HAMPTON ROADS, VA (Jan. 7, 2019) — The Virginia Symphony Orchestra in partnership with the City of Norfolk will pay homage to the visionary Civil Rights leader, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on January 20, 2019. This is the largest arts celebration of Dr. King’s life annually in Hampton Roads.
This performance is free and open to the public and will take place at Second Calvary Baptist Church, 2940 Corprew Avenue in Norfolk on Sunday, January 20 at 7 p.m.
The multi-media concert will feature the musicians of the Virginia Symphony Orchestra, conducted by VSO Assistant Conductor Gonzalo Farias, as well as performances from NSU’s Vocal Jazz Ensemble, led by director Frank T. Elliott. The NSU Vocal Jazz Ensemble combines song, dance, improvisation, and collaborative ingenuity, resulting in an extraordinary show choir that exhibits an alluring sensitivity for the jazz idiom. The Ensemble will be performing There Is A Balm and Glory from the movie Selma.
This concert will also feature soloists Eden Crumbly and Stephanie Saunders. Eden Crumbly, age 14, has played the violin since she was three years old and currently is a member of both the Bay Youth Symphony Orchestra and the Capriccio Ensemble through the Academy of Music. Stephanie Saunders is a concert bassoonist and jazz saxophonist and the Assistant Band Director (Spartan “Legion” Marching Band) and Director of the NSU Jazz Ensembles. A frequent guest with the VSO, Saunders’ rendition of Duke Ellington’s Three Black Kings, Part 3: “Martin Luther King” is a crowd favorite.
A highlight of the evening will be the presentation of the VSO’s annual Dreamer Award to Norfolk native and graduate of Booker T. Washington High School, Thomas Wilkins. Wilkins studied at the Shenandoah Conservatory of Music and the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston before embarking on highly successful career as an orchestral conductor. Devoted to promoting a life-long enthusiasm for music, Thomas Wilkins brings energy and commitment to audiences of all ages. He is hailed as a master at communicating and connecting with audiences. Following his highly successful first season with the Boston Symphony, the Boston Globe named him among the “Best People and Ideas of 2011.” In 2014, Wilkins received the prestigious “Outstanding Artist” award at the Nebraska Governor’s Arts Awards, for his significant contribution to music in the state. Wilkins is the current music director of the Omaha Symphony, a position he has held since 2005 and is also principal conductor of the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra and holds the Germeshausen Family and Youth Concert Conductor chair with the Boston Symphony.
Previous winners of the Dreamer Award include Dr. Adolphus Hailstork, State Senator, Yvonne Miller, Dr. L.D. Britt, MD, The Honorable Maurice Jones, Ms. Lorraine Graves, Katherine Coleman Goble Johnson, and Joan Rhodes-Copeland.
This concert is part of the VSO’s Harmony Project collaboration with 11 historically black churches throughout Hampton Roads, which also provides VSO musicians to perform during worship services, Family Night events, and education programs for church youth programs and schools. Partner churches include: First Baptist South Hill in Chesapeake, Sixth Mt. Zion Baptist Temple in Hampton, St. Mark Missionary Baptist Church in Portsmouth, East End Baptist Church in Suffolk, Union Baptist Church in Virginia Beach, First Baptist Church Denbigh and Carver Memorial Presbyterian Church in Newport News, and First Baptist Church Bute Street, Second Calvary Baptist Church, Bank Street Memorial Baptist Church and Calvary Revival Church in Norfolk.
Second Calvary Baptist Church, 2940 Corprew Avenue in Norfolk. For more information, please call the VSO at 757-892-6366.
###
As the region’s most celebrated musical, educational and entrepreneurial arts organization, the Virginia Symphony Orchestra continues to challenge expectations and push the boundaries of what an American orchestra can be – even as it approaches its 100th anniversary in 2020.
At the heart of the VSO’s narrative is innovation. In 1991 the VSO made a very bold move in appointing the gifted young American conductor JoAnn Falletta as its music director. Since then, the orchestra has received national attention for its unique mission serving a home area of 1.7 million across the diverse communities of southeastern Virginia. Through appearances at the Kennedy Center and Carnegie Hall and commitment to adventurous programming, the VSO and its musicians have been highlighted in the media including The New York Times, The Washington Post, National Public Radio and BBC Worldwide News.
As the largest arts performing organization in southeastern Virginia, the VSO and VSO Chorus present more than 150 concerts and events to educate, enlighten and entertain more than 100,000 residents and visitors each year. Recent innovations include health and wellness programs, including interactive therapeutic experiences for people living with Alzheimer’s and dementia. As it approaches its Centennial year, the Orchestra and its legions of fans look forward with anticipation as the VSO conducts a worldwide search for its next music director.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 7, 2019
Contact: Monica Meyer, Vice President of Marketing, Sales and Public Relations
Phone: 757.213.1431 | email: mmeyer@virginiasymphony.org
Twitter: @VASymphony
Facebook: facebook.com/virginiasymphony