Vision Statement

Leading with artistic excellence, the Richmond Symphony will inspire and unite our community through the power of live music.

Mission Statement

The Richmond Symphony performs, teaches and champions music, to enrich and entertain communities throughout Virginia.

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 and the National Endowment for the Arts.

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 Youth Orchestra Program (YOP) 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. 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.

Genworth Financial Symphony Pops - The very best in symphonic entertainment – popular standards, a holiday tradition, and more – our POPS series at the Carpenter Theatre is perfect for the adventurous music lover.

Metro Collection - Intimate, engaging chamber orchestra concerts at Randolph-Macon College. 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.