JFK: The Last Speech with Phylicia Rashad | Kevin John Edusei conducts Adams, Ellington & Hailstork at Concert Hall at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

“Our national strength matters, but the spirit which informs and controls our strength matters just as much.” This is one of several quotes from President John F. Kennedy’s final speech that appears in the libretto of JFK: The Last Speech. Delivered in October 1963 at Amherst College to honor poet Robert Frost, Kennedy’s words celebrate the role of an artist in society, noting Frost’s contributions to American arts, culture, and ideology. Be among the first to hear this NSO co-commission—with narration by Tony Award®–winning actress and singer Phylicia Rashad—on a program that also includes Duke Ellington’s swinging trip to Jazz-age Harlem and John Adams’ Harmonielehre, inspired by the composer’s vision of an oil tanker blasting into space. Kevin John Edusei, conductor
Katerina Burton, soprano
Phylicia Rashad, narrator Duke Ellington: Harlem
Adolphus Hailstork: JFK: The Last Speech** (NSO CO-COMMISSION)
John Adams: Harmonielehre