This week on “A Local Touch: Music with a Virginia Connection,” Raymond Jones invites listeners on a journey through masterworks of classical music, each uniquely tied to the Commonwealth of Virginia. Whether through a composer’s legacy, a Virginia-based ensemble, or a memorable performance held on local soil, these selections showcase the state’s deep and varied contributions to the world of classical music.
The program opens with the fiery brilliance of Richard Strauss’ “Don Juan,” performed by the ACC Heritage of America Band, based at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, under the direction of Colonel Lowell Graham. And after that, Strauss appears again with his Symphony-Suite from “Ariadne auf Naxos,” arranged by D. Wilson Ochoa and recorded by the Buffalo Philharmonic under the baton of JoAnn Falletta—a longtime musical leader in Virginia as music director of the Virginia Symphony Orchestra.
Then it’s time for the lyrical richness of Brahms’ String Sextet No. 1 performed, in this occasion, by Virginia-born cellist Zuill Bailey, along with violist Barry Shiffman and the Cypress String Quartet. And we stay in the realm of strings with the Cello Concerto by Robert Ian Winstin, performed by Vera Kornilova with the Kiev Philharmonic. Winstin, an American composer who passed away in Virginia, left behind a powerful and distinctive musical voice.
Maurice Duruflé’s deeply spiritual “Prelude, Adagio and Chorale on the theme Veni Creator” is heard on the majestic Robert William Wallace pipe organ at St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Fredericksburg. The sacred acoustics of this Virginia church breathe life into Duruflé’s moving tribute to divine inspiration.
We then turn to a beloved favorite: Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2, performed by Svetlana Smolina and Symphonicity, Virginia Beach’s own community orchestra, under the direction of Daniel Boothe. This concert, recorded live at the Sandler Center on May 16, 2021, showcases the world-class talent thriving right here in Hampton Roads.
And the evening concludes with the beautiful Welsh lullaby “Suo Gân,” arranged by Mark Burrows and performed by the Virginia Choral Society. This performance is part of their “Silver Screen” concert in October 2024.
Join us this Wednesday at 9:00 p.m. on WHRO-FM 90.3—and also online—for a program that celebrates the people, places, and performances that make Virginia a vital thread in the rich tapestry of classical music.
