The Richmond Symphony School of Music welcomes two new team members

Left: Dr. Julie Bemis, Vice President of Education and Community Engagement. Right: Davey Van Beveren, Assistant Director of Education and Community Engagement.

The Richmond Symphony School of Music is excited to announce two new additions to the team this season: Dr. Julie Bemis, Vice President of Education and Community Engagement, and Davey Van Beveren, Assistant Director of Education and Community Engagement!

Dr. Julie Bemis is the Vice President of Education and Community Engagement at the Richmond Symphony, where she thrives in collaborating with both staff and musicians. Passionate about connecting the community to music, Julie believes in its transformative power to inspire, unite, and uplift people of all ages and from all backgrounds. She is particularly dedicated to creating opportunities for young people to engage with music. Most recently, Julie worked at the Colorado Symphony as Manager of Orchestra Personnel and at the University of Northern Colorado as Assistant Professor of Percussion.

A Chesapeake, Virginia native, Davey Van Beveren’s musical journey began in elementary school with a plastic recorder. He holds a bachelor’s degree in oboe performance from Oberlin College & Conservatory and a master’s degree from the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University. Davey has a deep passion for youth orchestras, and previously worked as the Orchestra Manager at the Greater Boulder Youth Orchestras. Most recently, Davey worked at the Colorado Symphony as their Community Education Manager, where he oversaw the development and implementation of award-winning educational programming that engaged over 30,000 community members each year. Davey also worked as the Orchestra Manager of the Greater Boulder Youth Orchestras.

To learn more about our new staff members, visit the leadership page on our website. Keep an eye out for Julie and Davey at YOP rehearsals and community events later this spring to meet and get to know them.

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This is how spring has us feeling at the Richmond Symphony Youth Orchestra Program 🥰🎻💘

@hae.conductor @rvasymphony #Tchaikovsky #ClassicalMusic #ClassicalMusicMemes #MusicEd #AprilFoolsDay

🎶 — Tchaikovsky: Romeo and Juliet Fantasy-Overture, Rick Astley: Never Gonna Give You Up
DEADLINE EXTENDED for Virginia music educators to redeem their FREE tickets to the Richmond Symphony! All RSVPs are now due by noon on Wednesday, April 1, 2026. For more information, read below. 🍎🎶

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In celebration of Music in Our Schools Month this March, the Richmond Symphony and Richmond Symphony School of Music join together in gratitude for our music educators! As part of our annual Teacher Appreciation event, Virginia music educators may enjoy two (2) complimentary concert tickets to a Richmond Symphony performance at the Carpenter Theatre on Saturday, April 11, 2026 at 7:30pm. ♥️🎶

The program opens with Jessie Montgomery’s Hymn for Everyone, written during the pandemic and serving as a tribute to the composer’s late mother. Then, concert pianist Angela Cheng performs Beethoven’s poetic Piano Concerto No. 4. At the intermission, music teachers are invited to the Donor Lounge to mix and mingle with other educators from around the area. To close the evening, Music Director Valentina Peleggi leads the Richmond Symphony through Aaron Copland’s Americana-inspired Symphony No. 3.
 
Music teachers, thank you for all YOU do, changing lives through the power of music! 🎶 Visit linktr.ee/rssom to redeem your tickets for this year’s special event. All RSVPs are due by noon on Wednesday, April 1, 2026.

@virginiamusiceducators #MusicEducation #VirginiaTeacher #RichmondVA #RVA #VMEA
LAST CHANCE for Virginia music educators to redeem their FREE tickets to the Richmond Symphony! The deadline is Tuesday, March 31, 2026. For more information, read below. 🍎🎶

——————

In celebration of Music in Our Schools Month this March, the Richmond Symphony and Richmond Symphony School of Music join together in gratitude for our music educators! As part of our annual Teacher Appreciation event, Virginia music educators may enjoy two (2) complimentary concert tickets to a Richmond Symphony performance at the Carpenter Theatre on Saturday, April 11, 2026 at 7:30pm. ♥️🎶

The program opens with Jessie Montgomery’s Hymn for Everyone, written during the pandemic and serving as a tribute to the composer’s late mother. Then, concert pianist Angela Cheng performs Beethoven’s poetic Piano Concerto No. 4. At the intermission, music teachers are invited to the Donor Lounge to mix and mingle with other educators from around the area. To close the evening, Music Director Valentina Peleggi leads the Richmond Symphony through Aaron Copland’s Americana-inspired Symphony No. 3.
 
Music teachers, thank you for all YOU do, changing lives through the power of music! 🎶 Visit linktr.ee/rssom to redeem your tickets for this year’s special event. All RSVPs are due by the end of the day on Tuesday, March 31, 2026.

@virginiamusiceducators #MusicEducation #VirginiaTeacher #RichmondVA #RVA #VMEA
In celebration of Music in Our Schools Month this March, the Richmond Symphony and Richmond Symphony School of Music join together in gratitude for our music educators! As part of our annual Teacher Appreciation event, Virginia music educators may enjoy two (2) complimentary concert tickets to a Richmond Symphony performance at the Carpenter Theatre on Saturday, April 11, 2026 at 7:30pm. ♥️🎶

The program opens with Jessie Montgomery’s Hymn for Everyone, written during the pandemic and serving as a tribute to the composer’s late mother. Then, concert pianist Angela Cheng performs Beethoven’s poetic Piano Concerto No. 4. At the intermission, music teachers are invited to the Donor Lounge to mix and mingle with other educators from around the area. To close the evening, Music Director Valentina Peleggi leads the Richmond Symphony through Aaron Copland’s Americana-inspired Symphony No. 3.
 
Music teachers, thank you for all YOU do, changing lives through the power of music! 🎶 Visit linktr.ee/rssom to redeem your tickets for this year’s special event. All RSVPs are due by the end of the day on Tuesday, March 31, 2026.

@virginiamusiceducators #MusicEducation #VirginiaTeacher #RichmondVA #RVA #Virginia
In celebration of Music in Our Schools Month this March, the Richmond Symphony and Richmond Symphony School of Music join together in gratitude for our music educators! As part of our annual Teacher Appreciation event, Virginia music educators may enjoy two (2) complimentary concert tickets to a Richmond Symphony performance at the Carpenter Theatre on Saturday, April 11, 2026 at 7:30pm. ♥️🎶

The program opens with Jessie Montgomery’s Hymn for Everyone, written during the pandemic and serving as a tribute to the composer’s late mother. Then, concert pianist Angela Cheng performs Beethoven’s poetic Piano Concerto No. 4. At the intermission, music teachers are invited to the Donor Lounge to mix and mingle with other educators from around the area. To close the evening, Music Director Valentina Peleggi leads the Richmond Symphony through Aaron Copland’s Americana-inspired Symphony No. 3.
 
Music teachers, thank you for all YOU do, changing lives through the power of music! 🎶 Visit linktr.ee/rssom to redeem your tickets for this year’s special event. All RSVPs are due by the end of the day on Tuesday, March 31, 2026.

@virginiamusiceducators #MusicEducation #VirginiaTeacher #RichmondVA #RVA #Virginia
This could be you: a member of the Richmond Symphony Youth Orchestra Program! Audition registration for our 2026–27 season is officially open starting today! 🎻🪈🎺🥁🪉🎶

Students will have the option to audition in person or virtually, with in-person auditions taking place on Saturday, June 6 and virtual audition submissions being due on Sunday, May 31. Please note that this audition period is the only chance for current YOP students to move up in ensemble.

To learn more and register for your audition, visit the link in our bio or go to linktr.ee/rssom. We hope to see you in our ensembles next season!

Photos from the 2024–25 and 2025–26 seasons by James H Loving Photography (@jamesloving), Demetrius Holloway (@whoisholloway), Dave Pearson (@pearsonphoto2000), and Christian Thesken/True North Productions (@truenorthprods).

#YouthOrchestra #MusicEducation #MusicEd #YouthBand #Orchestra
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@rvasymphony #MusicEducation #MusicEd #Teach #ClassicalMusic

 Join the 2026-27 Youth Orchestra Program! Virtual and In-Person Auditions Available   Learn More >