The Charlottesville Symphony at the University of Virginia continues its 50th Anniversary Season on Saturday, February 8, 7:30pm, at Old Cabell Hall on the Grounds of the University of Virginia and Sunday, February 9, 3:30pm, at Charlottesville High School’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Performing Arts Center.

Noting his decision to celebrate the orchestra’s milestone season with the inclusion of a well-known, major symphonic work on each of the five 2024-25 Masterworks programs, Music Director Benjamin Rous anchors the February performances with excerpts from Sergei Prokofiev’s ballet music for "Romeo and Juliet". William Shakespeare’s 1597 tragedy of the same name has been an endless source of inspiration across the arts, from literature to ballet, opera, film and musical theater, and Prokofiev’s vivid portrayal of the star-crossed lovers makes it one of the greatest 20th century ballet scores.

Kristin Hauge’s “Morning Overture” opens the concerts. Hauge is a PhD candidate in the Composition & Computer Technologies program within the University of Virginia’s Music Department. “Morning Overture” traces the unfolding of the morning from dawn until noon: the sun rises, birds flit and animals awaken.

Continuing the focus on UVA musicians, Fourth-Year student and bass-baritone Jack Siegel joins the orchestra in three popular opera arias. He is the winner of UVA’s second annual Concerto Competition which seeks to highlight the talents of student musicians in the university’s Music Department. Siegel will sing “La vendetta” from The Marriage of Figaro, “Vecchia zimarra senti” from La Bohème and “The Toreador Song” – “Votre toast” – from Carmen.

The orchestra’s February concerts are underwritten in part by the Vesta Lee Gordon Fund at the Charlottesville Area Community Foundation. Major season support has also been provided by the Joseph and Robert Cornell Memorial Foundation.

Free parking is available in the UVA Central Grounds Parking Garage, located on Emmet Street South on Saturday nights and at Charlottesville High School’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Performing Arts Center on Sunday afternoons. The Charlottesville Free Trolley stops at McCormick Road near the UVA Amphitheater, in close proximity to Old Cabell Hall. Both venues are wheelchair accessible.

Single tickets are $10-$53 for adults and $10 for students, and may be purchased at the University of Virginia Arts Box Office, (434) 924-3376, 12:00-5:00pm, Tuesday through Friday in the lobby of the UVA Drama Building at 109 Culbreth Road, or online at www.artsboxoffice.virginia.edu.

All University of Virginia employees (faculty and staff of all UVA departments and professional schools) are entitled to a 20% discount on tickets to individual performances. This offer does not apply to subscriptions, the December Family Holiday Concerts, Pops at the Paramount or previously purchased tickets.