The Virginia Symphony Orchestra (VSO) is an American

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

administratively based in

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

. The VSO performs concerts in various venues in Virginia, including: *

Chrysler Hall Chrysler Hall is the premier performing arts venue in Norfolk, Virginia, located in the downtown section of the city. Built in 1972 and located next to the Norfolk Scope arena, the venue is home to the Virginia Symphony Orchestra, the Virginia B ...

* The

Sandler Center for the Performing Arts The Sandler Center for the Performing Arts is a $47.5 million performing arts theater with 1,308 seats located in Virginia Beach, Virginia, Virginia Beach, Virginia, United States in Virginia Beach Town Center, Town Center. Commonly known as the S ...

, Virginia Beach *

Ferguson Center for the Arts The Ferguson Center for the Arts is a theater and concert hall on the campus of Christopher Newport University in Newport News, Virginia, United States. The complex fully opened in September 2005 with two concert halls and many other facilities. ...

Newport News Newport News () is an independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 186,247. Located in the Hampton Roads region, it is the 5th most populous city in Virginia and 140th most populous city in the Uni ...

Phi Beta Kappa Memorial Hall Phi Beta Kappa Memorial Hall is a multi-use building at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. It contains the largest auditorium on the campus, containing two floors of seating. The building is home to art shows, ...

at the

College of William & Mary The College of William & Mary (officially The College of William and Mary in Virginia, abbreviated as William & Mary, W&M) is a public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia. Founded in 1693 by letters patent issued by King William III ...

in Williamsburg *

Regent University Regent University is a private Christian university in Virginia Beach, Virginia. The university was founded by Pat Robertson in 1977 as Christian Broadcasting Network University, and changed its name to Regent University in 1990. Regent offers ...

Virginia Beach Virginia Beach is an independent city located on the southeastern coast of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The population was 459,470 at the 2020 census. Although mostly suburban in character, it is the most populous city ...

The VSO also works closely with

Virginia Opera Virginia Opera is an opera company based in the Commonwealth of Virginia which was first organized in 1974 by a group of Norfolk, Virginia community volunteers. The company presented its first productions in 1975, and in the following four decad ...

and the

Virginia Arts Festival The Virginia Arts Festival is a Norfolk-based non-profit arts presenter which serves southeastern Virginia, offering dozens of performances during the spring and throughout the year. Virginia Arts Festival performances have included international ba ...

History

Walter Edward Howe, Marian Carpenter and Robert C. Whitehead founded the orchestra in 1920 as the Norfolk Civic Symphony Orchestra. The orchestra gave its first concert on 21 April 1921, conducted by Howe, who was the first music director of the orchestra. At the time, the Norfolk Civic Symphony Orchestra was the only American orchestra between

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

and

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

. In 1949, during the music directorship of Edgar Schenkman, the Norfolk Civic Symphony Orchestra merged with the Civic Chorus to form the Norfolk Symphony and Choral Association. During the subsequent music directorship of Russell Stanger, the orchestra hired its first African-American musician, and took up residency in Chrysler Hall, which had opened in 1972. During the 1970s, the orchestra began collaboration with the Virginia Opera. During the US economic crisis and recession of the 1970s, the Virginia Symphony assumed its present form in 1979 with the merger of the Norfolk Symphony, Peninsula Symphony Orchestra, and the Virginia Beach Pops Symphony. In May 1991,

JoAnn Falletta JoAnn Falletta (born February 27, 1954 in Queens, New York) is an American conductor. Biography Falletta was raised in the borough of Queens in an Italian-American household. She was educated at the Mannes College of Music and The Juilliard Sch ...

was appointed the orchestra's eleventh music director, the first female conductor to be named music director of the VSO. In April 2018, the VSO announced that Falletta is to stand down as its music director in June 2020. Falletta now has the title of music director laureate of the orchestra. In 2018, Eric Jacobsen first guest-conducted the VSO. In June 2021, the VSO announced the appointment of Jacobsen as its next music director, effective with the 2021-2022 season. Karen Philion most recently served as the VSO's president and chief executive officer from 2014 to 2022. In November 2022, the VSO announced the appointment of Andrea F. Warren as its new president and chief executive officer, the first African-American woman named to the post, effective 1 December 2022.

Music directors

* Walter Edward Howe * W. Henry Baker * Bart Wirtz * Arthur Fickenscher * Frank L. Delpino * Henry Cowles Whitehead (1934–1948) * Edgar Schenkman (1948–1966) * Russell Stanger (1966–1980) * Richard Williams (1980–1986) *

Winston Dan Vogel Winston Dan Vogel (born 1943) is an Israeli-born American conductor. He was the musical director of the Virginia Symphony Orchestra The Virginia Symphony Orchestra (VSO) is an American orchestra administratively based in Norfolk. The VSO perf ...

(1986–1990) *

(1991–2020) * Eric Jacobsen (2021–present)

References

External links

Official website of the Virginia Symphony Orchestra

Yaco, Sonia, et al., 'Virginia Symphony Orchestra Records, 1921-2015: Special Collections and University Archives' Old Dominion University.
{{Authority control Musical groups established in 1920 American orchestras Performing arts in Virginia Wikipedia requested audio of orchestras