Saturday night, I got to sit in a packed CenterStage to hear the world debut of Mason Bates' latest creation "Sonic Panolpy" performed by the Richmond Symphony. 

This concert marked the start of maestro Steven Smith's tenure as the Music Director for the Richmond Symphony.  Bates' piece was very symbolic to the night because our symphony is trying hard to not only preserve classics, but to keep the art of new compositions alive also.  On top of all this, the symphony sounded simply wonderful.  The crowd was given some of Bates' best work as an appetizer and then Beethoven's 9th as the main course. 

All in all it was a fantastic night of new and old music performed by one of the best bands in town. 

Two thumbs up to all the wonderful folks at the Richmond Symphony. 

Keep the passion pouring out of you and you will never fail.

Submitted by Prabir Mehta.