America 250: A Classical Portrait

From May through August, join us as we explore the story of classical music in the United States with America 250: A Classical Portrait. Our celebration is centered around the weekly program on WETA Virtuoso every Wednesday at 2PM. Over the four months, host James Jacobs will be telling a story of classical music unique to the American experience, a journey of imagination, tradition and possibility. 

Just the idea of the New World Pre-Independence provided a source of endless fascination and inspiration even for composers who never actually came here, while it provided an opportunity for a fresh start and perspective for those who did, and as America grew from an idea into a nation its musical conversation with the rest of the world developed in sophistication and complexity through the centuries and continues to this day. 

Each week A Classical Portrait will delve into composers, artists, and institutions that were born of and reflect American ideals, encompassing the complete narrative of American classical music in the last 250 years and beyond. 

We will present a special monthly preview program every first Tuesday of the month at 8PM on WETA Classical, and every Tuesday at noon, we will share a vocal sneak peek from the week's topic on WETA VivaLaVoce. Choral Showcase on WETA Classical will also celebrate America 250 on each week's program May through August.

Please join us as we explore how the discovery, independence, and innovation of America shaped our own dynamic and essential contribution to classical music. 

Enjoy Classical Breakdown episodes celebrating American composers here.

Coming Up

• June 28 at 9PM on Choral Showcase: American Poem: Dickinson, Hawthorne, Longfellow
  • America 250: A Classical Portrait presents poetry by Emily Dickinson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in John Adams's choral symphony Harmonium and Scott Perkins's A New England Requiem, on this week's Choral Showcase..
• June 30 at 12PM on WETA VivaLaVoce: America 250 Vocal Highlight
• July 1 at 2PM on WETA Virtuoso: America 250: A Classical Portrait
  • America 250 - Happy Birthday! 

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Archives

• June 21 at 9PM on Choral Showcase: American Water Music
  • Choral Showcase celebrates America 250 this week with "Water Music." Voyages by Robert Convery based on the poetry of Hart Crane; Walden Pond by Dominick Argento after Thoreau; and Eric Whitacre's Water Night. And, we'll hear a chorus from the denizens of our watery world in Alan Hovhaness's And God Created Great Whales.
• June 13 at 12PM on WETA VivaLaVoce: America 250 Vocal Highlight
• June 24 at 2PM on WETA Virtuoso: America 250: A Classical PortraitJune 17 at 2PM on WETA Virtuoso: America 250: A Classical Portrait
  • American Mavericks, Pushing the Boundaries of the Piano and Musical Experience
• June 10 at 2PM on WETA Virtuoso: America 250: A Classical Portrait
  • Charles Ives: An American Original 
• June 3 at 2PM on WETA Virtuoso: America 250: A Classical Portrait
  • From Spirituals to Jazz: The Birth of the American Sound
• May 27 at 2PM on WETA Virtuoso: America 250: A Classical Portrait
  • Eight American Visionaries
• May 20 at 2PM on WETA Virtuoso: America 250: A Classical Portrait
  • From Anit-Opera to Opera: The First Opera in America, "The Beggar's Opera"
• May 13 at 2PM on WETA Virtuoso: America 250: A Classical Portrait
  • A Revolution in Music: The Ripple Effect in Europe and the Music of the Founders
• May 6 at 2PM on WETA Virtuoso: America 250: A Classical Portrait
  •  From the New World: American Music Before the Revolution