Virginia Community Music Festival
April 26 and May 9-10, 2026
The Virginia Community Music Festival provides community music ensembles the experience of performing in the acoustically superb halls of the Ferguson Center for the Arts, celebrates and promotes lifelong music making, offers workshops and clinics on how to better serve the community and manage an organization, and enhances the cultural life of Hampton Roads.
Thank you VERY much again for having the festival and having us. This is definitely our favorite event. I'm looking forward to next year.
What an incredible joy it is to see this annual festival growing - BRAVO!!!
It’s an incredible benefit to the community, and we’re all grateful!
About the Event
Why Participate
The festival presents public performances by community music ensembles throughout Virginia, in addition to lectures and workshops on health for adult musicians, audience development, fundraising and more. The concerts are free and open to the public and are held in Christopher Newport University’s Ferguson Center for the Arts and Pope Chapel.
Each ensemble receives a professionally mastered video of its performance, and the performances in Diamonstein Concert Hall and Peebles Theatre are livestreamed. Participating ensembles may have a table in a lobby. Instrument, music and fundraising vendors will be on on site. Each ensemble’s performance can last no longer than 45 minutes. Christopher Newport provides chairs, stands, percussion instruments, choral risers, a Steinway 9-foot piano, podiums, an organ (Pope Chapel) and a microphone, all free of charge. There are several restaurants in the area, and Hilton Garden Inn Newport News is offering a special rate for all participants.
To Apply
Ensemble participation is free, and all concerts, lectures and masterclasses are free and open to the public. To apply for one of the limited performance times, please send either a video or a sound recording of a live, unedited performance from within the past two years to:
Virginia Community Music Festival
Department of Music
Christopher Newport University
1 Avenue of the Arts
Newport News, Virginia 23606
Please include the name of the ensemble and contact information (name, street address, e-mail address and telephone number).
For more information, please contact the Department of Music at (757) 594-7089 or Dr. Mark Reimer, director of music, at reimer@cnu.edu or (757) 594-7074.
Board of Advisers
- Daniel W. Boothe, conductor, Symphonicity
- Bruce Bronstein, executive director, Ferguson Center for the Arts
- Major William Garlette, conductor, Virginia Chamber Winds, co-founder
- Dr. John Irving, director of choral studies, Christopher Newport University
- Dr. Raymond Jones, classical radio host, WHRO 90.3 FM
- Dr. Mark Reimer, director of music, Christopher Newport University, co-founder
