Virginia Arts Festival

The Virginia Arts Festival is an annual festival that brings dozens of performances to cities throughout the Virginia Hampton Roads region during the spring season. The key event of the festival is the Virginia International Tattoo, which is held in Norfolk.[1] The festival is a non-profit organization created by the city of Norfolk and established in 1997 as an incentive to promote tourism to the Hampton Roads area.[2][3]

Artists

Every year, the Virginia Arts Festival sponsors events promoting gifted artists and an educational focus to the region. The festival welcomes a diverse selection of artistic talent through the mediums of ballet, classical music, Caribbean and Reggae music, interpretative dance, jazz music, country music, rock music, sketch comedy groups, and more. One of the annual highlights of the festival is the Virginia International Tattoo.[4] The Virginia International Tattoo is a ceremonial performance of military music and showcases "more than 850 performers from around the world in an awe-inspiring presentation of music and might."[5] The Tattoo has become an internationally known event, and draws national and international audiences.[6]

The following are some of the events and artists who have performed or have been involved with past Festivals:

Education

The Virginia Arts Festival is dedicatied to the cultural education of the region. The Virginia Arts Festival WorldClass Education Program, The Rhythm Project, and John Duffy Composers Institute are all programs sponsored by the Virginia Arts Festival. Through the Virginia Arts Festival WorldClass Education Program, Hampton Roads and Southeastern Virginia students benefit by learning from today's great performers and artists through matinees, in-school performances, in-school workshops, and master classes.

The Rhythm Project is a percussion ensemble for talented young artists and it serves fourth through twelfth grade students from the Norfolk, Portsmouth and Virginia Beach areas.

The John Duffy Composers Institute was founded by the festival in 2005. It is dedicated to the creation of new music by providing young composers the opportunity to create new work and to hear their work performed by professionals. Noted visiting faculty from the 2010 Institute were Libby Larsen, Fred Ho, Ricky Ian Gordon, and Mark Campbell.[7]

Sponsorship

The Virginia Arts Festival is a non-profit organization. The VAF operates solely by donations and grants. Corporate sponsors include American Airlines, Bank of America, Norfolk Southern, Suntrust, The Dalis Foundation, WHRO, and other private businesses from around the region. Individual donations from patrons and volunteers also make up a healthy portion of VAF’s annual income.

References

  1. ↑ "Virginia Arts Festival". virginia.org. Retrieved 7 June 2016.
  2. ↑ http://www2.timesdispatch.com/entertainment/2010/apr/15/w-arts15_20100414-190610-ar-159869/
  3. ↑ "Virginia Arts Festival". VirginiaBeach.com. 28 June 2015. Retrieved 7 June 2016.
  4. ↑ , additional text.
  5. ↑ .
  6. ↑ , additional text.
  7. ↑ , additional text.

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