Milestones and Reflections
“I am certain that after the dust of centuries has passed over our cities, we, too, will be remembered not for victories or defeats in battle or in politics, but for our contribution to the human spirit.”
—John F. Kennedy
Leonard Bernstein’s MASS at 50
As the culminating event of the Center’s 50th Anniversary season, Leonard Bernstein’s MASS will return to the Center in September 2022. This monumental work will be re-staged in the Concert Hall and feature the National Symphony Orchestra along with 2020 Marian Anderson Award winner Will Liverman as the Celebrant. Originally commissioned by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis for the opening of the Center, MASS was a unique theatrical experience—a fully-staged dramatic pageant that mixed sacred and secular texts and used various musical forms from classical, jazz, and rock to Hebraic and Broadway. The avant-garde work, while not performed often, has endured since its world premiere with themes still relevant today. Ultimately, it serves, according to the composer in a 1971 program note, as a “reaffirmation of faith.”
Leonard Bernstein’s MASS at 50
As the culminating event of the Center’s 50th Anniversary season, Leonard Bernstein’s MASS will return to the Center in September 2022. This monumental work will be re-staged in the Concert Hall and feature the National Symphony Orchestra along with 2020 Marian Anderson Award winner Will Liverman as the Celebrant. Originally commissioned by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis for the opening of the Center, MASS was a unique theatrical experience—a fully-staged dramatic pageant that mixed sacred and secular texts and used various musical forms from classical, jazz, and rock to Hebraic and Broadway. The avant-garde work, while not performed often, has endured since its world premiere with themes still relevant today. Ultimately, it serves, according to the composer in a 1971 program note, as a “reaffirmation of faith.”
Meeting Place Quote
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Watch Highlights From Our 50th Anniversary Celebration Concert
Echoing “An American Pageant for the Arts,” the 1962 event conducted by Leonard Bernstein, this special evening was hosted by six-time Tony Award® winner Audra McDonald with special guests Ambassador Caroline Kennedy and Ms. Rose Schlossberg and featured the National Symphony Orchestra performing with a star-studded array of artists.
These video highlights include performances by Abigail Barlow, Emily Bear, Darren Criss, Rachael Price, Punch Brothers, Ray Chen, and the NSO.
Watch Highlights from 50 Years of Broadway at the Kennedy Center
This once-in-a-lifetime concert celebrated the greatest moments of Broadway history from the stages of the Kennedy Center. Hosted by Tony Award winner James Monroe Iglehart, this evening featured Stephanie J. Block, Sierra Boggess, Christopher Jackson, Beth Leavel, Andrew Rannells, Vanessa Williams, Gavin Creel, Lachanze, Norm Lewis, Frances Ruffelle, and Tony Yazbeck paying homage to the legacy of Broadway musicals at the Kennedy Center—plus a special tribute to the late Stephen Sondheim.
Sponsors
Thank you to the following Sponsors
Boeing
The Irene Pollin Audience Development and Community Engagement Initiatives
The Roger and Victoria Sant Trust
Fred Eychaner Fund
The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation
The Ford Foundation
David C. Frederick and Sophia Lynn
The Orlebeke Foundation
Mellon Foundation
Microsoft Corporation
The Buffy and William Cafritz Foundation
The Honorable Stuart Bernstein and Wilma E. Bernstein
The Dr. Gerald and Paula McNichols Foundation
The National Committee for the Performing Arts
Discover India Initiatives
The Travelers Company, Inc
David M. Rubenstein
Cornerstone of the Reach
Thank you to our sponsors for their generous support of programming in our 50th anniversary season.