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
JazzyCopia
May 16
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 Music in the Atrium performance will feature a trio consisting of Rob Tycko (clarinetist and NIH scientist), Teri Manolio (flutist and NIH scientist), and Susan Alexander (pianist). They will perform a diverse assortment of pieces by composers from the U.S. (Ernest Bloch), Azerbaijan (Fikret Amirov), Peru (Daniel Cueto), Brazil (Jacob do Bandolim), and France (Camille Saint-Saens).
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.
Music and Love
June 14
Noon – 1 pmOur ensemble consists of many young musicians proficient in a diverse array of instruments, united by the common goal of making a positive contribution through the transformative power of music.