The Virginia Symphony
Listen to the spectacular music of The Virginia Symphony, conducted by nationally acclaimed resident conductor Benjamin Rous. This evening’s exceptional performance by The Virginia Symphony will highlight selected popular selections from the classical repertoire and pops music.
Under the leadership of GRAMMY-winning music director, JoAnn Falletta, the Virginia Symphony is Southeastern Virginia’s pre-eminent professional symphony orchestra with a mission of inspiring, educating and connecting audiences of all ages. Founded in 1920, it is ranked in the top ten percent of professional orchestras nationwide and serves the entire Southeastern Virginia region with Classics, Pops and Family concert series in Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Newport News and Williamsburg as well as performances in outlying Virginia and North Carolina communities, reaching more than 200,000 concert-goers every year.
Additionally, the orchestra annually reaches 63,000 children, students and lifelong learners with its education and community programs. The Virginia Symphony has performed at Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center and is the cornerstone of the Performing Arts in Southeastern Virginia.
Admired for his dynamism on the podium, Benjamin Rous began his tenure as Associate Conductor of the Virginia Symphony Orchestra in 2010 and quickly became a favorite among audiences throughout the Hampton Roads region. He is indeed an audience favorite at the Outer Banks Forum, making his third appearance.
Beginning with the 2013-2014 season, he has been promoted to Resident Conductor and has taken on an expanded role in the VSO’s calendar. He performs on every VSO series including Classics, Regional Classics, Pops, Young People’s Concerts, PB&J Family Concerts, and multiple series in outdoor venues. In the summers he serves as faculty conductor at Greenwood Music Camp in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts.
During the 2013-2014 season he debuted with the Santa Fe Symphony and the Buffalo Philharmonic. In past seasons he has appeared in concert with, among others, the National Arts Center Orchestra (Ottawa, Ontario), Ensemble Orchestral de Paris (Vendome, France), the Illinois Symphony, the Cabrillo Festival Orchestra, and on St. Louis’s Pulitzer Concerts with musicians of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra.
