Updated 21 April 2025:
The National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) is the resident Orchestra of the Kennedy Center Concert Hall located in the District of Columbia, the US nation’s capital city.
As regular readers to this site may know, I lived in the District a number of years and mostly enjoyed living there. The District is a very transient city with the political atmosphere which was rather intense, and University students studying there at George Washington University, Georgetown University, American University, Catholic University, University of the District of Columbia, or Howard University et al.
I had the opportunity to perform in the Kennedy Center with the NSO as a chorister in both Norman Scribner’s Choral Arts Society of Washington (two seasons) and Dr Paul Traver’s University of Maryland Chorus (one season). Those days were — what I call — the height of the symphonic choral works movement as we performed many choral works with the NSO and (inter)national guest/touring major symphony orchestras. The NSO musicians were always very nice and welcoming to us choristers, so it was always a pleasure to perform with them. They are a superb Orchestra.
But that was then, and I feel fortunate that I came along at that time because today is so drastically different than then. I feel I just made it as far as things changing: this change in rarely performing symphonic choral works happened right after I left the District and moved to San Francisco. After living in San Francisco for a few months, I remember calling my former piano instructor — she helped get me into the Conservatory — about this because her son was in the University of Maryland Chorus. I remember her saying something about this change in symphonic choral works and the NSO. She said that the Orchestra Choruses were now having to do their own thing because they were not getting (as many) performance engagements with the NSO. Rather than relying on the NSO for performance engagements. Rostropovich was now the new conductor of the NSO and the first Chorus he worked with was the Choral Arts Society and I think they became his favourite. I tend to think that’s the way that works with good Choruses. Well, upon reflection, this change I’m talking about may have happened whilst I was still in the District because the season I sang with the University of Maryland Chorus we only had one series of performance engagements (one work) with the NSO, as opposed to 3-4 engagements a season as Maryland had in the past. I remember feeling disappointed about this and wondering “What is happening? Why does Maryland have so few engagements with the NSO this season?” Just a couple seasons earlier and before that, it seemed that the University of Maryland Chorus was the Official Chorus of the National Symphony Orchestra, to the jealousy of some in the Choral Arts Society. So to see Maryland drop down to one series of performances of a work the season I sang with them was frustrating and disappointing, especially since it was not one of my top favourite pieces.
Today? The performance of symphonic choral works programmed by the NSO is practically nonexistent. Mostly Dead. As I said earlier, in those days, the University of Maryland Chorus had several performances a season with the NSO and the same for the Choral Arts Society of Washington. The Oratorio Society of Washington (which changed their name to The Washington Chorus) had a couple of performances as well.
But I remember the gutting of music programmes in the public schools around the same time and very few jobs openings for music in the schools being available. There was one music job opening in the public schools the Spring I graduated from the Conservatory. Is that why so few symphonic choral works are performed today in the US, because the public has no interest in it because they were not exposed to (classical) music in schools the way I and others were to develop that interest in it? No Elementary or High School Chorus in the public schools? There’s got to be some reason for this lack of programming of symphonic choral repertoire.
So what’s on the menu this season for the NSO of a choral nature? Well very little really. Not much:
The Choral Arts Society of Washington has one performance (one work) with the NSO. That’s Ravel’s Daphnis et Chloé for Orchestra and wordless Chorus. That’s all they have to do. Then there’s the perfunctory and ubiquitous Messiah performance rut in December. Once again, the University of Maryland Concert Choir has been invited to perform Messiah with the NSO.* Brief history: The NSO and the University of Maryland’s very esteemed School of Music have a decades-long legacy of working together, first with Dr Paul Traver’s superb and renowned University of Maryland Chorus, and now with the University of Maryland Concert Choir. Then there’s a programme of three choral works by Brahms that The Washington Chorus (formerly the Oratorio Society of Washington) will be performing. Those works: Schicksalslied (Song of Destiny) and Gesang der Parzen (Song of the Fates) and Nänie.
But that’s it of a choral nature. So very little really. There is only one of The Big Three programmed and that’s Messiah.
The practically naked female Asian circuit pianist will be performing the Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1, the same concerto she’s playing with the San Francisco Symphony. She just goes from one city to another half naked playing the same piece? That is the life of most circuit pianists, playing the same repertoire wherever they go.
Then Ms Boobs — whom the NSO refers to as a “superstar pianist” — will be there playing her boobs with some piano works interspersed between them. Will she be playing like this (below) and wearing the same getup?: So she takes the piano bench and lies it on its side — never seen any pianist do that before; it’s so respectful of the piano and the bench isn’t it? [sarcasm intended] — so she can stand up and play in tall high heels. Notice that she’s not pedaling at all in this image below. What head trip is she on?
She’s not performing with the NSO in this appearance — could that be because they’re too embarrassed to play with her considering her performance attire, or lack of? Perhaps they said this to her: “Dear, why don’t you just play some solo works instead. I think all of the string section (and most of the wind section) of the NSO are quite familiar with your boobs at this point.”
She’s playing these solo works:
Franz Schubert: Piano Sonata in B flat major D 960
Franz Schubert arr. Franz Liszt: Gretchen am Spinnrade
Franz Liszt: Mephisto Waltz No. 1
Franz Liszt: Consolation No. 3
Franz Liszt: Hungarian Rhapsody No. 6 in D flat major
So, my question is: Since this season was likely programmed — long before? — the convicted felon and rapist decided he would run the Kennedy Center since there’s nothing he thinks he’s not an authority on, how many of these artists will cancel? Some artists already have cancelled with some saying they will not perform at the Kennedy Center again, although not necessarily these artists that I’m aware of. And how many artists who will be coming from outside US borders — such as from the EU — will have trouble getting past US borders and be denied entrance? And how many will refuse to play there because the convicted felon and rapist now runs the place (he made himself the Chair)?
It’s a very different time for the Choral Arts Society of Washington where — when I performed with them — Norman (Scribner) would announce the upcoming season and he would rattle off five or so symphonic choral works we were going to perform with the NSO or a guest (inter)national touring orchestra that season. But now, they’re down to one wordless work which is really just incidental music. Then there’s this:
“In Ravel’s Daphnis et Chloé, the Chorus is primarily offstage. The score specifies that the Chorus is meant to be heard from behind the stage, contributing to a sense of spatial effect. While some productions may choose to bring the Chorus forward, Ravel’s original intent was for them to remain offstage.”
Oh they will love that. They get one performance with the NSO and they won’t even been seen, if the performance adheres to Ravel’s wishes. Or the Chorus may be seated up above the stage below the organ pipes where part of the Chorus usually seats when they perform with the NSO.
Yes, it’s a very different time. How fortunate I was to come along when I did where symphonic choral works were appreciated and performed regularly in the US.
This season is the 250th birthday of the United States of North America. And because the US never had the intelligence to choose a name for their country like all other nations did, the US arrogantly stole the name of the entire hemisphere and therefore refers to their country as “America” which is the name of the entire hemisphere. And because of that for this birthday celebration, the NSO is performing “American” music and music for “America.” In reality, it’s really music for the US, since the rest of America likely couldn’t care less about the birthday of the US. Or perhaps this birthday repertoire is to cater to the convicted felon/rapist and his fake-interest in the US (his interest is really only in himself since it’s always about him and his big head).
If it were really “American” music it would be music from the Americas — the entire hemisphere all the way down to Argentina — and not just music from the US such as Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue and a work by Copland, et al. And Hélène Grimaud will be performing Gershwin’s Concerto in F.
And just like with the San Francisco Symphony upcoming season, the NSO is also performing Camille Saint-Saëns: Symphony No. 3, “Organ Symphony” with organist Marvin Mills. The organist with the San Francisco Symphony will be Olivier Latry from Notre Dame de Paris.
When I first saw the NSO’s new season, it looked like a pretty standard season to me. I was surprised to see all the artists from outside the US (such as from the EU) because the convicted felon, international lawless bully and sexual predator said that the (new) Kennedy Center would feature performers “from our Nation [sic].” That implied to me that he meant that only white musicians from the US would be allowed to perform there with his brand of white nationalism/white supremacy. But I suspect he has not seen the NSO’s upcoming season since he has said about the programming at the Kennedy Center, “There’s nothing there I want to see.” No I shouldn’t think there would be, since that piece of septic trash does not have an artistic bone in his body. So, it will be interesting to see how this season plays out and who shows up.
What artists will be allowed past US border nazis at Dulles International Airport or at Washington National Airport, and/or deemed an “alien terrorist” and immediately put on a plane and sent to Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo (CECOTEl) in El Salvador so that the far-right fascist/nazi president of El Salvador can imprison them to never be seen again, without any due process or respect for national or international laws. These people are absolute gutter trash. The scum of the Earth.
* Regarding Messiah and the University of Maryland Concert Choir’s performance with the NSO: I’ll assume that they won’t be doing the — what I’ll call — “Traver version” of Messiah. When Dr Paul Traver’s outstandingly superb University of Maryland Chorus was around, they performed Messiah quite differently than any other Chorus. Traver had the Chorus add Baroque ornamentation to the choral writing. It was wonderful and I remember him saying, “I can’t imagine it being done any other way.” I agreed. I think he said he got that version from Erich Leinsdorf, but I may be mistaken. The Maryland Chorus (as they were also known) only performed the choral-ornamented version when Dr Traver was conducting. The University of Maryland Chorus and the (Washington) Cathedral Choral Society recorded Messiah with Antal Doráti conducting after I had moved to San Francisco and apparently Traver could not convince Doráti to do it that way. I bought the recording of it thinking that it was going to be the ornamented version. It was not. Only one chorus had a slow trill at the end in the alto line and that was “Surely, he hath borne our griefs.” I was very disappointed that Doráti chose to do the usual/standard (boring by comparison) version. But anyway, I think the Leinsdorf or Traver version is probably lost, although since each chorister bought their own vocal score, where is Dr Traver’s conducting score? The choral ornamentation would be written in that. Or they might still have some straggler Edition Novello vocal score of Messiah in their Music Library in the School of Music with the Baroque ornamentation in the choral writing written in the scores. It just requires someone to perform it that way, and I doubt that the University of Maryland Concert Choir performs it that way these days with the NSO. And again, it’s up to the conductor to want to perform the choral-ornamented version. But then I suspect that no conductor knows about that version these days. Ton Koopman is the conductor for their upcoming 2025 Messiah performance. I really liked the choral-ornamented version when I heard it. I’d never heard Messiah done that way before where the Chorus added trills and “fillers” to the choral writing. To me, it made it much more interesting. But I suspect it won’t be done that way again since Dr Traver is no longer with us, unfortunately. He’s one of my choral mentors. He was wonderful with The Maryland Chorus, and a superb musician and a really nice guy. Jason Max Ferdinand, is their current Artistic Director.
One gets the impression from reading the bios and website of the University of Maryland School of Music that Dr Paul Traver never existed. His name is never mentioned. Is his name or the University of Maryland Chorus ever mentioned on campus these days from a historical perspective? Let’s tell it like it is: Dr Traver is responsible for the choral programme at Maryland being what it is today, in part, because of his superb and renowned Maryland Chorus, which I don’t think the University was ever all that hot on because it was not an all-student Chorus, but rather a “town and gown” Chorus (auditioned students and auditioned members of the community). But they allowed Traver to do that nevertheless, and I think the University Chorus benefited the relationship between the community and the University. I’m sure the University and the School of Music appreciated all the accolades The Maryland Chorus received over the decades. From what I read, even non-music students on the campus were very proud of the University Chorus and their regular performances in the Kennedy Center with the NSO and other (inter)national orchestras. And the University of Maryland Chorus had quite a legacy with the National Symphony Orchestra. But someone else’s name is always mentioned instead, but he came after Traver and took over the University of Maryland Chorus after Dr Traver retired. It feels like some people are trying to engage in revisionist history — which has become quite popular these days in some circles — by not crediting Traver for his enormous accomplishments with the choral programme, and instead omitting Dr Traver from the “history books” entirely. Well, I refuse to do that. Give credit to where credit is due, and that is to Dr Paul Traver.