Ferguson Center for the Arts

By Phillip Nones, 21 October 2018 This concert by the Virginia Symphony Orchestra and JoAnn Falletta proved to be a grand celebration of the French musical spirit. Two composers on the program were members of Les Six. Germaine Tailleferre's Ouverture made for an...

By John Shulson Friday’s Virginia Symphony Orchestra performance at the Ferguson Art Center was a mixed bag of musical offerings, ranging from the not familiar to the very familiar. Conceptually, it was one of director JoAnn Falletta’s more interesting assembly of...

By John Shulson Kurt Weill’s Tony Award-winning (1947) opera “Street Scene” is set in an east side Manhattan tenement over 24 hours during a hot, summery 1938. It’s a street populated with folk from ethnic everywhere. It’s a street populated with accents, politics,...

By Montague Gammon III The Franks are coming! The Franks are coming! And if (to further paraphrase George M. Cohan’s World War I song “Over There”) French drums are not “rum-tumming everywhere” in the mid-October Virginia Symphony Boléro concert, the 4,050 snare drum...

By Rebecca Evans Last weekend, the Virginia Symphony Orchestra commenced their 2018-2019 season with performances at the Ferguson Center for the Arts, Chrysler Hall, and the Sandler Center for the Performing Arts. The show, titled Pictures at an Exhibition, featured...

By Dan Duke The Virginian-Pilot Aug 23, 2018  The power of music and love will be on display at a special event Sunday in Norfolk. And for music lovers, the event offers a chance for amateurs to play and sing with real pros. The Virginia Symphony Orchestra and Chorus...

By John Shulson Sept. 26, 2018  While the opening program of the Virginia Symphony Orchestra’s season Friday in the Ferguson Center, classified it as “Pictures at an Exhibition,” by far the work that captured the attention of the audience and the evening was guest...

In a new ad focused on Macy’s fall collection, BBDO continues its “Find the Remarkable You” campaign by featuring six women from different walks of professional life, yet bound together by their talent, leadership and achievements. The group is impressive, inspiring...

She knows what her last number will be. The sly smile on JoAnn Falletta’s face makes that clear. But she’s not telling. She has been the music director for the Virginia Symphony Orchestra for 27 years, far longer than any of her 10 predecessors. This spring she...

August 28, 2018 By Montague Gammon III Virginia Symphony Orchestra’s final outdoor summer, free admission, Symphony by the Sea concert fires off an intercontinental musical mix of short works by and about accomplished and powerful women, bracketed by tributes to the...

NORFOLK, Va. – The Virginia Symphony Orchestra’s second annual Symphony in the Park pops concert has been relocated to Half Moone at Nauticus due to rain. The concert, which starts at 7:30 p.m. July 29 and is free to the public, will feature the music of Elton John....

By Rashod Ollison The Virginian-Pilot Jul 10, 2018 Updated Jul 10, 2018 Gonzalo Farias is inside Cold Pressed, a trendy juice bar, on one of the hottest days of the week. Sitting with his legs crossed on a weathered leather sofa, he's hard to miss in a black blazer,...

Saturday’s Grand Celebration for Hilton Village’s centennial will pack 100 years worth of history and events into a single day. The neighborhood in central Newport News has been celebrating its 100th birthday throughout the year, but Saturday marks the main event....

Norfolk Festevents, with support from the Patricia and Douglas Perry Foundation, is presenting Virginia Symphony Orchestra’s second annual summer “pops” concert in Norfolk’s Town Point Park. The concert is free and open to the public. This year’s concert will feature...

As the Virginia Symphony Orchestra plans a return to the Virginia Beach Oceanfront for the concert series, the organization also welcomes its new assistant conductor. The Symphony by the Sea concert series kicks off Thursday with Gonzalo Farias debuting in the role....

Funhouse Fest 2018 finally gets underway By Seth Birkenmeyersbirkenmeyer@vagazette.com June 22, 2018 Update 9:15 p.m.: The Virginia Arts Festival announces it will begin re-entry at 9:15 p.m. and Alison Krauss will perform at 9:30 p.m. Update 8:27 p.m.: The Virginia...

By Noah Petersen Over the weekend, thousands flocked to an enormous tent and lawn in Williamsburg to eat, drink, listen to music and stay dry — if possible. The third annual Funhouse Fest presented by the Virginia Arts Festival was held Friday and Saturday on the lawn...

By Mike Holtzclaw It didn’t take long for the good word to start spreading about Bruce Hornsby’s Funhouse Fest. The Williamsburg musician and songwriter launched the event in 2016 in connection with the Virginia Arts Festival, happily “breaking out (his) Rolodex” to...

By Dave Gil de Rubio Correspondent Jun 21, 2018   Bruce Hornsby is an artist who never ceases to surprise music lovers. Casual fans know him for his piano playing and singing on early hits – “The Way It Is,” “Mandolin Rain” and “The Valley Road.” Devotees would...

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NORFOLK, Va. – Virginia Symphony Orchestra is doing a tribute to one of the world’s most revered rock bands of all time, Journey. Chia-Hsuan Lin and the Virginia Symphony Orchestra will celebrate the band by putting an orchestral spin on ballads and hits like “Don’t...

John Shulson The Virginia Arts Festival has grown into such a big event that it offers entertainment throughout the year. Last December, it brought the Vienna Boy Choir to St. Bede, a holiday prelude to April’s official start of the Festival which found the Virginia...

May 11, 2018 Congratulations on the excellent front page story in The Virginia Gazette on the Virginia Symphony Orchestra and the incredible work it does with young musicians in our local schools. Since the inception of this valuable program that provides music...

Pianist bidding adieu to Virginia Arts Festival with Mozart concert Rashod Ollison The Virginian-Pilot May 10, 2018 When he was 3, André-Michel Schub refused to take afternoon naps. By then, his family had been in New York City for about two years after moving from...

By Mal Vincent May 10, 2018 Brooke Shields has been in the public eye for so long that many of her fans feel protective of her, having watched her grow up in one of the world’s toughest businesses. For four decades she has been the nation’s “pretty baby” of the...

Virginia Symphony Orchestra: Pure magic in a perfect setting By Kip Tabb on May 2, 2018 It doesn’t get much better than this: On the last Saturday in April, beneath a deep blue sky with scattered clouds and the Roanoke Sound as a backdrop, the Virginia...

5.1.18 | Virginia Symphony Orchestra members help and inspire Berkeley musicians by Amelia Heymann editor's note: an earlier version of this story misidentified the VSO bassist Scott Harris. A man sits in front of an upright bass half his size, clearly...

By Dan Duke The Virginian-Pilot Apr 26, 2018 Updated Apr 26, 2018 The Virginia Symphony Orchestra’s matinee concert last year for senior citizens was such a success that it is expanding the concept to three performances this year. The Afternoon Encores...

NORFOLK, Va. - The kids at the Children's Hospital of the King's Daughters received a special visit on Friday. Concert members from the Virginia Symphony Orchestra set up a string quartet in the lobby and performed for children, parents and staff. They...

The Virginia Symphony Orchestra has announced the appointment of Chilean-born conductor Gonzalo Farias as its new assistant conductor The Virginia Symphony Orchestra in Virginia, United States, has today announced the appointment of Chilean-born...

Rashod Ollison The Virginian-Pilot Apr 17, 2018 JoAnn Falletta, the artistic leader of the Virginia Symphony Orchestra who put the organization on the national radar, announced today that she will conclude her tenure as music director in June 2020. The...

April 18, 2018 After 27 years as artistic leader of the Virginia Symphony Orchestra, JoAnn Falletta yesterday announced that she will conclude her tenure as Music Director in June of 2020, as the organization looks forward to its second century as one of...

By John Shulson April 17, 2018 While this year’s Virginia Arts Festival has been offering entertainment for months, April begins a constant flow of events, the opening of which kicked off Friday on a mighty musical note with its “Bernstein at 100.” The...

Rashod Ollison The Virginian-Pilot Leonard Bernstein forever changed music in the 20th century, his reach affecting pop, jazz, Broadway and classical. He was the first American to gain international fame as a conductor and composed accessible, often...

by Natalie Joseph JoAnn Falletta says she never will forget the masterclasses she took from legendary composer, conductor, author and music lecturer Leonard Bernstein. Falletta, the Grammy award-winning director of the Virginia Symphony Orchestra, studied...