M E D I A  A D V I S O R Y

Richmond Symphony Chorus presents James Erb Choral Celebration
Friday, April 28, 2017 at 7:30pm
Second Baptist Church, 9614 River Road, Richmond, VA

April 13, 2017 – Richmond, Virginia Join the Richmond Symphony Chorus in paying homage to founder James B. Erb with a special choral concert on Friday, April 28 at 7:30pm.  The Richmond Symphony Chorus will perform Erb’s stirring arrangement of Shenandoah and several works he composed and arranged including Amazing Grace, Now is the Cool of the Day and The Colorado Trail. The Richmond Symphony Chamber Chorus will perform two works by Orlando di Lasso, edited by Dr. Erb. Additionally, the full chorus will perform three movements from Brahms’ Requiem, which was the final full work Erb prepared with the Richmond Symphony Chorus in 2007 – ten years ago this year. The concert will be conducted by Erin R. Freeman and held at Second Baptist Church.

Ticket are $20 for adults and $10 for children and college students (with valid ID). Purchase tickets online at www.richmondsymphony.com or by calling 1.800.514.ETIX.

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Program
Erin R. Freeman, director

Learn more about Erin R. Freeman, Director of the Richmond Symphony Chorus & James Erb Choral Chair

About the Richmond Symphony Chorus
James Erb organized the all-volunteer Richmond Symphony Chorus in 1971 for a December performance of Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis, under guest conductor Robert Shaw. For 36 years, Erb continued to direct and build the Chorus to reflect the Symphony’s high standards. Erin Freeman assumed leadership of the Chorus at the start of its 2007–08 season. The repertoire for its selected volunteer membership has included most of the standard repertoire for chorus and orchestra: Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, St. John Passion and Mass in B Minor, Haydn’s Creation, Beethoven’s Symphony No.9 and Choral Fantasy, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Requiem settings by Mozart, Brahms, Verdi and Faure, Mahler’s Symphony No.2, Vaughan Williams’ Sea Symphony and all of Ravel’s Daphnis and Chloe, in addition to a number of shorter choral-orchestral works. Special projects have included a performance and recording of Mahler Symphony No. 8 with the Virginia Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, under the direction of JoAnn Falletta, a performance with the Richmond Symphony in the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, and a re-creation of the Chorus’s inaugural performance of Missa Solemnis, under the direction of Erin Freeman. In February 2017, members of the Chorus performed Poulenc’s Gloria at Carnegie Hall, with Erin Freeman conducting. On April 28th and in honor of its 45th anniversary, the Chorus will present an all-choral concert in tribute to its founder, James Erb, at Second Baptist Church.

About the Richmond Symphony
Founded in 1957, the Richmond Symphony is the largest performing arts organization in Central Virginia. The organization includes an orchestra of more than 70 professional musicians, the 150-voice Richmond Symphony Chorus and more than 260 students in the Richmond Symphony Youth Orchestra programs. Each season, more than 200,000 members of the community enjoy concerts, and radio broadcasts. The Symphony also provides educational outreach programs to over 50,000 students and teachers each year. The Richmond Symphony is partially funded by the Virginia Commission for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts.