Music

Review: National Symphony Orchestra: Dreamworks Animation in Concert at Wolf Trap

After reviewing productions for a number of years, a “critic” like myself can usually come to rely on certain venues for consistent, professional entertainment. Wolf Trap is a spectacular venue and I...

Entertainment and More at Valley Forge Casino Resort in King of Prussia

Located just 20 miles northwest of Philadelphia, the freshly renovated Valley Forge Casino Resort offers visitors a wide range of activities, from gaming and swimming to fine dining and live...

Review: ‘See Jane Sing’ at The Kennedy Center

It’s hard to imagine what to expect at a cabaret debut from a television actor turned Broadway performer turned television game host. Jane Lynch—who some know as Sue Sylvester from the hit-television...

Review: ‘Riverdance: The 20th Anniversary World Tour’ at Wolf Trap

Some members of the company weren’t even born when lines of dancers with arms at their sides first performed at a Eurovision competition in 1994. I’d say the rest was history but I don’t think anyone...

Review: ‘Fidelio’ at The In Series

The In Series ends their season with Beethoven’s only opera, Fidelio, a surprisingly modern tale of faith – particularly between husband and wife. This is their biggest production ever and one of the...

Review: ‘Make ’em Laugh’ at Signature Theatre

Signature Theatre finishes out their 2015-2016 cabaret series with the uproarious and uplifting Make ‘em Laugh Cabaret, featuring Happy McPartlin and Tracy Lynn Olivera. The duo brings new meaning to...

Review: Pianist Veronika Böhmová at the Czech Embassy in the Embassy Series

The Czech Republic is a small country with a big impact on music. It’s a good thing they don’t just churn out mere virtuosos, of whom the world has plenty. Instead the best of the lot harness...

Review: ‘The New Old Time Music Hall Celebrating Queen and Country’ at The British Players

It’s a gathering of music, humor, and tradition with The British Players in The New Old Time Music Hall Celebrating Queen and Country. The British Players have quite a storied history, performing at...

Midyear CD Review: Evocative Oboe, Witty Haydn, and a New Take on Duke Ellington

Serendipity counts in music as in anything else. A year and a half ago I recommended two outstanding debut albums by artists with local connections. Soprano Danielle Talamantes, a Northern Virginia...

Review: Ireland 100: ‘The Gloaming’ at The Kennedy Center

The Ireland 100 closes this weekend with new Irish sensation Ireland 100: The Gloaming who made their Kennedy Center debut with a lovely mix of traditional music, improvisation, and new classics....

Review: Bach’s ‘Mass in B Minor’ with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and Baltimore Choral Arts Society

Here’s an idea: Let’s change the name of Bach’s Mass in B Minor to the Mass in D Major. Just because convention calls for a piece to be named after its beginning key doesn’t mean that the ending key...

Review: ‘Sultans of String’ at AMP at Strathmore

The Sultans of String delight and excite. This is World Music as you’ve never heard it before. The music is, quite simply, a soul satisfying mash-up of European gypsy, classical, punjabi, jazz, and...

Review: ‘Boyz II Men’ at The Kennedy Center with the National Symphony Orchestra

Motown Philly came to DC full-blast as the best-selling R&B group of all time, Boyz II Men graced the Concert Hall stage of The Kennedy Center on Friday, May 20, 2016, accompanied by the dynamic...

An Interview with Eric Lynum of The Dolly Rockers

The Dolly Rockers are based in the Washington, DC area. Band members are Eric Lynum (vocalist, guitar), Larry D. (guitarist), Megan Strings (violin), Mike Trippi (bass), Derrick Decker (drums), and...

Review: ‘Some Enchanted Evening: The Music of Rodgers and Hammerstein and the American Songbook’ with Renée Fleming and Norm Lewis With The Choral Arts Society of Washington

Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II pioneered a flair that was all their own in the golden age of musical theater. From 1940 to Hammerstein’s death in 1960, this musical duo dominated the musical...

Encore Chorale Gets Ready to Take Another Bow at ‘With a Song in My Heart’

There are always community gems we rarely hear about, but Encore Chorale, which was founded in 2001, has become a treasure chest of talent. They began as a study to see what the impact of...

Review: The American Pops Orchestra Presents ‘Make Someone Happy: A 60’s Cocktail Party’ at Lisner Auditorium

For 90 minutes last Friday night (May 6, 2016), orchestra founder and Music Director Luke Frazier, Director Nathan Brewer, and Choreographer Kelly d’Amboise transformed Lisner Auditorium into the New...

Review: Beyoncé’s ‘Lemonade’

We should have known. Beyoncé dropped Formation in February, a song, a music video, and a Super Bowl performance that laid it all out: Yoncé was a black woman, a beautiful, successful, Southern Black...

Review: ‘Tender Tears and Love and Life: Songs by Anton Rubinstein, Anton Arensky, Alexander Glazunov, and Mark Minkov’ at the Russian Chamber Art Society

In a concert that rang the rafters and tugged at the heartstrings, the Russian Chamber Art Society bade a thrilling farewell to its longtime home at the Austrian embassy, which, after hosting more...

In the Moment: George Mason’s Center for the Arts Announces its Upcoming 2016-2017 Season

Next season’s Great Performances series at the Center for the Arts was recently announced to hearty applause at a lovely evening event on the George Mason University campus in Fairfax, Virginia....

Review: Classical Guitarist Mark Edwards at Columbia Festival of the Arts

The Columbia Festival of the Arts under Executive Director Todd Olson, presented a Mark Edwards, Classical Spanish Guitar at the historical Oliver’s Carriage House on Sunday, April 17, 2016. Mark...

Review: ‘Dos Por Uno’ at The Columbia Festival of the Arts’ ‘Viva La Vida’

The Columbia Festival of the Arts under Executive Director, Todd Olson, presented an evening of Latin American music, Dos Por Uno on Saturday, April 16, 2016, featuring the bands Las Cafeteras and La...

Review: Buddy Guy and The Damn Right Blues Band at The State Theatre

Buddy Guy is a man who does not act his age of 79 years young! He is a cool cat and an American blues legend. He played to an enthusiastic capacity crowd Wednesday night at the State Theatre and the...

‘Come to The Silhouette Stages Cabaret’ on 4/23@8pm @Slayton House

The Silhouette Players – more known for their wonderful musicals – will be presenting a evening of entertainment and fun at Cabaret Night on April 23, 2016 at 8PM at Slayton House – 10400 Cross Fox...

Review: ‘Oedipus ROX!’ at Maryland Ensemble Theatre

Take one-part glam rock, one-part Mad Max: Beyond Thunder Dome, and one-part A Clockwork Orange, and you have Oedipus ROX! at the Maryland Ensemble Theatre. Oedipus ROX! is a modern Rock musical...

Review: The Cult at The Fillmore

The real rock stars and rock band of our time is The Cult. While Guns ‘N Roses is gearing up for their reunion tour, The Cult has been going strong for 20+ years even employing Guns ‘N Roses drummer...

Review: Clarinetist Valentin Uryupin at the Phillips Collection

The Music Room at the Phillips Collection is such a distinctive and up-close venue to hear performers that you can forget how momentous the events there can turn out to be. That may well have been the...

Review: ‘Johnny Mathis –The 60th Anniversary Concert Tour’ at Strathmore

Johnny Mathis, iconic and legendary vocalist of love songs, jazz, tin pan alley, Brazilian music, holiday music and the Great American Songbook, celebrated his 60th Anniversary in Show Business...

“Creating An American Citizen”: An Interview with Pianist Bruce Levingston

On Wednesday, April 6, 2016, Georgetown University will welcome acclaimed pianist Bruce Levingston, one of the country’s leading figures in contemporary classical music, for the Washington, D.C....

Review: An Evening with Art Garfunkel at The Hylton Performing Arts Center

In his 70s, Art Garfunkel still has control of a gorgeous, light counter-tenor, and an ability to tell the story of a song while connecting with his audience. The Hylton Center for the Arts at George...

Review: Teen Angel Project’s ‘CenterStage: Come Fly With Me’

Last weekend, hundreds of residents of the DMV were taken on a joyful journey with the student performers of Teen Angel Project (TAP). CenterStage: Come Fly With Me delighted an audience of all ages...

Review #2: ‘Boots, Class & Sass’ at Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, DC

Having reviewed the outstanding Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, DC (GMCW) many times in the past, it was a delightful diversion to review an evening of country music escapism entitled Boots, Class &...

Review: ‘Into the Woods’ at Good Counsel Theatre Company

The Good Counsel Theatre Company (GCTC) tackled Into the Woods, with Lyrics and Music by Stephen Sondheim, and Book by James Lapine, this spring. The show is a famous mashup of fairy tales derived...

Review: ‘Hexagon 2016: Red, White, & Voters’ Blues’

America’s fascination with mobile phones, drones, and Fitbits were all parodied in the 2016 Hexagon show, but in this year of unprecedented political rancor, the group’s new revue, adeptly titled Red,...

Review: Vân-Ánh Võ’s ‘The Odyssey: From Vietnam to America’ at The Kennedy Center

Vân-Ánh Võ’s The Odyssey: from Vietnam to America conjures, to a Western audience, images of Odysseus, returning from victory at Troy, being punished by the gods, losing his army, his loot, his...

Review: Fairfax Symphony Orchestra: ‘An Enchanted Evening’

It really was quite “An Enchanted Evening” at GMU’s Center for the Arts on March 12, 2016 as Mary Michael Patterson and Hayley Travers, accompanied by the Fairfax Orchestra under the baton of Luke...

Review: Patti LaBelle Headlines Greater Washington Urban League “Unsung Heroes” Awards Fundraiser Gala

Recipes for the Good Life. That’s actually the title of a cookbook written by the legendary Godmother of Soul, Patti LaBelle. It’s also a metaphor for a music career spanning more than half a century;...

Review: BSO: All-Beethoven at the Meyerhoff Symphony Hall

Showcasing Beethoven’s pioneering range and imaginative ingenuity, Conductor Markus Stenz led the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra in the Romantic and triumphant incidental music to Egmont last night,...

National Chamber Ensemble Presents ‘American Landscape’ This Saturday 3/12@7:30 PM at The Rosslyn Spectrum

National Chamber Ensemble Presents ‘American Landscape’ This Saturday 3/12@7:30 PM at The Rosslyn Spectrum, Doors Open for seating at 7:00 PM Join us in Celebrating Great Music of American Composers...

Review: Laurie Anderson’s ‘Language of the Future: Letters to Jack’ at The Kennedy Center

Cellist Rubin Kodheli joins the legendary performance artist Laurie Anderson on stage at The Terrace Theater for a presentation of her new multimedia work, the memory-haunting Language of the Future:...

An Interview with Local Musician Jason Masi

Jason Masi, a former standout soccer star found his calling in music and hasn’t looked back since. He delves into his music life and what he finds through it by living the dream as a full-time...

Liz Filios Takes on Shakespeare in ‘As You Like It’ at Lantern Theater Company in Philadelphia

A multiple Barrymore Award winner, Liz Filios has twice been recognized as Best Actress in a Musical for her lead roles in Midsummer [a play with songs] at Inis Nua Theatre Company in 2014–the same...

Review: Pianist Steven Osborne Plays Rachmaninoff at the Phillips Collection

Given a choice between the intellectual and the emotional, most concert-goers, in their heart of hearts, will want to hear something that moves them. They got their wish on Sunday afternoon at the...

Review: ‘Robin Hood’ at Victorian Lyric Opera Company

Rob from the rich, give to the poor ̶ a theme with universal and enduring appeal, at least among 99% of us. The centuries-old legend of benevolent British outlaw Robin Hood has pranced across diverse...

Review: ‘Valentine’s Day Concert: Armenian Musical Treasures’ at National Chamber Ensemble

Whenever I need a ‘pick-me-up’ I head down to the Rosslyn Spectrum to see a National Chamber Ensemble (‘NCE’) concert. This year’s Valentine’s Day Concert filled the air with L-O-V-E and wonderful...

Review: Il Volo at The Kennedy Center

I’ve always known that the mix of pop music and classical singing is one of the most popular music styles in Italy. What I didn’t know until last night’s Il Volo concert was that it is “Fan Girl” (Fan...

In the Moment: Reston Community Center Presents ‘If Music Be the Food of Love’ on 2/24 & Washington Chorus Presents ‘New Music for a New Age’ on 2/28 at National Presbyterian Church

Adventurous? Looking for something fresh, uplifting, and yes, even heavenly in contemporary classical music with ethereal, hypnotic voices? There are two upcoming musical events in close-by venues to...

Review: The Monterey Jazz Festival on Tour at the The Columbia Festival of the Arts

The Columbia Festival of the Arts under Executive Director, Todd Olson, continues to bring the Howard County Area some of the greatest performers of our time. Since the Festival started 30 years ago...

Review: ‘Alan Cumming Sings Sappy Songs’ at Strathmore

The sign in the Strathmore ticket booth said a lot about Alan Cumming’s appeal. “SHOW SOLD OUT!” it blared. An hour before the show, the place was filling up with people eager for the doors to open....

Review: ‘The Way We Were’ at The Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, DC

Yesterday, I was privileged to see the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, DC’s extremely intimate, engaging and musically creative concert of songs entitled The Way We Were. This stimulating and...