Dozens of performances including classical music, dance, theater, film, rock, family, and more in venues throughout Coastal Virginia 

Virginia Arts Festival will light up stages throughout Hampton Roads in 2026 as they celebrate their 29th anniversary season, bringing acclaimed artists from around the world. “It’s amazing and gratifying to see how much we have grown since 1997 and most of all, it is inspiring.” said the Festival’s Perry Artistic Director Rob Cross. “We look forward to bringing you great performances of classical music and dance, alongside jazz, rock, folk, world and more. And this season marks one of our busiest years yet.” 

Throughout southeastern Virginia, Virginia Arts Festival will fill the calendar from November 2025 through June 2026. Tickets for all performances are on sale now at vafest.org, 757-282-2822, and in person at Virginia Arts Festival box office (440 Bank Street in Norfolk). 

Macon & Joan Brock Dance Series 
Always innovative and rooted in technical excellence, athleticism, emotion, and grace, BalletX performs March 5 for the Festival’s Connie & Marc Jacobson Opening Night Celebration. The uniquely American art form of tap dance explodes April 21 & 23 as Dorrance Dance leads “a visual, auditory, and rhythmic delight from beginning to end” (LA Dance Chronicle) led by MacArthur “Genius Grant” recipient Michelle Dorrance.  

Dance Theatre of Harlem returns to the Festival, this time bringing one of the company’s most beloved signature works: Firebird, to Norfolk March 20-22; the piece has been re-mounted and will be performed in Norfolk for the first time in over 20 years. With John Taras’ masterful choreography, Igor Stravinsky’s iconic score (1945 version) performed live with the Virginia Symphony Orchestra, and Geoffrey Holder’s dazzling costumes and sets, Firebird is a feast for the senses. The company will also perform a mixed repertory program on March 24 in Newport News.  

Classical Music 
With a career spanning almost four decades, GRAMMY® Award-winning violinist Joshua Bell is one of the most celebrated artists of his era. He has performed all over the world, and is Music Director of the legendary chamber orchestra The Academy of St. Martin in the Fields. This master violinist and superb ensemble perform together March 7 in Newport News and March 8 in Virginia Beach. 

In his solo program, GRAMMY® Award-winning mandolinist, singer, composer, and MacArthur “Genius Grant” recipient Chris Thile brings his signature blend of virtuosity, humor, and heart to the stage for A Solo Evening of Music with Chris Thile at the Perry Pavilion June 12. 

Virginia Arts Festival and Virginia Symphony Orchestra will celebrate the music of one of Hampton Roads’ finest artists, composer Adolphus Hailstork, in celebration of his 85th birthday April 30. To make this special evening even more spectacular, GRAMMY® Award winner JoAnn Falletta returns for one night only to conduct a performance that includes pianist Stewart Goodyear and the acclaimed Norfolk State University Chorus. 

Finding Peace at Potsdam May 29 & 30 is a musical journey through history with the Virginia Symphony Orchestra. In 1945 Potsdam, the fate of post-World War II Europe would be decided, in an Allied summit that included President Harry Truman, Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin. At that momentous meeting, music was performed and became a uniting factor in the tense negotiations. Experience the music of Tchaikovsky, Chopin, Kreisler, and more, woven together with insights that reveal the surprising role Hampton Roads played in this pivotal chapter of history. 

Chamber
The Festival’s Connie & Marc Jacobson Director of Chamber Music, pianist Olga Kern will perform throughout the spring season and once again curate an incredible Chamber Music Series. The series features the Borromeo String Quartet, the Orava Quartet, and the Virginia Arts Festival Chamber Players in beautiful venues and settings around the region. 

Admired and sought after for both its fresh interpretations of the classical music canon and its championing of works by 20th and 21st century composers, Borromeo String Quartet has been hailed for its “edge-of-the-seat performances” by the Boston Globe. They perform here April 13 at Chrysler Museum with the Verona Quartet, hailed as an “outstanding ensemble…cohesive yet full of temperament” by The New York Times, in a special octet collaboration. 

The electrifying Australian Orava Quartet was founded in 2007 by brothers Daniel Kowalik (violin) and Karol Kowalik (cello), and friends Thomas Chawner (viola) and David Dalseno (violin). Known for their engaging performances, catch them June 3 & 4 with the Festival’s Director of Chamber Music and Van Cliburn gold medalist, pianist Olga Kern. 

Alexandre Da Costa is renowned for his passionate violin as well as his roles as Music Director and Chief Conductor of the Orchestre Philharmonique du Québec and Principal Guest Conductor of the Orquesta Sinfónica Sinaloa de las Artes. He performs June 9 - 11 with Cuban-American cellist Tommy Mesa, whose dazzling performance style is “a masterclass in virtuosic playing” (Tucson.com). Passion and fire—the perfect complement to the thrilling performance style of Olga Kern. 

Virginia Arts Festival’s annual Coffee Concerts Series returns, showcasing chamber music as it was meant to be heard - the communion of gifted artists in intimate, beautiful settings, among music lovers and friends. After each performance, audience members can mingle with the performers, a lovely postscript to a perfect concert experience. Olga Kern will perform May 21 - 22 in Coffee Concerts I & II with the VAF Chamber Players; Orava Quartet will perform June 5 in Coffee Concert III; and the series will be rounded out by Alexandre Da Costa, Tommy Mesa, and Olga Kern June 10 - 11 in Coffee Concerts IV & V. 

This season, the Virginia Arts Festival Chamber Players features Brendon Elliott, violin; Elizabeth Vonderheide, violin; Beverly Kane Baker, viola; Michael Daniels, cello; Debra Wendells Cross, flute; Alexander Mayer, oboe; Christopher Creviston, saxophone; and Barbara Chapman, harp. 

Film with Orchestra 
Feel the need for speed as the Festival partners with Virginia Symphony Orchestra June 13 on a thrilling screening of the film Top Gun: Maverick with the film score performed live by the Virginia Symphony Orchestra. The original score was done by Harold Faltermeyer, Lady Gaga and Hans Zimmer, and produced by Lorne Balfe. A Royal Albert Hall production. With thanks to esk film.  

Rock 
“We Will Rock You”, “We Are The Champions”, “Bohemian Rhapsody”, the list of Queen anthems goes on and on and on… and now you can relive the thrill of a live Queen concert with full symphony orchestra as the Virginia Symphony Orchestra performs in this unforgettable concert from Windborne Productions: Music of Queen: A Rock Symphony May 15 in Virginia Beach with Brent Havens, conductor and MiG Ayesa, vocalist. 

Four musicians destined to be seminal pioneers of popular music – Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis and Johnny Cash – gathered, impromptu, in a recording studio. April 24 in the Perry Pavilion, One Night in Memphis captures that historic session, performed live and starring former Broadway stars. 

Musical Theater 
Cabaret favorite Meow Meow returns to Virginia Arts Festival March 30 - 31. “There are not many women who can stun an audience into pin-drop silence with an exquisitely delivered torch song one moment and rock the rafters with laughter the next” (The Evening Standard UK). 

Two-time Tony® Award winner Adrienne Warren (Shuffle Along, Tina: The Tina Turner Musical) grew up right here in Hampton Roads. May 16, catch this hometown superstar in an evening of song from Broadway, pop and beyond! 

Jazz 
Nine-time GRAMMY® Award winner Christian McBride is a prolific bandleader; his ensembles are each distinctive extensions of his creative inspiration, which span jazz, funk, soul, Latin, hip hop and rhythm and blues. His newest group Ursa Major performs May 17, emphasizing his role as an early presenter of rising stars.  
For more than 30 years, GRAMMY® Award winning vocal ensemble New York Voices has set the high bar for jazz vocal artistry. June 4, they perform at Virginia Arts Festival in their much-anticipated final tour. Hear jazz standards, big band classics, and more in a poignant, unforgettable tribute to the art of jazz.  

Reflecting a blend of cultures, Mexican singer Lucía performs April 7. She has captured the hearts of audiences and critics, mixing a virtuosic jazz sensibility with deep Mexican traditional and folk music roots. 

Considered Europe’s best, Danish Radio Big Band will be here February 22 in a pre-season Virginia Arts Festival debut! This storied big band has a rich history of powerhouse performances. They are joined by conductor Miho Hazama and one of today’s most sought-after and style-setting jazz vocalists, the always-thrilling Cécile McLorin Salvant. 

A virtuoso gathering of some of the best jazz players you’ve ever heard join to form the Attucks Jazz Orchestra May 9, bringing the fire and beauty of Miles Davis and John Coltrane to life in a night of swing, innovation, and fearless creativity. 

World 
Born in Oujda in the East of Morocco, The Leila performs June 6 in a passionate performance of music inspired by the many musical styles of Morocco. Kayce Laine will bring her Elevated Soundbath to the Festival April 25 featuring crystal bowls, gong, ocean drum, synth bass, and live ambient vocals. This immersive journey will guide you to release tension, reset your energy, and relax on a deep, cellular level. 

Tattoo 
The Virginia International Tattoo returns April 16 - 19. The Tattoo summons more than 800 performers from the U.S. and abroad each year, including fife and drum corps, bagpipers, military bands, precision drill teams, and performing ensembles ranging from step dancers to motorcycle stunt drivers. The Tattoo has become a number one U.S. destination for travelers (American Bus Association's Best of the Best and a Top 100 Event in North America). 

Theater 
The original rom-com! A rapturous, fresh take on one of William Shakespeare’s most popular plays, The Acting Company’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream is a captivating, coming-of-age story that will surprise and delight in this pre-season performance January 16! Then, be inspired March 29 by the bio-play about groundbreaking Supreme Court Justice, All Things Equal: The Life & Trials of Ruth Bader Ginsburg. 

Family 
In Peppa Pig: My First Concert April 12, families will see Peppa Pig, along with Mummy Pig, Daddy Pig, George and baby sister Evie, learn all about the different sounds that instruments make together. Family audiences will enjoy some of their favorite music from the show played by a live orchestra and discover some other exciting orchestral pieces perfect for children. 

Guitar 
Brazilian-born brothers Sérgio and Odair Assad have created a new standard of guitar expression, with exceptional artistry and uncanny ensemble-playing informed by a deep family musical tradition. March 12, savor a compelling blend of styles, periods and cultures including classical, folk, jazz and Latin music in the duo’s farewell tour. 

Recital 
First Prize and Audience Prize winner of the 2022 American Guild of Organists National Young Artist Competition in Organ Performance, James Kealey is a young lion of the organ and performs here May 10. A recent recital was hailed by The American Organist: "A deeply satisfying performance. Kealey used the organ beautifully, finding its color.” 

Save the dates: Williamsburg Live returns in 2026, this time adding a fourth night: June 25 – 28 on the Lawn of the Art Museums of Colonial Williamsburg.