The Charlottesville Symphony at the University of Virginia, conducted by Music Director Benjamin Rous, opens its 2025-26 concert season on Saturday, September 27, 7:30pm, at Old Cabell Hall on the Grounds of the University of Virginia and Sunday, September 28, 3:30pm, at Charlottesville High School’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Performing Arts Center.   

Season highlights include audience favorites by Copland, Strauss, Rachmaninoff and Williams.  Mélisse Brunet, featured in the documentary film Maestra, guest conducts an all-American program.  The UVA University Singers join the orchestra and four vocal soloists for Antonín Dvořák’s Mass in D major.  Pianist John Mayhood performs George Gershwin’s Piano Concerto in F. And Charlottesville Symphony Concertmaster Daniel Sender is the soloist in Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade.

The September 27-28 concerts open with John Adams’ The Chairman Dances. Sub-titled Foxtrot for Orchestra, a banquet scene depicts a youthful Mao Tse-Tung dancing with the future Madame Mao. 

The most famous of the 19 Hungarian Rhapsodies by Franz Liszt, this orchestral arrangement of his Rhapsody No. 2 has enjoyed widespread popularity in animated cartoons such as “Tom & Jerry”, “Bugs Bunny”, “Mickey Mouse” and “Donald Duck”.

Mist at dawn, morning spray, noontime’s blazing sun, bells, birds, breezes and twinkling stars capture a day in Fountains of Rome, the first work of Ottorini Respighi’s Roman trilogy.

Charlottesville Symphony Principal Percussion I-Jen Fang is the featured soloist in Prism Rhapsody forMarimba and Orchestra by Japanese composer Keiko Abe.  Abe has been a leading voice in the development of repertoire for the marimba and her Prism Rhapsody is a dazzling tour-de-force.

I-Jen Fang’s appearance is made possible by the Angus Macaulay Visiting Artist Fund.  Major season support has also been provided by the Joseph and Robert Cornell Memorial Foundation.

In-depth program notes by Program Annotator Laurie Shulman are posted on the orchestra’s website, www.cvillesymphony.org, two weeks prior to each Masterworks concert.

Free parking is available in the UVA Central Grounds Parking Garage, located on Emmet Street South on Saturday nights and at Charlottesville High School’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Performing Arts Center on Sunday afternoons.  The Charlottesville Free Trolley stops at McCormick Road near the UVA Amphitheater, in close proximity to Old Cabell Hall.  Both venues are wheelchair accessible.                                             

Single tickets are $10-$53 for adults and $10 for students.  UVA students may request one complimentary ticket in advance.  Tickets may be purchased at the University of Virginia Arts Box Office, (434) 924-3376, 12:00-5:00pm, Tuesday through Friday in the lobby of the UVA Drama Building at 109 Culbreth Road starting Tuesday, September 9, or online beginning at 12:00 noon on Tuesday, August 26, at www.artsboxoffice.virginia.edu.

All University of Virginia employees (faculty and staff of all UVA departments and professional schools) are entitled to a 20% discount on tickets to individual performances.  This offer does not apply to subscriptions, the December Family Holiday Concerts or previously purchased tickets.

REMAINING 2025-26 CONCERTS INFORMATION

DVOŘÁK MASS
Saturday, November 15, 7:30pm, Old Cabell Hall, UVA Grounds
Sunday, November 16, 3:30pm, Martin Luther King, Jr. Performing Arts Center
JOHANN STRAUSS II – Overture to Die Fledermau
DINUK WIJERATNE – Polyphonic Lively
ANTONÍN DVOŘÁK – “The Colors of the Flag” from The American Flag 
with:
UVA University Singers
Emily Marvosh, contralto
Michael Slon, conductor           
ANTONÍN DVOŘÁK – Mass in D major

with:

UVA University Singers
Christina Pier, soprano
Emily Marvosh, contralto
Jamison Walker, tenor
Kevin Spooner, bass-baritone
Michael Slon, conductor
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ROMANCE
Saturday, February 14, 7:30pm, Old Cabell Hall, UVA Grounds
Sunday, February 15, 3:30pm, THE PARAMOUNT THEATER (venue change for this Sunday concert only)
EDWARD ELGAR – Salut d’Amour
SERGEI RACHMANINOFF – Adagio from Symphony No. 2 in E minor
UVA Concerto Competition Winner - TBA
PIETRO MASCAGNI – Intermezzo from Cavalleria Rusticana
JOHN WILLIAMS – Marion’s Theme from The Adventures of Indiana Jones
RICHARD WAGNER – “Liebestod” from Tristan und Isolde
PYOTR ILYICH TCHAILOVSKY – Romeo and Juliet

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GERSHWIN PIANO CONCERTO IN F
Saturday, March 21, 7:30pm, Old Cabell Hall, UVA Grounds
Sunday, March 22, 3:30pm, Martin Luther King, Jr. Performing Arts Center
Mélisse Brunet, guest conductor
CHARLES IVES – Variations on “America”
GEORGE GERSHWIN – Piano Concerto in F with John Mayhood, piano
VALERIE COLEMAN – Umoja: Anthem for Unity
AARON COPLAND – Rodeo: Four Dance Episodes

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RIMSKY-KORSAKOV SCHEHERAZADE
Saturday, April 18, 7:30pm, Old Cabell Hall, UVA Grounds
Sunday, April 19, 3:30pm, Martin Luther King, Jr. Performing Arts Center
SOFIA GUBAIDULINA – Fairytale Poem
JEAN SIBELIUS – Finlandia
NIKOLAI RIMSKY-KORSAKOV – Scheherazade with Daniel Sender, violin

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AND

FAMILY HOLIDAY CONCERTS
Saturday, December 6, 7:30pm, Old Cabell Hall, UVA Grounds
Sunday, December 7, 3:30pm, Old Cabell Hall, UVA Grounds
Holiday favorites with the UVA University Singers 
Conducted by Michael Slon

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All artists, programs and venues are subject to change.