NSO In Your Neighborhood “Riverfront”

The Kennedy Center
6 min readJan 23, 2024

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March 18–24, 2024

Southwest Waterfront | Navy Yard | Capitol Riverfront | Buzzard Point | Bellevue |

What is In Your Neighborhood 2024?

This March, the National Symphony Orchestra will collaborate with various communities in Wards 6 & 8 to amplify joy, unity, and shared humanity through music and the arts. Partnering with local schools, museums, and organizations, we will honor the history of these neighborhoods, while also building new connections and relationships.

Events are open to the public with first-come, first-served seating, unless otherwise noted.

Schedule of Free Events
Events are being added every day, so make sure to check back!

MONDAY, MARCH 18th

Waterfront Village @ St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church

11:00 a.m., 222 M St SW, Washington, DC 20024
Heather Green, violin | Mahoko Eguchi, viola | Paul DeNola, bass
This chamber performance will focus on Waterfront Village, a senior citizen group that works together to navigate the challenges of life.

Pearl Street Warehouse

33 Pearl St SW, Washington, DC 20024
7:30 p.m.:
James Nickel, horn | Geoffrey Pilkington, horn | Robert Rearden, horn
8:40 p.m.:
Mark Evans, cello | Paul Cigan, clarinet | Charlie Nilles, bass
Pearl Street is an historic DC location, marking the largest non-violent slave revolt in history. This is a performance venue on the wharf specializing in live music. This will be a back-to-back performance.
Registration through Pearl Street Warehouse is required. Register here.

TUESDAY, MARCH 19th

Riverside Baptist Church

6:30 p.m., 699 Maine Ave SW, Washington, DC 20024
Marina Aikawa, violin | Peiming Lin, violin | Philip Kramp, viola | Britton Riley, cello
This historic church will host an evening concert celebrating its survival amongst the decades long streak of urban renewal and gentrification. The concert will feature world premiere performances of commissioned works from the Kennedy Center’s Cartography Project.

THURSDAY, MARCH 21st

Bellevue/ William O. Lockridge Library

4:00 p.m., 115 Atlantic St. SW, Washington, DC 20032
Adriana Horne, harp | Micah Powell, poet
Continuing in our partnership with DCPL, a concert at this beautiful library, designed by Sir David Adjaye, will be held in a community room that seats around 50 people. This performance will also feature poetry from poet and DC native Micah Powell.

Artechouse

5:00 p.m., 1238 Maryland Ave SW, Washington, DC 20024
Derek Powell, violin | Mahoko Eguchi, viola | Rachel Young, cello
This interactive museum seeks to redefine the way that art is experienced. A chamber concert will be held in this innovative space.
Registration through Artechouse is required. Register here.

Westminster Presbyterian Church

6:00 p.m., 400 I St SW, Washington, DC 20024
Jennifer Mondie, viola | Jeffrey Weisner, bass | Richard Barber, bass | Alexander Jacobsen, bass | Aaron Goldman, flute
An historic church in the SW neighborhood will host the NSO for a night of uplifting music.

River Park

6:00 p.m., 1301 Delaware Ave SW, Washington, DC 20024
Jing Qiao, violin | Marina Aikawa, violin | Dan Foster, viola | Loewi Lin, cello
This mid-century housing development was one of the first to allow African Americans to purchase homes in DC. NSO musicians will give a concert in their community room to a mixed-generational crowd.

FRIDAY, MARCH 22nd

Southwest Library

11:00 a.m., 900 Wesley Place SW, Washington, DC 20024
Derek Powell, violin | Mahoko Eguchi, viola | Rachel Young, cello
This library dates back to 1941 but has been completely rebuilt with a focus on community and sustainability. The performance will take place in the library’s meeting room.

BOOMBOX Boxing Club

7:00 p.m., 1221 Van St SE, Suite 140, Washington, DC 20003
Jennifer Mondie, viola | Jeffrey Weisner, bass | Richard Barber, bass | Ira Gold, bass | Alexander Jacobsen, bass
This concert will take place in the boxing ring of this black-owned boutique Boxing Gym.

SATURDAY, MARCH 23rd

Culture House DC

11:30 a.m., 700 Delaware Ave SW, Washington, DC 20024
Jeffrey Weisner, bass | Richard Barber, bass | Ira Gold, bass | Alexander Jacobsen, bass
Housed in a former African American church, this community arts space will host a concert centered around its cherry blossom exhibits.

National Museum of the US Navy

1:00 p.m., 736 Sicard St SE, Washington, DC 20374
James Nickel, horn | Geoffrey Pilkington, horn | Robert Rearden, horn
Established in 1961, this museum displays and preserves significant artifacts that tell the story of US naval history. The Navy Yard itself was one of the first places to employ African Americans in the city.

The Anthem

Full Orchestra Concert
7:00 p.m., 901 Wharf St SW, Washington, DC 20024
FREE full orchestra concert at this Southwest Waterfront music arena featuring local DC artists.

SUNDAY, MARCH 24th

Rubell Museum

11:30 a.m., 65 I St SW, Washington, DC 20024
Juniper Trio: Jamie Roberts, oboe | Joey Grimmer, bassoon | Jamila Tekalli Hanner, piano
The Rubell Museum contains an extensive collection of American and international contemporary art. The building that now houses the museum was formerly Randall Junior High School, which closed in 1978 and was a historically Black public school attended by Marvin Gaye.

Covenant Baptist UCC Church

3:00 p.m., 3845 S Capitol St SW, Washington, DC 20032
Juniper Trio: Jamie Roberts, oboe | Joey Grimmer, bassoon | Jamila Tekalli Hanner, piano
This African American congregation in Bellevue has survived racial discrimination, changing city demographics, and now gentrification. The concert will take place on Palm Sunday.

Bald Eagle Recreation Center

Full Orchestra Concert
7:00 p.m.
100 Joliet St, Washington, DC 20032
This free performance will feature ­­­­­­­­mezzo-soprano, Marquita Raley-Cooper, DC artist and native.

Marquita Raley-Cooper, mezzo-soprano

In addition to the free public events listed above, there will also be free private events at other locations across Wards 6 & 8:

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20th

Ballou High School

2:00 p.m., 3401 4th St SE, Washington, DC 20032
James Nickel, horn | Geoffrey Pilkington, horn | Robert Rearden, horn
Building on the established relationship from prior IYNs, we are heading back to Southeast DC for an in-school concert and Q&A Session for the Ballou student body.

THURSDAY, MARCH 21st

Hitchcock Hall, St. Elizabeth’s Campus, DHS

1:00 p.m., Hitchcock Hall
Jing Qiao, violin | Marina Aikawa, violin | Dan Foster, viola | Loewi Lin, cello
Returning to this important city landmark, a concert will be held in Hitchcock Hall with the Secretary of Homeland Security in attendance.

FRIDAY, MARCH 22nd

Van Ness Elementary School

12:45pm-1:30pm & 2:25–3:10pm, 1150 5th St SE, Washington, DC 20003
Marissa Regni, violin
The NSO will provide two back-to-back concerts for the students at this elementary school. Van Ness’s teaching philosophy emphasizes the development of the whole child, and the newly renovated building includes a historic field house and a rooftop educational garden. The concert will take place on the auditorium/gym stage.

Jefferson Middle School Academy

2:15pm-3:00pm, 801 7th Street SW, Washington, DC 20024
James Nickel, horn | Geoffrey Pilkington, horn | Robert Rearden, horn
This performance will feature an interactive program of music during “club time” at Jefferson.

SATURDAY, MARCH 23rd

Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling

1:00 p.m., 20 Macdill Blvd SW, Washington, DC 20032
Juniper Trio: Jamie Roberts, oboe | Joey Grimmer, bassoon | Jamila Tekalli Hanner, piano
In 2010, Naval Support Facility Anacostia and Bolling Air Force Base combined to form this joint military base which includes roughly 14,000 military and civilian personnel. Returning to the military base, the NSO will present a concert in the Bolling Club-Capital Ballroom.

MONDAY, MARCH 25th

Tyler Elementary

9:50am-10:50am & 11:10am-12:10pm, 1001 G St SE, Washington, DC 20003
James Nickel, horn | Geoffrey Pilkington, horn | Robert Rearden, horn
This school of over 500 students is home to several notable programs including Special Education, Spanish Immersion, and Creative Arts Learning. This will be an in-school, back-to-back performance. The first concert at 9:50 will be for PreK-1st graders. The second concert at 11:10am will be for 2nd-5th graders.

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