The 2023/2024 season at the Center for the Arts is full of impressive acts ranging from acrobatic to operatic, but undeniably featuring, incredible women. Collectively, these women have toured the world and changed lives, affecting audiences everywhere. Read on to learn more about these powerhouse women.
Star of stage and screen, Renée Elise Goldsberry, is a Tony-, GRAMMY-, and Emmy Award-winner, best known for her portrayal of Angelica Schuyler in Hamilton. In addition to her most-recent Broadway appearances, she has also starred in The Color Purple (original cast, Nettie), Lion King (Nala), and Rent (Mimi Marquez). Audiences will also recognize Goldsberry for her many television roles on shows including ABC’s One Life to Live, CBS’s The Good Wife, and Disney+’s She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, and Peacock’s Girls5eva, which earned her a nomination at the 2023 Critics Choice Awards for Best Actress in a Comedy Series. Goldsberry takes centerstage on September 30 as the 2023 ARTS by George! headliner in a dazzling concert featuring Broadway hits and American songbook classics.
Returning for their second of three years as a Mason Artist-in-Residence, Silkroad Ensemble presents the world-premiere of American Railroad on November 5, a production led by Artistic Director, GRAMMY, and 2023 Pulitzer Prize winner Rhiannon Giddens. 2017 MacArthur “Genius Grant" recipient, Giddens excels at banjo and has composed music for opera, film, and ballet. She has released two solo albums with a third entitled You’re the One to be released this upcoming August 18. Named one of NPR’s 25 Most Influential Women Musicians of the 21st Century, Giddens is a three-time visitor of the famous NPR “Tiny Desk Concert Series” and hosts her own show on PBS entitled My Music with Rhiannon Giddens, which premiered in May 2023.
Joining Fairfax Symphony Orchestra on November 18 for an exclusive evening featuring the exquisite Four Last Songs by Richard Strauss, Renée Fleming is one of the most celebrated singers of our time and a 2023 Kennedy Center Honoree. Fleming has won five GRAMMY Awards for her impressive vocals and has performed in incredible locations including the Super Bowl, the White House, and the balcony of Buckingham Palace. Awe-inspiring achievements include being awarded the National Medal of Arts by former President Obama, becoming the first woman to solo headline an opening night at the Metropolitan Opera in its 125-year history, and joining the Kennedy Center as Artistic Advisor-at-Large.
The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) returns to the Center featuring rising star pianist and 2022/2023 RPO Artist in Residence Isata Kanneh-Mason who will masterfully perform Prokofiev’s popular third piano concerto. In addition to recording three albums, she was an ECHO Rising Star and recipient of the coveted Leonard Bernstein Award and an Opus Klassik award for Best Young Artist. Kanneh-Mason is the oldest of six siblings, all of which are musically gifted and play either piano, cello, violin, or a combination of the three. Still in her twenties, Kanneh-Mason tours the world, sharing her skills with audiences that will soon include those at the Center for the Arts in Fairfax.
Virtuoso pianist Hélène Grimaud joins one of Germany’s premier orchestras, the Bamberg Symphony, on April 27 at the Center, performing Schumann’s Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 54. Praised by The Washington Post for the “rapturous” and “astonishing show of her proficiency and poetic sensibilities,” Grimaud is a multi-award-winning musician with a rich history in musical achievement since childhood. Along with the work she’s accomplished as a talented pianist, Grimaud participates in wildlife conservationism, human rights activism, and writing. With an incredible track record of musical touring, Grimaud has also published three books in various languages, founded the New York State Wolf Conservation Center, and released over 15 albums.
A Mason Arts venue, the Center for the Arts is the centerpiece of performing arts on George Mason University’s Fairfax campus, offering the best of classical music, opera, jazz, global music, dance, theater, and more. From Broadway's brightest stars to the stars of tomorrow studying at Mason, the Center promises an arts experience to inspire you. See all these powerhouse women and more at the Center for the Arts when you subscribe with three or more performances in the 2023/2024 season! For more information, visit the subscription website.
In the meantime, enjoy a YouTube playlist of these Powerhouse Women demonstrating their phenomenal talents:
