Join Raymond Jones this Wednesday evening at 9:00 on WHRO-FM for “A Local Touch – Music with a Virginia Connection.”
This week’s program begins with a conversation with two familiar figures in the Hampton Roads classical music community: conductor Daniel W. Boothe and soprano Andrea Boothe. Daniel serves as music director of Symphonicity, while Andrea has appeared frequently as a soloist throughout the region.
They join Raymond to talk about Symphonicity’s upcoming concert “The B Sides: Rediscovered Gems,” taking place this Sunday, March 22, at the Sandler Center for the Performing Arts in Virginia Beach. Inspired by a project of Virginian-born composer Mason Bates, the program explores lesser-known works and unexpected musical pairings. The evening promises surprises from the very beginning, opening not with a traditional overture but with John Adams’s atmospheric “Tromba Lontana.” The concert also includes Daniel Perttu’s “Phoenix,” John Mackey’s “Song from the End of the World” – featuring Andrea Boothe as guest soloist – and Eric Whitacre’s “Goodnight Moon,” all enhanced by an immersive visual component.
To set the stage, Raymond will feature Symphonicity in a recording made live at the same venue in 2024: Paul Dukas’s “Fanfare pour précéder La Péri,” performed antiphonally from the balconies of the hall. We’ll also hear the orchestra in music by Sergei Prokofiev, his Symphony No.1, and Edvard Grieg’s Piano Concerto.
The program continues with a visit to the Heifetz International Music Institute for this week’s “Heifetz on Air” episode, “The Beethoven Experience & The Sibelius Sensation,” celebrating both composers through a blend of chamber music and virtuoso concertos.
We’ll also hear traditional folk sounds from the Virginia Beach-based ensemble “The Itinerant Band,” and choral music from the Choir of Grace Episcopal Church in Norfolk.
And even a musical journey to Spain, but keeping the Virginia connection: the Banda Municipal de Música Vitoria-Gasteiz performs Symphony No. 1 by Hampton Roads composer Aldo Forte.
Hear it all this Wednesday at 9:00 p.m. on WHRO-FM 90.3 with Raymond Jones and “A Local Touch,” or listen online for an evening of great classical music with a Virginia connection.
