DECLASSIFIED®: Ben Folds Presents Rob Thomas, Madison Cunningham & Yasmin Williams
Concert Hall
Ben Folds’ popular late-night series returns with iconic Matchbox Twenty frontman Rob Thomas, Grammy®-winning singer Madison Cunningham, and acclaimed acoustic fingerstyle guitarist Yasmin Williams! This “part-party, part-concert” also features Max Richter’s “On the Nature of Daylight” and more modern masterworks by Valerie Coleman, Jessie Montgomery, and Carlos Simon. NSO DECLASSIFIED® concerts go beyond the classical symphony experience—come early for drink tastings, photo booths, and the Heidi Martin Quartet; stay after for Harikaraoke live band karaoke on the Millennium Stage!
NSO Artistic Advisor Ben Folds’ popular late-night series returns with more of today’s top artists! This Kennedy Center–exclusive concert features iconic Matchbox Twenty frontman Rob Thomas, Grammy Award®–winning singer-songwriter Madison Cunningham, and acclaimed acoustic fingerstyle guitarist Yasmin Williams.
This “part-party, part-concert” also features Max Richter’s “On the Nature of Daylight,” Valerie Coleman’s “Fanfare for Uncommon Times,” Jessie Montgomery’s “Strum,” and Carlos Simon’s “John Henry” from Tales: A Folklore Symphony.
DECLASSIFIED® concerts go beyond the traditional orchestra concert by offering great live music—both classical and contemporary—in a laid-back, casual setting.
Come early & stay late for pre- & post- show fun!
PRE-SHOW | 8–9 p.m.
Heidi Martin Quartet on the Millennium Stage Drink tasting & Photobooth on the Concert House Tiers
POST-SHOW | 10:30 p.m.–12 a.m.
Harikaraoke live band karaoke on the Millennium Stage
Heidi Martin is the 2024 Berger-Carter Berger Fellow at Rutgers University’s Dana Library of Jazz Studies; for her research of The Abbey Lincoln Estate. ATTUNEMENT is upcoming recording of new music, composed during this period of research, and will be premiered at the Kennedy Center on Millennium Stage. Martin is a vocalist/composer, an original voice, whose artistry is authentic, a provocative lyricist with a deep sense of social consciousness. She has three albums of original music: Gifts & Sacrifices (2023), See hear, Love (2011) and HIDE (2005). Four of Martin’s compositions off her first album HIDE were chosen as a soundtrack to REVOLUTION ’67, a documentary about the 1967 Newark rebellion by Emmy®-nominated filmmakers Jerome and Marylou Bongiorno. She is a multi-award-winning composer: Chamber Music America ‘New Jazz Works’ (2022-25), Arts & Humanities, MD (2024), South Arts Touring Grant (2022), London International Vocal Competition finalist (2006).
Martin has performed both nationally and internationally at Bohemian Caverns (2008- 2016) Winter JazzFest, DC Jazz Festival, Black Arts Fest, Pori Jazz Festival (Pori, Finland), The Famous Rick’s Café, The Kenzi Sky Bar, Cadet Rouge in (Casablanca, Morocco).
The Heidi Martin Quartet features pianist Marc Cary and bassist Michael Bowie.
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All events and artists subject to change without prior notice.
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Superstar soprano Renée Fleming dazzles audiences with music from one of her most celebrated roles: the elegant, enigmatic Countess Madeleine in Strauss’ Capriccio. Noseda conducts Capriccio’s Introduction and dreamy Moonlight Music, before Fleming takes the stage to sing the glorious, wistful Final Scene. Then, revel in Brahms’ lush First Symphony—a masterpiece the perfectionist composer toiled at for 21 years in the shadow of Beethoven’s inescapable legacy.
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Indie icon and NSO Artistic Advisor Ben Folds performs hits and new music for his new live orchestral concert album. Widely regarded as one of the major music influences of our generation, Folds’ enormous body of genre-bending sound includes pop anthems with Ben Folds Five, multiple solo albums, and numerous collaborative records. His latest album, 2023’s What Matters Most, is a blend of piano-driven pop-rock songs, while his 2015 Concerto for Piano and Orchestra soared to #1 on both the Billboard classical and classical crossover charts.
An annual tradition! The Concert Hall transforms into a ghostly sight when ghoulishly attired National Symphony Orchestra musicians celebrate Halloween with fa-boo-lous new works and spooky old classics.
