Ben Folds [ tickets ] will follow up his slated summer Lollapalooza appearance by sitting down at his piano in front of a few of the nation's leading symphony orchestras.

The quirky singer/songwriter will appear Sept. 24 with the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, DC; Oct. 2 with the Boston Pops in Boston; and Oct. 31 in Minneapolis with the Minneapolis Orchestra. Folds toured in 2005 and 2006 with symphony orchestras, and previously appeared with the Boston Pops in 2007.

Folds continues to support his third solo album, "Way to Normal," which surfaced in September and landed at No. 11 on The Billboard 200. The lead track, "You Don't Know Me" featuring Regina Spektor, made it into the Top 30 at Triple A radio. That song and a couple others from the album are streaming at Folds' MySpace page.

"Way to Normal" was produced by Dennis Herring (Elvis Costello, Modest Mouse) and features Folds on vocals and piano, as well as bassist Jared Reynolds and drummer Sam Smith.

In April, Folds released "Ben Folds Presents University A Cappella," a compilation of his songs performed by leading college vocal troupes from around the US. Folds told NPR.com that he gained a newfound appreciation for the genre in the process.

"I can play a chord on the guitar or piano that can fall under my hands, but I don't necessarily know what I'm doing," Folds said. "You have to understand voice leading, the chords and theory when you arrange [an a cappella song], and everyone in the group has to understand it. It's cerebral. And it's all live. It's an event, as music should be."