Seein’ the DMV: Celebrating the Holidays 2025

As I have mentioned in previous posts, this has been a difficult year for my family. I’ve kept my travels close enough to the DMV that I could get back fairly quickly if needed. With the passing of my eldest sister’s husband in October, I’ve intentionally stayed close to home.

Sometimes, though, we are blessed through difficult moments. My sister asked me to sing for the memorial service. I’d stepped away from public performing, but I couldn’t refuse her. The blessing I received was both spiritual — rediscovering that I still have the gift to sing, but I have to change the way I do it — and practical — a limited return to public performance. I am even considering giving a concert in late Spring 2026. More about this if it actually gets past the wishful thinking stage.

Holiday Concerts in the DMV

Most of November and December was spent attending concerts and other staged programs. I was supposed to attend the concert by Jazz great Herbie Hancock with his quintet, who performed at the Music Center at Strathmore. As he had not visited his alma mater, Grinnell College, while I worked there, I had really looked forward to attending. However, between family matters and being exhausted after my recent return from my last trip, I begged off. My loss.

At the end of November, I did make it to the first stop of Leslie Odom, Jr.’s Christmas Tour, this time at Meyerhoff Symphony Hall in Baltimore. I was concerned about my previous experience at Meyerhoff, but I wanted to hear the program more, so…. Anyway, the concert was sold out, as noted by the picture below:

Since I hate writing reviews about performances, I’ve linked to one above, if interested. My personal experience was that I enjoyed the concert immensely and did not find the experience at all diminished by accessibility issues with the hall this time. As usual, I don’t take pictures during the concert because I don’t want to distract other performers. However, I did take one of the program page about the concert and another of Odom and the other musicians once the hall’s lighting was up during one of the encores. (Clicking either picture will enlarge it for more detail.)

My first December concert was the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra presentation of Cirque Nutcracker with Troupe Vertigo at the Music Center at Strathmore. I’ll again leave the details to the linked review. The performance was particularly tailored for kids, yet the older audience members (including me) expressed their appreciation for the daring stunts performed by the troupe, accompanied by the orchestra’s presentation of Tchaikovsky’s renowned ballet music. This was my second year of attending these performances, and I would love to make them a regular holiday event on my calendar.

The following week, I’d managed to schedule two performances in Baltimore. On Wednesday, I’d just taken the Silver Bullet for her winter maintenance and normally would have taken advantage of the opportunity to drive any distance, especially to hear the BSO performance of Mozart’s Exsultate Jubilate, as well as works by Charpentier, Bach, and Handel. I didn’t make it, though, and don’t remember why at this point. However, I did make the next evening’s theatrical performance of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. The original plan was to go to the production at Washington’s Ford Theater, but I accidentally got a ticket for the one presented by Baltimore’s Chesapeake Shakespeare Company.

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A Busy Day

The DMV got its first heavy snow during the second weekend of December, causing the Sunday worship service where I was scheduled to sing to be cancelled for a week.

The following Sunday, I sang the soprano solo of Roland Carter‘s “Mary Had a Baby” (along with descants for “O Come All Ye Faithful,” etc.–what fun!) at Plymouth Congregational United Church of Christ in D.C. While I was not raised singing in the Gospel music tradition, I rediscovered my high B-flat that the spiritual setting called for, even if my improvisation left something to be desired, and was reminded just how important singing is to me.  

I was again at Strathmore, this time for Handel’s “Messiah” performed by the Baltimore Choral Arts Society.  to fight myself to stay silent through the Hallelujah Chorus–wanna sing-along. I was reminded to attend the sing-along at what turned out to be my last concert at the Kennedy Center for a while. I won’t go into the sad happenings at The Kennedy Center in this post because it’s too depressing. Anyway, I really enjoyed hearing The Messiah live with only two pet peeves. First, I wish the soloists had been seated throughout the performance rather than striding out, singing, and leaving when the recit and/or aria were finished. It was majorly distracting to the musical flow for me. Also, the amplification of the soloists, especially the tenor, could have been more balanced with the orchestra.

I ended the night with the Winter Lights Festival in Gaithersburg, Maryland. It was my first time taking the scenic drive tour, and I knew that I had scheduled it for “prime time,” Sunday evening before Christmas; however, I was already in the area. As recommended, I got something to eat and went to the restroom before entering the park. I also played my own mix of R&B Christmas music on SB’s speakers, which really added to the experience. It didn’t take me long to follow other drivers who turned their headlights off to get a better view of the many holiday lights on display. I want to come back next year at a time when the crowds are much smaller and the pace much slower.

I had to take pictures very quickly because of the many cars behind me, and I didn’t want to slow down too much. Fortunately, the evening was mild for December in the DMV, so I was able to open both of SB’s front windows to get some pretty clear photos and minimize the number I had to take through the less-than-clean windshield. A number of the pictures are below:

An Afternoon with the Ladies

After an intimate Christmas spent with immediate family–something I think we all needed this year–my niece Candice, who was introduced in my earliest recorded trip, invited the Jones ladies to share high tea. We’ve done this kind of thing for years, dating back to when my Momma and her close friend would invite the daughters to go out for the evening and leave the men to their own devices.

I have never been to high tea (or afternoon tea) before, so this was a new experience for me. We met the Sunday after Christmas at Lady Camellia in the historical district of Alexandria, Virginia. It was wonderful to spend time with my sister, sister-in-law, nieces, and niece-in-law (?), and to be able to strike something off my list of things to do. I found no fault in either the quality of the food or the service provided; however, I admit that it’s not really “my cup of tea,” as it were, though I especially enjoyed seeing Chef Candice savor the different foods offered. I was far more relaxed when the same six of us created paintings at the Muse Paintbar, where we gathered three years ago.

Being closer to family was my primary reason for moving back to the DMV from Iowa (I admit the warmer clime was a factor, too). The past several months have proven why in so many ways.