All patients, their families and visitors as well as NIH staff are invited to attend these performances. The north atrium is a comfortable, welcoming gathering place at the center of the Clinical Center. These concerts are intended to support the Clinical Center's environment of care and healing.
"I love that NIH hosts concerts in the Clinical Center atrium. A tangible way that artists and scientists help make each other better, literally." - Barbra Streisand (Guest Speaker at the May 2018 NIH J. Edward Rall Cultural Lecture)
The NIH Clinical Center has resumed scheduling concerts that include wind instruments and vocal performance. Please note this is subject to change at anytime.
If you are interested in performing in the Clinical Center atrium, please submit a request.
Check out a recent performance.
Please check back often for new performance dates.
Upcoming Performances
The Manchester String Quartet (in Lipsett Amphitheater)
April 15
12:30 – 1:30 pmThe quartet will perform Mendelssohn String Quartet in D Major, Opus 44#1.
The Foundation for Advanced Education in the Sciences sponsored this performance.
Vivo Flutes
April 17
12:30 – 1:30 pmFlutists Klodina Kabashi Morina, Andrew Tomlinson, and Judy Sammel are a flute trio performing as 'Vivo Flutes' in the Baltimore, Maryland area. Their successful debut performance was at Villa Assumpta in Baltimore in November 2023. Individually, the members of Vivo Flutes have performed as soloists and members of various chamber ensembles, orchestras, and wind ensembles throughout the US and internationally. Their repertoire ranges from baroque to contemporary classical, as well as lighter works from popular literature. They perform on piccolos, concert flutes, alto flutes, and sometimes on bass and contrabass flutes.
JazzyCopia
April 18
12:30 – 1:30 pmFormerly known as the UMD Jazz Combo, this group plays an array of old and new jazz standards, bringing a sense of the classic and the contemporary to a live jazz setting. Faculty members, students and alumni make up the group.
Aaron Reeder
April 24
12:30 – 1:30 pmAaron Reeder is an American performer and creative consultant based in Berlin. Possessing "a voice that soars" according to the Washington Post, he is a sought-after, versatile artist in myriad musical styles from gospel to opera. He has performed with music luminaries from Dave Brubeck to Renee Fleming to Megan Hilty, and as a featured soloist in Grammy award-winning productions with The Metropolitan Opera, "Porgy and Bess" (2021) and "Champion" (2024). Conducting public programming with the Humboldt Forum, the Smithsonian Institution, and U.S. Department of State Cultural Program, he is traveling the world to engage communities and increase awareness of human interconnectedness through his art. Aaron's work crosses the disciplines of theater, music and education, promoting dialogue and understanding around global and social issues while also empowering people to find their own voice and means of creative expression.
Benjamin and Yuri
April 26
Noon – 1:00 pmPlease join us for a performance featuring Yuri Lin on violin and Benjamin Packer on piano. Yuri is currently a postbaccalaureate CRTA fellow in the Surgical Oncology Program. She has played violin for 15 years and has performed with chamber ensembles at venues such as the Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall. Benjamin currently works in the Center for Alzheimer's and Related Dementias (CARD) as a postbaccalaureate IRTA fellow. He has played piano for 15 years and has been involved with music groups in the DMV area. The program showcases classical and romantic pieces including works by Rachmaninoff, Elgar, and Kreisler.
The Manchester String Quartet
May 6
12:30 – 1:30 pmThe quartet will perform Mendelssohn Octet in E flat Major, Opus 20.
The Foundation for Advanced Education in the Sciences sponsored this performance.
Nerds in Harmony
May 8
12:30 – 1:30 pmFirst formed by NIH fellows in 2004, the Nerds in Harmony have been bringing music to the campus and community ever since. The Nerds have a wide repertoire of a cappella renditions, covering barbershop, pop songs old and new, and holiday classics. After pivoting to video and outdoor shows for the last few years, they are delighted to be back in the Atrium.
The Tacy Foundation
May 14
Noon – 1 pmThe Tacy Foundation empowers children and teens in the Nation's Capital and surrounding areas to share hope with hospital patients, senior citizens, and disadvantaged youth through the power of music.
JazzyCopia
May 18
12:30 – 1:30 pmFormerly known as the UMD Jazz Combo, this group plays an array of old and new jazz standards, bringing a sense of the classic and the contemporary to a live jazz setting. Faculty members, students and alumni make up the group.
DC Concert Society
May 22
12:30 – 1:30 pmThe DC Concert Orchestra Society (DCCOS) is an association of non-professional musicians that organizes classical music performances and casual play-in events at various locations in the greater Washington area. Performing groups include the DC Concert Orchestra (DCCO), which is a full symphony orchestra under the baton of Maestro Randall Stewart, and the DC Chamber Musicians (DCCM), which is a roster of musicians who organize themselves into trios, quartets, and larger ensembles to perform their favorite pieces from the vast chamber music repertoire. This performance will feature a trio consisting of Rob Tycko (clarinetist and NIH scientist), Susan Alexander (pianist), and Jon Brvenik (cellist), who met one another through DCCM events. They will perform the trio in A minor for clarinet, cello, and piano (opus 114) by Johannes Brahms, composed in 1891 and generally considered to be a pinnacle of music for this combination of instruments. The Brahms trio will be followed by one or two additional selections with contrasting moods.
Haskell Small
May 29
12:30 – 1:30 pmComposer and Pianist Haskell Small has been critically praised for the exquisite blend of sound and silence in his compositions and for his prodigious technique and subtle touch at the piano. His discography includes over a dozen releases of his own compositions as well as Bach, Mompu, Gershwin and more on the MSR, Naxos, Centaur and 4Tay labels. On national and international tours he has performed at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Arts, and Spoleto USA, among others, and has received commissions from the Washington Ballet, Georgetown Symphony, Three Rivers Piano Competition, and more. After suffering a stroke in February 2021, Mr. Small has used his rehabilitation journey as a creative muse. He began arranging classical masters for the right hand alone and composing his own work, Diary of a Stroke: The Adventures of Herb and Pete.
The Tacy Foundation
June 13
Noon – 1 pmThe Tacy Foundation empowers children and teens in the Nation's Capital and surrounding areas to share hope with hospital patients, senior citizens, and disadvantaged youth through the power of music.