Review: AOIFE O'DONOVAN & BONNY LIGHT HORSEMAN WITH THE NATIONAL SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA at Kennedy Center

Maestro Steven Reineke never ceases to amaze me with the wide range of artists he brings to DC to play with YOUR National Symphony Orchestra (NSO). In the past he’s featured everything from such Broadway stars as Norm Lewis and Megan Hilty to Grammy winning Latin performers Ozomatli. He always introduces his audiences to music they might not be familiar with, and I very much appreciate that both as a reviewer and as an audience member.

There are some genres of music that just lend themselves to symphonic interpretation. Folk music is definitely one of them because by nature it is a string based musical form meaning guitar and bass are the prevalent instruments used. Now imagine merging that genre with one of the best musical ensembles in the world meaning the NSO. It happened in the Concert Hall at Kennedy Center this past Tuesday evening when Aoife O’Donovan and Bonny Light Horseman hit the stage for an evening of superb music that also featured three local choirs boasting 120 plus voices.

First on the program was Bonny Light Horseman which is comprised of Anaïs Mitchell (Vocals and Guitar), Eric D. Johnson (Vocals and Guitar), and Josh Kaufman (Vocals/Guitar/Piano). You probably know Mitchell’s name because she is the Tony Award Winning Composer/Librettist of the musical Hadestown. The band was joined by JT Bates on drums and Cameron Ralston on bass.

The group started things off with “Comrade Sweetheart” and then continued on with “Lover Take It Easy.” The latter featured a solo by Assistant Principal Cellist Glenn Garlick.

Other highlights of the group’s set included “California”, “Speak To Me Muse” and my personnel favorite being the band's self titled composition “Bonny Light Horseman.” The latter featured a solo by Associate Concertmaster (Concertmaster for the evening) Ying Fu.

All of the orchestrations for Bonny Light Horseman were written by the immensely talented Bryce Dessner. The blending of the orchestra with the vocals elevated the music even higher and made for a truly amazing audible treat.

Now, just hearing Bonny Light Horseman with the NSO would have been enough for one evening but how about we add for act two Grammy Award winning artist Aoife O’Donovan and kick things up even further.

O’Donovan was joined by guitarist Alan Hampton and drummer Griffin Goldsmith.

Her set started out with “Red & White & Blue & Gold” as orchestrated by Christian Colberg. As you read on, you’ll notice that americana was an underline theme in O’Donovan’s musical choices for the evening.

O’Donovan then performed part of her song cycle (the rest was performed later in the program) entitled “America, Come, A Song Cycle for Voice, Guitar and Orchestra.” It tells the story of suffragettes fighting for the right to vote. Think Suffs the Broadway musical performed in the folk genre. It featured three local choirs numbering 120 plus strong and were comprised of members from Young Artists of America, Children’s Chorus of Washington, and Fairfax High School Bel Canto. The cycle is comprised of five songs and was orchestrated brilliantly by Tanner Porter.

Other highlights included a brand new orchestration for the evening by Gabriel Kahane of “Magic Hour” and an encore of “Bright Morning Stars” which featured O’Donovan and Bonny Light Horseman joining forces. Add to that the second encore of “Oh Mama” which added the choirs plus an orchestration by Steve Hackman and a perfect evening of music was topped off.

The NSO as conducted by Maestro Steven Reineke once again delivered a fine evening with the likes of Bonny Light Horseman and Aiofie O’Donovan to be sure. Please support the NSO by attending their concerts throughout the season. You might be introduced to a form of music you didn’t know you would enjoy and that my fellow readers is a very good thing.

Running Time: One hour and 50 minutes with one intermission.

Aiofie O’Donovan and Bonny Light Horseman with the National Symphony Orchestra was a one night only engagement on October 22nd, 2024, in the Concert Hall at Kennedy Center.

Lead photo by Chris Sikich.

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