Saxophone Serenades in the Secret Garden

As May flowers bloom, our Secret Garden prepares for an evening of jazz magic. Saxophonist Leigh Pilzer takes center stage with a blend of ageless jazz melodies and captivating originals, performing selections from the Great American Songbook, jazz standards, and swinging tuneful originals. Listeners might recognize classics like "Sophisticated Lady" by Duke Ellington or "I Thought About You" by Jimmy Van Heusen, and will be thrilled to get to hear originals like "Anyone But You", "Swinging at the Station", and "East Coast Andy". Experience this unique blend of jazz and nature.

Leigh Pilzer is a Washington DC-based saxophonist, arranger, and educator. Her combo has been featured at many of DC’s top jazz venues including Blues Alley, Twins Jazz, Westminster Presbyterian, the Atlas Performing Arts Center, Jazz at the Garden, the Mansion at Strathmore, and the Takoma Park JazzFest, to name just a few. She has toured both domestically and internationally as a member of the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra and The DIVA Jazz Orchestra, and often performs with the National Symphony Orchestra at concerts at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and on the orchestra’s nationally televised PBS holiday specials.​

Leigh is a gifted arranger whose work is in the libraries of the SJMO, DIVA, the Bohemian Caverns Jazz Orchestra, the DC-area premier military jazz ensembles, and college and professional jazz ensembles and brass quintets throughout the country. A number of her arrangements can be heard on recordings by DIVA, including her original composition “East Coast Andy,” the opening track on The DIVA Jazz Orchestra 25th Anniversary Project (2018). Other arranging credits include horn section writing for recordings by Chuck Brown and Eva Cassidy and orchestrations for the critically acclaimed show Maurice Hines Tappin’ Thru Life.

Leigh holds a Doctor of Musical Arts in Performance with Jazz Emphasis from George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia; Master’s degrees in Jazz Studies and Saxophone Performance from The University of Maryland, College Park; and a Bachelor of Music in Jazz Composition and Arranging from the Berklee College of Music. Leigh has served on the faculties of the University of Maryland, Towson University, and George Mason University, where she has taught Jazz Theory, Jazz Arranging, Jazz History, and Fundamentals of Rock, Blues, and Jazz.

The concert is presented at 5pm and 6:30pm and takes place rain or shine. In case of severe weather or thunderstorms this event will either be moved indoors, or be rescheduled.

Tickets are non-refundable.

Please note: Seating will be assigned by the presenters.

This is one of many programs being offered in the 2023-2024 season. Visit our website for information on other concerts, including opera, early music, jazz and show tunes.

Classical Movements has a small fund to offer limited discounted tickets to veterans, students, underprivileged families, and disabled concert-goers, with the generous support of John H. Hart and Musical Movements for Change. Please contact us for more information.

For ticket requests and wheelchair accessibility; please contact [email protected] or call (703) 683-6040, ext. 009 for special accommodations.

Tickets and seating assignments will be communicated by email the day prior the concert. All seats have a clear view of the stage.

Additional important instructions, tickets and concert programs will be provided by email only.

Classical Movements will provide more information about alternative forms of transportation to access The Rectory on Princess Street, 711 Princess St by email before the event. You can also go to https://www.alexandriava.gov/GOAlex for more information about available options. We encourage all patrons to park off-street through the provision of nearby garages or lots. Many parking garages and lots are located conveniently in the area. There is a parking garage at N. Alfred St Garage, 117 N. Alfred St, $5/hr ($25 daily max, $10 evening max) and a surface parking lot at Cameron/St Asaph Lot, 517 Cameron St, $2.50/hour ($10 daily max, $5 evening/weekend max). Visitors are encouraged to bike, walk or take the Metrorail Yellow or Blue lines to the King Street Station and take the free King Street Trolley, or DASH or Metro buses. For DASH schedule information visit, www.dashbus.com. For Metrobus schedule information, visit www.wmata.com. Bicyclists may visit www.alexandriava.gov/GOAlex for the City’s Bikeways Map, which features the City's best on-street and off-road bikeways, as well as locations of grouped bicycle parking.

We discourage you from using on-street parking. To ensure legal parking, read all posted signs before parking.

Limited off-street private parking is available on a first-come-first-served basis at the following locations:

Classical Movements, 711 Princess Street, Alexandria, VA 22314

Fitness Together Alexandria’s main entrance, 300 N Washington Street building, Alexandria, VA 22314

Seasons Culinary Services, 715 Princess Street, Alexandria, VA 22314

About the Rectory

Built in 1785 and the home of Classical Movements’ offices since 2014, the building formerly served as the rectory of the nearby historic Christ Church, once the church of George Washington. Since then, it has been owned by several distinguished Virginians and has been a commercial space since the 1960’s.

Located in the heart of beautiful Old Town Alexandria at 711 Princess Street, the Rectory is minutes away from the shops and restaurants of bustling King Street and is easily accessible by bus and metro.

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