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Tessa Ader with the Ader Emerging Artists with the Charlottesville Opera

Celebrating the Life Tessa Ader

The recent passing of historic UVA Arts benefactor Tessa Ader marked the final chapter of a life filled with love, art, a sense of adventure, and a legacy that will enrich the UVA and Charlottesville communities for generations to come. Ader’s historic lead $50 million gift to fund the building of a performing arts center is the largest gift to the arts in the University’s history and will transform the arts landscape by providing a state-of-the-art home for concerts, dance, theater and interdisciplinary art forms.

February 5, 2026
A close up of the top of a lamppost with two light blue banner signs saying "Downtown Cville."
Music

A Preview of Spring 2026 Arts Events That Offer Something for Everyone

Spring is a time of renewal — more specifically, a time to visit one of Charlottesville’s many offerings to reignite an old artistic passion or explore a new one. The Charlottesville area is home to many affordable arts events, varying from orchestra performances to drag shows. Here are six upcoming arts events in the area from January through March for those looking to get in touch with the creative side of the community.

https://www.cavalierdaily.com/article/2026/01/a-preview-of-spring-2026-arts-events-that-offer-something-for-everyone?ct=content_open&cv=cbox_featured

A light blue background with a whimsical hand drawing of a radio tower emitting radio waves, reaching a red car on the road, and three people in their homes. The phrase "WTJU 91.1 FM Community Folk Marathon" is written across the image.
Music

2026 Folk Marathon Is All About Community

WTJU’s volunteer hosts are curating a Folk music mecca, running February 2 – 9, all to raise money for your favorite non-commercial radio station as it continues to find its footing after federal funding cuts. Your support continues to be more important than ever.

https://www.wtju.net/folk2026/

A blonde woman with a white shirt and white angel wings looks quizzically to the side, and ponders with a thin pointing stick tapping on her chin.
Music

'The Death of Dido: An English Masque’ at The Rotunda 1/18

Originating as a form of festive courtly entertainment in 16th-century Europe, masques contain music, dancing, singing, acting, and allegory. The Death of Dido: An English Masque features an Italianate musical score by Johann Pepusch with an English libretto by Barton Booth, employing the same section of Virgil’s Aeneid as Henry Purcell’s famous 1689 opera Dido and Aeneas. Arias and instrumental music from English theatrical works by Purcell and his contemporaries precede the masque, introducing the audience to the characters and setting the scene for the infamous tale to unfold. Advance registration required. Free, 7:30pm. The Rotunda at UVA, 1826 University Ave. earlymusiccville.org

https://c-ville.com/the-death-of-dido-an-english-masque-at-the-rotunda-1-18/

A drawing of an old box TV with an image of a stack of various CDs on the center of the screen, with a background of a red curtain behind the TV.
Music

On Repeat: Modern Film Scores to Romanticize the Start of Your Semester

As friends reunite and the Corner sees life again, it is easy to see Grounds, in its picturesque beauty, as the idealistic setting of an early 2000s rom-com film. The ensuing months will bring on a whirlwind of different emotions and prompt corresponding types of music — but to romanticize your semester to its fullest extent, choose a soundtrack with notes from these striking film scores.

https://www.cavalierdaily.com/article/2026/01/on-repeat-modern-film-scores-to-romanticize-the-start-of-your-semester?ct=content_open&cv=cbox_featured

A man in a bright yellow sweater stands at a podium with a mic and raps to an audience, with a seated orchestra playing behind him.
Music

My Book: ‘Being Dope: Hip Hop & Theory Through Mixtape Memoir’ By Dr. A.D. Carson

By now, the phrase “Hip-Hop changed my life” is a well-worn cliché, but that won’t stop me from saying it. I’m from the small Central Illinois town of Decatur. My hometown is one of the sites where the war on drugs and many of its battles took place. In 2018, Decatur was listed at number seven in USA Today’s “15 worst cities for Black Americans” and ranked third nationally in their 2019 “America’s fastest shrinking cities” poll.

https://hiphopwired.com/2987643/my-book-being-dope-hip-hop-theory-through-mixtape-memoir-by-dr-a-d-carson/

A black and white background of rings of circles, creating a visual hypnotic effect. In the center is a green circle with a black arrow pointing to the right.
Music

Why Spotify Wrapped Turns Your Music Habits Into a Social Event

Millions of Spotify subscribers woke up Wednesday morning to a much-anticipated annual tradition: Spotify Wrapped. In 2016, the world’s largest music streaming platform began showing users their most listened-to artists and songs, assigning music fans different listening personalities based on their favorite genres. The compilation of individual user data comes in brightly colored, stylish infographics designed to share on your social media feed. With a name like “Wrapped,” arriving right on time for the holidays, it feels like a thoughtful gift from the streamer delivered directly to your phone.

https://news.virginia.edu/content/why-spotify-wrapped-turns-your-music-habits-social-event

Five young women are shown singing into microphones on stage, standing close together, all wearing black clothing.
Music

The AcHOOstics Turn Up the Party for an Energetic and Emotional Concert

For most University students, the end of the semester looks like a wind-down for Thanksgiving followed by an immediate gear-up for finals, perhaps intermingled with reminiscing on another semester gone by too fast. However, for some, the end of the semester signals something a little different — a cappella concert season.

https://www.cavalierdaily.com/article/2025/11/the-achoostics-turn-up-the-party-for-an-energetic-and-emotional-concert?ct=content_open&cv=cbox_latest

A UVA female soccer player with long brown hair stands on the field and is hold a soccer ball under one arm, and is leaning on a propped-up keyboard under the other arm.
Music

On the Field, She’s a Star. On the Piano, She’s a Rock Star

It was early October 2020, amid her first season as a University of Virginia soccer player, when Lia Godfrey received a FaceTime call from her coach. Steve Swanson, though, wasn’t seeking any soccer-related thoughts from his freshman midfielder. No, Eddie Van Halen had just died, and all Swanson wanted was for Godfrey, an accomplished pianist, to play a song by one of his favorite bands.

https://news.virginia.edu/content/field-shes-star-piano-shes-rock-star

An orange background with 4 individuals playing various instruments and smiling. There is a black and white filter over the 4 people, so the orange background pops.
Music

‘Body, Space and Memory’: Capoeira Comes to Grounds

From side to side, they moved with rhythm in a nonstop swaying motion that set up kicks, blocks and dodges in the martial art dance known as capoeira. Capoeira is an Afro-Brazilian martial art that combines dance, acrobatic moves, music and spirituality. Practitioners use kicks, handstands, cartwheels and complex maneuvers in a series of flowing movements that are equal parts expressive dance and self-defense.

https://news.virginia.edu/content/body-space-and-memory-capoeira-comes-grounds

The interior of a girl's bedroom where she sits smiling on a small couch, and behind her we see a record player with various posters on the wall and vinyls spread out on the coffee table.
Music

The Music Beat: In a Digital World, This Hoo is Loyal to Vinyl

When it comes to setting records, Omonye Isi prefers classic vinyl. Isi first joined the University of Virginia’s staff as a clinical research coordinator in the Emily Couric Clinical Cancer Center in 2023. A year later, when she was admitted to a master’s degree program in public health, she stopped commuting from Richmond and moved to Charlottesville.

https://news.virginia.edu/content/music-beat-digital-world-hoo-loyal-vinyl