment in Music — The quartet closes its 20th season with three crowd-pleasing works composed by 1930s contemporaries, Carl Orff, Igor Stravinsky, and George Gershwin (6/7)

THE IN SERIES

202-204-7763
www.inseries.org

• Rigoletto — Conductor Victoria Gau leads a brilliant new orchestration for circus ensemble and vibrant young cast in Verdi’s unforgettable and tuneful opera, brought to life as an immersive circus production that seeks out the laughter, horror, and visceral drama of an immortal opera which remains as beloved and shocking today as it did at its premiere (4/11-19, Atlas Performing Arts Center)

KENNEDY CENTER

202-467-4600
www.kennedy-center.org

• 2020 John Philip Sousa Band Festival — A music festival tribute to “The March King,” featuring four award-winning Wind Bands from throughout the United States(3/15, Concert Hall)
• Chineke! Orchestra with Sheku Kanneh-Mason, cello — The London-based outfit, which provides young black and minority artists opportunities to perform across the globe, presents a concert spotlighting Kanneh-Mason, star cellist at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s royal wedding (4/21, Concert Hall)

MARYLAND LYRIC OPERA

240-427-5568
www.mdlo.org

• MDLO Orchestra with Cecile Licad, piano — Conducted by Music Director Louis Salemno, the program includes Bartók’s dazzling Concerto for Orchestra and Gershwin’s iconic An American in Paris (4/22)
• Le Nozze di Figaro (6/10, 6/12, 6/14, Kay Theatre)

NATIONAL CHAMBER ENSEMBLE

Gunston Arts Center
2700 S. Lang St.
Arlington, Va.
703-276-6701
www.nationalchamberensemble.org

• Concert 4: The Remarkable Four Seasons of Vivaldi — NCE performs Vivaldi’s most popular composition, with humorous demonstrations, spectacular multimedia and a reading of the sonnets (3/21)
• Concert 5: Something Borrowed — The Bowen-McCauley Dance Company joins the NCE for its season finale, featuring great compositions “that became so famous and popular other instruments had to steal or ‘borrow’ them to make them their own,” including works by Prokofiev, Bizet, Bellini, and The Beatles (5/2)

NATIONAL PHILHARMONIC

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

• Mozart Requiem — Suzanne Karpov, soprano; Magdalena Wór, mezzo-soprano; Norman Shankle, tenor; and Kevin Deas, bass join the Chorale for Requiem, with acclaimed clarinetist Jon Manasse sitting in as soloist for Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto in A Major (3/21)
• Music Inspired by Prose — Three-time Grammy-winning cellist Zuill Bailey joins the Philharmonic for a special evening celebrating composers and the authors who influenced them, including Michael Daugherty’s Tales of Hemingway (4/18)
• Missa Solemnis — Piotr Gajewski leads the orchestra and chorale along with soloists Esther Heideman, soprano; Shirin Eskandani, mezzo-soprano; Norman Shankle, tenor; and Kerry Wilkerson, baritone, in what Beethoven regarded as his greatest work (5/30)

NATIONAL SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

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

• National Symphony Orchestra: Kozhukhin plays Grieg’s Piano Concerto (4/2-4)
• NSO: Langrée Conducts Brahms, Hough Plays Beethoven (4/16 and 4/18)
• NSO Family Concert: Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs — Billed as a “Symphonic Spectacular” for ages 5 and up, offering a fresh take on a classic retold by Mo Willems with music by Ben Folds (4/19)
• NSO: Eschenbach conducts Boléro, Carpenter Plays Poulenc — An all-French program featuring Ravel’s sultry slow-burn, Boléro, plus rock star organist Cameron Carpenter, “a modern-day throwback to the flamboyant virtuosos of the 19th century,” performing Poulenc’s Organ Concerto (4/23-25)
• NSO: Beethoven at 250: Symphonies Nos. 2 & 5 (5/30 and 6/3)
• NSO: Beethoven at 250: Symphonies Nos. 4 & 7 (6/5-6)
• NSO: Beethoven at 250: Symphonies Nos. 6 & 8 (6/9-10)
• NSO: Beethoven at 250: Symphony No. 9 (6/12-14)
• NSO Pops: Trey Anastasio (6/17)
• NSO: DECLASSIFIED: Ben Folds presents Michael Angelakos — Passion Pit singer-guitarist Angelakos headlines this edition of NSO Artistic Advisor Folds’ laid-back, late-night concert series (6/19)
• NSO Pops: Bernstein’s On the Town — A semi-staged version of Leonard Bernstein’s first Broadway musical hit, directed by Alan Paul, Associate Artistic Director of The Shakespeare Theatre Company (6/25-28)
• NSO Pops: Amos Lee — Singer-songwriter Lee joins the Pops for a one-night-only show featuring songs from his latest album, My New Moon (6/30)

NEW ORCHESTRA OF WASHINGTON

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

• The Great Minimalists — Guests Becky Anderson, violin; Alan Richardson, cello; Grace Cho, piano, join NOW for an exploration of music by pioneering giants Samuel Barber, Philip Glass & Steve Reich (4/18, Arts Barn, Gaithersburg)
• Maximus Minimalists — A powerful exploration of the giants of the minimalist movement, including Arvo Pärt, John Adams, Phillip Glass, and Henryk Górecki (4/24, AMP by Strathmore)

THE PHILLIPS COLLECTION

1600 21th St. NW
202-974-6832
www.phillipscollection.org

• Jonathan Biss: Beethoven Piano Sonata Series, Part III — The final installment in Biss’ exploration of the Beethoven Piano Sonatas, focusing on the composer’s monumental triptych: the final three sonatas of Op. 109, Op. 110, and Op. 111 (3/22)
• Chamber Music from Spoleto Festival USA — The exuberant SF USA performs music by Mozart, Schumann, and rising-star composer, Paul Wiancko (3/26)
• Riffs and Relations: Castles of Our Skins — Musicians from Castles of our Skins present In Black & White, a program that responds to the exhibition Riffs and Relations: African-American Artists and the European Modernist Tradition (4/19)
• Miriam Fried and Musicians from Ravinia’s Steans Music Institute — Musicians from Ravinia’s Steans Music Institute in Highland Park, Illinois, make their debut at the Phillips, led by celebrated violinist Fried (4/26)
• Maki Namekawa — Performing Philip Glass’s First Piano Sonata (5/17)
• Vocal Colors: Wolf Trap Opera, piano and voice — Up and coming vocalists from Wolf Trap Opera explore musical links to The Phillips Collection’s extraordinary collection of more than 5,000 works, from major examples of French Impressionism and American Modernism to contemporary art (6/11 and 7/9)

STRATHMORE

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

• The Heights 50th Anniversary Men’s Chorus Alumni Concert (5/9)
• Artist in Residence Lucas Ashby, percussionist & composer (6/10 and 6/24, The Mansion)

WASHINGTON BACH CONSORT

202-429-2121
www.bachconsort.org

• The Passion — Bach’s musical setting of the Passion (3/21-22, St. Mark’s Capitol Hill)
• The Chamber Series presents Devotion & Contemplation — Performing Dieterich Buxtehude’s Membra Jesu nostri, an exquisite cycle of seven cantatas, each as a contemplation of a different part of the body of Christ (4/3, Live! at 10th & G)
• Noontime Cantata Series — John Walthausen, organist, performs O Lamm Gottes Unschuldig, BWV 656 as a prelude to cantata Wo soll ich fliehen hin, BWV 5 (4/6, St. Peter’s on Capitol Hill and 4/7, Church of the Epiphany)
• Concerti Virtuosi — Virtuoso violinist and concertmaster of London’s famed Academy of Ancient Music, Bojan Čičić, guest-directs the Consort in a program of brilliant concerti (4/26, St. Paul’s Lutheran Church)
• Noontime Cantata Series — Joy-Leilani Garbutt, organist joins the WBC to perform Jesu, meine Freude, BWV 227 (5/4, St. Peter’s on Capitol Hill and 5/5, Church of the Epiphany)

THE WASHINGTON CHORUS

202-342-6221
www.thewashingtonchorus.org

• The Future Is Female — A collaborative concert with the Heritage Signature Chorale celebrating women composers, artists, and musicians (4/4, Live! at 10th & G)
• Rachmaninoff Vespers — The 130+ voices of the chorus sing holiday selections backed by the National Capital Brass (5/2, National City Christian Church)

WASHINGTON MASTER CHORALE

washingtonmasterchorale.org
202-596-8934

• Poetry in Song — A program featuring mezzo soprano Lena Seikaly, alongside an SATB chorus, piano, and chamber orchestra performing David Conte’s The Unknown Sea, based on the text of poet Elizabeth Bishop, and Dona Nobis Pacem, by Ralph Vaughan Williams (4/19, Church of the Epiphany)

WASHINGTON METROPOLITAN PHILHARMONIC

703-799-8229
www.wmpamusic.org

• Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2 with Thomas Pandolfi — Acclaimed pianist Pandolfi joins the WMP for a performance that also includes 19th-century German composer Emilie Mayer’s Symphony No.3, and selections from the American Song Book, sung by soprano Elizabeth Kuegel (3/29, George Washington Masonic National Memorial and 4/5, Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Fairfax)

WASHINGTON NATIONAL OPERA

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

• Don Giovanni — Ryan McKinny sings the title role in Mozart’s celebrated tragicomedy about the notorious lover (2/29-3/22, Opera House)
• Samson and Delilah — Saint-Saëns’ sensual grand opera, featuring Roberto Aronica and J’Nai Bridges performing the title roles (3/1-21, Opera House)
• Blue — The D.C. premiere of Jeanine Tesori and Tazewell Thompson’s new contemporary opera, about a family’s struggles after a teenager is shot by police (3/15-28, Eisenhower Theater)
• Porgy and Bess — Francesca Zambello’s adaptation of Gershwin’s beloved “folk opera,” with D.C.’s own Denyce Graves performing the featured role of Maria (5/9-23, Opera House)

WOLF TRAP

877-WOLFTRAP
www.wolftrap.org

• Te Adoro: Latin Theater Songs — A spicy afternoon of zarzuela and song with Steven Blier and Joseph Li, joined by a quintet of Wolf Trap Opera artists and presented in an intimate in-the-round setting (5/30-31)
• Cinematic Soundscapes: Korngold to Williams — Wolf Trap Opera Studio Artists join Cincinnati Pops conductor John Morris Russell and the National Orchestra Institute Philharmonic in a high-energy evening featuring an array of audience favorites from the worlds of opera, theater and cinema (5/30, The Clarice)
• American Masters: Miller Conducts Corigliano — Grammy winner David Alan Miller conducts Wolf Trap Opera’s Shannon Jennings and the NOI Philharmonic performing Barber’s Knoxville, Summer 1915, in a concert that also includes works from Haydn and Corigliano (6/6, The Clarice)
• Wolf Trap Opera at The Phillips Collection — Visual art and music are paired in two intimate evenings of song at the beautiful Music Room of The Phillips Collection, with WTO performers Chanae Curtis, Yunuet Laguna, Nicholas Newton, Ann Toomey, Gretchen Krupp, Thomas Glass, Wm. Clay Thompson, and pianist Joseph Li (6/11 and 7/9, The Phillips Collection)
• Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin — Stephanie Rhodes Russell conducts the Wolf Trap premiere of Tchaikovsky’s masterful opera adapting Pushkin’s sweeping tale of love, rejection, and remorse, featuring soprano Ann Toomey and, performing the title role, baritone Thomas Glass (6/21-27)

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