The New River Valley Symphony is bringing the sounds of Russia to southwest Virginia.
The orchestra will perform pieces by three famous Russian composers: Tchaikovsky, Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov and Sergei Prokofiev on Saturday.
Professor of violin, viola and string methods, James Glazebrook will be conducting the group’s first concert of the year.
This season’s debut concert is unique because the two winners of the Virginia Music Teachers Association Concerto Competition will accompany the symphony.
The Department of Music hosted the fall conference for the Music Teachers Association Concerto Competition and the department was responsible for providing the two winners with an accompanying orchestra.
The winners, pianists Kimberly Hou and Ina Mirtcheva, performed works by Russian composers during the competition. It was Glazebrook who decided to give the concert an all-Russian theme.
Tackling the works of these Russian composers is no easy feat, Glazebrook said.
“When (Tchaikovsky’s piano concerto) was first offered to the most prominent Russian pianist of the day, he dismissed the pieces as unplayable, and now high school and college students play it,” Glazebrook said. “It’s a very famous, important piece that pianists measure themselves by and audiences measure pianists by. So, it’s terrific to do it.”
For John Helveston, a senior engineering science and mechanics major who plays in the first violin section, the opportunity to play alongside these two talented musicians is one of the most exciting aspects of this concert.
“Getting to perform with them is quite an honor,” Helveston said. “Being on stage with them, being a support for them and making some awesome music — that’s part of it all.”
Other members of the NRVS are also excited to play alongside these two award-winning musicians.
At 15 years old, Hou has more than 10 first place awards for performances on the piano under her belt and has even performed at Carnegie Hall.
Mirtcheva has a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in piano performance and a second master’s in instrumental collaborative piano.
She has won several national competitions and recently won the Schlern International Competition last August.
“They’re very young, and they’re extremely talented,” said Nicole Daddio, the section leader of the second violin section and a senior human, nutrition, foods and exercise major.
The NRVS also boasts an eclectic collection of dedicated musicians. The orchestra of 80 members is open to students, faculty and community residents.
“It’s very much a part of Blacksburg,” Helveston said. “It brings in people from all over the region.”
A large number of the students who participate in the symphony are not music majors. And even though preparation for a show like this one requires a big time commitment, members do not feel stressed or pressured and instead find playing the music therapeutic.
Hannah Pierce, a senior music performance major and a cellist in the NRVS, said the time required to be in the orchestra helps her with schoolwork.
“As a music major, I actually learn a lot by just being in rehearsal,” she said.
Conductor Glazebrook also benefits from leading the orchestra in other non-musical ways.
“I love working with this broad array of students,” Glazebrook said. “I think of that as my mission to do that and find ways to do that (to) make it exciting and interesting and teach them what they need to know to make a great performance.”
NRVS sets the bar high with the goal of filling all 2,887 seats in Burruss Auditorium.
“I’m really excited about seeing people in the audience,” Daddio said. “I feel like the more people who are in the audience, the better we play.”
Check it out:
When: Nov. 7
Where: Burruss Auditorium
Time: 8 p.m.
Cost: $8 general admission, $5 students and seniors