OPEN TO MEMBERS & GUESTS ONLY

$ 83* per person 

The highlight of the Arts Club's holidays festivities, this year traditional holiday black tie dinner honoring the present and past presidents of the Club. This is a special evening when the Club is at its most beautiful, decorated for the holidays. 

About Lily:

“…musical and artistic freedom which is boundless in its possibility and contagious in its energy and passion."

- Irish Music Magazine

LILY NEILL has captivated audiences around the world with the dynamism and breadth of her performances, and her infectious passion for the harp. She has played for world leaders and ambassadors, luminaries in the world of music, young music students, and listeners who never dreamed they would ever hear a harp.

Critics have praised her effortless technique, versatility, and the uniqueness of her style, with Irish Music Magazine calling her, "…part of the new Harp revolution extolling aspects of harp music never previously heard". The Washington Times hailed Lily’s collaborative work a "tour-de-force" and fRoots has written glowingly of her "superb" playing.

Unlike many young harpists, who are drawn to the orchestral pedal harp, Lily gravitated toward the lever harp—a relatively modern type of harp that is a cross between the medieval Irish and Scottish harps and the pedal harp. Playing an instrument with a relatively low profile spurred her to learn as much as she could about its history. Lily’s firm understanding of the harp, coupled with the diversity of her experiences, and her appreciation of music in the broadest sense, has contributed to her wholly rooted yet eminently distinctive and modern sound. Her concerts feature everything from original compositions and tangos, to Elizabethan music, ragtime, and traditional tunes from across the globe.

Lily earned a 1st Class Honours degree in Irish Music and Dance from the Irish World Academy at the University of Limerick, Ireland, and a Master of Music degree from the prestigious Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, Finland. She also studied in Vilnius at The Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre. Lily is currently a part-time teacher at Sibelius Academy and has given master-classes for schools such as the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, the Royal Danish Academy of Music, London's City University, and for organizations such as the Clarsach Society and the Finnish kantele association Kanteleliitto. In 2014, she launched "The Harp Quarterly" as a way to work with harp students, building their repertoire and developing their technique.

6:00 p.m. Cocktail

7:00 p.m. Program

8:00 p.m. Dinner

Black Tie

A reservation is required for dinner by 8 pm the day before. Due to the construction of the kitchen we can only accommodate 60 guests. Once we reach our maximum capacity, we regrettably will not be able to accommodate additional guests. Please RSVP early!

Call (202) 331-7282 ext 2 or email dining@artsclubofwashington.org

* Dinner $63; Program $20; DC sales tax additional.