NSO To Give Ten Performances At Wolf Trap

July 7 marks the NSO's return to Wolf Trap, America's National Park for the Performing Arts. The ten performances will bear the hallmarks of the NSO's previous season, with a mix of styles, exciting artists, and new attractions. The articulate and engaging Emil de Cou is once again NSO @ Wolf Trap Festival Conductor. He'll lead four performances and host the NSO's nine orchestral programs. The tenth NSO @ Wolf Trap event is a performance with the Wolf Trap Opera Company of Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler's Sweeney Todd.

"If 'variety is the spice of life,'" said Emil de Cou, "the NSO @ Wolf Trap's 2011 summer is one big flavorful adventure. Where else can you enjoy folk icon Arlo

Guthrie, scenes from Crouching Dragon, Lion King, Little Mermaid, the 1812 Overture, Super Mario Brothers, Broadway Divas, Sweeney Todd, the magic of Marvin and Brian Stokes Mitchell, the 50 fingers of the pianistic wonders of the 5 Browns, oh, and Sam playing it again with our first ever full length Casablanca with Max Steiner's immortal score. So round up the usual suspects and head to America's only National Park for the Performing Arts - where 'we'll always have Paris' right here in Vienna (Virginia, of course)."

July 7: Tcheers for Tchaikovsky has been an NSO tradition for decades, and this summer's program is as enticing as ever. Pietari Inkinen, Music Director of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and Principal Guest Conductor of the Japan Philharmonic, brings international credentials to his NSO debut. The NSO also welcomes Caroline Goulding, 2011 Avery Fisher Career Grant recipient, who will be the soloist in the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto. The program concludes with the thunderous 1812 Overture, perfect for the great outdoors.

July 8: PLAY! A Video Game Symphony. It was 2006, the NSO's 75th season, when the world of video games and the National Symphony Orchestra first met. Scenes from blockbuster games like Final Fantasy®, The Legend of Zelda®, and more, will be projected onto giant screens in-house and on the lawn. The games' lush, resplendent scores from international composers, performed with the artistic resources of a full symphony orchestra and chorus, make an exciting evening that has become a Wolf Trap tradition.

July 9: Three Broadway Divas. Jan Horvath, Debbie Gravitte, and Christiane Noll join forces with Emil de Cou to bring to life showstopping numbers from Gypsy, The Music Man, A Chorus Line, Wicked and more.

July 22: The Wolf Trap Opera Company performs Sweeney Todd, the Sondheim classic about "The Demon Barber of Fleet Street." James Moore, currently appearing at the Kennedy Center as the Music Director of Follies, conducts the National Symphony Orchestra. The production includes a video projection design created for the Filene Center.

July 28: The 5 Browns. "One family, five pianos, and 50 fingers add up to the biggest classical music sensation in years." (New York Post) They became the only set of five siblings accepted into Juilliard in a single day, and since then have been sharing their love of music with each other and the world. Works by Mozart and Gershwin, along with works by Poulenc and Saint-Saëns, arranged specifically for them, will be performed, with Emil de Cou on the podium.

July 29: Marvin Hamlisch and Brian Stokes Mitchell, with Stephanie J.Block. "The last leading man" (New York Times) is back, with NSO Principal Pops Conductor Marvin Hamlisch, whose awards (three Oscars®, four Grammys®, a Tony® and three Golden Globe awards) are manifold return for an evening of Broadway magic. Also performing is Stephanie J. Block, one of Broadway's most versatile leading ladies.

July 30: Casablanca. Making its Wolf Trap debut, this Best Picture Oscar® Winner and WWII love story will be shown on large screens in-house and on the lawn, with the full score played live by the NSO, with Emil de Cou conducting. Robert Osborne, primetime anchor of TURNER CLASSIC MOVIES television network, hosts the program.

August 4: Disney in Concert: Magical Music from the Movies. Video clips and songs from The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Pirates of the Caribbean, and The Lion King come to vibrant life, with the NSO conducted by incoming Principal Pops Conductor Steven Reineke.

August 5: Tan Dun: Martial Arts Trilogy. This program combines the ancient tradition of Chinese martial arts philosophy with the visual arts of the world of film. The Martial Arts Trilogy features three concertos based on the scores Tan Dun created for the films Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon; The Banquet; and Hero. The concertos focus on the musical ideas representing themes of sacrifice, desire, transcendence, revenge, and power. The cello is featured in Crouching Tiger Concerto, the violin is the soloist in the Hero Concerto, and the Banquet Concerto is for piano and orchestra. Each solo instrument represents a key character in the respective films, distilling the emotions and thoughts into a musical portrayal.

August 6: Arlo Guthrie and Time for Three. Arlo Guthrie's career exploded in 1967 with the release of "Alice's Restaurant," which he first sang at the Newport Folk Festival. It helped foster a new commitment among the 60s generation to social consciousness and activism. Time for Three (Tf3) transcends traditional classification, with elements of classical, country, gypsy and jazz. They have a reputation for limitless enthusiasm and no musical boundaries. Violinists Zachary De Pue and Nicolas Kendall first discovered their mutual love of fiddling in the country and bluegrass styles, and bassist Ranaan Meyer introduced them to his deep roots in jazz and improvisation.

Full programs and ticket information follow.Ticket Information: All NSO @ Wolf Trap concerts take place at the Filene Center at Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts, in Vienna, Virginia. Tickets for all NSO @ Wolf Trap performances can be purchased via the Wolf Trap Box Office located at Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts at 1551 Trap Road, Vienna, Virginia; by calling 1 (877) WOLFTRAP; or online at www.wolftrap.org. For more information, please call Wolf Trap at (703) 255-1868.

For more information about the National Symphony Orchestra, visit nationalsymphony.org.

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