The Fairfax Symphony Orchestra (FSO) is expanding its season with a pair of newly announced concerts.
In separate events next spring, the orchestra will host musical theater legend Patti LuPone and perform alongside the animated film “How to Train Your Dragon,” adding more star power to a season that has already featured cellist Yo-Yo Ma as a soloist.
Tickets are set to go on sale at 10 a.m. today (Friday) for LuPone’s Matters of the Heart concert, which is touring to mark the 25th anniversary of its original Broadway run, and How to Train Your Dragon in Concert, according to the FSO’s press releases.
Though the symphony won’t actually perform with LuPone, the cabaret-style concert will take place at its main home — the Center for the Arts (4373 Mason Pond Drive) on George Mason University’s Fairfax campus — on March 5, 2026 at 7:30 p.m.
The three-time Tony Award winning singer and actor will instead be accompanied by pianist Joseph Thalken and the Four Play String Quartet from Australia, as she covers “over two dozen love songs ranging from Broadway favorites to works by today’s top contemporary songwriters,” per the press release.
Based on a CD recording of the same name, Matters of the Heart was first staged at the Beaumont Theater on Broadway in 2000.
The “How to Train Your Dragon” concert, meanwhile, will feature the FSO performing composer John Powell’s score live during a screening of the movie at Capital One Hall (7750 Capital One Tower Road) in Tysons on March 14, 2026. The performance starts at 7 p.m., with doors opening at 6 p.m.
Founded in 1957, the Fairfax Symphony Orchestra kicked off its 2025-2026 season in October and will next appear at Mason’s Center of the Arts for its traditional “Nutcracker” show with the Fairfax Ballet Company. As of press time, tickets are still available for performances tomorrow (Saturday) and on Sunday (Dec. 21), both starting at 4 p.m.
