HAMPTON ROADS, VA [APRIL 13, 2018] – The Virginia Symphony Orchestra announced today its programming for the 2018-19 Regent Classics Series.
“As we embark on the 2018-19 season, we look forward to expanding the depth of knowledge of classical music to our audiences.” Karen Philion, President and CEO stated. “Our concerts will be more interactive, more innovative, and more visionary, but with the same exquisite music you know and love. From the music of South America to Beethoven and Mozart, we surely have something for everyone.”
The series being Thursday, November 15 with Latin Spirit. This dynamic, colorful program highlights some familiar and some not-so-familiar works by composers hailing from Spain, Chile, and Argentina. The lush, whimsical sound of Soro’s Three Chilean Aires will sweep you away. The romantic tangos of Piazzolla’s Four Seasons of Buenos Aires featuring Concertmaster Vahn Armstrong will leave your heart racing and toes tapping. Then we dive into de Falla’s Three Cornered Hat Suite No. 1 with its lively characters and drama, followed by Ginastera’s folkloric and expressive Concert Variations.
The second concert in the series, Hallelujah, is our time-honored Christmas tradition of George Frideric Handel’s revered oratorio, Messiah. Led by Music Director JoAnn Falletta, this performance will be on Thursday, December 13.
The first concert of the new year is on Friday, February 1, 2019 and is centered around the concept of identity and the risks involved in being true to one’s self. The concert opens with an overture to Beethoven’s only opera, Fidelio, in which Leonore must disguise herself as a prison guard to rescue her husband. George Corbett performs the Concertino for English Horn by Italian composer Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari. Then, Copland’sQuiet City, featuring VSO principal trumpet David Vonderheide and English horn George Corbett. This piece represents a character from the Shaw play of the same name, who abandons his heritage and dreams in exchange for his material wealth and success. The program concludes with Beethoven’s Symphony No. 8, full of joy despite the loss of his hearing.
The final concert of the series, Artistic Innovations, is a celebration of innovation, examining works in which each composer borrows classic forms and makes them new. The concert, schedules for Friday, March 15, 2019, opens with Brahms’ Variations on a Theme of Haydn – often said to be the first independent set of variations for orchestra in the history of music. The concert then shifts to Mozart’s lovely Concerto for Flute, Harp, and Orchestra, featuring VSO principal musicians Debra Wendells Cross and Barbara Chapman. The second half opens with Puccini’s dark-hued, melodic Chrysanthemums. We close with Stravinsky’s neoclassical masterpiece, Pulcinella. This suite is from a one-act ballet with original costumes.
Single tickets go on sale in July, 2018. Subscriptions are available for purchase by section. A-section seats are $156 and B-section seats are $90 for the series. To purchase, call 757.892.6366, visit www.virginiasymphony.org or stop by the Virginia Symphony Box Office at 150 Boush Street, Suite 201, Norfolk, VA 23510 from 9 a.m. – 4:30 p.m., Monday – Friday. For group sales of 10 or more, call 757.213.1436
The Regent University Classics Concert Series is sponsored by Regent University.
SEASON AT A GLANCE
Latin Spirit
Thursday, November 15, 2018 | 8PM
Vahn Armstrong, violin
Soro: Tres aires chilenos
Piazzolla: Cuatro Estaciones Porteñas
de Falla: El Sombrero de tres picos, Suite No. 1
Ginastera: Variaciones concertantes
Hallelujah
Thursday, December 13, 2018 | 8PM
JoAnn Falletta, conductor
Virginia Symphony Orchestra Chorus
Robert Shoup, chorusmaster
Handel: Messiah
Beethoven Symphony No. 8
Friday, February 1, 2019 | 8PM
George Corbett, English horn
David Vonderheide, trumpet
Beethoven: Leonore Overture No. 3
Wolf-Ferrari: Concertino for English Horn
Copland: Quiet City
Beethoven: Symphony No. 8
Artistic Innovations
Friday, March 15, 2019 | 8PM
JoAnn Falletta, conductor
Debra Wendells Cross, flute
Barbara Chapman, harp
Brahms: Variations on a Theme of Haydn
Mozart: Concerto for Flute, Harp, and Orchestra K. 299
Puccini: Chrysanthemums
Stravinsky: Pulcinella Suite
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Under the leadership of GRAMMY-winning music director JoAnn Falletta, the Virginia Symphony Orchestra is Virginia’s preeminent professional symphony orchestra with a mission of inspiring, educating and connecting audiences of all ages.
Founded in 1921, it is ranked in the top ten percent of professional orchestras nationwide and serves the entire Southeastern Virginia region with Classics, Pops and Family concert series in Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Newport News and Williamsburg as well as performances in outlying Virginia and North Carolina communities, reaching nearly 150,000 concert-goers every year. Additionally, the orchestra annually reaches 45,000 children, students and lifelong learners with its education and community programs. The Virginia Symphony has performed at Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center and is the cornerstone of the performing arts in Hampton Roads.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 13, 2018
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