Greetings to the Charlottesville Symphony’s friends and fans across Central Virginia and beyond!

Many of you have taken the time to tell us how much you miss hearing the orchestra perform. We share your sense of loss acutely.

While this probably won’t come as a surprise, I need to make it official. The Charlottesville Symphony joins hundreds of other American orchestras in announcing that it will not present live public concerts through December 31, 2020. While we are deeply disappointed, this action is necessary to ensure the health and safety of our orchestra members, staff, volunteers and audiences. We hope to resume live performances in February, 2021, although tentative plans are subject to change as we continue to monitor recommendations from public health experts. We will provide updates throughout the fall months.

Music Director Benjamin Rous adds, “Our reason for being is to join together in live music. We are naturally dismayed that we can't perform our live concerts, but we look forward with the sweetest anticipation to the time when we finally can. Although we won't meet in person, the Charlottesville Symphony will continue as a virtual course for our student members, and we will look for every opportunity to include you in our virtual activities.”

Music is never far from our hearts and minds. So we offer this link to a performance of the Chaconne from J.S. Bach’s well-known Partita No. 2 in D minor by our Principal Trombone, Nate Lee, and his American Trombone Quartet. Members of the quartet are joined by guest Michael Mulcahy of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Originally written by Bach for solo violin and arranged here for five trombones, the Chaconne draws on a stately Baroque dance form in which a basic theme heard at the opening is re-stated in multiple variations.

Founded in 2015, The American Trombone Quartet seeks to champion new music and works of Americana, whether that is by sharing recently composed works with new audiences, commissioning new works, or by adapting innovative musical works from various genres. Each avenue leads this versatile ensemble towards its goal: to share the art and joy of collaborative chamber music with live audiences. Founding members Nathaniel Lee, William Mann, Zsolt Szabo and Jemmie Robertson have come together from diverse musical and pedagogical backgrounds to advocate for music education and audience engagement. To this end, they happily devote themselves to both performing and teaching in residencies. Since 2015, ATQ has performed at multiple colleges, universities and conferences. In 2017 and 2018, it was selected to perform recitals at the International Trombone Festival and in 2019, performed at the Lille Trombone Festival in France.

If you don’t know Nate Lee, he is the tall thin guy with curly brown hair in the recording. Enjoy!

All of us at the Charlottesville Symphony hope that you are safe and well. We are thinking of you and imagining the day when the next downbeat is given.

Warm regards,

Janet Kaltenbach

Executive Director

1882 – Tchaikovsky’s “1812 Overture” debuted in Moscow, commemorating Russia’s victory at the Battle Of Borodino, the key battle of the Napoleonic Wars. While a volley of cannon fire, ringing chimes and a brass fanfare finale caused the overture to become one of his most popular works, Tchaikovsky later described it as “very loud and noisy and completely without artistic merit, obviously written without warmth or love.”

1967 – The New York Times reported about a noise reduction system for album and tape recording developed by technicians R. and D.W. Dolby. Elektra Records’ subsidiary, Checkmate Records, became the first label to use the new technology in its recordings.

1997 – A 50-mile stretch of Interstate 65 in Alabama was dedicated to the memory of Country and Western music legend Hank Williams.