Saint-Saëns' Organ Symphony - Sandler Center for the Performing Arts, October 20, 2024 2:30PM

As part of the Lafayette 200 celebration, Music Director Laureate JoAnn Falletta leads the Virginia Symphony Orchestra & Chorus in a tribute to French musical excellence with Saint-Saëns’ grand romantic symphony featuring the “king of instruments,” the organ. Its enduring melodies have made their way into pop songs and even the main theme of the film Babe. On the first half of the concert, VSO violinist Brendon Elliott will step into the spotlight as soloist in a concerto by the Chevalier de Saint-Georges, a French composer and contemporary of Mozart’s who is notable as the first composer of African descent to achieve acclaim in European classical music.