The magical sounds of the harp inspired this dreamy collection of music evoking evenings in the salons of Paris, the night sky in India, and the feverish dreams of Franz Schubert.  Two French masterpieces anchor the program: the revolutionary Sonata for Flute, Viola and Harp by Debussy (the first major work to combine these three instruments) and the elegant  Fantasie by Saint-Saëns. These are paired with the mysterious Eye of Night by David Bruce, and Onutė Narbutaitė’s Winterserenade, an atmospheric envisioning of Franz Schubert’s song “Good Night.” Harpist Charles Overton makes his CMSCVA debut, joined by flutist Mary Boodell, violist Melissa Reardon and violinist Njioma Grevious. This concert is presented in partnership with GreenSpring International Academy of Music, recognized nationally as a premier classically-based music school offering online and in-person individual lessons, classes, the Grammy-considered American Youth Harp Ensemble, chamber ensembles, chamber orchestra, the Virginia Choristers and summer programming to all students, all ages and levels. For more information, visit www.greenspringmusic.org.

Coffeehouses in 18th century Germany were much like today – places where people could enjoy stimulating conversion, a comforting beverage, and musical entertainment. Travel back in time with us to enjoy a program you might have heard at Leipzig’s most famous and elegant coffeehouse, Café Zimmermann, where famous composers like Bach and Telemann ran their own concert series that featured a wide range of music performed by chamber ensembles and small orchestras. Keeping with this tradition, our Baroque musical evening includes chamber music and concertos by Pachelbel, Fasch, Pisendal and Vivaldi, performed by a complete 15-piece orchestra of period instruments. This concert is presented in partnership with the Staunton Music Festival.  

The first installment of a multi-year CMSCVA commissioning project inspired by Modest Mussorgsky’s timeless musical suite ”Pictures at an Exhibition,” this concert presents four world premieres based on works of art and historical objects found in some of Richmond’s many museums and galleries.  The talented line-up of Richmond-born and Richmond-based composers creating this first round of musical pictures are Antonio García, Anthony Smith, Zachary Wadsworth, and Donovan Williams. Bring your Richmond pride and join us for this celebration of local talent and creativity! This project was supported in part by the Virginia Commission for the Arts, which receives support from the Virginia General Assembly and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.  

We end our season as we started it, with an epic work of Franz Schubert paired with a spectacular piece of music from our time. This time we combine the celebratory Octet in F major by Franz Schubert, with the world premiere of “The Eight Immortals and the Sea” by Georgia-based composer and conductor Shuying Li. CMSCVA commissioned this work for eight players who each musically represent one of the legendary Immortals, famed mythological figures from the composer’s native China. CMSCVA regulars violinist Suliman Tekalli, violist Celia Hatton, clarinetist David Lemelin are joined by new friends including cellist Seth Parker Woods and horn player Kevin Newton.