Spin a Tale!
Charlottesville Symphony at the University of Virginia
Invites Fourth and Fifth Grade Students to Attend its Annual
Youth Concerts
Old Cabell Hall, University of Virginia
October 15, 2026
Imaginative stories come to life at the hands of composers. In “Five O’Clock Foxtrot”, Maurice Ravel animates a teapot and a cup, following mistreatment by a naughty boy who breaks his toys and refuses to do his homework; Edvard Grieg portrays adventuresome Peer Gynt escaping from gnomes and trolls in “The Hall of the Mountain King”; sly Fox teaches naïve Crow a lesson about flattery in Daniel Dorff’s setting of Aesop’s fable, “Fox and Crow”; Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate musically illustrates Rabbit’s trickster nature in Chokfi’ – Sarcasm for String Orchestra and Percussion; Gioachino Rossini’s overture to La Gazza Ladra (The Thieving Magpie) paints the playful picture of a pesky, pilfering bird; and Igor Stravinsky depicts the legendary Slavic folktale The Firebird in his Suite (1945). Join the Charlottesville Symphony and its music director, Benjamin Rous, with narrator Susan Allen (Charlottesville Middle School Band Teacher), as they spin musical tales.
Save the Date
Spin A Tale!
Has been made possible by generous support from:
Mr. and Mrs. James L. Brown Fund for Youth Concerts
Richard M. and Tessa G. Ader Endowed Fund for Music Education
The Joseph and Robert Cornell Memorial Foundation
Individual Contributors to the Charlottesville Symphony Society Annual Fund
Department of Music at the University of Virginia
Youth Concert History
Each October, the Charlottesville Symphony presents two free Youth Concerts in Old Cabell Hall for area fourth and fifth graders. These forty-five minute performances introduce students to orchestral instruments and serve as a recruiting tool for school band and orchestra programs. Students are invited to attend the concerts in the academic year before they have the opportunity to join their own school ensembles, assisting children in making educated choices about what instrument they would like to play. They are always popular with students, and serve for many as their first experience with live orchestral music. The concerts have enthusiastic support from local music teachers, who consider the concerts a part of their school’s music curriculum.
The Symphony’s first Youth Concerts were presented in 1977. Past programs include: A Musical Menagerie, Score One for the Orchestra, A Musical Forecast, Close Encounters of the Orchestral Kind, and Beethoven, Back to the Future.
Who is Eligible to Attend the Concert
Fifth graders from the Albemarle, Augusta, Buckingham, Charlottesville City, Culpeper, Fluvanna, Greene, Louisa, Madison, Nelson, Orange, Rockbridge, Rockingham, Staunton, and Waynesboro Public Schools are invited to attend. Additionally, we are pleased to welcome fourth and fifth grade students from private schools or who are homeschooled in the Charlottesville area. Due to space limitations, we ask each school to limit to one grade level only. Grade-combined classes, please contact us for special instructions. For homeschooled families, siblings are welcome, however no one under age five will be admitted. All students must be accompanied by an adult at all times.
Reservations and Other Information
We will accept reservations beginning on Monday, August 10, 2026. Details will be provided in the invitation.
- Youth Concert Invitation
- YouTube Links to the Music
- Suggested Activities Related to 4th and 5th Grade Virginia Standards of Learning
- Information Letter for Attendees
- Social Story – Attending a Charlottesville Symphony Youth Concert at Old Cabell Hall
Download the Youth Concert Study Guide
Directions, Bus Instructions & Parking
Seating Information
- General Seating Information
- Seating Chart for the 10:00AM Concert
- Seating Chart for the 11:30AM Concert
- How to Enter the Concert Hall for the 10:00AM Concert
- How to Enter the Concert Hall for the 11:30AM Concert
- Exiting the Concert Hall
- Youth Concert Evaluations (For Teachers, Administrators and Parent Coordinators)
For further information about the Digital Youth Concert, please contact education@cvillesymphony.org.
Virtual Youth Concert Information
Our virtual youth concert was so popular in recent years that we have decided to continue to offer a streamed option. We will record our live performances in October 2026, and the digital version will be available for viewing from January 1, 2027 through March 31, 2027.
Who is Eligible to View the Performance Video
The youth concert is designed for students in fourth and fifth grades; however, we are certain that music teachers can share the video with students of all ages in meaningful ways, and we encourage them to do so.
Reservations and Other Information
We will accept reservations to view the performance video beginning on Friday, December 11, 2026. Details are provided in the Digital Youth Concert Invitation.
- Digital Youth Concert Invitation
- Digital Youth Concert Study Guide
- YouTube Links to the Music
- Suggested Activities Related to 4th and 5th Grade Virginia Standards of Learning
- Youth Concert Evaluation (For teachers, administrators and parent coordinators)
For further information about the Digital Youth Concert, please contact education@cvillesymphony.org.