EP #156 A Local Guide To ArtsLIVE! Concerts And Ballet

Fredericksburg has an arts engine that’s been running for 37 years, and it’s bigger than most people realize. We’re joined by Debbie Tripp, vice president of ArtsLIVE!, to tell the story of how a nonprofit founded in 1988 by world-renowned harpist Heidi Lehwalder keeps bringing world-class performing artists to Fredericksburg, VA while still making room for local musicians, students, and community programs.

We walk through the upcoming ArtsLIVE! schedule so you can actually plan your nights out: the Chamber Music Festival at Trinity Episcopal Church (including a student performance from the Young Artists Live competition), plus standout events like Avery Ballet, an organ concert at St. George’s, and genre-spanning nights that reach into Broadway and brass. If you’ve been searching for live music in Fredericksburg, classical music concerts, chamber music festivals, or unique cultural events near you, this lineup is packed with options.

Debbie also pulls back the curtain on what ArtsLIVE! does beyond the stage: youth support through its music competition, Arts in Motion community outreach, and the real constraint holding arts growth back in town, limited performance spaces. We end with a clear invitation for listeners who want to get involved, attend, and help build a stronger arts scene right here at home.

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Debbie Tripp

ArtsLIVE!

artsliveva.org

thearts@artsliveva.org

+1 540-310-0817

904 Princess Anne St, Ste C8, Fredericksburg, VA, United States, Virginia

Transcript

Welcome To Fredericksburg Neighbors

Speaker 0:01

This is the Fredericksburg Neighbors Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Dori Stewart.

Speaker 2 0:13

Welcome back to another episode of the FXBG Neighbors Podcast, where we share the stories of our favorite local brands. I have a special guest joining me today. We've got Debbie Tripp. She is the vice president of ArtsLIVE!. Debbie, welcome to the podcast.

Speaker 1 0:31

Thank you very much, Dori. I'm so excited to be here.

What ArtsLIVE! Is

Speaker 2 0:35

Well, I am especially excited about this interview because there's a lot going on right now with ArtsLIVE!. So I can't wait to dive in and learn all about it. So let's start by sharing with the listeners what is ArtsLIVE!?

Speaker 1 0:52

So ArtsLIVE! was founded in 1988 by world-renowned harpist Heidi Lehwalder And it was that friend in Fredericksburg, she lived here, that wanted to bring greater world-renowned artists, performing artists to our region. So a bunch of friends got together with Heidi from Fredericksburg and they invited musicians to perform in a weekly chamber music festival. These performances have taken place over 37 years, and we are a nonprofit 501 organization that brings performances this year for two weeks to the Fredericksburg area in three locations.

May Performances And Venues

Speaker 2 1:48

That's so exciting to have something like that in the Fredericksburg area. And I'm really excited that you're on the podcast because I feel like not enough people know about this. It's so cool that we've got this here. So tell tell us a little bit of uh maybe break down the performances that are coming and share with us what we can expect.

Speaker 1 2:10

Okay. So it's about 30 performers from in Fredericksburg and outside of Fredericksburg that are coming. Specifically May 13, 15, and 16 will be the Chamber Music Festival with the world-renowned performers performing at Trinity Episcopal Church. And so that 13th performance will be in the evening starting at 7 o'clock with student performance at 7 o'clock, and we had a young artist competition, and so our local young artists are going to perform 20 minutes, and then the world renowned performers will take the stage at 7:30, and that will be again at Trinity Episcopal. That will happen again on Friday night, May 15th, and Saturday the performance will be at Trinity also at 3 p.m. So then you have the Avery Ballet, which will be performing some great performances, and I have previewed them. They are extraordinary young performers performing again at Trinity on the 17th, and that is actually I think it's at 7:30 at night. And then you have Tuesday an organist coming in from Stanton who is exceptional, and she is going to perform starting at 7 o'clock at St. George's on their new organ that is, I believe, a 2010 organ. So St. George's is so excited to have Jen Bolina open up those great organ pipes. And if you have never been to an organ concert, this is the one to go to. Followed by on May 23rd, a performance by our own artists on our ArtsLIVE! board, Natalie and Andre Rascoe, and they are retired Air Force performers, singers, and they're going to perform a Boundaries of Broadway program, followed by then on May 24th, our own Zach Smith, who is a local trumpet player performing with the DC Beltway Brass program. It's a varied program, and we are so excited to share both these world-renowned artists and our own local artists in what they do best.

Speaker 2 4:47

That's amazing that we are able to attract that type of talent to Fredericksburg. I love it.

Speaker 1 5:09

Sure. So some of the things that we do in addition to this music festival are we we offer to the community an opportunity for our young artists, meaning like middle and high schoolers that perform on classic instruments, meaning not ukulele, but it could be guitar, and it could be flutes or baritones or clarinets or any string instrument, violin, viola, cello baits, or voice. So we offer $1,800 in gifts over this competition that takes place usually in January and/or February. It's called Young Artists Live, a Young Artists Competition. And you can find out more about that on our website. In addition to we have Arts in Motion that we have local educators, and I am one of them. I have taken a ukulele program to Wounded Warriors this year, and I'm going to do another one next year. And then Mandy Carr is a choral director, and she directs the voices, and they perform at local community events. Could be nonprofit events. So we do have tentacles that reach out into our community to offer music therapy or present to nursing residential facilities in addition to our chamber music festival.

Speaker 2 6:48

Very cool. I love that. So many different things that you offer.

Board Meetings And How To Connect

Speaker 1 6:52

It is.com and you will can learn about our mission. And if you want to consider visiting a board meeting, see how we run our board meetings. It is the third Monday of every month, and we do have a little office in Fredericksburg, which is in the basement of the um what what is known as the Davenport Building on Princess Anne Street. It's very humble, but we don't need more than that. And we have an amazing manager, executive director of our organization who keeps our ship running in a really um beautiful way. Um very professional.

What ArtsLIVE! Needs Next

Speaker 2 9:21

So amazing, amazing. I'll add uh the website and all that information in our show notes. And so, what is something before we before we close that you wish the listeners knew about ArtsLIVE!?

Speaker 1 9:38

ArtsLIVE! Again, we are reaching out in so many ways to make varied offerings of all to all people that are interested in music and education. Um, to include, I'm seeking further like performers that want to come to our region or that are here that perform at a very high level. Um, and right now our performances spaces are really churches. We are so limited in performance space in Fredericksburg, but we're trying to keep it to Fredericksburg. Um, and so you have heard that we are reaching out with ballet and Broadway and brass and organ, but I would look at um other um opportunities for all performers to consider being a part of our program and reach out to us with your uh performances.

Speaker 2 10:40

Yeah, yeah. Well, I just love what you're doing, and I'm excited to attend some of these performances myself. I can't wait. And so, Debbie, thank you so much for joining me on the podcast today and sharing ArtsLIVE! with us.

Speaker 1 10:54

Thank you for having me, Dori. It's been a great joy. Thank you.

Speaker 10:59

Thank you for listening to the Fredericksburg Neighbors Podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to FXVG Neighbors Podcast.com.