New Wolf Trap Superintendent, More Barns At Wolf Trap Shows Announced

VIENNA, VA — New leadership is overseeing the Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts, the only national park dedicated to offering performing arts, according to the National Park Service.

Ken Bigley has been named the new superintendent of the national park. The superintendent works with the park's longtime partner, the Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts, which provides performing arts programming. The park offers summer performances at its Filene Center, children's shows at Children's Theatre-in-the-Woods and indoor shows at the Barns at Wolf Trap.

Bigley is also tasked with leading NPS staff to conserve Wolf trap, which offers hiking trails, bird watching and educational programs. Bigley has been deputy superintendent at Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts since 2016 and has been acting superintendent since May 2021. He replaces George Liffert, who became superintendent at Prince William Forest Park in 2021.

"Ken brings a wealth of leadership experience to this position and has already shown his commitment to working in partnership and engaging communities," said NPS National Capital Regional Director Kym Hall, who appointed Bigley. "Ken’s dedication to the NPS mission and appreciation for the unique qualities of Wolf Trap make him a great steward and leader for this special destination."

Bigley started his career as a resource assistant with the Student Conservation Association at Carlsbad Caverns National Park in New Mexico in 1991. He has worked at national park sites such as the Grand Canyon in Arizona, Mammoth Cave in Kentucky, Everglades in Florida, Big Bend National Park in Texas, Prince William Forest Park in Virginia. His wife, Lisa, also works for NPS at its accounting operations center. He has three daughters and enjoys hiking, history, watching baseball and visiting national parks around the U.S.

More Wolf Trap Performances

In other Wolf Trap news, more performances were announced Tuesday for the 2022-2023 Barns at Wolf Trap season.

On Feb. 22, guitar improviser Marc Ribot will perform a night of jazz with avant-garde performers The Bad Plus. Two days later on Feb. 24, Tex-Mex rockers The Last Bandoleros will return after playing with Sting at the Filene Center. The group is known for country-rock rhythms, harmonies and accordion solos.

On March 4, bluegrass group Steep Canyon Rangers will make its Barns at Wolf Trap debute after performing with Steve Martin and Martin Short this summer. The group is known for combining jazz, bluegrass, folk and rock.

Big Bad Voodoo Daddy will arrive for two nights on March 25 and 26 to perform contemporary swing revival music. Attendees can join a free pre-performance dance lessons from GottaSwing.

Tickets for newly-announced performances will go on sale at 10 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 7 at wolftrap.org. Wolf Trap members may access presales. Additional performances are expected to be announced throughout the fall.

Here is the full schedule:

• Oct. 6 – Rebirth Brass Band
• Oct. 13 – Michael Cleveland and Flamekeeper
• Oct. 15 – Nashville Emerging Artists Night Featuring Audra McLaughlin, Ryan Neal, REVIE, and more
• Oct. 16 – Hot Club of Cowtown
• Oct. 19 – Bob Mould | H.C. McEntire
• Oct. 21 – Kinan Azmeh
• Oct. 23 – Meow Meow
• Oct. 27 – Altan
• Oct. 28 – American Visitors | Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center | Chamber Music at The Barns
• Nov. 4 – Stephen Kellogg
• Nov. 5 – Eliane Elias
• Nov. 10 – An Evening with JD Souther
• Nov. 11 – Paul Huang, violin & Anne-Marie McDermott, piano | Chamber Music at The Barns
• Nov. 16 – Duplessy & Violins of the World
• Nov. 17 – District Raga and Wolf Trap Present Rudresh Mahanthappa
• Nov. 26 – Newmyer Flyer Presents A Tribute to Burt Bacharach & Hal David
• Nov. 27 – Eileen Ivers | A Joyful Christmas
• Nov. 30 – Holly Bowling
• Dec. 1 - John Lloyd Young | Heart of Christmas
• Dec. 2 – Christmas with the Celts
• Dec. 9 – The Emerson String Quartet | The Farewell Concert | Chamber Music at The Barns
• Jan. 19-21 – The Del McCoury Band
• Jan. 22 – Schubert | The Escher String Quartet and Gilbert Kalish, piano | Chamber Music at The Barns
• Jan. 25 and 27 – George Winston
• Jan. 26 – An Evening with A.J. Croce
• Feb. 7 and 8 – The 5th Dimension
• Feb. 9 and 10 – 1964: The Tribute
• Feb. 15-18 – The Second City
• Feb. 19 – Rachmaninoff Celebration | Chamber Music at The Barns
• Feb. 22 – The Bad Plus and Marc Ribot: The Jazz-Bins
• Feb. 23 – Masters of Hawaiian Music | George Kahumoku Jr., Herb Ohta, and Sonny Lim
• Feb. 24 – The Last Bandoleros
• March 4 – Steep Canyon Rangers
• March 5 – Cherish The Ladies
• March 8 and 9 – International Guitar Night
• March 10 – Seamus Egan
• March 11 – Kelli O’Hara
• March 12 – Loudon Wainwright III
• March 16 – Storm Large
• March 17 and 18 – Yonder Mountain String Band
• March 19 – Voices of the Americas | Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center | Chamber Music at The Barns
• March 21 and 22 – Ladysmith Black Mambazo
• March 25 and 26 – Big Bad Voodoo Daddy
• March 31 – Winter Journey in Concert | Chamber Music at The Barns
• April 1 – A Bandhouse Gigs | Tribute to Fountains of Wayne
• April 12 – Booker T. Jones | Celebrating 60 Years of ‘Green Onions’
• April 14 and 15 – 34th Annual Evening of Comedy
• April 20 – John McCutcheon
• April 21 – The Brahms Effect | Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center | Chamber Music at The Barns
• April 28 – Darrell Scott