Richmond Symphony Presents An Evening of Jazz with Rex Richardson Tonight

Join the Richmond Symphony tonight, February 8 - 8 p.m. at the Carpenter Theatre at Richmond CenterStage for An Evening of Jazz with Rex Richardson.

Jazz and symphony fans will unite for this one-of-a-kind evening with our hometown, world-renowned virtuoso trumpeter Rex Richardson as we pay tribute to jazz greats Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn. With special guests, and you in the audience, Richmond CenterStage will turn into the Cotton Club - RVA style! Come and enjoy jazz favorites performed by Rex Richardson and the Richmond Symphony!

Tickets start at just $10 online at richmondsymphony.com or 1.800.514 ETIX. $7 college student tickets available at the Richmond CenterStage box office with valid student ID.

Make a night of it! Enjoy 10% off at 525 at the Berry Burk or Bistro 27 with your ticket stub. This concert is sponsored by Genworth (series sponsor) and The E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation.

About the Richmond Symphony

Founded in 1957, the Richmond Symphony is the largest performing arts organization in Central Virginia. The organization includes an orchestra of more than 70 professional musicians, the 150-voice Richmond Symphony Chorus and more than 200 students in the Richmond Symphony Youth Orchestra programs. Each season, more than 250,000 members of the community enjoy concerts, radio broadcasts, and educational outreach programs. The Richmond Symphony is partially funded by the Virginia Commission for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts.

About Rex Richardson

Hailed as "An artiste with an exceptional talent who has made a name for himself as one of the finest trumpet players in the world today," (4barsrest.com) and "one of the world's most engaging and astonishingly versatile trumpeters," (Style Weekly) Yamaha Performing Artist Rex Richardson was named the 2008 Brass Herald Personality of the Year. A veteran of the acclaimed chamber ensemble Rhythm & Brass, jazz legend Joe Henderson's Quintet and Sextet, William Russo's Chicago Jazz Ensemble, and the Brass Band of Battle Creek, known as the world's "Rolls Royce of Brass Bands" (Brass Band World), he stays busy as a headline artist at international brass and jazz festivals and as a soloist with orchestras, concert bands, brass bands and jazz ensembles on five continents. Born in the Napa Valley area and adopted into a military family, Richardson spent a musical childhood in various far-flung areas of the U.S., including Hawaii, Alaska, New York City, and Boston before settling outside Washington, D.C. It was here that he plunged headlong into the trumpet world, studying with Dennis Edelbrock and Chris Gekker. While still a teenager, he was regularly engaged for some of the most challenging works in the repertoire, including Bach's Cantatas and the 2nd Brandenburg Concerto. After high school he continued his studies in Chicago with Vincent Cichowicz, becoming a fixture on the music scene through performances with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago and virtually all of the city's top jazz musicians. Having joined Rhythm & Brass and signed with Yamaha in 1995, Richardson moved to New York City in 1997, where he immediately began touring with Joe Henderson and began pursuit of his solo career in earnest. As a professional trumpeter, Richardson has shared the stage with countless legendary artists and ensembles, including Brian Blade, Benny Carter, Boston Brass, Ray Charles, Mike Clarke, Kurt Elling, Carl Fontana, Aretha Franklin, Wycliffe Gordon, Stefon Harris, Conrad Herwig, Dave Holland, Dave Liebman, Keith Lockhart, Jimmy Owens, Chris Potter, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Allen Vizzutti, Bill Wautrous, and Steve Wilson. Having developed a unique reputation in the trumpet world for his combination of singular virtuosity, a highly personal style, and an emphasis on improvisation in classical as well as jazz idioms, Richardson has become a tireless champion of new music. He presented the premiere performances of concertos by Dana Wilson, Doug Richards and Peter Meechan on four continents between 2006 and 2010. Since then he presented the Australian, Brazilian, Swedish, English, Scottish, Thailand and U.S. premieres of James Stephenson's Trumpet Concerto no. 2, "Rextreme." His five solo recordings, including the 2010 release "Magnum Opus: 21st Century Trumpet Concertos" are all released on Summit Records. Referring to "Magnum Opus," the International Trumpet Guild Journal printed "This album, without a doubt, puts Rex Richardson among the very best trumpet soloists in the world today." (January 2011)