Conductor Jeri Lynne Johnson To Make NatPhil Debut At Strathmore

BETHESDA, MD — Guest conductor Jeri Lynne Johnson will be making her debut with the National Philharmonic for a concert on Feb. 10 at The Music Center at Strathmore in North Bethesda.

Johnson will lead a classical program that includes Valerie Coleman’s Phenomenal Women: Concerto for Wind Quintet Soli and Chamber Orchestra, with Coleman as one of five wind soloists, and Antonín Dvořák’s Symphony No. 7.

“From the Philadelphia Orchestra to the Bournemouth Symphony to the Weimar Staatskapelle, Jeri Lynne Johnson has conducted some of the finest orchestras in the world,” NatPhil Music Director Piotr Gajewski said in a statement.

“As a Black woman, she brings a unique perspective to the music of Black composers, making her the perfect choice to introduce our audience to Valerie Coleman’s Phenomenal Women,” Gajewski said.

With this NatPhil appearance, Johnson returns to the D.C. area — during Black History Month — for the first time since conducting Pulitzer Prize-winner Tania León’s Stride as part of the composer’s Kennedy Center Honors tribute in 2022.

Johnson made history in 2005 when she was awarded the Taki Alsop Conducting Fellowship, becoming the first Black woman to win an international conducting prize. Since then, she has continued to break barriers in the United States and Europe as the first Black woman on the podium at numerous major orchestras.

She is also founder of the Black Pearl Chamber Orchestra in Philadelphia, which has been internationally recognized as a leading innovator in meaningful community engagement.

Drawing its title from Maya Angelou’s 1995 book, Coleman’s Phenomenal Women is composed of five movements, each dedicated to a woman Coleman finds particularly inspiring: Angelou herself, NASA mathematician Katherine Johnson, tennis champion Serena Williams, former First Lady Michelle Obama, and Olympic gold medal-winning boxer Claressa Shields.

Phenomenal Women premiered in November 2018 at Carnegie Hall, performed by American Composers Orchestra.

“I am excited to be making my National Philharmonic debut with this amazing piece by Valerie Coleman,” Johnson said. “I have been a fan of her work for many years and am looking forward to performing this impressive work for the audiences at the equally impressive Music Center at Strathmore.”

Closing the program is Antonín Dvořák’s Symphony No. 7, one of the composer’s most popular symphonies, and one of his most dramatic and emotional works.

The concert will take place at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 10 at The Music Center at Strathmore. Tickets, ranging from $19 to $99, are available online at nationalphilharmonic.org. Children 17 and under can attend National Philharmonic performances for free.