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Acclaimed cellist Yo-Yo Ma is tuning up for a visit to Fairfax County later this year.

Ma, a household name even outside the classical music world, will perform with the Fairfax Symphony Orchestra (FSO) at George Mason University’s Center for the Arts on Dec. 6 as part of the local ensemble’s 2025-2026 season.


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A group of Northern Virginia residents who bonded through their shared love of live music now hopes to translate that passion into support for a worthy cause — and a memorable goodbye for a local band.

NoVA Live Music Mingle will host its first-ever fundraiser tonight (Thursday) at Jimmy’s Old Town Tavern (697 Spring Street) in Herndon to benefit the music education program StudioRock of Northern Virginia.


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The Town of Herndon is expanding its summer programming this year with a new “Town Square Tuesdays” concert series.

The free, outdoor concerts will kick off next Tuesday, June 17 on Herndon’s Town Square patio (730 Station Street) with Mystic Warriors, a band based in the D.C. area that plays Andean music.


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Temperatures are warming, school is nearly out for the year, and a full slate of free, outdoor summer entertainment is coming to Fairfax County parks.

The Fairfax County Park Authority will kick off its annual Summer Entertainment Series tonight (Friday), with Grist Mill Park in Mount Vernon hosting the swing and jazz group Seth Kibel & The Kleztet at 7:30 p.m.


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A Taylor Swift tribute band is coming back to Reston Station this summer as part of an extensive array of free seasonal concerts organized throughout the area by Reston Community Center (RCC).

The community center kicked off its annual summer concert and entertainment series over Memorial Day weekend with a jazzy happy hour at Reston Town Square Park (11900 Market Street) on May 23, courtesy of the Tania & Jeff Grubbs Quartet.


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Thousands of people are expected to visit Reston Town Center later this month for the return of the Tephra ICA Arts Festival.

Now in its 34th year, the annual festival organized by the Tephra Institute of Contemporary Arts will take place on May 17 and 18, bringing together more than 200 artists from across the U.S.


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Spring is in the air, which means another Friday Night Live! season is on the horizon.

The free outdoor concert series will return to the Town of Herndon for its 31st year on May 2. Highlights of the upcoming season include the first-ever introduction of a non-alcoholic beer option and a “special reunion show” by the D.C. area party band Gonzo’s Nose, according to Friday Night Live! Chairman Laura Poindexter.


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An initial calendar for Wolf Trap National Park’s summer season has arrived.

After teasing a couple of shows with early announcements, including “You’re Beautiful” singer James Blunt and a reunion of The Swell Season for fans of the movie “Once,” the Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts unveiled a more complete line-up of events that will grace the Filene Center stage once the weather heats up.


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The Fairfax Symphony Orchestra (FSO) and Fairfax Ballet will reunite later this month for their annual performances of “The Nutcracker” at George Mason University.

Continuing a tradition that’s now in its eighth year, the two local arts organizations will present two shows of Pytor Tchaikovsky’s holiday staple this Saturday and Sunday (Dec. 21 and 22) at Mason’s Center for the Arts (4373 Mason Pond Drive) in Fairfax.


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In his 15th year, and as the Fairfax Symphony Orchestra begins its 67th season, Music Director and Conductor Christopher Zimmerman knows what’s made the symphony flourish, and he says playing new music by living composers has been one of the leading tickets.

“The FSO and I have expanded the repertoire that we present quite considerably, particularly in the area of new music by living composers,” Zimmerman said. “From the beginning of my tenure, we have performed brand new pieces and pieces by the great, well-known composers that are perhaps a little off the beaten track, as well as those on the beaten track, of course.”


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