Black Dignity

Comprising eight works that together create a musical map of incidents of extrajudicial violence, the commissions, which will premiere during the 50^th Anniversary season, focus on the road forward on our country’s racial timeline with an emphasis on the concept of “Black Dignity.”

Cartography In Concert

PREMIERED March 15 and 16

For its first installment, The Cartography Project included eight new commissions. These received live world premiere performances from WNO singers and members of the NSO and WNO Orchestras in an evening-length program at Studio K in the Kennedy Center’s new REACH expansion on March 15 and 16.

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An introduction to the Cartography initiative.

Carlos Simon (Composer)
Marc Bamuthi Joseph (Poet/Narrator)

Washington National Opera

Katerina Burton (Soprano) • Karen Lowry-Tucker (Violin) • Amy Baumgartner (Violoncello) • Robert Ainsley (Piano)

Liz Gre (Composer)
Junauda Petrus-Nasah (Librettist)

Washington National Opera

Amber R. Monroe (Soprano) • Dana Scott (Piano) • Karen Lowry-Tucker (Violin) • Amy Baumgartner (Violoncello) • Christian Gray (Violoncello)

Derek Douglas Carter (Composer)

National Symphony Orchestra

Paul Cigan (Clarinet) • Ruth Wicker (Viola) • Paul Denola (Bass) • Jiyoung Oh (Piano)

"The piece itself begins and ends with a lullaby, and has a momentary escape in the middle to explore dreams."

— Derek Douglas Carter

Jasmine Arielle-Barnes (Composer), Joshua Banbury (Libretto)

washington national opera

With Suzannah Waddington, soprano; Daniel J. Smith, baritone; Roderick Demmings, Jr.; Raymond O. Caldwell, director

Jens Ibsen (Composer), Yasmina Ibsen (Libretto)

WNO Commission; Oakland, ca

With Katerina Burton, soprano; Amber R. Monroe, soprano; Robert Ainsley, piano

Jessica MAYS, composer

(NSO commission; Aurora, CO)

With Heather LeDoux Green and Jane Bowyer Stewart, violins; Eric deWaardt, viola; David Teie, cello; Jeffrey Weisner, double bass; Scott Christian, percussion

Nathaniel HEYDER, composer

(NSO commission; Cleveland, OH)

With Paul Cigan, clarinet; Robert Rearden, horn; Jennifer Mondie, viola; Britton Riley, cello; Scott Christian, percussion

B.E. Boykin, composer; Brittny Ray Crowell, libretto

(WNO commission; Atlanta, GA)

With Martin Bakari, tenor; Amy Frost Baumgarten, cello; Dana Scott, piano

A Collaboration on Black Dignity

Newly appointed Composer-in-Residence Carlos Simon, in collaboration with Kennedy Center Vice President and Artistic Director of Social Impact Marc Bamuthi Joseph, will create an overarching work centering the concept of Black Dignity that underlies the project.