As a warmup to the official start of the 2024-25 music season, the Virginia Symphony Orchestra is holding its always popular outdoor concert, “Once Upon a Symphony,” at the picturesque Lake Matoaka amphitheater on Aug. 30.
If you get a musical kick out of selections ranging from “Swan Lake” and “Man of La Mancha” to “Superman” and “Indiana Jones,” this will be guaranteed fun. Among other of the many selections anticipated will be Copland’s “Buckaroo Holiday” from “Rodeo,” Tchaikovsky’s “Suite from Swan Lake,” a portion of Handel’s “Royal Fireworks Music,” along with some Berlioz and Beethoven tossed into the musical mix. There will also be thematic selections from “Mission Impossible,” “Jurassic Park” along with a “Stevie Wonder Medley” and a “Tribute to John Williams.”
Conducting will be pianist and operatic coach Brandon Eldredge, who served as the Virginia Opera’s associate conductor and chorus master and guest and cover conductor for the VSO.
Beach chairs and blankets are welcome on the lawn, as are personal coolers and picnic baskets (no external alcoholic beverages or glass containers). Alcoholic and other beverages will be available for purchase inside the seating area.
Drivers are encouraged to park in the garage, somewhat adjacent to the Matoaka entrance, preferably after 5 p.m. Handicap spaces will be available in the School of Business parking lot, and golf carts will be available beginning at 6 p.m. for those with mobility issues.
The same program takes place Aug. 31 at Riverwalk Landing in Yorktown. Again, parking can be tricky, so get there early.
The actual VSO season kicks off Sept. 13 in the Ferguson Center for the Arts in Newport News with “Pictures at an Exhibition.” The 7:30 p.m. opener features Eric Jacobsen on the podium and Valerie Coleman and Mason Bates as guest artists.
Bates is a Grammy award-winning American composer of symphonic music and a DJ of electronic dance music. The first composer-in-residence of the Kennedy Center, he has held residences with the likes of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and San Francisco and Pittsburgh symphonies.
Press material describes his “Philharmonia Fantastique” as a collaborative creation for orchestra and animated film “… that flies through the instruments of the orchestra to explore the age-old connection of creativity and technology.”
Coleman is a composer and flutist and the genius behind the innovative Imani Winds (quintet). She has also been named Performance Today’s 2020 Classical Woman of the Year and “one of the top 35 women composers” by the Washington Post. Her “Fanfare for Uncommon Times” for brass and percussion opens the program. Although first heard in 2021, the general theme of disturbed times and hopefulness ring true today. It’s an interesting piece of moodiness, thoughtfulness, introspection and bursts of energy and sunlight. Hopefully the brass doesn’t cover the percussion, which has some really interesting work going on.
The showcase selection is the Mussorgsky-Ravel “Pictures at an Exhibition,” an always appealing work. As titled, it’s a musical visit to an art gallery that lushly creates visual imagery that is colorful and exciting.
For more information, visit virginiasymphony.org or call 757-892-6366.
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Williamsburg Artists Group to hold exhibit and reception
Members of the Williamsburg Artists Group will be showing their work at the Williamsburg Regional Library Gallery at the Stryker Center through Oct. 6.
About 50 local artists are participating in the exhibit, which opens today. All artwork is for sale.
“We are always excited to have such a beautiful, premier venue to display our artwork in and appreciate the library’s offering us the space,” said Kay Krapfl, one of the co-founders of the independent artist organization. “We’ve been told by art lovers and friends that they especially enjoy coming here, too.”
Visitors to the Stryker Center will find original artwork in a variety of styles and mediums that will appeal to a wide range of tastes. Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except for the weekend of Oct. 5-6 during Occasion for the Arts.
An opening reception for the public will be held Aug. 23 from 6 to 8 p.m. in the gallery. Light refreshments and non-alcoholic beverages will be served.
WAG can be contacted at Wbgartistsgroup.wag@gmail.com or found on Facebook at facebook.com/WilliamsburgArtistsGroup-WAG.
Have information about the arts in the Historic Triangle? Contact John Shulson at johnshulson@gmail.com.
