This Wednesday at 9:00 p.m. on WHRO-FM, “A Local Touch – Music with a Virginia Connection” brings the voices of various Virginia ensembles you don’t want to miss. Join Raymond Jones for a program that highlights the artistry and creativity that thrive throughout the Commonwealth.
We begin right here in Hampton Roads with “The Doorway Singers,” who stopped by the WHRO studios to share their signature a cappella harmonies in a live performance of traditional Christmas favorites. If you like their festive sound, you can hear them performing around the region throughout the holiday season. Their first performance takes place this Saturday, November 15, at Larchmont United Methodist Church in Norfolk.
We will also travel to the Middle Appalachia, where the Emory and & Henry College Concert Choir, directed by Charles Davis, performs a collection of sacred works recorded in the college’s Memorial Chapel, highlighting the strength and tradition of Virginia’s collegiate choral scene.
Then we go south to the Sandler Center in Virginia Beach for Symphonicity under Daniel W. Boothe, performing Gustav Holst’s “Japanese Suite.” This live recording, made in March this year, captures the vibrant energy of one of Hampton Roads’ leading community orchestras.
From there, it’s on to Williamsburg with the Choral Guild and the William & Mary Choir, under the direction of Jay Beville. We’ll hear them on René Clausen’s “Crying for a Dream” and Ariel Ramirez’s “Missa Criolla.”
We travel back in time to a Virginia Arts Festival performance from 2007: Rossini’s Overture to “The Thieving Magpie” arranged for flute, clarinet, and guitar, and performed on this occasion by flutist Debra Wendells Cross, clarinetist Robert Alemany, and JoAnn Falletta on guitar.
And to wrap up, the Heifetz on Air series returns with five outstanding artists, all returning alumni of the Heifetz Institute in Staunton, performing works by Bach, Brahms, Glazunov, Piazzolla, and more.
It’s a celebration of Virginia’s talent and musical spirit, this Wednesday at 9:00 p.m. on WHRO-FM 90.3, and online, with “A Local Touch.”
