Virginia Arts Festival

08/28/2026

Just Announced! Benefit concert for The Muse Writers Center - November 20 at Harrison Opera House! In this special benefit concert, musicians of the Virginia Symphony Orchestra join acclaimed historian and narrator Clay Jenkinson for America Coming of Age - an evocative exploration of three extraordinary American voices: Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Henry David Thoreau.

Through Jenkinson’s vivid narration, these thinkers emerge not simply as figures from the past, but as complicated, searching voices in an ongoing American conversation, voices asking what it means to build a nation, to define freedom, to engage with nature, and to imagine America’s future.

Tickets at vafest.org

08/19/2026

Thank you Josh Groban for an incredible evening this past Sunday night!
We were thrilled to work with Chartway Arena again and what a pleasure to have our very own Virginia Symphony Orchestra and The Virginia Chorale there to perform for his Stage, Screen, & Symphony Tour!

08/12/2026

Just Announced: Attucks Jazz Club Series Returns for 2026-2027!
Another stacked lineup in store for you as always curated by John Toomey and featuring John Toomey Trio on each performance date. Tix are $30 and on sale now at vafest.org🎶🎵

September 26 - Mike Rodriguez, trumpet
October 24 - Dani Assis, vocals
November 14 - Gabriela Allemana, vocals
January 16 - Sherman Irby, saxophone
February 6 - Jason Palmer, trumpet
March 13 - Tom Beckham, vibraphone

08/11/2026

Listen to this WHRO Public Media interview with Josh Groban and get excited for Sunday at Chartway Arena !!

Josh Groban's 'Stage, Screen & Symphony' concert pulls on classics from Broadway and film. It will include pieces from Groban's most recent album release, 'Cinematic.'

08/11/2026

Lucky we get to be a part of this limited symphonic tour! August 16 right here in Norfolk at Chartway Arena! Make sure you get your tickets at vafest.org and we will see you there!

08/10/2026

Josh Groban brings his Stage, Screen, and Symphony Tour right here to Chartway Arena on Sunday, August 16 with Virginia Symphony Orchestra! And featuring The Virginia Chorale

Did you get your tickets yet? >>>vafest.org

08/03/2026

Just Announced! We're always happy to co-present with Virginia Symphony Orchestra! Get your tickets at vafest.org now!

Ravel, Janáček, and Illustrating Sound

Eric Jacobsen, conductor
Alex Sopp, visual artist
Virginia Symphony Orchestra Chorus

Maurice Ravel: Daphnis et Chloe Suite No. 2
Caroline Shaw: The Mountain that Loved a Bird (narrator TBD, animation by Alex Sopp)
Leoš Janáček: Sinfonietta

April 16, 2027 at 7:30pm at Sandler Center
April 17, 2027 at 7:30pm at Ferguson Center

One of the “most beautiful creations in all of French music” (Igor Stravinsky), Ravel’s Second Suite from Daphnis and Chloe lushly depicts a love that survives against all odds. Unifying visuals with sound, “beautifully nuanced” (NY Times) artist Alex Sopp creates a stop-motion animated film to accompany Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Caroline Shaw's The Mountain that Loved a Bird. The orchestra is augmented by an enormous brass section for the invigorating Czech melodies and dance rhythms of Janáček’s revolutionary Sinfonietta.

Direct link to get your tickets today: https://vafest.org/tickets/2627/ravel-janacek-and-illustrating-sound?promocode=4523

07/30/2026

Happy International Friendship Day! Virginia International Tattoo 2027 tickets are available at vafest.org! Join us April 22-25, 2027 at Scope Arena!