Chamber Music Society 2025-26

The Chamber Music Society of Central Virginia will present nine programs, featuring works by Beethoven, Debussy, Dvořák, Shostakovich and the contemporary Latvian composer Pēteris Vasks, as well as music by five Virginia-based or -born composers, in its 2025-26 season.

Seven ticketed concerts at four Richmond area churches – Holy Comforter and St. Mary’s Episcopal, First Unitarian Universalist and Second Presbyterian – and two free concerts in the Richmond Public Library’s Gellman Room, will be staged from September to May.

Featured artists include cellist James Wilson, artistic director of the Chamber Music Society; harpsichordist and fortepianist Carsten Schmidt; violinist Jesse Mills; flutist Mary Boodell; pianist Reiko Uchida; and harpist Charles Overton.

The season will open on Sept. 15 with a program marking the 150th anniversary of the birth of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, the late-romantic composer of African and English lineage, whose compositions and arrangements will be played alongside music by his British contemporaries.

Works by Virginia composers Adolphus Hailstork, Chloe Biggs, Joe Jaxson and Riley Peters will be performed during the season.

Also on tap are three new wrinkles on old favorites: Sally Beamish’s arrangement of Debussy’s “La mer” for piano trio; Wilson’s arrangement of Elgar’s “Enigma Variations” for winds, piano and string quartet; and a chamber arrangement of the adagio from Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G major by the Richmond-born composer Zachary Wadsworth.

Ticket subscriptions are $185; single tickets are $30. Admission is free for youths 17 and younger and for students, with advance registration required.

For more information, call (804) 304-6312 or visit http://cmscva.org

Dates, artists and programs for the Chamber Music Society season:

Sept. 15 (7 p.m.)
First Unitarian Universalist Church, 1000 Blanton Ave. at the Carillon
Rebecca Anderson & Grant Houston, violins
Tanner Menees, viola
Mary Boodell, flute
David Lemelin, clarinet
Tom Schneider, bassoon
Devin Gossett, French horn
Mimi Solomon, piano

Samuel Coleridge-Taylor: Nonet in F minor, Op. 1 – I: Allegro moderato
traditional: “Sometimes I Feel like a Motherless Child”
(Coleridge-Taylor arrangement)
traditional: “La Bamboula” (Coleridge-Taylor arrangement)
William Yeates Hurlstone: “Characteristic Pieces” – “Croon Song”
Charles Villiers Stanford: Quartet in B flat major, Op. 104 – I: Allegro moderato
Coleridge-Taylor: “5 Fantasiestücke,” Op. 5 – V: Dance
Elgar: ”Variations on an Original Theme” (“Enigma”) (James Wilson arrangement)

Oct. 12 (4 p.m.)
St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, 12291 River Road, Goochland County
Rebecca Anderson & Claire Bourg, violins
Jordan Bak, viola
James Wilson, cello
Mary Boodell, flute
Charles Overton, harp

Debussy: “Danses sacrée et profane”
Shostakovich: Quartet No. 8 in C minor, Op. 110
Ravel: Piano Concerto in G major – II: Adagio assai
(Zachary Wadsworth arrangement)
Prokofiev: “Romeo and Juliet” Suite (Gilad Cohen arrangement)

Nov. 16 (4 p.m.)
Second Presbyterian Church, 5 N. Fifth St.
James Wilson, cello
Carsten Schmidt, fortepiano

Beethoven: Cello Sonata in C major, Op. 102, No. 1
Beethoven: Cello Sonata in D major, Op. 102, No. 2
Beethoven: Cello Sonata in A major, Op. 69

Dec. 15 (7 p.m.)
Church of the Holy Comforter, Episcopal, Monument Avenue at Staples Mill Road
Nicholas DiEugenio, Chloe Fedor & Carmen Johnson-Pájaro, baroque violins
Kyle Miller, viola
James Wilson, baroque cello
Jessica Eig, violone
Carsten Schmidt, harpsichord

Vivaldi: “The Four Seasons” – “Winter”
Chloe Biggs: new work TBA
other works TBA

Feb. 21 (2 p.m.)
Gellman Room, Richmond Public Library, First & Franklin streets
Kako Boga & Stephanie Zyzak, violins
Tanner Menees, viola
James Wilson, cello

Riley Peters: Quartet (“Virginia”)
works TBA by Haydn, Mozart, Mendelssohn

Feb. 22 (4 p.m.)
Church of the Holy Comforter, Episcopal, Monument Avenue at Staples Mill Road
artists TBA
Beethoven: Quartet in F major, Op. 18, No. 1
Beethoven: Quartet in C minor, Op. 18, No. 4

March 29 (4 p.m.)
St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, 12291 River Road, Goochland County
Carsten Schmidt, harpsichord
program TBA

May 9 (2 p.m.)
Gellman Room, Richmond Public Library, First & Franklin streets
Jesse Mills, violin
Jordan Bak, viola
James Wilson, cello
Rieko Aizawa, piano

Debussy: “La mer” (Sally Beamish arrangement)
Joe Jaxson: “Mountain Stars”

May 11 (7 p.m.)
First Unitarian Universalist Church, 1000 Blanton Ave. at the Carillon
Jesse Mills, violin
Jordan Bak, viola
James Wilson, cello
Rieko Aizawa, piano

Joe Jaxson: new work TBA
Adolphus Hailstork: “Three Spirituals for String Trio”
Pēteris Vasks: Piano Quartet
Dvořák: Piano Quartet in E flat major, Op. 87

Belvedere Series 2025-26

The Belvedere Series of chamber concerts will present seven programs in its 2025-26 season – four in the salon setting of Marburg House in Richmond’s Carillon district, three in the larger venues of Ryan Recital Hall at St. Christopher’s School and St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church.

Pianist Ingrid Keller, artistic director of the series, will join mixed instrumental ensembles and accompany tenors Daniel McGrew and Karim Sulayman, and the series will play host to the new-music quartet Owls.

The coming season will feature major works by Mozart, Dvořák, Tchaikovsky, Dohnányi and Ravel, as well as premieres of a horn trio by Kati Agócs, a song cycle by Richmond native Zachary Wadsworth, and, in a showcase of female composers, a new work by Polina Nazaykinskaya.

Subscriptions for the three concerts at St. Christopher’s and St. Stephen’s are $100, $30-$45 for single tickets. Single tickets are $30 for the Marburg performances; seating is limited.

Tickets for a season-opening fund-raiser are $135.23.

For more information or to obtain a brochure, call (804) 833-1481. Details also are available at http://belvedereseries.org

The Belvedere Series’ 2025-26 dates, artists and programs:

Sept. 6 (5 p.m.)
500 Old Locke Lane
Dominic Salerni, violin
Joshua Halpern, cello
Ingrid Keller, piano

Annual fund-raiser
Haydn: Piano Trio in G major, Hob. XV/25
Fauré: Violin Sonata in A major, Op. 13
Fazil Say: Cello Sonata (“Four Cities”)
traditional: “Shenandoah”
(Salerni arrangement)
cocktail hour precedes performance

Sept. 21 (3 p.m.)
Ryan Recital Hall, St. Christopher’s School, 6010 Fergusson Road
Claire Bourg & Rebecca Anderson, violins
Dana Kelley, viola
Joshua Halpern & Alan Richardson, cellos
Ingrid Keller, piano

Mozart: Piano Quartet in E flat major, K. 493
Fazil Say: Cello Sonata (“Four Cities”)
Tchaikovsky: “Souvenir de Florence”

Oct. 18 (7 p.m.)
Oct. 19 (3:30 p.m.)
Marburg House, 3102 Bute Lane
Anyango Yarbo-Davenport, violin
Danielle Wiebe Burke, viola
Amanda Gookin, cello
Ingrid Keller & Jessica Nylina Osborne, piano

Leilehua Lanzilotti: “kou inoa” for solo viola
Polina Nazaykinskaya: new work TBA
(premiere)
Liliya Ugay: “A tree. A rock. A cloud” for viola & piano
Florence Price: Fantasie No. 1 in G minor
for violin & piano
Rebecca Clarke: Piano Trio

Nov. 8 (7 p.m.)
Nov. 9 (3:30 p.m.)
Marburg House, 3102 Bute Lane
Angela Chan & Jordan Bak, violins
Andres Sanchez, cello
Ingrid Keller, piano

Kodály: Duo, Op. 7, for violin & cello
Vaughan Williams: Romance
for viola & piano
Dvořák: Piano Quartet in E flat major, Op. 87

Feb. 7 (7 p.m.)
Feb. 8 (3:30 p.m.)
Marburg House, 3102 Bute Lane
Daniel McGrew, tenor
Angela Chan, violin
Raman Ramakrishnan, cello
Ingrid Keller, piano

Debussy: “Ariettes oubliées” (Forgotten Songs)
Zachary Wadsworth: song cycle TBA
(premiere)
Ravel: Piano Trio in A minor

March 6 (7 p.m.)
St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, Grove Avenue at Three Chopt Road
Owls string quartet
Chick Corea: “Children’s Song” No. 12
Paul Wiancko: “Vox Petra”
Franghiz Ali-Zadeh: “Reqs”
François Couperin: “Les Barricades mystérieues”
Trollstilt (Monica Mugan & Dan Trueman): Ricercar
Wiancko: “When the Night”
Terry Riley: “Good Medicine”

April 18 (7 p.m.)
April 19 (3:30 p.m.)
Marburg House, 3102 Bute Lane
Karim Sulayman, tenor
Ingrid Keller, piano

program TBA

May 31 (3 p.m.)
Ryan Recital Hall, St. Christopher’s School, 6010 Fergusson Road
Rebecca Anderson , Siwoo Kim, Nathan Meltzer & Dominic Salerni, violins
Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt & Lauren Spaulding, violas
Joshua Halpern & Alan Richardson, cellos
Sam Suggs, double-bass
James Sommerville, French horn
Ingrid Keller, piano

Ernst von Dohnányi: Piano Quintet No. 2 in E flat minor, Op. 26
Kati Agócs: Horn Trio
(premiere)
Olli Mustonen: Nonetto II

Letter V Classical Radio Aug. 17

Celebrating Pierre Monteux, the eminent French conductor and teacher of conductors, born 150 years ago. As a young musician, he performed for Brahms, Grieg and other late-romantic luminaries. In the years before World War I, he conducted a string of premieres – Stravinsky’s “Petrushka” and “The Rite of Spring,” Ravel’s “Daphnis et Chloé,” Debussy’s “Jeux” – for Serge Diaghilev’s Ballet Russes. And he was still going strong at the helm of the London Symphony Orchestra in the 1960s. We’ll sample his recorded legacy, in music ranging from Beethoven and Franck to Stravinsky and Ravel.

7-10 p.m. EDT
2300-0200 UTC
WDCE, University of Richmond
90.1 FM
http://wdce.net

Mendelssohn: “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” – Scherzo
Vienna Philharmonic/Pierre Monteux
(Decca/Eloquence)

Beethoven: Symphony No. 6 in F major (Pastoral”)
Vienna Philharmonic/Pierre Monteux
(Decca)

Gluck: “Orfeo ed Euridice” – “Dance of the Blessed Spirits”
Claude Monteux, flute
London Symphony Orchestra/Pierre Monteux

(Decca)

Brahms: “Variations on a Theme by Haydn”
London Symphony Orchestra/Pierre Monteux
(Decca)

Franck: Symphony in D minor
Chicago Symphony Orchestra/Pierre Monteux
(RCA)

Debussy: “Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune” (“Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun”)
London Symphony Orchestra/Pierre Monteux
(Decca)

Stravinsky: “Le sacre du printemps” (“The Rite of Spring”)
Boston Symphony Orchestra/Pierre Monteux
(RCA)

Tchaikovsky: “Swan Lake” – Valse
London Symphony Orchestra/Pierre Monteux
(Decca/Eloquence)

Ravel: “La valse”
London Symphony Orchestra/Pierre Monteux
(Decca)

A sound world well worth visiting

In a New York Times “Critic’s Notebook,” Corinna da Fonseca-Wollheim samples the Bard Festival’s survey of music by Bohuslav Martinů (1890-1959), the Czech-born composer who spent most of his creative life in France and US.

“[A] restless exile equally fluent in Czech folk song, Neo-Classicism and the hum of the modern world . . . one of the most distinct and delightful voices of his time,” Fonseca-Wollheim writes. “Through decades of exile and in an age defined by ideological binaries, Martinů held fast to his own voice and to an intellectual independence that refused to be boxed in.”

I’ve thought for some time that Martinů may be the most under-rated composer of the past century. His range of stylistic references is extraordinary: Who else quotes James P. Johnson’s “Charleston,” evokes Moravian folk dance, and reimagines the baroque concerto grosso? And writes in a modernist yet accessible idiom? Every work of his that I’ve heard – and I’m nowhere near hearing them all – is an audibly finished product, but unconstrained, seemingly spontaneous, full of surprises, muscular rhythmically, often otherworldly harmonically.

Fascinating, and habit-forming, listening.

Visiting the festival in upstate New York, run by Leon Botstein, Bard College’s longtime president and an accomplished conductor, Fonseca-Wollheim heard a representative sampling of Martinů’s singular sound world:

Three works that give you an idea of Martinů’s range:

UR Modlin Center 2025-26

Violinist Midori, the Pacifica Quartet with clarinetist Anthony McGill and the SPA Trio – soprano Susanna Phillips, violist Paul Neubauer and pianist Anne-Marie McDermott – highlight classical attractions in the coming season of the University of Richmond’s Modlin Arts Center.

In addition to the Modlin Arts ticketed series, which also will present jazz, world music, dance and theater troupes, the university’s music department will stage free concerts by faculty, student ensembles and guest artists.

Subscriptions for three to six events receive a 15 percent discount on ticket prices. Free concerts, other than the annual Candlelight Festival of Lessons and Carols, require registration.

To obtain a season brochure or more information, call the Modlin Center box office at (804) 289-8980. Information about the season’s attractions also can be found at http://modlin.richmond.edu/events

All performances at 7:30 p.m. in Camp Concert Hall, 455 Westhampton Way, unless listed otherwise:

Sept. 12
Brian Stokes Mitchell, vocalist

pianist TBA
“The American Songbook”
program TBA

$28-$45

Sept. 14
Pacifica Quartet
Anthony McGill, clarinet

Dvořák: Quartet in F major, Op. 96 (“American”)
James Lee III: Quintet for clarinet & string quartet
Brahms: Clarinet Quintet in B minor, Op. 115

$28-$45

Sept. 26
UR Schola Cantorum
Jeffrey Riehl directing
UR Symphony Orchestra
Naima Burrs conducting
UR Jazz Ensemble
Mike Davison directing

“Family Weekend Concert”
program TBA

free; registration required

Oct. 5 (3 p.m.)
Ronald Crutcher, cello
pianist TBA
works TBA by Beethoven, Debussy, Rachmaninoff, Henry Eccles
interview with Melody Barnes
free; registration required

Oct. 9 (Perkinson Recital Hall, North Court)
Nathan Sherman, viola
new works TBA for viola & electronics
free; registration required

Oct. 19 (4 p.m., Perkinson Recital Hall, North Court)
Thomas Meglioranza, baritone
Reiko Uchida, piano

“American Song from the Atomic Age”
works TBA by Copland, Sondheim, Virgil Thomson, John Cage, Margaret Bonds, others

free; registration required
free master class at 3 p.m. Oct. 21 in Perkinson Recital Hall

Oct. 23
Daniel Bernard Roumain, violin & composer
Marc Bamuthi Joseph, vocalist & spoken-word artist

“Blackbird, Fly”
Haitian folk music & narrative TBA

$28-$45

Oct. 26 (3 p.m.)
UR Schola Cantorum
Jeffrey Riehl directing
Mary Beth Bennett, piano

program TBA
free; registration required

Oct. 30
Dreamers’ Circus:
Nikolaj Busk, piano and accordion
Ale Carr, Nordic cittern
Rune Tonsgaard Sørensen, violin

Nordic folksong arrangements, other works TBA
$28-$45

Nov. 14
Third Practice Festival:
BlackBox Ensemble
other artists TBA
electroacoustic works TBA
free; registration required

Nov. 16
Midori, violin
Ieva Jokubaviciute, piano

Che Buford: “Resonances of Spirit”
Beethoven: Violin Sonata in F major, Op. 24 (“Spring”)
Poulenc: Violin Sonata
Clara Schumann: “Three Romances”
Robert Schumann: “Three Romances,” Op. 94
Schubert: “Rondo brillante” in B minor, D. 895

$28-$45

Nov. 22
Wagner & Kong Duo:
Christoph Wagner, cello
Joanne Kong, piano

works TBA by Chopin, Rachmaninoff
free; registration required

Nov. 24
UR Wind Ensemble
Brianna Gatch directing
Christoph Wagner, cello

program TBA
free; registration required

Dec. 1
UR Chamber Ensembles
program TBA
free; registration required

Dec. 3
University Symphony Orchestra
Naima Burrs conducting

program TBA
free; registration required

Dec. 7 (5 & 8 p.m., Cannon Memorial Chapel)
UR Schola Cantorum
Jeffrey Riehl directing

“52nd annual Candlelight Festival of Lessons and Carols”
free

Feb. 8 (3 p.m.)
Paul Hanson, piano
works TBA by Schumann, Liszt, Scriabin, Bartók
free; registration required

Feb. 13
SPA Trio:
Susanna Phillips, soprano
Paul Neubauer, viola
Anne-Marie McDermott, piano

program TBA
$28-$45

March 1 (3 p.m.)
Doris Wylee-Becker, piano
program TBA
free; registration required

April 13
UR Wind Ensemble
Brianna Gatch
directing
program TBA
free; registration required

April 19
Peni Candra Rini, vocalist & composer
gamelan ensemble
Javanese court dancers

Indonesian works TBA
$28-$45

April 20
UR Chamber Ensembles

program TBA
free; registration required

April 22
University Symphony Orchestra
Naima Burrs conducting

Shostakovich: Cello Concerto No. 1 in E flat major
Christoph Wagner, cello
other works TBA
free; registration required

VCU Rennolds Chamber Concerts 2025-26

Virginia Commonwealth University’s Anne Rennolds Chamber Concerts series expands to five programs on Sunday afternoons in the coming season, presenting artists ranging from a piano duo to a baroque orchestra.

The series opens on Sept. 14 with the duo of pianists (and spouses) Alessio Bax and Lucille Chung, and continues with performances by Trio Zimbalist on Oct. 19, the Apollo’s Fire Baroque Orchestra on Feb. 8, the Dover Quartet on Feb. 22, and soprano Juliette Tacchino on March 29.

Their programs will be announced later.

All concerts will begin at 3 p.m. in Vlahcevic Concert Hall of VCU’s Singleton Arts Center, Park Avenue at Harrison Street in Richmond’s Fan District.

Ticket subscriptions are $100 through Aug. 31. Single tickets are $35 per concert.

For more information, call (804) 828-2020, or visit http://arts.vcu.edu/music/concerts-and-events/rennolds-series/

Letter V Classical Radio Aug. 10

7-10 p.m. EDT
2300-0200 UTC
WDCE, University of Richmond
90.1 FM
http://wdce.org

Michael Torke: “Bright Blue Music”
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra/David Zinman
(Decca)

Bernstein: Serenade (“after Plato’s ‘Symposium’ ”)
Zino Francescatti, violin
New York Philharmonic/Leonard Bernstein

(Sony Classical)

Duke Ellington: “Harlem”
(Luther Henderson orchestration)
Detroit Symphony Orchestra/Neeme Järvi
(Chandos)

Holst: “The Planets”
Boston Symphony Orchestra/William Steinberg
(Deutsche Grammophon)

Nielsen: “Helios” Overture
Danish National Symphony Orchestra/Thomas Dausgaard
(Dacapo)

Debussy: “La mer”
Cleveland Orchestra/Pierre Boulez
(Deutsche Grammophon)

Manuel de Falla: “Nights in the Gardens of Spain”
Alicia de Larrocha, piano
London Philharmonic/Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos

(Decca)

Britten: “Peter Grimes” – Passacaglia
Oregon Symphony/Carlos Kalmar
(Pentatone)

Richmond Symphony 2025-26

The Richmond Symphony’s 2025-26 season will explore musical Americana in a genre-crossing sampler ranging from works by Copland, Gershwin and John Williams to Sousa marches, gospel music and songs from Motown and the Philly Sound.

The coming season, Valentina Peleggi’s fifth as the orchestra’s music director, will feature nine programs in the mainstage Symphony Series and an enlarged Pops season with eight events, all at the Carpenter Theatre of Dominion Energy Center in dowtown Richmond.

“In Your Neighborhood,” a reconfiguration of the former Metro Collection chamber-orchestra series, will stage four concerts at St. Christopher’s School in Richmond’s West End, two at Randolph-Macon College’s Blackwell Auditorium in Ashland and one at Perkinson Arts Center in Chester.

Symphony Series guest soloists include pianists Emanuel Ax in Chopin’s Concerto No. 2, Conrad Tao in Gershwin’s Concerto in F and Angela Cheng in Beethoven’s Concerto No. 4. Francesca Dego will play Beethoven’s Violin Concerto, and Neal Cary, the orchestra’s principal cellist, will be featured in Dvořák’s Cello Concerto.

Other major repertory on the schedule are Rachmaninoff’s Second, Dvořák’s Seventh, Brahms’ Fourth and Haydn’s 87th symphonies, Mozart’s “Jupiter” Symphony (No. 41), Holst’s “The Planets,” suites from Bizet’s “Carmen,” Tchaikovsky’s “Romeo and Juliet,” and Ravel’s “Boléro.”

The mainstage series will present two works by Damien Geter, the symphony’s composer-in-residence: “An African American Requiem” (2019) with soloists and the Richmond Symphony Chorus, and the premiere of an orchestral suite from “Loving v. Virginia,” which Virginia Opera and the symphony premiered in the spring.

Other contemporary composers represented in the season’s classical programs are Tao, Jessie Montgomery, Jennifer Higdon, Carlos Simon, Valerie Coleman, Ke-Chia Chen, Jasmine Guo, Stacy Garrop, Eric Ewazen and Viet Cuong.

Joining Peleggi and Hae Lee, the symphony’s associate conductor, on the podium will be Chia-Hsuan Lin, Lee’s predecessor in Richmond, now music director of Minnesota’s Rochester Symphony & Chorale; Kazem Abdullah, former general music director in Aachen, Germany, now active as a guest conductor of orchestras and opera companies in the Americas and Europe; Benjamin Manis, resident conductor of the Grand Teton Music Festival in Wyoming and a frequent guest at leading opera houses; and Henry Panion III, a composer and conductor, based at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, who has performed and recorded with a number of gospel, jazz, country and popular artists.

The Richmond Symphony Chorus, led by Richard W. Robbins, will sing in the Geter Requiem, “The Planets,” the “Let It Snow!” holiday pops show, and a program of American choral pieces.

Music at Hardywood will return with four casual classical concerts at Richmond’s Hardywood Park Craft Brewery.

The Pops season will feature a Halloween “Rocky Horror Show” staged with the Richmond Triangle Players, “A Night in Vienna” with waltzes and other works by Johann Strauss II, tributes to John Philip Sousa and Arthur Fiedler, longtime maestro of the Boston Pops, “Symphony Praise Party” with Panion and Pastor Mike Jr., and the Motown-Philly show, as well as “Let It Snow!” and “Holiday Brass.”

Among 10 special concerts are a season-opening black-tie gala, free concerts at Richmond’s Chimborazo and Abner Clay parks and Pocahontas State Park in Chesterfield County, “Band Geek Date Night”with James Madison University’s Marching Royal Dukes, and screenings of two films, “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” and the 1989 “Batman,” with live orchestral accompaniment.

Two ticketed Family Concerts are scheduled, and the Richmond Symphony Youth Orchestra will present free concerts by the orchestra and ensembles, along with a “Side-by-Side” collaborative performance with the symphony.

To purchase subscription packages, including “Compose Your Own” selections of three or more programs, or to obtain a season brochure, call the symphony box office at (804) 788-1212 or visit http://richmondsymphony.com/ticketing

Single tickets may be purchased from ETIX at (800) 514-3849 or at http://www.etix.com/ticket/?search=richmond+symphony

The 2025-26 symphony lineup (all venues in Richmond unless listed otherwise):

SYMPHONY SERIES
Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Energy Center, Sixth & Grace streets
subscriptions: $288-$774
single tickets: $20-$102.10

Sept. 20 (8 p.m.)
Sept. 21 (3 p.m.)
Chia-Hsuan Lin conducting
Ke-Chia Chen: “A Lasting Bond”
Schumann: Konzertstück in F major, Op. 86
, for 4 horns & orchestra
American Horn Quartet
Bizet: “Carmen” suites Nos. 1 & 2

Oct. 25 (8 p.m.)
Oct. 26 (3 p.m.)
Valentina Peleggi conducting
Mascagni: “Cavalleria Rusticana” – Intermezzo
Chopin: Piano Concerto No. 2 in F minor

Emanuel Ax, piano
Rachmaninoff: Symphony No. 2 in E minor

Nov. 8 (8 p.m.)
Nov. 9 (3 p.m.)
Valentina Peleggi conducting
Ives: “The Unanswered Question”
Beethoven: Violin Concerto in D major

Francesca Dego, violin
Dvořák: Symphony No. 7 in D minor

Jan. 17 (8 p.m.)
Jan. 18 (3 p.m.)
Kazem Abdullah conducting
Damien Geter: “An African American Requiem”
Brandie Sutton, soprano
Melody Wilson, mezzo-soprano
Bernard Holcomb, tenor
Kenneth Overton, baritone
Richmond Symphony Chorus

Jan. 31 (8 p.m.)
Feb. 1 (3 p.m.)
Benjamin Manis conducting
Conrad Tao: “Flung Out”
Gershwin: Piano Concerto in F

Conrad Tao, piano
Mozart: Symphony No. 41 in C major, K. 551 (“Jupiter”)

Feb. 28 (8 p.m.)
March 1 (8 p.m.)
Valentina Peleggi conducting
Damien Geter: “Loving v. Virginia” Suite (premiere)
Tchaikovsky: “Romeo and Juliet” Fantasy-Overture
Respighi: “Feste Romane” (“Roman Festivals”)
Ravel: “Boléro”

March 7 (7:30 p.m.)
March 8 (3 p.m.)
Valentina Peleggi conducting
Jasmine Guo: new work TBA
Dvořák: Cello Concerto in B minor

Neal Cary, cello
Brahms: Symphony No. 4 in E minor

April 11 (8 p.m.)
April 12 (3 p.m.)
Valentina Peleggi conducting
Jessie Montgomery: “Hymn for Everyone”
Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major

Angela Cheng, piano
Copland: Symphony No. 3

May 16 (8 p.m.)
May 17 (3 p.m.)
Valentina Peleggi conducting
Holst: “The Planets”
Richmond Symphony Chorus
Stacy Garrop: new work TBA (premiere)
John Williams: “Star Wars” Suite

____________

POPS
Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Energy Center, Sixth & Grace streets
subscriptions: $12-$69
“Let It Snow!” & “Holiday Brass” subscriptions: $12-$69
single tickets: $15-$86

Oct. 11 (5 p.m.)
Valentina Peleggi conducting
“A Night in Vienna”
Johann Strauss II: “On the Beautiful Blue Danube”
Strauss: “Radetzky March”
other works TBA

Oct. 31 (7 p.m.)
Hae Lee conducting
Richmond Triangle Players

“The Rocky Horror Show”

Nov. 29 (2 & 7 p.m.)
Hae Lee conducting
Richmond Symphony Chorus

“Let It Snow!”

Nov. 30 (3 p.m.)
Chia-Hsuan Lin conducting
“Holiday Brass”

Jan. 24 (7 p.m.)
Henry Panion III conducting
Pastor Mike Jr., guest star

“Symphony Praise Party”

Feb. 20 (7 p.m.)
Hae Lee conducting
Chester Gregory, Cherise Coaches & Brik Liam, guest stars

“Let’s Groove Tonight: Motown Meets the Philly Sound”

Feb. 21 (3 p.m.)
Chia-Hsuan Lin conducting
“A Tribute to Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops”
Tchaikovsky: “1812 Overture”
Rodgers & Hammerstein: “The Sound of Music”
(selections)
other works TBA

May 30 (3 p.m.)
Hae Lee conducting
“Stars & Stripes Forever: a Tribute to John Philip Sousa”
Sousa: works TBA

____________

IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD
subscriptions: $164 (St. Christopher’s); $51 (Randolph-Macon)
single tickets: $59.10 (St. Christopher’s)
; $36.10 (Randolph-Macon, Perkinson Center)

Oct. 19 (3 p.m.)
Blackwell Auditorium, Randolph-Macon College, 205 Henry St., Ashland
Hae Lee conducting
Beethoven: “Coriolan” Overture
Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges: Sarabande & Riguadon
Wagner: “Siegfried Idyll”
Haydn: Symphony No. 87 in A major

Feb. 6 (7:30 p.m.)
Perkinson Arts Center, 11810 Centre St., Chester
Feb. 7 (7:30 p.m.)
Ryan Recital Hall, St. Christopher’s School, 6010 Fergusson Road
Valentina Peleggi conducting
Philip Glass: “Company for Strings”
Elliott Carter: Elegy for strings
Copland: “Eight Poems of Emily Dickinson”
Barber: “Knoxville, Summer of 1915”

soprano TBA

March 28 (7:30 p.m.)
Ryan Recital Hall, St. Christopher’s School, 6010 Fergusson Road
March 29 (3 p.m.)
Blackwell Auditorium, Randolph-Macon College, 205 Henry St., Ashland
Richmond Symphony Chorus
Richard W. Robbins directing

trad.: “Shenandoah”
William Billings: “I Am the Rose of Sharon”
trad.: “Deep River”
trad.: “Hark, I Hear the Harps Eternal”
Amy Beach: “Peace I Leave with You”
Randall Thomson: “Alleluia”
Thompson: “Frostiana”

April 25 (7:30 p.m.)
Ryan Recital Hall, St. Christopher’s School, 6010 Fergusson Road
Hae Lee conducting
Jessie Montgomery: “Strum”
Jennifer Higdon: “Dance Card”
Mozart: Serenade in B flat major, K. 361 (“Gran Partita”)

May 9 (7:30 p.m.)
Ryan Recital Hall, St. Christopher’s School, 6010 Fergusson Road
Hae Lee conducting
Mozart: “The Impresario” Overture
Viet Cuong: “Constellations”
John Williams: “On Willows and Birches” (Harp Concerto)

harpist TBA
Stravinsky: “Pulcinella” Suite

____________

MUSIC AT HARDYWOOD
Hardywood Park Craft Brewery, Overbrook Road at Ownby Lane
single tickets: $36.10-$46.10

Sept. 25 (6:30 p.m.)
Hae Lee conducting
Eric Ewazen: “A Western Fanfare”
Valerie Coleman: “Portraits of Josephine”
Ludwig Spohr: Nonet in F major
Carlos Simon: “Elegy: a Cry from the Grave”
Jessie Montgomery: “Strum”

March 19 (6:30 p.m.)
Hae Lee conducting
Nancy Dalberg: Scherzo for string orchestra
Barbara York: “Aspects”
Dai Wei: “The Dancing Moonlight”
Ruth Gipps: Sinfonietta for 10 wind instruments

April 16 (6:30 p.m.)
Hae Lee conducting
Grieg: “Holberg” Suite
Eric Ewazen: “Colchester Fantasy”
Gounod: “Petite symphonie”
for winds

May 21 (6:30 p.m.)
conductor TBA
Mozart: Serenade in C minor, K. 388, for winds
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor: “Noveletten” for strings

____________

SPECIAL CONCERTS

Sept. 12 (6 p.m.)
Virginia Museum of History & Culture, Arthur Ashe Boulevard at Kensington Avenue
Valentina Peleggi conducting
Daisuke Yamamoto, violin

“Americana: Telling Virginia Stories & Lifting Virginia Voices”
Copland: “Appalachian Spring”
Mark O’Connor: “Surrender the Sword”

black-tie gala, with dinner & after-party
$1,000

Sept. 13 (7:30 p.m.)
Altria Theater, Main & Laurel streets
conductor TBA
Cody Fry, guest star
$13.60-$124.10

Sept. 27 (6 p.m.)
Chimborazo Park, 3215 E. Broad St.
conductor TBA
East End Music Festival
free

Sept. 27 (7 p.m.)
Pocahontas State Park, 10301 State Park Road, Chesterfield County
conductor TBA
free; $10 parking fee

Oct. 17 (7 p.m.)
Abner Clay Park, Clay Street at Brook Road
Chia-Hsuan Lin conducting
InLight Festival
free

Nov. 15 (7 p.m.)
Altria Theater, Main & Laurel streets
conductor TBA
“One Piece Music Symphony”
$13.60-$106.10

Dec. 11 (6 p.m.)
Virago Spirits Scott’s Addition, 1727 Rhoadmiller St.
conductor TBA
“Santa’s Symphony Soirée”
$150

Feb. 7 (2 & 7:30 p.m.)
Altria Theater, Main & Laurel streets
conductor TBA
“Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” film with live orchestral accompaniment
$76.90-$147.90

April 18 (7 p.m.)
Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Energy Center, Sixth & Grace streets
Hae Lee conductor
JMU Marching Royal Dukes

“Band Geek Date Night”
$30

May 2 (7 p.m.)
Altria Theater, Main & Laurel streets
Chia-Hsuan Lin conducting
“Batman,” 1989 film with live orchestral accompaniment
$13.60-$106.10

June 6 (7 p.m.)
Pocahontas State Park, 10301 State Park Road, Chesterfield County
conductor TBA
free; $10 parking fee

____________

FAMILY CONCERTS
single tickets: $20-$30

Nov. 2 (3 p.m.)
Perkinson Arts Center, 11810 Centre St., Chester
Hae Lee conducting
“The Science of Sound”
Jessie Montgomery: “Starburst”
Gregory Smith: “Vibe”

Feb. 22 (3 p.m.)
Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Energy Center, Sixth & Grace streets
Hae Lee conducting
Saint-Saëns: “Carnival of the Animals”

____________

YOUTH CONCERTS
Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Energy Center, Sixth & Grace streets
free

times, conductors & programs TBA

Nov. 9
Richmond Symphony Youth Orchestra ensembles

Feb. 3
Richmond Symphony
Richmond Symphony Youth Orchestra

“Side by Side”

May 17
String Sinfonietta
Camerata Strings

May 18
Richmond Symphony Youth Orchestra
Youth Concert Orchestra
Percussion Ensemble

Portland Opera promotes Damien Geter

Damien Geter, composer-in-residence at the Richmond Symphony, has been named music director of Oregon’s Portland Opera.

Geter had been serving as the company’s artistic advisor and interim music director.

A 45-year-old native of Chesterfield County in Richmond’s suburbs, now based in Chicago, Geter is a bass-baritone who has performed with the Metropolitan Opera and Chicago Opera Theater, as well as orchestras and other ensembles. As an actor, he has played roles in a number of stage and television productions.

“Loving v. Virginia,” Geter’s and librettist Jessica Murphy Moo’s opera on the lives of Mildred and Richard Loving, who defied Virginia’s ban on interracial marriage, leading to the 1967 US Supreme Court ruling outlawing such laws, was premiered by Virginia Opera earlier this year.

Geter’s earlier operas, “American Apollo” and “Delta King’s Blues,” as well as orchestral, chamber and vocal works, also address historical and current aspects of the Black American life and art.

In its coming season, the Richmond Symphony will stage the premiere of an orchestral suite from “Loving v. Virginia” and Geter’s “An African American Requiem” (2019), a setting of the Latin Requiem Mass that incorporates Negro spirituals and declarations against violence toward Blacks.

Letter V Classical Radio Aug. 3

7-10 p.m. EDT
2300-0200 UTC
WDCE, University of Richmond
90.1 FM
http://wdce.net

Kodály: “Dances of Galanta”
Scottish Chamber Orchestra/Charles Mackerras
(Linn)

Germaine Tailleferre: Concertino for harp & orchestra
Marie-Pierre Langlamet, harp
Berlin Philharmonic/Juan José Mena

(Berliner Philharmoniker)

Enescu: Suite No. 2, Op. 10
Charles Richard-Hamelin, piano
(Analekta)

Hindemith: “Symphonic Metamorphosis on Themes of Carl Maria von Weber”
Philadelphia Orchestra/Wolfgang Sawallisch
(Warner Classics)

Schubert: Fantasie in C major, D. 934
Isabelle Faust, violin
Alexander Melnikov, piano

(Harmonia Mundi)

Mahler: Symphony No. 5 in C sharp minor
London Philharmonic/Klaus Tennstedt
(EMI Classics)