Season Welcome

Welcome one and all to the 22nd season of the Master Singers of Virginia! We are coming off a wonderfully successful set of programs last year that married our masterful music with story to create new theme-based format to which our audiences responded with record setting attendance.

Building upon this creative approach, we begin the year with a very special production of “Finding Christmas,” featuring an array of modern holiday choral arrangements, framed by reflections from Charles Schultz’s iconic character, Charlie Brown who searches for the true meaning of Christmas amidst a sea of commercialism.  Patrons of all ages will enjoy this nostalgic story reinvigorated with modern a cappella music for which this group is well known, including Stephen Paulus’ Splendid Jewel, Matthew Culloton’s In Dulci Jubilo, works by Ola Gjeilo, and some traditional holiday favorites.

While we are confident that both children and adults will enjoy this concert, we want to be certain that the story doesn't make our patrons think that the quality of the music will be any less. Quite the opposite. The story of Charlie Brown at Christmas is one of the great, timeless messages of Christmas, and is just as relevant today as it was fifty years ago when it was first released. This is a wonderful frame around which to build our concert, and we want everyone to know that this will be a very special production.Our Winter concerts are a celebration of the story of flight, from the earliest myths and legends through the space age. This is the central concert of our season, and one that we believe will equal last year's Civil War concert in poignancy and power. We bring back some old favorites like Eric Whitacre's Leonardo Dreams of His Flying Machine and many new masterpieces, such as If I Were a Swan by Pulitzer-award winning composer Kevin Puts. We've also expanded this concert set from one weekend to two, so that more people have an opportunity to attend and appreciate these marvelous works.

In the Spring, we conclude our season with a concert titled “Beginnings and Endings.”  The central work of this production is Aaron Copland's “In the Beginning,” one of the greatest a cappella works of music ever written, with an ending unparalleled in its power and majesty. 

Each concert this season presents a unique musical experience that provides something to appeal to everyone (story, sound, and visualization), and we look forward to seeing all of you at every set!

Dr. Erik Jones, Artistic Director

Master Singers of Virginia