DAS
About the Distinguished Artists Series
34th Season!
Launched with the opening of Alumni Hall in 1991, the USNA Distinguished Artist Series has presented the world’s finest classical and cultural performers to the Academy with an eclectic mix of Opera, Ballet, Orchestra, and diverse national ensembles as part of a comprehensive program developed by the Naval Academy’s Senior Leadership to enrich the education of midshipmen through exposure and involvement with fine arts.
Over the past 34 years, we have hosted 130 world-class performances to include the National Ensemble of Republic of Guinea, Bamberg Symphony, Danish National Radio Symphony, Bolshoi Symphony, Kirov Orchestra of St. Petersburg, Central Ballet of China, Moscow Virtuosi, Stuttgart Philharmonic, Georgian State Dance Company, London City Opera, Ballet de L’Opera de Bordeaux, Vienna Symphony Orchestra, Shanghai Ballet, Venice Baroque Orchestra, L’Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Krasnoyarsk Dance Company of Siberia, Munich Symphony Orchestra, Russian National Ballet, Royal Drummers of Burundi, Hamburg Symphony, Ballet Folklórico de México, Royal Scots Dragoon Guards and Band of Coldstream Guards, Warsaw Philharmonic, Dublin Philharmonic, Orquestra de Sao Paulo, Virsky Ukrainian Dancers, Merchants of Bollywood, Hungarian State Folk Ensemble, German State Philharmonic, and the National Acrobats of the People’s Republic of China, Branford Marsalis, and PENTATONIX to name only a few.
The existence of this flagship cultural program at the Naval Academy has long symbolized an institutional commitment to the educational role of the fine arts and the importance of cultural awareness.
52nd Annual Spring Oratorio
Saturday, April 18, 2026
8:00 PM, Music Center at STRATHMORE
TICKETS
Christopher Tin - THE DROP THAT CONTAINED THE SEA
A sublime evening of profound music!
The title of The Drop That Contained the Sea comes from a Sufi concept: in the same way that every drop of water contains the essence of the sea, inside every human is the essence of all of humanity. In keeping with this idea, I've introduced a water theme in the prelude, and woven subtle variations throughout the work. It contains all seven notes of a major scale-four descending and three ascending-mirroring the flow of water through our world, and representing the vast ocean of melodic possibility contained within a single scale.
Water is one of the most powerful forces in the world. It creates life and brings about death, and it has the power to shape the face of the earth. Water means different things to different cultures, and I wanted to explore this in The Drop That Contained the Sea. Each piece is inspired by water in a different form, arranged in the order that water flows through the world: melting snow, mountain streams, rivers, the ocean, and so forth. And like Calling All Dawns, the end flows back into the beginning, reflecting the endless nature of the water cycle. Each of the 10 pieces is also sung in a different language, exploring a different vocal tradition: Bulgarian women's choirs, Mongolian throat singing, and Portuguese fado, to name just a few.
-Christopher Tin
Join us for beautiful evening of music performed by the critically acclaimed USNA Men’s and Women’s Glee Clubs and a world-class professional orchestra!
U.S. Naval Academy Glee Club
The Washington Festival Orchestra
An absolute don't miss evening!
