McLean and Great Falls classical music fans won't have to drive far for world-class orchestral performances this season. The National Symphony Orchestra announced Tuesday, Aug. 18, that George Mason University's Center for the Arts will host eight concerts in 2026-27, part of the NSO's unprecedented split across six regional venues after the Kennedy Center's board voted to pursue a two-year closure for renovation.

The 1,850-seat venue at 4373 Mason Pond Drive in Fairfax sits about 15 minutes from McLean. Tickets go on sale to the general public Friday, Aug. 28, at 10 a.m. through the Center for the Arts box office.

"I'd like to think of this year of the National Symphony Orchestra as a regional touring orchestra," music director Gianandrea Noseda said in an Associated Press interview published Aug. 18. "So we will be on tour and we will take and bring the music where the people are instead of inviting them to where we perform."

Noseda, entering his 10th season leading the NSO, will conduct 20 concerts across five of the six venues during his 10 weeks in the D.C. area. He said he changed just two programs from his original plans to account for smaller stages.

What's on the GMU schedule

The Center for the Arts lineup includes crowd-pleasers and a world premiere:

  • Thursday, Oct. 1 — "Noseda conducts Exotic Tales": Scheherazade, Pictures at an Exhibition and Boléro, plus the world premiere of a new arrangement of Rachmaninoff's Corelli Variations by Alexander Raskatov
  • Oct. 15-16 — "Scheherazade Two Point Oh!": Piazzolla's Three Tangos, Prokofiev's Lieutenant Kijé Suite and John Adams's Scheherazade.2, conducted by Adams with violinist Leila Josefowicz
  • Jan. 15-16, 2027 — "Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2": Conducted by Stanislav Kochanovsky with pianist Nikolai Lugansky
  • Feb. 18, 2027 — "Noseda conducts Rachmaninoff & Respighi": Dvořák's Piano Concerto, Corelli Variations and Respighi's Gli Uccelli
  • March 12-13, 2027 — "Go for Baroque": Handel's Water Music, Mozart's Exsultate, jubilate and Haydn's Symphony No. 103 "Drumroll," conducted by Bernard Labadie with soprano Joëlle Harvey

Tickets for the 2027 performances go on sale Wednesday, Oct. 28, at 10 a.m.

Why the NSO left the Kennedy Center

The Kennedy Center's board voted to close the complex for a two-year renovation project. The NSO will still rehearse there and keep its offices and music library on-site, but all 56 regional concerts move to six smaller venues. None seats more than 1,925.

The late announcement came 5½ weeks before the season-opening gala Sept. 26 at the Music Center at Strathmore in North Bethesda, Maryland. According to FFXnow, the NSO's summer concerts at Wolf Trap exceeded sales projections and drew packed houses, suggesting suburban audiences are ready to show up.

Local classical scene

The NSO's arrival at GMU adds a heavyweight neighbor to the area's existing classical organizations. The McLean Symphony, Capital Wind Symphony and Great Falls Philharmonic all received ArtsFairfax operating support grants for fiscal year 2027 as part of $601,900 distributed to 65 arts groups countywide.

Wolf Trap's Barns also announced its 2026-27 indoor season earlier this month, with tickets on sale Aug. 21.

Upcoming

  • Friday, Aug. 28, 10 a.m. — NSO fall tickets on sale at cfa.gmu.edu/nso-center-arts
  • Saturday, Sept. 26 — NSO season-opening gala at Strathmore
  • Thursday, Oct. 1 — First NSO concert at GMU's Center for the Arts