National Symphony Orchestra: Serenades & Simple Songs

The National Symphony Orchestra presents *Serenades & Simple Songs* at Lisner Auditorium, led by Grammy Award winner and Musical America’s 2022 Conductor of the Year Teddy Abrams. The program spans music by Igor Stravinsky, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Sarah Kirkland Snider, and Kennedy Center Honoree Michael Tilson Thomas.

Bass-baritone Will Liverman joins the orchestra for the world premiere of Snider’s *Urge*, an NSO co-commission featuring texts by poet Tracy K. Smith. The concert also includes Stravinsky’s spare and haunting *Symphonies of Wind Instruments*, Thomas’s *Street Song*, which incorporates urban rhythms and sounds, and Tchaikovsky’s warm, celebratory *Serenade for Strings*.

When: Saturday, November 14, 2026

Showtime: 8:00 p.m. EST

Venue: Lisner Auditorium, 730 21st Street NW, Washington, DC 20052

Program: Works by Stravinsky, Tchaikovsky, Sarah Kirkland Snider, and Michael Tilson Thomas

Featured artist: Will Liverman, bass-baritone

Conductor: Teddy Abrams

Premiere: World premiere of Sarah Kirkland Snider’s *Urge*, an NSO co-commission with texts by Tracy K. Smith

Tickets: $31.35+

Ticket limit: Eight tickets per person and per credit card

Audience: General public

Event type: Arts and Culture; Performance

Contact: GW Venues at gwticket@gwu.edu