Take Your Pick: Culture and Pleasure at Chesapeake Bay -- Virginia Arts Festival April 25-June 4, 2006
Every spring, the coastal cities of Virginia are united by the annual Virginia Arts Festival (VAF) to stage some of the country’s most innovative artistic offerings amid charming, quaint, seaside surroundings. An internationally acclaimed American venture in its tenth consecutive season, Festival Director Robert W. Cross continues to successfully conflate culture and recreation, propelling Virginia to the front of cultural tourism worldwide.
New York, NY (PRWEB) November 10, 2005
10th Anniversary Season with Jazz, Blues, Classical Music, Dance, Theater, Acrobats, Military Bands, Outdoor Fun and Education Events
Norfolk, VA (PRWEB) November 10, 2005 -- Every spring, the coastal cities of Virginia are united by the annual Virginia Arts Festival (VAF) to stage some of the country’s most innovative artistic offerings amid charming, quaint, seaside surroundings. An internationally acclaimed American venture in its tenth consecutive season, Festival Director Robert W. Cross continues to successfully conflate culture and recreation, propelling Virginia to the front of cultural tourism worldwide.
The 2006 Festival season unfolds with a special 10th anniversary gala featuring cellist Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble on Feb. 25, followed in April, May and June by international superstars such as pianists Lang Lang, Van Cliburn; violinist Cho-Liang Lin; Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Russian Cossack State Dance Company, Emmy-winning Pilobolus Dance Theatre; Mark O’Connor’s Appalachia Waltz Trio, Wynton Marsalis and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra. Chamber music is also a long-time favorite of the audience: this year sees the Miró Quartet, the Miami String Quartet, pianist André-Michel Schub, among others.
The fun factor kicks up another notch with Virginia International Tattoo, PANorama Caribbean Music Festival, Broadway under the Stars, Ruth Brown Blues Festival, Big Bands, as well as the popular Virginia Beer Festival. In addition, the Reduced Shakespeare Company, a comedy team known for intellectual parodies of serious classics, brings All the Great Books to the VAF goers.
The latest creation of the VAF is the John Duffy Composer’s Institute, debuted to great critical success last year. This season, the Institute focuses on Opera and Music Theatre, encouraging and nurturing our next generation of American composers through intense coaching with first-class composers and workshops. Other educational outreach programs include multi-city performances and lectures throughout the year in area schools by young American ensembles such as the Imani Winds.
Participating cities this year are: Cape Charles, Chesapeake, Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Virginia Beach, and Williamsburg.
For more information, please call 757-282-2800 or toll-free 877-741–ARTS (2787), or www. vafest. com.
# # #
