"Chirp, Chirp! Chirp, Chirp!" Hello everyone, I'm Chester the Cricket! Well, at least this week that's who I'm pretending to be. In reality, I am violinist Nicolas Kendall, and I will be playing the part of the famous little cricket who found his way from the beautiful Connecticut country-side all the way to the middle of Times Square, New York City. No, I don't have 6 legs - nor do I live under rocks, logs, in meadows, and along roadways - but this week I will be chirping and singing with my violin, along with the National Symphony Orchestra and a small troupe of amazing actors, on the stage of the Kennedy Center. Through the language of music, we will bring the exciting adventure of "The Cricket in Times Square" to life! "CHIRP!"

It's an exciting thing for me to be a part of this production, as it's a homecoming of sorts. I grew up in Silver Spring, MD, where we had our fair share of little crickets hanging around dark corners of my family's basement (I wonder how many of them knew Chester...)! Some of my favorite memories of growing up in the D.C. area are of playing with the National Symphony Orchestra on the stage of the Kennedy Center. The orchestra is like family to me. In fact, it's true! My cousin, Dan Foster, is principal viola, and my uncle (Dan's father), William Foster, plays alongside him in the same section. Dan and I also play together in a string quartet with NSO Concertmaster Nurit Bar-Josef, and my sister, Yumi Kendall! We call ourselves the Dryden String Quartet. Fun, right? So you see, it IS home to me!

On another note, it's always very meaningful to have the opportunity to collaborate with Chris Brubeck, the amazing composer who created all of the music you will hear us play. Chris is the son of the legendary jazz pianist Dave Brubeck, and is also a very close friend of mine. Several years back, Chris wrote a violin concerto for me in which I improvise right on the spot! For the score of "The Cricket in Times Square" Chris has written notes that will make the music virtually jump off the page, and which capture the essence of each character in the story. Playing Chester the cricket, Chris has me leaping from one end of the violin to the other!

In addition to the musical score, our stage director, Scot Reese, has some exciting stage directions planned for me. Who knows, this may mean that I'll be hopping about the hall during the show as I play Chester the Cricket (and you might just hear some chirping under your seat)! As a member of my band, Time for Three, I have grown accustomed to using performance spaces in unexpected ways to help tell stories. One of the exciting aspects of the career I've chosen is knowing that there are a lot of unknowns when walking into a creative process. Even when I'm playing a concerto with an orchestra, or a club date with Time for Three, I never really know what the sound will be like, what kind of personalities I will be collaborating with, or who will show up that evening to hear the show. There is so much adapting, give and take, reciprocal energy, improvising, that makes life as an artist constantly adventurous and exciting. It really helps that I get to work with incredibly gifted people, and true professionals who constantly bring their "A" game! That makes the discovery of the unknown so much fun!

...And that will be exactly what happens when we all show up for rehearsal onstage! Together, under Scot's direction and the masterful baton of the ever-so-awesome maestro Steve Reineke, all 80 plus of us onstage will come together and, for the first time ever, make "The Cricket in Times Square" CHIRP to life!

To see violinist Nick Kendall chirping away as the Cricket in The Cricket in Times Square, visit the NSO website for tickets!

Nick can also be found on Twitter at @NicolasKendall.