Secret Garden Concerts Return!

Discover our 2026 Season

We’re delighted to offer you a first glimpse of our 2026 concert season, launching this January!

From cherished returning artists to fresh new voices, and from jazz and chamber music to tango and traditional Chinese folk, this season promises a vibrant array of performances for every musical taste.

To make the experience more accessible, we’re introducing reduced ticket prices and open seating—arrive early for the best seats!

We can’t wait to welcome you back this January for another inspiring year of live music.

Concerts return in January 2026

Jazz in January :

An Evening of Duke Ellington 

Saturday, January 17 | 5:30pm, 7pm

Quentin Walston, piano | Jacob Pembelton, bass

Daniel Kelly II, drums   

Celebrate Washington's own Duke Ellington through an intimate concert of his most cherished compositions. The Quentin Walston Trio explores the breadth of Ellington's genius from Roaring 20s-era compositions like "Black and Tan Fantasy", to iconic big band hits like "Take the A Train" to the sophisticated tone poems of "Come Sunday." Pianist and jazz educator Quentin Walston brings scholarly insight and passionate performance to this journey through Ellington's career, revealing why the D.C. native remains one of America's greatest composers.

Echoes of China:

2,500 Years of the Guzheng

Saturday, January 31 | 5:30pm, 7pm

Qi Yu, Guzheng & Chinese zither | Jack Gruber, piano | Michael McSweeney, percussion   

Experience the timeless beauty of traditional Chinese music through the expressive artistry of guzheng virtuoso Qi Yu, a Strathmore Hall Artist in Residence. Originally from Inner Mongolia and now based in the Washington, D.C. area, Qi Yu brings new life to centuries-old melodies, offering a concert that honors the depth and grace of Chinese musical heritage.

At the heart of the trio is the guzheng – a traditional Chinese zither with a 2,500-year history - backed by an ensemble of versatile collaborators on piano and percussion. The group breathes new life into both ancient melodies and original compositions.

Improvised Journeys:

Blues, Klezmer, Swing & Jazz

Tuesday, February 10 | 5:30pm, 7pm

Maximillian Jacobs, violin | Samuel Farthing, guitar | Jack Gruber, piano | William “Mobetta” Ledbetter, bass 

Blending the rhythmic vitality of swing, the expressive soul of blues, the infectious spirit of klezmer, the twang of bluegrass, and the harmonic richness of jazz, this concert promises a fresh and captivating musical journey across traditions and styles. With bold original works and in-the-moment improvisations, this quartet will explore the edges of genre and the heart of musical expression. Experience the fusion of traditions and innovation in a concert that celebrates the freedom and energy of modern improvisational music.

MY FAVORITE THINGS:

The Songs of Richard Rodgers

Saturday, February 21 | 5:30pm, 7pm

Anna Bergman, Soprano |  Howard Breitbart, Musical Director & Pianist  

Richard Rodgers is one of the world’s most brilliant and prolific composers. Anna Bergman celebrates songs he wrote with such iconic lyricists as Lorenz Hart, Oscar Hammerstein II and Stephen Sondheim and shares some first-hand stories from Anna’s Broadway colleagues and friends. You’ll enjoy classic songs from Rodgers Broadway and Hollywood musicals including Blue Moon, My Funny Valentine, My Favorite Things, Climb Ev’ry Mountain, Bewitched and Some Enchanted Evening.

"Wonderful, poignant and breathtaking, Anna makes classic songs seem vibrant and new." (BROADWAYWORLD)

Chamber Music:

Serenade to the Stars

Tuesday, March 17 | 5:30pm, 7pm

Kennedy Center Opera House Quintet:

Adria Sternstein Foster, principal flute

Kayla Moffet, principal 2nd violin | Erika Gray, viola

Amy Frost Baumgarten, principal cello

Susan Robinson, principal harp

An evening of chamber music by women, performed by some of today’s finest female musicians. The evening’s program includes Maddalena Sirmen’s spirited Trio in D Major, Fanny Mendelssohn’s tender Romance from her String Quartet (arranged for flute and strings), and Stella Sung’s evocative Dance of the White Lotus for flute and harp. Rebecca Clarke’s contrasting Lullaby and Grotesque offers both lyrical and bold expression, while Mel Bonis’ Scènes de la forêt paints vivid soundscapes of nature. Rounding out the program are the delicate Sérénade aux étoiles by Cécile Chaminade and Libby Larsen’s imaginative Trio for flute, viola, and harp—bringing a contemporary voice to this rich musical celebration.

VIDA - A Tango Life 

Tuesday, March 24 | 5:30pm, 7pm

QuinTango:

Emmanuel Trifilio, bandoneon | Regino Madrid, violin

Joan Singer, violin |  Hai Jin, piano | Ali Cook, double bass

Tango returns to the Secret Garden with the captivating sound of the bandoneon, violin, piano, and double bass, in a program featuring the entrancing music of Astor Piazzolla, the composer who brought tango to international attention, along with other celebrated tango composers and original music by Emmanuel Trifilio, the leading bandoneon musician in the Washington DC area. 

Four hands, One Piano:

Barber, Schubert, Saint-Saëns 

Tuesday, April 14 | 5:30pm, 7pm

Vieness Piano Duo:

Vijay Venkatesh, piano | Eva Schaumkell, piano

Hailed for “effortless technical command and authority with a sense of poetry,” award-winning pianists Vijay Venkatesh and Eva Schaumkell return to the Secret Garden Concert Series as they play together on one piano with a program of Franz Schubert’s Fantasy in F Minor, Saint-Saëns’ Carnival of the Animals, and Barber’s Souvenirs.

"Vijay Venkatesh and Eva Schaumkell, at the height of their abilities combine the profane and sacred, nature and poetry – they transcend whatever they touch." (Star-Ledger, New Jersey)

“Vijay Venkatesh is blessed with it all: transcendent technique, unbridled passion, and irresistible charisma. He breathes with an oxygen of imagination.” (The Washington Post)

Eva Schaumkell is praised for her “astonishing combination of depth of expression and thrilling virtuosity” (Nassauische Neue Presse)