If you’re looking to enjoy classical music in Richmond in a more relaxed scene, look no further. Classical Revolution RVA is an organization which aims to make classical music more accessible to all by playing in local bars, cafes, and other unexpected places.
If you’re looking to enjoy classical music in Richmond in a more relaxed scene, look no further. Classical Revolution RVA is an organization which aims to make classical music more accessible to all by playing in local bars, cafes, and other unexpected places.
Classical Revolution is a global association which “…started in San Francisco in [2006], and each chapter is run independently. There’s no organizing entity that oversees all of us, it’s just kind of an idea that caught on,” says Ellen Cockerham, the head of Classical Revolution RVA.
“I first heard about it from friends who ran the Cleveland, OH chapter. They put me in touch with the founder of Classical Revolution, and I basically just asked him if it was okay if I started the Richmond chapter.”
Cockerham was given the okay, created a facebook page, and started performing with a group in Richmond back in 2012. They’ve been striving to support the mission by playing in places like Balliceaux and opening the music to the public by offering open mic nights at places like Globehopper.
The name Classical Revolution came from the venture’s early San Francisco days, where it was birthed in the Revolution Café in the Mission District. Here, the first regular concerts started happening. But Cockerham said the larger idea is to get classical music out of the realm of the elite.
“Classical Revolution is trying to break down those barriers and take the music out to where the people are,” says Cockerham.
Cockerham is part of the Richmond Symphony, and her connections there allowed her to dive deep into the local music scene. “I’d been going to concerts around here and I suddenly wondered why classical musicians were content to let every other kind of music inhabit these venues and people’s time and money,” she said.
Cockerham got a group together, mostly made up of other Richmond Symphony members, and did their first performance at Balliceaux. The show was a big hit. Therefore, in her eyes, there was no way they could only make it a one-time event.
Classical Revolution isn’t only about breaking the stigma associated classical music scene, but redefining what we know as classical music as well. “Everyone who’s involved with this really believes that classical music is for everyone. That it belongs to everyone and that anyone can appreciate it,” Cockerham said about the program. “I think one of the misconceptions about classical music is, you know, people hear one piece or one kind of music, like say Mozart, and they think that all classical music sounds like that. But it’s such a wide genre, it’s not even a genre. It’s a tradition. So that’s one of our goals, just to expose people to a lot of different sounds that are considered classical.”
Classical Revolution is not confined to playing with just the group itself, either. On the newest Bio Ritmo album, Puerta Del Sur, members of Classical Revolution were asked to contribute to tracks.
“I actually wrote string parts for a few of their songs,” Cockerham said, after saying she had a blast working with the salsa group. “I think it was just exciting [for them] to have that new element. They’re such a creative band, always experimenting with new sounds and different influences… I remember the first rehearsal that we went to and added the strings, their faces were just… you know, they just lit up because it was a new thing. And it was really fun for us too.”
Classical Revolution RVA performs monthly at Balliceaux, but this is far from the only regularly scheduled performing they do. Cockerham offers another example: “Like [what] we did at Globehopper two weeks back, the open mic where it’s just open to anyone to come and perform or just sight-read chamber music with friends… that’s really open to anyone.” No sign-up is necessary for these open mic events; you can just show up and play what you have ready.
Their next upcoming event is called Bar Talk, and it’s happening on August 13 at Gallery 5. Cockerham describes it as “…a talk in a bar. We’re having a guest speaker from Cleveland coming and giving an informative talk at 7:30, the subject being the journey from tonality to atonality in the 20th century. Following that will be a performance which complements the talk […] we’re planning to do more in this series throughout the year, but this is the first one and we’re really excited about it.”
If you’re one who enjoys the urbane quality of classical music, while also appreciating being able to wear jeans and have a drink with your friends while it’s performed, come and learn more about Classical Revolution RVA and what they do on 8/13 at Gallery 5. Or catch one of their many other events around town!
