Political song cycles and Christmas chorales mingle with jazz guitar and Bohemian masters; a distinguished baritone honors American composers; a distinguished American composer celebrates his 75th birthday; and a remarkable field of musicians commemorates everyone from Bach and Vivaldi to Fanny Brice and Sophie Tucker in the 2004-2005 Library of Congress concert series.
![Thomas Hampson](images/music_1.jpg)
Also, a free noon concert series is presented by the American Folklife Center and the Music Division at the Library of Congress, in cooperation with the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage and the Folklore Society of Greater Washington.
Among the highlights is a Dec. 7 concert by internationally renowned operatic baritone Thomas Hampson, whose Hampsong Foundation is launching a collaborative effort with the Library to promote American art song.
On Feb. 18, 2005, guitarist Bill Frisell will treat audiences to his unique mix of jazz, country, folk, blues, rock, world and classical music.
![George Crumb](images/music_2.jpg)
George Crumb, recently named Composer of the Year by Musical America, will join an ensemble of percussion, piano, guitar and voice on Oct. 25 to celebrate his 55 years of creative output.
In May fellow composer Fred Lerdahl will see the world premiere of his "Duo for Violin and Piano"—a work commissioned by the Library's McKim Fund. Another work commissioned by the fund—Stephen Harke's "Diferencias" for violin and piano—will receive its premiere from the Juilliard String Quartet on Dec. 17.
The upcoming presidential election gets a delightful musical spin on Oct. 26, when the Election Singers present works from the Library's collections of Berlin, Gershwin and campaign songs, as well as the premiere of "Mr. President," a new choral cycle based on presidential speeches.
![Danilo Perez Trio](images/schedule_1.jpg)
In February 2005 the Danilo Pérez Trio, a major new force in pan-American music, will showcase its innovative blend of traditional jazz, Latin-Afro-Cuban rhythms and folk and world music. The next month will see the arrival of Aguavá New Music Studio, one of the country's most impressive new music ensembles, performing masterworks of the late 20th and early 21st centuries.
Jazz and soul music fans should take special note of a series of documentaries running in the James Madison Building's third-floor Mary Pickford Theater from Oct. 18 to Dec. 20. The films, made between the 1950s and the 1970s, feature such artists as John Coltrane, Carmen McRae, Nina Simone, Labelle, Al Green, Gladys Knight and the Pips and Stevie Wonder.
![Bill Frisell](images/music_3.jpg)
All Library of Congress concerts and other public programs are presented free of charge to the public but require tickets for admission. No tickets are required for noontime events in this series, which are offered from noon to 1 p.m. either in the Library's Coolidge Auditorium or on the Jefferson Building's Neptune Plaza. Tickets are distributed by Ticketmaster at (202) 397-7328, (703) 573-7328, (410) 547-7328 or, for out-of-state residents, (800) 551-7328. Each ticket carries a nominal service charge of $2, with additional charges for phone orders and handling. Tickets are also available at Ticketmaster outlets and online at www.ticketmaster.com. Although the supply of tickets may be exhausted, there are often empty seats at concert time. Interested patrons are encouraged to come to the Library by 6:30 p.m. on concert nights to wait in the standby line for no-show tickets.
Unless otherwise noted, all concerts will be held in the Coolidge Auditorium, located on the ground floor of the Thomas Jefferson Building, 10 First Street S.E., in Washington, D.C. For further information about Concerts from the Library of Congress, call the Concert Information Line at (202) 707-5502, or visit the Web site at www.loc.gov/rr/perform/concert/.