Previous Associate Conductors include William Henry Curry, Peter Bay, Marin Alsop, Thomas Wilkins, Eckart Preu, Clark Etienne Suttle, Sarah Hatsuko Hicks, Erin Freeman, and Keitaro Harada.
[2] The Symphony has performed alongside internationally renowned musicians including Claudio Arrau, Mason Bates, Joshua Bell, Carter Brey, Yefim Bronfman, Aldo Ciccolini, Aaron Copland, Emerson String Quartet, Pierre Fournier, Denyce Graves, Ani Kavafian, Kate Lindsey, Yo-Yo Ma, Edgar Meyer, Jessye Norman, Itzhak Perlman, Jean-Pierre Rampal, Christopher Riley, Leonard Rose, Shanghai String Quartet, Gil Shaham, Joseph Silverstein, Dmitry Sitkovetsky, Isaac Stern, William Grant Still, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Elena Urioste, Jason Vieaux, André Watts, Julian Lloyd Webber, Tony Bennett, Ray Charles, the Dave Matthews Band, Aretha Franklin, Marvin Hamlisch, Bruce Hornsby, Jubilant Sykes, and Cleo Laine.
The Richmond Symphony Chorus, founded in 1971, gave its first performance under the direction of Robert Shaw; its directors have been James Erb (1971-2007), Erin R. Freeman (2007-2022), and Richard W. Robbins (2024-present).
The orchestra performs five concert series: Masterworks, made up of new and traditional symphonic repertoire engaging some of the best classical guest artists in the industry; Metro Collection Series, made up of beloved chamber music and highlighting Richmond Symphony musicians as soloists in a more intimate setting; Pops, featuring popular guest artists and classical and pop repertoire; LolliPops, a family-friendly concert series; and Rush-Hour, one-hour casual concerts in the tasting room at Hardywood Park Craft Brewery.
By the time the pilot period of the program is complete in 2019-20, the Symphony anticipates having raised over $500,000 in donations and buying more than 400 instruments to outfit all 32 RPS elementary and middle schools with a full string orchestra.