WV SYMPHONY ANNOUNCES DEADLINE TO APPLY FOR MUSIC FELLOWSHIP IS DEC. 19

CHARLESTON, W.VA. (10/29/19) – The West Virginia Symphony Orchestra invites all high school instrumental music students to apply for the Andrew and Amy Vaughan Student Symphonic Fellowship, a monitored and time-intensive training program for serious music students.

December 19 is the last date to apply for this program that focuses on developing and encouraging West Virginia students with a strong desire for success as a future professional musician, educator, composer or conductor.

Selected fellows will sit alongside WVSO musicians during the second half of the Elliot Foundation Symphonic concert series and conduct personal research about the music performed. Fellows will also meet and interact with renowned guest artists, guest conductors, and WVSO Music Director Lawrence Loh. Additional fellowship activities will be tailored to the winning candidates’ interests and abilities. Fellowship activities take place primarily outside of school hours. Fellows who live outside of Charleston will receive a stipend for travel to symphony activities.

Candidates should be serious instrumental students in grades 9-12. Applications will be accepted for students playing the following instruments: harp, violin, viola, cello, bass, flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, saxophone, trumpet, horn, trombone, tuba, pitched and unpitched percussion, and piano. 

From the initial applicants, a small number of finalists will be invited to a two-part interview/audition on January 11 in Charleston. For the audition, students are encouraged to perform one or more movements from the standard concerto repertoire for solo instrument with orchestra. An accompanist will be provided, but students are also free to bring their own. Pianists should prepare a major solo movement from the standard sonata repertoire.

Applications are available at wvsymphony.org/fellowship. The program is underwritten by a generous donation from Dr. N. Andrew and Amy Vaughan.

The West Virginia Symphony Orchestra is West Virginia’s premier performing arts organization, presenting classical, pops, family and chamber-music concerts annually throughout the Mountain State. Currently in its 80th season, the WVSO is a proud member of the community and enriches the region by providing affordable, high-quality concerts, collaborations with West Virginia arts organizations and a nationally award-winning education program.

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WV SYMPHONY PRESENTS CHILDREN'S CONCERTS IN OCTOBER WITH CARTOONIST JOE WOS

CHARLESTON, W.VA. (9/18/19) - Students across the state are invited to explore the animal kingdom through classical music as the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra (WVSO) presents Symphonic Safari, a Young People’s Concerts written especially for children.

On Oct. 22 in Charleston and on Oct. 24 in Clarksburg, WVSO Music Director Lawrence Loh will lead the WVSO in performing works by Elgar, Strauss, Rimsky-Korsakov, Rossini and others. MazeToons Illustrator Joe Wos will draw cartoons of some of our favorite creatures as they are projected onto a large screen behind the orchestra. Supplemental classroom materials for these special concerts that bind classical music with other school subjects also are available online at WVSOKids.org.

The Charleston performances begin at 9:45 a.m. and 11:35 a.m. at the Culture Center at the Capitol Complex. The Clarksburg performances begin at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. at The Robinson Grand Performing Arts Center.

Admission for students is $4. One school chaperone for every 10 students is admitted free. Admission for all additional adults is $4.

Financial assistance for transportation or admission costs is available upon request thanks to generous support from the Clay Center, Daywood Foundation, EQT Foundation, Herscher Foundation, Jacobson Foundation, Katharine B. Tierney Charitable Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts and the West Virginia Department of Arts Culture and History.

Reservations can be made at WVSOKids.org or by contacting Betty King at (304) 957-9878 or bking@wvsymphony.org.

The WVSO is West Virginia’s premier performing arts organization, presenting classical, pops, family and chamber-music concerts annually throughout the Mountain State. Currently in its 80th season, the WVSO is a proud member of the community and enriches the region by providing affordable, high-quality concerts, collaborations with West Virginia arts organizations and a nationally award-winning education program.

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WV SYMPHONY PRESENTS 80TH ANNIVERSARY SPECTACULAR!

CHARLESTON, W.VA. (10/01/19) – The West Virginia Symphony Orchestra (WVSO) kicks off a year-long celebration of its 80th anniversary season on Oct. 19 with a spectacular season opening concert featuring music from its first performance in 1939.

Music Director Lawrence Loh will lead the WVSO in performing J.F. Hérold’s Overture to Zampa, first performed by the WVSO on Nov. 14, 1939, at the Charleston Municipal Auditorium. Special guest pianist Orion Weiss will then join the orchestra at the Clay Center in performing Rachmaninov’s Concerto for Piano no. 3 in d minor. The concert finale will be Prokofiev’s Symphony no. 5 in B-flat Major.

“We are so excited about our 80th anniversary season,” said WVSO President Joe Tackett. “We are not only featuring some of the great music from our first season, but we are also launching our 80-for-80 club and have published a book that explores the people and the music that helped to sow a rich tradition of classical music in the heart of Appalachia.”

 As part of the season opener, patrons are invited to a special pre-concert dinner at the Clay Center celebrating the WVSO’s 80-year history and the closing of its successful $3 million endowment campaign. The Playing It Forward campaign raised more than $3 million to help to ensure that the WVSO continues to entertain, engage and educate thousands of West Virginians a year for decades to come.

The WVSO will also celebrate the addition of three newly endowed chairs that brings the total number of endowed chairs secured during the Play It Forward campaign to 11. They are the Principal Bassoon Chair in memory of Henry B. & Helen D. Wehrle, the Principal Trombone Chair in memory of Irma A. Harrison and the entire Percussion Section endowed by the American Electric Power Foundation.

A cash bar opens at 4:30 p.m. Dinner begins at 5 p.m, a special presentation at 6:15 p.m., and the concert at 7:30 p.m. The dinner and concert package costs $80 per person or $150 a couple. Tickets can be purchased by calling Administrative Assistant Alison Flowers at 304.957.9876, by email at aflowers@wvsymphony.org or by visiting https://tinyurl.com/y4jz3c58.

 The Elliot Foundation Symphonic Series concert is made possible by the generous support of the Elliot Foundation and Encova Insurance. Concert-only tickets start at $12 and are available at wvsymphony.org or by calling 304.561.3570.

For more information about the 80-for-80 club, which honors WVSO supporters who make a special one-time gift of $1,000, contact Development Director Jessica Westfall at 304.957.9879 or jwestfall@wvsymphony.org.

The West Virginia Symphony Orchestra is West Virginia’s premier performing arts organization, presenting classical, pops, family and chamber-music concerts annually throughout the Mountain State. Currently in its 80th season, the WVSO is a proud member of the community and enriches the region by providing affordable, high-quality concerts, collaborations with West Virginia arts organizations and a nationally award-winning education program.

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