Education and Community Engagement

Our musicians make a difference.

The Virginia Symphony Orchestra’s work extends far beyond performing concerts across Hampton Roads. Our musicians dedicate many hours each season to reaching young people in our community with educational programming.

Each year, these programs serve more than 45,000 students. This work is critical in the face of public funding cuts to music education: there is a significant gap in children’s exposure to music, and we are determined to help bridge that gap. Our roster of programs includes:

HeartStrings, which strengthens character through string instruction for elementary students in underserved schools

Master Classes, where the VSO’s internationally acclaimed guest soloists provide instruction to young musicians

SOAR, an artist residency program matching VSO musicians with local schools for coaching and mentorship

Young People’s Concerts, a series that brings elementary students from 11 cities to their first orchestra concert

Please join us in making this important work a reality by donating to our education programs today!

Partners in Education and Community Engagement

Bank of America

Business Consortium for Arts Support

The Camp Foundation

The Capital Group Companies/Home of American Funds

Chesapeake Fine Arts Commission

Charles and Minette Cooper

Soundscapes

 

Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Norfolk Alumnae Chapter

Franklin Southampton Charities

Hampton Roads Community Foundation

The Morningstar Foundation

Music & Arts

Newport News Arts Commission

City of Norfolk

Salvation Army HeartStrings

 

Portsmouth Museum & Fine Arts Commission

The Pruden Foundation

Rouse-Bottom Foundation

Suffolk Fine Arts Commission

SunTrust Foundation

The USAA Foundation

Mayer I., Oscar Brandeis and Frances Levy Birshtein Fund

Young Audiences Arts for Learning Virginia

Tidewater Children’s Foundation

The J. Edwin Treakle Foundation

Virginia Beach Arts & Humanities Commission

Virginia Commission for the Arts

Wells Fargo Foundation

Williamsburg Area Arts Commission

York County Arts Commission

  • PNC Bank
  • Optima Health
  • CBN
  • Birdsong Peanuts
  • Regent University
  • Wilbanks Smith and Thomas
  • Virginia Symphony League
  • Ferguson Center for the Arts
  • Riverside Health
  • Art Works
  • Business Consortium for Arts Support
  • Smithfield
  • New Leaf
  • Bank of America
  • Capital Group
  • Truist
  • Sentara
  • VSSGW
  • Norfolk Collegiate
  • PBMares
  • Trust and Wealth Management
  • Cape Henry Collegiate
  • Carl's Wash
  • Norfolk Southern
  • Associates Dermatology
  • Breeden

VSO Guest Artist: Andrew von Oeyen

Hailed worldwide for his elegant and insightful interpretations, balanced artistry and brilliant technique, Andrew von Oeyen has established himself as one of the most captivating pianists of his generation.

Since his debut at age 16 with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Esa-Pekka Salonen, Mr. von Oeyen has extended his interpretive voice to a broad spectrum of repertoire as both a soloist and recitalist. He has collaborated with such ensembles as the Philadelphia Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, National Symphony, Detroit Symphony, Saint Louis Symphony, Seattle Symphony, Dallas Symphony, Atlanta Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony, Mariinsky Orchestra, Berlin Symphony Orchestra, New Japan Philharmonic, Singapore Symphony, Grant Park Orchestra, Ravinia Festival Orchestra, Vancouver Symphony, Utah Symphony, Orchestre Symphonique de Marseille, Geneva Chamber Orchestra, Spoleto USA Orchestra, Slovenian Philharmonic and Slovak Philharmonic. As both soloist and conductor he has led concerti and orchestral works by Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Ravel and Kurt Weill. On July 4, 2009, he performed at the U.S. Capitol with the National Symphony in “A Capitol Fourth,” reaching millions worldwide in the multi-award winning PBS live telecast.

‍Mr. von Oeyen has appeared in recital at Wigmore Hall and Barbican Hall in London, Lincoln Center in New York, the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., Boston’s Symphony Hall, Zürich’s Tonhalle, Moscow’s Tchaikovsky Hall, St. Petersburg’s Philharmonia, Dublin’s National Concert Hall, Royce Hall in Los Angeles, Herbst Theater in San Francisco, Spivey Hall in Atlanta, Sala São Paulo, Teatro Olimpico in Rome, in Mexico City, Hanoi, Macau, and in every major concert hall of Japan and South Korea. Festival appearances include Aspen, Ravinia, Grant Park, Mainly Mozart, Saratoga, Schubertiade, Spoleto, Brevard, Grand Teton, Chautauqua and the Mariinsky’s “Stars of the White Nights.”

Mr. von Oeyen has recorded for Warner Classics since 2017. His albums under that label, including works for piano and orchestra by Saint-Saëns, Ravel and Gershwin and a disc including Debussy’s Fantaisie pour Piano et Orchestre, have been met with critical acclaim. Mr. von Oeyen has also recorded award-winning recital albums of Liszt, Debussy, and Stravinsky under the Delos label.

Mr. von Oeyen, of German and Dutch origin, was born in the U.S. He began his piano studies at age 5 and made his solo orchestral debut at age 10. An alumnus of Columbia University and graduate of The Juilliard School, where his principal teachers were Herbert Stessin and Jerome Lowenthal, he also worked with Alfred Brendel and Leon Fleisher. He won the prestigious Gilmore Young Artist Award in 1999 and also took First Prize in the Léni Fé Bland Foundation National Piano Competition in 2001. Mr. von Oeyen lives in Paris and Los Angeles.