Richmond East End Festival Raises Funds for Educational Arts Programming

“Every summer, rising juniors and seniors from high schools across Virginia apply to and are selected for the Summer Residential Governor’s Schools: seven state- and locally sponsored residential programs offering students advanced study in agriculture, engineering, mathematics, and more and operated by the Virginia Department of Education. This year, two Richmond Symphony Youth Orchestra (RSYO) students were selected for the Summer Residential Governor’s School for Visual & Performing Arts and Humanities, held at Radford University in western Virginia.”

We’re excited to announce our brand-new Spotlight Series: a monthly article featuring RSSoM students, alumni, and programming, and more, written by Anna Mitchell, Education & Social Media Coordinator. September’s Spotlight Series features Jordan Mays and Katelyn Luu, two RSYO students who participated in a selective summer music camp operated by the Virginia Department of Education. To read our very first Spotlight Series, visit the link in our bio, visit our website, or subscribe to our monthly newsletter.

@rvasymphony #MusicEducation #ClassicalMusic #MusicEd #RadfordUniversity #Violin #Viola

Shoutout to RSYO double bassist Peter, who recently represented our Youth Orchestra Program at the Richmond Symphony’s annual gala! 🎻💐🌟

Peter, who is a senior at Maggie L. Walker Governor’s School, has played in YOP for five years, participated in last season’s Young Composers Seminar, and has been selected for the All-Virginia Orchestra several times. At the gala, Peter performed his own arrangement of Florence Price’s Adoration alongside teacher Matt Gold. Peter also participated in a special Q&A with Davey Van Beveren, Assistant Director of Education & Community Engagement, where he shared his favorite parts about being in the Youth Orchestra Program.

Thank you for your performance and for representing YOP! Peter will be sorely missed next year, but we’re grateful to have one final year with him in RSYO before he graduates this coming May.

Photos by Dave Pearson Photography (@pearsonphoto2000).

@rvasymphony @mlwgsorch #DoubleBass #Bass #FlorencePrice #YouthOrchestra #MusicEducation #RichmondVA #RVA

Just in time for the second-to-last episode of the series @thesummeriturnedpretty #teamconrad?!

@rvasymphony #TSITP #TheSummerITurnedPretty #YouthOrchestra #OrchestraMemes #ClassicalMusic #ClassicalMusicMemes #RichmondVA #RVA

The final featured student in this year’s YOP Summer Spotlight is RSYO violinist Katelyn, who participated in the highly selective Virginia Summer Residential Governor’s School for Visual and Performing Arts! 🎻☀️

This summer at Radford University, “I made new friends from around Virginia while exploring different genres of music and playing chamber music for the first time,” says Katelyn. “I had an amazing time playing with other students in a quintet, string orchestra, and a full symphony orchestra.”

Way to represent, Katelyn! We are so proud of you and can’t wait for an another amazing year with you in RSYO! 🎉

@rvasymphony @rucvpa #SummerResidentialGovernorsSchool #Orchestra #Violin #MusicEducation #YouthOrchestra

It’s the start of a new season—and YCO and RSYO are jumping right in with repertoire by Bach, Mozart, and more! 🎶

This week we held our first rehearsals of the year for two of our Youth Orchestra ensembles: YCO and RSYO. Our three remaining ensembles, Sinfonietta, Camerata, and Percussion Ensemble, will begin rehearsals in the coming weeks.

Mark your calendar now—all five YOP ensembles will perform in concert on Sunday, November 9 at 6:30 pm in the Carpenter Theatre! 🎻🎺🥁

@rvasymphony #YouthOrchestra #MusicEducation #RVAFamilies #PerformingArts #ClassicalMusic

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@rvasymphony #HardLaunch #YouthOrchestra #OrchestraMemes #ClassicalMusic #MusicEducation

Next up in this year’s YOP Summer Spotlight is RSYO violinist Samantha, who was selected to perform with NYO2, a free and highly competitive orchestra program comprised of some of the top American musicians ages 14 through 16! 🎻🌟

This year, NYO2 performed at Carnegie Hall and as a resident orchestra at Edinburgh International Festival in Scotland. Selected works included Prokoviev’s Symphony No. 5 in B-flat major and Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto No. 1 in E-flat major, featuring world-renowned cellist Alisa Weilerstein. In the cover photo, Samantha is pictured with NYO2 2025 conductor Rafael Payare, Music Director of the @sandiegosymphony. Congratulations, Samantha—we are so proud to have you represent YOP and Richmond on an international level! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🎶🛩️

YOP students, are you interested in being featured on our social media? Visit the link in our bio and tell us all about how you’ve been making music this summer! This opportunity is open to both current YOP students and 2025 graduates.

@rvasymphony @nyo.usa @carnegiehall #YouthOrchestraProgram #NYO2 #NationalYouthOrchestra #Prokofiev #Shostakovich