Next weekend, enjoy over 30 FREE music, dance and artistic performances at Washington, DC’s premiere center for the arts, The Kennedy Center and their annual Open House.

The range of entertainment of as varied as the number of performers.

Here’s just a sampling of the many free performances:

• The Kennedy Center’s own Suzanne Farrell Ballet. Suzanne Ferrell  who was one of one of George Balanchine’s most celebrated ballerinas.
• Washington’s own, National Symphony Orchestra
• Children’s Musical Album Grammy winners – Dan Zanes and Friends
• Dance under the stars outside on the patio with the Godfather of Go-Go – Chuck Brown
• Folk singer Lila Downs, will perform her Academy Award nominated song "Burn it Blue" form the film Frida.

And if you bring the children, take them to the hands-on NSO Instrument "Petting Zoo", where they can all learn all about the instruments of the symphony orchestra.

Plus, you can wander the center and enjoy it’s great architecture and stunning views of the Potomac River, Georgetown, the Watergate complex  and the National Mall.

Click here for the most updated schedule of performers and performances.

The Kennedy Center 24th Annual Open House
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
2700 F Street, NW
Washington DC. 20566 (map it)

Date and Time – Saturday, September 13, 2008.  Noon – 11:00 p.m.

Tickets – FREE, no tickets required.

Nearest Metro Subway Station – Foggy Bottom/George Washington University station (23rd and I St.) – Blue and Orange lines, then a 3-block walk.

Take Metro and use the free Kennedy Center shuttle on Saturday. It runs 10:00 a.m. – Midnight.

Parking - limited parking is available at the Kennedy Center for $15.00, but expect it to be full early.

 Images – from personal collection; ©2008, Jon Rochetti

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Post from: The DC Traveler

For two evenings in September, the NSO will perform music from some of the greatest films of all time. 

The first evening, Classical Hollywood, includes selections from movies that use classical music as parts of their score, including Disney’s Sleeping Beauty, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Alien, The Godfather, and Raging Bull.

The second evening, entitled The Golden Age of Film Music, features musical scores written specifically for movies, including Lawrence of Arabia, Gone with the Wind, Spartacus, the Wizard of Oz, and The Magnificent Seven.

Here are two of my favorite soundtracks, the overture and now synonymous theme music from Lawrence of Arabia, and Richard Strauss’s Also sprach Zarathustra from Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey.

The National Symphony Orchestra
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Concert Hall
700 F Street, NW
Washington DC. 20566 (map it)

Date and Time – Thursday and Friday, September 11-12, 2008, 8:00 p.m. 

Tickets - $20.00 – $65.00 and are available online. 

Nearest Metro Subway Station – Foggy Bottom/George Washington University station (23rd and I St.) – Blue and Orange lines, then a 3-block walk.

The free Kennedy Center shuttle also runs every 15 minutes form the Metro (Mon.-Fri., 9:45 a.m.- Midnight, Sat. 10:00 a.m.-Midnight, and Sun. Noon-Midnight.

Parking - Limited parking is available at the Kennedy Center for $16.00.

Image – NSO and Oz

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Post from: The DC Traveler

National Symphony Orchestra Labor Day concert
West lawn of the US Capitol Building
E. Capitol and First Streets, NW 
Washington, DC   (map it)

Dates and Times – Sunday, August 31, 2008, 8:00 p.m. Gates open at 3:20 p.m.

Tickets – FREE , no tickets required, but all attendees are subject to a security search

Nearest Metro Subway Station – Capitol South – Blue and Orange lines, or Federal Center SW – Blue and Orange lines, then a 4-5 block walk from either station or use the DC Circulator.

Parking – Parking will be difficult in the area, so try to take Metro.

Image – NSO

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Post from: The DC Traveler

This year’s list of musical entertainers include one of my favorite female vocalists, the always entertaining Grammy winner, Natalie Cole. I saw Natalie sing last summer at Wolftrap and she puts on a great show.

Also on the list of singers is Josh Turner, who has recently toured with George Strait and Carrie Underwood, jazz singer Jane Monheit and R&B vocalist CeCe Winans. 

Rounding out the show will be the always popular National Symphony Orchestra, the U.S. Army Herald Trumpets, the U.S. Army Chorale, the U.S. Navy Sea Chanters, the U.S. Air Force Singing Sergeants and the Choral Arts Society of Washington.

Expect much pomp and circumstance as the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff will also have a role in the show, as well as color guard teams from each branch of the U.S. armed services.

Plan on arriving early to get in line for the best spot for your blanket. 

And in case you have never seen the very moving Changing of the Guards at the Tombs of the Unknowns at Arlington Cemetery, here’s an interesting clip from Fox News about one of the soldiers who guards the famous tombs.

National Memorial Day Concert 2008
West lawn of the U.S. Capitol Building
Washington, DC (map it)

Date and Time – Sunday, May 25, 2008 – 8:00 to 9:30 p.m., grounds open at 5:00 p.m.

Tickets – FREE, no tickets required. Checkpoints with metal detectors will be set up at entrance points. Entrance to the concert is at the southwest corner of the Capitol grounds.

Nearest Metro subway station - Capitol South, Federal Center SW, Orange and Blue lines, and Union Station Red line.

Parking – Street parking will be very difficult that evening, so use Metro or arrive very early.

Images – Army Herald Trumpets, Natalie Cole,  AF Color Guard

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Post from: The DC Traveler