Company Profile
Virginia Arts Festival
Company Overview
The Virginia Arts Festival celebrates its 25th Anniversary in 2022. The largest performing arts organization in southeastern Virginia, Virginia Arts Festival has transformed the region's cultural scene, presenting great performers from around the world and making this historic region a cultural destination for visitors from across the United States and around the world. Over the past 25 years, the Festival has welcomed visitors from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and 25 foreign countries. The Festival has presented over 1,438 performances, free community events, and student matinees and workshops with a reach of over 1.2 million attendees. Each season, millions more are reached through international broadcasts of Festival performances on American Public Radio's Performance Today, nationally on PBS TV, and regionally on WHRO TV. Over 32% of ticket sales come from outside the region, bringing tens of thousands of visitors to local museums and attractions and filling regional hotels and restaurants.
The Festival's artistic leadership includes Robert W. Cross, the Festival's Executive Director/Perry Artistic Director, a Grammy Award-winning percussionist; Olga Kern, the Festival's Connie and Marc Jacobson Director of Chamber Music, a Van Cliburn Gold Medal awarded pianist; and award-winning Broadway music director Rob Fisher is the Goode Family Director of Music Theater and American Songbook.
As part of its 25th season celebration, Virginia Arts Festival is presenting world-renowned artists Renée Fleming, Kristin Chenoweth, Olga Kern, Yo Yo Ma, Kathryn Stott, Chanticleer, The Tallis Scholars, Danish String Quartet, Jerusalem Quartet, American Ballet Theatre, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Shawn Colvin, Béla Fleck, Allison Russell, Jason Isbell and Martina McBride.
Arts education is central to the mission of the Virginia Arts Festival. Since its creation in 1997, the Festival has reached more than half a million students, providing opportunities for students and educators that simply would not otherwise exist. Each year, the Festival reaches over 30,000 young people through student matinees, in-school performances, workshops, and masterclasses offering life-changing opportunities to see and study with virtuoso performers.
The Festival continues to receive national recognition for its artistic excellence, earning support from the Aaron Copland Fund, Surdna Foundation, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Capezio Foundation, Bank of America Neighborhood Builders, Hampton Roads Community Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Our Mission
The mission of the Virginia Arts Festival is to bring world-class performing arts to our citizens and visitors, impact the lives of students through outstanding educational programs, commission new works of national and international significance, and make a tangible difference in Southeastern Virginia through regional partnerships and cultural tourism.
Benefits
Medical insurance - 100% paid by employer after 30-day waiting period
Optional dental and vision insurance after 30-day waiting period - 100% paid by employee
Simple IRA (3% match) - eligible after 1 year of employment