The University of Virginia's Department of Music is set to showcase a diverse array of musical events in Spring 2026, capturing the essence of artistic expression through a rich tapestry of orchestral, chamber, jazz, baroque, and electronic music. From Stravinsky's Petrushka to the innovative Digitalis festival, each event promises a unique experience for audiences, blending classical traditions with contemporary explorations. Highlights include performances by renowned artists such as Michael Angelucci and I-Jen Fang, alongside the creative contributions of UVA's own music faculty and students.

A Symphony of Seasons: The University of Virginia's 2026 Music Events

Step into the rich tapestry of sound and creativity at the University of Virginia's music events this March and April. From the intricate harmonies of chamber music to the vibrant pulse of jazz, and the cutting-edge innovation of electronic music, UVA’s Department of Music offers a diverse lineup of events for every music enthusiast. Noteworthy performances include the UVA Chamber Music Series featuring I-Jen Fang and Ayn Balija, Michael Angelucci's piano recital and masterclass, and the experimental sounds of the Digitalis Electronic Music Festival. Join us as we delve into these musical experiences that promise to inspire, educate, and entertain.

A Melodic March: Exploring UVA's Dynamic Music Events

This season, the University of Virginia Department of Music presents an eclectic lineup of performances, showcasing the diverse talents of its faculty, students, and guest artists. From chamber music and jazz to electronic and Baroque, each event offers a unique auditory experience, bringing together tradition and innovation. Highlights include the prowess of percussionist I-Jen Fang and violist Ayn Balija, the captivating piano recitals and masterclasses by Michael Angelucci, and the spirited performances by UVA's Baroque Orchestra and Jazz Chamber Ensembles. These events promise to enrich the cultural fabric of Charlottesville.

UVA Music Series: A Symphony of Talent and Creativity

Described as an “intrepid percussionist” by Fanfare Magazine, I-Jen Fang has a career as a solo performer, chamber musician, orchestral player, and teacher. She joined the faculty of the Music Department at the University of Virginia in 2005 and serves as the Principal Timpanist and Percussionist of the Charlottesville Symphony.

EPSG:4326

I-Jen Fang, Percussion, with Ayn Balija, Viola - UVA Chamber Music Series #5

University of Virginia

The University of Virginia Department of Music presents the fourth concert in the UVA Chamber Music Series on Sunday, February 22nd, at 3:30pm in Old Cabell Hall.  The concert features cellist Adam Carter with Jeannette Jang, violin, and Jeremy Thompson, piano.

Adam Carter, Cello - UVA Chamber Music Series #4

Petrushka is one of Stravinsky’s famous works. It can be performed as a ballet, a stand alone orchestral suite, and even as piano four-hands. All three versions were arranged and edited by Stravinsky. Compared to his orchestral version, there were a lot of melodic themes and color that were omitted in his piano four-hands version. Brian Smith and Peter White have made a new arrangement for 2 pianos and 2 percussions to adapt the color, texture, and melodies from the orchestral suite that were missing in the four-hands version. This version was premiered on August 17, 2024 at the Staunton Music Festival by Brian Smith, I-Jen Fang, Heini Kärkkäinen, and Carsten Schmidt.

Stravinsky’s Petrushka

A celebrated musician based in the Baltimore-Washington metropolitan area, Schuyler Jackson is the Second Bassoonist in the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, a position he has held since 2014. In the 2022-2023 season, Schuyler also held a one year position in the Minnesota Orchestra, performing as a full-time member of the bassoon section. A multifaceted musician, Schuyler has performed as substitute Principal Bassoon in the Minnesota Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Seattle Symphony, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Baltimore Chamber Orchestra, and Bach in Baltimore. Schuyler has appeared with numerous other orchestras throughout the United States, including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Washington National Opera, and Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra.

Schuyler Jackson, bassoon recital

The UVA Chamber Music Series presents innovative performances by the University of Virginia's world-class performance faculty and celebrated guest artists, is comprised of six professional performances for the University and the central Virginia community. These intimate concerts are programmed to offer both new and traditional works that will delight the novice as well as the well-tempered critic. The UVA Chamber Music Series is directed by Jiyeon Choi.

Mixed Chamber Ensembles - UVA Chamber Music Series #3

The UVA Department of Music presents the 58th annual Messiah Sing-In on Tuesday, December 9th at 8:00 pm in Old Cabell Hall! The Sing-In is conducted by Michael Slon, UVA’s Director of Choral Music, and benefits the University's choral ensembles.

Messiah Sing-In 2025 - 58th Annual

The Charlottesville Symphony at the University of Virginia and the UVA University Singers will come together for their annual Family Holiday Concerts on Saturday, December 6, at 7:30pm and Sunday, December 7, at 3:30pm. Both performances will take place at Old Cabell Hall on the UVA Grounds.

Family Holiday Concerts - 2025

The UVA Department of Music invites the Charlottesville and University communities to the Tea Time Student Recitals on Thursday, December 4th, and Friday, December 5th, 2025 in Old Cabell Hall. Both recitals begin at 1:00 pm. Each recital will be on the UVA Music YouTube channel.

Tea Time Recitals Fall 2025

The UVA Chamber Singers is a select ensemble drawn from the University Singers (UVA’s flagship chorus), and committed to broad programming perspectives, performing a wide variety of repertoire ranging from early music to contemporary compositions. In addition to a performance for the Governor and other distinguished guests at UVA’s 2017 Bicentennial Celebration, performances have included Britten’s Hymn to St. Cecilia, Purcell’s Dido & Aeneas (with Three Notch’d Road Baroque ensemble), programs of Latin American choral music, choral music from film and Broadway, and new music by Meredith Monk (performed with the Meredith Monk Vocal Ensemble.) Other collaborations include concerts with the Staunton Music Festival, Victory Hall Opera (in pioneering presentations of Poulenc and Gluck operas with deaf actors), the Charlottesville Chamber Music Festival, and a 2022 presentation of Defiant Requiem (honoring the prisoners at Terezin who performed the Verdi Requiem) at the Strathmore Music Center with five other universities. They’ve sung in workshops with Peter Phillips and members of the Tallis Scholars, and in 2014, were honored to perform for composer Philip Glass. They’ve also been heard in major works, at VMEA, and on tour in the U.S. and Europe with the University Singers.

UVA Chamber Singers Fall 2025

The Baroque Orchestra, directed by faculty violinist David Sariti, presents dynamic, vital performances of music from the 17th and 18th centuries with the instruments and performance practices for which it was written, without a conductor. The experience challenges preconceived notions of music performance.  Students perform on period instruments at Baroque pitch from the University’s extensive collection.

UVA Baroque Orchestra Fall 2025

Led by UVA’s Director of Bands, Elliott Tackitt, the 45-member Wind Ensemble features the most outstanding brass, woodwind, and percussion players at the University and rehearses and performs in the Fall and Spring Semesters. The focus of the UVA Wind Ensemble is for students to explore their artistic potential in a collaborative environment.

Wind Ensemble Fall 2025

Hunter Smith Band Building

Directed by renowned UVA music faculty members Pete Spaar, Calvin Brown and Mike Rosensky, the Jazz Small Groups range in size from quartets to octets and vary in skill-level from beginner-intermediate to advanced. Besides a formal concert at the end of each semester, the groups do several outreach performances in the Charlottesville community, and give a final end-of-year celebration concert, "Jazz in the Amphitheatre." The repertoire is chosen from a diverse range of jazz styles by such greats as Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, Wayne Shorter, Lee Morgan, Antonio Carlos Jobim, among many others, as well as original compositions by both faculty and students.

Jazz Chamber Ensembles Fall 2025

The String Chamber Ensembles feature many talented young musicians who come together to perform numerous works that they have perfected over the course of the semester, under the direction of faculty musicians. Chamber music ensembles give students an opportunity to experience major works outside of the archetypal large orchestra setting, allowing students to hone their knowledge of what they contribute to their ensembles' performances. Students greatly improve their individual performance skills in a manner that is completely unique to working in these smaller and focused chamber music ensembles.

String Chamber Ensembles - Fall 2025

The University Singers, and UVA Chamber Singers are directed by UVA professor and conductor Michael Slon, the Virginia Women’s Chorus, led by Addison Walton and the Virginia Glee Club is led by conductor Frank Albinder.  

Family Weekend Choral Showcase 2025

Clarinetist and educator Jiyeon Choi joined the University of Virginia Arts & Sciences faculty as a lecturer in Clarinet and as Principal Clarinet with the Charlottesville Symphony in the fall of 2019. She also holds the Principal Clarinet position with the Sinfonia da Camera, Illinois. She is an advocate for contemporary music as well as specializing in standard solo, chamber and orchestral repertoire. Her primary research explores the chamber music of renowned German clarinetist and composer Jörg Widmann.

Jiyeon Choi, Clarinet, with Shelby Sender, Piano: UVA Chamber Music Series #2

The UVA Jazz Ensemble has become one of the more creative college big bands in the country. The group’s performances feature classic repertoire from across the spectrum of jazz history, jazz arrangements of music from diverse genres, and original compositions and arrangements by the students and the director.

UVA Jazz Ensemble - Fall 2025

The University of Virginia Department of Music presents The University Singers directed by Michael Slon on Friday, October 24th at 8pm in Old Cabell Hall on the historic Lawn.

University Singers Fall 2025 Concert

The Technosonics Festival features CCT faculty, staff, and graduate students as well as guest artists.

Technosonics 2025

Each October, the Charlottesville Symphony presents two free Youth Concerts in Old Cabell Hall for area fourth and fifth graders. These forty-five minute performances introduce students to orchestral instruments and serve as a recruiting tool for school band and orchestra programs. Students are invited to attend the concerts in the academic year before they have the opportunity to join their own school ensembles, assisting children in making educated choices about what instrument they would like to play. They are always popular with students, and serve for many as their first experience with live orchestral music. The concerts have enthusiastic support from local music teachers, who consider the concerts a part of their school’s music curriculum.

Symphony Youth Concerts 2025

Elizabeth Roberts, Principal Bassoon and Director of Youth Education for the Charlottesville Symphony since 2001, joined the faculty at the University of Virginia the same year. She became a member of the Virginia Symphony Orchestra as their contrabassoonist beginning in 2017.  Ms. Roberts  has played Second Bassoon with the Williamsburg Symphony Orchestra since 2015, and served as the WSO Personnel Manager from 2018-2019. Ms. Roberts has performed as a soloist with the Charlottesville Symphony, the Roanoke Symphony, the Harid Conservatory Orchestra and the Waynesboro Orchestra, and was invited to perform as a soloist and chamber musician at the International Double Reed Society conference in 2010 (OK), 2013 (CA), 2014 (NY), and 2017 (WI).  Ms. Roberts can be heard on recordings with the Virginia Symphony Night Owl (Night Owl by Michael Daugherty), the Richmond Symphony Inspired by Walt Whitman (Dona Nobis Pacem by Ralph Vaughan Williams) and the New World Symphony's New World Jazz (Lollapalooza by John Adams).

Elizabeth Roberts, Bassoon with John Mayhood, Piano : UVA Chamber Music Series #1

Praised for its brilliant and expressive playing, The Vivaldi Project presents innovative programs of Baroque and Classical string repertoire that combine scholarship and performance to both educate and delight audiences. The period instrument ensemble takes its name from the virtuoso violinist and innovative composer Antonio Vivaldi in recognition of his pivotal position between earlier Baroque and later Classical composers. The Vivaldi Project's recording series, Discovering the Classical String Trio (MSR Records), continues to receive critical claim. Volume 4, released in early April 2024, was spotlighted by WETA with a week long premiere broadcast, video reels and interviews.

The Vivaldi Project Concert

"Amina Claudine Myers, Pianist, Organist, Vocalist, Composer, Master Improvisationalist, Actress and Educator.  Ms. Myers has performed nationally and internationally throughout Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia and North America.  She is well known for her work involving voice choirs, voice and instrumental ensembles.  Ms. Myers’ career in music began in her preteens and throughout high school directing church choirs, singing and playing gospel and rhythm and blues.  She began playing and singing jazz in college in and around Arkansas.  Myers studied concert music at Philander Smith College, Little Rock, Arkansas and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music Education.

University of Virginia Department of Music

Hailed as “a great artistic talent” by the A&B Foundation, American pianist MICHAEL ANGELUCCI holds First Prize in the Bradshaw and Buono International Piano Competition, First Prize in the American Prize National Competition, and the coveted Foundation La Gesse fellowship. His compelling craft has brought him to exciting venues worldwide such as Carnegie-Weill Hall and the historic Auditorium de la Salle du Dome in France. Highlights from recent seasons include a two-week tour with the Tahoe Symphony as well as numerous appearances on the Baltimore-Washington circuit. A champion of the interactive concert experience, Michael frequently incorporates live, unscripted program notes into his recitals, adding a personalized touch widely appreciated by audiences and concert presenters alike.

Michael Angelucci Piano Recital

Hailed as “a great artistic talent” by the A&B Foundation, American pianist MICHAEL ANGELUCCI holds First Place awards in the Bradshaw and Buono International Competition and the American Prize National Competition. His compelling craft has brought him to exciting venues including Carnegie-Weill Hall and the historic Auditorium de la Salle du Dome in France. Recent highlights include a two-week tour with the Tahoe Symphony Orchestra and a residency with ARTIST Music Academies of Maryland. A prolific clinician, Dr. Angelucci has taught for Peabody Piano Week and the Ivy International Music Festival, and is a frequent jurist for events throughout the mid Atlantic. He is currently a full-time faculty at the Peabody Institute, where he teaches for both the Preparatory and Conservatory divisions. His students hold top prizes in numerous competitions, and have been accepted at presitigious festivals and music programs. Michael earned the Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from Peabody, and his Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Maryland. He now makes his home in Baltimore, surrounded by an overabundance of scores, an overworked Boston grand, and a frequently rotten (but eternally lovable) miniature labradoodle named Gus. www.michaelangelucci.com

Michael Angelucci Piano Masterclass

Jazz Chamber Ensembles Spring 2026

UVA Baroque Orchestra Concert Spring 2026

The University Singers is the University of Virginia’s flagship choral ensemble, heard by thousands each season in performances of a cappella and accompanied choral repertoire, including major works with orchestra.

University Singers Spring 2026 Concert

Mixed Chamber Ensembles: UVA Chamber Music Series #6

Digitalis is an annual concert of experimental work for sound and visual media featuring premiers by undergraduate and graduate students in Composition and Computer Technologies. These adventurous concerts invite audiences to explore new dimensions of musical experimentation. Past performances include compositions for multi-channel electronic sound, video, interactive light, homemade electronic music instruments, and more. Come experience a musical event like no other.

Digitalis - Electronic Music Festival 2026

String Chamber Ensembles - Spring 2026

Wind Ensemble Spring 2026

The UVA Department of Music invites the Charlottesville and University communities to the Tea Time Student Recitals on Thursday, April 23rd, and Friday, April 24th, 2026 in Old Cabell Hall. Both recitals begin at 1:00 pm. Each recital will be on the UVA Music YouTube channel.

Tea Time Recitals Spring 2026

UVA Chamber Singers Spring 2026

UVA Jazz Ensemble Spring 2026 Concert

The University of Virginia  Department of Music presents the UVA Jazz Small Groups for an afternoon of Jazz on Wednesday, April 29th from noon to 3pm. The event will take place on the lower lawn (Homer Flat). This event is free and open to the public. Rain will cancel Jazz on the Lawn.

University of Virginia Department of Music

Mar 27, 2026

Michael Angelucci Piano Recital

Mar 28, 2026

Michael Angelucci Piano Masterclass

Mar 29, 2026

Jazz Chamber Ensembles Spring 2026

Apr 4, 2026

UVA Baroque Orchestra Concert Spring 2026

Apr 10, 2026

University Singers Spring 2026 Concert

Mar 15, 2026

I-Jen Fang, Percussion, with Ayn Balija, Viola - UVA Chamber Music Series #5

Feb 22, 2026

Adam Carter, Cello - UVA Chamber Music Series #4

Articles & News

University of Virginia Department of Music