THE ALDEN

McLean Community Center
1234 Ingleside Ave.
McLean, Va.
703-790-0123
mcleancenter.org

• Borisevich Duo — Longtime Alden favorites pianist Margarita Loukachkina and violinist Nikita Borisevich return with their young pianist son for an afternoon of chamber music performed as a family affair (10/25)
• Duo Mosaic — Popular pianist Ching-Yi Lin returns with his wife and musical partner Grace Liu for the first concert in decades to feature both of The Alden’s Steinway pianos (11/22)
• Junwen Liang, piano — The rising Chinese pianist arrives after a busy season of more than 30 recital and educational appearances across the United States, China, and Canada (1/24)
• Ars Populi — Six unaccompanied voices explore the meeting point between art and folk music, moving from Renaissance madrigals and Scottish Gaelic ballads to modern standards (2/28)

BALTIMORE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall
1212 Cathedral St.
Baltimore, Md.

Music Center at Strathmore
5301 Tuckerman Lane
North Bethesda, Md.
410-783-8000

bsomusic.org

• Steve Hackman Conducts His Taylor Swift: The Symphony Era — Hackman returns with another orchestral spin through Swift’s catalog (9/18, Strathmore; 9/19, Meyerhoff)
• Gala with Samara Joy — The velvet-voiced jazz star joins Jonathon Heyward, the BSO, the Baltimore Symphony Youth Orchestra and OrchKids for an evening that wanders from Gershwin and Ellington to Billie Holiday (9/25, Strathmore; 9/26, Meyerhoff)
• Stravinsky & Prokofiev — Pianist Bruce Liu takes on Prokofiev’s roaring Third Piano Concerto, bookended by Glinka, Jonathan Leshnoff and Stravinsky’s colorful Firebird Suite (10/2 and 4, Meyerhoff; 10/3, Strathmore)
• Outlander in Concert — Clips from all eight seasons of the time-traveling romantic drama are paired with a live performance of Bear McCreary’s score (10/3, Meyerhoff)
• Disco Inferno: A 70’s Celebration — Christopher Dragon conducts a glitter-ball tour of ABBA, the Bee Gees, Donna Summer, Gloria Gaynor and other masters of the decade’s dance floor (10/9, Strathmore; 10/10 and 11, Meyerhoff)
• Tchaikovsky’s Pathétique — Marin Alsop returns for a program marking the 25th anniversary of 9/11, joining the BSO and Washington Chorus for Barber’s Adagio for Strings, John Adams’ On the Transmigration of Souls and Tchaikovsky’s devastating Sixth Symphony (10/15 and 18, Meyerhoff; 10/17, Strathmore)
• Mozart Meets Latin Masters — Giancarlo Guerrero leads a lively meeting of Ginastera, Piazzolla and Mozart, with longtime BSO concertmaster Jonathan Carney featured in Bruch’s Scottish Fantasy (10/23 and 24, Meyerhoff; 10/25, Strathmore)
• Coco Live-to-Film Concert — Disney and Pixar’s celebration of family and remembrance screens with Michael Giacchino’s score performed by the Orquesta Folclórica Nacional de México (10/25, Meyerhoff)
• Psycho in Concert — Hitchcock’s shower curtains part once more as Nicholas Hersh conducts the BSO’s strings in Bernard Herrmann’s gloriously nerve-shredding score (10/30 and 11/1, Meyerhoff)
• Shéhérazade & Sibelius — Mezzo-soprano Fleur Barron joins Heyward for Ravel’s sensuous song cycle, followed by Sibelius’ expansive Second Symphony (11/6, Strathmore; 11/8, Meyerhoff)
• Nemanja Radulović & Double Sens — The Serbian-French violinist and his ensemble bring their high-voltage style to Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, Bach and selections from Radulović’s Roots (11/9, Meyerhoff)
• Ohlsson Plays Brahms — Garrick Ohlsson tackles Brahms’ monumental Second Piano Concerto, alongside Emilie Mayer’s Faust Overture and Dvořák’s darkly enchanting Golden Spinning Wheel (11/14, Meyerhoff; 11/15, Strathmore)
• Everything I Know — Broadway favorite Mandy Gonzalez and conductor Jack Everly dip into the irresistible songbooks of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton, In the Heights and more (11/20, Strathmore; 11/21 and 22, Meyerhoff)
• Home Alone in Concert — Kevin’s resourceful defense of the family homestead plays on the big screen while Damon Gupton conducts John Williams’ sparkling score live (12/5 and 6)
• Cirque Nutcracker — Troupe Vertigo flies, tumbles and twists above the stage as Jiannan Cheng conducts Tchaikovsky’s complete holiday classic (12/11, Strathmore; 12/12, Meyerhoff)
• Holiday Pops — Megan Hilty brings her Broadway pipes to a festive program conducted by Stuart Chafetz and featuring the Baltimore Choral Arts Society and Centre Point Tap Dancers (12/19 and 20)
• Beethoven’s Ninth: New Year’s Celebration — Peter Oundjian welcomes 2027 with Beethoven’s mighty “Choral” Symphony, featuring the Baltimore Choral Arts Society and a quartet of vocal soloists. Valerie Coleman’s Umoja and Beethoven’s Elegiac Song complete the program (1/1-3)
• Grieg & Mussorgsky — Pianist Jan Lisiecki plays Grieg’s evergreen concerto before Heyward leads Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition, accompanied by newly created visuals (1/8, Strathmore; 1/9 and 10, Meyerhoff)
• Women Rock — The BSO salutes a formidable lineup that includes Carole King, Tina Turner, Janis Joplin, Aretha Franklin, Pat Benatar and Heart (1/15-17)
• Mahler’s Titan — Violinist Gil Shaham premieres Jonathan Leshnoff’s new BSO-commissioned concerto, with Mahler’s surging First Symphony supplying the second-half fireworks (1/22, Meyerhoff; 1/23, Strathmore)
• Elgar, Tchaikovsky & Strauss — Cellist Johannes Moser joins conductor Daniele Rustioni for Tchaikovsky’s elegant Rococo Variations, surrounded by Elgar’s In the South and two Strauss crowd-pleasers (1/28-29, Meyerhoff; 1/31, Strathmore)

THE BARNS AT WOLF TRAP

1635 Trap Road
Vienna, Va.
703-255-1868
wolftrap.org

• Daniel Hope & Maxim Lando — Violinist Hope and pianist Lando open a two-part series exploring the Gilded Age with music by Enescu, Ravel, Elgar and Franck (11/1)
• New York Arabic Orchestra — Composer and qanun virtuoso Firas Zreik leads a program pairing classics of the Arab musical tradition with original compositions (12/4)
• Stephanie Blythe, mezzo-soprano, and Ryan McCullough, piano — The celebrated Wolf Trap Opera alumna takes an informal, cabaret-style journey through the American Songbook, choosing the selections as she goes (12/6)
• Daniel Hope & Simon Crawford-Phillips — Part two of Hope’s Gilded Age series traces the musical conversation between Europe and America through Dvořák, Kreisler, Copland and the East Coast premiere of Jake Heggie’s Fantasy Suite 1803 (1/24)
• Pablo Sainz-Villegas — The Spanish guitarist ranges from Villa-Lobos and Albéniz to his own arrangement of Bach’s monumental Chaconne (2/5)
• The Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition — Rising opera singers from across the Mid-Atlantic compete for a place in the national semifinals at the Met (2/7)
• Time for Three — The Grammy-winning string trio brings its freewheeling mixture of classical, Americana and pop, with a set list that might travel anywhere from Bach to the Beatles (2/14)

BENDER JCC OF GREATER WASHINGTON

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

• Yefim Bronfman, piano — The internationally celebrated pianist opens the Polinger Artists of Excellence season with a recital available exclusively to season subscribers (11/3)
• Brian Ganz, piano — The acclaimed local favorite, known for his long-running exploration of Chopin, returns for a solo recital (11/15)
• Chee-Yun, violin, and Ellen Hwangbo, piano — The internationally traveled violinist joins the founder and artistic director of Constellations Chamber Concerts for an afternoon of chamber music (12/20)
• Miró Quartet — The acclaimed Austin-based ensemble brings its intensity and finely honed interplay to the Polinger series (1/31)

CAPITAL CITY SYMPHONY

Atlas Performing Arts Center
1333 H St. NE
202-399-7993 ext. 2
capitalcitysymphony.org

• Mysterious Landscapes — Victoria Gau opens the season with Doreen Carwithen’s delightfully titled One Damn Thing After Another, followed by young pianist Caroline Su playing Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 15. Maria Grenfell’s River Mountain Sky and Alan Hovhaness’s serene Mysterious Mountain complete the ascent (10/4)
• The Mighty Pines: An Orchestral Forest Adventure — A family-friendly trip through Respighi’s Pines of Rome, with an instrument petting zoo before each of the day’s two performances (11/15)
• A Vintage Holiday — The symphony joins D.C. swing-and-cocktail-jazz favorites Chaise Lounge for holiday standards wrapped in lush strings, smooth vocals and vintage flair (12/12)

CAPITAL ONE HALL

7750 Capital One Tower Rd.
Tysons, Va.
703-343-7651
capitalonehall.com

• Masterworks in Motion — NSO Associate Concertmaster Ying Fu takes the solo spotlight in a Virginia Chamber Orchestra program pairing Rossini’s The Barber of Seville with Mendelssohn’s high-spirited “Italian” Symphony, conducted by Chia-Hsuan Lin (10/11, The Vault)
• Wyclef Jean — The rapper celebrates the 30th anniversary of The Carnival with the Fairfax Symphony Orchestra, as conductor Jason Seber helps give his mix of hip-hop, reggae, R&B and Caribbean sounds the full orchestral treatment (10/25, Main Theater)
• Blade Runner Live — Ridley Scott’s 2007 Final Cut fills the screen while the Avex Ensemble performs Vangelis’ synthesizer-rich score in sync with the film (11/13, Main Theater)
• Michael W. Smith Every Christmas — Smith joins the Fairfax Symphony Orchestra for a night of sweeping holiday arrangements conducted by David Hamilton (12/14, Main Theater)
• Seasonal Serenade — The Virginia Chamber Orchestra welcomes soprano Melissa Mino Haines and its High School Concerto Competition winner for an afternoon of holiday favorites capped by a festive sing-along (12/20, The Vault)
• Twilight in Concert — The original film returns to the big screen with Carter Burwell’s score and soundtrack performed in sync by a 12-piece rock and orchestral ensemble, all under the glow of a candlelit stage (2/5, Main Theater)
• Love Takes Flight — BSO Principal Clarinetist YaoGuang Zhai joins the Virginia Chamber Orchestra for Weber’s Clarinet Concerto, followed by Mozart’s grand “Jupiter” Symphony (2/14, The Vault)

THE CHORAL ARTS SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON

202-244-3669
choralarts.org

• In Search of Home — The full chorus, Chamber Ensemble, and Choral Arts Orchestra explore displacement and belonging through Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms, a staged performance of Caroline Shaw’s To the Hands, and works by Buxtehude, Brahms, and Jeffrey Derus (10/25, Church of the Epiphany)
• Wonder: 46th Annual Holiday Concert and Gala — The Chamber Ensemble and a string orchestra turn the Mellon Auditorium into an immersive concert space, with singers and musicians performing throughout the room before gathering for a candlelit finale (12/13, Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium)
• O Night Divine! — Marie Bucoy-Calavan leads the combined Symphonic Chorus and Choral Arts Orchestra in a grand-scale Christmas program featuring Mack Wilberg’s O Come, All Ye Faithful, Gary Fry’s O Holy Night, and a candlelit Silent Night arranged by Dan Forrest (12/23, Strathmore)

DC’S DIFFERENT DRUMMERS

945 G St. NW
202-403-3669
dcdd.org

• In Pursuit of Happiness: Reclaiming an American Celebration — The DCDD Symphonic Band puts its own stamp on the idea of an American celebration in its fall concert, with the repertoire still under wraps (11/8, Church of the Epiphany)

DUMBARTON CONCERTS

Dumbarton United Methodist Church
3133 Dumbarton St. NW
202-965-2000
dumbartonconcerts.org

• Tommy Mesa & Olga Kern — Cellist Mesa and pianist Kern open Dumbarton’s 49th season with Beethoven, Debussy, Barber and works by Andrea Casarrubios, Adolphus Hailstork, Nadia Boulanger and Aaron Copland (10/17)
• Iestyn Davies — The celebrated British countertenor joins harpist Oliver Wass for a recital stretching from Monteverdi, Purcell and Handel to Poulenc, Anna Meredith and Nico Muhly (10/23)
• Trio Zimbalist — The Curtis Institute-trained ensemble brings three intensely personal works to the candlelit sanctuary, with music by Ravel, Smetana and Schumann (11/14)
• A Celtic Christmas — The Barnes and Hampton Celtic Consort joins narrator Robert Aubry Davis for Dumbarton’s nearly 50-year-old holiday tradition, blending Celtic music and nostalgic poetry with gingerbread and mulled cider (12/5-6)
• Camerata Nordica — Sweden’s conductorless string octet performs standing — and sometimes from memory — in a wintry program pairing Swedish folk songs and Hanna Helgregen’s The Nordic Seasons with Mozart and Glière (1/24)
• Verona Quartet & Alex Fiterstein — The Oberlin-based quartet and Peabody clarinetist explore the cinematic side of chamber music with Korngold and Philip Glass before closing with Brahms’ autumnal Clarinet Quintet (2/27)

DUMBARTON OAKS

Music Roo
1703 32nd St. NW
202-339-6400
doaks.org

• Eric Jacobsen & Friends — Cellist and conductor Jacobsen gathers violinist Nurit Bar-Josef, violist Dana Kelley, and pianist Steve Beck for Mozart and Debussy before diving into Brahms’ fiery Piano Quartet in G minor (10/25-26)
• Benjamin Hochman — The pianist bridges several centuries with Bach, John Bull, Purcell, and Beethoven, alongside modern works by Peter Lieberson and Thomas Adès that draw inspiration from Renaissance and Baroque music (11/8-9)
• Trio Raconteur with Daniel McGrew and Stephanie Price — French chamber works by Fauré, Lili Boulanger, and Poulenc share the program with three world premieres by fall musician-in-residence Domenic Salerni, including a song cycle performed by tenor McGrew (12/6-7)
• Ivalas Quartet — The young ensemble’s Memoria considers resilience and the beauty of life through string quartets by Carlos Simon, George Walker, and Schubert (1/10-11)
• Kristian Bezuidenhout — The acclaimed keyboardist returns to the Music Room, where he made his Washington recital debut in 2004, for a fortepiano program of rondos, variations, and sonatas by Haydn, Mozart, C.P.E. Bach, and Beethoven (2/21-22)

FAIRFAX SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

GMU Center for the Arts
4373 Mason Pond Dr.
Fairfax, Va.
703-993-2787
fairfaxsymphony.org

• Rachmaninoff & Saxophone Noir — Christopher Zimmerman opens the season with the world premiere of Jonathan Leshnoff’s Radiance, saxophonist Russell Peterson in Adam Hochstatter’s cinematic Noir Concerto No. 1, and Rachmaninoff’s deeply personal Third Symphony (10/10)
• Wyclef Jean with the FSO — The Fugees co-founder joins the orchestra for symphonic reworkings of his hip-hop, reggae, R&B, and Caribbean-inflected hits, with Jason Seber conducting (10/25, Capital One Hall)
• Ginastera & Beethoven’s Pastoral — Harpist Yolanda Kondonassis takes on Ginastera’s dazzling Harp Concerto in a program that also includes a new work by Adam Hochstatter and Beethoven’s nature-loving Sixth Symphony (11/14)
• The Nutcracker — The Fairfax Ballet dances Tchaikovsky’s holiday perennial with Zimmerman leading the full Fairfax Symphony from the pit (12/19-20)
• Casarrubios for Peled — Cellist Amit Peled gives the world premiere of Andrea Casarrubios’ Second Cello Concerto (2/6, Harris Theatre at GMU)

FOLGER CONSORT

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

• Monteverdi’s Legacy — Folger Consort launches its 50th season in 17th-century Venice with madrigals, motets, sonatas, and operatic excerpts by Monteverdi and such followers as Rovetta, Cavalli, and Marini (9/11-13)
• An English Christmas for the Ages — Medieval Yuletide songs and traditional English carols mingle with courtly works by Tallis and Byrd before the program crosses the Atlantic for Christmas anthems by William Billings (12/11-20)
• Folktales and Storied Traditions: Troubadours, Griots, and Hakawatis — The Consort traces the musical ties among West African griots, Arabic storytellers, and the singer-poets of medieval France, exploring how music carries stories and cultural memory across generations (2/12-14)

GAY MEN’S CHORUS

202-293-1548
gmcw.org

• Heated Revelry — GMCW’s annual cabaret turns its attention to sports, games, and assorted double entendres, with soloists tackling pop and Broadway numbers including “We Are the Champions,” “Show Off,” and “If You Were Gay” (10/24, Keegan Theatre)
• The Holiday Show — Tap-dancing reindeer, sparkling snowflakes, and soulful new arrangements keep GMCW’s annual extravaganza merry, bright, and just irreverent enough (12/5, 12/12-13, Lincoln Theatre)
• Heart & Soul — GMCW’s Seasons of Love ensemble, directed by Ronté Pierce, celebrates Black musical excellence in its third annual Black History Month concert, joined by 17th Street Dance (2/13, Atlas)
• Queer Joy: From Elton to Eilish — The chorus salutes generations of LGBTQ singer-songwriters, ranging from Elton John, George Michael, Freddie Mercury, and Sylvester to Brandi Carlile, Sam Smith, Billie Eilish, and Lil Nas X (3/13, Atlas)

GMU CENTER FOR THE ARTS

Concert Hall
4373 Mason Pond Dr.
Fairfax, Va.
703-993-2787
cfa.gmu.edu

• Grand Piano Celebration 2026 — Mason faculty and students celebrate the school’s Steinways with Saint-Saëns’ Carnival of the Animals, songs by Fernando Obradors and an eight-hand piano finale (9/27)
• NSO: Noseda Conducts Exotic Tales — Gianandrea Noseda conducts three colorful orchestral favorites: Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade, Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition and Ravel’s Boléro (10/1)
• Mason Bands: West Side Story — The Symphonic Band and Wind Symphony travel from folk songs and Bach to Nicole Piunno before landing in Bernstein’s Symphonic Dances from West Side Story (10/5)
• Mason Choirs: Celtic Voices — The GMU Chorale and University Chamber Singers join Ars Gratia Populi for music drawn from the choral traditions of Ireland and Scotland (10/13)
• NSO: Scheherazade.2 — John Adams conducts violinist Leila Josefowicz in his contemporary take on the legendary storyteller, on a program also featuring Piazzolla tangos and Prokofiev’s Lieutenant Kijé Suite (10/15-16)
• VOCES8 — The British vocal octet makes its Mason debut with Let’s Fly Away, a five-century flight from sacred polyphony and Romantic choral works to folk, jazz and pop (10/17)
• Mason Symphony Orchestra: Beginnings & Triumphs — Verdi’s Nabucco Overture and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 1 (10/21)
• Virginia Opera: Pagliacci — Leoncavallo’s compact tragedy follows a traveling comedy troupe whose backstage jealousies and betrayals begin bleeding into the performance (11/21-22)
• Canadian Brass — Making Spirits Bright gives holiday standards such as “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” “Jingle Bell Rock” and “Christmastime Is Here” the quintet’s signature brass treatment (11/28)
• Mason Bands: Vivo — The Symphonic Band and Wind Symphony champion contemporary wind music by Václav Nelhýbel, Nishant Amatya, Benjamin Taylor, Zhou Tian and Stacy Garrop, with saxophonist Connor Mikula (12/3)
• American Festival Pops Orchestra: Holiday Pops — Peter Wilson conducts the 60-plus-member orchestra in its annual program of seasonal favorites (12/12)
• National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine — Volodymyr Sirenko conducts Beethoven’s Fifth, Ukrainian works by Bortniansky and Silvestrov, and Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto with Dmytro Udovychenko (1/31)
• Third Coast Percussion — Ripples in the Water: Philip Glass at 90 pairs music by Glass with works by Jlin, Devonté Hynes, David Skidmore and Steve Reich (2/6)

HYLTON PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

Merchant Hall
10960 George Mason Circle
Manassas, Va.
703-993-7759
hyltoncenter.org

• The U.S. Army Field Band: 80th Anniversary Concert — The Concert Band and Soldier’s Chorus help mark the ensemble’s milestone with music including Respighi’s Pines of Rome and the finale of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony (9/27)
• Manassas Chorale: Let Freedom Ring! — Joseph Martin’s The Four Freedoms anchors a patriotic program performed with guest high school singers and a live orchestra (10/10)
• Manassas Symphony Orchestra: American Landscapes — Clarinetist Yevgeny Dokshansky premieres Jacob Kohut’s The Quarter at Midnight on an all-American program also featuring Florence Price, Morton Gould and Copland’s Billy the Kid Suite (10/17)
• Ju Percussion Group — Taiwan’s classical percussion ensemble makes its Hylton debut with Energy ∞ Infinite, blending Asian and Western traditions in works by Gene Koshinski, Chiung-Ying Chang and others (11/15)
• Chanticleer — A Chanticleer Christmas ranges from early music and traditional carols to gospel, all carried by the ensemble’s finely blended dozen voices (11/29)
• Manassas Chorale: Let Heaven and Nature Sing! — The Chorale and its smaller ensemble welcome the holidays with carols and seasonal songs from around the world, backed by 20 instrumentalists (12/5)
• Manassas Symphony Orchestra: Holiday Light and Magic — Violinist Mira Nair joins the orchestra for Ellen Taaffe Zwilich’s playful Peanuts Gallery, holiday favorites and an indoor light show (12/12)
• Vienna Boys Choir — The centuries-old ensemble brings Christmas in Vienna back to the Hylton with soprano and alto singers from 31 countries (12/13)
• Ladysmith Black Mambazo — The five-time Grammy-winning group fills Merchant Hall with the close harmonies and buoyant rhythms of South African isicathamiya singing (2/28)

IN SERIES

202-204-7763
inseries.org

• The M.A.K.A.do: Make America Kingly Again! — Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Mikado moves into a gilded Oval Office for a gleefully pointed political satire, with new lyrics by Capitol Steps veteran Bari Biern and a few musical assists from John Philip Sousa (10/10-18, Kogod Cradle at Arena Stage; 10/23-25, Baltimore Theatre Project)
• (N)O King(s) — Timothy Nelson weaves vocal-theater works by Judith Weir, Peter Maxwell Davies, Luciano Berio and George Benjamin into a dark meditation on power and the American dream (1/23-31, 340 Maple Dr. SW; 2/5-7, Baltimore Theatre Project)

NATIONAL CHAMBER ENSEMBLE

nationalchamberensemble.org

• Romantic Masterworks: Mendelssohn, Schubert and Brahms — Soprano Karin Paludan joins the ensemble for Schubert’s The Shepherd on the Rock, Mendelssohn’s D minor Piano Trio and Brahms’ G minor Piano Quartet (11/7, Gunston Arts Center)
• Holiday Cheer! — Young competition winners and the Voce Chamber Singers join NCE for seasonal favorites, choruses from Handel’s Messiah and a carol singalong (12/19, Unitarian Universalist Church of Arlington)
• Valentine’s Tribute to Roberta Flack — Vocalist Alison Crockett celebrates the Arlington native behind “Killing Me Softly,” “Feel Like Makin’ Love” and “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” (2/13, Gunston Arts Center)

NATIONAL PHILHARMONIC

Music Center at Strathmore
5301 Tuckerman Lane
North Bethesda, Md.
301-493-9283
nationalphilharmonic.org

• From the New World: Dvořák, Karpman & Beethoven — Carolyn Kuan conducts Laura Karpman’s All American, Beethoven’s Third Piano Concerto with Inon Barnatan and Dvořák’s expansive “New World” Symphony (9/19)
• Postcards from America — Soprano Danielle Talamantes joins conductor Daniel Hege for an American journey through works by Joan Tower, Barber, Gershwin, Copland and Arturo Márquez (11/7)
• Handel’s Messiah — Anthony Blake Clark conducts the National Philharmonic and Baltimore Choral Arts Society in Handel’s enduring holiday tradition (12/19-20)
• A Night at the Opera — David Charles Abell leads soprano Aundi Marie Moore, mezzo-soprano Ginger Costa-Jackson, tenor Andres Acosta and baritone Jorell Williams in an evening of operatic highlights (2/20)
• Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto — Violinist Ava Pakiam joins conductor Chia-Hsuan Lin for Tchaikovsky’s towering concerto, framed by Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel’s C major Overture and Felix Mendelssohn’s “Scottish” Symphony (3/13)

NATIONAL SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

Performances at various venues
202-416-8540
nationalsymphony.org

• Season Opening Celebration Concert — Gianandrea Noseda opens the season with Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake Suite, Carlos Simon’s D.C.-inspired Monuments, and Respighi’s playful La boutique fantasque (9/26, Strathmore)
• Noseda Conducts Exotic Tales — Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade, Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition in Ravel’s orchestration, and Ravel’s steadily gathering Boléro (10/2, Strathmore)
• Triumph: Noseda Conducts Prokofiev — Noseda pairs Prokofiev’s sweeping Fifth Symphony with Stravinsky’s Scènes de Ballet and Haydn’s Symphony No. 85, “La Reine” (10/8 and 10/9, Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall; 10/10, Strathmore)
• Leonard Slatkin: Returning Love — The former NSO music director returns with his own Schubertiade, Joan Tower’s new saxophone concerto Love Returns, featuring Steven Banks, and Rachmaninoff’s Third Symphony (10/22 and 10/23, Schlesinger Concert Hall; 10/24, Strathmore)
• Serenades & Simple Songs — Teddy Abrams conducts music for winds, brass, strings, and voice, including the world premiere of Sarah Kirkland Snider’s Urge with bass-baritone Will Liverman and Tchaikovsky’s Serenade for Strings (11/12 and 11/14, Lisner Auditorium)
• The Nutcracker & Cinderella — Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite and Prokofiev’s Cinderella Suite bookend Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 21, performed by Jorge Federico Osorio, with Marie Jacquot conducting (11/20, Schlesinger Concert Hall; 11/21 and 11/22, Lisner)
• Handel’s Messiah — Richard Egarr leads Handel’s holiday favorite with four vocal soloists and the University of Maryland Concert Choir (12/16 and 12/17, Lisner; 12/18 and 12/19, Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center; 12/20, Schlesinger Concert Hall)
• Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 — Pianist Nikolai Lugansky takes on the unabashedly romantic concerto, followed by Kodály’s Concerto for Orchestra and Bartók’s The Miraculous Mandarin Suite (1/14, Schlesinger Concert Hall; 1/15 and 1/16, GMU Center for the Arts)
• Beethoven: 200 Years On — Ken-David Masur marks the bicentennial of Beethoven’s death with two overtures and the Eighth Symphony, alongside violinist Bomsori Kim in Bruch’s First Violin Concerto (1/22 and 1/23, GMU Center for the Arts)
• Slava! Noseda Celebrates Rostropovich at 100 — The NSO salutes its former music director with Sol Gabetta performing Weinberg’s Cello Concerto and Noseda conducting Shostakovich’s Tenth Symphony (2/11 and 2/12, Lisner)

OPERA LAFAYETTE

202-546-9332
operalafayette.org

• Rameau’s Les Surprises de l’Amour — Opera Lafayette gives this rarely heard 1748 work its modern world premiere in a fully staged production filled with romantic reversals, mischievous gods, and Rameau’s elegant music and dance. Patrick Quigley leads the period-instrument orchestra (11/13 to 11/15, Folger Shakespeare Library)
• The Impostor Unmasked — Audiences are invited to arrive in costume for an immersive musical masquerade featuring songs by Dowland, Campion, Purcell, and early Handel. Patrick Quigley leads the Opera Lafayette Orchestra, with mezzo-soprano Michelle Mariposa, tenor Aaron Sheehan, and bass-baritone Jonathan Woody (2/27, St. Francis Hall)

THE PHILLIPS COLLECTION

Music Room
1600 21st St. NW
202-387-2151
phillipscollection.org

• Ariel Quartet & Orion Weiss — Caroline Shaw’s Blueprint and Brahms’s First String Quartet lead to Dohnányi’s lush Piano Quintet (9/27)
• Ulysses Quartet — An American sampler spanning Jessie Montgomery, Scott Joplin, Rhiannon Giddens, Charles Ives, and themes from West Side Story (10/4)
• Mackenzie Melemed — The pianist’s all-American program travels from Copland and Amy Beach to MacDowell, Gottschalk, Ned Rorem, and two D.C. premieres (10/11)
• Leading International Composers: Michael Torke — Sandbox Percussion performs Torke’s rhythmically intricate BLOOM, with the composer on hand to discuss the work (10/18)
• Radu Ratoi & Benett Tsai — Accordionist Ratoi and cellist Tsai recast music by Rameau, Bach, Enescu, Falla, Bartók, Tchaikovsky, and others for their unusual pairing (10/25)
• Prism Piano Trio — The Washington ensemble ranges from Debussy, Britten, and Frank Bridge to contemporary works by Arvo Pärt, Jennifer Higdon, and Oliver Caplan (11/8)
• Conor Hanick — Schubert’s impromptus meet contemporary responses by Samuel Adams and Nico Muhly before the pianist closes with Debussy’s radiant L’isle Joyeuse (11/15)
• Catalyst Quartet — The Grammy-winning ensemble’s cinematic program brings together John Adams, Max Richter, Philip Glass, Bernard Herrmann, and Erich Wolfgang Korngold (11/22)
• Martin Labazevitch & Stanislav Khristenko — The piano duo performs works by Chopin, Szymanowski, Debussy, Satie, and Ravel, including the D.C. premiere of a two-piano arrangement of Harnasie (12/6)
• Lorelei Ensemble — The women’s vocal ensemble journeys through Advent darkness toward the promise of returning light, weaving world premieres, plainchant, hymns, and contemporary works into its program Zero Summer (12/13)
• Clara and Oliver Neubauer — The sibling violinists pair duets by Glière, Prokofiev, Bartók, and Ysaÿe with the D.C. premiere of Amos Elkana’s Mostly Cloudy (1/10)
• Viano Quartet — Haydn, Dvořák, and Mendelssohn share the program with the D.C. premiere of Reena Esmail’s second string quartet, Dhara (1/17)
• Philip Glass at 90: Anton Batagov & Lucinda Childs — Pianist Batagov and choreographer and performer Childs celebrate Glass with an intimate program that includes selections from Einstein on the Beach (1/31)
• Boyd Meets Girl — Guitarist Rupert Boyd and cellist Laura Metcalf mix Bach, Ravel, and Villa-Lobos with imaginative arrangements of the Beatles, Radiohead, and Caroline Shaw (2/21)

STRATHMORE

The Music Center
5301 Tuckerman Lane
North Bethesda, Md.
301-581-5100
strathmore.org

• Zade Dirani — The Jordanian American pianist and composer leads an expansive concert shaped by his cinematic blend of classical, pop, and Middle Eastern influences (10/8)
• Pan American Symphony Orchestra: Todo Tango — The D.C.-based orchestra turns up the heat with an evening devoted to Argentine tango, spanning beloved standards and more contemporary sounds (10/11)
• Itzhak Perlman — The legendary violinist reunites with his longtime recital partner, pianist Rohan De Silva (10/14)
• Poiesis Quartet — The fast-rising, prize-winning string quartet brings its adventurous approach to old and new chamber music (10/15, Mansion)
• Tapestry Vocal Ensemble — The acclaimed women’s ensemble weaves together early and contemporary music in an intimate vocal program (11/6, Mansion)
• Voctave: It Feels Like Christmas — The 11-member a cappella ensemble puts its astonishing five-octave range to work on lush arrangements of holiday favorites (12/3)
• Daniil Trifonov — The dazzling pianist moves from Handel, Stravinsky, and Schubert into a Latin-flavored second half featuring works by Ginastera, Villa-Lobos, and other composers (12/10)
• inti figgis-vizueta’s Music for Transitions — A continuous 70-minute program grown from the composer’s multiyear collaboration with an ensemble of fellow artists (12/10, Mansion)
• The Tenors: Season of Hope — The Canadian classical-crossover group applies its polished harmonies to seasonal favorites and uplifting pop standards (12/12)
• A Candlelight Christmas — The Washington Chorus returns with its glowing annual mix of carols, choral showpieces, brass, organ, and audience singalongs (12/21-22)
• Salute to Vienna New Year’s Concert — Waltzes, polkas, operetta favorites, singers, dancers, and a full orchestra conspire to keep the New Year’s celebration going (1/3)
• Kronos Quartet’s A Hard Rain — The boundary-pushing ensemble takes Bob Dylan’s apocalyptic anthem as the starting point for a timely program confronting the threat of nuclear war (1/27)
• Hayato Sumino — The genre-fluid Japanese pianist brings his Chopin Orbit program to Strathmore, approaching the composer’s familiar music with a fresh and distinctly modern sensibility (1/30)
• CelloGayageum — Cellist Sol Daniel Kim and gayageum player Yoon Dayoung create a striking conversation between Western classical music and Korea’s traditional 12-string instrument (2/7, Mansion)
• Argus Quartet — The adventurous string quartet offers a characteristically lively meeting of canonical and contemporary chamber music (2/18, Mansion)

VOCAL ARTS DC

202-240-2854
vocalartsdc.org

• Ben Bliss, tenor, and Christopher Allen, piano — The pair launches the season with a wide-ranging tour of American song, moving from Sondheim, Rodgers and Hart, Bernstein, and Weill to Ives, Barber, Philip Glass, and Simon & Garfunkel (10/4, Live! at 10th & G)
• Matthew Polenzani, tenor, and Ken Noda, piano — Two longtime Metropolitan Opera artists join forces for Schubert’s searching and achingly beautiful Schwanengesang (11/9, La Maison Française at the Embassy of France)
• Amanda Batista, soprano, and Myra Huang, piano — The Gerald Perman Emerging Artists Debut Recital travels through Spain and Latin America with music by Montsalvatge, Lecuona, Fernández Caballero, Campos Parsi, López Buchardo, and others (2/14, Live! at 10th & G)
• songSLAM DC — Ten composer-performer teams premiere original art songs of five minutes or less before the audience votes, poetry-slam style, to determine the winners (3/13, Live! at 10th & G)

WASHINGTON BACH CONSORT

202-429-2121
bachconsort.org

• Chorale Architecture — Artistic Director Dana Marsh launches the season with four Bach cantatas built around chorale melodies, culminating in Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben, home of the beloved “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring” (10/4, National Presbyterian Church)
• Dolcissima Speranza — Tenor Thomas Cooley traces the birth of the Baroque through early 17th-century Italian music by Peri, Caccini, Monteverdi, d’India, and Strozzi (10/23, Live! at 10th & G; 10/24, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Alexandria)
• Vocal Polyphony — Eight Consort singers, accompanied by organ and violone, explore the motets and liturgical works that shaped Bach, with music by Palestrina, Gabrieli, Schütz, several members of the Bach family, and others (11/6, Live! at 10th & G; 11/7, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church)
• Bach’s Christmas Oratorio — Trumpets, timpani, chorales, and reflective arias propel Parts I, II, IV, V, and VI of Bach’s sweeping retelling of the Christmas story, with tenor Thomas Cooley as the Evangelist (12/12, National Presbyterian Church; 12/13, The Falls Church Episcopal)
• Annual Celebrity Organ Recital — Kola Owolabi performs an all-Bach program framed by the composer’s mighty “Dorian” Toccata and Fugue and also featuring chorale preludes, a trio sonata, and a set of variations (2/20, St. George’s Episcopal Church, Arlington)

WASHINGTON NATIONAL OPERA

202-796-0071
washnatopera.org

• Madama Butterfly — WNO opens its first full independent season by transforming DAR Constitution Hall with a thrust stage and café-style seating that brings Puccini’s tragedy unusually close to the audience. Karah Son stars as Cio-Cio-San opposite Matthew White’s Pinkerton, with Erina Yashima conducting the new production (11/7, 11/13, 11/15, 11/18, 11/20, DAR Constitution Hall)
• Nixon in China — Renée Fleming and Thomas Hampson portray Pat and Richard Nixon in WNO’s first production of John Adams’s modern classic, revisiting the president’s historic 1972 visit to China through political pageantry, private reflection, and rare archival footage. Robert Spano conducts (11/14, 11/19, 11/21, DAR)
• We the People — Fleming and Hampson return alongside Marian Anderson Vocal Award winner Amber Monroe for a concert exploring liberty and political change through music by Mozart, Verdi, contemporary composers, and others (11/22, DAR)
• Odyssey — WNO’s Youth Chorus and Cafritz Young Artists encounter Cyclops, Circe, and other mythological troublemakers in Ben Moore and Kelley Rourke’s family-friendly, 70-minute opera, staged with an orchestra and large-scale puppets (12/18-20, Kreeger Theater at Arena Stage)
• American Opera Initiative: WOLF | LAMBS — Two compact operas by composer JL Marlor and librettist Clare Bierman examine how friendship, fear, and online ideology pull college students toward violence (1/15-16, WNO Studio)
• O’Keeffe: Kiss the Sky — Isabel Leonard portrays Georgia O’Keeffe in the world premiere of Christopher Tin and Kelley Rourke’s “ballet-opera,” which explores the artist’s turbulent marriage to Alfred Stieglitz, played by William Burden, and her liberating friendship with Mabel Dodge Luhan, played by Christine Goerke. Francesca Zambello directs, with choreography by Jessica Lang (3/12, 3/14, 3/18, Sidney Harman Hall)

WASHINGTON PERFORMING ARTS

202-785-9727
washingtonperformingarts.org

• Élisabeth Pion, piano — The 2025 Honens competition winner makes her Washington Performing Arts debut with Liszt’s arrangements of four Schubert songs, Brahms’s Three Intermezzi, Chaminade’s Sonata in C Minor, and Chopin’s formidable Études, Op. 25 (10/3, Hopkins Bloomberg Center)
• Itzhak Perlman — One of the world’s most beloved violinists returns with his longtime recital partner for a program to be announced from the stage, followed by an onstage conversation (10/14, Strathmore)
• Tregaron Unplugged — The classical-minded stops on this free, free-roaming afternoon include the Deepak Ram Trio performing Hindustani music and Chromic Duo’s Ferry Stop, a newly commissioned sound walk that turns the surrounding landscape into part of the composition (10/17, Tregaron Conservancy)
• Simone Dinnerstein — The fifth annual Ruth Bader Ginsburg Memorial Recital finds the thoughtful American pianist traveling from Rameau and Bach to works by Philip Lasser, Ellis Ludwig-Leone, and jazz legend Keith Jarrett (10/18, Sixth and I)
• Niladri Kumaar — The Indian classical musician’s The Space Between the Notes draws from his only recorded concert with the late tabla master Zakir Hussain, mixing sitar and Kumaar’s electric zitar with tabla, keyboards, drums, and touches of jazz (10/24, Sixth and I)
• Minsoo Sohn — The Korean pianist, also known as the teacher of Van Cliburn sensation Yunchan Lim, devotes the evening to all 24 preludes and fugues in Book I of Bach’s The Well-Tempered Clavier (11/14, Sixth and I)
• Aga Khan Master Musicians — Artists from Syria, Turkey, and Uzbekistan bring saxophone, clarinet, qanun, oud, and doira together with French accordionist Vincent Peirani and cellist Vincent Ségal for a border-crossing meeting of living musical traditions (11/19, Sixth and I)
• Daniil Trifonov — The Grammy-winning virtuoso launches an ambitious, continent-spanning program with Handel, Stravinsky, and Schubert’s Wanderer Fantasy, then turns toward Latin America for works by composers including Ginastera, Villa-Lobos, and Trifonov himself (12/10, Strathmore)
• Hayato Sumino — The Japanese pianist and YouTube phenomenon brings classical rigor and an improviser’s curiosity playing Chopin, Saint-Saëns, Stravinsky, and his own compositions across grand piano, upright piano, and electric keyboard (1/30, Strathmore)
• Balourdet Quartet — Four centuries of chamber music come together in a program moving from Monteverdi madrigals and Mendelssohn’s ardent String Quartet No. 2 to Bartók’s haunting Sixth and Ben Johnston’s microtonal transformation of “Amazing Grace” (2/27, Sixth and I)
• Seong-Jin Cho — The acclaimed Korean pianist builds his recital around Jörg Widmann’s playful homage to Mozart, selections from Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet, Mozart’s dramatic Fantasia in C Minor, and Prokofiev’s mighty Eighth Sonata (3/10, Strathmore)

THE WASHINGTON CHORUS

202-342-6221
thewashingtonchorus.org

• Adams’ On the Transmigration of Souls — Marin Alsop leads the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and The Washington Chorus in John Adams’ Pulitzer-winning remembrance of 9/11, framed by Barber’s mournful Adagio for Strings and Tchaikovsky’s emotionally shattering Pathétique Symphony (10/15 and 10/18, Meyerhoff Symphony Hall; 10/17, Strathmore)
• A Candlelight Christmas — The Chorus’s 200 voices join brass, organ, soloists, and an assortment of guest choirs for familiar carols, newer holiday favorites, and plenty of seasonal spectacle (12/12-13, Cramton Auditorium; 12/18-19, Lisner Auditorium; 12/21-22, Strathmore)
• A Song Flung Up to Heaven — The Washington Chorus marks its 65th anniversary by pairing Poulenc’s radiant Gloria with Nkeiru Okoye’s When the Caged Bird Sings, featuring a formidable guest roster that includes narrator Denyce Graves, vocalists Angela Brown, Christie Dashiell, Issachah Savage, and Michael Preacely, and pianist Cyrus Chestnut (2/28, DAR Constitution Hall)