Eric Jacobsen, conductor
Elizabeth Vonderheide, violin
Celia Daggy, viola

Caroline Shaw: Entr’acte
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Sinfonia Concertante
Ludwig van Beethoven: Beethoven Symphony No. 5

Be astounded by the world’s most revered composition, Ludwig van Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. This cornerstone of Western music takes audiences on a euphoric journey of fate, from tragedy to triumph, from sorrow to joy, and serves as the fitting grand finale of our fifth symphony celebration. Revel in Mozart’s compositional brilliance with his Sinfonia Concertante featuring the Virginia Symphony Orchestra’s own Principal Viola Celia Daggy and Principal Second Violin Elizabeth Vonderheide.

Celebrating his fifth season, Eric Jacobsen serves as the Virginia Symphony Orchestra’s twelfth Music Director, the Macon & Joan Brock Chair. He is also artistic director and co-founder of The Knights, the uniquely adventurous NYC-based chamber orchestra, and Music Director of the Orlando Philharmonic. In addition to conducting, Eric is a dedicated chamber musician (cello) and is a member of Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble.

​​​​​​​Elizabeth Vonderheide joined the Virginia Symphony as Assistant Principal Second Violin in 2003 and was appointed Principal Second Violin in 2022. Elizabeth has previously soloed four times with the Virginia Symphony, as well as with the Lynchburg Symphony, the National Repertory Orchestra, and the Wintergreen Music Festival orchestra. She is a founding member of both the Hampton Roads-based New Commonwealth Quartet and the Surf and Sounds Chamber Music Festival in the Outer Banks of North Carolina.

Hailed as “glittering, beautiful and memorable”, Celia Daggy joined the VSO as Principal Viola in 2022 at the age of 24, making her one of the youngest principal violists in an American orchestra. Ms. Daggy has performed with the Boston Symphony and toured New England with the Boston Pops. She can be heard in the internationally-renowned Candlelight quartet series, and in the summers, participates in the Wintergreen Music Festival in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

At the age of 30, composer Caroline Shaw became the youngest recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for Music after writing the a cappella composition, Partita for 8 Voices. She has won five GRAMMY® Awards, a Thomas J. Watson Fellowship, and has an honorary doctorate from Yale. She has written and produced for iconic artists and ensembles including Rosalía, Renée Fleming, Yo-Yo Ma, Tiler Peck, Nas, Kanye West, the LA Phil, the NY Phil, and others She is a musician who moves among roles, genres, and mediums, trying to imagine a world of sound that has never been heard before but has always existed.