2018 – 2019 Season
2018—2019 Season at the Smithsonian American Art Museum
The 21st Century Consort, award-winning contemporary music ensemble-in-residence at the Smithsonian Institution for over four decades, embarks on its twelfth season at the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s Nan Tucker McEvoy Auditorium. Artistic Director Christopher Kendall presents a season of new music and high drama featuring artists Paul Cigan, Lisa Emenheiser, Dan Foster, Lee Hinkle, Alexandra Osborn, Sara Stern, Rachel Young with guest vocalists Lucy Shelton, William Sharp, Alice Teyssier and Bora Yoon and others. View the full season color brochure.
ATTENDANCE IS FREE. Seating begins at 3:30, and all who attend the 4:00 pre-concert discussion are guaranteed seats. Past performances suggest that seats will likely be available for all until the performance itself, at 5:00 pm.
All concerts are at 5:00, preceded by a 4:00 discussion with composers and performers, and followed by a post-concert reception.
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Lumia
As early as 1919, well before the advent of consumer television and video technology, Thomas Wilfred began experimenting with light as his primary artistic medium, developing the means to control and project colorful, luminous forms that have been compared to the aurora borealis. A luminous program for two pianos with Lisa Emenheiser and Lura Johnson. Read the printed program now for this concert.
- John Corigliano
- Kaleidoscope
- Sergei Rachmaninoff
- Symphonic Dances
- Claude Debussy
- Blanc et Noir
- William Bolcom
- Garden of Eden
- Witold Lutoslawski
- Paganini Variations
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Howling at the Moon
Mexican artist influenced by Picasso; shared common interests with younger American artists including Jackson Pollock and Adolph Gottlieb, who were drawn to indigenous art, mythical themes, and increasingly non-representational imagery, and who grappled with the anxieties of World War II. Tamayo’s fierce and symbolic animal paintings and artworks evoking celestial themes from the 1940s are a special focus of the exhibition. Featuring Soprano Lucy Shelton. Read the printed program now for this concert.
- Mario Lavista
- Cuaderno de Viaje
- Shulamit Ran
- Moon Songs
- Missy Mazzoli
- Magic with Everyday Objects
- Gheorghe Costinescu
- Nine Portraits from the Wild
- Gabriela Ortiz
- Vitrales de Ambar
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An Evening of Carols
The Consort undertakes the performance and filming by videographer Paul H. Moon of Jon Deak’s redemptive tale at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church on Capitol Hill (301 A St., SE.) Be sure to note this change of venue in your schedule!. The holiday masterpiece, featuring William Sharp, is paired with Benjamin Britten’s beloved work for harp and children’s choir featuring voices from the Washington National Cathedral children’s choirs. Read the printed program now for this concert.
- Benjamin Britten
- A Ceremony of Carols
- Jon Deak
- The Passion of Scrooge or A Christmas Carol
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Lenny’s Legacy
SAAM’s contribution to the city-wide Bernstein Centennial celebration, with repertoire including the Clarinet Sonata and other works by Bernstein along with Foss, Rorem and other leading composer/performers. Soprano Alice Teyssier will make her Consort debut. Read the printed program now for this concert.
- Lukas Foss
- For Lenny
- Leonard Bernstein
- Clarinet Sonata
- Lukas Foss
- Time Cycle
- Charles Ives
- The Unanswered Question
- Ned Rorem
- The Unquestioned Answer
- Kate Soper
- The Crito (after Plato)
- Leonard Bernstein
- Prelude, Fugue and Riffs
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Memory Lane
The exhibition “Do Ho Suh: Almost Home” highlights the artist’s physical manifestation of memory, reckoning with ideas of personal history, cultural traditions, and belief systems in the contemporary world. Two new works will be presented, and soprano Bora Yoon will be heard in selections from Sarah Kirkland Snider’s unforgettable mega-cycle. Read the printed program now for this concert.
- Chen Yi
- Tunes from My Home
- Sarah Kirkland Snider
- Songs from the Unremembered
- Bora Yoon
- New multi-media work with videographer Paul Moon
- Paul Schoenfield
- Gloria’s Century (Premiere)
*Programs subject to change.