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WASHINGTON PERFORMING ARTS 2022/23 SEASONCHRONOLOGICAL SCHEDULE
Hazel Scott 101st Birthday Celebration
DANCE THEATRE OF HARLEM
Virginia Johnson, artistic director
FRI, OCT 7, 8 PM
SAT, OCT 8, 2 PM & 8 PM
SIDNEY HARMAN HALL
The illustrious DTH opens the 2022/23 Season with the world premiere performances of a new ballet honoring forgotten American music icon Hazel Scott.
IGOR LEVIT, piano
THU, OCT 20, 7:30 PM
KENNEDY CENTER TERRACE THEATER
The long-awaited return of the celebrated Igor Levit—an artist “like no other pianist” (New Yorker)—in an inspired program of Schumann, Wagner, Liszt, and Fred Hersch.
CITY OF BIRMINGHAM SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla, music director
SHEKU KANNEH-MASON, cello
FRI, OCT 21, 8 PM
STRATHMORE
Britain’s award-winning CBSO and their acclaimed music director, Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla, perform a D.C. premiere by Thomas Adès, Debussy’s La Mer, and—joined by star soloist Sheku Kanneh-Mason—Elgar’s Cello Concerto.
50 Years
MUMMENSCHANZ
SAT, OCT 22, 8 PM
LISNER AUDITORIUM
The legendary Swiss mask theater troupe celebrates their golden anniversary with classic sketches like “The Clay Masks,” “The Toilet Paper Faces,” “The Pipe Creature,” and more.
MIDORI, violin
SUN, OCT 30, 7:30 PM
KENNEDY CENTER TERRACE THEATER
In this perfect marriage of artist, venue, and repertoire, violinist Midori comes to the intimate Terrace Theater to perform solo classics by J.S. Bach plus works by contemporary composers (TBA).
A Night at Café Society
ARTISTS TBA
Co-Curators include Murray Horowitz and Karen Chilton (Hazel Scott’s biographer)
FRI, NOV 11, 8PM
BETHESDA BLUES & JAZZ SUPPER CLUB
Take a step back in time to 1930s and ’40s-era New York City cabaret life and the first racially integrated nightclub in America—featuring live performances, historical narrative, archival audio and video, and more.
Hayes Piano Series
VÍKINGUR ÓLAFSSON
SAT, NOV 19, 2 PM
KENNEDY CENTER TERRACE THEATER
“Iceland’s Glenn Gould” (New York Times) brings his trademark finesse and subtlety to this Hayes Piano recital based on his acclaimed 2021 recording, Mozart & Contemporaries.
We’ve Come This Far By Faith: A 30th Anniversary Celebration
MEN AND WOMEN OF THE GOSPEL CHOIR
Theodore Thorpe III, artistic director
SUN, NOV 20, 5PM
CENTER FOR PERFORMING ARTS AT PRINCE GEORGE’S COMMUNITY COLLEGE
The “MWOTG” presents an evening of inspiration, celebration, and commemoration as the choir marks 30 years of sharing the power of gospel music with audiences across the Washington metro area.
TENTHING
Tine Thing Helseth, trumpet & founder
TUE, NOV 29, 8PM
SIXTH & I
High-spirited holiday favorites and brass classics are in store as Norwegian trumpet virtuoso Tine Thing Helselth leads her 10-piece, all-female brass band.
LEIF OVE ANDSNES
TUE, JAN 24, 7:30 PM
KENNEDY CENTER TERRACE THEATER
Effortless virtuosity, penetrating insight, and emotional nuance from Norwegian piano master Andsnes in a program of Beethoven, Dvořák, Janáček, and more.
Hayes Piano Series
CHARLES RICHARD-HAMELIN
SAT, JAN 28, 2 PM
KENNEDY CENTER TERRACE THEATER
The rising-star Québecois virtuoso, honored with two awards at Warsaw’s prestigious International Chopin Piano Competition, devotes his Hayes recital to works by Chopin, Franck, and Ravel.
THE SPHINX SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Tito Muñoz, conductor
EXIGENCE VOCAL ENSEMBLE
Eugene Rogers, Music Director
Members of THE WASHINGTON CHORUS
Eugene Rogers, Artistic Director
AUNDI MARIE MOORE, soprano
TUE, JAN 31, 8PM
KENNEDY CENTER CONCERT HALL
Co-presented with The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, in partnership with The Washington Chorus
The 55-member Sphinx Symphony Orchestra celebrates its namesake organization’s silver anniversary milestone, joined by very special guests.
Living the Dream…Singing the Dream
WASHINGTON PERFORMING ARTS GOSPEL CHOIRS
Michele Fowlin & Theodore Thorpe III, artistic directors
THE CHORAL ARTS SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON
Dr. Jace Kaholokula Saplan, artistic director
SUN, FEB 5, 7pm
KENNEDY CENTER CONCERT HALL
Co-presented with The Choral Arts Society of Washington
In a perennial season highlight, Washington Performing Arts’s combined gospel choirs unite with Choral Arts in tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
JOSHUA BELL, violin
Pianist TBA
WED, FEB 8, 8 PM
KENNEDY CENTER CONCERT HALL
Grammy-winning violin master and perennial Washington Performing Arts favorite Joshua Bell returns in recital to share “playing [that] is almost uncannily lovely.” (New York Times).
Our Song, Our Story
BRANDIE INEZ SUTTON, soprano
JUSTIN AUSTIN, baritone
STRING QUARTET FROM THE SPHINX ORGANIZATION
DAMIEN SNEED, piano
FRI, FEB 10, 7:30 PM
KENNEDY CENTER TERRACE THEATER
Co-presented with the Coalition for African Americans in the Performing Arts (CAAPA)
A salute to African American operatic pioneers Marian Anderson and Jessye Norman, featuring rising-star vocalists of today performing repertoire by Mozart, Verdi, Puccini and contemporary composers, spirituals, and more.
A Broadway Valentine
JESSICA VOSK
Mary-Mitchell Campbell, music director & piano
TUE, FEB 14, 7 PM
SIXTH & I
D. C. debut: Famed as a star of Broadway’s Wicked, Jessica Vosk turns Sixth & I into a sizzling Valentine’s cabaret, singing favorite showtunes and pop hits alike.
JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER ORCHESTRA
with WYNTON MARSALIS
SUN, FEB 26, 7PM
KENNEDY CENTER CONCERT HALL
Peerless trumpeter and Pulitzer-winner Marsalis and the renowned JLCO build upon the classic big-band tradition with lock-step precision and stunning virtuosity.
Cotton
JOHN E. DOWELL, photographer and creator
DAMIEN GETER, composer
DENYCE GRAVES, mezzo-soprano
JUSTIN AUSTIN, baritone
LAURA WARD, piano
TUE, FEB 28, 7:30 PM
KENNEDY CENTER TERRACE THEATER
The legendary Denyce Graves joins a multi-disciplinary team of creators for this powerful new song cycle connecting African American ancestors and their heirs of today.
ORCHESTRE SYMPHONIQUE DE MONTRÉAL
RAFAEL PAYARE, music director
YEFIM BRONFMAN, piano
MON, MAR 6, 8 PM
KENNEDY CENTER CONCERT HALL
The “OSM” returns to D.C. led by its celebrated new music director, Rafael Payare, with a program of Mahler, Dorothy Chang, and (joined by revered pianist Yefim Bronfman) Bartók.
CHAD LAWSON, piano
JUDY KANG, violin
SETH PARKER WOODS, cello
SAT, MAR 18, 8 PM
SIXTH & I
An evening of graceful and meditative music—classically inspired yet stylistically diverse—from pianist/composer Chad Lawson and collaborators Judy Kang and Seth Parker Woods.
YEFIM BRONFMAN, piano
TUE, APR 4, 7:30 PM
KENNEDY CENTER TERRACE THEATER
A legendary pianist celebrated equally for his commanding technique and refined lyricism, Yefim Bronfman offers a recital of rare intimacy.
EMANUEL AX, piano
SUN, APR 16, 4 PM
STRATHMORE
The first Washington Performing Arts solo recital in more than a dozen years from one of today’s most accomplished and beloved pianists.
TAIWAN PHILHARMONIC
(a.k.a. National Symphony Orchestra, Taiwan)
Jun Märkl, music director
PAUL HUANG, violin
WED, APR 19, 8 PM
KENNEDY CENTER CONCERT HALL
The Taiwan Philharmonic makes its first-ever Washington Performing Arts appearance in a wide-ranging program, joined by acclaimed violin virtuoso Paul Huang.
MONTEREY JAZZ FESTIVAL ON TOUR
Featuring DEE DEE BRIDGEWATER, KURT ELLING, LAKECIA BENJAMIN, CHRISTIAN SANDS, YASUSHI NAKAMURA, and CLARENCE PENN
THU, APR 20, 8PM
STRATHMORE
Co-presented with Strathmore
The world-renowned festival celebrates its 65th anniversary with a sizzling ensemble fronted by Grammy-winning vocalists Dee Dee Bridgewater and Kurt Elling.
DANISH STRING QUARTET
FRI, APR 21, 7:30 PM
KENNEDY CENTER TERRACE THEATER
Washington Performing Arts audience favorites, the DSQ return with a fascinating program balancing Schubert classics with a new work by Iceland’s Anna Thorvaldsdottir.
BÉLA FLECK, EDGAR MEYER & ZAKIR HUSSAIN
with RAKESH CHAURASIA
SUN, APR 23, 7PM
STRATHMORE
A genre-crossing supergroup returns to Washington Performing Arts in an evening of astounding virtuosity, cultural convergence, and the spark of improvisation.
ANGEL ISLAND – AN ORATORIO FOR VOICES & STRING QUARTET
HUANG RUO, COMPOSER
DEL SOL QUARTET
THE UNITED STATES AIR FORCE BAND’S SINGING SERGEANTS
TUES, MAY 2, 7PM
SMITHSONIAN NATIONAL MUSEUM OF ASIAN ART
Acclaimed Chinese-American composer, Huang Ruo, gives voice to the dark history of Chinese immigration and discrimination inscribed onto the walls of the “Ellis Island of the West.”
HELSINKI PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA
SUSANNA MÄLKKI, music director
CLAIRE CHASE, solo flute
MON, MAY 8, 8 PM
KENNEDY CENTER CONCERT HALL
Finland’s foremost orchestra salutes two of its homeland’s greatest composers: Jean Sibelius and (joined by the acclaimed flutist Claire Chase) Kaija Saariaho.
EVGENY KISSIN, piano
RENÉE FLEMING, soprano
WED, MAY 10, 8 PM
KENNEDY CENTER CONCERT HALL
Co-presented with The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Two eminent Grammy-winners perform the music of Rachmaninoff, in a program boasting both solo piano and piano/vocal works.
GENEVA LEWIS, violin
Evren Ozel, piano
SUN, MAY 14, 2 PM
KENNEDY CENTER TERRACE THEATER
The Washington Performing Arts debut of a rising-star violinist from New Zealand, in a centuries-spanning program celebrating the concept of “home.”
CHILDREN OF THE GOSPEL CHOIR
Michele Fowlin, artistic director
SAT, JUNE 10, TIME TBA
CENTER FOR PERFORMING ARTS AT PRINCE GEORGE’S COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Season finale! In a production co-curated by the choir members themselves, the stellar “COTG” address matters of social justice through song, movement, and spoken word.
