Holidays at the Atlas
bring the family, toast the season, spread the joy

Annual Carol Sing
SOLD OUT An H Street holiday tradition is back! The annual FREE Holiday Concert at the Atlas Performing Arts Center, in collaboration with Capital City Symphony the Congressional Chorus, the American Youth Chorus, and the Atlas.
December 8 Call the box office to join the waiting list 202.399.7993 ext 2

Drumming With Dishes: Holiday Edition
Arts on the Horizon
Theatre for the Very Young
A young girl introduces her imaginary friend to what makes the holiday season the most wonderful time of the year. This gentle, whimsical adventure celebrates friendship and turning the ordinary into the extraordinary.
December 11-15| MORE| Tickets

Step Afrika!’s Magical, Musical Holiday Step Show
“Who wants to sit still and be quiet for the holidays?” Celebrate the holidays with Step Afrika! and their furry friends and a few special guests in their annual holiday performance. Perfect for the whole family.
Discounts for groups of 10 or more.
December 11 – 22| |MORE |Tickets

Matt Wilson’s Christmas Tree-O
Grammy nominee, drummer, Matt Wilson, livens up the holiday season with his one-of-a-kind Christmas Tree-O! As one of today’s most celebrated jazz artists, he is recognized for his melodic drumming style as well as his strength as a composer and bandleader. Whether you’ve been naughty or nice, this is the perfect holiday treat!
December 19| MORE |Tickets

The magic of theater for the youngest audience members.

Single tickets  available.

October 16-21, 2013
Imagination Stage: From Here To There

 

A delightful show for the youngest theatre-goers all about the joy building bridges. (And knocking them down too!) Join two playful characters that climb over, craw under, and even hide behind the bridges they build, using rhythm, rhyme and imagination!  A free-play session at the end of the performance invites the children to explore the show’s props.  Presented by Imagination Stage collaboration with England’s award-winning Tell Tale Hearts Theatre Company.

Get Tickets to From Here to There.

 

November 6 – 11, 2013

Arts on the Horizon
The Young Spectaculars and the Front Yard Adventure

 

Meet brother and sister Andrew and Emma – aka The Young Spectaculars! Energized by their super-powered imaginations, but stuck creating their own adventures near the front porch, they save a cat and a picnic lunch before stumbling upon more than they bargained for. Join the Young Spectaculars for this show intended for the little hero inside all of us.

Get Tickets to Young Spectaculars and the Front Yard Adventure.

 

 

 

Dec 11 – 18, 2013
Arts on the Horizon
Drumming with Dishes: Holiday Edition!

 

Arts on the Horizon’s inaugural production is back again, just in time for the holiday season!  This gentle, playful adventure takes place in a special kitchen, where two friends cook up joyful music together.  From a pasta-box Christmas tree to dreidels spinning on pots and pans, these friends (and their live guitar accompanist) bring many of your favorite holiday songs to life like you’ve never seen before!

Get Tickets to Drumming With Dishes: Holiday Edition.

 

 

Jan 28 – Feb 2, 2014
Imagination Stage: Aquarium

 

Enter a world where giant jellyfish fly through the air, sheep graze in the grass, and lemons create the sun in a “let’s pretend” sky.  With gentle music, beautiful puppets, and imaginative props, Jack and Calypso lead children and caregivers to a magical, interactive world. Imagination Stage, an international leader in family theater, is a proud presenter of “serious fun for the very young” in their innovative live performance experiences.

Get Tickets to Aquarium.

 

 

 

April 9 – 14, 2014
Imagination Stage
New Show: Inside Out

 

Things can get a little crazy when kids start to turn things inside out.  Two characters imaginations go wild in a game of dress-up. Scarves become birds.  T-shirts become monsters.  A sock dance rocks the closet!  Designed especially for the youngest theatre- goers and presented by Imagination Stage collaboration with England’s award-winning Tell Tale Hearts Theatre Company.

 

Get Tickets to Inside Out.

Featuring performances from world-class jazz artists

Single tickets  available.

September 25, 2013
Billy Hart Quartet

Master percussionist, Billy Hart, has “an open-ended direct technique” (DownBeat) to jazz, providing a night of freedom and unexpected turns. A Washington DC native, Billy Hart’s illustrious career includes playing with greats such as Herbie Hancock and Wes Montgomery. Hart’s quartet, featuring the talents of Mark Turner, Ethan Iverson, and Ben Street, effortlessly walk the path between dexterity and exciting abandon, but never reckless, and wonderfully sublime.

Get Tickets to Billy Hart Quartet.

 

 

October 9, 2013
Snakeoil with Tim Berne, Oscar Noriega, Matt Mitchell, Ches Smith

In the game since 1970, Tim Berne still amazes with each new project he leads. Snakeoil Quartet is no different. Called “one of the most forward thinking and fearless composers in jazz” (All About Jazz), Berne’s music never fails to challenge and delight the human ear. Snakeoil Quartet includes pianist, Matt Mitchell, percussionist, Ches Smith, and Oscar Noriega on bass clarinet, acclaimed musicians in their own right who master Berne’s compositions and challenge each other through skillful improvisation.

Get Tickets to Snakeoil with Tim Berne, Oscar Noriega, Matt Mitchell, Ches Smith.

 

 

October 23, 2013
Brian Settles & Central Union

Influenced by jazz greats such as Davey Yarborough, Charlie Young, and Arnie Lawrence, DC native Brian Settles, presents a style all his own. A Duke Ellington School of the Arts and Howard University alum, Settles became known for his, “creative, risk-taking,” freely swinging between traditional and unconventional forms of jazz. His band, Central Union, featuring Corcoran Holt on bass, Jeremy Carlstedt on drums, percussionist, Jean Marie Collatin-Faye and pianist, Neil Podgurski, forms a cohesive unit of melody and flow.

 

Get Tickets to Brian Settles & Central Union.

 

November 13, 2013
Steve Lehman Octet

New York born, alto saxophonist, Steve Lehman, is considered one of the gifted trailblazers of jazz in the 21^st Century (The Guardian UK). His sound oscillates between jazz as we know it and jazz as it will be, involving innovative instrumentation and composition leaning into the new music genre. Performing sets from his critically acclaimed album, Travail, Transformation and Flow, Steve Lehman Octet features Mark Shim, Jonathan Finlayson, Tim Albright, Chris Dingman, Jose Davila, Drew Gress, Tyshawn Sorey.

Get Tickets to Steve Lehman Octet.

 

December 19, 2013
Matt Wilson’s Christmas Tree-O

 

Grammy nominee, drummer, Matt Wilson, livens up the holiday season with his one-of-a-kind Christmas Tree-O! As one of today’s most celebrated jazz artists, he is recognized for his melodic drumming style as well as his strength as a composer and bandleader. With Jeff Lederer and Paul Sikivie, the fun and delightful Wilson offers up all of our Holiday favorites without letting go his jazzy, snazzy flow. Whether you’ve been naughty or nice, this is the perfect holiday treat!

Get Tickets to Matt Wilson’s Christmas Tree-O.

 

January 16, 2013
Anthony Pirog Trio

Anthony Pirog is making his mark on the guitar playing universe, one sonically enthralling, diversely influenced project after another. From his work on Janel andAnthony’s “Where is Home,” described in Guitar Player Magazine as “approachable experimentalism,” to his “pristinely executed rock guitar solos” with Skysaw,Anthony displays a “crystalline tone that’s immediately recognizable as his own” in his ever-evolving conception of how a guitar can sound. Featuring Michael Formanek on bass and Ches Smith on drums.

Get Tickets to Anthony Pirog Trio.

 

 

January 29, 2014
Ellery Eskelin Trio New York II with Gary Versace, Gerald Cleaver

Raised in Baltimore and based in New York City, Ellery Eskelin is called the “most inventive American tenor player in creative music” (DownBeat). Having played with bakdav drummer, Arto Tuncboyaciyan, accordionist, Andrea Parkins, and including organist, Gary Versace, in his Trio New York, Eskelin seeks unusual musical collaboration and instrumentation. Trio New York, also featuring Gerald Cleaver, reanimates the Great American Songbook with Eskelin’s love and dedication to jazz and American music.

 

Get Tickets to Ellery Eskelin Trio New York II with Gary Versace, Gerald Cleaver.

 

February 1, 2014
Don Byron Gospel Quintet

DC favorite, Don Byron presents his New Gospel Quintet, featuring vocalist, Carla Cook, pianist Xavier Davis, bassist, Brad Jones, and drummer, Pheeroan akLaff, in which he explores what he calls, “the American riches of American gospel music.” This project is quintessential Byron, who is known for drawing upon his multi-genred inspirations. He immerses himself and his audience into the African American gospel tradition from a unique jazz perspective.

 

Get Tickets to Don Byron Gospel Quintet.

 

February 12, 2014
Curtis Hasselbring’s Number Stations with Mary Halvorson, Trevor Dunn, Chris Speed

Curtis Hasselbring, or “Curha,” as he is commonly called in the jazz scene, does not shy away from experimentation with other genres and instrumental arrangements. His newest project Number Stations, alludes to short wave radio stations that emit lingering, mysterious signals and messages. In this way, Hasselbring, along with Mary Halvorson, Trevor Dunn, and Chris Speed, projects a style that is both enigmatic and humorously dark, while maintaining a mastery of jazz tradition and leaning into rock rhythms.

Get Tickets to Curtis Hasselbring’s Number Stations with Mary Halvorson, Trevor Dunn, Chris Speed.

 

March 19, 2014
Washington Women in Jazz Festival featuring Mary Halvorson and Allison Miller

Amy K. Bormet, founder of the Washington Women in Jazz Festival (WWJF), returns to the Atlas with the Washington Women in Jazz All Stars featuring guitarist, Mary Halvorson and drummer, Allison Miller. Approaching its fourth year, the Washington Women in Jazz Festival celebrates the DC area’s finest female jazz artists in spite of a male-dominated jazz scene, whose talents span the continuum of the jazz genre.

 

Get Tickets to Washington Women in Jazz Festival featuring Mary Halvorson and Allison Miller.

 

March 26, 2014
Linda Oh Quartet

Rising star, composer and bassist, Linda Oh, draws upon her Chinese heritage, and Malaysian and Australian beginnings to create what the New York Times can only describe as “graceful and sometimes aggressive” musical compositions. She is a part of a new and fearless generation of jazz progressives applying her rock and classical foundations to create her own jazz aesthetic. Leading her Quartet on a mean bass, Oh is joined by pianist, Fabian Almazan, Dayna Stephens on tenor saxophone, and drummer, Rudy Royston.

 

Get Tickets to Linda Oh Quartet.

 

May 8, 2014
Nneena Freelon

 

Called, “a jazz singer with unstinting vivacity,” (New York Times), Six-time Grammy Award nominee, Nnenna Freelon, is an accomplished jazz vocalist. She has worked with Indi Hip Hop band, The Roots, Gospel group, Take 6, guitarist Earl Klugh and pianist, Ramsey Lewis, Sir Elton John, Italian tenor, Andrea Bocelli, and so many more. Freelon is known for her ability to interpret songs in their truest form.

Get Tickets to Nnenna Freelon.

 

May 10, 2014
Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society

 

Young, gifted and obsessed with swing, Darcy James Argue brings his Secret Society, the 18-piece big band, back to the Atlas for the 3^rd time! The GRAMMY-nominated, Darcy James Argues’ Secret Society conjures the spirit of the big band Swing Era while adding its own reminiscence of the dance orchestra style. New York Times called it, “A wickedly intelligent dispatch from the fading border between orchestral jazz and post-rock and classical minimalism…” The Secret Society presents a genre of jazz unique unto itself.

Get Tickets to Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society.

Featuring performances from artists known for pushing the boundaries of dance.

Single tickets available.

 

October 18-20, 2013
Gregory Maqoma

Soweto-born Gregory Maqoma is an internationally recognized dancer, choreographer, director and scriptwriter, who began his dance training in 1990, and studied at the Performing Arts Research and Training School in Belgium.  Exit/Exist is a piece based on the life of Xhosa chief, Maqoma, who played an influential role in the Eastern Cape frontier wars in South Africa during the 19^th century. Engaging themes of colonial displacement, the piece involves collaboration with 4 person singing group, South African Ensemble Complete, and world-fusion guitarist, Giuliano Modarelli. Artspoken, South Africa hailed Maqoma’s work as “a work of extraordinary depth and physical and musical deftness.”

Get Tickets to Gregory Maqoma.

 

November 8-10, 2013
Jonah Bokaer

“Jonah Bokaer is contemporary dance’s renaissance man.” -The New York Times

A groundbreaking choreographer and acclaimed visual artist join forces to create a unique, visually original world of dance.  Jonah Bokaer and visual artist Daniel Arsham bring fruition a thrilling new multidisciplinary piece. Occupant focuses on movement in relationship to built spaces, objects, lighting, and other media, creating illusions in stage space.

 

 

Get Tickets to Jonah Bokaer.

 

March 29-30, 2014
Aparna Ramaswamy.

A protégé of the legendary master Bharatanatyam artist, Alarmél Valli, Aparna Ramaswamy has been described as a “marvel of buoyant agility and sculptural clarity” (Dance Magazine). Born in India and raised in the US, Ramaswamy has gained much success as both a solo dancer and principal dancer with the Ragamala Dance Company.  Ramaswamy’s work addresses the spirituality and philosophy of her South Indian heritage.

 

Get Tickets to Aparna Ramaswamy.

 

April 4-6, 2014
Camille Brown

Camille A. Brown has sought to defy the boundaries between dance and theatre.  Brown has been commissioned by the Ailey Company, Ballet Memphis, and the August Wilson Dance Ensemble, among others. Storytelling through dance and engaging social issues that persist among past and present, Camille A. Brown & Dancers present Mr. Tol E. RAncE, a piece inspired by the Spike Lee film, Bamboozled (2002) that explores the sustained racial archetypes of black performers while celebrating their tenacity and perseverance.

 

Get Tickets to Camille Brown.

 

May 17-18, 2014
Kyle Abraham

One of Dance Magazine’s 2009 “25 to Watch,” Choreographer Kyle Abraham brings his extraordinary company, Abraham.in.Motion, to  Washington to perform his latest work, Live! The Realest MC. Inspired by Pinocchio’s plight to be a “real boy,” Kyle Abraham’s ensemble dance work investigates gender roles in the black community and the quest for acceptance in the world of hip-hop celebrity. Live! The Realest MC, an evolution of previous solo work by Abraham, references our own humanity in this digital age, creating an abstracted and humorously dark narrative that places the iconic childhood character in an industrial dystopia.

A co-presentation with Dance Place.

Get Tickets to Kyle Abraham.

 

 

May 31 – June 1, 2014
Adele Myers

New England based dancer and choreographer, Adele Myers takes pride in her dancers’ unique athleticism and theatricality in performances. Hailed as someone who can “shape a world onstage” (New York Times) and whose work is “charged, savvy, contextual,” (Heidi Henderson, Elephant Jane Dance), Myers and Dancers introduce Einstein’s Happiest Thought, a multidisciplinary piece that explores sensations born of risk and anticipation. Einstein’s Happiest Thought was inspired by Myers’ struggle with a fear of heights while attending NY Trapeze School. Myers and Dancers collaborate with LA based film maker, Emmy Picket, and composer, Josh Quillen of Sō Percussion.

Get Tickets to Adele Myers.

 

Featuring contemporary and cutting-edge performances

Single tickets available.

September 21, 2013/December 6, 2013/May 23, 2014
Great Noise Ensemble

Great Noise Ensemble is a working embodiment of its mission to fight for the performance of new works and promote emerging talent in contemporary music.  Born in 2005 when composer and conductor Armando Bayolo placed an ad on Craigslist.org seeking like-minded musicians passionate about contemporary music, Great Noise Ensemble has become one of the most important and adventurous ensembles in the District of Columbia’s new music scene. Since January 2006, Great Noise Ensemble has presented the world premieres of some 23 new compositions as well as regional premieres and rare performances of some of the major works of the last 25 years by composers like Steve Reich, John Luther Adams and Louis Andriessen.

NOTICE: Saturday September 21, 2013 is the H Street Festival H Street will be closed the traffic until 9pm that evening. Parking in the surrounding neighborhoods will be extremely limited. The H Street Valet Parking service will not be available to Atlas patrons. The Atlas strongly advises patrons to take public transportation or taxi cabs.

Get Tickets to Great Noise Ensemble.

 

September 22, 2013
Nicholas Photinos

This season, renowned cello player and founding member of Eight Blackbird, the Chicago-based three-time Grammy Award-winning new music ensemble, Nick Photinos will premiere his music as a solo artist on the Atlas stage. As a soloist, Photinos has performed throughout California and the Midwest, and has appeared with orchestras in California and Ohio, including the world premiere of the Cello Concerto in D Minor by Grace Vamos. He currently teaches at the University of Richmond and the University of Chicago, and is a graduate of Northwestern University, the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and the Oberlin Conservatory of Music.

Get Tickets to Nicholas Photinos.

 

 

October 12, 2013
Claire Chase

The Atlas welcomes 2012 MacArthur Fellow, Claire Chase to the stage as she uses her passion for playing the flute to push the instrument beyond traditional notes. Chase has given critically acclaimed solo recitals recently at Weill Recital Hall as part of the Great Performers Series at Lincoln Center. As a soloist, collaborative artist and arts entrepreneur, Chase has premiered over 100 new works for flute in the past decade. She is also founder of the award winning International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE).

 

Get Tickets to Claire Chase.

 

November 15-16, 2013
eighth blackbird: Colombine’s Paradise Theatre

eighth blackbird combines the finesse of a string quartet, the energy of a rock band and the audacity of a storefront theater company. The Chicago-based, three-time Grammy-winning “super-musicians” (LA Times) entertain and provoke audiences across the country and around the world.

 

Get Tickets to eighth blackbird: Colombine’s Paradise Theatre.

 

 

January 11, 2014
Kafka Fragments

“Take a deeply spiritual journey through the life and writings of Franz Kafka, as the Atlas welcomes mezzo-soprano Megan Ihnen and violinist Martha Morrison Muehleisen, to the stage performing contemporary composer Gyorgy Kurtag’s “Kafka Fragments.” Inspired by the life of Kafka and his many works, the Jewish-Hungarian composer of Europena music ties composer and writer together with “alliterative grace” taking listeners through “a century of modernism and a gasping for personal expression through violently impersonal time” in one of his longest and most celebrated works. This performance will feature live animations during the performance by Rome Prize fellow Karen Yasinsky.

 

Get Tickets to Kafka Fragments.

 

January 31, 2014
Third Coast Percussion

Third Coast Percussion will take the Atlas by storm, offering its viewers a “vibrant” and “superb” contemporary performance. Using an impressive mix of percussion instruments, the band explores and expands the extraordinary sonic possibilities of the percussion repertoire, delivering audiences an experience like no other. Since its formation in 2005, Third Coast Percussion has gained national attention with concerts and recordings that meld the energy of rock music with the precision and nuance of classical chamber works. The ensemble champions the awe-inspiring music of John Cage, Steve Reich, George Crumb, among others.

Get Tickets to Third Coast Percussion.

 

 

April 26, 2014
So Percussion

Since 1999, Sō percussion has been creating music that explores all the extremes of emotion and musical possibility. Called an “Experi- mental powerhouse” by the Village Voice, “astonishing and entrancing” by Billboard Magazine, and “brilliant” by The New York Times, the Brooklyn-based quartet’s innovative work with today’s most exciting composers and their own original music has quickly helped them forge a unique and diverse career.

 

Get Tickets to So Percussion.

 

May 9, 2014
International Contemporary Ensemble

International Contemporary Ensemble has been receiving rave reviews for its innovative and inventive approaches to crafting new music and engaging audiences.  With a flexible roster of 33 leading instrumentalists performing in forces ranging from solos to large ensembles, ICE functions as performer, presenter, and educator, advancing the music of our time. Since its founding in 2001, ICE has premiered over 500 compositions, the bulk of them by emerging composers, in venues ranging from New York’s Lincoln Center and Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary Art to galleries, bars, clubs, and schools around the world.

Get Tickets to International Contemporary Ensemble.

 

 

May 16-18, 2014
David T. Little’s Soldier Songs

Soldier Songs is an evening-length multimedia event from composer David T. Little that combines elements of theater, opera, rock-infused-concert music, and animation to explore the perceptions versus the realities of the Soldier, the exploration of loss and exploitation of innocence, and the difficulty of expressing the truth of war. Music can be easily co-opted to serve a political or ideological message or it can equally be a vehicle for reflection, engagement, and emotional connection, as is seen in this gripping music-theatre work.

 

Get Tickets to David T. Little’s Soldier Songs.

 

June 6, 2014
Euclid Quartet

Praised by the Washington Post for their “elegant mix ofpassion, ferocity and feathery delicacy”Hailed by the Denver Post for their “electric” playing The Euclid Quartet, a dynamic ensemble known for performances filled with personality andvibrant color, is recognized as one of the most well-regarded chamber ensembles in its generation. Captivating audiences and critics ranging from Carnegie Hall to school classroomsto radio and television broadcasts, the quartet has performed to great acclaim across the country.

 

Get Tickets to Euclid Quartet.

 

 

April 6-13, 2014
Louis Andriessen Festival

Five Washington, D.C. area organizations, including The Atlas Performing Arts Center, Great Noise Ensemble, National Gallery of Art, Strathmore, and Shenandoah Conservatory,will present Andriessen 75, a week-long festival celebrating the music of the beloved Dutch composer Louis Andriessen on the occasion of his 75th birthday.  Developed by Armando Bayolo, the Great Noise Ensemble founder and New Music curator at The Atlas Performing Arts Center, the Festival will feature a host of premieres and defining works by the honored composer, alongside pieces and performances by his collaborators, students, and friends.

 

April 6, 2014
Great Noise Ensemble

DC’s own Great Noise Ensemble will present the Washington, D.C. premiere of Andriessen’s  Grawemeyer Award winning opera, La Commedia.

Get Tickets to Great Noise Ensemble.

April 7, 2014

Roadmaps & Diaries II

a program for violinist and sound designer, featuring violin, electric violin, adapted violin, voice, installations, images, and sound manipulation

 

Monica Germino: violin, electric violin, adapted violin, voice

Frank van der Weij: sound design

This very enticing program brings together two trailblazing Holland-based musicians, violinist Monica Germino and punk-rock bassist turned sound designer Frank van der Weij, for electroacoustic innovations composed by Louis Andriessen, Julia Wolfe, Michael Gordon, Kate Moore, Donnacha Dennehy and others.

Get Tickets to Roadmaps and Diaries II.

April 9, 2014
Andriessen’s Piano/Andriessen’s Jazz: Brad Linde Ensemble

Featuring the U.S. premieres of Louis Andriessen’s The Family Revisited and Monument to Graettinger, and Image de Moreau (the printed collection of his piano works, performed in its entirety).

Get Tickets to Andriessen’s Piano/Andriessen’s Jazz: Brad Linde Ensemble.

April 11, 2014
Bang on a Can All-Stars

Featuring the Washington, D.C. premiere of Life, composed for Bang on a Can All Stars, as well as music by Andriessen, students, protégés, and friends.  The Bang On A Can All-Stars present the Washington D.C. premiere of Life, composed for the ensemble, on a program with pieces by leading American composers (and Andriessen protégés) David Lang, Michael Gordon, Julia Wolfe, and Steve Martland (programmed in memoriam).

Get Tickets to Bang On A Can All-Stars.