The National Symphony Orchestra opened its 96th season at the Music Center at Strathmore on Saturday, Sept. 26, the first time the orchestra has launched a season in North Bethesda.

The Kennedy Center, the NSO's longtime home, officially closed Sept. 15 after contractors found electrical hazards and water damage throughout the building. With the Concert Hall's 2,465 seats unavailable, the orchestra is splitting its 2026-27 season across six Washington-area venues, as first reported by WTOP in August.

Strathmore gets the biggest share outside D.C.: 13 of the season's 64 classical concerts, in a 1,925-seat hall on Tuckerman Lane. The other venues include George Washington's Lisner Auditorium in D.C. (24 concerts), the Schlesinger Concert Hall at Northern Virginia Community College in Alexandria (nine) and George Mason's Center for the Arts in Fairfax (eight). The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center in College Park and D.C.'s Lincoln Theatre each host two.

For Bethesda-area residents, the arrangement means rare, repeated access to the full NSO without a trip downtown.

Music Director Gianandrea Noseda, now in his 10th season and signed through the orchestra's 100th anniversary in 2030-31, conducted the opening gala. The program featured the concert premiere of Carlos Simon's "Monuments," with sections named after Washington landmarks, placed between ballet suites from Tchaikovsky's "Swan Lake" and Respighi's "La Boutique Fantasque." The New York Times, as quoted by Symphony.org, described "a vibrant, uplifting concert, playing with a sumptuousness and focus." The audience gave a prolonged standing ovation.

"I honestly would have preferred not to go through this, but the situation is the way it is and we have to be proactive," Noseda told the Associated Press in August, when the touring season was announced.

The move comes as the NSO works to rebuild its audience. Ticket sales fell from 72% of capacity in 2024 to 58% in 2025 to 41% in the most recent season, according to The Washington Post, as reported by WTOP. The NSO did not confirm those figures.

Noseda will conduct 20 concerts at five of the six venues during his 10 weeks in the D.C. area. The orchestra still plans to rehearse at the Kennedy Center during the reconstruction and keep its offices and music library there.

The NSO isn't the only Bethesda-area arts organization marking a milestone. Round House Theatre, at 4545 East-West Highway in Bethesda, is celebrating its 50th anniversary season after posting its four highest-grossing years in a row, according to American Theatre magazine. The theater reported a $10 million annual budget and a surplus in the millions in fiscal year 2025.

"The thing that drives audiences here is the sense that theatre is a form of civic engagement," Artistic Director Ryan Rilette, approaching his 15th season at Round House, told American Theatre.

Round House's anniversary season opened with August Wilson's "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom," a co-production with Olney Theatre Center, running through Sunday, Oct. 11.

Coming up

• NSO at Strathmore: 13 concerts scheduled for the 2026-27 season at 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda. Visit strathmore.org or call (301) 581-5100 for dates and tickets.
• Round House Theatre: "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" runs through Oct. 11 at 4545 East-West Highway, Bethesda. Visit roundhousetheatre.org or call (240) 644-1100.