Weekend Round Up September 21, 2017
By • September 21, 2017 0 566
Painter Edgar Degas died Sept. 27, 1917, and the National Gallery of Art — which owns, in addition to prints, drawings, pastels and oils by Degas, the largest collection of his original wax sculptures — is hosting “A Centenary Tribute” tomorrow, Friday, Sept. 22. As for music, there are performances this weekend of “An English Garden” by the Folger Consort and the Bessie Smith play “The Devil’s Music” at Mosaic Theater. Sunday offers the appetizing Taste of Georgetown and a historical homebrewing class at the Hill Center.
Edgar Degas: A Centenary Tribute
Starting at 10:30 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 22, the National Gallery of Art will host an all-day public symposium on Degas, 100 years after his death, in the East Building Auditorium, 150 4th St. NW. The free program includes a morning keynote, “Edgar Degas: Man of Science,” by independent art historian and curator Richard Kendall, a noon talk by Anne Pingeot, curator emerita at the Musée d’Orsay, and presentations on Degas’s painting, printmaking and sculpture techniques by conservators and art historians from the National Gallery, the Art Institute of Chicago and the University of Washington. The day will close with a signing of “Facture: Conservation, Science, Art History, Volume 3: Degas.” For details, visit nga.gov.
An English Garden
The Folger Consort — fiddles, viol, lute, cittern, winds and soprano Emily Noël — will perform Friday, Sept. 22, at 8 p.m.; Saturday, Sept. 23, at 4 and 8 p.m.; and Sunday, Sept. 24, at 2 p.m. in the Folger Theatre, 201 East Capitol St. SE. As the arts and culture flourished in Shakespeare’s England, musical life blossomed as well. Popular ballads and art songs from the theater are paired in a concert with lively instrumental pieces, fit for nobles and groundlings alike. Tickets are $42. For details, visit folger.edu or call 202-544-7077.
‘The Devil’s Music: The Life & Blues of Bessie Smith’
At the Atlas Performing Arts Center, 1333 H St. NE, Mosaic Theater Company presents “The Devil’s Music” on Thursday, Sept. 21, and Friday, Sept. 22, at 8 p.m.; Saturday, Sept. 23, at 3 and 8 p.m.; and Sunday, Sept. 24, at 3 and 7:30 p.m. The show, starring Miche Braden and packed with a trove of Smith’s all-time hits — songs like “I Ain’t Got Nobody,” “St. Louis Blues” and “Tain’t Nobody’s Bizness If I Do,” has now been extended through Oct. 1. Tickets are $20 to $60. For details, visit mosaictheater.org or call 202-399-7993.
Keyboard Conversations with Jeffrey Siegel
More music: Keyboard Conversations with Jeffrey Siegel will mark its 25th anniversary with “Celebrating Leonard Bernstein,” a concert with lively commentary on Saturday, Sept. 23, at 6 p.m. at the Kennedy Center, 2700 F St. NW. The program, part of the free Millennium Stage series, will include excerpts from “West Side Story,” the “Overture to Candide,” his intimate, poetic “Anniversaries,” the unpublished “Meditation on a Wedding” (given to Siegel by Bernstein’s biographer Humphrey Burton) and his dazzling solo piano arrangement of Aaron Copland’s orchestral work “El Salon Mexico.” The program will conclude with a Q&A. For details, visit kennedy-center.org or call 800-444-1324.
A Friday event for writers, followed by Saturday history events for would-be volunteers, shoppers and imbibers …
Seeking Book Endorsements
At this free noon event at the Writer’s Center, 4508 Walsh St. in Bethesda, Maryland, on Friday, Sept. 22, Patty Alper, author of “Teach to Work, How a Mentor, a Mentee, and a Project Can Close the Skills Gap in America,” will lead a discussion on strategies for approaching targeted endorsers for your manuscript prior to engaging a publisher. Participants should bring one or two chapters, a realistic list of potential endorsers and a bag lunch. Refreshments will be provided. For details, visit writer.org or call 301-654-8664
DC History for All: Volunteer Fair
This two-part event at the Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum, 1901 Fort Place SE — free with RSVP — kicks off on Saturday, Sept. 22, at 4:30 p.m. with an evening program to mix and network with collections and archival workers from the cultural industry. On Sunday, Sept. 24, at 11 a.m., attendees can volunteer to work with local collections at cultural heritage and history organizations. Representatives from the U.S. National Archives, the Library of Congress, DC Public Library, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Ford’s Theatre, the Folger Shakespeare Library, the D.C. Historic Preservation Office and the Smithsonian Institution will be on hand. For details, visit anacostia.si.edu or call 202-633-4868.
Museum Pop-Up Shop
At this pop-up museum shop for Dumbarton House, Heurich House Museum, President Lincoln’s Cottage, the President Woodrow Wilson House and Tudor Place Historic House and Garden on Saturday, Sept. 23, visitors will get deals on clearance and one-of-a-kind items: gifts, books, holiday items, jewelry and plants. The event, at Dumbarton House, 2715 Q St. NW, will run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. For details, visit dumbartonhouse.org or call 202-337-2288.
History Happy Hour
Also on Saturday, Sept. 23, at 2:30 p.m., the National Archives, Constitution Avenue NW, between 7th and 9th Streets, hosts a History Happy Hour featuring Derek Brown of the Drink Company, chefs Michelle Bernstein and Johnny Spero, John Lermayer of Sweet Liberty and Lynnette Marrero of Speed Rack in an exploration of the evolving world of culinary cocktails. Tickets are $60. For details, visit archivesfoundation.org or call 202-357-5000.
Which segues well into the following Sunday culinary opportunities …
Historical Homebrewing Class
On Sunday, Sept. 24, at 11 a.m., the Hill Center at the Old Naval Hospital, 921 Pennsylvania Ave. SE, will offer a class in historical homebrewing. Participants will track the origins of Oktoberfest, amber and other lagers with Michael Stein and Peter Jones of Lost Lagers. Covering historical recipes from Bavaria, Vienna and America, the two beer historians will demonstrate how to brew gut lagerbier and fast-forward to today to discuss the pale, corn, amber and dark lagers they brewed with DC Brau, Lake Anne Brew House, Devils Backbone and Lost Rhino. Tickets are $60 to $85. For details, visit hillcenterdc.org or call 202-549-4172.
Taste of Georgetown
D.C.’s epicurean festival will celebrate its 24th year on Sunday, Sept. 24, with tastes from more than 30 of the neighborhood’s best restaurants. The event, benefiting the Georgetown Ministry Center’s mission to support the homeless, will run along K Street between Wisconsin Avenue and Thomas Jefferson Street from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tickets are $22. For tickets, visit tasteofgeorgetown.com.
