Washington
Midweek News Podcast, Washington Post, Mary on Broadway, Artblog Art Market, InfoSpace Gallery, Mycology and theater picks for the week – Artblog
Episode 274 – In this edition of Artblog’s Midweek news Roberta and I discuss the play Mary which is on Broadway which is the second week in a row Lincoln came up again. Is that a sign? The Washington Post is no longer covering galleries. I give my recommendations for the week and mycology comes up a couple times for us as well. Another sign? Lincoln and mushrooms? I’m not see the connection but I’m buying a lottery ticket just in case. Thanks for listening ~ Ryan
Roberta: Hi everyone, it’s Roberta.
Ryan: And this is Ryan and this is the Midweek News
Roberta: On Artblog Radio. We should talk about the news. One thing I want to say is. For you, a theater guy? Yeah. My son Max and his wife Kim, are going to New York on Thursday and one thing that they’re going to do is go go to the theater to see, oh, Mary, which you may have heard of.
It’s about Mary Todd Lincoln. It’s sort of a comedy spoof of Mary Todd Lincoln trying to put together a burlesque review, shall we say, at the same time. Hmm, that I think the war was going on, and maybe her son Willie was dying and all these sort of things crashing in around her. So it’s supposed to be good.
I read about it. But anyway, we’ll have some more updates on that after they get back. And I pumped them for information on how, on how it was,
Ryan: well, I know that it won the best new play for off Broadway, but I don’t really know, I don’t know anything beyond that.
Roberta: Anyway, that’s it for me. In terms of my off the cuff remarks. Let’s march along into the news.
And I have three things today and two of them are sort of real news and the other is a gallery notable. So Opera Philadelphia, we learned in the newspaper today now is offering $11 tickets for its. Opera productions any seat in the house. It doesn’t confine you to the nosebleed section.
I don’t even know where they perform these days. Is it the Academy of Music? Perhaps. I’ll have to look that up. We’ll look that up for you. Anyway, they have a new play opening or a new opera opening and. This fall and they have a new executive director or director of the company who is himself a counter tenor, which I didn’t look up, but I think those are the tenors who are quite high.
They have very high voices. So this is his first step in. Revivifying what they’re doing. They like all the arts organizations during COVI and the pandemic had a terrible time and they’re still recovering. And so it’ll be interesting to see how, how this all happens and comes about. Anyway, more power to them.
It’s really great. And this is all about Deinstitutionalize opera. So let newbies come, people that haven’t ever been before and have the curiosity. I mean, $11 is really a good price point for an opera ticket. In fact, when I was in college, we used to travel to New York from Madison, Wisconsin, driving over the icy roads with the 18 wheelers skidding around every place in the middle of winter.
And we would go to the opera. I would go to the opera. Standing room seats at the Met was really great. You had to stand, but it was still an awesome experience. Anyway. Next up on my list is sad news that the Washington Post has dropped its gallery coverage, and this comes to us via BMore Art, which announced it in its pages after the writer of the gallery column would been the long-term reviewer of gallery shows in the DC regional area.
Announced that the day before his editors had just gotten in touch with him and said basically. By the way, we’re letting go of this column on August 25th. So this is your last hurrah. Wow. Anyway, yes, really abrupt, really abrupt, really sad, and of course. That’s the Washington Post, sort of like the other dominoes that have lost their coverage of the arts through the years, like the Inquirer, which doesn’t have gallery reviews anymore.
They, for many years had wonderful gallery reviewers Edie Newhall and Tom. Hein and Ed Suski, they were fabulous, really gritty, sort of deep thinkers and writers, really good stuff. And then it’s like they made a decision not to have it anymore, so we’re sorry to hear it. But we hope be more art picks up the slack and covers a lot of Washington DC now because they do a great job in Baltimore.
And if they could reach out to Washington, that would be a good thing. The third thing I want to mention is. InfoSpace Gallery. There’s a gallery that we know. The people who run it, it’s Celia Jailer and her cohorts. They started the quilt show in West Philadelphia a bunch of years ago. The quilting Bee that they have put its quilts up on the cyclone fencing surrounding the basketball courts.
I thought it was amazing, and they’ve done that a couple years in a row now. So then they had something called the store. Mm-Hmm. On Dickinson Street, which was also amazing. Showed a lot of interesting art and clothing and things that were artistic, but didn’t come up out of an art school and now at InfoSpace, which I think you’ve been to, right?
Ryan? Mm-Hmm. I have not been there. It’s in someone’s abode, right? Yeah. Someone’s apartment.
In Port Richmond, I think it’s way up there. Anyway, they put out a, no BFA open call, meaning they were looking for people who were already and came up outside of the system, outside of the schooling.
And they’re saying that they’re promoting it because. There’s lots of ways to express yourself artistically, and it doesn’t have to come from a degree like A BFA or an MFA, and so more power to them. I embrace that also. And that show opens on, I think, the 15th yes. It’s called The Dirt in Our Garden.
Oh, September 14th, 5 PM to 9:00 PM. And we’ll have links to all those things, including the sad news and the gallery in the transcript. So that’s about it for me. How about you, Brian?
Ryan: Those changes always seem abrupt. Hey, you’re doing a great job. Keeping the good work in. This is your last day. It’s like, so sad.
Roberta: Very sad. Very sad. Ugh.
Ryan: Well on that positive note. So I’ll keep my things to three as well. School is back in session for most, and so that’s, it also means everyone else’s lives are coming back to the city and hopefully you feel reenergized and rejuvenated from your summer. Tyler School of Art and Architecture has Black Like That: Our Lives As Living Praxis. Then you can see that review up on an Artblog as, as well as that event is up. August 30th is the opening for that. That’s at 5:00 PM and that’ll run through December. Yeah. So a show we’re seeing also, you can see a pre ahead of time show there on the Artblog. See that review?
Then I want to talk about the Boy Bands Have Won. That’s my theater pick of the week. It’s part of Fringe. It’s just a couple-day show, so I thought I would send it out in advance. The love-hate I have with Fringe is that you, it’s hard to find out information about them. It’s hard to know if it’s going to be any good or if it’s just going to be wild and you’re just.
There for the experience of having gone. And some of them are so amazing and they’re only there for two shows and you don’t have enough time to get everyone else to have the time to go see these shows. So this show is September 6th, it’s at Rosie’s Taco Bar. Which is going to, which you’re going to have to love.
That’s 624 South sixth Street. I’m not quite sure what it’s going to be, but I thought, but it looks really cool. It definitely seems like it’s going to be music and fun and festive. It’s going to be French, so you know, use that as your metric, your gauge to assess if that’s for you. My third thing is the Philadelphia Ecology Club is.
Is having their first annual fun Philadelphia festival. Again, just a little over a week is in Saturday, September 7th. That’s from 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM at the Schull Center in Philadelphia. That’s 8480 Hagy’s Mill Road. If you haven’t been there, it’s a little bit funny to get to, but it’s not too hard.
That looks pretty interesting. If you’re interested in mushrooms, fungus, fungi, fungi.
Roberta: I have to mention that we have a post coming up soon that’s a Q and A between Lane Spiel, one of our writers, and Chenxi Shao an artist who is big into mycology and has and grows mushrooms as part of her art. So yes. Mycology coming up for you people.
Ryan: Yeah. I love it. I, there have been so many fascinating books on, on ology and underground networks and how shares communicate and share nutrients with one another through mycelium networks. Kidding. It’s really profound. Yeah. Yeah, if you haven’t read those books, there’s a, there’s a couple really standout pieces about trees and trees, communication and sharing of nutrients and mothered trees in the forest. Really amazing stuff.
Roberta: Do they all have souls? They must all have souls. Ryan, don’t you think?
Ryan: Yeah, it’s. It’s wild. You know, I remember anecdotally just reading a, a section that they were talking about, a dying tree will pass on its nutrients to the younger ones. As like it’s dying act. Wow. That’s a tree we’re talking about.
Roberta: Amazing. I’ve heard of two trees that sort of grew up as siblings sort of close together and one of them dies and then the other one dies. Sort of, they can’t live without each other.
Ryan: It’s a mirror world as much as we, we see the difference. There’s a lot of similarities.
Roberta: Yeah, for sure.
Ryan: We all share the same mother, I guess.
Roberta: Yeah. Yes we all have cells, molecules, that sort of thing. So we’re all made out of the same kind of stuff basically.
Ryan: Those are my three. Yeah. Fringes coming up. So there’s going to be a lot of interesting theater stuff. Theater world is just popping right now too. There’s a lot of things happening at Temple too, which has really been interesting.
Hmm. They’re pushing a lot of different things. A lot of those are on, on Connect already. Hmm. Other ones that if we’ve missed, throw them up there. We’ll keep the, we’ll keep the list growing and active so you have the one-stop shop place to look for everything. If you, if you find something that is interesting and random, put it our way.
And we’ll get it up there.
Roberta: Definitely.
Ryan: Well, those are my three picks for the week.
Roberta: Cool. Well, let’s give people a glimpse of what’s coming, the Artblog, art market. We’ve been talking about this a little bit behind the scenes and a little bit on the news post with you, but we are ready to announce it and we’ll be rolling out the PR pretty soon.
We’ll put a link into where you can find information about it. Like what are the artists? There are going to be 24 artists in this. Plus, Partners and Son and Ulises and Artblog are tabling. So it’s going to be affordable art by local artists that we’re very happy to work with. And it was co-curated by Artblog along with Terry Salin, Chris Hammes, and Tim McFarland.
So shout out to those guys. We’re going to have lots of programs to go with it, like Kiana Butler’s Black Hippie Art Sketch Club. We don’t have a date for that yet. We need to work with Kiana and schedule it. And of course Artblog’s 21st birthday party, which will always, every year we have one. And it’s always fun and everybody’s welcome.
So this is going to be, did I say Moore College of Art and Design in the Paley Gallery, which is a beautiful space. Lots of art, lots of affordable art, and right before the holidays it opens October 4th and goes till December 7th. So, yeah, and this is in conjunction with another show at Moore going on at the same time.
That is kind of a sister show called Price Lists and Placements, not Place Mats, placements. And it’s a show curated by. Moore College Gallery Director Gabrielle Lavin, and it has nine artists in it, I believe. And again, affordable art is the hallmark of this show, and it should be really wonderful. It’s a shopping event at Moore College.
Ryan: Your pre-Black Friday Art Sale. Yes, but ours will cover black Friday as well. But we’ll be open.
Roberta: We’ll be open.
Ryan: We also hope to do our podcast from there as well. So if you want to come by and be in our audience or ask a live question and get yourself on there posterity, get yourself interviewed.
Roberta: Why not come in and be interviewed.
Ryan: I knew this podcast back when they were at Moore College. Come hang out with us.
Roberta: Absolutely.
Ryan: If you go to school there, just come have lunch with us.
Roberta: Yeah, bring lunch. Okay. We’ll be sitting there. So bring us something to eat.
Ryan: Yeah, well, sure. Snacks for the whole class.
Roberta: Yes. Enough for the whole class. Exactly. Cupcakes for everyone.
Ryan: Sounds good.
Roberta: Okay, well that’s it for me today. Ryan, I. I think that’s it. Are you okay?
Ryan: I am super great.
Roberta: Okay, great. Well, that I know. Anyway, so let’s talk again, reconvene next week, but let’s say Arriva Deci. And this is Roberta saying, bye-Bye.
Ryan: And this is Ryan, and this has been the midweek news on our blog radio. Bye-Bye.
How Fourth of July became a celebration of history and hope
From revolution to massive fireworks, July Fourth evolved into a celebration of history, heritage and America’s values.
With 150,000 people expected to attend Saturday’s Fourth of July festivities on the National Mall in Washington DC, locals and tourists alike may be looking for alternative options to view fireworks on America’s 250th birthday.
Washington DC will offer a secondary firework show on the 4th, and there will be plenty of areas in the city and surrounding neighborhoods to catch the big firework display at the National Mall.
Here’s a look at some of the best places to watch the July 4 fireworks in Washington DC.
Where can you watch fireworks in Washington DC on July 4th?
The National Mall will be the most popular area to watch fireworks, with President Donald Trump promising “the largest fireworks show in history.” Officials say 850,000 firework shells will be launched, potentially breaking a Guinness World Record.
But you don’t need to be at the crowded mall and its strict security measures in order to watch the display.
The organizers of the firework show, Freedom 250, say there will also be viewing spots at Hains Point, Columbia Marina, Gravelly Point, RFK Stadium, Meridian Hill Park, Union Station, Lower Senate Park and Upper Senate Park.
Other popular areas to watch the fireworks include the Cardozo Education Campus in Columbia Heights, the Washington National Cathedral in northwest DC, Lady Bird Johnson Park off the Potomac River and the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court Building on Capitol Hill.
Washington DC officials have also released an interactive map that allows you to see your view of the fireworks from any place in the city.
Are there any other fireworks shows in Washington DC on July 4th?
Anacostia Park will serve as the viewing area for a separate fireworks display that will be concurrent with the National Mall fireworks, which are expected to begin at 11 p.m.
DC officials say you can enter the park through Marion Barry Ave. SE, Nicholson St. SE or the Anacostia Riverwalk Trail near the Skate Pavilion.
The event is free to the public, as is the National Mall’s show.
After DSA candidates roiled traditional Democrats with wins in New York City last week, Tuesday’s primary in a Denver-centered district tested whether the left wing’s appeal could prevail elsewhere.
It turns out the democratic socialists’ reach extends well beyond New York — and it may well grow before the year is out.
Melat Kiros, backed by the national Democratic Socialists of America and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, upset Rep. Diana DeGette, who has held her reliably blue seat for almost 30 years.
“What we’re seeing right now is the response to voters feeling like the party has not actually been fighting for working people,” Kiros told MS NOW last week.
The result is that Kiros, a critic of the Israeli government and high-ranking Democratic leaders, will likely be a member of Congress come next year. That happened even as DeGette cast the race as a warning, with President Donald Trump’s second term continuing to upend governance from the nation’s capital.
“Now is not the time to gamble and send somebody with no experience to Washington,” DeGette said during a recent candidate forum. “We need a strong, bold, hardened leader who will hold Trump accountable.”
The result was one of several Colorado results Tuesday to test incumbents or prominent statewide officials navigating a turbulent moment in Democratic politics — one in which voters have shown an appetite for untested fighters over familiar faces who’ve served in Washington’s halls of power.
The night’s theme wasn’t clear-cut; the three marquee races diverged on everything from ideology to questions of approach and clout. But each pitted an incumbent whose Congressional ties became fodder for a challenger.
In 2020, Democrats’ ability to woo former Gov. John Hickenlooper into the Senate race was seen as a boon for a party trying to unseat incumbent GOP Sen. Cory Gardner, one of the last Republicans left representing a blue state in the Senate. That move came after Hickenlooper’s 2020 presidential primary campaign fizzled. Even so, he faced a somewhat-competitive primary that year, taking 58.7% to his challenger’s 41.3%. Hickenlooper went on to win the seat that November by a little over nine points.
Photo by Elman Studio.
June 30, 2026 (Washington, D.C.) – The Washington Chorus (TWC), DC’s most dynamic choral ensemble, celebrates its 65th anniversary during the 2026-2027 season. Through thought-provoking pairings of classic major choral works, artistic collaborations, and groundbreaking premieres, TWC celebrates its history of providing an inclusive community where choral music connects, reflects, and inspires everyone while continuing its mission of creating transformative musical experiences that bring people together through the joy of choral music.
“Our 65th season showcases TWC’s commitment to honoring choral tradition while embracing the living voices shaping American music today,” said TWC Artistic Director Eugene Rogers. “We look forward to serving the entire D.C. community, bringing new audiences into our special anniversary celebration through this repertoire and outstanding guest artists.”
The season begins with TWC’s guest appearance with the National Symphony Orchestra for Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, conducted by Gianandrea Noseda at Wolf Trap’s Filene Center on Friday, August 14, 2026 at 8:00 p.m. On Thursday, October 15, 2026 at 7:30 p.m. at Joseph Myerhoff Symphony Hall; Saturday, October 17, 2026 at 8:00 p.m. at Music Center at Strathmore; and Sunday, October 18, 2026 at 3:00 p.m. at Meyerhoff TWC joins Marin Alsop and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra for John Adam’s On the Transmigration of Souls as part of the BSO’s Alsop Conducts Tchaikovsky’s Pathétique concert.
The Washington Chorus’s own season kicks off with two weekends of A Candlelight Christmas concerts in December, continuing its beloved holiday tradition now reimagined in new venues across the city. This cherished program brings together The Washington Chorus with the National Capital Brass and Percussion Ensemble, alongside award-winning music director, organist, and conductor Paul Byssainthe Jr., soprano Colleen Daly, and jazz-mezzo Christie Dashiell. The program will also feature the premiere of a new work by Evelyn Simpson-Curenton. Blending timeless carols with vibrant new voices, A Candlelight Christmas offers a warm and luminous celebration of the season – honoring tradition while embracing the rich musical spirit of our community. Venue and performance info are listed below.
In the new year, The Washington Chorus presents A Song Flung Up to Heaven: Honoring 65 Years of TWC on Sunday, February 28, 2027 at 3:00 p.m. at DAR Constitution Hall. The program juxtaposes two major works from contrasting origins – Nkeiru Okoye’s When the Caged Bird Sings and Poulenc’s Gloria – that treat sacred themes with a striking blend of reverence and theatricality. Together, these two major works meld European and American musical traditions into a powerful, life-affirming concert experience with a deep connection to spiritual rituals, while each composer’s innovation imbues them with new discoveries and uncovers mysteries of the human condition.
The centerpiece of this performance is the East Coast premiere of Dr. Nkeiru Okoye’s dramatic work When the Caged Bird Sings – a “musical ceremony” fusing many genres, including opera, musical theater, spoken word, and choral singing, and American musical styles including gospel, spirituals, traditional anthems, and jazz. Okoye’s evocative new piece celebrates the spirit of rising above expectations and transforming adversity into triumph through the milestones in the life of one Black woman. Partly in tribute to the activist and poet laureate Maya Angelou, the work celebrates and explores the transformative ability of the human spirit, commemorating those who have paved a path for future generations. The concert opens with a cornerstone of 20th-century sacred music, Francis Poulenc’s Gloria, which first premiered in 1961, the same year as TWC’s founding.
In May, TWC partners with the National Philharmonic to present Requiem and Renewal featuring Mozart’s monumental Requiem. This will be preceded by Jocelyn Hagen’s large-scale symphonic work, What the Soul Already Knows, on Saturday, May 8, 2027 at 7:30 p.m. at Music Center at Strathmore. Jointly commissioned by Pacific Chorale under the direction of Robert Istad and The Washington Chorus, the work will have its East Coast premiere as part of TWC’s 65th Anniversary Season.
Rooted in an exploration of the sacred – in both the physical world and the unseen – the work invites listeners to reflect on the deep interconnectedness of all life. At its core, What the Soul Already Knows is a meditation on our shared humanity and the potential for beauty that arises when we live in alignment with gratitude, unity, and service. The title received inspiration from the book Sacred Earth, Sacred Soul by Celtic spiritual teacher John Philip Newell, whose writings illuminate the sacred as present not only in heaven, but within the earth and all living beings. Both Hagen’s and Mozart’s works are meditations on the soul in a program that asks: What is the soul, what is sacred, and how should we live – before and beyond death?
Closing the season is a theatrical version of Giuseppe Verdi’s Requiem with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and conducted by its Artistic Director Jonathon Heyward on Friday, June 11, 2027 at 8:00 p.m. at Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall; Saturday, June 12, 2027 at 6:00 p.m. at Music Center at Strathmore; and Sunday, June 13, 2027 at 3:00 p.m. at Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall. This staged performance of Verdi’s masterpiece is our third collaboration with Heyward and the BSO’s multi-year Verdi Opera Initiative.
Performance Information
Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony
Friday, August 14, 2026 at 8:00 p.m.
Filene Center, Wolf Trap | 1551 Trap Road | Vienna, VA 22182
Tickets: $57 – $132
Link: wolftrap.org/show/26filene/081426/
Program:
Beethoven – The Consecration of the House – Overture
Beethoven – Elegiac Song, Op. 118
Beethoven – Symphony No. 9
Artists:
National Symphony Orchestra
Gianandrea Noseda, conductor
Tessa McQueen, soprano
Cecelia McKinley, alto
Demetrious Sampson, tenor
Jonathan Patton, baritone
The Washington Chorus
Eugene Rogers, artistic director
_______________________________
Alsop Conducts Tchaikovsky’s Pathétique
Thursday, October 15, 2026 at 7:30 p.m.
Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall | 1212 Cathedral Street | Baltimore, MD 21201
Saturday, October 17, 2026 at 8:00 p.m.
Music Center at Strathmore | 5301 Tuckerman Lane | North Bethesda, MD 20852
Sunday, October 18, 2026 at 3:00 p.m.
Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall | 1212 Cathedral Street | Baltimore, MD 21201
Tickets: Subscriptions are on sale now, with single tickets on sale August 2026
Link: my.bsomusic.org/20342/20381
Program:
Barber – Adagio for Strings
John Adams – On the Transmigration of Souls
Tchaikovsky – Symphony No. 6, “Pathétique”
Artists:
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
Marin Alsop, conductor
The Washington Chorus
Eugene Rogers, artistic director
_______________________________
A Candlelight Christmas
Saturday, December 11, 2026 at 3:00 p.m.
Sunday, December 12, 2026 at 3:00 p.m.
Cramton Auditorium, Howard University | 2455 6th St NW | Washington, DC 20059
w/Howard University Chorale
Friday, December 18, 2026 at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, December 19, 2026 at 11:00 a.m. & 3:00 p.m.
Lisner Auditorium, George Washington University | 730 21st St NW | Washington, DC 20052
Monday, December 21, & Tuesday, December 22, 2026 at 7:30 p.m.
Music Center at Strathmore | 5301 Tuckerman Lane | North Bethesda, MD 20852
Link: thewashingtonchorus.org/2026-27-season
Program:
Evelyn Simpson-Curenton – NEW WORK (World Premiere)
Artists:
Eugene Rogers, conductor
Christie Dashiell, soloist (Dec. 11, 12, 21 & 22)
Howard University Concert Choir (Dec. 11 & 12)
Eric Poole, conductor
National Capital Brass and Percussion Ensemble
Paul Byssainthe Jr., organ & piano (Dec. 18 -22)
Reservoir High School (Dec. 18 & 19)
Gregory Knauf, conductor
South Loudon Youth Chorale (Dec. 21 & 22)
Laura Lazarevich, conductor
_______________________________
A Song Flung Up to Heaven: Honoring 65 Years of TWC
Sunday, February 28, 2027 at 3:00 p.m.
DAR Constitution Hall | 1776 D Street NW | Washington, D.C. 20006
Link: thewashingtonchorus.org/2026-27-season
Program:
Poulenc – Gloria
Nkeiru Okoye – When the Caged Bird Sings
Artists:
Eugene Rogers, conductor
Denyce Graves, narrator
Cyrus Chestnut, piano
Angela Brown, soprano
Christie Dashiell, jazz mezzo
Issachah Savage, tenor
Michael Preacely, baritone
The Washington Chorus
Howard University Chorale
Dr. Eric Poole, director
_______________________________
Requiem and Renewal
Saturday, May 8, 2027 at 7:30 p.m.
Music Center at Strathmore | 5301 Tuckerman Lane | North Bethesda, MD 20852
Tickets: Single tickets are on sale beginning Thursday, July 23, 2026
Link: nationalphilharmonic.org/event/what-the-soul-already-knows-requiem-renewal/
Program:
Jocelyn Hagen – What the Soul Already Knows
Mozart – Requiem in D Minor
Artists:
National Philharmonic
The Washington Chorus
Eugene Rogers, conductor
Rabihah Dunn, soprano
Ashley Dixon, mezzo-soprano
Brian Giebler, tenor
Alan Williams, baritone
_______________________________
Heyward Conducts Verdi’s Requiem
Friday, June 11, 2027 at 8:00 p.m.
Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall | 1212 Cathedral Street | Baltimore, MD 21201
Saturday, June 12, 2027 at 6:00 p.m.
Music Center at Strathmore | 5301 Tuckerman Lane | North Bethesda, MD 20852
Sunday, June 13, 2027 at 3:00 p.m.
Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall | 1212 Cathedral Street | Baltimore, MD 21201
Tickets: Subscriptions are on sale now, with single tickets on sale August 2026
Link: my.bsomusic.org/overview/20358
Program:
Giuseppe Verdi – Requiem
Artists:
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
Jonathon Heyward, conductor
The Washington Chorus
Eugene Rogers, artistic director
___________________________
About The Washington Chorus
The Washington Chorus (TWC) is one of the foremost symphonic choruses in the nation and a cultural leader in our nation’s capital—creating joyous and transformative choral music since 1961. TWC is noted for the superb artistry of its performances and recordings of the entire range of the choral repertoire. A three-time nominated and two-time Grammy Award-winner, the 220-voice Chorus presents performances annually across the DMV region. TWC is also a longtime artistic partner and collaborator with many of the nation’s leading organizations and artists, including the National Symphony Orchestra (NSO), National Philharmonic (NatPhil), Washington Performing Arts (WPA), and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (BSO). TheWashingtonChorus.org
About Eugene Rogers
Lauded for leading performances of “pure magic” (Washington Post), conductor Eugene Rogers is at the vanguard of American musicians, recognized for his musical and educational leadership around the world. Rogers is a committed conductor, teacher, arranger, and industry thought leader, championing timely new works, bringing historically overlooked music to life, and supporting next-generation talents.
Rogers is a two-time Michigan Emmy Award winner, a 2017 Sphinx Medal of Excellence recipient, and was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2015. Musical America magazine has named him one of the top music industry professionals, and his work has been profiled on CNN, PBS, and on radio stations and in print and online publications across the world.
Since 2020, Rogers has served as Artistic Director of The Washington Chorus. He is also the Founding Director for EXIGENCE, a professional vocal ensemble affiliated with the world-renowned Sphinx Organization, highlighting artistry within Black and Latinx communities. Alongside his own appearances as guest conductor for orchestra, chorus, and opera, he has also proudly acted as chorus master to leading conductors including Gianandrea Noseda, Marin Alsop, Jonathan Heyward, Joe Hisaishi, and James Conlon.
Rogers is a Professor of Music and the Director of University Choirs at the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre, and Dance. He is a former board member of Chorus America and is the former national chair of the Diversity Initiatives Committee for the American Choral Directors Association. Rogers is also active as an arranger, with publications including the Eugene Rogers Choral Series with ECS Publishing and the EXIGENCE Choral Series for Mark Foster Publishing.
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