FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: January 23, 2015
Contact: Monica Meyer
Phone: 757.213.1431
[email protected]
Virginia Symphony POPS presents At the
Movies with the Music of John Williams
Music from Star Wars,
Harry Potter, E.T., and
more!
HAMPTON ROADS, VA (January
23, 2015) –Benjamin Rous
conducts as the Virginia Symphony pays tribute to legendary, celebrated composer John Williams in a
performance that highlights Williams’ most beloved and popular film scores. “I'm pretty sure it is every
conductor's secret dream to do an all-John Williams program, so this event really is a dream come true,”
praises Rous. “His music just sounds and feels so good!”
Audiences will instantly recognize scores from many of their favorite movies as they enjoy Williams’
signature sweeping themes of intense action, rousing heroics, thrilling adventure, and moments of
dreamlike wonder. The performance will feature selections from Jaws, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s
Stone, Schindler’s List, ET, Star Wars, and more in brilliant sound, powerfully performed live by the
Virginia Symphony Orchestra and featuring the vocal talents of the Virginia Symphony Chorus.
Few names in film music composition have reached the same levels of praise as John Williams, winner of
five Academy Awards, 17 Grammys, three Golden Globes, two Emmys and five BAFTA Awards from the
British Academy of Film and Television Arts. A dynamo of the silver screen, he has been considered the
most successful and well-known film music composer of all time.
Performances are Friday, February 6 at 8:00 PM, Ferguson Center in Newport News and Saturday,
February 7 at 8:00 PM, Chrysler Hall in Norfolk.
Prices range from $25 - $93, and $10 student tickets are available with Student ID. For tickets, call
Symphony Patron Services, 757-892-6366 or visit www.virginiasymphony.org
Sponsors include Newport News Shipbuilding.
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 160,000 concertgoers every year. Additionally, the orchestra annually reaches 45,000 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.
Benjamin Rous, Resident Conductor: Admired for his dynamism on the podium, Benjamin Rous began
his tenure with the Virginia Symphony Orchestra in 2010 and quickly became a favorite among
audiences throughout the Hampton Roads region. In 2013, he was promoted to Resident Conductor and
took 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.
In July of 2014 he served as a last-minute substitute conductor with the Grant Park Orchestra. Recent
debuts include performances with the Santa Fe Symphony, the Hartford Symphony, and the Buffalo
Philharmonic. He has also appeared in concert with 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. He
has also served as Assistant Conductor of the Phoenix Symphony and Ensemble Orchestral de Paris. In
2013, Rous was featured in the Bruno Walter National Conductor Preview with the Jacksonville
Symphony, presented by the League of American Orchestras.
Virginia Symphony Chorus: The 2014-2015 season marks the 25th anniversary of the Virginia Symphony
Chorus, and its eighteenth under the direction of Chorus Master Robert Shoup. In addition to regular
appearances with the Virginia Symphony Orchestra, the chorus has performed outside Hampton Roads
to remarkable acclaim. Under the baton of Mr. Shoup, the Chorus has traveled to sold-out houses as far
afield as Prague, Vienna, Berlin, Leipzig, Munich, Salzburg and closer to home at the Kennedy Center in
Washington, D.C. The Chorus has appeared twice at the Breckenridge Music Festival in Colorado, was
an integral part of the 400th anniversary of Jamestown Celebration, and in 2010 was the featured
chorus of the critically-acclaimed Virginia Arts Festival performance of Leonard Bernstein's Mass. In
2012, the Chorus was a key participant with the Virginia Arts Festival presentation of Mahler's 8th
Symphony. Most recently, an acclaimed performance of Stravinsky's Les Noces was presented in
Norfolk, in May of 2013.
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