Centreville Symphonic Choir Sings at Kennedy Center

Who: Symphonic Choir 

School: Centreville High School 

Accomplishment: Twenty-six students in the , joined by 11 members of Concert Choir and 10 members of Bella Voce, performed at the Kennedy Center Concert Hall in Washington, DC as part of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Human Spaceflight: The Kennedy Legacy program. 

Key to Awesomeness: When the Symphonic Choir took the stage at the Kennedy Center Concert Hall on Wednesday, May 25, it wasn’t the first time this group of students had performed at the prestigious downtown location.   

In November 2010 the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) produced an event at the Kennedy Center called A Concert Against Hate, in which National Symphony Orchestra Conductor Emil de Cou invited the CVHS Symphonic Choir to participate ( to watch the students rehearse the song). 

“Emil de Cou wanted a choir that was representative of several schools,” said Centreville High Symphonic Choir Director Lynne Babcock, “He specifically invited Centreville, because he had heard of us by reputation.”

At de Cou’s request, Babcock also invited top choral groups from other Fairfax County high schools to participate in the ADL concert. The Madrigals, Madrigals, and Colonial Singers joined the Centreville High School Symphonic Choir in putting on a stellar performance at the November event.  

Emil de Cou also conducted last week’s concert, NASA’s Human Spaceflight: The Kennedy Legacy, and invited the Centreville, James Madison, Langley, and West Potomac choral groups to come together once more at the Kennedy Center Concert Hall.  

“His [de Cou’s] words to me were ‘You all made the ADL concert. I want you to repeat that performance,’” Babcock said.  

The CVHS Symphonic Choir sang “Somewhere” from Leonard Berstein’s West Side Story that evening and impressed the audience with its talent and professionalism.  

The Human Spaceflight: The Kennedy Legacy concert program was created to celebrate 50 years of American spaceflight. “I feel that music should be used to commemorate everything, whether it is instrumental or vocal music,” said Lynne Babcock, who has taught music for 29 years, “The greatest emotional impact can be achieved through the use of music. Vocal music adds the extra element of lyrics, which can be doubly moving.”  

Following their performance, Symphonic Choir students enjoyed a catered dinner in the Kennedy Center Opera House and engaged in a 45-minute Q&A with a liaison from the NASA Office of Education.  

The choir’s second collaboration with Emil de Cou at the Kennedy Center that honored an innovative chapter of American history was a once-in-a-lifetime performance these students won’t soon forget.  

“I was very excited for all the students, that they had the chance to perform twice with the National Symphony Orchestra,” Babcock said, “This is a huge honor for all of them.”