Genre
Performances for Young Audiences
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This National Symphony Orchestra rehearsal will give students a glimpse into the life of orchestral musicians and provide the opportunity to hear great music as it is being rehearsed for opening night. Best enjoyed by middle and high school students, the NSO working rehearsal is followed by a 30-minute question-and-answer session with the artists. Cody Fry’s genre-bending fusion of pop and cinematic symphonic music has made him a global sensation—from American Idol, to TikTok, to the Grammys®, and now to the Concert Hall stage. Following his electric, sold-out collaboration with Ben Rector and the NSO last season, Fry brings more of today’s most innovative artists to the Kennedy Center for a performance “simultaneously familiar and breathtaking” (American Songwriter). Pop-rock group LANY has been captivating audiences at major arenas around the world with their energetic, rafter-reaching anthems. Their standout single “XXL” exploded on social media and earned performances from the band on Jimmy Kimmel Live! and the TODAY Show. Sleeping At Last is the moniker of singer-songwriter, producer, and composer Ryan O’Neal. His music’s atmospheric textures and melodic vocals convey emotive depth and have been featured on over 100 popular movies, television shows, and adverts and in over 20 albums and EPs.
February 11, 2025
Concert Hall, recommended for grades 7-12
Estimated duration of the rehearsal is approximately two hours and 30 minutes with a 20-minute break. The Q&A will follow immediately after the rehearsal and run for approximately 30 minutes. Estimated duration of the rehearsal and Q&A together is approximately three hours.
Listening to an orchestra can be a powerful experience. It can entertain you, tell you stories, make you laugh or cry, or take you away to faraway places. Knowing a few things about orchestras and the range of music they play can make it even better. Everything you need to get started is right here in this guide.
Take the field and learn the looks, sounds, history, and notable players of orchestral instruments from four eras—baroque, classical, romantic, and modern. Next, use the interactive audio mixer to choose your players and hear them perform together. Finally, test your musical knowledge with a fun baseball-style quiz.
Music has the power to motivate and soothe, no doubt about it. But how and why does it affect us? Why do certain songs trigger excitement or make us grin? Why do others bring relaxation, tears, or send shivers down our spines?
Meet great composers, explore the vast musical world of the orchestra, study the science behind the instruments, and discover how classical music is anything but boring.
"Popular" music isn't just one type of music-- it's just a way to describe music that a lot of people really like. This collection explores popular music in different genres, like the chart-toppers of Motown, the fight songs in football, American styles like jazz, blues, country, bluegrass, and R&B as well as the history of popular American songs from other eras, and just WHY the music connects with us.Â
Just like President Kennedy had a vision for America, composers have visions of how they want their music to sound. For some, their musical mission is to explore a galaxy of stars and planets, moon shots, space walks, and galactic battles!
The National Symphony Orchestra's Young People's Concerts are full orchestra concerts for school groups, grades 3-8. Each season, these performance / demonstrations introduce students to the instruments and musicians of the orchestra, as well as musical concepts and curated selections from the orchestral repertoire that connect to educational themes.
Professional development for educators. Summer intensives for young artists. Teaching artist guided activities. Performances for young audiences. Classroom lesson plans. Arts-focused digital media.
Kennedy Center Education offers a wide array of resources and experiences that inspire, excite, and empower students and young artists, plus the tools and connections to help educators incorporate the arts into classrooms of all types.
Our current teaching and learning priorities include:
A robust collection of articles, videos, and podcasts that allow students of all ages to explore and learn about the arts online.
In-person and virtual performances, along with supporting educational content to help guide learning.
Current approaches to arts integration in the classroom, inclusion, rigor, and adopting an arts integration approach at the school and district level.
An asynchronous online course that invites educators and administrators to think about our students’ disabilities as social and cultural identities that enrich our classrooms and communities.
Generous support for educational programs at the Kennedy Center is provided by the U.S. Department of Education.
Gifts and grants to educational programs at the Kennedy Center are provided by The Paul M. Angell Family Foundation; Bank of America; Capital One; The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation; Carnegie Corporation of New York; The Ednah Root Foundation; Harman Family Foundation; William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust; the Kimsey Endowment; The Kiplinger Foundation; Laird Norton Family Foundation; Lois and Richard England Family Foundation; Dr. Gary Mather and Ms. Christina Co Mather; The Markow Totevy Foundation; Dr. Gerald and Paula McNichols Foundation; The Morningstar Foundation; Myra and Leura Younker Endowment Fund; The Irene Pollin Audience Development and Community Engagement Initiatives;
Prince Charitable Trusts; Dr. Deborah Rose and Dr. Jan A. J. Stolwijk; Rosemary Kennedy Education Fund; The Embassy of the United Arab Emirates; The Victory Foundation; The Volgenau Foundation; Volkswagen Group of America; Jackie Washington; GRoW @ Annenberg and Gregory Annenberg Weingarten and Family; Wells Fargo; and generous contributors to the Abe Fortas Memorial Fund and by a major gift to the fund from the late Carolyn E. Agger, widow of Abe Fortas. Additional support is provided by the National Committee for the Performing Arts..
The content of these programs may have been developed under a grant from the U.S. Department of Education but does not necessarily represent the policy of the U.S. Department of Education. You should not assume endorsement by the federal government.
