NSO Musicians Return Thursday With Free Beethoven at The REACH

NSO and Washington National Opera musicians play Beethoven, Fauré and Mendelssohn free at The REACH on Oct. 15, with Chia-Hsuan Lin conducting. No tickets required.

By Marcus Bennett

October 13, 20262 min read

Programme

NSO and WNO musicians perform Thursday, Oct. 15 at 6pm in Studio K at The REACH.
Chia-Hsuan Lin conducts Beethoven's Egmont Overture, Fauré's Pelléas and Mélisande and Mendelssohn's A Midsummer Night's Dream music.
The program is free, about an hour long, with first-come seating and no tickets required.
The Kennedy Center's main building is closed; The REACH hosts several free Millennium Stage concerts weekly.

Musicians of the National Symphony Orchestra and Washington National Opera will perform together on Thursday, Oct. 15 at 6pm in Studio K at The REACH, the Kennedy Center's campus that remains open while the main building is closed.

The orchestra program, conducted by Chia-Hsuan Lin, runs about an hour and admission is free. No tickets are required. Seating is first come, first served.

The newsletter from the musicians' union lays out the stakes plainly: "Believe it or not, our musicians ARE performing (at least a few) concerts this fall."

The program spans three works:

Beethoven's Egmont Overture
Fauré's Pelléas and Mélisande
Incidental music from Mendelssohn's A Midsummer Night's Dream

What is playing beyond Thursday?

The REACH continues to host several free Millennium Stage concerts every week, according to the newsletter. The Justice Forum, an intimate space on the campus, is presenting eclectic chamber programs — the musicians cite flute and French horn trios and a trombone-and-harp duet as examples of the range on offer.

The main building remains closed. That closure has kept the full ensemble off its home stage, and the newsletter makes clear the players feel the gap. "Most of us are eagerly awaiting being reunited with our colleagues, and playing together as an orchestra for the first time in many weeks!" the musicians wrote.

Thursday's Studio K date marks one of the few chances this fall to hear the NSO and WNO players in orchestral formation.

What does this change for audiences?

For Washington concertgoers, the evening offers a full orchestral program at no cost, in a small venue, with no ticketing barrier beyond arriving early enough to claim a seat. And the musicians anticipate one practical concern directly: "yes, the KC garage remains open!" the newsletter confirms.

The ensemble's sign-off carries the same mix of resolve and appeal: "Come out and show us some love!"

Whether the main building reopens for the fall season remains the open question that Thursday's concert only partly answers.

Source: Slipped Disc

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