Name: Hayato Sumino, piano
Start: 2027-01-30T19:30:00
Location: The Music Center at Strathmore

Hayato Sumino

Washington Performing Arts

Dorothy becomes Reina in this fresh take on The Wizard of Oz from Brian Quijada, the award-winning co-creator and star of Mexodus, which premiered at Mosaic ahead of back-to-back Off-Broadway runs. Inspired by the true story of his mother’s immigration in the 1970s, Somewhere Over the Border takes audiences on a musical journey from El Salvador to America featuring cumbia, Mexican mariachi boleros, rock, hip hop, and more! As Reina travels north to the Mexican border, she gathers friends, faces down dangers, and holds tight to the memory of the little boy she left behind to build a better life for them both. With equal parts joyful whimsy and harrowing truth, Somewhere Over the Border is a timely new musical that honors the grit and resilience of the immigrant’s journey and reminds us of the humanity of all our neighbors.

Somewhere Over the Border

Atlas Performing Arts Center

“Itzhak Perlman’s violin playing has always had a sweet, gracious quality about it that communicates the joy he finds in making music.” – The Washington Post

A friend of Washington Performing Arts since the 1960s, Perlman returns to The Music Center at Strathmore alongside frequent musical collaborator, pianist Rohan De Silva. Fresh off their wildly successful 2025/26 North American tour, An Evening with Itzhak Perlman, the internationally beloved violinist performs a program announced from stage. Perlman is celebrated for a decades-long career replete with remarkable artistry, humanity, and his own infectious joy for making music. The evening concludes with an onstage Linger Longer conversation with Perlman and Washington Performing Arts President & CEO Jenny Bilfield.

Itzhak Perlman, violin

The Music Center at Strathmore

This fall, Washington Performing Arts and Tregaron Conservancy invite you to wander, listen, move, and discover during Tregaron Unplugged. Throughout the afternoon, music and participatory experiences will unfold across the Conservancy’s terraces, lawns, meadows, and pathways. Follow the sound of a flute, join a West African drumming and dance experience, settle into jazz grooves, slow down with yoga and a sound bath. Choose your own pathway and discover a new musical experience throughout the conservancy grounds.

Tregaron Unplugged

Tregaron Conservancy

Lauded by The Washington Post as “an artist of strikingly original ideas and irrefutable integrity,” Simone Dinnerstein returns to Washington Performing Arts for an evening of distinctive artistry at Sixth & I. The program opens with Rameau’s rarely performed Gavotte et six doubles, followed by American composer Philip Lasser’s Twelve Variations on Chorale by J.S. Bach, exploring the power and modernity of Bach’s harmonic poetry. Dinnerstein continues to demonstrate her “unique voice in the forest of Bach interpretation” (The New York Times) with the composer’s 15 Sinfonias, and closes her program with Keith Jarrett’s Encore from “Tokyo,” ending the night on a note of otherworldly serenity.

Simone Dinnerstein, piano

Sixth & I

Celebrated sitar maestro Niladri Kumaar is a compelling force in Indian classical music and an innovator who carries centuries of tradition in every note. This evening is both a forward-looking showcase and a tribute to an irreplaceable musical bond: curated selections from Space Between the Notes, the only recorded live performance between Kumaar and the late, legendary Zakir Hussain. Their singular partnership resounds once more—a gift, before the album’s release later this year. Featuring sitar, zitar, and an ensemble of Indian and American musicians with jazz influences, this is Indian music at its most expansive, where centuries of classical tradition meet improvisational spirit.

Niladri Kumaar, sitar

Take a midweek trip through Latin folk, Mexican roots, Tejano culture, and contemporary songwriting with D.C.-based artist Juan Manú. A skilled violinist, guitarist, vocalist, and storyteller, Juan brings warmth, rhythm, and a distinctly personal perspective to every performance. Expect an intimate, globally inspired evening that feels right at home over dinner, drinks, or a late-night conversation. 

Juan Manú

Barrel House Cafe & Bar

“A genuine artist, with a thoughtfully conceived and poetic interpretation.” – The New York Times

Pianist Minsoo Sohn debuts with Washington Performing Arts for a program exhibiting his undeniable musical intelligence and masterful virtuosity. Studied by the likes of Beethoven and Mozart, Bach’s The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I, is frequently regarded as one of the most significant works in the history of classical music. Sohn brings his own poetic interpretation to this storied collection of 24 prelude and fugue pairs, creating an unforgettable evening with one of the most audacious and influential works for piano as the centerpiece. Known for his career as a devoted pedagogue, Sohn is also recognized as the teacher of Yunchan Lim, the youngest first-prize winner in the history of the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition.

Minsoo Sohn, piano

Washington Performing Arts presents an evening where the musical worlds of Central Asia, China, the Middle East, and contemporary Europe meet in striking and unexpected harmony. Five performers from the Aga Khan Master Musicians—an artistic collective dedicated to living musical traditions—are joined by celebrated French artists Vincent Peirani and Vincent Ségal for a concert that is wholly its own.

Syrian-born Basel Rajoub has reimagined an entirely new vocabulary for the saxophone; his compatriot Feras Charestan commands the qanun, the shimmering Middle Eastern plucked zither. Turkish oud master Yurdal Tokcan and Uzbek percussionist Abbos Kosimov, a virtuoso on the doira frame drum, complete the collective’s lineup. They are joined by Vincent Peirani, award-winning accordionist, singer, and composer whose work spans jazz, contemporary music, and improvisation, and by cellist and bassist Vincent Ségal, whose collaborators have included Sting, Cesaria Evora, and Elvis Costello. Seven distinct voices in one extraordinary evening.

Aga Khan Master Musicians

The year 2026 marks 100 years since the births of Miles Davis and John Coltrane, two visionaries of modern jazz. To mark the occasion, esteemed trumpeter and composer Terence Blanchard and saxophonist and composer Ravi Coltrane join forces for a centennial tribute celebrating the history, evolution, and continuing future of jazz. The two bandleaders bring distinct personal and artistic connections to this performance: Coltrane as the son of John Coltrane and Blanchard as one of today’s leading trumpeters, shaped by the music and innovation of Miles Davis. Together, they channel the creativity, freedom, and spirit of experimentation that defined Davis and Coltrane’s artistry. Rather than a nostalgic reenactment, the concert offers a reimagining grounded in the legacy of Davis and Coltrane while remaining anchored in the present. True to jazz’s essence, Blanchard, Coltrane, and their ensemble embrace improvisation, invention, and emotional intensity, allowing the music to evolve in the moment throughout the evening.

Terence Blanchard & Ravi Coltrane 

“Few artists have burst onto the classical music scene in recent years with the incandescence of the pianist Daniil Trifonov.” – The New York Times

Combining consummate technique with rare sensitivity and depth, Daniil Trifonov’s performances have been a source of perpetual awe for Washington Performing Arts’s audiences since his premiere on our Hayes Piano Series during the 2012/13 season. The Grammy Award-winning pianist returns for a program spanning continents and centuries, from Handel and Schubert to Ginastera and Villa-Lobos. The journey begins in the Baroque era, concluding with contemporary works by a breadth of Latin American composers, all performed by “without question, the most astounding pianist of our age” (The Times of London).

Daniil Trifonov, piano

Start the new year with the vibrant sounds of Brazil. Brazilian musician, arts administrator, and EducArte co-founder Pablo DeOliveira brings the rich traditions of Brazilian music into conversation with the D.C. music scene, with samba and the cavaquinho. Expect rhythm, warmth, and a little Brazilian sunshine in the middle of January.

EducArte

Pianist Hayato Sumino defies easy categorization: a sold-out debut recital at Carnegie Hall, a semi-finalist at the 2021 International Chopin Piano Competition, an acclaimed performance at the Hollywood Bowl, and over 1.5 million YouTube followers. A graduate of the University of Tokyo’s prestigious information science program, Sumino has pursued cutting-edge music research at IRCAM in Paris—and that rare fusion of analytical depth and improvisational flair defines everything he plays. Washington Performing Arts is thrilled to introduce D.C. audiences to this singular artist through a program of Chopin, Ravel, and Saint-Saëns alongside Sumino’s own compositions, performed across three instruments—grand piano, upright piano, and electric keyboard—in one extraordinary evening.