National Symphony Orchestra

Porgy and Bess & Coleman Piano Concerto

Concert Hall

Michelle Cann, a champion of American composers and “pianist of sterling artistry” (Gramophone), returns to perform a world premiere by Valerie Coleman—named one of the “Top 35 Women Composers” by The Washington Post. Conductor Kellen Gray frames the evening with works reflecting the breadth of our nation’s story: Dvořák’s American Suite, inspired by his time in the U.S., and the Catfish Row suite from Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess.

Jun. 5 - 6, 2026

  • Fri. Jun. 5, 2026 8p.m.

  • Sat. Jun. 6, 2026 8p.m.

Program

Kellen Gray, conductor
Michelle Cann, piano

Antonín Dvořák: American Suite
Valerie Coleman: Piano Concerto**(NSO co-commission, World Premiere)
Catherine Elizabeth: New Work**
Charles Lumar II: New Work**
George Gershwin: Catfish Row – Symphonic Suite from Porgy and Bess


Michelle Cann
, a champion of American composers and “pianist of sterling artistry” (Gramophone), returns to perform a world premiere by Valerie Coleman. Highlighted as one of the “Top 35 Women Composers” by The Washington Post, Coleman makes music with “a sense of liberation and goodness central to American sound.”

Conductor Kellen Gray frames the evening with works reflecting the breadth of our nation’s story: Dvořák’s American Suite, inspired by his time in the U.S., and the Catfish Row suite from Gershwin’s groundbreaking opera Porgy and Bess.

 

**First performance by the NSO

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