Our friends at the Richmond Symphony League will be hosting their 55th annual Student Concerto Competition on Saturday, January 3, 2026. The League’s concerto competition is open to any classically trained instrumentalist in Virginia who has not yet graduated from high school. The first-prize winner will receive a cash award and be considered for an invitation to perform with the Richmond Symphony. The application period is open now and will close in early December. For more information, click here.
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The first piece on Youth Concert Orchestra’s performance this weekend, Zachary Docter’s rustic Prairie Dance, makes this East Coast-based Youth Orchestra want to move out west! 🏜️🐎🤠
The talented young musicians in YCO will come together with our other YOP ensembles this Sunday for an unforgettable season opener featuring nearly 200 students across five ensembles. We can’t wait to see you there! 🎻🎺🥁
All YOP Ensembles Showcase
Sunday, November 9, 2025 at 6:30pm
Carpenter Theatre at the Dominion Energy Center
Featuring String Sinfonietta, Camerata Strings, Youth Concert Orchestra, Percussion Ensemble, and the Richmond Symphony Youth Orchestra
@rvasymphony #YouthOrchestra #MusicEd #Strings #Woodwinds #Brass #Percussion
String Sinfonietta and Camerata Strings are hard at work preparing for our first concert of the year, coming up in just over one week! 🎻🧡
Nearly 200 students from all five Youth Orchestra Program ensembles will perform in concert on Sunday, November 9 in the Carpenter Theatre at 6:30pm. Admission is free, no ticket is required—we hope to see you there!
All YOP Ensembles Showcase
Sunday, November 9, 2025 at 6:30pm
Carpenter Theatre at the Dominion Energy Center
Featuring String Sinfonietta, Camerata Strings, Youth Concert Orchestra, Percussion Ensemble, and the Richmond Symphony Youth Orchestra
@rvasymphony #YouthOrchestra #MusicEd #Violin #Viola #Cello #DoubleBass
Explore how music and physics connect at our first Family Concert of the year: The Science of Sound! ✨🥼🎺 Presented in collaboration with the Science Museum of Virginia, guests will discover how orchestral instruments create sound and learn about the mechanics of sound waves, ranging from outer space to the deep sea.
While this show is designed primarily for guests ages 7–13, the whole family will enjoy this opportunity to explore connections between STEM and the performing arts. Children 2 and under are free if seated in an adult’s lap.
For more information and to buy your ticket, visit the link in our bio @richmondsymphonysom!
The Science of Sound Family Concert
Sunday, November 2, 2025 at 3:00 pm
Perkinson Center for the Arts & Education
11810 Centre Street, Chester, VA 23831
@rvasymphony @sciencemuseumofvirginia #RVAFamilies #RVA #RVAFamily #MusicEducation #FamilyConcert
📣📣 Virginia high school music educators: Do you know a junior or senior who would make an excellent music educator one day? If you teach a student who’s got that spark, now is the time to nominate them for our 6th annual Future Music Educators Symposium (FMES)! 🍎🎶✨
Led by Dr. Sandy Goldie, Department Chair and Director of Music Education, VCUarts Music, this 8-week online program is designed to provide a meaningful experience for students who show exceptional promise and passion for a future career in music education. Students are selected through teacher nominations, and accepted students participate in a series of workshops and classes where their own hands-on teaching encounters are supported virtually by invited guest speakers, clinicians, and mentors. This year’s cohort will meet online on Wednesdays from 4:30-6:00pm, January 7 to February 25, 2026.
Each music educator may nominate up to two (2) total students for this course. To be eligible for a nomination, students must currently be a high school junior or senior and must be located in the state of Virginia. The deadline to nominate students is Monday, December 1, 2025. Space is extremely limited, so we encourage you to submit your nominations early. For more information and to nominate a student, visit the link in our bio.
Photo by James H Loving Photography (@jamesloving).
@rvasymphony @vcuartsmusic @virginiamusiceducators #MusicEducation #VMEA #MusicEd #MusicTeacher #MusicTeachersofInstagram
The Girl from Ipanema: ✨🎺 Brass quintet version 🎺✨
Each season, Richmond Symphony Educational Ensembles visit elementary schools across central Virginia, playing chamber music for thousands of students throughout the course of the season. The Richmond Symphony Brass Quintet, one of our first Educational Ensembles of the year, recently visited Ettrick Elementary School in Chesterfield County, playing an arrangement of The Girl from Ipanema among classical works! 🎺✨
@rvasymphony @oneccps #BrassQuintet #Brass #GirlFromIpanema #FrenchHorn #Trumpet #Trombone #Tuba #Horn
🌀🌀🌀 Ooh… you wanna audition for the Richmond Symphony Youth Orchestra Program so bad… 🌀🌀🌀
If you’re interested in joining the Youth Orchestra Program, now is your chance—no hypnosis required! We’re accepting mid-season auditions for all instrument families in all five of our ensembles. All auditions are due by the end of the day on Monday, October 20. Visit the link in our bio for more information! 🌀🎶
@rvasymphony @hae.conductor #Audition #YouthOrchestraProgram #ClassicalMusicMemes #RichmondVA #Orchestra #YouthOrchestra #Hypnosis
It’s October 3rd… which means that mid-season YOP auditions are due in just 17 days! 💅🩷🎻🎺🥁 Whether you play strings, woodwinds, brass, or percussion, visit the link in our bio to submit your virtual audition today.
@rvasymphony #MeanGirls #October3rd #YouthOrchestra #Orchestra #ClassicalMusic #MusicEducation #ClassicalMusicMemes #RVA #RVAFamilies
Mid-season auditions for the Richmond Symphony Youth Orchestra Program are now open… and if someone DMed you this reel, that means they want YOU to audition! 🎻🎺🥁🌟
Seats are open in all ensembles, with audition submissions due by the end of the day on Monday, October 20. Please note that current YOP students are only eligible to change ensembles during our spring audition cycle. Visit the link in our bio to sign up for your audition today.
🎶: Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5 in E minor, op. 64: II. Andante cantabile con alcuna licenza, played by the Richmond Symphony Youth Orchestra and conducted by Associate Conductor Hae Lee @hae.conductor
@rvasymphony #RichmondSymphony #YouthOrchestraProgram #YOP #YouthOrchestra #MusicEducation #Richmond #RichmondVA #RVA
“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
Support the future of the performing arts in Richmond by purchasing an ad in our 2025–26 season Youth Orchestra Program playbill! 💫
Professionally printed and shared with patrons at our four Youth Orchestra concerts this season, playbill advertisements reach an audience of over two thousand and are a great way to promote your business or company—all while supporting nearly 200 aspiring musicians in their artistic journey. Audiences include youth musicians and their families, music teachers, and other members of the Richmond performing arts community.
Ad placements start at just $150 and all ad requests are due by Wednesday, October 1 at 5:00 pm. To inquire, email Marcey W. Leonard, Community Engagement Manager, at mleonard@richmondsymphony.com. A detailed list of ad specifications can be found at the link in our bio (linktr.ee/rssom).
@rvasymphony #RVA #RichmondVA #RVAbusiness #Richmond #CentralVirginia #VABusiness
