While every week at the Library offers something exciting for visitors, researchers and staff, there are certain occasions (like this week) when there is a confluence of musical activity that should perk up everyone’s ears. Three major events will grace the Coolidge Auditorium stage, featuring a Broadway and film star, a stellar vocal group comprising graduates of the Thomanerchor in Leipzig (that’s the chorus that J.S. Bach led at Thomaskirche) and a blockbuster evening of chamber music with the Belcea and Ébène Quartets. Attendees of each event will have a unique chance to see items from the Music Division’s collections.
On Wednesday, November 13 at 12 p.m., the Library is hosting Tony and Grammy Award-winning performer Leslie Odom, Jr. in Conversation with Ken Biberaj. This highly anticipated event offers attendees a chance to hear a consummate creator and performer who is accomplished on Broadway, on the silver screen, as an author (“Failing Up: How to Take Risks, Aim Higher, and Never Give Up”), and as a recording artist. You might know Odom Jr. from his portrayal of Aaron Burr in the original Broadway cast of Hamilton, or for his more recent sensational performance in Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch. The Library is grateful to co-presenters Creative Artists Agency (CAA) Speakers and Coffee with Ken for their collaboration. A display of musical theater collections and items from the Alexander Hamilton Papers will be on display in the Whittall Pavilion immediately following the event. A limited number of advance tickets are available here. If the event is listed as sold out, RUSH passes will be distributed at the door for space available admission.
The hundredth anniversary celebration of the Music Division’s concert series, Concerts from the Library of Congress, continues on Friday, November 15 at 8 p.m. with an appearance by amarcord. The five voices of amarcord take us on a journey half a millennium in the making. The quintet was founded over thirty years ago by graduates of the famed Thomanerchor in Leipzig—the “a ca-fellas” of amarcord are in their prime and equally at home with music old and new. The program traverses Renaissance fare from Josquin to Schütz, German Romantics from Schubert to Wagner, Ethel Smyth, and music by living composers including Joanne Metcalf, Vanessa Lann, Sydney Marquez Boquiren and Steven Sametz. There will be a preconcert conversation with the artists at 6:30 p.m. in the Whittall Pavilion. A limited number of advance tickets are available here. If the event is listed as sold out, RUSH passes will be distributed at the door for space available admission.
On Saturday, November 16 at 8 p.m., the Belcea Quartet and Quatuor Ébène—two of Europe’s most distinguished string quartets—come together for a splendid concert offering masterly performances of monumental works of the chamber music repertoire. Written when both composers were still in their teens, the Mendelssohn and Enescu octets are prodigious creations, symphonic in concept and impact, with gorgeous melodies and rich, multilayered textures. Seize the opportunity to experience these two extraordinary works in one evening. There will be a preconcert lecture by David Plylar of the Music Division at 6:30 p.m. in the Whittall Pavilion. A limited number of advance tickets are available here. If the event is listed as sold out, RUSH passes will be distributed at the door for space available admission.
We invite you to explore the remainder of the fall 2024 concert series lineup (click the image below). Stay tuned for the winter/spring 2025 series announcement in December.
