Eric Jacobsen, conductor
Grace Park, violin
Sterling Elliott, cello

Claude Debussy: Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun
Ottorino Respighi: Fountains of Rome
Still/Goosby: Suite for Cello & Orchestra
Johannes Brahms: Concerto for Violin and Cello

Welcome back award-winning Newport News native Sterling Elliot to partner with VSO Concertmaster Grace Park in Brahms’ Double Concerto. This ode to friendship uses the sonorities and vibrancy of violin and cello to expand the dialogue between soloists and orchestra. Respighi’s Fountains of Rome follows with vivid portraits of the city’s iconic fountains throughout the day, beautifully showcasing the artistry of the VSO musicians.

Presented in partnership with CNU’s Ferguson Center for the Arts

Eric Jacobsen serves as the Virginia Symphony Orchestra’s twelfth Music Director, a position he’s held since 2021.  He is also artistic director and co-founder of The Knights, the uniquely adventurous NYC-based chamber orchestra, and Music Director of the Orlando Philharmonic. In addition to conducting, Eric is a dedicated chamber musician (cello) and is a member of Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble.

VSO Concertmaster Grace Park is a violinist celebrated for her artistry, passion, and virtuosity. Praised by the San Francisco Chronicle as “fresh, different and exhilarating” and by Strings Magazine for her “intensely wrought and burnished” sound, she captivates audiences worldwide. A winner of the Naumburg International Violin Competition, Ms. Park is recognized both as a dynamic soloist and a devoted chamber musician.

Acclaimed for his stellar stage presence and joyous musicianship, cellist and Newport News-native Sterling Elliott is a 2021 Avery Fisher Career Grant recipient and the winner of the Senior Division of the 2019 National Sphinx Competition. Still in his mid-twenties, Elliott has appeared with orchestras including the Philadelphia Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, the Boston Symphony, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Detroit Symphony and the Dallas Symphony, working with noted conductors including Yannick Nezet-Seguin, Thomas Wilkins, Jeffrey Kahane, and Mei Ann Chen, among others.