The Kennedy Center is the only U.S. institution that presents a free performance 365 days a year. The Millennium Stage , created as part of the Center’s Performing Arts for Everyone initiative in 1997 features a broad spectrum of performing arts, from dance and jazz, to chamber music and folk, comedy, storytelling and theater, every day at 6 p.m. In the past ten years, over three million people have attended Millennium Stage performances.
The Millennium Stage has presented 41,000 artists, which includes over 3,000 international artists from more than 50 countries; performers representing all 50 states; and 19, 000 Washington-area ensembles and solo artists. The Charlie Byrd Trio and the Billy Taylor Trio were the first artists to delight audiences with a free performance on March 1, 1997. Acclaimed American artists such as jazz pianist and vocalist Shirley Horn; vocalist and composer Bobby McFerrin; folk icon Pete Seeger; opera singer Jessye Norman; dancer and choreographer Jacques d’Amboise; the Joffrey Ballet; the Preservation Hall Jazz Band; rock band Los Lobos; vocalist and pianist Norah Jones; spoken word artist Patti Smith; and many more have appeared on the Millennium Stage.
International performers such as Colombian superstar Juanes; the Royal Shakespeare Company; Brazilian pianist Sergio Mendez; French African hip-hop/R&B duo Les Nubians; Japanese jazz pianist Hiromi; Nigerian vocalist and guitarist King Sunny Ade; the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra; French violinist Jean Luc Ponty; Senegalese vocalist Youssou N’Dour; South African trumpeter Hugh Masakela; and Arabic oud master Hamza el Din have also appeared on the Millennium Stage.
In 1999, the Center began web-casting each night’s live performance, and continues to archive and maintain each event in a database of over 2,500 performances which may be accessed via the Center’s website, www.kennedy-center.org. The web-casts average 900 hits daily, and have received a total of over 1,500,000 hits.
