When it comes to the NBA, debates about the best player — Steph? No, Luka, right? How about Giannis? — can become endless.
In classical music, however, there is a No. 1 who’s become a household name: Yo-Yo Ma.
The cellist is returning to Norfolk as part of the Virginia Arts Festival’s 2025 lineup, which was announced Thursday night. Ma, recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom and 19 Grammy Awards, will perform June 8 at Chrysler Hall.
Other top acts include Renée Fleming and Samara Joy.
Fleming is one of the most celebrated classical singers of all time and, like Ma, a National Medal of Arts recipient. She will perform June 1 at the Harrison Opera House in Norfolk.
Joy — winner of the 2023 Grammys for Best Jazz Vocal Album and Best New Artist, and this year for Best Jazz Performance — is returning for a second year after playing Virginia Beach in the summer. She will perform June 7 at Chrysler Hall.
Check out the season’s full lineup below. Tickets for some events are available now, at vafest.org.
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March
“Cinderella,” featuring student performers from the Governor’s School for the Arts. 7 p.m. March 15, Sandler Center for the Performing Arts, Virginia Beach.
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April
“Alice,” by the dance company Momix, 7:30 p.m. April 2, Chrysler Hall, Norfolk; 7:30 p.m. April 4, Ferguson Center for the Arts, Newport News.
Rodgers & Hammerstein’s “The Sound of Music” singalong, 2 p.m. April 6, Chrysler Hall, Norfolk.
Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis, 7:30 p.m. April 11, Chrysler Hall, Norfolk.
Violinist and composer Jessie Montgomery and the Virginia Arts Festival Chamber Players, 7:30 p.m. April 15, Clay & Jay Barr Education Center, Norfolk.
Los Angeles Guitar Quartet, 7:30 p.m. April 16, Norfolk Academy, Norfolk.
Zakir Hussain and the Masters of Percussion, 7:30 p.m. April 17, Perry Pavilion, Norfolk.
Virginia International Tattoo, 7:30 p.m. April 24-26, 2:30 p.m. April 27, Scope, Norfolk.
The Tallis Scholars, 7:30 p.m. April 29, Christ & St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Norfolk.
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May
John Moreland, 7:30 p.m. May 4, Perry Pavilion, Norfolk.
Edgar Meyer, Tessa Lark and Joshua Roman, 7:30 p.m. May 7, Concert Hall at William & Mary, Williamsburg.
Mahler’s Symphony No. 9 by the Virginia Symphony Orchestra, 7:30 p.m. May 9, Ferguson Center for the Arts, Newport News; 2:30 p.m. May 10, Sandler Center for the Performing Arts, Virginia Beach.
Alcée Chriss III, 4 p.m. May 11, Christ & St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Norfolk.
Béla Fleck, Edmar Castañeda and Antonio Sánchez Trio, 7:30 p.m. May 14, Perry Pavilion, Norfolk.
Towne Bank Jazz Series with Jimmy Masters and vocalist Lena Seikaly, 7:30 p.m. May 15, Sandler Center for the Performing Arts, Virginia Beach.
Zemlinsky Quartet with Olga Kern, 7:30 p.m. May 21, Concert Hall at William & Mary, Williamsburg; 7:30 p.m. May 22, Clay & Jay Barr Education Center, Norfolk; 10:30 a.m. May 23, Sandler Center for the Performing Arts, Virginia Beach.
“Black Sabbath — The Ballet,” by the Birmingham Royal Ballet and featuring the Virginia Symphony Orchestra, 7:30 p.m. May 30; 2 and 7:30 p.m. May 31, Chrysler Hall, Norfolk.
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June
Renée Fleming, 3 p.m. June 1, Harrison Opera House, Norfolk.
Lana Trotovšek, Nina Kotova, János Balázs and Olga Kern, 10:30 a.m. June 4, Sandler Center for the Performing Arts, Virginia Beach; 7:30 p.m. June 6, Clay & Jay Barr Education Center, Norfolk.
Lana Trotovšek, Nina Kotova and Olga Kern, 10:30 a.m. June 5, Concert Hall, William & Mary, Williamsburg.
Samara Joy, 7:30 p.m. June 7, Chrysler Hall, Norfolk.
“An Afternoon with Yo-Yo Ma: Reflections in Words and Music,” 3 p.m. June 8, Chrysler Hall, Norfolk.
Olga Kern and the Virginia Arts Festival Chamber Players, 7:30 p.m. June 11, Clay & Jay Barr Education Center, Norfolk; 10:30 a.m. June 13, Towne University, Suffolk.
Virginia Arts Festival Chamber Players, 10:30 a.m. June 12, St. John’s Episcopal Church, Portsmouth.
Towne Bank Jazz Series with Jimmy Masters and vocalist Sachal Vasandani, 7:30 p.m. June 19, Sandler Center for the Performing Arts, Virginia Beach.
Colin Warren-Hicks, 919-818-8138, [email protected]