[NFBV-Potomac-Announce] FW: Matthew Whitaker Invitation to The Birchmere

Sun Aug 9 15:16:45 UTC 2026

From: Julie A. Orozco <kaybaycar at gmail.com>
Sent: Saturday, August 8, 2026 6:44 PM
To: 'John Halverson' <jwh100 at outlook.com>
Subject: FW: Matthew Whitaker Invitation to The Birchmere

Hey John,

Can you pass this along to our list? Maybe some people from the chapter want to attend.

Thanks,

Julie

From: tracy.soforenko at gmail.com<mailto:tracy.soforenko at gmail.com> <tracy.soforenko at gmail.com<mailto:tracy.soforenko at gmail.com>>
Sent: Friday, August 7, 2026 8:43 PM
To: 'Renee Valdez' <reneerome at yahoo.com<mailto:reneerome at yahoo.com>>; 'Jeremy Grandstaff' <jwg at sgendeavors.com<mailto:jwg at sgendeavors.com>>; 'Julie A. Orozco' <kaybaycar at gmail.com<mailto:kaybaycar at gmail.com>>
Cc: 'Renee Valdez' <reneerome at yahoo.com<mailto:reneerome at yahoo.com>>; 'John Halverson' <jwh100 at outlook.com<mailto:jwh100 at outlook.com>>
Subject: FW: Matthew Whitaker Invitation to The Birchmere

Hi,

The Birchmere is a great supper club style venue and this artist reached out. Maybe a set of members want to attend on 8/15.

I like the music and I am considering attending.

Tracy Soforenko
President, National Federation of the Blind of Virginia
202 285-4595
Tracy.soforenko at gmail.com<mailto:Tracy.soforenko at gmail.com>
www.nfb.org<http://www.nfb.org/>
www.nfbv.org<http://www.nfbv.org/>
National Federation of the Blind. Live the Life You Want
The National Federation of the Blind is a community of members and friends who believe in the hopes and dreams of the nation’s blind. Every day we work together to help blind people live the lives they want.

From: Matthew Whitaker Music <matthewwhitakermusic at gmail.com<mailto:matthewwhitakermusic at gmail.com>>
Sent: Friday, August 7, 2026 8:39 PM
To: Tracy Soforenko <tracy.soforenko at gmail.com<mailto:tracy.soforenko at gmail.com>>
Subject: Re: Matthew Whitaker Invitation to The Birchmere

Hi Tracy,

Thank you, that’s very kind, and I’d be glad to have your chapters know about it. I hope you can make it yourself.
I’ve put everything below in plain text so it can be forwarded or pasted into a newsletter as-is, no editing needed. Screen reader friendly, no images or attachments to deal with.

———
MATTHEW WHITAKER QUINTET
The Birchmere — Alexandria, Virginia
Saturday, August 15, 2026 at 7:30 PM
3701 Mount Vernon Avenue, Alexandria, VA 22305
Grammy-winning pianist and organist Matthew Whitaker makes his Birchmere debut with his quintet, playing jazz, gospel, and funk. Whitaker, 25, won the 2026 Grammy for Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella, for a chart he co-arranged with Charlie Rosen and the 8-Bit Big Band. He has been performing professionally since childhood and is blind.
The Birchmere is a supper club with table seating and dinner service, which makes it a good room for a group outing.
Tickets:
https://www.birchmere.com/events/matthew-whitaker/
Venue: birchmere.com<http://birchmere.com/>, 703-549-7500
Artist: matthewwhitaker.net<http://matthewwhitaker.net/>

———
Two other things that may help:
If any chapter wants to come as a group, I’m happy to work with the venue on a block of tables — just have someone reach out to me directly and I’ll coordinate it.
And I would love to say hello after the set to anyone who comes out.
If you need photos, a shorter blurb, or anything in a different format, just tell me what would be easiest and I’ll send it over.
Thanks again, Tracy — I appreciate you taking the time.

Matthew Whitaker
matthewwhitaker.net<http://matthewwhitaker.net/>

Blessings,
Long Live The Music!
Matthew Whitaker

Website: https://www.matthewwhitaker.net<https://www.matthewwhitaker.net/bio>

On Fri, Aug 7, 2026 at 8:25 PM Tracy Soforenko <tracy.soforenko at gmail.com<mailto:tracy.soforenko at gmail.com>> wrote:
Hi Mathew,
I would be pleased to share this with our local chapters and would appreciate if you could provide us more details we could share directly with them. Sounds fun and I’m gonna look to see if I can personally make it, but also want to determine if we can share this with our local chapters. Any detail details you can provide us about the show on the 15th would be very helpful, including links for purchasing tickets, etc..
Tracy Soforenko

Tracy Soforenko
202 285-4595
Tracy.soforenko at gmail.com<mailto:Tracy.soforenko at gmail.com>

On Aug 4, 2026, at 8:20 PM, Matthew Whitaker Music <matthewwhitakermusic at gmail.com<mailto:matthewwhitakermusic at gmail.com>> wrote:

Dear NFB of Virginia,

I’m Matthew Whitaker — a jazz pianist and organist based in New Jersey. I’m playing the Birchmere in Alexandria on Saturday, August 15, and I’m writing because I’d love to see some of your members in the room.
A bit about the show: it’s my debut at the Birchmere, I’ll have my quintet with me, and we’ll be playing material from my recent records — straight-ahead jazz, some gospel, some funk. I won a Grammy earlier this year for an arrangement I co-wrote with the 8-Bit Big Band.

The Birchmere is a supper club, so it’s table seating and dinner service, which makes it a good room for a group night out.
I’m blind myself, and I know your members organize outings — so this is really just an invitation. If there’s interest in a block of tables, I’m glad to work with the venue on coordinating it, and I’d be happy to say hello after the set.

If a listing in your newsletter or a note to your chapters would be appropriate, I can send along details, images, and a description. And if this isn’t the right fit, no problem at all — I’d welcome a pointer toward anyone who might be better placed.

Thank you for your time,

Matthew Whitaker

The Birchmere:
https://www.birchmere.com/events/matthew-whitaker/
Website: https://www.matthewwhitaker.net<https://www.matthewwhitaker.net/bio>

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