(Updated Dec. 9)
Our annual overview of classical events in the Richmond area comes with what by now is an all-too-familiar qualifier: Scheduled events are subject to change depending on public-health circumstances.
One of the area’s major presenters, the University of Richmond’s Modlin Arts Center, waited until December to announce a spring series. Virginia Commonwealth University has scheduled four concerts for its 2021-22 Rennolds Chamber Concerts series, but the VCU Music Department has not yet announced events by its faculty and student ensembles in the spring semester.
Two 50th anniversaries, of the Richmond Symphony Chorus (a year late due to the pandemic) and the Richmond Philharmonic, are being marked this season. If you can’t get enough of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, May 2022 will be a moveable feast: Both ensembles are performing the Ninth within a week of each other. The Symphony Chorus’ anniversary celebration also features Haydn’s oratorio “The Creation” in April. And, to complete a spring trifecta of choral masterworks, the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart’s Schola Cantorum with Three Notch’d Road: the Virginia Baroque Ensemble will perform J.S. Bach’s Mass in B minor in May.
Other highlights of the season include a recital by the Virginia-born baritone Will Liverman, fresh off his starring role in Terence Blanchard’s “Fire Shut Up in My Bones,” the first work by an African-American composer to be staged by New York’s Metropolitan Opera; a Chamber Music Society of Central Virginia season framed by major works of Schubert, the String Quintet in C major in September and the Octet in F major in May; and the Richmond Symphony playing Klaus Simon’s rarely heard chamber-orchestra arrangement of Mahler’s Fourth Symphony in March.
Conflicting performances on the same dates – chronic in weekend-centric concert schedules – crop up here and there, but not as frequently or unavoidably (thanks to multiple dates of some ensembles’ programs) as we’ve experienced in past seasons.
Here’s what has been scheduled to date. Once other performances are announced, I’ll add to these listings. Links to ensembles’ and presenters’ websites follow the month-by-month lineup.
SEPTEMBER
12 – Richmond Symphony with Daisuke Yamamoto, violin (“Violins of Hope”) (Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Energy Center)
18 – Chamber Music Society of Central Virginia (Gellman Room, Richmond Public Library)
19 – Virginia Opera (Wagner’s “Das Rheingold”) (TopGolf Richmond)
19 – Chamber Music Society of Central Virginia (Seventh Street Christian Church)
25-26 – Richmond Symphony with Louis Schwizgebel, piano (Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Energy Center)
26 – Christopher Martin, organ (River Road Church, Baptist)
OCTOBER
3 – Harlem Quartet (Grace Street Theater, Virginia Commonwealth University)
6 – VCU Symphonic Wind Ensemble (Singleton Arts Center, Virginia Commonwealth University)
9 – Andrew Stevenson, classical guitar (Singleton Arts Center, Virginia Commonwealth University)
10 – Sonia Vlahcevic, piano (Singleton Arts Center, Virginia Commonwealth University)
11 – VCU Symphony Orchestra (Singleton Arts Center, Virginia Commonwealth University)
14 – Richmond Symphony (Hardywood Park Craft Brewery)
16 – Jon Nakamatsu, piano (Singleton Arts Center, Virginia Commonwealth University)
17 – Chamber Music Society of Central Virginia (Trinity Lutheran Church)
18 – Chamber Music Society of Central Virginia: Johnny Gandelsman, violin (Historic Mankin Mansion)
22 – Vox Humana chorus with Robert Gallagher, organ & piano (River Road Church, Baptist)
23-24 – Richmond Symphony with Sterling Elliott, cello (Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Energy Center)
28 – Will Liverman, baritone; pianist TBA (Modlin Arts Center, University of Richmond)
30 – Richmond Symphony LolliPops (Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Energy Center)
NOVEMBER
13-14 – Richmond Symphony (Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Energy Center)
18 – Richmond Symphony (Hardywood Park Craft Brewery)
19 – Clara Gerdes, organ (River Road Church, Baptist)
19/21 – Virginia Opera (Puccini’s “La Bohème”) (Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Energy Center)
27 – Richmond Symphony Pops (“Let It Snow!”) (Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Energy Center)
29 – Commonwealth Catholic Charities Christmas Concert with Richmond Symphony & others TBA (Cathedral of the Sacred Heart)
DECEMBER
1 – University of Richmond Symphony Orchestra with Matthew Robinson, violin, & Rilyn McKallip, flute (UR Modlin Arts Center)
4 – Richmond Symphony & Symphony Chorus (“A Baroque Holiday”) (Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Energy Center)
5 – Chenault Organ Duo & River Road Chancel Choir (River Road Church, Baptist)
6 – Forgotten Clefs: Renaissance Wind Ensemble (Cathedral of the Sacred Heart)
10 – Central Virginia Masterworks Chorale & ensemble (Grace Baptist Church)
10 – Cathedral Schola Cantorum (Advent Lessons and Carols) (Cathedral of the Sacred Heart)
12 – River Road Chancel Choir with orchestra (Handel’s “Messiah,” Advent portion & “Hallelujah” Chorus) (River Road Church, Baptist)
12 – Central Virginia Masterworks Chorale & ensemble (Duncan Memorial United Methodist Church, Ashland)
JANUARY
10 – Orpheus Chamber Orchestra with Branford Marsalis, saxophone (Modlin Arts Center, University of Richmond)
15 – Richmond Symphony with Amaryn Olmeda, violin (“Dreams of Freedom”) (Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Energy Center)
21 – Richmond Symphony with Mary Boodell, flute (Perkinson Arts Center, Chester)
21 – Dexter Kennedy, organ (St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church)
23 – Richmond Symphony with Mary Boodell, flute (Blackwell Auditorium, Randolph-Macon College, Ashland)
29-30 – Richmond Symphony with Stefan Jackiw, violin (Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Energy Center)
FEBRUARY
2 – Richard Becker, piano & poetry (Modlin Arts Center, University of Richmond)
5 – Richmond Symphony Pops with Tony DeSare & Capathia Jenkins, vocalists (Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Energy Center)
6 – St. Olaf Choir (River Road Church, Baptist)
9 – Lisa Terry, viola da gamba & Joanne Kong, harpsichord (Modlin Arts Center, University of Richmond)
10 – Richmond Symphony (Hardywood Park Craft Brewery)
11/13 – Virginia Opera (Jake Heggie’s “Three Decembers”) (Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Energy Center)
13 – Richmond Symphony (“Bugs Bunny at the Symphony!”) (Altria Theater)
13 – Imani Winds (Singleton Arts Center, Virginia Commonwealth University)
18 – Wu Han, piano; Philip Seltzer, violin & David Finckel, cello (Modlin Arts Center, University of Richmond)
26-27 – Richmond Symphony with George Li, piano (Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Energy Center)
MARCH
2 – Garrick Ohlsson & Kirill Gerstein, piano duo (Modlin Arts Center, University of Richmond)
6 – Chamber Music Society of Central Virginia (Seventh Street Christian Church)
10 – Richmond Symphony (Hardywood Park Craft Brewery)
13 – Richmond Philharmonic (St. Christopher’s School)
19-20 – Richmond Symphony with Daisuke Yamamoto, violin (Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Energy Center)
20 – Jory Vinikour, harpsichord (River Road Church, Baptist)
20 – Doris Wylee-Becker, piano (Modlin Arts Center, University of Richmond)
27 – Richmond Symphony (Blackwell Auditorium, Randolph-Macon College, Ashland)
28 – Bruce Stevens, organ (Cannon Memorial Chapel, University of Richmond)
APRIL
1/3 – Virginia Opera (Mozart’s “The Marriage of Figaro”) (Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Energy Center)
2 – Viano Quartet (Singleton Arts Center, Virginia Commonwealth University)
4 – Robynn Stilwell, speaker (“Storyteller of the Shadowland: Marginalized Identity at the Roots of ‘Americana’ ”) (Ukrop Auditorium, Robins School of Business, University of Richmond)
6 – UR Symphony Orchestra (Modlin Arts Center, University of Richmond)
7 – Edgar Meyer, double-bass, with The Scottish Ensemble (Modlin Arts Center, University of Richmond)
9-10 – Richmond Symphony with Richmond Symphony Chorus & soloists (Haydn’s “The Creation”) (Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Energy Center)
10 – UR Schola Cantorum & Women’s Chorale (Modlin Arts Center, University of Richmond)
11 – Chamber Music Society of Central Virginia (Church of the Holy Comforter, Episcopal)
11 – UR Wind Ensemble (Modlin Arts Center, University of Richmond)
18 – UR Chamber Ensembles (Modlin Arts Center, University of Richmond)
23 – Richmond Symphony Pops with Rex Richardson, trumpet (Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Energy Center)
29 – Richmond Symphony with Thomas Schneider, bassoon (Perkinson Arts Center, Chester)
29 – Amanda Mole, organ (Ginter Park Presbyterian Church)
MAY
1 – Richmond Symphony with Thomas Schneider, bassoon (Blackwell Auditorium, Randolph-Macon College, Ashland)
1 – John Tibbetts, baritone, with Raymond Chenault, piano (River Road Church, Baptist)
6 – Cathedral Schola Cantorum with Three Notch’d Road: the Virginia Baroque Ensemble (J.S. Bach’s Mass in B minor) (Cathedral of the Sacred Heart)
7 – Richmond Symphony LolliPops with Really Inventive Stuff’s Michael Boudewyns (Prokofiev’s “Peter and the Wolf”) (Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Energy Center)
14 – Chamber Music Society of Central Virginia (Gellman Room, Richmond Public Library)
15 – Richmond Symphony (“Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back”) (Altria Theater)
15 – Chamber Music Society of Central Virginia (First Unitarian Universalist Church)
15 – Richmond Philharmonic with Central Virginia Masterworks Chorale, Richmond Concert Chorale & soloists (Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony) (St. Christopher’s School)
21-22 – Richmond Symphony with Richmond Symphony Chorus & soloists (Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony) (Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Energy Center)
JUNE
5 – River Road Chancel Choir with David Briggs, organ (River Road Church, Baptist)
24 – Virginia Commonwealth University Health Orchestra (Cathedral of the Sacred Heart)
Richmond Symphony: http://www.richmondsymphony.com
Virginia Opera: http://vaopera.org
Modlin Arts Center, University of Richmond: http://modlin.richmond.edu
Virginia Commonwealth University Music Department: http://arts.vcu.edu/academics/departments/music/concerts-and-events/
Chamber Music Society of Central Virginia: http://cmscva.org
Richmond Philharmonic: http://richmondphilharmonic.org
Richmond chapter, American Guild of Organists’ Repertoire Recital Series: http://richmondago.org/organ-repertoire-recital-series
Cathedral of the Sacred Heart concert series: http://richmondcathedral.org/concerts/
River Road Church, Baptist, concert series: http://rrcb.org/concertseries
Central Virginia Masterworks Chorale: http://cvamc.org
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