Vision Pledge & RSO History

We, the Richmond Symphony, will be the organization to which our community will turn for outstanding and innovative concert experiences of symphonic music of all kinds. We will make every effort to educate, and be educated by, our constituents. We pledge to engage our community, to sustain and build the relationship among the musicians and our audiences, and to perform with an intensity and passion unlike that of any other orchestra.

History

The Richmond Symphony was founded in 1957 by a small, dedicated group of music-lovers who desired to provide Central Virginia with a professional orchestra. The Symphony performed only three concerts in its inaugural season; today, the orchestra makes more than 200 public appearances each season. We employ 36 core (full-time) and more than 40 part-time musicians, perform for approximately 125,000 patrons each season, and reach thousands more area residents through educational outreach programs and weekly radio broadcasts on WCVE-FM. As a nonprofit corporation, the Richmond Symphony is partially supported by the Virginia Commission for the Arts.

The Richmond Symphony is dedicated to achieving excellence in both contemporary and traditional symphonic repertoire. We incorporate classical, gospel, jazz, and contemporary and popular music into our repertoire, making good music interesting and accessible to everyone through multiple concert series, ticketed and free events.

Our roster of guest artists has included numerous internationally respected musicians such as Aretha Franklin, Marvin Hamlisch, Ani Kavafian, Chirstopher O’Riley, Elmar Olivera, Itzhak Perlman, Joseph Silverstein, Pink Martini, Jubilant Sykes, and André Watts.

The Symphony’s educational programs seek to foster and develop diverse, informed audiences who value live symphonic performances and music education in our community; to help nurture and develop young musicians; and to advocate for music education and orchestral music. We serve more than 35,000 area school-aged children each year through in-school ensemble performances and masterclasses, academically themed Discovery concerts, and our four Young Performers Program (YPP) youth orchestra ensembles. Because of our long history of providing music education services, and through our relationships with area schools, we are uniquely positioned to provide important enhancements to area schools’ own music programs.

We at the Symphony are proud of our more than 50 years of service to the community, and of the critical and popular recognition that many of our past programs have garnered - including 7 awards for adventurous programming from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP).

The Richmond Symphony is dedicated to achieving excellence in both contemporary and traditional symphonic repertoire. We incorporate classical, gospel, jazz, and contemporary and popular music into our repertoire, making good music interesting and accessible to everyone. Among our ticketed series are:

Altria Masterworks - Crafted with you in mind: the classical music explorer. Saturday nights and Sunday matinees at the Carpenter Theatre. Join the final stage of our Music Director Search.

Genworth Financial Symphony Pops - The very best in symphonic entertainment – popular standards, a holiday tradition, a night of Hitchcock and a four-time Grammy Award Winner – our POPS series at the Carpenter Theatre is perfect for the adventurous music lover.

Metro Collection - Intimate, engaging chamber orchestra concerts throughout metro Richmond. Music in your own backyard. Get up close and personal with the musicians of the Richmond Symphony.

LolliPops – Concerts for kids at the Carpenter Theatre are certain to bring out the kid in you. A fun introduction to the orchestra – perfect for families.