The National Symphony Orchestra opens its 2026-27 season September 26 at the Music Center at Strathmore, the first of six venues across DC, Maryland and Virginia that will host the orchestra this year.
Opening Night Sets the Tone at Strathmore
Music director Gianandrea Noseda leads opening night on Saturday, September 26 at 7 p.m., with a program built around Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake suite, Carlos Simon‘s Monuments (pictured), A Suite for DC, and Respighi’s La boutique fantasque.
The Orchestra Keeps Moving Through October
Noseda conducts Exotic Tales on October 1 at George Mason University’s Center for the Arts and October 2 at Strathmore, featuring Scheherazade, Pictures at an Exhibition and Boléro.
Triumph follows on October 8 and 9 at Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall and October 10 at Strathmore, pairing Stravinsky and Haydn with Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 5.
The full run of dates is listed on the orchestra’s events page.
Six Venues Give Regional Audiences New Ways to Listen
Composer John Adams takes the podium October 15 and 16 at George Mason with violinist Leila Josefowicz, building to Adams’ own Scheherazade.2.
Later in the fall the orchestra moves into Lisner Auditorium, and the holiday schedule brings The Nutcracker and Cinderella November 20 through 22 and Handel’s Messiah December 16 through 20 at venues around the region.
Noseda remains at the center of the season, joined by guest conductors and soloists, through a schedule that runs into June 2027.
The NSO also posts rehearsal and performance updates on Instagram, and readers can follow The Washington Lobbyist for more of the season’s biggest arts dates around the DC area.
