Founded in 2024 by conductor Kenneth Slowik, the Smithsonian Academy Orchestra is a resident ensemble of the Smithsonian Chamber Music Society, a program of the National Museum of American History. The Orchestra’s repertoire ranges from Bach to Schoenberg, all performed on period-appropriate instruments.
2026 Tour: Haydn and Beethoven
The Smithsonian Academy Orchestra, under the direction of Kenneth Slowik, presents Haydn’s Symphony No. 100, the “Military,” and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7, famously described by Richard Wagner as the “apotheosis of the dance.”
Program:
Haydn: Symphony No. 100, the “Military”
Beethoven: Symphony No. 7
Sunday, May 24, 2026 at 7:30pm
St. Michael’s Church
225 W 99th St, New York, NY 10025
Free Tickets
Monday, May 25 at 4pm
Church of the Holy Trinity, Rittenhouse Square
1904 Walnut St, Philadelphia, PA 19103
Free Tickets
Wednesday, May 27, at 7:30pm
UMD Dekelboum Concert Hall, The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center
8270 Alumni Dr, College Park, MD 20742
Purchase Tickets
Audition for SAO Season 26/27
To audition, submit a video recording of two contrasting excerpts from the classical orchestral repertoire on period instruments to nataliekress@gmail.com.
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