Local
Acclaimed Kennedy Center musician dies at 52
Donald Shore battled brain cancer
Donald Shore (Photo by David Peiffer, used with permission)
Donald A. Shore, a nationally acclaimed bassoon player with the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra for 30 years and a supporter of charitable events for D.C.’s gay community, died Oct. 9 at his home in Washington following a hard-fought battle with brain cancer. He was 52.
During his long tenure with the Kennedy Center opera orchestra, for which he held the title of Principal Bassoon, Shore collaborated with luminaries of the opera world, including Placido Domingo, Renee Fleming, Kiri te Kanawa, and Denyce Graves, according to his friend and colleague, bassoonist Chris Jewell.
In a biographical write-up, Jewell said Shore also worked with some of the world’s most prestigious ballet companies, including the Bolshoi, Kirov, Paris, Joffrey and Royal Ballets in the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra’s dual role of playing for ballet performances.
In addition, he played during performances of the American Ballet Theater and the Dance Theater of Harlem,” Jewell said.
“As a member of the orchestra he performed at the White House, toured Japan, and played for the Kennedy Center Honors as well as numerous musicals and chamber music performances on the Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage,” Jewell said in his write-up.
Jewell said Shore’s playing spanned both classical and popular music, ranging from the orchestra’s performance of the Mozart Sinfonia Concertante under the direction of Maestro Heinz Fricke to a solo performance in a routine with comedian Steve Martin at New York’s Carnegie Hall.
A lifelong resident of the D.C. area, Shore was born Nov. 30, 1961 to Kitty Murray Shore and Francis Marion Shore Jr. He was a graduate of Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School and studied with National Symphony Orchestra bassoonist Linda Harwell, Jewell said in his write-up.
Shore attended the University of Maryland and the Peabody Conservatory before transferring to the University of Toronto, where he studied bassoon and received a bachelor of music degree, according to Jewell.
He became recognized as an up-and-coming star bassoonist in 1984 when he was chosen as a winner of the National Symphony Orchestra’s Young Soloists’ Competition. That same year Shore won his position in the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra at the age of 23.
In addition to his skills as a bassoonist Shore was also a talented vocalist and pianist, Jewell said.
Friends said Shore was involved in D.C.’s gay leather community and contributed regularly to charitable fundraisers organized by local leather groups such as the annual Dusty Cunningham Picnic Basket Auction. He also enjoyed attending leather events in other cities, including New York, Montreal, New Orleans and Chicago.
Jewell said Shore’s favorite time of the year was Christmas, when he loved to decorate a live tree – usually the tallest one he could find.
“Donald Shore touched many people deeply with his kindness, generosity, superb (and bawdy) wit, and unparalleled Musicianship,” Jewell said in his write-up.
“I am very sad about the news that Donald Shore has passed away,” said Placido Domingo in a statement.
Domingo served from 1996 to 2011 as artistic director and later general director of the Washington National Opera.
“Our principal bassoonist was a great artist with whom I talked very often during our rehearsals and performances,” Domingo said. “I remember being told some months ago about his operations and, now to learn that he has lost his battle. Please convey to his family and to the orchestra my sincerest condolences for this terrible loss.”
Survivors include his companions of nine years, David Peiffer and Arnold Mixon, of Washington; close friends Chris Jewell of Burke, Va., and Richard Thibadeau of Washington; two brothers, Tony Shore of Chevy Chase, Md., and Francis Shore III of Fort Myers, Fla.; and two sisters, Lynne Grace of Eastbourne, England; and KC Shore.
A celebration of his life will be held at the Kennedy Center Atrium, roof-level Terrace Gallery, on Monday, Nov. 3, at 7 p.m.
Donald Shore, on right, with internationally acclaimed opera singer Placido Domingo. (Photo by David Peiffer, used with permission)
Maryland
Anne Arundel schools updates gender identity regulation following Trump administration threats
District facing federal lawsuit, White House threats over guidelines
By JESSICA CALEFATI | Under pressure from the Trump-Vance administration, Anne Arundel County Public Schools Supt. Mark Bedell announced Wednesday the district had updated a regulation intended to protect transgender students’ right to be called by their chosen name.
The revised language makes clear that district rules on gender identity do not block parents’ rights under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act as the federal government alleged last month, and that a student’s gender identity will not be treated as confidential medical information.
“No policy, guideline, or practice may limit or otherwise interfere with parental rights under FERPA,” Bedell wrote in a Wednesday letter to the community. “This includes any information maintained in education records that relates to gender identity, transgender status, sexual orientation, preferred name, or preferred pronouns.”
The rest of this article can be read on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
District of Columbia
Man charged with anti-gay assault in D.C. accepts plea offer
Community service offered in exchange for dismissing hate crime charge
A Germantown, Md., man arrested by D.C. police on a charge of simple assault with a hate crime designation for allegedly assaulting a gay man while using “homophobic slurs” has agreed to an offer by prosecutors to plead guilty to simple assault without the hate crime designation and with the promise of having the charge dismissed if he completes, among other requirements, 48 hours of community service work.
Dean Edmundson, 26, standing beside his attorney, officially accepted the offer of a Deferred Sentencing Agreement at an Aug. 18 status hearing in D.C. Superior Court after Senior Judge Hiram Puig-Lugo explained the details of the agreement and confirmed Edmundson’s decision to waive his right to a trial.
Among other things, the judge said the agreement offered by prosecutors with the Office of the United States Attorney for D.C. includes the requirement that he successfully completes 48 hours of community service work, stays away from the victim of the assault, writes a letter of apology to the victim, and does not violate any other laws or get into trouble for the next 12 months.
Puig-Lugo then announced he scheduled a sentencing hearing for Edmundson for Aug. 18, 2027, at which time a determination will made on whether he has fulfilled all the requirements under the agreement and whether the simple assault charge will be dismissed. The judge added that if it is determined that Edmundson did not fulfil the terms of the agreement the charge would remain in place and he could be sentenced to a possible maximum penalty of 180 days in jail and a $1,000 fine.
Edmundson, who appeared in court wearing a business suit with a dress shirt and tie, was released on his own recognizance following his arrest by D.C. police on Feb. 7, 2026.
Police and court records show he was initially charged by arresting officers with simple assault with a hate crime designation. In a statement announcing the arrest, D.C. police said, “On Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026, at approximately 7:45 p.m. the victim and suspect were in the 1500 block of 14th Street, Northwest. The suspect requested a ‘high five’ from the victim. The victim declined and kept walking,” the statement says.
A follow-up arrest affidavit filed by police states that Edmundson followed the victim and called him “bald, ugly, and gay,” and then “pushed the victim with both hands, shoving them, causing the victim to feel the force of the push.” The affidavit adds, “The victim stated that they felt offended and that they were also gay.”
According to the court records, the Office of the U.S. Attorney filed its official charge of simple assault against Edmunson on Feb. 9 without the hate crime designation. The office has not responded to a request by the Washington Blade for its reason for dropping the hate crime designation. The office has also not immediately responded to a follow-up inquiry from the Blade this week asking if prosecutors consulted the victim to obtain the victim’s thoughts about the plea offer.
The Blade, which has a policy of not disclosing the identify of crime victims in cases like this without their consent, could not immediately obtain contact information to reach the victim for comment.
Court records show that Edmundson rejected an earlier plea agreement offer by prosecutors and he was scheduled for a non-jury trial on Aug. 18. The records show his attorney filed a motion earlier this month asking the judge to convert the trial into status hearing on that same day after his client accepted the Deferred Sentencing Agreement offer by the U.S. Attorney’s office. The judge approved the motion without objection from prosecutors.
Virginia
Winsome Earle-Sears ‘Life and Marriage Tour’ to include Northern Va. stops
Voters to consider marriage equality, reproductive rights referenda in November
Former Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears has announced her campaign against efforts to enshrine marriage equality and reproductive rights in the state constitution will make several stops in Northern Virginia.
Her “Life and Marriage Tour” will include stops in Manassas, Winchester, and Harrisonburg. Earle-Sears said the “Life and Marriage Tour” will also travel to Virginia Beach, Lynchburg, Roanoke, Charlottesville, and other cities across Virginia “throughout September and October.”
The announcement did not include specific dates.
“Virginia, you’ve been asking where the Life and Marriage Tour is headed — here’s a look at our current tour locations,” she said on X on Tuesday. “We’ll be traveling across the commonwealth throughout September and October, and we’re still building the journey.”
Current Gov. Abigail Spanberger, a Democrat, last November defeated Earle-Sears, a Republican, in the race to succeed Republican Glenn Youngkin.
Voters in 2006 approved the Marshall-Newman Amendment, which defined marriage in Virginia as between a man and a woman.
Same-sex couples have been able to legally marry in Virginia since 2014. Youngkin a decade later signed a bill that codified marriage equality in state law.
Two successive legislatures must approve a proposed constitutional amendment before it can go to the ballot.
Spanberger signed bills that finalized the marriage equality and reproductive rights referenda’s language.
The referenda will take place on Nov. 3.
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