This Wednesday at 9 p.m., “A Local Touch – Music with a Virginia Connection” highlights artists, ensembles, and composers with ties to our region. Join Raymond Jones for an evening where Virginia’s musicians shine alongside international voices.
We’ll begin with the lyrical beauty of Camille Saint-Saëns’ “The Swan,” performed by cellist Zuill Bailey with the Roanoke Symphony under David Willey, an exquisite interpretation from a Virginia-based orchestra.
From there, Michael Ludwig joins the Virginia Symphony Orchestra and Music Director JoAnn Falletta for Max Bruch’s romantic “Scottish Fantasy,” a showcase of rich orchestral color and virtuoso violin playing.
The program for the night also includes William Grant Still’s “Afro-American Symphony,” performed by the London Symphony, under the baton of Paul Freeman, and Johan Franco’s Symphony No. 5 “Cosmos,” a celestial work brought to life by the North Holland Philharmonic under Henri Arends.
We’ll travel to Staunton for our “Heifetz on Air” segment entitled “Coachings & Collaborations.” Don’t miss this one, as it includes recordings of Jascha Heifetz’s coaching sessions and chamber music partnerships.
Then it is time for Harvey J. Stoke’s String Quartet No. 2, performed by the Oxford String Quartet. Stokes is a distinguished faculty member at Hampton University, an oboist with Symphonicity, and one of Virginia’s most active and respected composers.
Finally, we close with Schubert’s Impromptu No. 4, performed at George Mason University by pianist Jean Carrington Cook, a reminder of the wealth of musical talent found in Virginia’s academic communities.
It’s another evening of music with deep local roots and worldwide connections. Don’t miss “A Local Touch” this Wednesday at 9 p.m. on WHRO-FM 90.3, or stream online through our Media Player and smart devices.
