National Philharmonic announces its 2025-2026 Season, which opens in September with a program primarily featuring rarely performed works by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, celebrating NatPhil’s new album release of the composer’s music. The full season includes four orchestral concerts; a choral concert marking the third year of the partnership between NatPhil and The Washington Chorus (TWC); two performances of Handel’s Messiah; and the return of pianist Brian Ganz in recital. All season concerts will be held at The Music Center at Strathmore in North Bethesda, Maryland, the orchestra’s longstanding home in Montgomery County.
“The 2025-2026 Season marks a pivotal moment for NatPhil—artistically and as a staple of the community,” said NatPhil President and CEO Jim Kelly. “The season explores bold new directions, brings familiar classical music to life, and celebrates the release of our first-ever studio album. I can’t wait to welcome audiences in for concerts that celebrate the power of music to inspire and connect.”
The 2025-2026 Season is the first to be fully programmed by the newly established National Philharmonic Artistic Strategy Committee, co-chaired by Laura Colgate, NatPhil Concert Leader and Executive & Artistic Director of Boulanger Initiative, and Richard Scerbo, Co-Director of Artistic Programming of The Clarice at the University of Maryland and Director of the National Orchestral Institute + Festival. Formed in 2024, the goal of the committee is to shift artistic programming responsibilities from a single music director to a group bringing unique perspectives to programming that result in equitable concert programs.