National Cathedral

The King’s Singers bring their 2018 Grammy-nominated album GOLD to the hallowed halls of the Washington National Cathedral for a special holiday performance Saturday, December 22 at 7:30 p.m. Ticket information is here.

The British group’s album was nominated for “Best Classical Compendium,” its second Grammy nomination, earlier this month. They will perform other holiday-themed selections from their repertoire.

The six-voice ensemble, celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, are consummate entertainers bring a new twist to holiday classics with their delightfully British sense of humor.

Joy to the world!

What would Walt Whitman have thought about the 2018 midterm election campaigns?

The question is not as rhetorical as it sounds: Who knows what profound insight on our divisive political process will be revealed Monday, November 5, in a special performance of songs set to the great poet’s work and followed by a moderated discussion at the majestic Washington National Cathedral.

The Election Eve performance is cleverly called “I Sing the Body Electoral: Celebrating Walt Whitman” and features renowned baritone William Sharp and pianist Wan-Chi Su in an enriching program of Kurt Weill’s “Four Whitman Songs” and Ralph Vaughan Williams’ “Three Poems by Walt Whitman.”

As a musical bonus, the evening will see the world premiere of American composer Curt Cacioppos’ “I, madly struggling, cry,” a setting of stanzas by Whitman and commissioned by the PostClassical Ensemble, the experimental orchestral laboratory that is sponsoring the event.

The music starts at 7:30 p.m. and will be followed by a discussion hosted by PBS NewsHour correspondent Jeffrey Brown. Panelists include:

• Martin Murray, Founder of the Washington Friends of Walt Whitman, on Whitman, Washington, D.C., and the Civil War;
• Brian Youthers, University of Texas at El Paso English professor, on Whitman and immigration;
• Lorenzo Candelaria, Dean of the School of the Arts at Purchase College, on Whitman and “The American Dream.”

Admission is $65; reservations can be made here. The Washington National Cathedral is at 3101 Wisconsin Avenue, NW; you can not miss it.

Still wondering what Whitman would have thought about the elections? Here’s a clue: “America is not for special types, for the caste, but for the great mass of people — vast, surging, hopeful.”

If corporations are “people,” as the Supreme Court determined in the landmark Citizens United political financing ruling, do they also have moral responsibilities? And how is the public to react to companies that take activist actions in ongoing culture wars, such as LGBTQ laws, health care policies and climate change?

Those questions will be considered during a rare opportunity at the Washington National Cathedral when Howard Schultz, former CEO of Starbucks, and Rev. Yolanda Pierce, dean of the Howard Divinity School, take the stage for a public discussion called “Corporate Activism & Moral Responsibility in a 21st Century Democracy.”

• Schultz is no stranger to the discussion. When Donald Trump barred travelers from Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S., Schultz announced Starbucks would hire 10,000 refugees over five years in 75 countries. He took a firm stance against the Republican tax plan, calling it a mistake despite the personal benefits to him. He stepped down from the company’s leadership in June amid racial controversy at the coffee shop chain that caused it to shut down stores for racial bias training.
• Yolanda Pierce, Phd, is a former professor at the Princeton Theological Seminary and is the first female dean at Howard University’s School of Divinity. Her teaching and research involve African American religious history, “womanist theology” and race and religion.
• Adi Ignatius, the  editor-in-chief of the Harvard Business Review, will moderate the event. Adi is a former executive editor at TIME magazine — it was under his watch the magazine chose controversial and surprising “People of the Year.”

The conversation will take place Tuesday, October 16, at 7 p.m. Tickets ($15) can be purchased here.

The impact of one’s faith on one’s life is sometimes obvious, but more often mysterious. And few are comfortable to discuss in public how their faith informs their careers and private lives.

Which is why a special event at the Washington National Cathedral at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, October 3, promises to be informative, insightful and quite possibly awe-inspiring.

Three accomplished civic figures — Madeleine Albright, David Saperstein and David Brooks — will reveal the ways in which their lives have been shaped by the practices of their faith in a frank and revealing 90-minute discussion.

The program, tellingly, is called “Honest to God.”

“This is an essential time to focus on how key leaders are influenced by faith,” said Jan Smith, a Cathedral congregant who is active in Cathedral outreach committees. “The Washington National Cathedral brings people of all faiths together in this important new series as we all seek truth and inspiration.”

The inaugural session of the series features three prominent, thought-provoking personalities of diverse religious backgrounds and the occasional political controversy sharing how their faith has influenced their thinking and their actions.

• Madeleine Albright, the first woman to be named U.S. Secretary of State, has also been the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations as well as a winner of the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
• David Saperstein is a lawyer and a rabbi and the first non-Christian to be appointed U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom, an appointment made by President Obama.
• David Brooks is the longtime columnist for the New York Times and a commenter on cultural affairs on PBS’s NewsHour. He is considered a conservative but finds himself in favor of same-sex marriage and recently described himself as “religiously bisexual.”

“Honest to God” is open to the public but registration and a $15 ticket are required. Find more information about reservations here.