Join us for an inspiring and dynamic concert with our talented musicians for this Black History Month observance, where we will honor the power of music in our community. This concert features the Accord Symphony Orchestra, Maestro Julien Benichou, and Assistant Conductor Gloria Yin.
View the concert program here.
Featured Soloist
Internationally renowned concert pianist Christie Julien made her solo debut with the National Symphony Orchestra playing Bartok’s Concerto no.3 under Maestro Leonard Slatkin at the Kennedy Center. She recently performed with Eduardo Marturet and the Miami Symphony Orchestra, Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini, and toured China, Japan, South America, and Europe to great public and media acclaim. As an avid chamber musician, Ms. Julien regularly participates at some prestigious music festivals including Salzburg, Santa Fe, La Jola, Ravinia and Great Lakes. She is a regular jury member of the International piano competitions including Margarita Long in Paris. Christie studied piano with the legendary pianist and pedagogue Leon Fleischer at Peabody Conservatory and obtained a prestigious “Artist Diploma”. In addition, she holds Yamaha and Lavoisier scholarships awarded by the French government and multiple prizes in solo piano and chamber music. Julien entered at the age 14 the Conservatoire National Superior de Musique de Paris and was awarded first prizes in both solo and chamber music. To learn more about Christie, visit christiejulien.com.
Soprano Simone Ballinger-Brown has lived most of her life in Silver Spring, Maryland. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Vocal Performance from Xavier University of Louisiana and her Master of Music in Voice from Peabody Conservatory under the tutelage of Denyce Graves and Margaret Baroody. She has performed Leontyne in The Anonymous Lover, Musetta in La Bohème, Monica in The Medium, Frasquita in Carmen, and Pamina in Die Zauberflöte. Simone runs and performs for her business Black Princess Parties DMV. Simone is the Program Associate at the Washington Conservatory of Music.
