HAMPTON ROADS, VA – November 13, 2018 – Grammy-winning conductor and VSO Music Director JOANN FALLETTA leads the Virginia Symphony Orchestra in Winter Dreams: Classics for the Season, November 30 through December 2, as it kicks-off its popular holiday music season in Newport News and Virginia Beach. Joining the Orchestra as special guest soloist will be award-winning cellist JULIAN SCHWARZ.
Performances will be Friday, Nov. 30, 2018, 8 p.m., at Ferguson Center for the Arts, Newport News; and Sunday, Dec. 2, 2:30 p.m., at Sandler Center for the Performing Arts, Virginia Beach.
Tickets start at $25 and can be purchased by phone at: 757.892.6366 weekdays, online at:www.virginiasymphony.org or in person at the Virginia Symphony Box Office, 150 Boush Street, Suite 201, Norfolk, VA 23510 weekdays. Forgroup sales of 10 or more, call 757.213.1413.
Julian Schwarz will perform as soloist in Tchaikovsky’s delightful Rococo Variations, as well as Gabriel Faure’s exquisite Elegy for Cello and Orchestra, two masterpieces of the repertoire for cello. The major orchestral offering for the performances will be Nordic composer Jean Sibelius’ Symphony No. 5, as well as popular ballet music from Glazunov’s The Seasons, and Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker.
Julian Schwarz was born to a multigenerational musical family in 1991. Heralded from a young age as a cellist destined to rank among the greatest of the 21st century, Julian’s powerful tone, effortless virtuosity, and extraordinarily large color palate are hallmarks of his style.
In 2013 Schwarz won 1st prize in the professional cello division of the Schoenfeld International String Competition in Hong Kong, and in 2016 won 1st prize at the Boulder International Chamber Music Competition’s “The Art of Duo” with Canadian pianist Marika Bournaki.
After making his concerto debut at the age of 11 with the Seattle Symphony and his father Gerard Schwarz on the podium, he made his US touring debut with the Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra in 2010. Since then he has led an active career as soloist.
A devoted teacher, Schwarz serves as Asst. Professor of Cello at Shenandoah Conservatory of Shenandoah University (Winchester, VA). Other faculty appointments include the Eastern Music Festival (Greensboro, NC), Lunenburg Academy of Music Performance (Nova Scotia, Canada), and faculty teaching assistant to Joel Krosnick at The Juilliard School.
Schwarz studied at the Academy of Music Northwest, the Colburn School with Ronald Leonard, and received both BM and MM degrees from The Juilliard School where he studied with mentor Joel Krosnick. Schwarz plays on a Neapolitan cello made by Gennaro Gagliano in 1743.
The Norfolk Classics Series is sponsored by Norfolk Southern. Partial support is provided by the Business Consortium for Arts Support, Newport News Arts Commission, Virginia Beach Arts and Humanities Commission, and the Virginia Commission for the Arts.
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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.