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Virginia Symphony Orchestra

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Virginia Symphony Orchestra Presents 2024/25 Season

HAMPTON ROADS, VA [March 4, 2024] – The future of the VSO shines brightly. Today the Virginia Symphony Orchestra and Music Director, Eric Jacobsen announced details of the 2024/25 season. Patrons should look forward to a season full of joy, live music to enjoy together, and new voices such as Adrienne Warren and Aoife O’Donovan. With favorites like Beethoven’s Violin Concerto, Handel’s Messiah, and The Music of Star Wars. Alongside new additions such as Sanit-Saens Organ Symphony, Psycho in Concert, Rachmaninoff’s Second Symphony, and much more.

This season opens with Modest Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition where….(?) and our season closes with Mahler’s Ninth Symphony. This symphony has been called sublime, lush, and mind-blowing. It is, “one of the greatest accomplishments of humanity- on par with architectural masterpieces like the Taj Mahal and the Duomo in Florence,” says our Music Director, Eric Jacobsen.

“This season broadcasts that the orchestra truly is for everyone,” says VSO’s Chair of the Board, Tim Faulkner. “We strive for inclusivity and musical excellence and I believe this year’s program reflects that. We want to show respect for the classics while also looking to the future. We hope to capture the beauty of music this season by showcasing not only tried and true compositions, but also by performing world premiers and highlighting up-and-coming artists.

This year we are introducing Coffee Concerts! Coffee Concerts feature all the artistic mastery of the Virginia Symphony Orchestra, at a convenient time! Enjoy refreshments before the performance.

 

*Denotes a Coffee Concert and the pieces that will be played.

24/25 Season Planning

Opening Weekend: Pictures at an Exhibition

Friday, September 13, 2024, 7:30pm – Ferguson Center
Sunday, September 15, 2024, 2:30pm – Sandler Center
Eric Jacobsen, conductor

Valerie Coleman: Fanfare for Uncommon Times
Mason Bates: Philharmonia Fantastique
Modest Mussorgsky/Maurice Ravel: Pictures at an Exhibition

Beethoven’s Violin Concerto with Eric & Colin Jacobsen + COFFEE

Friday, September 20, 2024, 11am – Chrysler Hall*
Friday, September 20, 2024, 7:30pm – Chrysler Hall
Saturday, September 21, 2024, 7:30pm – Ferguson Center

Eric Jacobsen, conductor
Colin Jacobsen, violin

Ludwig van Beethoven: Coriolan Overture
Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony 4
Ludwig van Beethoven: Violin Concerto

Saint-Saëns’ Organ Symphony

Friday, October 18, 2024, 7:30pm – Ferguson Center
Saturday, October 19, 2024, 7:30pm – Chrysler Hall
Sunday, October 20, 2024, 2:30pm – Sandler Center

JoAnn Falletta, conductor
Brendon Elliott, violin
Virginia Symphony Orchestra Chorus

Lili Boulanger: Psalm 24
Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges: Violin Concerto in A major, Op.5 No 2
Camille Saint-Saëns: Symphony No. 3, “Organ”

Psycho in Concert: Film with Orchestra

Saturday, October 26, 2024, 7:30pm – Ferguson Center
Sunday, October 27, 2024, 2:30pm – Sandler Center

Enjoy Hitchcock’s timeless thriller projected on the big screen as the Virginia Symphony Orchestra performs Bernard Herrmann’s spine-tingling score live. Take in every twist and turn as Marion is plunged into a world of crime, suspense, and murder all set to one of the most iconic film scores of all time.

PBJ Halloween Spooktacular

Sunday, October 27, 2024, 3:00pm – Sandler Center

Helen Martell, conductor

Rachmaninoff’s Second Symphony

Friday, November 1, 2024, 7:30pm – Chrysler Hall
Saturday, November 2, 2024, 7:30pm – Ferguson Center
Sunday, November 3, 2024, 2:30pm – Sandler Center

Thomas Wilkins, conductor
Michelle Cann, piano

Maurice Ravel: Le Tombeau de Couperin
Franz Liszt: Piano Concerto No. 1
Sergei Rachmaninoff: Symphony No. 2

Appalachian Spring & Aoife O’Donovan + Coffee Concert*

*Friday, November 15, 2024, 11am – Ferguson Center
Friday, November 15, 2024, 7:30pm – Ferguson Center

Eric Jacobsen, conductor
Aoife O’Donovan, vocalist

Aaron Copland: Fanfare for the Common Man*
Aoife O’Donovan: America Come
Aaron Copland: Appalachian Spring*

A Gospel Christmas featuring a Tribute to Richard Smallwood

Saturday, December 7, 2024, 7:30pm – Chrysler Hall

Henry Panion, III, conductor
Gospel Choir led by Minister Earl Bynum

Holiday POPS!

Thursday, December 12, 2024, 7:30pm – Ferguson Center
Saturday, December 14, 2024, 7:30pm – Chrysler Hall
Sunday, December 15, 2024, 7:30pm – Sandler Center

Robert Shoup, conductor

Join us for the must-see holiday tradition of the season – Holiday POPS! There’s no better way to lift your spirits than with seasonal songs and traditional carols delivered in full sound and spectacle by the Virginia Symphony and special guests. Holiday POPS will have all the magical elements you’ve come to expect and more – high energy, familiar carols, and lots of holiday warmth! And we’ll even throw in a surprise or two! We can’t wait to celebrate the 2024 holiday season together!

PBJ: Jingle Bell Jam

Sunday, December 15, 2024, 3:00pm – Sandler Center

Helen Martell, conductor

Handel’s Messiah

Thursday, December 19, 2024 7:30pm – VB
Friday, December 20, 2024 7:30pm – First Baptist Church Newport News
Saturday, December 21, 2024 7:30pm – Harrison Opera House

Anthony Parnther, conductor

George Frideric Handel: Messiah

PBJ: Dancing Princesses

Sunday, January 26, 2025, 3:00pm – Sandler Center

Helen Martell, conductor

Dancing in the Street: The Music of Motown

Friday, January 31, 2025, 7:30pm – Chrysler Hall
Saturday, February 1, 2025, 7:30pm – Ferguson Center

Experience the magic of MOTOWN! This program features smash hits made famous by artists like Marvin Gaye, The Four Tops, Martha Reeves, Michael Jackson, Diana Ross, The Temptations, and the one and only Stevie Wonder. Songs include “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” “Reach Out I’ll Be There,” “Dancing In The Street,” “I Heard it Through The Grapevine,” “My Girl,” “Superstition” and more. You’ll be transformed by the powerful music of Motown with these authentic arrangements and exciting, young talented singers.

Piano Superstar Yuja Wang + Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake and Romeo & Juliet

Saturday, February 8, 2025, 7:30pm – Ferguson Center

 Eric Jacobsen, conductor
Yuja Wang, piano

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Selections from Swan Lake
Igor Stravinsky: Movements for Piano and Orchestra
Igor Stravinsky: Concerto for Piano and Wind Instruments
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Romeo and Juliet Overture-Fantasy
Igor Stravinsky: Capriccio for Piano and Orchestra

A Night Honoring Tina Turner with Adrienne Warren

Saturday, March 1, 2025, 7:30pm – Chrysler Hall

The Virginia Symphony Orchestra celebrates the legacy of the iconic Tina Turner and the countless artists she inspired with Adrienne Warren, Hampton Roads native and Tony Award winner for Tina: The Tina Turner Musical.

West Side Story Symphonic Dances + Coffee*

Friday, March 14, 2025, 11am – Ferguson Center
Friday, March 14, 2025, 7:30pm – Ferguson Center
Sunday, March 16, 2025, 2:30pm – Sandler Center

Eric Jacobsen, conductor
Michael Daniels, cello
Hurrah Players

Richard Strauss: Don Quixote *
Leonard Bernstein: Symphonic Dances from West Side Story
Maurice Ravel: La Valse

Mozart’s Jupiter Symphony

Friday, March 28, 2025, 7:30pm – Chrysler Hall
Saturday, March 29, 2025, 7:30pm – Ferguson Center
Sunday, March 30, 2025, 2:30pm – Sandler Center

Thomas Wilkins, conductor
Demarre McGill, flute

Missy Mazzoli: Sinfonia (for Orbiting Spheres)
C.P.E. Bach: Concerto for Flute in D minor
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Symphony No. 41, “Jupiter”

PBJ: Sleepover at the Museum

Sunday, April 6, 2025, 3:00pm – Sandler Center

Helen Martell, conductor

Symphonie Fantastique + Coffee*

*Friday, April 11, 2025, 11am – Ferguson Center
Friday, April 11, 2025, 7:30pm – Ferguson Center
Saturday, April 12, 2025, 7:30pm – Sandler Center

Eric Jacobsen, conductor
Virginia Symphony Orchestra Chorus

Anna Clyne: This Moment
John Adams: Harmonium
Hector Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique*

The Music of Star Wars

Saturday, May 3, 2025, 7:30pm – Ferguson Center
Sunday, May 4, 2025, 2:30pm – Sandler Center

Mahler’s Ninth Symphony

Friday, May 9, 2025, 7:30pm – Ferguson Center
Saturday, May 10, 2025, 2:30pm – Sandler Center

Gustav Mahler’s Ninth Symphony has been called sublime, lush, and mind-blowing. For Eric Jacobsen, Music Director of the Virginia Symphony Orchestra, it is “one of the greatest accomplishments of humanity—on par with architectural masterpieces like the Taj Mahal and the Duomo in Florence.” Recently diagnosed with a terminal heart condition, Mahler composed his Ninth Symphony, his final completed symphony, while confronting his own mortality. The emotional work takes the listener on a musical journey from the beauty of life to the tranquility of the great unknown. Don’t miss the opportunity to hear this monumental masterpiece LIVE with the Virginia Symphony Orchestra!

Co-presented with the Virginia Arts Festival

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 4, 2024

Contact: De'Jonna Mayo, Communications Manager
Phone: 757-213-1424
Email: dmayo@virginiasymphony.org

Twitter: @VASymphony
Facebook: facebook.com/virginiasymphony

Emmanual Losa

Emmanuel Losa

Cello

Born in 1998, Emmanuel Losa grew up in Marietta, Georgia to a Nigerian father and Jamaican mother. Starting his cello studies at the age of 12, he began to have an affinity for the orchestral world and later studying with the esteemed cellists of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, his primary instructor was Joel Dallow; in addition, studying with Dona Vellek (Assistant Principal Cello Emeritus) and Karen Freer (Assistant Principal Cello).

Emmanuel heavily enjoys studying various pieces of solo, chamber, and orchestral music, spending his summers at various festivals such as Bowdoin International Music Festival, Spoleto Festival USA, and Aspen Music Festival to name a few.

A student of Alan Stepansky at the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University, Emmanuel is pursuing an undergraduate cello performance degree in orchestral performance. He continues his studies with a focus on winning a position with a major orchestra.

Zacherie Small

Zacherie Small

Double Bass

After migrating from his native island of Barbados, Zacherie Small began his Double Bass studies the age of 19 with Jonathan Dadurka at Miami-Dade College where he graduated with a Associate of Arts in Music. Afterwards, he went on to study with Luis Gomez-Imbert at Florida International University where he now holds a Bachelor of Music in Double Bass Performance; Cum Laude, and a Masters of Music in Double Bass Performance. Also, recently graduated with his second Masters from Temple University studying with members of the Philadelphia Orchestra such as Nathaniel West, Joseph Conyers, and Robert Kesselman.

Small has performed with various orchestras. He is a member of the Miami Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Eduardo Marturet. He was also the Principal Double Bass of the Miami Chamber Orchestra under the direction of Jorge Vazquez. Small periodically performs with the Colour of Music Festival Orchestra.

Small has attended the Miami Summer Music Festival at Barry University for 3 years. During the festival, he has performed in many concerts with various conductors like Michael Rossi, Yuriy Bekker, Joel Smirnoff, David Efron, Stephanie Rhodes, and Steve Gruman. Also, participated in the Philadelphia International Music Festival to study with Nathaniel West and under the baton of Kensho Watanabe.

As well as being a performer, Small is the secondary music director South-Dade Middle School and does masterclasses at various schools in Miami, FL. He is also a teacher for the Artist of the Miami Music Project where he guides children in troubled neighborhoods to bring about social change, cultivate lessons, and run ensembles.

Tyler McKisson

Tyler McKisson

viola

Tyler McKisson is a 26-year-oldorchestral and freelance violist originally from Arvada, Colorado. He has recently received an Artist Diploma from The University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music as a Diversity Fellow where he regularly performed with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. McKisson received a Master’s degree in viola performance at the University of Colorado Boulder and a Bachelor’s degree in Viola Performance at the University of Northern Colorado with honors. McKisson’s musical career started at age ten when he joined his school’s string orchestra program and at age fourteen, he began his studies under his first private instructor, Brian Cook. McKisson has also studied under Christopher Luther, Anne Leilehua Lanzilotti, Erika Eckert, and Catharine Carroll Lees. He has played with several American orchestras including the Cheyenne Symphony with tenure, Atlanta Symphony, Kentucky Symphony, National Repertory Orchestra, and the Aspen Conducting Academy.

Camille Jones

Camille Jones

violin

A passionate collaborator and advocate for diversity in the arts, Camille has worked with various festival orchestras and chamber groups, including the National Orchestral Institute and Festival (NOI + F), Bowdoin International Music Festival, and Next Festival of Emerging Artists.

As a 2019 Sphinx Orchestral Futurist Fellow, she has helped commission works and curate a professional development workshop for K-12 students in Prince George’s County, Maryland.This project piloted what is now the K12 New Music Initiative, a commissioning project to expand the repertoire of K12 orchestras with music by BIPOC composers. In the Fall of 2018, she curated Voices Unheard, a concert series at UMD that celebrated works by women composers and composers of color. In addition, she had the opportunity to collaborate with esteemed cello professor Anthony Elliott for a concert series at the Kerrytown Concerthouse titled Passing the Torch in 2021 and 2022. Camille is establishing herself as a freelance artist in the Michigan area as well, having performed for singer Michael Bublé, rapper Big Sean and Darren Criss. She has also served as a teaching artist for the Detroit Symphony Orchestra’s Civic Youth Ensembles as well as the Sphinx Overture program in Detroit.

Camille received her B.M. in Violin Performance at the University of Maryland, College Park and a M.M. in Violin Performance from the University of Michigan, having studied under Danielle Belen.

Daphine Henderson

Daphine Henderson

bass

Daphine Henderson, a double bassist and vocalist in the DC metro area, completed her Master’s Degree in Double Bass Performance at the University of Maryland College Park in Spring 2023, where she also received two Bachelor’s Degrees in Music Performance with concentrations in Double Bass and Soprano Voice in Spring ’20. She was the first black woman to earn a Master’s Degree in Double Bass Performance at University of Maryland and the third black woman to receive a graduate degree in strings. Teaching herself the double bass at age 12, Daphine became extremely involved in music through her high school career, ranging from performing with the Maryland Senior All State Orchestra to being the drum major of her high school marching band. She is actively involved in the University of Maryland School of Music community, performing with numerous classical and wind ensembles.

Throughout her time at UMD, Daphine served as one of the ensemble assistants for the UMD Treble Choir, where she actively engaged with and lead her section. She sat as one of the student chairs and founding members of the School of Music’s IDEA Committee, which focuses on bringing diversity, accessibility, and inclusive engagement to the music community at College Park. Daphine is also a founding member of the PAGE (Project for All Gender Equality) for Bassists, where she spoke on a panel in the 2019 and 2021 International Society of Bassists conventions. Daphine teaches in Prince George’s County and Montgomery County, Maryland, and is an active strings coach for the Maryland Classic Youth Orchestra. Additionally, she teaches all string instruments, piano, and voice at Crescendo Studios in Falls Church, Virginia.

Daphine is taking steps in her musical career to create an impact and be an inspiration for younger musicians of color that would otherwise not have ample resources and opportunities to pursue their passion. Following the completion of her graduate degree, Daphine plans to continue establishing herself as an advocate through her performance and an arts administrator for underserved and minority musicians, while continuing to inspire others through her love for music.

Avery Robinson

Omari Imhotep Adbdul-Alim

Violin

Omari Imhotep Abdul-Alim is an accomplished violinist and educator with a Master of Music in Violin Performance from the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music and a Bachelor of Music from the University of Missouri-Kansas City. He is a dedicated instructor with extensive experience teaching violin to a diverse range of students, from young children to adults, in both individual and group settings.

Omari has also contributed significantly as a violin instructor and orchestral strings coach at the Academy for Discovery at Lakewood, as a member of VSO's first inaugural class of African American Fellowship.

In addition to his teaching accomplishments, Omari has an extensive performance background. He has been a substitute with VSO, New World Symphony, Chicago Civic Orchestra, and Sacramento Philharmonic & Opera. For the last year Omari has been an active performer in the San Diego area, playing with Coronado Philharmonia Orchestra, Poway Symphony Orchestra, the City Ballet of San Diego, La Jolla Symphony Orchestra and as resident violinist at First Lutheran Church of San Diego.

Omari is committed to enriching our musical education and performance landscape through his expertise and passion for music.

Avery Robinson

Avery Robinson

Cello

Avery Robinson grew up in Western Massachusetts where he was influenced by his parents’ love for jazz music. At the age of 10 he started playing piano and began learning bass when he was 12 years old. As a young musician, Avery’s passion for jazz persisted however, as he became exposed to the wonderful sounds of the symphony, his musical passion grew to include a second genre: classical music. After joining his high school orchestra, his career path was set.

Avery has studied at many top music schools such as the Eastman School of Music, The Hartt School of Music, and the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and has graduated with honors. His teachers include Rachel Calin, Albert Laszlo, and Robert Black. Avery has been a member of the Kentucky Symphony, and most recently, the Tulsa Symphony Orchestra. He has also worked as a substitute for the Amarillo Symphony and the Symphony of Northwest Arkansas. In addition to his orchestral career, Avery is also an accomplished recitalist, having performed many solo and chamber recitals at various venues such as the Chautauqua Institution and at the “Classical Revolution” Series in Cincinnati. His love for performing with others shows in his expressive and sometimes fervent style of playing.

Avery has other passions in addition to music. Firstly, he is a huge art and history buff and loves to frequent museums and galleries whenever he can. He is also a lover of sports and an avid golfer.