Category Archive: Press Releases

  1. Alexandria Symphony Presents Rite of Spring & Grieg Piano Concerto

    Comments Off on Alexandria Symphony Presents Rite of Spring & Grieg Piano Concerto

    Alexandria, VA— The Alexandria Symphony Orchestra will present its season finale entitled Awaken on Saturday, April 15, 2023 (7:30 p.m.) at the Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall and Arts Center.

    The program opens with Mojito con saoco by Cuban composer Guido Lòpez-Gavilàn. López-Gavilán was commissioned to write an overture by the Cuban American Youth Orchestra as a gift from CAYO to the city of Havana in honor of its 500th anniversary. The world premiere debuted in May 2019 prepared by ASO’s Music Director James Ross.

    The Rite of Spring was commissioned as one of three ballet scores for the 1913 season of the Ballets Russe. While its premiere created nothing short of a riot—complete with vegetables thrown at the musicians and dancers—today it is considered one of symphonic music’s most significant works. Stravinsky’s combination of complex rhythm, dissonance and Russian folk elements influenced later 20th century composers. It is frequently recorded and performed both with and without dancers; ASO’s April performance features only the music.

    “There are so many ways of thinking about the Rite of Spring,” says Maestro James Ross. “I’m asking myself, ‘What am I willing to lose to allow my future to thrive? What needs to go and what does that expulsion sound like?’ Stravinsky dreamed of an ancient tribal ritual. I hear a renewed future calling to us bracingly through notes that are still hard to predict even 110 years after they were penned.”

    Edvard Grieg’s only completed piano concerto will culminate the program. Among his earliest compositions, the composer incorporated motifs from his native Norway; its main theme has made it one of the most recognized and performed in the piano repertoire. Internationally renowned pianist Natalia Kazaryan will bring this passionate and unforgettable work to life.

    A sought-after soloist and recording artist, Natalia Kazaryan is dedicated to giving equal platform to female composers in her public appearances and notably curated and performed a recital of all women composers at the Smithsonian Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. A frequent collaborator with members of the National Symphony Orchestra, Ms. Kazaryan often appears at the Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage and in partnership with the orchestra’s performances at Howard University. Ms. Kazaryan is a recipient of the Sobresaliente Award from the hands of Queen Sofía of Spain for outstanding work and excellence. She holds an adjunct piano faculty position at Howard University, is a board member of the International Alliance for Women in Music and co-founded the Washington Arts Ensemble.

  2. Alexandria Symphony Presents Brandenburg & Blue

    Comments Off on Alexandria Symphony Presents Brandenburg & Blue

    Alexandria, VA— The Alexandria Symphony Orchestra will present a program entitled Brandenburg and Blue on Friday, March 10, 2023 (7:30 p.m.) at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church and Sunday, March 12, 2023 (3:00 p.m.) at Westminster Presbyterian Church. Under the direction of Music Director James Ross, members of the Alexandria Symphony Orchestra will present music by Bach, Handel and a world premiere by Jonathan Kolm.

    Since 2019, ASO has presented one or two of Bach’s Brandenburg suites in its annual chamber concert. This year’s edition, Brandenburg and Blue, weaves the element of water intertwined with the first concerto. The program includes Brandenburg Concerto No. 1 with principals from the orchestra as soloists. The concerto features hunting horns and several period instruments, including a harpsichord. Bach composed the six concertos as a pseudo-job application as a demonstration of his finest work, and they are still regarded as some of the foremost orchestral compositions from the Baroque era.

    The program features an excerpt from Handel’s Water Music Suite No. 1. Inspired by water, King George requested a series of pieces that could be performed on the river. The orchestra and attendees boarded barges, listening to the concert while floating downstream.

    “Water has been the literal lifeblood of Alexandria and its commerce since at least the 1700s, so a piece that was played on a barge in the Thames on a warm summer night in 1717 mixes compellingly with a new music that traces the path of today’s water through our city from rain, through clogs and solvency, purification, and finally renewal,” says Maestro James Ross.  “With the inclusion of horns and oboes in all pieces, this is a program that celebrates the wide openness of water and sound in ringing conversation.”

    The program also introduces the world premiere of The Ways of Water, commissioned by the ASO, sponsored by Virginia American Water, and composed by Alexandria-based composer Jonathan Kolm. The music of Jonathan Kolm has been performed across the United States and abroad, winning prizes and awards including the American Prize and the Swan Prize in Music Composition. In addition to his work as a composer and pianist, he teaches composition, piano and music theory at Northern Virginia Community College where he serves as Associate Professor and advocates for various environmental and social causes in the nation’s capital.

    “The Ways of Water is a musical reflection and meditation on how water affects us individually and collectively,” says Mr. Kolm. “Each of the five movements uses the water theme in different ways to give the listener a chance to reflect on what how we are all made of water, how we use it in our daily lives, and how it sustains the environments and communities we live in and depend on.”

  3. Alexandria Symphony Celebrates Strings with an American Premiere

    Comments Off on Alexandria Symphony Celebrates Strings with an American Premiere

    Alexandria, VA— The Alexandria Symphony Orchestra will present a program entitled Banner on Saturday, February 11, 2023 (7:30 p.m.) at the Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall and Arts Center and Sunday, February 12, 2023 (3:00 p.m.) at the George Washington Masonic Memorial.

    Lauded for his creativity and inventiveness, Jeffrey Ching completed Mozart’s unfinished Sinfonia Concertante by adding material from other works by the composer; ASO’s performance marks the first time this piece has been performed in the United States. The premiere will be paired with one of the most loved and greatest symphonies in the canon: Haydn’s Symphony No. 104 in D major. Commonly known as the London Symphony, it’s the last among his 12 symphonies composed for English audiences while in residence in London.

    “Begun in 1779, the Sinfonia Concertante’s 138 increasingly sparse bars were left dangling for a few centuries until my friend and composer Jeffrey Ching completed it with other movements by Mozart to constitute this American premiere,” says Maestro James Ross. “It’s brought lovingly to light for the first time in the U.S. by the estimable Thalea String Quartet, who specialize in bringing old and new together in genre-defying ways.”

    Barber’s Adagio for Strings transcends time and genre, composed as a movement for string quartet, extracted as an arrangement for string orchestra, and has since been adapted numerous times, including as a sacred vocal rendition. Commissioned for the 200th anniversary of The Star-Spangled Banner, Jessie Montgomery’s Banner incorporates her own complex relationship with the anthem while reflecting on the milestones and progress that our country has achieved over the last two centuries. Montgomery’s Banner and Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante feature members from Thalea String Quartet.

    The Thalea String Quartet brings their signature vibrancy and emotional commitment to dynamic performances that reflect the past, present, and the future of the string quartet repertoire while celebrating diverse musical traditions from around the world. Fueled by the belief that chamber music is a powerful force for building community and human connection, the Thalea String Quartet has performed across North America, Europe, and China. Christopher Whitley (violin) is originally from Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Kumiko Sakamoto (violin) is from Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada; Lauren Spaulding (viola) is from San Antonio, Texas; and Alex Cox (cello) is from West Palm Beach, Florida.

  4. Alexandria Symphony Invites You Home for the Holidays

    Comments Off on Alexandria Symphony Invites You Home for the Holidays

    Alexandria, VA— The Alexandria Symphony Orchestra will present a holiday program, “Jingle!” Saturday, December 17, 2022 (7:30 p.m.) at the Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall and Arts Center and Sunday, December 18, 2022 (3:00 p.m.) at the George Washington Masonic Memorial.

    On December 17, ASO welcomes back dancers from BalletNOVA to the Schlesinger stage where they will perform excerpts from Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker. Both Saturday and Sunday concerts will also include selections from Duke Ellington’s The Nutcracker Suite. Soprano Helena Colindres will sing traditional and popular holiday favorites: a Swedish carol, a selection from Handel’s Messiah and Mariah Carey’s All I Want for Christmas is You. Leroy Anderson’s A Christmas Festival, popular film scores, and an audience sing-along will add cheer to the season. The concerts are family-friendly, interactive and presented with no intermission. Parking is free at both of ASO’s conveniently-located venues.

    Helena Colindres is a nonbinary versatile vocalist, educator, and activist of Nawataketza ancestry. As a rising opera vocalist, they have performed roles such as die Königin from Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte, the Governess in Britten’s Turn of the Screw, and Despina in Mozart’s Cosi fan tutte. Helena is passionate about fighting for marginalized people and feels blessed that they get to build community through their art, teaching, and organizing every day.

    BalletNova Center for Dance has long been recognized as one of the premier dance training centers in the metropolitan Washington, D.C. region. The organization, now with over 1,300 students, is based on elements from the Royal Academy of Dance (RAD) and American Ballet Theatre National Training Curriculum syllabus across all levels of children’s pre-professional classical ballet curriculum.

    “Our special guests include both BalletNova creating some Nutcracker magic on the lip of our stage on Saturday, and the fabulous non-binary soprano of Salvadoran heritage, Helena Colindres, a recent graduate of the Peabody Institute and a rising superstar,” says ASO Music Director James Ross.  “Helena can, does, and will sing anything! Beloved Lester Green will be our narrator for The Night Before Christmas in a new mashup with a theme from Harry Potter. Jingle indeed!”

    Adult prices for single tickets start at $20, and all tickets for youth are priced at $5, making ASO concerts affordable for families. Military, senior and group discounts are also available in select sections. Seating is very limited at the George Washington Masonic Memorial and is almost sold out, so book your tickets early.

  5. Alexandria Symphony Presents Scheherazade

    Comments Off on Alexandria Symphony Presents Scheherazade

    Alexandria, VA—Under the direction of Music Director James Ross, the Alexandria Symphony Orchestra presents Scheherazade – Afghan Days, Arabian Nights on Saturday, November 12, 2022, at 7:30 p.m. (Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall and Arts Center) and Sunday, November 13, 2022, at 3:00 p.m. (George Washington Masonic Memorial).

    ASO performs Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s musical epic Scheherazade, derived from four stories from One Thousand and One Nights, a collection of ancient Middle Eastern narratives. Scheherazade as the sultan’s queen is portrayed by the solo violin, its hauntingly exotic melody weaves throughout the piece as each story is told. John Williams’ Adventures on Earth from E.T. the Extraterrestrial opens this adventuresome program.

    Two new Alexandrians from Afghanistan—Hamid Habib Zada and Negin Khpalwak—bring their artistry to the ASO stage through these performances. The musicians recently located to Alexandria after fleeing from Afghanistan during the fall of 2021. Hamid is featured on tabla (a pair of hand drums evolved from the Indian subcontinent) for Dinuk Wijeratne’s Tabla Concerto. Negin will conduct two songs by Afghanistan’s “Elvis,” Ahmad Zahir: Farwardin and Zindegi Akhair Sarayat.

    Hamid has played tabla throughout Afghanistan, Turkmenistan and the United States, recently performing at Lincoln Center as part of Summer in the City. He taught music while in Herat and studied at the Agha Khan Music School and the Afghanistan Institute of Music in Kabul.

    Negin is the first Afghan female conductor leading Zohra, the first orchestra in Afghan history composed of only women. She has performed with Zohra in India and Europe and in the United States playing sarod (a stringed Hindustani instrument). She remains deeply connected to her colleagues and to the plight of women in present-day Afghanistan.

    Through a generous contribution of $5,000 from Walmart’s Community Grant program, tickets will be provided to Afghan refugees at no cost to attend Saturday’s performance. Walmart stores 5753, 2194 and 2258, all located in Alexandria, played leadership roles.

    “The plight of those arriving from Afghanistan with nothing but the clothes on their back and the terrifying turn of fate for Afghan women called out for an artistic and human response,” says Music Director James Ross. “Hamid and Negin hail from a culture where making music can be a life-or-death decision. We are honored to have them join the ASO in pieces that embody the richness of Eastern music.”

  6. Alexandria Symphony Orchestra Performs Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with New English Text

    Comments Off on Alexandria Symphony Orchestra Performs Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with New English Text

    Alexandria, VA—Under the direction of Music Director James Ross, the Alexandria Symphony Orchestra opens its 2022-2023 season on October 1 and 2, 2022 with Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony (Ode to Joy). The concert is presented in partnership with the Coalition for African Americans in the Performing Arts (CAAPA) and features the Fairfax Choral Society with Chorus Master Victoria Gau.

    Beethoven’s magnus opus takes on new life with ASO’s contemporary performance of a new English text by former U.S poet laureate and Pulitzer prize-winner Tracy K. Smith. Ms. Smith’s text shines new light for our times just as Beethoven’s interpretation brought relevance to Schiller’s original poem.

    Soloists appear courtesy of CAAPA, the Washington, D.C. based nonprofit seeking to create performance opportunities for African American performing artists and provide a platform to give back to their community, their motto being “Bring color to the classics!” This collaboration was born nearly two years ago when the ASO originally scheduled the monumental program for the 2020-2021 (postponed) season.

    “This beautiful collaboration with CAAPA, the Fairfax Choral Society, our four wonderful soloists, and the ASO is something I’ve been looking forward to since before COVID made our lives so challenging,” says Maestro James Ross. “We at the ASO do our best to remove any barriers to the vital impact of great music from the past, so I’m especially proud to include Tracy K. Smith’s inventive adaptation; her re-imagining has captured a fresh and true sense of joy for our times—unabashed and complex.”

    The quartet featured in the Ninth Symphony features world-class vocalists. Tenor Rodrick Dixon has graced the stages of the Los Angeles Opera, Ravinia Festival, Atlanta Symphony and Sydney Arts Festival as well as appeared in several PBS specials. Soprano Dara Rahming has performed roles with the Washington National Opera and the New York-Harlem world tour. Mezzo-soprano Marquita Raley-Cooper has debuted at Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center and has appeared at Jazz at Lincoln Center. Baritone Daniel Rich has appeared with Opera Delaware, Maryland Opera and The Spoleto Festival; he appears by kind permission of The Metropolitan Opera Lindermann Young Artist Development Program. Mr. Rich and Ms. Raley-Cooper are CAAPA alumni.

    “This historic collaboration is a hallmark of ASO’s commitment to broadening our reach and deepening the relevance to our entire community, bringing great music to new listeners,” says ASO Executive Director George Hanson.

  7. Alexandria Symphony Orchestra Performs for Alexandria Birthday Celebration

    Comments Off on Alexandria Symphony Orchestra Performs for Alexandria Birthday Celebration

    Alexandria, VA—Alexandria Symphony Orchestra will present a free concert as part of the 273rd Alexandria Birthday Celebration on Saturday, July 9, 2022. The celebration, sponsored by the city and coordinated by the Department of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities, culminates with fireworks underscored by additional music from the orchestra.

    The concert will include music by Copland, the Armed Forces Medley, film scores, patriotic favorites and highlights from ASO’s upcoming season. The grand finale will feature a spectacular fireworks display, accompanied by other patriotic tunes. The event will include all the elements of the celebration from years past with vendors, food trucks, and cupcakes.

    “The ASO is thrilled to bring this tradition back in full force to the City of Alexandria,” says Music Director James Ross. “With musical works celebrating both our history and diversity, it will be a program that touches hearts—fanfares, patriotic fare, Sousa marches. What a delight to present the orchestra again with the celebration in its grandest form!”

    As ASO partners in the celebration, the symphony thanks its concert sponsors: McEnearney Associates Realtors; Renner & Company, CPA; Caudron Megary Blackburn Wealth Management; Chadwicks; Jack Taylor’s Alexandria Toyota; MT Dental Partners; and Burke & Herbert Bank.

    “Music has the power to bring us together,” says ASO Executive Director George Hanson. “We mark significant moments in our lives and in our history with music that has special meaning and importance.”

    The Alexandria Birthday Celebration is free and open to the public in Oronoco Bay Park, 100 Madison Street, Alexandria. The park opens at 6:00 p.m. with food vendors and announcements beginning at 7:30 p.m.; the ASO’s concert begins at 8:30 p.m. with fireworks at 9:30 p.m.

  8. Alexandria Symphony Announces 2022-2023 Season: Of Songs and Tales

    Comments Off on Alexandria Symphony Announces 2022-2023 Season: Of Songs and Tales

    Alexandria, VA—The Alexandria Symphony Orchestra announces its 2022-2023 Season led by Music Director James Ross. The five programs offer new collaborations, great masterworks, selections from living composers, soloists from diverse backgrounds and a timely new text for a centuries-old “Ode to Joy.”

    The season launches on October 1 and 2, 2022 with Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 (Ode to Joy). The ASO is joined by members of the Fairfax Choral Society, Northern Virginia Community Chorus and the Northern Virginia Chorale, with Chorus Director Thomas Colohan. Vocal soloists Dara Rahming, Marquita Raley-Cooper, Rodrick Dixon and Daniel Rich appear in collaboration with the Coalition for African Americans in the Performing Arts (CAAPA). The performances will feature a new English text by former U.S. poet laureate and Pulitzer prize-winner Tracy K. Smith. The program opens with Ralph Vaughan Williams’ ethereal Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis.

    ASO performs Rimsky-Korsakov’s musical epic Scheherazade on November 12 and 13, 2022. Two new Alexandrians from Afghanistan—Hamid Habib Zada and Negin Khpalwak—bring their artistry to ASO stage with Dinuk Wijeratne’s Tabla Concerto and two songs by Afghanistan’s “Elvis,” Ahmad Zahir: Farwardin and Zindegi Akhair Sarayat. John Williams’ Adventures on Earth from E.T. the Extraterrestrial rounds out this adventuresome program.

    ASO’s holiday celebration, December 17 and 18, 2022, features dancers from BalletNOVA in excerpts from Tchaikovsky’s beloved Nutcracker. Soprano Helena Colindres brings traditional holiday favorites and some Latin surprises. Favorites from Händel’s Messiah and an audience sing-along will add cheer to the season.

    The Thalea String Quartet headlines on February 11 and 12, 2023 with Jessie Montgomery’s inspiring Banner and the American premiere of a newly completed work of Mozart: Sinfonia Concertante. Samuel Barber’s Adagio for Strings evokes anguish resolving to harmonious peace. The program concludes with Haydn’s last and greatest symphonic work, Symphony No. 104 (London).

    For the season finale, a single performance on April 15, 2023, Maestro Ross pairs two of the most popular works in the symphonic repertoire: Stravinsky’s breathtaking ballet Rite of Spring recalls ancient Russian rituals, and pianist Natalia Kazaryan, a native of the Republic of Georgia, brings her virtuosity and lyricism to Grieg’s Piano Concerto. Guido López-Gavilán’s Mojito con saoco, commissioned by the Cuban American Youth Orchestra, is a spicy take on Hemingway’s favorite cocktail.

    Both October performances and all Saturdays will be held at the Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall and Arts Center. Sunday matinees in November, December, February will be held at the George Washington Masonic Memorial. Subscription packages start at $86 for five concerts. Adult prices for single tickets start at $20; $5 for youth and $15 for students. Military, senior and group discounts are also available. Subscriptions available now; single tickets on sale July 1, 2022.

  9. Shenandoah Pianist Wins SOLA Scholarship

    Comments Off on Shenandoah Pianist Wins SOLA Scholarship

    Alexandria, VA—The Symphony Orchestra League of Alexandria (SOLA) has awarded the 2022 Mary Graham Lasley Scholarship to Noah Hardaway, a graduate student of piano performance at Shenandoah University in Winchester.

    Hardaway performed Piano Concerto No. 3, Op. 26 by Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev before judges and audience at the Performing Arts Center on the campus of the Northern Virginia Community College in Alexandria, VA. The $2,500 scholarship was one of three awarded in the competition on March 20, 2022.

    Bailey Hobbs, a sophomore piano student at American University in Washington, D.C., won the second-place award of $2,000 for his performance of Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg’s Piano Concerto in A minor.

    Cellist Logan Madrid, a student at Northern Virginia Community College, performed Élégie, Op. 24 by French composer Gabriel Fauré and won a $1,500 scholarship to continue his studies.

    SOLA has conducted the scholarship competition for over 40 years. The scholarships and compensation for three academic music judges are funded through a trust fund established in the 1980s in memory of Mary Graham Lasley, an active supporter of the Alexandria Symphony.

    The 2020 and 2021 competitions were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Previous scholarship winners have competed from East Coast and midwestern music departments, including the University of Maryland, the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, the Juilliard School, George Mason University, James Madison University, and the University of North Carolina.

    “SOLA is very proud of the success of the MGL scholarship, which is very well regarded and well known in music departments at colleges in the East and Midwest,” says the chair of the competition, Sharon Walker. MGL contestants must be from Virginia, Maryland or the District of Virginia. Several winners have performed with the Alexandria Symphony.

    SOLA announces the Mary Graham Lasley Competition date at the start of the fall academic year and makes the application forms available online after December 1 on the ASO website.

  10. Alexandria Symphony Presents Barber & Brahms and a World Premiere

    Comments Off on Alexandria Symphony Presents Barber & Brahms and a World Premiere

    Alexandria, VA—The Alexandria Symphony Orchestra , under the direction of Music Director James Ross, presents Barber & Brahms with violinist Dylana Jenson on Saturday, April 23, 2022 (7:30 p.m.) at the Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall and Arts Center and Sunday, April 24, 2022 (3:00 p.m.) at the George Washington Masonic Memorial.

    Dylana Jenson, hailed for her lyrical playing and sizzling virtuosity, has performed with major orchestra throughout the United States, Europe, Australia, Japan and Latin America. She was the youngest and first American woman to win the Silver Medal in the Tchaikovsky Competition and made her debut at Carnegie Hall with the Philadelphia Orchestra. Samuel Barber’s Violin Concerto, an iconic American work, provides the ideal vehicle for Jenson’s radiant sound as it moves from lyricism to pyrotechnics.

    Johannes Brahms’ monumental Symphony No. 1 stands among the most popular and important works of music’s Romantic era. From the symphony’s dramatic opening chords to the stirring and triumphant finale, Brahms draws the listener into his world of melody and romance.

    Saturday’s performance features students from ASO’s award-winning education program, Sympatico, in the world premiere of a work commissioned by Classical Movements’ Eric Daniel Helms New Music Program. Titled Tribute, the work places students alongside ASO’s professional musicians for an extraordinary musical experience. Composer Brian Prechtl, principal percussionist of the Baltimore Symphony, was inspired by Beethoven with motives of fate, beauty and triumph as he worked with students to create the work.

    Audience members, musicians, staff, and volunteers are required to wear a mask while inside the hall and during performances. Vaccinations for COVID-19 are not longer required but strongly recommended. Alexandria Symphony Orchestra is committed to providing a safe concert environment for our patrons, musicians and staff. Schlesinger Concert Hall recently installed a state-of-the-art ventilation system. ASO will communicate with ticket buyers well in advance of each performance to establish what specific safety measures will be required to attend.

    Both venues are currently operating at 100%. Seating is very limited at the George Washington Masonic Memorial, so book your tickets early.