JFK: The Last Speech with Phylicia Rashad | Kevin John Edusei conducts Adams, Ellington & Hailstork

National Symphony Orchestra

JFK: The Last Speech

with Phylicia Rashad
Kevin John Edusei conducts Adams, Ellington & Hailstork

Concert Hall

Emmy– and Tony Award–winning actress Phylicia Rashad narrates a powerful new NSO co-commission commemorating the 60th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy’s iconic 1963 speech at Amherst College. Also on the program: Duke Ellington’s swinging trip to Jazz-age Harlem and John Adams’ Harmonielehre, inspired by the composer’s vision of an oil tanker blasting into space.

Oct. 26 - 28, 2023

Thu. Oct. 26, 2023 7p.m.
Sat. Oct. 28, 2023 8p.m.

Genre

Classical Music
View Digital Program

Program

Kevin John Edusei, conductor
Katerina Burton, soprano
Phylicia Rashad, narrator

Duke Ellington: Harlem
Adolphus Hailstork: JFK: The Last Speech** ^{(NSO CO-COMMISSION)}
John Adams: Harmonielehre

“When power corrupts, poetry cleanses. For art establishes the basic human truths, which must serve as the touchstone of our judgment.”

This is one of many powerful quotes from President John F. Kennedy’s final speech that appears in the libretto of JFK: The Last Speech. Delivered in October 1963 at Amherst College to honor poet Robert Frost, Kennedy’s words celebrate the role of an artist in society, noting Frost’s contributions to American arts, culture, and ideology. Be among the first to hear this NSO co-commission—with narration by Tony Award^®–winning actress and singer Phylicia Rashad—on a program that also includes Duke Ellington’s swinging trip to Jazz-age Harlem and John Adams’ Harmonielehre, inspired by the composer’s vision of an oil tanker blasting into space.

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