Fall 2024 NOVA-AL Concerts

Please join us for our Fall 2024 Concert Season:

10/22 in Schlesinger at 7:30pm – NOVA Chorus Concert

The NOVA Community Chorus will join with the Justice High School and Glasgow Middle School Choirs to perform a concert called “Still I Rise.”  Familiar favorites such as Bridge Over Troubled Water and Still I Rise are on the concert together with classical music including Domine, Ad Adjuvandum Me by Martini and “Alleluia” by Elaine Hagenberg.  

10/24 in Schlesinger at 8:00pm – NOVA Band Concert

Come hear The NOVA Alexandria Band perform their 2024 fall concert titled “Journeys.” The band will perform music by Percy Grainger, Henry Mancini, Elmer Bernstein, Karl King, Giuseppe Verdi, Yukiko Nishimura, Pascual Marquina, and Rossano Galante. This concert is being dedicated to the memory of Dean Kauffman, beloved longtime euphonium player in the band. Admission and parking are free. 

11/1 in AFA 118 at 7:30 – Jazz Night Concert

This concert will feature the NOVA Nighthawks and the NOVA Jazz Combos performing pieces with a game theme. Note: There will be a ‘Halloween Hangover Game Night’ hosted by the LASS Social Committee from 5-8pm in AFA 208 as a perfect warmup for the concert!

11/10 in Schlesinger at 4pm – NOVA Orchestra Concert

As a finale to its 30th anniversary season, the NOVA Symphony Orchestra will be partnering with the Alexandria Choral Society, The New Dominion Choraliers, and the Coalition for African Americans in the Performing Arts to present Beethoven’s monumental Symphony #9 in d minor. For more information, please visit www.reunionmusicsociety.org.

*This event is ticketed but free for NOVA students with ID

11/15 in AFA 118 at 7:30pm – Natalia Kazaryan Piano Recital

From Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia, pianist Natalia Kazaryan has been hailed by The New York Sun for her “prodigious ability,” remarking that she “immediately established an atmosphere of strength and confidence.” She is “a marvel among marvels … fascinating, elegant” (Nice-Matin)  and “incredible” (All Classical Portland). This solo recital will feature works by Bach-Busoni, Brahms, Debussy, Gabriela Smith, and a premiere of a commissioned work by NOVA Music Department Chair Dr. Jonathan Kolm. 

11/19 in the AFA Black Box Theater at 7:30 – NOVA Jazz Combos Concert

This concert will feature students in small jazz groups for an intimate night of improvisation in the Black Box Theater.

12/4 in Schlesinger at 7:30pm – NOVA Holiday Concert

Come hear the NOVA Community Chorus, the NOVA Nighthawks Jazz Ensemble, and the NOVA Alexandria Band present holiday favorites. Admission and parking are free. Pre-concert music in the lobby will start at 6:30.

12/7 in AFA 118 at 1pm and 5pm – Applied Student Recitals

At 1pm Alexandria’s applied voice students will each perform selections that they have been perfecting during the semester. 

At 5pm applied piano and instrumental students will also have the opportunity to perform for their peers and the community.

The NOVA Alexandria Campus AFA  (Fine Arts) Building is located at 3301 Netherton Dr. Alexandria, VA 22311

The Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall and Arts Center is located at 4915 E. Campus Dr. Alexandria, VA 22311

Parking in Student Permit/Hourly Pay lots is free after 3:45 p.m. Monday through Friday and all day on weekends.

Every year The Virginia National Association of Teachers of Singing (VA NATS) hosts student auditions. Students perform pieces for a panel of vocal adjudicators. The adjudicators’ critiques and assessments are helpful both to the students and teachers in terms of improving. Each student receives a score from no less than three judges.

This year our NOVA Voice Majors all received honors scores at the 2024 VA NATS Student Auditions. In addition to that wonderful news, we had two students place 3rd and 4th out of all of the Sophomore Men (Tenor, Baritone and Bass) competing in Virginia. This is a huge!

For the 2024 VA NATS, Congratulations to:
Andrew Foley – Third Place and Honors Score
Vincent Sanfilippo – Fourth Place and Honors Score
Alexandra Richardson – Honors Score

With these impressive scores all three students qualified to move on to regionals! The Mid Atlantic Regional NATS Student Auditions were held in Greenville, SC on March 8-9. The states in our region are Maryland, DC, Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina.

In the regionals, Andrew Foley placed fourth for sophomore men! He qualified to move on to the NATS Student Auditions National Preliminaries. Way to go Andrew!

Alexandra Richardson received the highest score of all of the NOVA student! She just missed the cut off. It is much more competitive for women and particularly sopranos.

Unfortunately, Vincent Sanfilippo was sick and unable to participate in the regionals.

It took nine and a half hours of driving to reach the regional auditions in Greenville SC! Both Andrew and Alexandra drove back to Northern Virginia directly after singing Friday, so they could work on Saturday as they had to take Thursday and Friday off from their jobs. This commitment shows just how dedicated and hardworking our NOVA voice majors are.

This is literally a David vs. Goliath win, and we are so proud of them for doing this on their own. We are also extremely thankful to our voice instructor, Cara Cammaroto, for making this opportunity possible for our NOVA students!

We wish Andrew Foley good luck at the National Preliminaries and hope to see him go all the way to the finals held this summer in Knoxville, Tennessee in which the top three get a cash prize!

The Virginia Bedell Back Music Cultural Exchange Series presented a talk with Negin Khpalwak to a live audience on the Annandale Campus on November 9th 2023. She shared her story of overcoming adversity in her study of music on her way to becoming Afghanistan’s first female conductor and leading Zorha,  Afghanistan’s first all female music ensemble on several international tours including a performance at Davos International Forum in Switzerland.  We were thrilled to have her in our first event in this series, please enjoy the recording of the event here: https://youtu.be/3IjsUpCMLn8