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6:00 PMWednesday, March 11, 6:00 PM EDT
An Evening With Gene Scheer: Adapting Mammoth American Novels for the Opera
Celebrated librettist Gene Scheer and Georgetown Professor and NPR book critic Maureen Corrigan will be in conversation about tackling literary adaptation and the contemporary transformation of opera. This event, with reception, is open to anyone interested in music, writing, performance and the vagaries of a career. (Gene did not start out as a librettist.) And, if you've never seen an opera, find out what you're missing. Gene Scheer is an acclaimed American librettist known for his versatility and his emotionally resonant texts – praised by audiences, critics, and collaborators alike. He is principally known for his work on 12 full-length operas, including high-profile collaborations with composer Jake Heggie (Moby‑Dick, Three Decembers, It's a Wonderful Life, Intelligence, If I Were You, Two Remain), Tobias Picker (Thér��se Raquin, An American Tragedy), Joby Talbot (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, Everest), and Jennifer Higdon (Cold Mountain).Cold Mountain, which premiered at Santa Fe Opera in 2015, won the International Opera Award for Best World Premiere and was nominated for a Grammy in Best Classical Composition. Scheer also earned a 2012 Grammy nomination for the oratorio August 4, 1964, composed by Steven Stucky and recorded by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra under Jaap van Zweden. This past year has marked a remarkable time for Scheer: Moby‑Dick premiered at the Metropolitan Opera on March 3rd, praised by The New York Times as "an economical wonder" for its libretto. This fall, the Met opened its 2025–26 season with the world premiere of The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, a new opera created with composer Mason Bates, which was directed by Bartlett Sher and conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin. The opera, praised as a "Knock-out" buy the Financial Times and "impressive" by the New York Review of Books was a great hit with audiences and will be brought back by popular demand for four more performances at the Met in February. Scheer's opera Intelligence with Jake Heggie receives a new production at Virginia Opera, as well as a world premiere album release through a new partnership between Houston Grand Opera and the LSO Live label – recently nominated for Best Opera Recording at the 2026 Grammy® Awards. Also a composer in his own right, Mr. Scheer has written a number of songs for singers such as Renée Fleming, Joyce DiDonato, Sylvia McNair, Stephanie Blythe, Jennifer Larmore, Denyce Graves, Lucas Meachem, and Nathan Gunn. His song "American Anthem," performed by Norah Jones, was featured in Ken Burns' Emmy-winning PBS documentary The War.
• 1 hr 30 minSymphony Orchestra -
12:30 PMFriday, March 13, 12:30 PM EDT
Friday Music Series Presents: Paul Bratcher
After graduating with a M.M. in Jazz Studies Paul has been busy playing and teaching in the D.C. area. He has toured South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Canada, and Uruguay, Egypt, Indonesia and more. Currently Paul is Associate Chair of Piano at the Levine School of Music in Washington D.C. and Director of Jazz Studies at Georgetown University.
• 1 hrPiano7:00 PMFriday, March 13, 7:00 PM EDTEnacting the Circle
Enacting the Circle engages participatory improvisation from a practice-based research perspective. The piece is meant to invite participants into modes of listening akin to those of improvising musicians, while interrogating modes of social organization based on "talent" and (dis)ability. Attendees will be invited (but not required) to participate in the event, which will include a deep listening / attunement exercise, as well as the opportunity to interact with a musical instrument called "Synthball." Synthball was designed by Quran Karriem and Becca Uliasz as a way for anyone to have the experience of playing a musical instrument without any experience necessary. Created by Professor Jay Hammond and Quran Karriem. Check back for tickets soon.
• 1 hrOrgan -
2:00 PMSaturday, March 14, 2:00 PM EDT
Enacting the Circle
Enacting the Circle engages participatory improvisation from a practice-based research perspective. The piece is meant to invite participants into modes of listening akin to those of improvising musicians, while interrogating modes of social organization based on "talent" and (dis)ability. Attendees will be invited (but not required) to participate in the event, which will include a deep listening / attunement exercise, as well as the opportunity to interact with a musical instrument called "Synthball." Synthball was designed by Quran Karriem and Becca Uliasz as a way for anyone to have the experience of playing a musical instrument without any experience necessary. Created by Professor Jay Hammond and Quran Karriem. Check back for tickets soon.
• 1 hrOrgan7:00 PMSaturday, March 14, 7:00 PM EDTEnacting the Circle
Enacting the Circle engages participatory improvisation from a practice-based research perspective. The piece is meant to invite participants into modes of listening akin to those of improvising musicians, while interrogating modes of social organization based on "talent" and (dis)ability. Attendees will be invited (but not required) to participate in the event, which will include a deep listening / attunement exercise, as well as the opportunity to interact with a musical instrument called "Synthball." Synthball was designed by Quran Karriem and Becca Uliasz as a way for anyone to have the experience of playing a musical instrument without any experience necessary. Created by Professor Jay Hammond and Quran Karriem. Check back for tickets soon.
• 1 hrOrgan -
12:30 PMFriday, March 20, 12:30 PM EDT
Friday Music Series Presents: Snehesh Nag
As a sitarist, he has trained with his father Pandit Sugato Nag and legend of sarod Pandit Buddhadev Dasgupta, and plays a unique blend of two gharanas (school of music), namely the Senia Shahjahanpore and Enayatkhani gharana. As a composer and improvisor, he collaborates with a variety of musicians where he enjoys discovering and improvising based on the common musical language shared between them. Known for his versatility, Snehesh's collaborations range from playing with Indian classical tabla legends such as Pandit Anindo Chatterjee to The Princeton Symphony, Grammy winning and nominated musicians such as singer-songwriter Cathy Fink, Hip-hop artist Christylez Bacon, and violinist William Harvey. Snehesh holds a master's degree in music technology and is a music producer and sound designer. He was an artist-in-residence at Strathmore, class of 2024. This event is Co-Sponsored by District of Raga.
• 1 hrViolin Symphony7:00 PMFriday, March 20, 7:00 PM EDTListening Guide to Incarceration
Drawing from research conducted during a sound studies working group at the DC Jail (2018–2019) through Georgetown's Prisons and Justice Initiative, the work blends testimony, critical analysis, surround sound, live music, and minimal visual cues to center the voices and creative practices of those who have endured carceral soundscapes. The main performance component is a surround-sound illustration of how to listen while incarcerated. Featuring live ensemble music co-composed with Carlos Simon and incorporating field recordings from inside the jail, the performance investigates the auditory dimensions of surveillance, isolation, and resistance. A darkened stage, projected text and imagery, and spotlighted presenters draw attention to the sensory conditions of incarceration and the adaptive listening strategies developed within them. Check back soon for tickets.
• 1 hrVoice -
7:00 PMSaturday, March 21, 7:00 PM EDT
Listening Guide to Incarceration
Drawing from research conducted during a sound studies working group at the DC Jail (2018–2019) through Georgetown's Prisons and Justice Initiative, the work blends testimony, critical analysis, surround sound, live music, and minimal visual cues to center the voices and creative practices of those who have endured carceral soundscapes. The main performance component is a surround-sound illustration of how to listen while incarcerated. Featuring live ensemble music co-composed with Carlos Simon and incorporating field recordings from inside the jail, the performance investigates the auditory dimensions of surveillance, isolation, and resistance. A darkened stage, projected text and imagery, and spotlighted presenters draw attention to the sensory conditions of incarceration and the adaptive listening strategies developed within them. Check back soon for tickets.
• 1 hrVoice -
2:00 PMSunday, March 22, 2:00 PM EDT
Listening Guide to Incarceration
Drawing from research conducted during a sound studies working group at the DC Jail (2018–2019) through Georgetown's Prisons and Justice Initiative, the work blends testimony, critical analysis, surround sound, live music, and minimal visual cues to center the voices and creative practices of those who have endured carceral soundscapes. The main performance component is a surround-sound illustration of how to listen while incarcerated. Featuring live ensemble music co-composed with Carlos Simon and incorporating field recordings from inside the jail, the performance investigates the auditory dimensions of surveillance, isolation, and resistance. A darkened stage, projected text and imagery, and spotlighted presenters draw attention to the sensory conditions of incarceration and the adaptive listening strategies developed within them. Check back soon for tickets.
• 1 hrVoice -
12:30 PMFriday, March 27, 12:30 PM EDT
Friday Music Series Presents: PostClassical Ensemble
Featuring Netanel Draiblate (violin), David Jones (clarinet) and Audrey Andrist (piano).
• 1 hrPiano Clarinet Violin -
12:30 PMFriday, April 10, 12:30 PM EDT
Friday Music Series Presents: Gigi MacLaughlin and Vitor Gonçalves
Vitor Gonçalves: Vitor Gonçalves is a pianist, accordionist, composer and arranger from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. After an illustrious career as an in demand musician in Brazil, playing with such icons as Hermeto Pascoal, Maria Bethânia, Itiberê Zwarg, and many others, he made the move to New York City, where he currently resides. He has been nominated for two Grammy Awards 2020, for Best Latin Jazz album with Thalma de Freitas and for Best Large Jazz Ensemble with Anat Cohen Tentet. Gigi MacLaughlin is the linchpin of Washington DC's Brazilian music scene. She has sung and played percussion with dozens of major Brazilian musicians traveling to DC, including Rogério Souza, Pablo Fagundes, and many others. Gigi performs regularly around DC with a wide variety of collaborates. When it comes to Brazilian music in DC, Gigi makes it all happen.
• 1 hrPercussion7:00 PM