New 2016-17 Season Announced: The Kennedy Center Artfully Celebrates a Kennedy Centennial

On March 8, 2016, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts announced that the upcoming 2016-17 season will honor the late President Kennedy's centennial birthday with an array of partnerships and performances inspired by the ideals that inspired John F. Kennedy himself: Courage, Freedom, Justice, Service and Gratitude. Kennedy Center President Deborah Rutter highlighted the responsibility everyone at the Kennedy Center feels to offer a fully inclusive calendar of events that engage the artistic community, the public and society at large in the broad spectrum of the arts.

Esteemed classical talents Yo-Yo Ma and Renée Fleming have been appointed Artistic Advisors at Large, while Q-Tip, long time MC, rapper and producing force in the hip hop culture and community will serve as the first ever Artistic Director for Hip Hop Culture, as the Kennedy Center incorporates a full season of hip hop programming, and focuses on the legacy and future of this art form.

The Kennedy Center has an impressively grand scope. There are, in fact, ten seasons that make up the Center's offerings for the coming year: The National Symphony Orchestra, NSO Pops, The Washington National Opera, Ballet and Contemporary Dance, Jazz, The Fortas Chamber Music Concerts, Theater, Performances for Young Audiences, Comedy and Mashups (New Artistic Initiatives Across Genres). And with the addition of hip hop as a part of core programming, even more breadth will be realized.

Rutter sent a clear message of outreach and inclusion by leading the

first season announcement event to include staff members in attendance. She stressed the massive efforts required to realize the goals she has for the Center, and her appreciation for the collaboration between staff and the artists. Also there for the announcement were Christoph Eschenbach (this next season will be his tenth and final season as Music Director), Suzanne Farrell, Artistic Advisor for Ballet, Francesca Zambello, Artistic Director of the Washington National Opera, Philippe Auguin, WNO Music Director, Jason Moran, Artistic Director for Jazz and Mason Bates, Composer-in-Residence. Yo-Yo Ma, Renee Fleming and Q-Tip spoke to the press via video due to prior commitments.

The announcement program also featured jazz and opera performances, ending with a hip hop number by Paige Hernandez, who introduced her piece with an eloquent tribute to the important elements of hip hop culture, particularly knowledge of self, freedom of expression and validation. Hernandez will be performing with Baye Harrell in All the Way Live! a world premiere Kennedy Center co-commission with B-Fly Entertainment in October '16 (Family Theater).

In a fitting opening to the celebration of JFK's centennial year, Ireland 100: A Century of Irish Arts and Culture, will run from May 17 - June 4, 2016, and feature events and performances in every corner of the Kennedy Center, and with numerous artists in literature, poety, music, dance and theater. Fiona Shaw serves as Artist in Residence for the festival. Visit http://www.kennedy-center.org/festivals/ireland/ for details. The season's theme of honoring the legacy of John F. Kennedy during his centennial year will will also be evident across all the genres with specific JFK Centennial Commissions. The daily free programs presented on the Millennium Stages at either end of the Grand Foyer continue to support The Kennedy Center's position as a center of not only the Washington, DC arts scene, but of the nation's artistic community, through its support of new work across genres, and its position as a mecca for visitors to the city,

The world premiere Kennedy Center commission Bud, Not Buddy, composed and performed by Artist in Residence Terence Blanchard, master trumpeter and Grammy Award® winning jazz musician, along with a jazz ensemble will be part of the acclaimed Performances for Young Audiences series, that Deborah Rutter stressed, "are not just for young kids, they are for everyone, including young kids." Also on tap for the Young Audiences in 2016-17 are works in dance, poetry, hip hop, symphony performances and much more. Also of note is the Brave New Voices Youth Summit, involving five days of workshops, slams, showcases, community service and civic events. If you have children in your life and want to expose them to the arts of all types, combined with a dash of history and beauty (and a great outdoor terrace to roam around and enjoy the views!), The Kennedy Center should be a regular destination.

Particularly interesting to theater audiences will be the DC arrival of Olivier and Tony Award® winning play, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, based on the book by Mark Haddon; and recent Broadway hit rock musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch. A favorite reimagined, Into the Woods, from Fiasco Theater, will be here for the holidays in the Eisenhower Theater; and the classics get their piece of the stage as well, as two of Rodgers & Hammerstein's beloved musicals, The Sound of Music and The King and I play at the Opera House in summer of '17. And not to worry, Ozians, Wicked is back, and you can pay a visit to the Kit Kat Club when Cabaret arrives at the Eisenhower in July '17. Comedy offerings will feature John Oliver, Trevor Noah, The Second City and others.

The National Symphony Orchestra will perform thirteen American works during its new season, including Copland's

A Lincoln Portrait and Bernstein's Fanfare for the Inauguration of JFK. Notably, Maestro Eschenbach has chosen to end his time with The Kennedy Center with Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 in the final concert of 2017. The NSO Pops season will include Second City Guide to the Symphony starring Colin Mochrie, Cirque de la Symphonie, and a holiday concert featuring Broadway and television favorites Laura Benanti and Santino Fontana (and Santa Clause, of course!). In the spirit of the season, a preview of the holiday concert on December 8, will be offered for free to military veterans and their families. Sophisticated Ladies, in March '17, will pay tribute to Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan and Dina Washington and feature Sy Smith, Capathia Jenkins and Montego Glover. In 2016-17, The Washington National Opera will feature Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro, two American works, Dead Man Walking by Jake Heggie and Terrence McNally, and jazz-infused opera, Champion from Terrence Blanchard and Michael Cristofer, Donizetti's The Daughter of the Regiment, and the ever popular Madame Butterfly.

The Ballet and Contemporary Dance season will include Christopher Wheeldon's Cinderella (for those that may not be aware, Wheeldon is also the Tony Award® winning choreographer of Broadway's current hit An American in Paris), and two programs curated by New York City Ballet's Justin Peck and American Ballet Theatre's Misty Copeland. Contemporary music and dance will be celebrated in genre-blending events in the Mashups series, featuring KC Jukebox with Mason Bates, Jason + from Jason Moran and DEMO with Damian Woetzel.

Deborah Rutter, her staff, and all the artists participating in the the 2016-2017 season at The Kennedy Center have created an ambitious, diverse cornucopia of the arts for locals and visitors alike. For complete information about the new season, with listings by genre (and the option of setting up reminders for events that interest you), visit http://www.kennedy-center.org/pages/SpecialEvents/SeasonAnnouncement .

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