Photo courtesy Richmond Philharmonic
One of Richmond’s best kept musical secrets is a band of musicians that’s been around since 1972 and has yet to release a recording. They often get mistaken for another local and long-running outfit, but that doesn’t seem to bother them. The Richmond Philharmonic, a community orchestra, plays on.
There are some fundamental differences between the Richmond Symphony orchestra and the Richmond Philharmonic, as well as obvious similarities. Tickets for the Philharmonic concerts sell for $8, while typical symphony concert prices range from $10 to more than $80. While musicians in the symphony are paid, everyone is a volunteer in the Philharmonic, except for the music director, and they pay dues in order to keep their chairs. The Philharmonic performs about five shows a year, while the symphony performs with much greater frequency, with four concerts scheduled between February and March.
“It does come up from time to time,” says Peter Wilson, the Richmond Philharmonic’s music director. “There’s certainly no rivalry.”
Wilson adds that he has conducted musicians who are part of the Richmond Symphony, and retired musicians from the symphony who still have a desire to play have joined the Philharmonic in the past.
“The music world is pretty small,” says Wilson, a violinist in the Marine Chamber Orchestra who frequently plays at the White House.
The Philharmonic, previously known as the Richmond Community Symphony, was established by Milton Cherry, a music professor at Virginia Commonwealth University, and violinist Cornelia Henderson in 1972. Though appreciation of classical music runs deep in Richmond, live performances aren’t perceived to be accessible for everyone. The Philharmonic challenges the stereotype of the monocle-wearing tuxedoed classical music enthusiast.
“It’s a way for you to access classical music in a more casual way and a more cost-effective way,” says Jennifer Myers, who has played French horn in the Philharmonic for three years.
Myers, 37, works as a project manager in Charlottesville and commutes to weekly practices from her home in Louisa County.
“We work really, really hard to put on a good show,” she says. “We start preparing for concerts a year in advance, so when they finally happen, we’re just so excited and so exhausted, we just love sharing it with everybody.”
In a typical year, the orchestra performs three masterwork concerts, which feature music from the classical tradition. In the summer, there is a “pops” concert with songs from films or Broadway shows. The year closes with one or more holiday concerts.
Photo courtesy Richmond Philharmonic
Next month, the Philharmonic will perform something a little different, a collaboration with Rex Richardson, a musician and professor of trumpet at VCU, called “Valves of Glory,” at Collegiate School.
“Rex basically plays all the notes in the world in the piece,” says Wilson, who attended Northwestern University with Richardson. “It’s pretty impressive what he does with it. But it’s a lot of fun for the orchestra, too.”
The 4 p.m. performance on March 10 will also features Chioke I’Anson, an NPR announcer and VCU professor. L’Anson will be reading the role of Speaker from Aaron Copland’s “Lincoln Portrait,” an orchestral composition that features words spoken by the former president. On May 5 at 4 p.m., also at Collegiate School, the orchestra will present “Cinco de Mayo: A Salute to Mexico,” which features works by Mexican composers and dancers from the Latin Ballet of Virginia.
The Philharmonic is also considering another kind of collaboration. Members of a local rock band have contacted the orchestra about backing them up on a project. Rock bands being supported by symphonies is a trend Wilson is well aware of, as he was part of an orchestra that supported Robert Plant and Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin on their 1995 world tour.
The Richmond Philharmonic may never fully escape the shadow of the city’s long-running professional symphony, but it continues to establish itself as an affordable alternative for people to enjoy classical music played by musicians who love what they’re doing. Myers offers a short explanation when people ask about Richmond Philharmonic.
“I tell people we’re a nonprofit group of community musicians,” she says. “We all love what we do.”
