**This group orientation is located on the fourth floor of The Slover.**
Want to use the digital media studio for a personal project? Join The Slover’s Creative Studios team for a group orientation first. During this orientation, you will become acclimated to our systems and equipment, learning how to safely operate and create your own photography and films.
Brett Mitchell, conductor
Virginia Symphony Orcehstra
Virginia Symphony Orchestra Chorus
Experience the multi-Academy Award® winning 1984 motion picture, Amadeus, on a vast HD screen while Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s most celebrated works are performed live in-sync by the Virginia Symphony Orchestra and Virginia Symphony Orchestra Chorus.
Amadeus Live is licensed by The Saul Zaentz Company and is a production of Avex Classics International.
Please note: the VSO will present the original PG theatrical release of Amadeus.
VSO Up Close
Naima Burrs, conductor
Featuring:
Minha Kim, flute
Rachel Ordaz, piccolo
Alex Mayer, oboe
Michael Byerly, clarinet
Laura Leisring, bassoon
Jacob Wilder, horn
Alexis Colner, harp
Claude Debussy: Bilitis: Six épigraphes antiques, No. 1 & 4
Jean Cras: Harp Quintet
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Serenade No. 10 in B-flat Major, “Gran Partita”
The VSO wind section takes center stage to perform Mozart’s remarkable “Gran Partita.” Nicknamed the “Big Wind Symphony”, this playful, dramatic, and expansive Serenade features an ensemble of 13 instruments and will be familiar to fans of the film Amadeus as the music that first reveals Mozart’s true genius to Salieri.
A Midwinter Musicale
Eric Jacobsen, conductor
Colin Jacobsen, violin
Maurice Ravel: Tzigane
Ralph Vaughan Williams: Lark Ascending
Antonio Vivaldi: “Winter” from The Four Seasons
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Excerpts from The Nutcracker
Christina Courtin: Sing-Along
It’s a family affair this holiday season! Eric Jacobsen and the VSO welcome back Colin Jacobsen for a program of wintry and uplifting works for violin and orchestra performed alongside a selection of favorites from Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker.
This concert is made possible by a generous gift from Connie and Marc Jacobson.
Eric Jacobsen serves as the Virginia Symphony Orchestra’s twelfth Music Director, a position he’s held since 2021. He is also artistic director and co-founder of The Knights, the uniquely adventurous NYC-based chamber orchestra, and Music Director of the Orlando Philharmonic. In addition to conducting, Eric is a dedicated chamber musician (cello) and is a member of Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble.
Violinist and composer Colin Jacobsen is a founding member of the Brooklyn Rider string quartet and The Knights orchestra, recipient of a United States Artist Fellowship and Avery Fisher Career Grant, touring member of the Silk Road Ensemble, and Artistic Director of Santa Fe Pro Musica.
Virginia Symphony Orchestra
Virginia Symphony Orchestra Chorus
It’s Southeastern Virginia’s grandest Messiah! Handel’s most famous work comes to life with the full Christmas section along with selections from the second and third parts, including the iconic Hallelujah chorus! This sacred masterpiece will hearten and warm the spirit this holiday season.
The 26/27 season marks the 37th anniversary of the Virginia Symphony Orchestra Chorus, and its 30th under the direction of Chorusmaster Robert Shoup. In addition to regular appearances with the Virginia Symphony Orchestra, the chorus has performed to sold-out houses as far afield as Prague, Vienna, Berlin, Leipzig, Munich, Salzburg and closer to home at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
Paul Bhasin, conductor
Bright and Bold, Holiday Brass is a sound to behold. Featuring the VSO brass and percussion sections, this festive concert is full of finesse, flourish and a touch of flair! You’ll enjoy music from a variety of styles that have made this concert a new holiday tradition across Hampton Roads!
Robert Shoup, conductor
Virginia Symphony Orchestra
Virginia Symphony Orchestra Chorus
Showcasing the brightest and best of the Virginia Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, Holiday POPs! is the holiday tradition that keeps on giving! Enjoy holiday hits of today “where the lovelight gleams” and bring the holidays home with beloved classic carols “and presents on the tree” Embrace the sounds of the season and finish your 2026 holiday season at home with the VSO .
Robert Shoup serves as Chorus Master and Staff Conductor of the Virginia Symphony Orchestra. His national and international conducting credits include the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, Breckenridge Music Festival Orchestra, ensembles from the Prague Radio Orchestra and Czech State Philharmonic, and numerous choral ensembles. He serves as the Music Director at Second Presbyterian Church of Norfolk, and is the founding Artistic Director of the Norfolk Street Choir Project.
The 26/27 season marks the 37th anniversary of the Virginia Symphony Orchestra Chorus, and its 30th under the direction of Chorusmaster Robert Shoup. In addition to regular appearances with the Virginia Symphony Orchestra, the chorus has performed to sold-out houses as far afield as Prague, Vienna, Berlin, Leipzig, Munich, Salzburg and closer to home at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
A Conversation in Music
Grace Park, leader and soloist
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Violin Concerto No. 5 in A Major
Franz Schubert: Symphony No. 5
Witness the intimacy and immediacy of chamber music brought to life on the symphony stage! VSO Concertmaster Grace Park steps into dual roles in this program as conductor and soloist in Mozart’s Violin Concerto in A Major and leads the orchestra from the concertmaster position in Schubert’s sparkling Fifth Symphony.
VSO Concertmaster Grace Park is a violinist celebrated for her artistry, passion, and virtuosity. Praised by the San Francisco Chronicle as “fresh, different and exhilarating” and by Strings Magazine for her “intensely wrought and burnished” sound, she captivates audiences worldwide. A winner of the Naumburg International Violin Competition, Ms. Park is recognized both as a dynamic soloist and a devoted chamber musician.
Thomas Wilkins, conductor
Adam Golka, piano
Hannah Eisendle: Heliosis
Edvard Grieg: Piano Concerto in A minor
Antonin Dvořák: Symphony No. 6 in D Major
Two majestic, folk-inspired works anchor this moving program led by VSO Principal Guest Conductor Thomas Wilkins. Pianist Adam Golka brings his poetic expression to one of the world’s most beloved piano concertos, shaped by Norwegian traditional music. In his Sixth Symphony, Antonín Dvořák weaves the sounds of Bohemian folk music into a heartfelt tribute to his homeland.
Thomas Wilkins is an internationally renowned conductor and Norfolk native who was named the Virginia Symphony Orchestra’s first-ever Principal Guest Conductor in 2021. He is Principal Conductor of the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra; the Boston Symphony’s Artistic Advisor, Education and Community Engagement; and holds Indiana University’s Henry A. Upper Chair of Orchestral Conducting.
Pianist Adam Golka leads a rich artistic life as orchestral soloist, recitalist, chamber musician, recording artist, pedagogue, and innovator. A first-generation American, born to Polish parents, Adam has performed with many of the major orchestras around the world including the San Francisco, Houston, Dallas, Atlanta, and Seattle symphonies, the BBC Scottish Symphony , the National Arts Centre Orchestra (Canada), the Warsaw Philharmonic, the Shanghai Philharmonic , the Orquesta Filarmónica de Jalisco (Mexico), and the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional (Colombia).
Hannah Eisendle is a conductor, composer and pianist. All three areas have in common an orientation towards the contemporary and a desire to cooperate with artists from different fields. In her compositions, she is often inspired by extra-musical impressions, images and other art forms, which she transforms into sounds. She came to international attention as a composer with her orchestra work heliosis, which was commissioned by the ORF Radio Symphony Orchestra Vienna (RSO).
Wrath & Wonder
Eric Jacobsen, conductor
Virginia Symphony Orchestra
Virginia Symphony Orchestra Chorus
Giuseppe Verdi: Messa da Requiem
Verdi’s monumental Requiem Mass movingly depicts life, death, and hope so dramatically that it has been referred to as an “opera in disguise.” Music Director Eric Jacobsen conducts combined forces of over 200 musicians as the VSO takes the stage with distinguished guest artists and the VSO Chorus to present this unforgettable masterpiece!
Performed in Latin with projected English translations.
Eric Jacobsen serves as the Virginia Symphony Orchestra’s twelfth Music Director, a position he’s held since 2021. He is also artistic director and co-founder of The Knights, the uniquely adventurous NYC-based chamber orchestra, and Music Director of the Orlando Philharmonic. In addition to conducting, Eric is a dedicated chamber musician (cello) and is a member of Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble.
The 26/27 season marks the 37th anniversary of the Virginia Symphony Orchestra Chorus, and its 30th under the direction of Chorusmaster Robert Shoup. In addition to regular appearances with the Virginia Symphony Orchestra, the chorus has performed to sold-out houses as far afield as Prague, Vienna, Berlin, Leipzig, Munich, Salzburg and closer to home at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
