Virginia Symphony Orchestra Presents Russian Fireworks!

Hampton Roads, VA (September 16, 2016) – The Virginia Symphony Orchestra is opening its 96th classics season with virtuosity and fireworks as Music Director JoAnn Falletta brings music from the magical worlds of Russian opera and ballet in Russian Fireworks!

The concert begins with the Polovtsian Dance from Alexander Borodin’s opera, Prince Igor, one of the most notable and celebrated melodies in classical music; incorporated into Strangers in Paradise from the 1953 musical, Kismet.

Following the Polovtsian Dance is Stravinsky’s exotic Petrouchka, first performed for Sergei Diaghilev’s Ballet Russes at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris in 1911.

Finally, enjoy the performance of the young and talented virtuoso, Conrad Tao, who joins the Virginia Symphony to perform Rachmaninoff’s dazzling Piano Concerto No. 3, which is considered to be one of the most difficult piano concertos.

Born in Urbana, Illinois, Conrad Tao is a recognized pianist and composer. Tao performs at recitals in the United States and Europe, and with various orchestras throughout the United States and worldwide.

Tao has received numerous awards including an Avery Fisher Career Grant and eight consecutive ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer Awards. Tao was also named a Presidential Scholar in the Arts by the White House Commission on Presidential Scholars and the Department of Education in June of 2011.

Performances are Friday, September 23 at 8 p.m. at the Ferguson Center for the Arts in Newport News, Saturday, September 14 at 8 p.m. at Chrysler Hall in Norfolk, and Sunday, September 25 and 2:30 p.m. at the Sandler Center for the Performing Arts in Virginia Beach.

Prices range from $25-$110, and $10 student tickets are available with a valid student ID. Tickets can be purchased by visiting www.virginiasymphony.org, by calling 757.892.6366 or visiting the VSO offices located at 150 Boush Street, Suite 201, Norfolk, VA 23510 between 9 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday-Friday.

The Norfolk Classics Series is sponsored by Norfolk Southern.

Under the leadership of GRAMMY-winning music director JoAnn Falletta, the Virginia Symphony Orchestra is Virginia’s pre-eminent 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.

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