M E D I A  A D V I S O R Y

February 7, 2017 – Richmond, Virginia Music Director Steven Smith and Executive Director David Fisk are pleased to announce the 2017-18 Season of the Richmond Symphony. The 60^th Anniversary Season features a great line-up of concerts, events and world-class soloists, beginning with a special Opening Night concert with pianist Lang Lang.

“I am very excited about our 60^th anniversary season, which brings together numerous celebratory features. World-famous soloists like Lang Lang, favorite orchestral show pieces, topically important and thought-provoking themes, Pops and LolliPops loaded with fun; all make up programs that blend styles and eras. This wide range of activity, both in the Carpenter Theatre and throughout our community highlights the reach of the Richmond Symphony in its next generation.”
says Music Director Steven Smith.

Richmond Symphony Executive Director David Fisk adds “The Richmond Symphony’s 60^th Anniversary Season is designed to be a year-long festival of music at its finest, performed in settings that celebrate past, present and future. The artists featured are some of the best in their field in the world, opening with the incomparable pianist Lang Lang, including Time for Three on our 60^th birthday, and closing with a commission from Richmond’s own Mason Bates, in a world première performance. In showcasing RVA as a city of great music of all kinds, we’re delighted to partner for the first time with The Broadberry to present some stellar Richmond musicians onstage with the Richmond Symphony as part of our Pops Series, as we revel in our ongoing partnerships with other Richmond arts institutions including VMFA, VCUArts, the Richmond Ballet and Virginia Opera. We thank the signature sponsors of our Diamond Anniversary festivities – especially Altria and the E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation – and welcome all Richmond to join us at the Carpenter Theatre, under our Big Tent, and in venues around town for a season that will be talked about for many years to come.”
Highlights of the season include:

1. An Opening Night concert featuring world-renowned pianist Lang Lang on Thursday, Sept. 14, 2017 at 8pm, presented in association with the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.
2. A concert celebrating the Richmond Symphony’s 60^th Anniversary with Time for Three on Saturday, Oct. 28, 2017 at 8pm, in partnership with VCU Arts Department of Music.
3. Mason Bates: World Première Commission with the Richmond Symphony Chorus on Saturday, May 12, 2018 at 8pm.

On his new work, Mason Bates writes “Virginia has always existed at the crossroads of American history, from Native Americans to colonialists to soldiers in the Revolution and the Civil War.  This large new work explores the magnificent tapestry of history that has shaped the state and its people, featuring a setting of texts that illustrate events that range from the inspiring to the frightening, from the beautiful to the visceral.  Scored for chorus, orchestra, and electronics, the piece is shaped by Bates’ upbringing and musical education in Richmond, where he studied choral music and composition at St. Christopher’s School.”

4. A special collaboration with The Broadberry titled “Broadberry Presents: RVA LIVE!” with artists Matthew E. White, Natalie Prass, Tim Barry, Bio Ritmo and Clair Morgan on Saturday, Sept. 23, 2017 at 8pm.

“The idea of RVA Live! is something I’ve been contemplating for some time and I am excited that the right partnership has presented itself.” says The Broadberry’s Lucas Fritz. “With the help and guidance from the good people at the Richmond Symphony, it is finally happening. It is truly an honor to help curate such a special night of music with the talented artists involved. I had the pleasure of working on Matthew E. White and Natalie Prass’ debut albums here in town. All the other bands I hold near and dear to my heart as they’ve really helped make The Broadberry and The Camel the wonderful venues that they have become over the past eight years. Bringing together all the different genres on one stage, especially Carpenter Theatre with the Richmond Symphony, is going to be truly amazing.”

5. As part of the 60^th Anniversary celebration, the Symphony will present The Music of Billy Joel featuring Michael Cavanaugh, the artist hand-picked by Billy Joel to become the next “Piano Man” on Saturday, Jan. 27, 2018 at 8pm.

6. Other Altria Masterworks concerts will feature Mozart’s Mass in C Minor with the Richmond Symphony Chorus; A New Year in Vienna with the Virginia Opera Emerging Artists and Richmond Symphony Chorus; Remembering 1968: A Tribute to MLK with University Choruses from across Virginia and members of the Richmond Symphony Chorus; Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition, Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G Major featuring pianist Ian Parker, Dvořák’s New World Symphony and Brahms’ Concerto for Violin and Cello in A Minor featuring Richmond Symphony musicians Daisuke Yamamoto (violin, Concertmaster) and Neal Cary (Principal cello).
7. Additional Symphony Pops concerts include Motown’s Greatest Hits with the Motortown All-Stars featuring music from The Temptations, The Miracles, Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder and our annual holiday favorite “Let It Snow!” with the return of conductor Erin R. Freeman and a return appearance by Susan Greenbaum.
8. The Union Bank & Trust LolliPops season begins with Superhero Halloween, a concert featuring music based on superheroes; the annual family tradition and beloved animated film The Snowman; An American in Paris with The School of Richmond Ballet; and the return of Really Inventive Stuff’s Michael Boudewyns for Peter and the Wolf.

9. After a second season of sold-out performances, the Symphony will team up again with Hardywood Park Craft Brewery for one-hour, Thursday evening Rush Hour concerts.
10. Randolph-Macon College will continue to host the Metro Collection series. This season features guest soloists Molly Sharp (viola) and Zachary Guiles (trombone), plus popular chamber pieces from Beethoven, Clarke, Salieri, Mozart, Schubert, Handel, Prokofiev and many more.

11. The Casual Fridays Series is the perfect start to the weekend. Relax with a drink and let the evening’s host and conductor take you behind the scenes of the music. Afterward, head to an exclusive happy hour with Symphony musicians.

(Full list of concerts and dates listed below)

Leading the artistic team this year will be Steven Smith, the Lewis T. Booker Music Director Chair; Chia-Hsuan Lin, the Associate Conductor and Jack & Mary Ann Frable Associate Conductor Chair; and Dr. Erin R. Freeman, Director of the Richmond Symphony Chorus and James Erb Choral Chair.

To ensure that the Symphony is accessible to people of all ages, child tickets to Altria Masterworks and Casual Friday performances are free to individuals 17 and under. (Does not include Opening Night with Lang Lang on September 14, 2017.)

Altria Masterworks Series

The Altria Masterworks series features celebrated guest artists and the great works from the classical repertoire. All Altria Masterworks concerts take place at the Dominion Arts Center’s Carpenter Theatre.
We are grateful for the support from our Masterworks series sponsor Altria.

Masterworks 1

Thursday, Sept. 14, 2017 at 8pm

Opening Night with Lang Lang

Steven Smith, conductor

Cabell Fund for Artistic Excellence
Presented in association with Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
Sponsored by Covington Travel

Kay                              Theater Set for Orchestra (Overture)

Strauss                         Ein Heldenleben (A Hero’s Life)

Beethoven                    Piano Concerto No. 5 (Emperor)


Masterworks 2

Saturday, Oct. 28, 2017 at 8pm

60th Anniversary with Time for Three

Steven Smith, conductor

Rennolds Memorial Concert
In partnership with VCU Arts Department of Music

Guest Artists sponsored by RiverFront Investment Group

Stucky                          Jeu de timbres

Chris Brubeck               Travels in Time for Three

Bartók                          Concerto for Orchestra

Masterworks 3

Saturday, Nov. 11, 2017 at 8pm and Sunday, Nov. 12, 2017 at 3pm
Mozart: Mass in C Minor

Steven Smith, conductor

Richmond Symphony Chorus

Wagner                         Tristan und Isolde: Prelude

Tchaikovsky                  Romeo and Juliet Overture-Fantasy

Mozart                          Mass in C Minor, K. 427

Masterworks 4

Saturday, Jan. 13, 2018 at 8pm and Sunday, Jan. 14, 2018 at 3pm
A New Year in Vienna

Steven Smith, conductor

Virginia Opera Emerging Artists

Richmond Symphony Chorus

Suppé                          Poet and Peasant Overture

Mahler                          Excerpts from Des Knaben Wunderhorn

Strauss, Jr.                   Overture to The Gypsy Baron

Voices of Spring

Pleasure Train Polka

On the Beautiful Blue Danube

Masterworks 5

Saturday, Feb. 3, 2018 at 8pm and Sunday, Feb. 4, 2018 at 3pm

Remembering 1968: A Tribute to MLK

Steven Smith, conductor

Members of Richmond Symphony Chorus

University Choruses from across Virginia

Mary Watkins                            Excerpts from Five Movements in Color

Jonathan Bailey Holland             Equality

Beethoven                                Choral Fantasy

Moore                                       Excerpts from Scenes from the Life of a Martyr

Masterworks 6

Saturday, March 10, 2018 at 8pm

Pictures at an Exhibition

Danail Rachev, guest conductor

Ian Parker, piano

Florence Robertson Givens Guest Artist

Britten                           Sinfonia da requiem, Op. 20

Ravel                            Piano Concerto in G Major

Mussorgsky                  Pictures at an Exhibition

Masterworks 7

Saturday, April 21, 2018 at 8pm and Sunday, April 22, 2018 at 3pm

New World Symphony

Steven Smith, conductor

Daisuke Yamamoto, violin

Neal Cary, cello

Thomas P. Bryan, Jr. Guest Artists

Kaprálová                     Suita Rustica

Brahms                         Concerto for Violin and Cello in A Minor, Op. 102

Dvořák                         Symphony No. 9 in E minor, Op. 95 (From the New World)

Masterworks 8

Saturday, May 12, 2018 at 8pm

Mason Bates: World Première

Steven Smith, conductor

Richmond Symphony Chorus

Honegger                      Pacific 231

Mason Bates                 World Première Commission

Tobias Picker                Old and Lost Rivers

Debussy                       La Mer

Symphony Pops Series

The Symphony Pops Series combines the excitement of a live orchestra with the best in popular music. All Symphony Pops concerts take place at the Dominion Arts Center’s Carpenter Theatre.

Symphony Pops 1

Saturday, Sept. 23, 2017 at 8pm

The Broadberry Presents: RVA Live!

with Matthew E. White, Natalie Prass, Tim Barry, Bio Ritmo and Clair Morgan

The Richmond Symphony shares the concert stage with some of RVA’s favorite artists at the Carpenter Theatre. It’s a night of live music you won’t want to miss!

Symphony Pops 2

Saturday, Dec. 2, 2017 at 8pm and Sunday, Dec. 3, 2017 at 3pm

Let It Snow!

Erin R. Freeman, conductor

Richmond Symphony Chorus

Susan Greenbaum, soloist
Sponsored by Hunton & Williams

Celebrate the holidays with a concert featuring the sounds of the season! Join the Richmond Symphony and Richmond Symphony Chorus for this magical holiday tradition the whole family will love.

Symphony Pops 3

Saturday, Jan. 27, 2018 at 8pm

Music of Billy Joel

featuring Michael Cavanaugh

Chia-Hsuan Lin, conductor
Sponsored by Keiter

Hand-picked by Billy Joel to become the next “Piano Man,” Michael Cavanaugh joins the Richmond Symphony to perform the superstar’s hits.

Symphony Pops 4

Saturday, March 24, 2018 at 8pm

Motown’s Greatest Hits

with the Motortown All-Stars

Chia-Hsuan Lin, conductor
Sponsored by The London Company

Get ready for a show jam-packed with timeless Motown grooves. The Motortown All-Stars will have you dancing and singing along to the greatest hits from The Temptations, The Miracles, The Four Tops, Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder.

Union Bank & Trust LolliPops Series

The Union Bank & Trust LolliPops Series is designed with the whole family in mind.  Performances include concerts that entertain, educate and are fun for children of all ages. All Union Bank & Trust LolliPops concerts take place at the Dominion Arts Center’s Carpenter Theatre. Pre-concert festivals feature family activities including the popular instrument petting zoo and take place in Rhythm Hall one hour prior to the concert. Union Bank & Trust LolliPops concerts are now Sensory-Friendly and designed to create a performance experience where all audiences are welcome, including those with autism or other sensory sensitivities. We are grateful for the support from our LolliPops series sponsor Union Bank & Trust.

LolliPops 1

Saturday, Oct. 21, 2017 at 11am

A Superhero Halloween

Chia-Hsuan Lin, conductor

Dress in your favorite heroic costume and get ready for high-powered fun with the Richmond Symphony and the music of superheroes.

LolliPops 2

Saturday, Nov. 25, 2017 at 11am

The Snowman (animated film)

Chia-Hsuan Lin, conductor

Continue this holiday tradition with the Richmond Symphony! This charming animated film tells the story of a young boy’s magical friendship with a snowman. Enjoy other holiday favorites during this program as well.

© Snowman Enterprises Limited

“The Snowman” by Raymond Briggs is published by Puffin.

LolliPops 3

Saturday, Jan. 20, 2018 at 11am

An American in Paris

with The School of Richmond Ballet

Chia-Hsuan Lin, conductor

The Richmond Symphony and The School of Richmond Ballet team up to bring you this Gershwin classic. Kids will be mesmerized by the stunning combination of music and dance as they follow the story of Jerry and his adventures in Paris.

LolliPops 4

Saturday, March 17, 2018 at 11am

Peter and the Wolf

with Really Inventive Stuff’s Michael Boudewyns

Chia-Hsuan Lin, conductor

Boys like Peter are not afraid of wolves! Prokofiev’s timeless tale of boy vs. wolf comes to life in Really Inventive Stuff’s signature performance. This concert is a perfect introduction to music and the instruments of the orchestra.

Casual Fridays

It’s the perfect start to your Friday night! Relax with a drink and let the evening’s host, along with the conductor, take you behind the scenes of the music. Afterward, head to an exclusive happy hour with Symphony musicians!

Casual Fridays 1

Friday, Sept. 15, 2017 at 6:30pm

Ein Heldenleben (A Hero’s Life)

Casual Fridays 2

Friday, Oct. 27, 2017 at 6:30pm

An Evening with Time for Three

Casual Fridays 3

Friday, March 9, 2018 at 6:30pm

Pictures at an Exhibition

Casual Fridays 4

Friday, May 11, 2018 at 6:30pm

Mason Bates: World Première

Rush Hour at Hardywood

We’re teaming up with Hardywood Park Craft Brewery again this season to continue the popular Thursday night Rush Hour concerts! Grab your favorite craft beer, hit the food trucks and enjoy a laid back concert at 6:30pm in Hardywood’s tasting room.

Rush Hour 1 – Oct. 5, 2017 at 6:30pm

Rush Hour 2 – Jan. 18, 2018 at 6:30pm

Rush Hour 3 – Feb. 22, 2018 at 6:30pm

Rush Hour 4 – May 3, 2018 at 6:30pm

Metro Collection

The Metro Collection offers audiences fantastic classical music in an intimate setting. Concerts feature smaller scale works from the classical repertoire and newer pieces by contemporary composers. Richmond Symphony musicians are often featured soloists. All Metro Collection concerts take place in Blackwell Auditorium at Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, VA.

Metro Collection 1

Sunday, Oct. 8, 2017 at 3pm

Steven Smith, conductor

Molly Sharp, viola

Beethoven                                Coriolan Overture

Clarke                                       Concerto for Viola and Orchestra

Davies                                      Carolisima for Chamber Orchestra

Haydn                                       Symphony No. 83 (Le Poule)

Metro Collection 2

Sunday, Jan. 21, 2018 at 3pm

Steven Smith, conductor

Zachary Guiles, trombone

Salieri                                       Sinfonia (Veneziana)

Norman Bolter                           IOURS

(for trombone and chamber orchestra)

Crawford Seeger                       Andante for Strings

Rissolty Rossolty

Mozart                                      Symphony No. 38, K. 504 (Prague)

Metro Collection 3

Sunday, Feb. 25, 2018 at 3pm

Steven Smith, conductor

Schubert                                   Overture (in the Italian Style)

Roussel                                    Concerto for Small Orchestra

Handel                                      Water Music, Suite No. 2

Walton                                      Façade Suite No. 2

Arturo Marquez                          Danzon No. 4

Milhaud                                     Le Boeuf sur le toit

Metro Collection 4

Sunday, May 6, 2018 at 3pm

Chia-Hsuan Lin, Conductor

J.C. Bach                                  Symphony in B-flat Major, Op. 18, No. 2

Wagner                                     Siegfried Idyll

J.S. Bach                                  Orchestral Suite No. 1

Prokofiev                                  Symphony No. 1 (Classical)

Special Concerts

Friday, December 1, 2017 – 7:30pm

Handel’s Messiah

Chia-Hsuan Lin, conductor

Richmond Symphony Chorus

Don’t miss the Richmond Symphony and Richmond Symphony Chorus performing Handel’s masterwork, a holiday classic that has delighted Richmonders for generations.

Subscription and Ticket Information and Pricing

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Full Series Subscriptions:

Altria Masterworks Saturday: Eight concerts including Opening Night with Lang Lang on Thursday, September 14.

Altria Masterworks Sunday: Four Sunday matinee concerts (excludes Opening Night with Lang Lang on Thursday, September 14)

Symphony Pops: Four Saturday night concerts

Union Bank & Trust LolliPops: Four Saturday morning concerts

Metro Collection: Four Sunday matinee concerts

Casual Fridays: Four Friday evening concerts

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For more information on pricing and subscriptions, please contact Patron Services at patronservices@richmondsymphony.com or 804.788.1212

Guest Artist Bios

Lang Lang

If one word applies to Lang Lang, to the musician, to the man, to his worldview, to those who come into contact with him, it is “inspiration”. It resounds like a musical motif through his life and career.

He inspires millions with his open-hearted, emotive playing, whether it be in intimate recitals or on the grandest of stages – such as the 2014 World Cup concert in Rio, with Placido Domingo, to celebrate the final game; the 56^th and 57^th GRAMMY Award two years in a row, where he performed with Metallica and Pharrell Williams; the Opening Ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, where more than four billion people around the world viewed his performance; the Last Night of the Proms at London’s Royal Albert Hall, or the Liszt 200^th birthday concert with the Philadelphia Orchestra and Charles Dutoit which was broadcast live in more than 300 movie theaters around the United States and 200 cinemas across Europe (the first classical music cinema cast to be headlined by a solo artist). He forms enduring musical partnerships with the world’s greatest artists, from conductors such as Daniel Barenboim, Gustavo Dudamel and Sir Simon Rattle, to artists from outside of classical music – among them dubstep dancer Marquese “nonstop” Scott, king of the crooners Julio Inglesias and jazz titan Herbie Hancock. He even builds relationships with corporations who will help him get classical music to ever-more people – And he builds cultural bridges between East and West, frequently introducing Chinese music to Western audiences, and vice versa.

Yet he never forgets what first inspired, and continues to inspire him. Great artists, above all the great composers – Liszt, Chopin and the others – whose music he now delights in bringing to others. Even that famous old Tom and Jerry cartoon “The Cat Concerto” which introduced him, as a delighted child, to the music of Liszt – and that childlike excitement at the discovery of music now surely stays with him and propels him to what he calls “his second career”, bringing music into the lives of children around the world, both through his work for the United Nations and through his own Lang Lang International Music Foundation.

It takes a special kind of dedication to come from a small Chinese town Shenyang , to travel to the big city as a small child and to win the attention of the country’s finest music professors. And then to leave behind your home country altogether to join the world-famous Curtis Institute of Music Philadelphia, USA. Lang Lang achieved all of these early on – he started playing piano aged three, won the Shenyang Competition and gave his first public recital by the time he was five, entered Beijing’s Central Music Conservatory aged nine, won first prize at the Tchaikovsky International Young Musicians’ Competition and playing the complete Chopin Etudes at the Beijing Concert Hall at 13. He left for America, Curtis and the great piano teacher Gary Graffman and when his moment came, he was ready. That moment happened when, aged 17, he was called upon to make a dramatic last-minute substitution for the famous Andre Watts to perform in the “Gala Of The Century”, playing a Tchaikovsky concerto with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. It made him what journalists like to call an “overnight star” and the world’s finest concert halls quickly beckoned.

Today, his resume reads like a bestseller (and indeed his auto biography, Journey of a Thousand Miles, has been published by Random House in eleven languages, and was released to critical acclaim – and as part of his commitment to the education of children, he released a version specifically for younger readers, entitled Playing with Flying Keys). He has been heralded as the “hottest artist on the classical music planet” by the New York Times, has played sold out concerts in every major city in the world and is the first Chinese pianist to be engaged by the Vienna Philharmonic, Berlin Philharmonic and the New York Philharmonic orchestras.

Time Magazine has included Lang Lang in the “Time 100”, the magazine’s annual list of the 100 Most Influential People in the World, naming him as a symbol of the youth of China, and its future. Lang Lang is the cultural ambassador of the cities of Shenzhen and Shenyang. And if the Chinese passion for piano isn’t solely due to him, he has played no small part as a role model to encourage more than 40 million Chinese children to learn to play the instrument – a phenomenon coined by The Today Show as “the Lang Lang effect.” Steinway Pianos, for the first time in their century-and-a-half-long history, named a piano model after a single artist when they introduced “The Lang Lang Piano” to China. That piano, specially designed for early music education, is now on its fifth iteration.

And the child Lang Lang was and who, perhaps, is always with him, would surely have approved of the way he gives back to children around the world. His volunteer activities include mentoring rising young talented pianists, convening 100 piano students at a time in concert, performing for sick children in hospi­tals, delivering classical music recitals in underserved and remote communities, and donating his musical talents to raise awareness of other charitable causes.  These charitable efforts have led to the launch of the Lang Lang International Music Foundation, with its goals of cultivating tomorrow’s top pianists, championing music education at the forefront of technology, and building a young audience through live music experiences. The Financial Times described Lang Lang as “evangelical in his efforts to spread the popularity of classical music.” And in May 2009, Lang Lang and three chosen young scholars from the foundation – aged between 6 and 10 years old – performed together on The Oprah Winfrey Show on “Oprah’s Search for the World’s Most Smartest and Most Talented Kids.”

In 2011,  Lang Lang Music World was launched, a multi-functioning arts complex located in Shenzhen and Chongqing, China, where children can go to receive piano education, participate in master classes and competitions, attend concerts and purchase educational products. Lang Lang himself continues to give master classes regularly throughout the world at the invitation of the most prestigious music institutions, including the Curtis Institute of Music, Juilliard School, Manhattan School of Music and Hanover Conservatory, as well as all the top conservatories in China where he holds honorary professorships. Elite universities such as Oxford, Harvard and Columbia have invited him to give talks.

Lang Lang enjoys reaching audiences of all sizes and few come bigger than that of the YouTube Symphony Orchestra, of which Lang Lang was the first official Ambassador – a role, created by YouTube and Google that combined two of his great loves, music and outreach through technology. More traditionally, tens of thousands of people have enjoyed Lang Lang’s performances in open-air concerts in parks and venues around the globe, including Central Park in New York City, Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, Ravinia Festival in Chicago, Theaterplatz in Dresden and Derby Park in Hamburg. Lang Lang participated in the opening concert at Munich’s Olympic Stadium with Mariss Jansons, marking the commencement of the World Cup Games. In celebratory concerts for the closing of 2008 Euro Cup finals, Lang Lang played with the Vienna Philharmonic under the baton of Zubin Mehta in front of Schönbrunn Palace. And he marked the New Year’s Eve gala opening of the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing with another great conductor, Seiji Ozawa.

In December 2007, Lang Lang was guest soloist at the Nobel Prize concert in Stockholm, an event attended by Nobel Laureates and members of the Royal Family. He performed as soloist in Oslo for the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize award ceremony and concert for President Barack Obama.

Lang Lang has made numerous TV appearances, including The Today Show, the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Good Morning America, CBS Early Show, 60 Minutes, Wetten Dass and El Número Uno among many others. He has been featured on every major TV network and in news and lifestyle magazines worldwide, including such diverse publications as The New Yorker, Esquire, Vogue, The Times, Financial Times, GQ, Cosmopolitan, Die Welt, Reader’s Digest and People.

As well as President Obama, Lang Lang has performed for numerous international dignitaries including the former Secretary-General of the United Nations Kofi Annan, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, George H. W. Bush, George W. Bush, William J. Clinton, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, President Xi Jin-Ping and former President Hu Jin-Tao of China, President Horst Koehler of Germany, H.R.H. Prince Charles, former French President Nicolas Sarkozy, President Francois Hollande, Queen Beatrix and King Majesty King Willem-Alexander and Poland President Lech Kaczynski. Of many landmark events, he was honored to perform for President Barack Obama and former President Hu Jin-Tao at the White House State Dinner, as well as at the Diamond Jubilee celebratory concert for Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace.

Wherever he can, Lang Lang tries to give back. In 2013, he was designated by the Secretary General of the United Nations as a Messenger of Peace focusing on global education. Lang Lang has contributed and worked to raise funds and awareness for earthquake relief efforts in China and Haiti. These efforts included auctioning the red Steinway piano played during his 2008 New York Central Park concert, donating the net proceeds to the American Red Cross China Earthquake fund, and organizing a benefit concert at Carnegie Hall, donating the net proceeds to UNICEF’s Earthquake Relief Fund in Haiti. He also currently serves on the Weill Music Institute Advisory Committee as part of Carnegie Hall’s educational program and is the youngest member of Carnegie Hall’s Artistic Advisory Board. In 2015, he played on the UN Day concert to celebrate the 70^th Anniversary of the United Nations, and performed a festive outdoor concert to celebrate the 500^th anniversary of the City of Havana’s founding; he donated his service as a gift to the people of Havana.

Honors include being added as one of the 250 Young Global Leaders picked by the World Economic Forum and receiving the 2010 Crystal Award in Davos. In May 2011, Lang Lang received an Honorary Doctorate of Music from His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales at the Royal College of Music, and received his second Honorary Doctorate in Musical Arts at the Manhattan School of Music in May 2012. Most recently he received Honorary Doctor Degree in Fine Arts from New York University. In December 2011, he was honored the highest prize awarded by the Ministry of Culture of the People’s Republic of China. He also holds Honorary Doctorate Degrees from Birmingham City University and China Central Conservatory (first in the school’s 75 year history). More recently, he has received the highest German civilian honor, the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, in recognition of his distinguished services to music and, in January 2013, he was presented with the Medal of the Order of Arts and Letters, by the French Minister of Culture. In 2014, he received the Ondas Award in Spain and Bambi Award in Germany. In 2015, he became the first ever Ambassador of the Château de Versailles in Paris.

He is one of the world’s most prolific and highest-profile recording artists. Featured soloist on the Golden Globe^® winning score for the film The Painted Veil, composed by Alexandre Desplat, he can also be heard on the soundtracks of The Banquet, composed by Tan Dun, and of My Week With Marilyn. All of his albums have entered the top classical charts as well as many pop charts around the globe. In 2007, he was nominated for a Grammy^® Award, becoming the first Chinese artist to be nominated for Best Instrumental Soloist.

In February 2010, Lang Lang joined Sony Music Entertainment as an exclusive recording artist; his first album with Sony featured a live recording of his 2010 recital at Vienna’s legendary Musikverein (including a segment filmed in 3D). His next CD, “Liszt, My Piano Hero” and DVD “Liszt, Now!” celebrated the 200^th Anniversary of the great composer, while 2012 saw the release of “The Chopin Album”,  2013 a recording with Simon Rattle and the Berliner Philharmoniker of two masterpiece piano concertos of the 20^th century, Prokofiev No.3 and Bartok 2, and 2014 an album devotes to the world’s favorite composer Mozart, his recently released an album entitled “Lang Lang in Paris” features Tchaikovsky’s Seasons  and 4 Chopin Scherzos.  For further information visit www.langlang.com / www.langlangfoundation.org.

Time for Three (Tf3)

The groundbreaking, category-shattering trio Time for Three (Tf3) transcends traditional classification, with elements of classical, country western, gypsy and jazz idioms forming a blend all its own. The members — Nicolas (Nick) Kendall, violin; Charles Yang violin; and Ranaan Meyer, double bass — carry a passion for improvisation, composing and arranging, all prime elements of the ensemble’s playing.

To date, the group has performed hundreds of engagements as diverse as its music: from featured guest soloists on the Philadelphia Orchestra’s subscription series to Club Yoshi’s in San Francisco to residencies at the Kennedy Center to Christoph Eschenbach’s birthday concert at the Schleswig-Holstein Festival in Germany. Recent highlights included their Carnegie Hall debut, appearances with the Boston Pops, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, a sell-out concert at the 2014 BBC Proms, and an appearance on the ABC prime time hit show “Dancing with the Stars.”

Tf3’s high-energy performances are free of conventional practices, drawing instead from the members’ differing musical backgrounds. The trio also performs its own arrangements of traditional repertoire and Ranaan Meyer provides original compositions to complement the trio’s offerings.

In 2014 Time for Three released their debut Universal Music Classics album, Time for Three, which spent seven consecutive weeks in the Top 10 of Billboard’s Classical Crossover Chart. The ensemble has also embarked on a major commissioning programs to expand its unique repertoire for symphony orchestras including Concerto 4-3, written by Pulitzer-Prize winning composer Jennifer Higdon, Travels in Time for Three by Chris Brubeck in 2010, co-commissioned by the Boston Pops, the Youngstown Symphony, and eight other orchestras, and Games and Challenges by William Bolcom, commissioned by the Indianapolis Symphony. Their latest project, a three-year residency with the Sun Valley Summer Symphony, includes commissions for three new works.  Time for Three premiered the first of these works, Elevation: Paradise, in Sun Valley in August, 2015 and the second, Free Souls, in July, 2016.

On March 25, 2016 PBS premiered the Emmy-winning show “Time for Three in Concert” nationwide. “Time for Three in Concert” is an hour-long program in collaboration with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, Universal Music Classics and WFYI Public Media, that brings together diverse artists and unique arrangements to create a one-of-a-kind concert experience.

To date, the group has performed hundreds of engagements, from sell-out concerts at the 2014 BBC Proms, to Christoph Eschenbach’s birthday concert to residencies at the Kennedy Center and Sun Valley Summer Symphony to name a few. TV performances include appearing on ABC’s ‘Dancing with The Stars’, and an Emmy-winning show “Time for Three in Concert” premiered by PBS. The ensemble are currently travelling throughout Europe as a highlight act of the 2016 NOTP (Night of The Proms) tour.

Ian Parker

Magnetic, easy-going and delightfully articulate, Canadian pianist Ian Parker captivates audiences wherever he goes. He has appeared with the philharmonic orchestras of  Buffalo, Calgary and Louisiana, the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra, the Cleveland Orchestra at Blossom and the symphonies of Cincinnati, Edmonton, Honolulu, Kitchener-Waterloo, Long Beach, National/Washington, D.C., Quebec, Regina, San Francisco, Toronto, Vancouver, Victoria, Virginia  and Winnipeg, among others.

An enthusiastic recitalist, Ian Parker has performed across the United States, Western Europe, Israel, and throughout Canada on tours with Debut Atlantic and Jeunesses Musicales du Canada. He made his Lincoln Center recital debut at the Walter Reade Theater in 2004.  Among his appearance in the current season, Ian Parker will play recitals presented by Camerata Musica and the North Okanagan Community Concerts Association. He will also perform with the Vogler Quartet in a concert presented by Chamber Music Vancouver, and will collaborate for the first time with the Borealis Quartet during a tour of the Vancouver islands.

Ian Parker was invited to collaborate with the internationally renowned Vogler Quartet during its twentieth anniversary tour in 2005-06 throughout the U.S. and Canada. Following the tour’s tremendous success, he was invited to join them again for several concerts in the spring of 2006, and has continued to tour with them regularly ever since. They have also invited him to perform as part of their Vogler Springs Festival in Sligo, Ireland and the Kammermusik Festival in Hamburg, Germany. He has also begun appearing with the up-and-coming Attacca Quartet. He has also collaborated with violinist Augustin Hadelich in numerous venues in both the U.S. and Canada.

Ian Parker is also an active recording artist. In the fall of 2010, a CD of concerti (Ravel Concerto in G, Stravinsky Capriccio, and Gershwin Concerto in F), recorded with the London Symphony under Michael Francis, was released by ATMA Classique. An all-fantasy solo CD on Azica Records, including the fantasies of Chopin, Schumann, and Beethoven (Op. 27, Nos. 1 and 2 “Quasi una Fantasia”), was released in the summer of 2010.

First Prize winner at the 2001 CBC National Radio Competition, Ian Parker has also won the Grand Prize at the Canadian National Music Festival, the Corpus Christie International Competition and the Montreal Symphony Orchestra Competition. At The Juilliard School, he received the 2002 William Petschek Piano Debut Award and, on two occasions, was the winner of the Gina Bachauer Piano Scholarship Competition. Heard regularly on CBC Radio, Mr. Parker has also performed live on WQXR (hosted by Robert Sherman) in New York.

Born in Vancouver to a family of pianists, Ian Parker began his piano studies at age three with his father, Edward Parker. He holds both the Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from The Juilliard School, where he was a student of Yoheved Kaplinsky. While at Juilliard, the Canada Council for the Arts awarded him the Sylva Gelber Career Grant, which is given annually to the “most talented Canadian artist.”

Mason Bates

Recently named the most-performed composer of his generation, Mason Bates serves as the first composer-in-residence of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. His music enlivens imaginative narrative forms with novel orchestral writing, the harmonies of jazz and the rhythms of techno, and it has been the first symphonic music to receive widespread acceptance for its unique integration of electronic sounds. Leading conductors such as Riccardo Muti, Michael Tilson Thomas, and Leonard Slatkin have championed his diverse catalogue. As both a DJ and a curator, he has become a visible advocate for bringing new music to new spaces, whether through institutional partnerships such as his residency with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, or through his club/classical project Mercury Soul, which transforms spaces ranging from commercial clubs to Frank Gehry-designed concert halls into exciting, hybrid musical events drawing large crowds. In awarding Bates the Heinz Medal, Teresa Heinz remarked that “his music has moved the orchestra into the digital age and dissolved the boundaries of classical music.”

This season includes several world premieres and performances by leading orchestras, as well as the debut of a score for a film by Gus Van Sant starring Matthew McConaughey. In addition to performances of Liquid Interface and Garages of the Valley by the National Symphony Orchestra this season, the Kennedy Center will be premiering a new work celebrating the centennial of John F. Kennedy. Scored for mezzo-soprano, orchestra, and electronica, the work features the renown Sasha Cooke. Other performances include Alternative Energy with the Philadelphia Orchestra and performances by the Fort Worth Symphony of Anthology of Fantastic Zoology, which was recently recorded by Riccardo Muti and the Chicago Symphony.

His music’s dramatic realization of narrative forms has attracted the attention of artists in the dramatic mediums of opera and film. In July 2017, Santa Fe Opera premieres The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs, a kinetic and emotional exploration of one of the most compelling figures of our time. Staring baritone Edward Parks and mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke, the opera is animated by innovative storytelling on all levels, from an electro-acoustic score to a non-linear narrative to stunning visual effects. The Fall of 2016 will see the release of legendary film director Gus Van Sant’s The Sea of Trees, starring Matthew McConaughey, Naomi Watts, and Ken Watanabe. Complementing the mystical narrative of a man lost in Japan’s suicide forest is a symphonic score recorded at Skywalker Studios.

Bringing classical music to new audiences is a central part of Bates’ activities as a curator, whether as a composer or DJ. With composer Anna Clyne, he transformed the Chicago Symphony’s MusicNOW series into an imaginative concert experience drawing huge crowds, with cinematic program notes and immersive stagecraft. Now serving as composer-in-residence of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Bates works with the Center’s broad range of artistic constituents, from performances with the National Symphony to appearances with Jason Moran on Kennedy Center Jazz, often integrating DJs into the Center’s unique spaces. His KC Jukebox series presents new music in imaginative new formats, such as a “walk-through” of a century of ambient music that went from Erik Satie to Brian Eno. In addition to Jukebox’s presentation of Thievery Corporation this year, the series also features Angolan instrument maker Victor Gama, known for his release on Aphex Twin’s Replex label.

Working in clubs under the name DJ Masonic, Bates has developed a post-classical rave that has integrated classical music and electronica to packed crowds in collaborations with clubs and orchestras around the country. The project returned last season to San Francisco’s Ruby Skye in front of eight hundred attendees and also visited SF’s DNA Lounge, and it most recently appeared on the Kennedy Center’s KC Jukebox series. Mercury Soul inhabits commercial clubs and extraordinary spaces, embedding sets of classical music into a fluid evening of DJing and immersive stagecraft. Sold-out performances from San Francisco’s famed Mezzanine club to Miami’s New World Symphony have brought a new vision of the listening experience to widespread audiences, and the project has been invited by the Chicago Symphony and Pittsburgh Symphony for events at local clubs.

RVA Live! Artist Information

Matthew E. White – www.matthewewhite.com

Natalie Prass – www.natalieprass.com

Tim Barry – www.timbarryrva.com

Bio Ritmo – www.bioritmo.com

Clair Morgan – www.clairmorgan.com

The Broadberry – Thebroadberry.com

Susan Greenbaum

Susan Greenbaum committed the first sin of musicians: She quit her day job. After working as a corporate executive in Fortune 500 companies, Susan traded her power suits for performing. She has been singing as long as she’s been speaking, growing up in Kansas City, in college at Harvard, and in Boston and Richmond, VA. And now her tax return, under “Occupation,” reads, “Singer-songwriter.”

In December, 2012, Susan performed two record-breaking concerts as the featured soloist with the Richmond Symphony Orchestra; of her five songs with the Symphony, two were her own compositions, orchestrated for the concerts. She also performed in a sold-out show with multiple Grammy winner Jason Mraz, other Virginia songwriters, and 150 talented kids of all abilities, in support of SPARC—School for the Performing Arts in the Richmond Community.

Susan recently released her CD, “This Life,” on Compass Records Group. It is her fifth recording, and her first on Compass. The recording is already receiving significant national airplay on Americana, folk and country stations. Producers Alison Brown and Garry West were so pleased with the recording once it was completed that they decided to sign Greenbaum to their label. Country/Americana music website “Roughstock” calls her “a songwriting talent to be reckoned with,” comparing her writing and singing to Mary Chapin Carpenter and Bonnie Raitt. And The Australian, the largest paper in Australia, has this to say about “This Life”: “Greenbaum writes intelligent yet refreshingly uncomplicated and honest lyrics that relate to her life but resonate in a wider context.”

Susan’s four earlier CDs include three all-original recordings and one holiday collection, “You Are My Holiday.” Billboard has reviewed two songs from “Hey, Hey, Hey!” in the “Singles” column, saying that Susan’s “voice is a delight, strong, clear, and drenched in pleasing harmonies” and calling her “a startlingly adept writer…ripe for national airplay.” Prior to “Hey, Hey, Hey!” Susan released “Wake Up!” as a follow-up to her mostly acoustic debut CD, “Actual Size.”

Susan has won several national songwriting awards, most recently the Smithsonian Songwriters Award and the Philadelphia Songwriters Project songwriting contest. She was also the Grand Prize overall winner of the Mid-Atlantic Song Contest and also the second-place overall winner in the same contest—the only time in the contest’s three-decade history that the same artist had won multiple overall prizes. Several songs from Susan’s “Wake Up!” CD were finalists in the John Lennon Songwriting Contest and the U.S.A. Songwriting Contest. Susan was voted “Best Singer and Songwriter” in Richmond, VA’s 2011 and 2012 Style Weekly “Best Of” issues and was identified as one of 50 major players on the area’s music scene by Richmond Magazine.

Susan won a national competition to be the opening act for recording star Jewel, chosen by industry professionals and over 100,000 online voters. Susan enjoyed overwhelming success on the tour across the Northeast, welcoming thousands of new fans. She and her band were also among select acts picked to perform at a recent Virginia Governor’s Inaugural Concert.

Susan draws big, enthusiastic audiences who delight in her lively, diverse and powerful performances. Thanks to the internet, she has fans on every continent. She performs solo and with her band and has appeared at such venues as The Bottom Line in NYC, The Birchmere, Bethlehem Musikfest, Floyd Fest, and Rams Head Tavern. In addition to touring with Jewel, Susan’s credits include performing an acoustic set with Dave Matthews Band violinist Boyd Tinsley; sharing bills with Jill Sobule; and opening for Kenny Loggins, Patty Griffin, Dar Williams, Janis Ian, Todd Snider, Jim Messina, Tuck and Patti, Iris DeMent, Lucy Kaplansky, Lloyd Cole and Catie Curtis. Susan also endorses W.L Gore’s Elixir Strings. The most frequently heard comment at her gigs is, “Great songs–and how does all that big, beautiful sound come out of someone under five feet tall?” Find out at www.susangreenbaum.com.

Michael Cavanaugh

Michael Cavanaugh is the New Voice of the American Rock & Roll Songbook. A charismatic performer, musician and actor, made famous for his piano/lead vocals in the Broadway Musical Movin’ Out.

Michael Cavanaugh was handpicked by Billy Joel to star in title role and evokes a style rivaling the Piano Man. Michael appeared in the show for 3 years and over 1200 performances, receiving accolade after accolade, which culminated in 2003 with both Grammy and Tony award nominations.

Michael began playing at age 7, when his parents bought their first piano.  Encouraged by family and friends, and inspired by his hero Billy Joel, Michael formed his first band at age 10 and began playing local functions, fine-tuning the craft that would become his chosen career. His first full time gig as a musician was an extended engagement in Orlando Florida at a piano bar called Blazing Pianos. In January of 1999, Michael received an offer that would unknowingly change his life, with an opportunity to play Las Vegas at the famed “New York, New York Hotel and Casino.” It was there that Billy Joel spotted Michael and joined him on stage one fateful night of February 2001.  It only took 2 songs before Billy was convinced that he had found his new Piano Man, Michael Cavanaugh. Michael closed up shop at New York, New York and moved to New York City to work alongside Billy Joel and Twyla Tharp, to shape the Broadway Musical that would be called “Movin’ Out”.

With the close of Movin’ Out at the end of 2005, Michael began touring in his own right, creating a show that reinterprets the modern pop/rock songbook. Michael soon became one of the hottest artist’s in the corporate/events market.  He continues to perform worldwide for company and charity events as well as sporting events including PGA tour events, the US Open, the Indy 500.  It wasn’t long before Symphony Orchestras discovered Michael’s talents and audience appeal. He accepted his first orchestral booking, “Michael Cavanaugh – The Songs of Billy Joel and more” which debuted in April of 2008 with the Indianapolis Symphony and continues to tour.  In October 2008, he signed with Warner/ADA to distribute his first CD titled “In Color”. In June, 2010, Michael debuted his second symphony show in the “Generations of Rock” series entitled “Michael Cavanaugh: The Songs of Elton John and more” and  then debuted his third symphony show “Singers and Songwriters: the music of Paul Simon, Neil Diamond and James Taylor” in 2012.  He continues to tour all three symphony productions.

The Motortown All-Stars

The Motortown All-Stars are an all-star lineup of world class vocalists drawn from the ranks of the legendary groups that made many of these hits timeless classics. This dynamic vocal group is assembled from members of The Capitols (Cool Jerk), The Miracles (Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame and Hollywood Walk Of Fame Inductees) and from former members of The Temptations.

The Motown Sound was called the sound of young America, but it became the soundtrack of the lives of generations around the world for more than 50 years. The Motown catalog includes some of the most enduring songs in popular music, with the most universal appeal of any musical form. Motown music has such strong musical hooks that it has repeatedly been used in everything from movie sound tracks to commercials for the last 50 years, providing some of the most recognizable songs in music history.

The show is jam-packed with impeccable harmonies, dazzling choreography, and those timeless Motown grooves that everyone knows and loves. You can choose to dance, sing along, or just sit back (if you can) and watch the show as they perform all of the greatest hits from the likes of The Temptations, The Miracles, The Four Tops, Marvin Gaye, and Stevie Wonder. Every performance contains that unmistakable Motown stamp, including flashy suits, great singing and dancing, and a polished show that has set the bar for every vocal artist since the late 1950’s.

The backup band is made up of seasoned performers who have been the musicians of choice for hundreds of Motown, Nostalgia, Classic Rock and Doo Wop shows around the country. They have both live performance and recording credits with a veritable who’s who of popular music artists from the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s.

This show is an unforgettable celebration for audiences from 8 to 80.

About the Richmond Symphony

Founded in 1957, the Richmond Symphony is the largest performing arts organization in Central Virginia. The organization includes an orchestra of more than 70 professional musicians, the 150-voice Richmond Symphony Chorus and more than 260 students in the Richmond Symphony Youth Orchestra programs. Each season, more than 200,000 members of the community enjoy concerts, and radio broadcasts. The Symphony also provides educational outreach programs to over 50,000 students and teachers each year. The Richmond Symphony is partially funded by the Virginia Commission for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts.

About the Richmond Symphony Chorus

James Erb organized the all-volunteer Richmond Symphony Chorus in 1971 for a December performance of Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis, under guest conductor Robert Shaw. For 36 years, Erb continued to direct and build the Chorus to reflect the Symphony’s high standards. Erin Freeman assumed leadership of the Chorus at the start of its 2007–08 season. The repertoire for its selected volunteer membership has included most of the standard repertoire for chorus and orchestra: Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, St. John Passion and Mass in B Minor, Haydn’s Creation, Beethoven’s Symphony No.9 and Choral Fantasy, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Requiem settings by Mozart, Brahms, Verdi and Faure, Mahler’s Symphony No.2, Vaughan Williams’ Sea Symphony and all of Ravel’s Daphnis and Chloe, in addition to a number of shorter choral-orchestral works. Special projects have included a performance and recording of Mahler Symphony No. 8 with the Virginia Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, under the direction of JoAnn Falletta, a performance with the Richmond Symphony in the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, and a re-creation of the Chorus’s inaugural performance of Missa Solemnis, under the direction of Erin Freeman. In February 2017, members of the Chorus will perform Poulenc’s Gloria at Carnegie Hall, with Erin Freeman conducting. On April 28^th and in honor of its 45^th anniversary, the Chorus will present an all-choral concert in tribute to its founder, James Erb, at Second Baptist Church.

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