On February 24, Virginia’s Richmond Symphony performed Indian-American composer Reena Esmail’s Avartan at Randolph-Macon College’s Blackwell Auditorium, as part of the orchestra’s Metro Collection Series, which features smaller-scale concerts of classical repertoire and newer works by contemporary composers, in more intimate settings. Esmail’s music spans Indian and Western classical music, and the word “avartan” describes a rhythmic cycle in Hindustani music. Music Director Steven Smith conducted the concert, also featuring Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6 and Mozart’s Overture to Don Giovanni. The Richmond Symphony’s classics concerts take place in the larger Carpenter Theatre in Richmond, and the orchestra also offers rush-hour concerts at Hardywood Park Craft Brewery and a Casual Fridays concert series. In addition, the orchestra operates the Richmond Symphony Youth Orchestra and afterschool music instruction programs for Richmond public-school students.
Posted February 26, 2019
