With most orchestral touring on hiatus due to Covid-19, tour organizer Classical Movements looked closer to home for a suitable performance venue, and found one in its backyard: the garden outside its offices in Alexandria, Virginia. In July, Classical Movements President Neeta Helms launched “Sounds of Hope and Harmony,” a series of one-hour outdoor chamber concerts featuring musicians from the Alexandria Symphony Orchestra and National Symphony Orchestra, among others, in a wide range of music. In August the series included “Sweet Songs of Sorrow and Joy,” which commemorated the 1963 March on Washington with freedom songs, spirituals, gospel, and music by Black composers, in collaboration with Eric Conway, choir conductor at Morgan State University, and the Coalition for African Americans in the Performing Arts. Other concerts featured vocalists as well as string, brass, and percussion musicians.
Caption: A quintet from the Alexandria Symphony Orchestra performs in Classical Movements’ June 20 “Sounds of Hope and Harmony” concert, which also featured musicians from the National Symphony Orchestra, New Orchestra of Washington, and Fairfax Symphony Orchestra. Photo courtesy of Classical Movements.
