Zoe Harr

George Mason University’s School of Dance presents the 2024 Mason School of Dance Gala Concert on March 22 and 23, celebrating a rich array of diverse choreographic voices that span from the early days of modern dance to the freshest perspectives of today.

With National Ballet Day approaching on February 7, audiences are invited to experience a thrilling classical dance set to music by one of the most iconic composers of all time. Québec’s first professional ballet company, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, debuts at the Center for the Arts on February 10 with Dancing Beethoven.

The Center for the Arts is thrilled to welcome back the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) this winter, including a special guest making her debut at the Center, rising star pianist Isata Kanneh-Mason. On January 28, Kanneh-Mason joins the RPO for Prokofiev’s exhilarating Piano Concerto No. 3, in a program that also includes Debussy’s Danse (orch. Ravel) and Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade.

Kicking off the new year at the Center for the Arts is Hamid Rahmanian’s newest large-scale cinematic shadow play Song of the North on January 27. The thrilling multimedia adventure, adapted from the Shahnameh (Book of Kings), combines state-of-the-art animation with the age-old art of shadow puppetry to showcase a collection of ancient Persian legends and Iranian national treasures.

Honoring and remembering legendary Black individuals who have shaped history, the Center for the Arts celebrates Black History Month this February with a collection of amazing Black stories and artists, across opera, art song, and contemporary dance.

In a pledge to nurture the next generation of new opera experiences, Virginia Opera is thrilled to continue its 2023/2024 season with the “lyrical and historically vibrant” (NPR) contemporary opera Sanctuary Road by composer Paul Moravec and librettist Mark Campbell, both of whom are Pulitzer Prize winners, on February 3 and 4. Based on the life and writings of William Still, an African American leader on the Underground Railroad who helped more than 800 enslaved people escape to freedom, this production brings to life the many interviews of men and women Still helped find passage north.

Culminating its second of three years in residence at the Center for the Arts at George Mason University, Silkroad Ensemble engaged with George Mason University’s campus, as well as the local Fairfax community, as Mason Artist-in-Residence in conjunction with its November 5 performance of the world-premiere program American Railroad.

The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) returns to the Center for the Arts on January 28 with an exciting program featuring the acclaimed 2022/2023 RPO Artist-in-Residence pianist Isata Kanneh-Mason, RPO Music Director Vasily Petrenko, and pieces by Debussy with orchestration by Ravel, Prokofiev, and Rimsky-Korsakov. Cemented in its place at the forefront of classical music performance, RPO demonstrates an unwavering dedication to excellence while developing its programming, breaking down barriers, and making classical music accessible and inclusive.  

Coming to the Center with new arrangements of classic yuletide carols is the vibrant Latin GRAMMY-nominated group Mariachi Herencia de México with A Mariachi Christmas on December 10. For the holidays, the ensemble shares the Latin American tradition of Las Posadas with songs of the season, such as “Feliz Navidad,” “Ave Maria,” and more. The Chicago Sun-Times notes, “...for freshness and originality, it’s hard to top Mariachi Herencia de México’s south-of-the-border ode to Christmas.”

Renée Fleming, one of the most celebrated singers of our time and a 2023 Kennedy Center Honoree, joins the Fairfax Symphony Orchestra (FSO) for an exclusive evening at the Center for the Arts on November 18.