Cuesheet: NSO Music for Young Audiences: The String Thing
ATTENTION: kids, parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins, rubber chickens... but especially kids and rubber chickens! Step right up to this daring double act of classical fun! Bassist Paul DeNola and violinist Heather LeDoux Green take a break from the NSO to introduce young audiences to some of the greatest music ever written. You’ll never hear a word out of them during the concert, but with instruments in hand and a trunk full of gags, this “silent” comedic tag-team presents a hilarious program of music and mayhem.
Music, Musical Instruments, Composers

Cuesheet: NSO Music for Young Audiences: Two Divas and a Bear
What happens when you bring together a concert violinist, an opera singer, and everyone’s favorite stuffed animal? You get Two Divas and a Bear! Join NSO violinist Marissa Regni and soprano Kari Paludan as they explore the human voice. As it turns out, the violin has a voice, too! As you listen to Schubert’s The Trout, Rachmaninoff’s Vocalise, and Rossini’s Two Cats, you’ll discover that the strings of the violin are very similar to our very own vocal cords.
Music, Musical Instruments, Composers, Animals

Cuesheet: Night Train 57: A Sensory-Friendly Folk Opera
All aboard the Night Train! Enter the freewheeling musical world of Grammy® winner Dan Zanes, vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Claudia Eliaza, and more special guests for an interactive folk opera that takes audiences on a far-out ride to the galaxies and back. During a joyous dusk-to-dawn trip through the stars, passengers on Night Train 57 will discover the power of friendship and community with the sounds of 21st century handmade sing-along music.
Theater, Music, Musical Instruments, Accessibility

Cuesheet: NSO Family Concert: Halloween Spooktacular
When is it ever cool to “boo” the orchestra? On Halloween, of course! But watch out, because at this frightfully fun concert, ghoulishly attired musicians might “BOO” you from behind their instruments in return.
Music, Musical Instruments

Cuesheet: Peter and the Wolf in Hollywood
Once upon a time, Peter and the Wolf was a musical tale about a Russian boy who helps catch a wolf. This version features Peter’s tale with tons of twists. For starters, instead of cold, snowy Russia, the story now happens in sunny Hollywood, California.
Family, Animals, Composers, Folklore, Musical Instruments, Orchestra

Cuesheet: NSO Family Concert: Joshua Bell in The Man with the Violin
Imagine a subway station. A man in plain clothes takes out his violin and begins to play beautiful music. Hundreds of people rush by in a hurry to get to school or work. Do you think anyone stops to listen?
Music, Musical Instruments, Music Legends

Cuesheet: NSO Music For Young Audiences: Follow That Fiddle
Get ready for an amazing journey through history and around the world as we follow the fiddle’s musical trail. Musician Glenn Donnellan, who plays the violin (er, fiddle) with the National Symphony Orchestra, will guide you and explain how the fiddle makes its sound.
Music, Musical Instruments

Cuesheet: NSO Music For Young Audiences: Catch The Vibe
“Vibes” is short for vibrations, those little movements that make sound. Hear some big sounds with NSO musicians Stephen Dumaine and Eric Shin, who introduce the tuba and a bunch of percussion instruments.
Music, Musical Instruments

Cuesheet: NSO Music For Young Audiences: Close Your Eyes… Now Open Your Ears!
Music can be lots of fun, especially when you really listen to it, like when you close your eyes and let your ears do the work. In this performance, you will learn how to open your ears to the wonders of music with the help of three musicians and music teacher Madam Mavis Pugh—and a very special song.
Music, Musical Instruments

Performance Guide: Beauty and the Beat
See NSO principal second violinist Marissa Regni and NSO principal percussionist Eric Shin in an exciting new program exploring the magic created when the violin and percussion join forces. Eric may have a vast array of percussion instruments, but Marissa will show you how versatile the violin can be. This melodic and rhythmic ride for audiences proves that no matter how different the instruments are, they can come together to make some beautiful music.
Music, Musical Instruments

Performance Guide: Presto!
Oh no, a musician’s viola has been stolen! Could the culprit be the magician next door? Join Presto!—a string trio—to follow the clues and crack the case. Along the way, discover the secrets of string instruments and the music they play.
Music, Musical Instruments

Performance Guide: NSO Family Concert: Halloween Spooktacular
Enjoy spooky fun for the whole family at this annual tradition! The Concert Hall transforms into a ghostly sight when our ghoulishly attired musicians perform new and old classics to celebrate Halloween. Nicholas Hersh leads this exciting concert experience, which features music from Harry Potter and more.
Music, Musical Instruments

Performance Guide: NSO Young People's Concert
Don’t miss a special showcase of female composers, conductors, and performers to mark 100 years since the 19th Amendment gave women the right to vote.
Music, Musical Instruments

Cuesheet: NSO Young People's Concert: Orchestra Look-In: NSO! Inside the Music
The NSO continues in the spirit of a series of Young People’s Concerts made popular by Leonard Bernstein at Carnegie Hall. Michael Butterman conducts this delightful performance that explores all of the pieces that come together to create an orchestra, and demonstrates that it can be accessible to everyone. The concert includes well-known works by Brahms, Copland, and Tchaikovsky, and introduces students to Jessie Montgomery, a living composer keeping the orchestra music alive and vibrant. The NSO along with Conductor Michael Butterman and NSO Assistant Principal 2nd Violinist Marissa Regni are joined onstage by an unexpected guest who is just as ecstatic about the orchestra as they are.
Music, Musical Instruments

Cuesheet: NSO Family Concert: Let's Go To The Moon!
As the 50th anniversary of the moon landing draws near, join the NSO for a fun-filled concert of interstellar proportions! Tap into your imagination and be transported from the Concert Hall to outer space with music from Star Trek and a new NSO Commission from Oscar®-winning composer Michael Giacchino (Star Trek trilogy, Star Wars: Rogue One, numerous Pixar films), Also sprach Zarathustra (the theme from 2001: A Space Odyssey), and more.
Music, Musical Instruments, Space

Cuesheet: NSO Family Concert: Symphonic Storytelling: The Travels of Babar
Come children (and children at heart!) for a concert that mixes the magic of stories, images, and music, including Return to the Land of the Elephants by composer Raphael Mostel—the U.S. premiere of the orchestral version of one of his two multimedia musical voyages based on The Travels of Babar by Jean de Brunhoff.
Music, Musical Instruments, Animals

Cuesheet: Break It Down!
Watch, listen, and lend a helping hand as the dynamic duo of Paul Fadoul on marimba and Zara Lawler on flute build music from the ground up. This energetic program delights in dissecting parts of music and musical instruments. Children will be amazed by the way instruments from the wind and percussion families—plus some interesting “outsiders”—are taken apart and put back together again.
Music, Musical Instruments

Cuesheet: NSO Family Concert: Halloween Spooktacular
An annual tradition! The Concert Hall transforms into a ghostly sight when the NSO performs new and old classics to celebrate Halloween, which this year also marks the Dia de los Muertos (The Day of the Dead) with our ghoulishly attired musicians. Arrive early for trick-or-treating and a special Haunted Hall Musical Instrument “Petting Zoo.” Age 5+
Music, Musical Instruments

Cuesheet: Timbalooloo Live
Explore the thrilling language of instruments! Grammy Award®–winning clarinetist and composer Oran Etkin and his band use games, stories, songs, and movement to teach children rich musical and cultural heritage. Instruments speak through music in this interactive, immersive concert for young audiences. Grammy Award®–winning clarinetist and composer Oran Etkin and his band use games, stories, songs, and movement to teach children rich musical and cultural heritage. Examining sounds from Mozart to Willie Nelson to Herbie Hancock, children will explore how music is as unique and magical as their own imagination.
Music, Musical Instruments

Cuesheet: Lewis Nash Quintet: Fascinating Rhythm—Wonderful Sounds
Meet celebrated jazz drummer and bandleader Lewis Nash and explore the range of rhythms and instrumental sounds in jazz music.
Music, Jazz, Musical Instruments

Cuesheet: NSO Family Concert: Peter and the Wolf
“Boys like me are not afraid of wolves!” says Peter to his grandfather. But when one actually wanders out of the woods, what will Peter do to save his animal friends?
Animals, Folklore, Musical Instruments, Music, Composers, Orchestra

Cuesheet: NSO Family Concert: Mozart's Magnificent Voyage
Mozart’s young son longs to leave school and spend more time with his famous father. When he finds a magic traveling trunk, his wish comes true as he’s swept back in time to Mozart’s childhood and opera The Magic Flute.
Music, Family, Musical Instruments, Orchestra

Cuesheet: Terence Blanchard Group: A Performance and Demonstration
Meet Blue Note artist Terence Blanchard, a multi-Grammy Award®–winning jazz trumpeter, bandleader, arranger, and composer.
Music, Jazz, Musical Instruments

Cuesheet: NSO Kinderclassics: Bears, Bears Everywhere!
It’s a big bear world out there! This concert takes a peek at these adorable creatures and the sounds of their homelands—music as unique as they are. Join NSO musicians and a special guest storyteller for a performance that assembles a wild combination of instruments to create music from around the world.
Music, Family, Musical Instruments, Orchestra

Cuesheet: Enso String Quartet: Performance & Demonstration
Known for their high-energy performances and musical versatility, the Enso String Quartet has proven they are much more than your average chamber music group. Get to know them as they perform a wide range of musical styles, and discuss how music is created and why it affects us as listeners.
Music, Musical Instruments, Orchestra, Young Artists