Richmond, Norfolk, and the northern Virginia metropolitan area are the principal centers for the creative and the performing arts in Virginia, although the arts flourish throughout the state. Richmond's Landmark Theatre (formerly known as The Mosque) has been the scene of concerts by internationally famous orchestras and soloists for generations. Theatre Virginia, located at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, presents new plays and classics with professional casts. The Barksdale Theatre and its repertory company present serious plays and occasionally give premiere performances of new works.
In Norfolk, the performing arts are strikingly housed in Scope, a large auditorium designed by Pier Luigi Nervi; Chrysler Hall, an elegant structure with gleaming crystal; and the Wells Theatre, an ornate building that has hosted such diverse performers as John Philip Sousa, Will Rogers, and Fred Astaire. The internationally recognized Virginia Opera Association is housed in the recently constructed Harrison Opera House.
Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts, in northern Virginia, provides theatrical, operatic, and musical performances featuring internationally celebrated performers. The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in nearby Washington, D.C., is heavily patronized by Virginians. The College of William and Mary's Phi Beta Kappa Hall in Williamsburg is the site of the Virginia Shakespeare Festival, an annual summer event inaugurated in 1979. Abingdon is the home of the Barter Theatre, the first state-supported theatre in the United States, whose alumni include Ernest Borgnine and Gregory Peck. This repertory company has performed widely in the US and at selected sites abroad.
There are orchestras in Alexandria, Arlington, Fairfax, Lynchberg, Petersburg, and Roanoke. Richmond is home to the Richmond Ballet, Richmond Choral Society, Richmond Jazz Society, Richmond Philharmonic, and the Richmond Symphony. The Virginia Symphony, founded in 1920, has been recognized as one of the nation's leading regional symphony orchestras.
The annual Virginia Arts Festival has drawn national attention since its inception in 1997. In 2002, the festival presented 93 performances of music, theater, and dance in 25 days and had an attendance of over 76,000. The annual Shenandoah Valley Music Festival in Orkney Springs features arts and crafts presentations as well as musical performances.
In 2002, George Garrett (poet, novelist, essayist, humorist, critic, and editor) was named Virginia's poet laureate. His works include the nonfiction book Going to See the Elephant: Pieces of a Writing Life, the novel The King of Babylon Shall Not Come Against You, and a trilogy of historical novels, Death of the Fox (1971), The Succession: A Novel of Elizabeth and James (1983), and Entered from the Sun (1990).
In 2003, the Virginia Commission on the Arts and other Virginia arts organizations received grants totaling $1,321,300 from the National Endowment for the Arts. The Virginia Foundation for the Humanities was established in 1974 and has since sponsored over 40,000 humanities programs. In 2000, the National Endowment for the Humanities contributed $2,990,783 for 41 state programs. Arts education programs are offered to over 130,000 of the state's schoolchildren. Virginia has over 500 arts organizations.