Media & Interactives
Arts-based content and media for students of all ages
Featured MEDIA
OOPA’S World of Words
This civics-themed collection of episodes highlights John F. Kennedy’s ideals through WORD movement and engaging arts-integrated activities.
Browse the Collection
Directory Listing
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Media Music of the Gulf Coast Highway
Learn how the diverse styles of blues, choral music, cajun, zydeco, brass band, border music, and gospel meet and mingle in the Gulf Coast region.
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Media Your Brain on Music: Tearjerkers
Warning: this article contains excerpts from some of the saddest pieces of music ever written.
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Media Your Brain on Music: Earworms
Recalling a favorite song in our imaginations can bring a private smile. But an earworm is different.
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Media Your Brain on Music: Chills & Thrills
Creators of spooky tunes know exactly what they are doing when they send shivers down the spines of listeners.
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Media Beethoven Rocks!
This multimedia series gives you an introduction to the life and work of the Classical music composer Ludwig van Beethoven.
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Media Instrument Spotter’s Guide
You might see some of these instruments when you come to the Kennedy Center, watch a performance by your school band, or at any other concert you attend! Click the slides to learn more about some of the most frequently spotted instruments in each family.
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Media Your Brain on Music: The Sound System Between Your Ears
The amazing sound system in the human brain helps explain why people everywhere fill their lives with music.
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Media Kids’ Classical Countdown
Looking to bolster your knowledge of classical music or simply trying to broaden your knowledge of music in general? Whatever your reason, here’s a different kind of musical hit list—our choices for the top 10 works in Western classical music for kids and their parents.
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Media Music of the Arab World
A 3-part audio series that explores different aspects of Arab music: the musical instruments of the Arab World; what makes Arab music unique; and the styles of music in the Arab World
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Media Art in Camelot
This series marks the 50th anniversary of a remarkable presidency by exploring the impact the Kennedy years had on the creative lives of people in America and around the world.
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Media Art/Space
How do composers hear space? What does space sound like? Is there music in space? Narrated by Roger Launius of the Space History Division of the National Air and Space Museum, this series looks at the way music and outer space connect.
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Media Blues Journey
The roots of blues can be found in slave songs, spirituals, and field hollers of the American South; its sound can be heard in early rock ’n’ roll, and in today’s alternative and Hip Hop landscapes. Journey with us to learn about the influences and impact the blues has had on musical cultures.
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Media Music in the Military
Music and musicians play an important role in military life. From the history of "Taps" to the importance of the USO, to the African American pioneers of Navy music, this series explores the place of ceremonial, tactical and recreational music in the US military.
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Media American Classics
Follow the development and impact of classical music in the United States from its humble beginnings in the new colonies through its role in concert halls and Hollywood in the 20th century, to discover how this European tradition helped shape, and in turn was shaped by, American culture, composers and musicians.
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Media Jazz in DC
From Fairmont Street to U Street, from the Howard Theater to the Bohemian Caverns, take a tour through jazz history with Billy Taylor and Frank Wess, who lead listeners through their hometown’s music scene in this seven-part audio series.
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Media Unpacking our National Anthem
Examine the history of “The Star-Spangled Banner” and the countless ways it has been adapted by musicians
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Media Music of India
This 3-part audio series explores different aspects of Indian music: Indian musical instruments; the styles of music across India; and what makes Indian music unique—and where it is going
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Media Music of Greece
Discover the influence of the ancient Greeks on classical music, opera and modern jazz; and join contemporary Greek musicians and scholars as they discuss cultural and historical influences on the music of Greece today
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Media Music of China
Chinese music dates back thousands of years and sounds different from Western music thanks to important differences in tone, musical scale, pitch, instrumentation, and individual instruments.
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Media Music and Football
Music and football: what could the connection possibly be? But think about it, there's music at halftime, we sing fight songs up in the stands, and when isn't there music when we watch football highlights on TV? Music and football are intertwined, as we'll hear in this series, narrated by NFL Films composer Tom Hedden.
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Media Swing! Swing! Swing!
This series, hosted by Connaitre Miller of Howard University, explores why Swing was the most popular dance music in America and how it is still alive today in dance halls, clubs and movies
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Media Composing Accidental Music
Teaching artist Danny Clay provides step-by-step instruction on how sounds, chance, and rhythm can come together to make an original piece of music.
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Media Abraham Lincoln and Music
Explore President Lincoln’s taste in music. The three parts address Lincoln’s love of the theater and popular music as well as the impact that music had on his political campaigns and presidency and the Civil War.
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Media African Drumming
You can’t have African dance without music. The two are inseparable; the dancers are drumming and the drummers are dancing. Learn about two drums—the cajon and djembe —and how to play a rhythm called Funga.
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Media Five(ish) Minute Dance Lessons: Latin Dance
In this engaging and energetic series of videos, instructors Ricardo and Elba teach both beginner and intermediate dancers the steps of four Latin dances: Merengue, Salsa, Bachata, and Cha Cha Cha.
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Media Five(ish) Minute Dance Lessons: Swing Dance
Learn the basics of swing dance, called East Coast Swing; take it up a notch with the Charleston; and if you're really swingin' after that, you can learn the most advanced swing dance, the Lindy Hop.
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Media Andes Manta
The vibrant, energetic music of the Andes region of South America is performed in its most authentic form by Andes Manta, professional musicians and natives of the Ecuadorian Andes.
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Media China: Arts & Culture
Explore the history and diversity of China’s performing arts, including highlights from the Beijing Traditional Music Ensemble, the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra, a shadow puppet performance from Shaanxi Folk Art Theater, a look at the exhibition of Terra Cotta Warriors, and an excerpt from Cai Guo-Qiang’s Tornado: Explosion Project for the Kennedy Center.
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Media Cai Guo-Qiang's “Tornado”
Go behind the scenes and learn about the technicians and their extensive preparation and coordination to execute pyrotechnic artist Cai Guo-Qiang’s “Tornado: Explosion Project for the Festival of China,” a towering “explosion installation” above the Potomac River that involves nine boats, three dragons and a “tornado” of flame.
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Media DJ 101
In this video series, turntablist Kuttin Kandi, one of the best battle DJs in the game, demonstrates the basics of her instrument.
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Media Stephen Schwartz
Meet one of American musical theater’s most talented composers, Stephen Schwartz, as he discusses his musical education, his break into show business, and the creative process, as well as performs selections from his musicals.
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Media Galumpha
Combining stunning acrobatics, striking visual effects, physical comedy, and inventive choreography, Galumpha transforms three human bodies into one floating, flying, and gravity-defying piece of art, The Human Jungle Gym.
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Media Hip Hop to da Head
This performance explores the hip hop dance and music movement including beat boxing, breaking, locking, floor work, and top rock.
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Media Five(ish) Minute Dance Lessons: African Dance
Dancer Rujeko Dumbutshena and drummer Farai Malianga introduce traditional rhythms and movements from their native country Zimbabwe.
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Media Tambuco Percussion Ensemble of Mexico
Tambuco is a percussion quartet founded in 1993 by four Mexican musicians. Tambuco’s performances weave music, instruments, and playing techniques from all over the world into a colorful tapestry of sounds, some familiar and some completely new.
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Media Romare Bearden + Empress of the Blues
In Empress of the Blues, Romare Bearden takes inspiration from jazz to create one of his most famous works of art.
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Media Norman Rockwell + The Problem We All Live With
Learn why Norman Rockwell’s painting The Problem We All Live With became a symbol of the American civil rights movement.
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Media Dorothea Lange + White Angel Breadline
Dorothea Lange used photography as a way to document the hopelessness felt by Americans during the Great Depression. Learn more about her and her 1932 photograph White Angel Breadline.
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Media Dorothea Lange + Migrant Mother
Learn how Dorothea Lange used the camera as an instrument of democracy through what would become one of the most famous photographs of the 20th century, Migrant Mother.
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Media Connections: Language & Music
How do we communicate? Through language, of course, but also through gestures and images—and yes, music.
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Media Connections: Math & Music
Math and music might seem like an odd couple. But when we take a closer look, they have more in common than you might think.
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Media Connections: Science & Music
What do science and music have in common? More than you might think.
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Media Cracking Open The Nutcracker
The Nutcracker is arguably the most popular ballet of all time. It is often performed during the holiday season, and has inspired countless variations, especially in the USA. Ever wonder why?
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Media Yankee Doodle
“Yankee Doodle” may be a popular kids’ tune today, but it got its start as a song of war
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Media The Star-Spangled Banner
How a captured poet penned the song that became the country’s national anthem.
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Media Battle Hymn of the Republic
This hymn helped inspire the North in its fight to reunite the country and free African-American slaves
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Media Aaron Copland + Fanfare for the Common Man
Learn how Aaron Copland’s brass and percussion piece, “Fanfare for the Common Man,” was a response to World War II.
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Media Brother Can You Spare a Dime?
Humbled by the Great Depression, this song gave voice to Americans' fears and feelings of loss
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Media God Bless America
In 1938, composer Irving Berlin dusted off an old piece of music to create a new national hit
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Media This Land is Your Land
Folk singer Woody Guthrie celebrates America’s bounty and protests that not all Americans were getting their fair share
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Media The Marines’ Hymn
The stories behind the words—“From the Halls of Montezuma, To the shores of Tripoli”
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Media We Shall Overcome
How a song helped steel the courage of Black Americans as they struggled to surmount the barriers to civil rights.
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Media Picturing the Presidency
Shadowing the president is difficult, but White House photographers must capture every moment for history
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Media Dancing to Different Rules
They were rebels, they were American, and they dared to be different: the makers of modern dance.
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Media Do You Wanna Dance?
Want to understand how dance works? Learn the five elements that make up the foundation of this art form: body, action, time, space, and energy.
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Media Viva La Diva!
A beginner’s guide to some of opera’s most challenging female roles and a unique look at how opera does girl power.
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Media Understanding Different Voice Types
A soprano is a soprano because they can sing high and a bass is a bass because they sing low, right? Not really...
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Media It's Not Just a Stage
Here’s a handy guide to some basic stage directions, the most common parts of a theater, and different types of theater spaces
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Media Ellipsoidal Reflector Spotlights
One of the jobs of a lighting designer is to be an illusionist; to convince the audience they’re somewhere special. This video series will show you some of the tricks and gear used to make that happen.
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Media Pointe Shoes
With their flat, stiff fronts and special construction, pointe shoes give ballerinas the footwear that helps them stay on their toes and wow audiences
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Media Soundtrack to the Seasons
Feel like giving each season a personal playlist? This handy guide to keeping the classics with you all year round can help.
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Media August Wilson + Fences
August Wilson was one of America’s most significant and successful playwrights, known for his accurate portrayal of the experiences of Black Americans in the mid-20th century. Learn more through this overview of his play Fences.
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Media Merce Cunningham + BIPED
Art and technology intersect in Merce Cunningham’s provocative work of dance, BIPED (1999), featuring music by Gavin Byars.
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Media Martha Graham + Appalachian Spring
Martha Graham helped establish dance as a serious art form in America. Learn more about her and her 1944 ballet Appalachian Spring, with music by Aaron Copland.
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Media Alvin Ailey + Revelations
Learn about Alvin Ailey’s exploration of what he called “blood memories” through his magnum opus, Revelations.
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Media Agnes de Mille + Rodeo
Agnes de Mille’s Rodeo (1942), with music by Aaron Copland, revolutionized ballet through its use of tap and indigenous folk dance.
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Media Arthur Miller + Death of a Salesman
Explore American culture in the mid-20th century through an analysis of Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman.
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Media George Balanchine + Agon
Learn why George Balanchine was called “the father of American ballet” through his mechanical ballet Agon (1957).
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Media Pas de Deux: It Takes Two
In ballet, a pas de deux is a dance duet in which two dancers perform ballet steps together. But the pas de deux is not just a dance of love.
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Media Tennessee Williams + The Glass Menagerie
Tennessee Williams’ play The Glass Menagerie used unconventional techniques to get to what he said was “a closer approach to the truth.”
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Media Eugene O’Neill + Long Day’s Journey Into Night
Explore how Eugene O’Neill changed American theater in his play Long Day’s Journey Into Night.
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Media Samuel Beckett + Waiting for Godot
Get to know Samuel Beckett, existentialism, and the theater of the absurd through this overview of his 1953 play Waiting for Godot.
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Media Taking Care of Your Voice
Want to sing? Good! Been watching American Idol and think you can do better? Here’s a few myths about singing and a few things to keep in mind.
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Media The Ins and Outs of Trying Out
If you opt for a career in opera or musical theater, you’ll be facing auditions all the time. Audition criteria vary from competition to competition, show to show, and director to director, but here are five of the (very) basic things to keep in mind
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Media No Singer is an Island
Singing is a completely collaborative art form. You cannot go it alone. Here’s a look at six of the people that will help you along the way
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Media What It Takes to Become a Professional Singer
If you’re serious about pursuing a singing career, consider the following points carefully as you embark on this challenging career path.
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Media Surviving School Chorus
Chorus isn’t as complicated as you think. Here's a simple guide to the world of school choir. Sit up straight in your chair, take a deep breath, and read on.
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Media The Real Life of a Singer
Some basics on studying voice, preparing music, and getting the word out about your singing
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Media How to Sing in an Ensemble
Congratulations! You’re singing in an ensemble. Never sung with a chorus before? We’re going to tell you everything you need to know.
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Media So You Want to be a Singer?
What does it really take to become a professional singer?
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Media Musical Theater in America
Learn about musical theater using examples from Broadway, the history, structure and elements of musical theater, musical theater's role in social commentary, its legacy, and how you too can create a musical.
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Media Strike Up the Band: Creating Homemade Instruments
Learn how to make musical instruments with recycled household items.
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Media The Skeleton of a Scary Story
What gives a scary story its boo factor? Learn about the tricks you can use to rattle readers.
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Media Creating a Spooky Radio Play
Write, record, and scream! A creative way to explore not-too-scary storytelling
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Media Halloween Decorating Tips from Theater Designers
Want to join in the Halloween fun, but aren’t sure how to begin? Let these theater designers from around the country inspire your spooktacular display.
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Media Otello
Verdi’s monumental retelling of Shakespeare’s masterpiece offers a psychological medium to explore good and evil, as well as the downfall of a celebrated leader.
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Media Tosca
Passionate singer Tosca takes matters into her own hands when dreaded chief of police Scarpia hunts for her lover. But no one is guaranteed to get out alive.
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Media Madam Butterfly
In Puccini's immortal tragedy, a dashing American naval officer chooses a naïve young geisha to be his bride, only to betray her--leading to one of the most devastating and legendary final scenes in all of opera.
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Media The Magic Flute
In Mozart’s final and beloved opera, a handsome young prince and his silly bird-catcher sidekick are enlisted by the mysterious Queen of the Night to rescue her kidnapped daughter.
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Media Faust
The aging Faust makes a pact with Méphistophélès to exchange his soul for Earth's mortal pleasures. But along the seductive path to riches and power, Faust realizees his salvation is devastatingly bound to others.
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Media La Traviata
Verdi’s everlasting story of fate and sacrifice, renowned for its soaring arias and heart-wrenching ending.
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Media Alcina
Handel's spellbinding opera about an island sorceress whose powers of seduction are put to the test by true love.
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Media The Daughter of the Regiment
A woman raised by soldiers must convince her "fathers" to let her marry a peasant--just as a mysterious Marquise comes to whisk her away to become a proper lady.
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Media The Marriage of Figaro
The barber of Seville is getting hitched--and it's a day of madness in the palace! Mozart's comic masterpiece comes to life through enchanting music and absurd mix-ups in a charming exploration of the perils of temptation and the triumph of love.
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Media The Barber of Seville
"Figaro! Figaro! Fiiigarooo!" Can the sharp-witted barber of Seville help Count Almaviva woo the beautiful Rosina away from a bumbling doctor?
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Media Candide
In Leonard Bernstein's funny, philosophical, and fast-paced take on Voltaire's biting satire, very bad things happen to very good people (and plenty of bad ones too)
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Media Porgy and Bess
Often considered the first great American opera, Porgy and Bess soars with original music melding jazz, gospel, and folk styles. Themes of community resilience, acceptance, and redemption weave through this poignant story, ultimately asking if even the most unwavering of loves can conquer the force of personal addiction.
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Media Blue
In Harlem, a couple celebrates the birth of their firstborn—a boy, Black and beautiful. As the mother worries for their son’s future in today’s America, the father wrestles with his role as a police officer, a “Black man in blue.” When the unimaginable happens and the son is killed by a white officer, they must face every family’s worst fear.
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Media Don Carlo
Family ties fray and unravel in Verdi's spectacle of forbidden passion, political intrigue, and shattering betrayal set at the height of the Spanish Empire
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Media Don Giovanni
A notorious lover meets his ultimate fiery punishment in Mozart’s celebrated tragicomedy. He’s spent his life betraying women. Now time’s up.
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Media Shakespeare’s Macbeth
A brave Scottish general named Macbeth receives a prophecy from a trio of witches that one day he will become King of Scotland.
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Media Who Doesn’t Love Opera?
Unfortunately, a lot of people think they don’t, and most of them have never seen one. In this audio story, opera fan Eleni and opera skeptic Samantha discuss how their experiences with opera as children influenced their opinions of the art form as adults.
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Media Boy Meets Girl, Girl Meets Tragic End
Opera has always been addicted to love, and its romances can range from the hilarious to the dramatic. But don’t expect a standard “Boy Meets Girl” story when you take your seat at the opera house.
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Media Così fan Tutte
Mozart's whimsical and wry tale of two young men who place a bet on fidelity, putting the women they love to the test through deception and seduction
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Media Hip Hop: A Culture of Vision and Voice
The elements of hip hop came together in the Bronx borough of New York City in the early 1970s. From a whole lot of nothing—and a whole lot of imagination—hip hop took form.
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Media Shakespeare and Love
Shakespeare made the pursuit of love just as difficult as leading men to war, or solving your father's murder
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Media Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet
From the opening lines of William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, the audience knows what lies in store for the tragedy’s title teens: that these two “star-crossed lovers” are doomed to die
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Media Shakespeare's Sonnet #18
Need the right words for Valentine's Day? Let the great poets, writers, and thinkers share their thoughts
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Media Music as Dance's Muse
See how four choreographers (Alvin Ailey, Robert Battle, Larry Keigwin, and Mark Morris) use music in different ways in their works.
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Media Know Before You Go
Look like a pro at any arts event, from the ballet to the rock show. Here's everything you need to know before you go!
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Media Perfect Harmony
Nothing sings romance like a love song. And people have been singing them for thousands of years.
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Media Primary Sources
When it comes to telling the true account of an event or an historical time period, there’s nothing more real or more exciting than a primary source
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Media John Steinbeck + The Grapes of Wrath
John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath (1939) explores the adversity faced by many Americans during the Dust Bowl. Learn more about him, the novel, and America in the 1930s through this multi-chapter resource.
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Media DIY Old-Time Radio
Have you ever heard an old-time radio drama? Did you ever want to know how they were made? These audio stories will tell you about the history of the art form, and then give you the tools to record your own by using what you find around your house.
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Media Ben Burtt & the Sounds of Star Wars
Meet Ben Burtt, Sound Designer for films like Star Wars, Raiders of the Lost Ark and WALL-E. Find out the story behind some of his signature effects and how he first got interested in sound design.
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Media Sound Design and "The Wilhelm Scream"
Explore the history of Hollywood sound effects including the infamous "Wilhelm Scream," which has been used in hundreds of films.
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Media The Music of Sound
Learn how composers and sound designers use their tools to create or enhance mood in a film or commercial.
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Media Marian Anderson: Of Thee We Sing
The road to racial equality was a long one and the battle for equality had many heroes; some of them made history just by opening their mouths to sing.
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Media Songs About Cars
People write songs about a lot of things--desire, loneliness, heartbreak, love, and for some reason--lots of songs about cars.
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Media Songs About Disasters
Today if you want to talk about a tragedy, there are plenty of ways to do it. But in the past, one way people would pass along news was through songs.
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Media Television Theme Songs
Over the years, they’ve been some of the most popular songs in the country. They are television theme songs, something as old as TV.
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Media Civil Rights on the B-Side
On the flip side of many 45 RPM records made by African Americans in the '40s, '50s and '60s, there are Civil Rights songs that no one has ever heard.
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Media Billie Holiday + Strange Fruit
The story behind Billie Holiday’s “Strange Fruit” (1939) is one of violence and tragedy, but also bravery in the face of adversity.
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Media Hobey Ford: Animalia
Together with his team of adorable "Foamies," Hobey makes animals of all sorts emerge in movement and music to form a full-on puppet ballet.
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Media Keith Bear: Flute Maker
Musician, storyteller and flutemaker Keith Bear sheds light on the art and tradition of making flutes in the Native American tradition in this video interview.
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Media Larry & Jessup Yazzie, Native Pride Dancers
Meskwaki Tribe member Larry Yazzie and his son, Jessup, discuss and perform traditional Native American dances
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Media Koji Kakinuma: Shodo Performing Artist
Shodo performing artist Koji Kakinuma performs a festive Otsukimi (Japanese moon-viewing) performance of Trancework , accompanied by the taiko group AUN
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Media Japan: Arts & Culture
This is your passport to the arts and culture of Japan as experienced through the Kennedy Center's Japan! culture + hyperculture festival
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Media Native Pride Dancers
Native American dancers from the group Native Pride Dancers demonstrate the traditional eagle, fancy, grass and hoop dances
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Media Pacifico Dance Company: On Stage at the Kennedy Center
Pacífico Dance Company prides itself on educating culturally diverse communities, as well as providing Hispanic audiences with a forum for developing pride in their own heritage
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Media Ralph Stanley & the Roots of Country Music
Learn about the beginnings of country music and its early innovators through the stories and music of three of country music's most respected musicians: mountain music legend Dr. Ralph Stanley, Jim Lauderdale, and James Shelton
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Media Sogolon Puppet Theater
Sogolon is the puppet show and theatrical company created by Yaya Coulibaly in order to perpetrate and promote the Mali puppet tradition. The group's core mission is to contribute to develop and promote the Bamanan-Somono-Bozo puppet show.
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Media Rhythm and Raga
The music of India is diverse, but there is still a distinct “sound” that makes Indian music unmistakable-- use this resource to learn the basics of Indian music.
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Media Jason Moran: In the Studio
Learn the basics of jazz music and how the art form works. Along with his band, Jason Moran shows you how jazz is more like skateboarding and football than you would think, as well as plays original and classic jazz standards.
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Media Unpacking the Tracks
You’re in the studio and at the mixing console with Motown historian Harry Weinger and Questlove of The Roots as they unpack classic tracks including Marvin Gaye’s 1971 chart-topper “What’s Going On” and The Supremes' 1966 hit “You Can't Hurry Love.”
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Media Music of the Civil War
Exploring the conflict’s varied soundtrack, from patriotic marches to haunting ballads, offers a window to the spirit, story, and emotion of a traumatic time in American history.
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Media Mason Bates on Curating the Concert Experience
Join Kennedy Center composer-in-residence Mason Bates on an exploration of the process of Curating the Concert Experience. In this mini mini-series, Mason takes us on a journey in three parts—Programming, Production, and Platform—sharing his unique perspective and insights.
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Media Ben Folds visits the National Symphony Orchestra Music Library
National Symphony Orchestra Artistic Advisor Ben Folds invites you to the NSO Music Library to explore some of his favorite pieces of concert music
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Media From Amber Frozen
Meet the members of The Dover Quartet and composer Mason Bates as the ensemble rehearses the contemporary work From Amber Frozen.
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Media Female Representation in the Performing Arts
Prominent members of the Kennedy Center community of artists discuss their career paths and the importance of representation in the arts.
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Media Understanding Arabic Music
Master musician and composer Simon Shaheen, along with his ensemble Qantara, demonstrates the unique sounds in traditional/classical Arab music.
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Media slamKC
Explore the performances of young slam poets. Musical, lyrical, and provocative, these original spoken word pieces are supported by Hip Hop giants Questlove and Black Thought.
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Media Poetry Out Loud
How does poetry change when it transforms from written to spoken word? Listen as well-known voices express the work of celebrated poets.
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Media Ragamala Dance
Learn about traditional Indian Bharatanatyam dance from the Ragamala Dance company
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Media American Voices
Renée Fleming and colleagues from the vocal fields of classical, musical theater, jazz, gospel, country, and pop lend their talents and expertise to an unprecedented journey of vocal discovery aimed at educating young singers and seasoned vocalists alike.
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Media Summon the Heroes
Throughout the ages, composers have celebrated the accomplishments of famous heroes through music. What does a hero sound like? Get ready to find out!
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Media Reach For The Moon
Just like President Kennedy had a vision for America, composers have visions of how they want their music to sound. For some, their musical mission is to explore a galaxy of stars and planets, moon shots, space walks, and galactic battles!
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Media Inspiration!
The music of great composers has been inspired by books, plays, poetry, travel, nature, politics, friends, and even the neighbor’s dog! Discover how composers come up with fresh ideas as you learn all about musical INSPIRATION!
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Media Exploring Extremes: Music to the Max!
Explore music’s extremes—from high notes and low notes to how big or small instruments (and their sounds!) can be. Plus, get to know the “extremely talented” violin, and discover different ways of listening to music.
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Media A World of Music
The invention of the orchestra hundreds of years ago meant bigger musical possibilities, and composers all across Europe were inspired to try their hand at pushing classical music to new limits.
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Media Guide to the Orchestra
Listening to an orchestra can be a powerful experience. It can entertain you, tell you stories, make you laugh or cry, or take you away to faraway places. Knowing a few things about orchestras and the range of music they play can make it even better. Everything you need to get started is right here in this guide.
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Media Javier Starks
Emcee, songwriter, and poet Javier Starks paves a unique path all his own with 100% curse-free hip hop music, showing the world that success can come without negativity. Join Javier in this video concert as he performs original songs with a live band and DJ.
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Media Healing Breath
In this video series, Renée Fleming and special guests demonstrate simple exercises for singers that develop and strengthen the muscles involved in healthy breathing.
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Media What Makes a Portrait “Great”?
What makes a great portrait in the digital—or any—age? By looking at the works of Richard Avedon and Andy Warhol we learn that it's not enough to create just another pretty face.
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Media Perfect Pitch
Take the field and learn the looks, sounds, history, and notable players of orchestral instruments from four eras—baroque, classical, romantic, and modern. Next, use the interactive audio mixer to choose your players and hear them perform together. Finally, test your musical knowledge with a fun baseball-style quiz.
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Media Meet Author Jason Reynolds
Jason Reynolds was born in Washington, D.C., and grew up in Oxon Hill, Maryland. He wasn’t into reading or writing as a boy, but that changed when he discovered his love for the lyrics and flow of Hip Hop.
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Media Falu—Music Connects Us All
Falu writes and performs "indie Hindi" music—a blend of rock and Indian styles—exploring the many regions, languages, cultures, and traditions in India. Using Indian rhythms, vocal styles, and percussion alongside modern instruments such as electric guitars, Falu celebrates how music can beautifully express both difference and connection across cultures.
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Media Meet Madeleine L’Engle
Learn more about the impactful writer of “A Wrinkle in Time” and the life lessons she learned, and shared with the world, about the literary arts.
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Media Calls to Artistic Action
Madeleine L’Engle remains best-known for her “Wrinkle in Time” Trilogy (or “Time” Quintet). Learn how different types of art played a role in her writing and discover some of her habits that may help you expand your own writing.
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Media Whack-A-Note
Step right up and try your hand at sight-reading and note identification in this fun, interactive, musical carnival game! Get your username on the leader board and amaze your teachers and friends!
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Media Double Dutch: Pick Up Your Feet!
Has it been a while since you’ve jumped rope? To get into the swing, find your old rope or unwind a length of clothesline. See what it feels like to jump again—on your own or with friends. One of the beauties of jumping rope? All you need is some space and a little rhythm and your body comes alive. This resource will provide you with some history, techniques, and opportunities to explore Double Dutch further.
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Media The Weird & Wonderful World of Opera
In this entertaining and educational four-part series we introduce the weird and wonderful world of opera - its history, music, styles, genres, and people. Host Peter Michael Marino provides a comprehensive exploration of the world of opera that results in a greater understanding and appreciation of the art form.
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Media Opera’s Baroque Era: 1600-1750
A brief overview of the dawn of opera, which was born in Italy—or what we now think of as Italy—at the turn of the 17th century. Expect some insight into opera’s many influences as well as a summary of the early genre’s notable features.
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Media Opera’s Early Romantic Era: 1800-1865
Journey through the first half of opera’s third historic “phase”: the Romantic period. Learn about the cultural, economic, and political upheaval that inspired opera’s emotional U-turn, and get to know some familiar works in the canon.
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Media Opera’s Late Romantic Era: 1865-1920
Uncover the driving forces behind opera’s fiercest era, including Europe’s semi-unhealthy obsession with death, desire, and nationalist identity—all of which sparked a wild streak of artistic innovation and some truly iconic music for the stage.
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Media Opera in the 20th Century: 1920-1960
Consider this opera’s “Chaotic Neutral” era. You’ll discover 20th-century operas don’t typically celebrate good or evil: they relish the madness and ambiguity of the in between. Which means their musical storytelling will feel and sound vastly different, depending on who’s doing the telling.
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Media Opera’s Modern Era: 1960-Now
Modern opera can be loud, audacious, uncomfortable, uncharted, and thoroughly confusing. But it can also be gorgeous, expressive, intimate, and wonderfully moving. It’s beautiful, cacophonous, complicated noise, and it’s ours to listen to and reckon with in real time.
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Media Opera’s Classical Era: 1750-1800
Journey through opera’s second “phase”: the Classical era. Expect a review of how and why opera reinvented itself during the Enlightenment as well as an introduction to one of opera’s most enduringly famous composers. (Three guesses who it is…)
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Media Duke Ellington + Harlem
Experience Duke Ellington’s love letter to his adopted home in his 1950 symphonic composition, Harlem.
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Media Drop Me Off In Harlem
In this interactive microsite, meet the artists, writers, dancers, musicians, activists, philosophers, and patrons of the Harlem Renaissance between the years of 1917 and 1935. Explore how this period in our country's cultural evolution was documented through art, literature, journalism, theater, and film.
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Media La Clemenza di Tito
A quick overview of Mozart’s 1791 opera seria set in the Roman Empire.
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Media An Italian in Algiers
A quick overview of Rossini’s 1813 operatic dramma giocoso.
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Media Cinderella (La Cenerentola)
A quick overview of Rossini’s 1817 operatic dramma giocoso.
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Media Norma
A quick overview of Bellini’s 1831 operatic tragedia lirica.
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Media The Elixir of Love
A quick overview of Donizetti’s 1832 operatic melodramma giocoso.
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Media Fidelio
A quick overview of Beethoven’s only opera.
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Media Lucia di Lammermoor
A quick overview of Donizetti’s 1838 tragic opera.
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Media Tristan and Isolde
A quick overview of Wagner’s epic 1865 love story.
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Media Aïda
A quick overview of Verdi’s 1871 historical drama.
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Media La Bohème
A quick overview of Puccini’s 1895 passionate melodrama.
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Media Carmen
A quick overview of Bizet’s 1875 fiery tragic opera.
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Media Salome
A quick overview of Strauss’ 1905 passionate drama.
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Media Wozzeck
A quick overview of Berg’s 1925 ground-breaking atonal opera.
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Media The Rake’s Progress
A quick overview of Stravinsky’s 1951 homage to Mozart’s operas.
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Media Euridice
A quick overview of the oldest surviving opera.
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Media L’Orfeo
A quick overview of Monteverdi’s 1607 tragic opera.
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Media L’incoronazione di Poppea
A quick overview of Monteverdi’s 1643 opera set in the Roman Empire.
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Media Dido and Aeneas
A quick overview of Purcell’s 1689 opera about fate.
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Media Lucrezia Borga
A quick overview of Donizetti’s 1833 melodramatic opera.
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Media The Flying Dutchman
A quick overview of Wagner’s 1843 maritime ghost story.
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Media Macbeth
A quick overview of Verdi’s 1847 opera of Shakespeare’s Scottish play.
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Media Rigoletto
A quick overview of Verdi’s 1851 operatic masterpiece.
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Media Il Trovatore
A quick overview of Verdi’s 1853 sprawling melodrama.
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Media Nabucco
A quick overview of Verdi’s 1842 opera named for Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II.
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Media I Vespri Siciliani
A quick overview of Verdi’s 1855 contribution to the French grand opera tradition.
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Media The Pearl Fishers
A quick overview of Bizet’s 1863 love triangle opera.
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Media Hamlet
A quick overview of Thomas’ 1868 opera of Shakespeare’s tragedy.
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Media Die Fledermaus
A quick overview of Johann Strauss’ 1874 comic operetta.
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Media Samson and Delilah
A quick overview of Camille Saint-Saëns’ 1877 biblical epic opera.
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Media The Ring of the Nibelung
A quick overview of Richard Wagner’s epic 15-hour four-opera cycle.
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Media Eugene Onegin
A quick overview of Tchaikovsky’s 1879 opera based on Alexander Pushkin’s novel about regret.
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Media Turandot
A quick overview of Puccini’s 1926 unfinished final opera.
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Media Alcina
A quick overview of Handel’s 1735 epic tale of knights and sorcery.
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Media The Magic Flute
A quick overview of Mozart’s 1791 magical comic opera.
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Media Così fan Tutte
A quick overview of Mozart’s 1789 tale of wit, deception, and seduction.
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Media Don Giovanni
A quick overview of Mozart’s 1787 opera buffa about an arrogant nobleman who meets his match.
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Media The Marriage of Figaro
A quick overview of Mozart’s 1786 comic opera.
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Media The Barber of Seville
A quick overview of Rossini’s 1816 comic opera masterpiece.
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Media The Daughter of the Regiment
A quick overview of Donizetti’s 1840 comic opera.
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Media La Traviata
A quick overview of Verdi’s 1853 tragic love story.
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Media Faust
A quick overview of Gounod’s 1859 opera about a deal with the devil.
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Media Don Carlo
A quick overview of Verdi’s 1886 Italian translation of his 1867 passionate political love story.
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Media Madam Butterfly
A quick overview of Puccini’s 1904 tragic opera.
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Media Tosca
A quick overview of Puccini’s 1900 tragic opera.
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Media Otello
A quick overview of Verdi’s 1887 opera of Shakespeare’s tragedy.
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Media The Maid of Orleans
A quick overview of Tchaikovsky’s 1881 opera about Joan of Arc.
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Media Hansel and Gretel
A quick overview of Humperdinck’s 1893 opera based on the Grimm brothers fairy tale.
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Media Manon Lescaut
A quick overview of Puccini’s 1893 historical opera.
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Media Falstaff
A quick overview of Verdi’s 1893 opera about Shakespeare’s larger than life character.
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Media Andrea Chénier
A quick overview of Giordano’s 1896 biographical opera set during the French Revolution.
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Media Jenůfa
A quick overview of Janáček’s 1904 opera dedicated to the memory of his daughter.
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Media Elektra
A quick overview of Strauss’ 1909 opera based on Sophocles’ tragedy.
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Media Ariadne auf Naxos
A quick overview of Strauss’ 1916 mixing of commedia dell’arte with opera seria.
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Media Duke Bluebeard’s Castle
A quick overview of Bartók’s 1918 opera of the French folk tale.
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Media Gianni Schicchi
A quick overview of Puccini’s 1918 comic opera inspired by Dante’s Divine Comedy.
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Media Peter Grimes
A quick overview of Britten’s 1945 opera about a troubled fisherman.
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Media Billy Budd
A quick overview of Britten’s 1951 opera based on Herman Melville’s novel.
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Media Porgy and Bess
A quick overview of Gershwin’s 1935 quintessential American masterpiece.
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Media Blue
A quick overview of Jeanine Tesori’s 2019 opera that explores race, loss, and resilience.
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Media The Lion, the Unicorn, and Me
A quick overview of Jeanine Tesori’s 2013 opera about the animals of the first Christmas.
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Media Appomattox
A quick overview of Philip Glass’ 2015 opera set in both the end of the 1860s American Civil War and the 1960s American Civil Rights Movement.
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Media Moby-Dick
A quick overview of Jake Heggie’s 2010 opera based on the novel by Herman Melville.
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Media Dead Man Walking
A quick overview of Jake Heggie’s 2000 opera based on the book by Sister Helen Prejean.
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Media Silent Night
A quick overview of Kevin Puts’ 2011 opera about the 1914 World War I Christmas truce.
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Media Sophie’s Choice
A quick overview of Nicholas Maw’s 2002 opera based on William Styron’s 1979 novel.
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Media A Streetcar Named Desire
A quick overview of André Previn’s 1998 opera based on the Tennessee Williams play.
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Media Florencia in the Amazon
A quick overview of Daniel Catán’s 1996 opera, inspired by the magical realism of author Gabriel García Márquez.
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Media Lost in the Stars
A quick overview of Weill’s 1949 opera based on the novel Cry, the Beloved Country and set in the days before apartheid in South Africa.
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Media Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
A quick overview of Wagner’s 1868 comic opera.
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Media Parsifal
A quick overview of Wagner’s 1882 opera about a knight’s quest for the Holy Grail.
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Media Iphigénie en Tauride
A quick overview of Gluck’s 1779 opera based on the stories of King Agamemnon’s family following the Trojan War.
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Media Anna Bolena
A quick overview of Donizetti’s 1830 tragic opera recounting the life of Anne Boleyn, the second wife of England’s King Henry VIII.
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Media Don Pasquale
A quick overview of Donizetti’s 1843 comic opera.
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Media A Masked Ball
A quick overview of Verdi’s 1859 opera about the assassination of King Gustav III of Sweden.
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Media La Forza del Destino
A quick overview of Verdi’s 1862 opera about the power of fate.
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Media The Tales of Hoffmann
A quick overview of Offenbach’s final work—an opéra fantastique based on three short stories by E.T.A. Hoffmann.
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Media Cavalleria Rusticana
A quick overview of Mascagni’s 1890 one-act verismo opera.
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Media The Queen of Spades
A quick overview of Tchaikovsky’s 1890 opera about card games, ghosts, and revenge.
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Media Boris Godunov
A quick overview of Mussorgsky’s 1874 epic opera about the 17th century Russian Tsar.
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Media Tamerlano
A quick overview of Handel’s 1724 tragic opera set in the Ottoman Empire.
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Media Understanding Opera
The history, people, and works behind a thoroughly complex yet totally exhilarating art form
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Media Education Video Collection
See what's playing in the Kennedy Center Education video library, featuring hundreds of videos in every arts genre. Our video library spans many years and many of our videos are incorporated into other Kennedy Center digital resources as well as being available on YouTube.
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Media El himno nacional de Puerto Rico “La Borinqueña”
En 1868, la poeta Lola Rodríguez de Tío escribió liricas que revolucionaron una danza popular de Puerto Rico con la esperanza de inspirar a su gente puertorriqueña a rebelar en contra del colonialismo español. Más de cien años después, nuevas palabras se convirtieron en la letra oficial de “La Borinqueña,” el himno nacional de Puerto Rico.
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Media Puerto Rico’s National Anthem “La Borinqueña”
In 1868, Puerto Rican poet Lola Rodríguez de Tió wrote revolutionary lyrics to a popular Puerto Rican danza, hoping to inspire her fellow Puerto Ricans to rise up against Spanish colonialism. Over one hundred years later, a new set of words became the official lyrics to “La Borinqueña,” Puerto Rico’s national anthem.
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Media Pablo Casals + the Hymn to the United Nations
Pablo Casals was not only a cellist, conductor, composer, educator, and builder of several musical institutions, but also a pro-democracy activist. Learn more about him and his life through his 1971 composition “Hymn to the United Nations.”
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Media John Coltrane + Alabama
Learn about John Coltrane through his 1963 work “Alabama,” a deeply spiritual and emotional reaction to a horrific act of violence.
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Media OOPA’S World of Words
A dynamic series designed for K-2 teachers and students—making learning more engaging, creative, and fun! This civics collection features John F. Kennedy’s ideals—GRATITUDE, FREEDOM, COURAGE, JUSTICE, and SERVICE—through WORD movement and expanded arts-integration activities.
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Media Cinco Obras de Jacqueline Woodson: Un Viaje de Aprendizaje Socioemocional
Esta experiencia multimedia permite a los jóvenes aprender formas de relacionarse con los demás: de ver el mundo a través de los ojos de—y conectar con las historias de—otros jóvenes cuyas vidas son diferentes a las suyas.
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Media Five Works of Jacqueline Woodson: A Social-Emotional Learning Journey
This multimedia experience allows young people to learn ways of relating to others: of seeing the world through the eyes—and connecting with the stories—of other young people whose lives may be similar to or different from theirs.