Strathmore

Interview: Jazz Chanteuse Changamiré

I met jazz chanteuse Changamire’ at a networking event. She quickly warmed up to me and gave me her latest jazz album “Love” to listen to. I was blown away. In our interview she shared how she got...

Who’s in Town? A Conversation with Adam Pascal, Performing in Concert with ‘Rent’ Costar Anthony Rapp at Strathmore This Friday, April 28th at 8pm

Rent fans are in for a treat as Adam Pascal and Anthony Rapp team up for a one-night-only concert event at Strathmore this Friday, April 28th at 8 PM. Pascal and Rapp are forever joined in the hearts...

Review: ‘The Circle of Life: The Songs of Tim Rice’ at Young Artists of America

When you have over 100 talented musicians and singers filling the Strathmore stage, you know you are in for some great singing and playing from Young Artists of America. In a world premiere concert,...

Review: ‘Booty Candy’ at Montgomery College

In a particularly lapel-grabbing scene in Montgomery College’s Booty Candy, a preacher tells his congregation that he’s tired of hiding from the “what they heard” crowd and shows them who he really...

Preview: Bach’s St. John Passion with Ted Sperling and MasterVoices at Carnegie Hall

From Tevye the Milkman’s Anatevka of 1905 to the St. Nicholas Lutheran Church in Leipzig in 1724, Broadway conductor Ted Sperling is making quite a transition in settings this week. But it’s all...

Review: ‘An Acoustic Evening with Lyle Lovett & John Hiatt’ at Strathmore

There are very few things that could get me to uproot and move to Texas. Actually, there is just one thing, and his name is Lyle Lovett. Luckily, this long tall Texan graced the stage of Maryland’s...

Review: ‘Bo Dacious and Liz Russo’ at AMP Powered by Strathmore

There’s this hot little night club right across from some swanky automobile dealerships in a neighborhood calling itself Pike & Rose. The venue hosts a wide variety of arts and entertainment and makes...

Review: ‘Salute to Vienna: A New Year’s Concert’ by Strauss Symphony of America at The Music Center at Strathmore

The Music Center at Strathmore celebrated the start of 2017 with Salute to Vienna. This annual tour, produced by Attila Glatz Concert Productions, featured the Strauss Symphony of America, conducted...

Review: ‘Mannheim Steamroller Christmas’ By Chip Davis at Strathmore

A large, stylish Christmas crowd was on hand Sunday night as Mannheim Steamroller “steamrolled” into Bethesda’s Music Center at Strathmore to perform Mannheim Steamroller Christmas By Chip Davis,...

Review: The Capital Hearings at AMP by Strathmore

I came to review the venue as well as the performance so I need to share a bit about both. First of all AMP by Strathmore is a swanky nightclub nestled at the corner of Montrose Road and Rockville...

Review: ‘Handel’s Messiah; with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra at Strathmore

George Frideric Handel’s Messiah was first performed during Easter in Dublin close to 275 years ago, and I saw why it has become an annual Christmas tradition. The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra with...

Review: Larry Graham and Graham Central Station at Strathmore

Review: Larry Graham and Graham Central Station funnels the funky at Strathmore He’s a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member of Sly & the Family Stone, he was a mentor and “best friend” of Prince, he is...

Review: Estampas Porteñas Tango Company’s ‘Deseos’ at the Music Center at Strathmore

Images of the people of Buenos Aires, estampas porteñas, created nostalgic dreams of longing and desire in distant lands and rich cultures as the Estampas Porteñas Tango Company presented Deseos, a...

Review: ‘Doc Severinsen and Friends – The Art of the Big Band’ at Strathmore

Five BRASS Stars! Doc Severinsen may have not appeared on your screen since Johnny Carson turned the keys to The Tonight Show over to Jay Leno in 1992, but he hasn’t slowed down. Hired as a musician...

Review: ‘Black Violin’ at Strathmore

‘Black Violin’ serves up a musical potpourri at Strathmore “This is a party!” said Wil B (Wilner Baptiste) one half of the group Black Violin, which performed a genre-mashing amalgam of hip hop and...

Review: BSO at Strathmore: Mahler Symphony No. 6

Some critics go to music performances as a modern day Shakespearean Brutus: They come to bury the performance, not praise it. And, bury it they do with raised pinky, off-putting, arcane phraseology...

Review: Concerto for Violin, Rock Band & String Orchestra: Composed by R.E.M.’s Mike Mills for Robert McDuffie Featuring Fifth House Ensemble at Strathmore

When I saw Mike Mills of R.E.M. was coming to town, I knew I had to see him because I grew up on his music. R.E.M.’s music was a huge part of my life. Mills and Robert McDuffie didn’t disappoint by...

Review: ‘The Wizard of Oz in Concert’ by Young Artists of America at Strathmore

For as long as I can remember, it was a movie I looked forward to watching on television each year. It scared me to death when I was little, but the colors, the characters, the opposition of good and...

Review: ‘An Evening with Garrison Keillor’ at Strathmore

The Music Center at Strathmore was filled with nary an empty seat. The crowd was there to see – and listen to – their favorite National Public Radio star, 73 year-old 6 foot 3 inch Garrison Keillor....

Review: ‘Opera Magic: Highlights from Eugene Onegin’ at the Russian Chamber Art Society

Weaving together the strands of a full opera in a concert setting has to be one of the biggest challenges around for presenters and audiences. Over the past year the Washington area has seen such...

Review #2: ‘An Evening with Chris Botti’ at Strathmore

World-renowned, Grammy Award-winning trumpet superstar Chris Botti returned to Bethesda’s Strathmore Music Center Thursday night to serenade a packed crowd to an elegantly enlivening evening of...

Review: Rosanne Cash at The Merriam Theater

Rosanne Cash admitted on Thursday night that she looks at the world through a “peculiar prism.” In one of the songs she performed that night, “Modern Blue,” she sang of visiting Barcelona and Paris...

Review: ‘An Evening with Chris Botti’ at Strathmore

Chris Botti and his Band know how to rock a house. “There are a few things that make us different from other bands,” announced popular trumpeter Chris Botti from the stage in the concert hall at The...

Review: ‘The Summit: The Manhattan Transfer Meets Take 6’ at The Music Center at Strathmore

The Summit: The Manhattan Tranfer Meets Take 6 was an explosion, in gale wind proportions, of musical enjoyment, creative genius, vocal excellence and a boatload of fun as these two renowned, Grammy...

An Interview with Frankie Sin and Donny Vomit on ‘Shocked and Amazed: Strange for Hire’ at AMP This Saturday, 9/24

One of the things I love most about the burlesque and sideshow community is the sheer love for the craft and joy of performing that shines through when performers talk about their chosen artform. And...

Review: National Philharmonic: Beethoven’s ‘Symphony No. 7’ with Brian Ganz at The Music Center at Strathmore

The National Philharmonic kicked off its 2016-2017 Fall/Winter season with three of Beethoven’s most celebrated works, featuring a special appearance by pianist Brian Ganz performing Piano Concerto...

Review: Culture Club at The Music Center at Strathmore

Culture Club channels the 80s at Strathmore The UK pop-soul music group Culture Club has been grooving for over 30 years with hits like “Do You Really Want to Hurt Me”, “Time,” “Karma Chameleon,”...

Review: Angelique Kidjo at The Music Center at Strathmore

The raves never stop pouring in for Grammy Award-winning singer, composer, and humanitarian Angelique Kidjo – nor should they. Called by NPR “Africa’s greatest living diva,” Kidjo’s ample gifts – her...

Review: ‘Kraftwerk’ at The Music Center at Strathmore

Review: Kraftwerk brings electro-pop and 3D imagery to The Music Center at Strathmore The electro-pop group Kraftwerk has been shredding the envelope of what is possible in electronic instrumentation...

Review: ‘Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone’ in Concert at The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra at Strathmore

Lights, music, and… magic! Last night the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra brought Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, the first film of the beloved franchise, to the Strathmore stage in this latest...

Review: Patti LaBelle at The Music Center at Strathmore

After more than 50 years in the music business, Patti LaBelle can still pack a house. The fans came out full force to enjoy an evening of old R&B favorites sung by a funky diva who sings from the...

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...

An Interview with Pianist Simone Dinnerstein on Performing at Washington Performing Arts at Strathmore on May 22nd

American pianist Simone Dinnerstein (pronounced See-MOHN-uh DIN-ner-steen), based in New York, gained an international following the remarkable success of her recording of Bach’s Goldberg Variations,...

Review: Patina Miller at Strathmore’s Annual Spring Gala

Patina Miller’s luminous stage presence added snap, sizzle and pop from the best of American musical theater to Strathmore’s annual spring gala, now in its eleventh year. With “Magic To Do” in support...

Review #2: ‘I Am Anne Hutchinson/I Am Harvey Milk’ at Strathmore

Composer Andrew Lippa’s pulsating music shoots like a jolt of adrenaline throughout the super-charged heightened music of the World Premiere Concept Opera I Am Anne Hutchinson/I Am Harvey Milk....

Review: ‘I Am Anne Hutchinson/I Am Harvey Milk’ at Strathmore

From Handel’s Giulio Cesare to Donizetti’s Anna Bolena to Adams’ Nixon in China, real-life historic figures have often been the subjects of operas. The multi-talented actor, singer, composer, and...

Andrew Lippa on ‘I Am Anne Hutchinson’/’I Am Harvey Milk’ at Strathmore on 4/23 & 24

Andrew Lippa is bringing I Am Anne Hutchinson/I Am Harvey Milk to The Music Center at Strathmore this Saturday, April 23, 2016 at 8 PM and on Sunday, April 24, 2016 at 4 PM. Andrew tells us about...

Review: ‘Laughter and Reflection with Carol Burnett-A Conversation Where the Audience Asks the Questions’ at Strathmore

Comedienne extraordinaire Carol Burnett brought her distinctive and legendary persona to the Music Center at Strathmore last night and the audience responded with glee and deserved appreciation....

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...

Review: The Peking Acrobats 30th Anniversary National Tour at Strathmore

Cirque du Soleil meets the East is an apt description of the The Peking Acrobats, which even features a clown/comedian like Cirque du Soleil’s shows. The Peking Acrobats pushed the human capacity...

Review: Academy of St Martin in the Fields with Violinist Joshua Bell at Strathmore

All eyes were on Joshua Bell during the Academy of St Martin in the Fields performance, although only one of the three pieces played by the world-renowned chamber orchestra featured him. Although the...

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,...

Review: ‘Vienna Mozart Orchestra’ at Strathmore

Opera-lovers got a chance to travel back to the 18th Century the night of March 7, 2016, at The Music Center at Strathmore’s J. Willard and Alice Marriott Foundation Concert Stage, when the Vienna...

Review: Pianist András Schiff with Washington Performing Arts at Strathmore

If there is a spiritual content to music – music by itself, no lyrics, just abstract sound – then many listeners down through history have claimed to hear it in the final works of great composers. The...

Review: ‘BSO: An Evening with Sutton Foster’ at The Music Center at Strathmore

It may be chilly outside, but Sutton Foster was most warmly welcomed as she performed tonight, Thursday, February 18, 2016 at the Music Center at Strathmore with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra under...

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: Joshua Bell Plays Tchaikovsky at The BSO at Strathmore

Having the privilege to witness Joshua Bell play is an honor, but to see him play in celebration of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra’s (BSO’s) centennial is a once in a lifetime experience. Growing up...

Review: ‘Alice’s Restaurant 50th Anniversary Concert with Arlo Guthrie’ at Strathmore

Fifty years later, audiences can still get anything they want – but Alice is still not part of the package. Alice’s Restaurant 50th Anniversary Concert with Arlo Guthrie played to a packed house...

Review: ‘Kristin Chenoweth: Coming Home Tour’ at Strathmore

To paraphrase an old expression, “big talent can come in small packages!” This observation was never truer than when the diminutive musical superstar, Kristin Chenoweth, took the stage at Strathmore...