Featured Artists

Lorenzo Ward

Trombone Soloist

Lorenzo Ward is a student at Old Dominion University currently majoring in music education. Born into a musical family, Lorenzo has held a love of music from a young age, in fact one of his first phrases were “I Love Music”. He studies with Virginia Symphony Trombonists Tanner Antonetti, David Kidd, and ODU Trombone Instructor Mike Hall. Lorenzo performs with the Old Dominion University Wind Ensemble as principal trombone, as well as the Old Dominion University Symphony Orchestra, Brass Choir, Sacbut Consort, and the Monarch Marching Band. ​In addition, he has performed in ensembles including the Symphonic Artistry Wind Ensemble, Southside Community Band, Bay Youth Symphony Orchestra, Peninsula Youth Orchestra, and the Soundscapes Performance Ensemble. He also freelances in various ensembles in the Hampton Roads area. Lorenzo has taken part in the Tide-Brass Summer Music Festival, and the Fred-Brass Summer Music Festival in 2022. In 2024, Lorenzo was selected as a summer intern to perform with the Tidewater Winds. In the summer of 2025 he took part in the Masterwork’s Music Festival. He was a winner of the Masterwork’s Music Festival Chamber Competition. He also won the Chesapeake Bay Solo Competition 2025-2026. While Lorenzo appreciates multiple styles of music, his passion is orchestral music. Some of his favorite composers are Gustav Mahler, Johannes Brahms, and Carl Nielson. Aside from his teachers, major influences are Joseph Alessi, Mark Lawrence, Nitzan Haroz, and Megumi Kanda.

Chris Espy

Trombone Soloist

Christopher Espy, trombone, is a music instructor at Willam and Mary and Christopher Newport University. Espy earned his Doctorate of Musical Arts from Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, where he was a recipient of a Teaching Assistantship. He previously taught at Chowan University. Espy is an active orchestral and chamber musician in the area, and has performed with the Virginia Symphony Orchestra, Williamsburg Symphony Orchestra, and Richmond Symphony. He has been published in the International Trombone Journal, and has twice performed as a soloist at the International Trombone Festival.

Andrea Boothe

Soprano Soloist

Andrea Boothe has called the beautiful state of Virginia home since 2002, landing in Hampton Roads with her husband, Daniel W. Boothe, in 2017. She is an active vocalist, educator, choral adjudicator, and avid arts volunteer throughout the region. Boothe previously taught music education for Virginia Beach Public Schools, and is currently serving Chesapeake Public Schools as a teacher of English-language learners. Boothe has performed across the U.S. and internationally in Canada and Russia. As a former active duty military spouse, her travels have provided many opportunities to perform and integrate into her local community, and she has been sought after as an education consultant and advocate for musical arts integration. Notable performances include work with the Roanoke Symphony Orchestra, Roanoke Opera, the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra, Dayton Opera, and locally with Symphonicity, the Chesapeake Bay Wind Ensemble, and Regent University. She is active as a soloist for churches throughout the region. She has a special affinity for contemporary music, and enjoys collaborating with other artists to bring new music to life. Boothe completed studies in vocal performance, music therapy, dance, and psychology at Radford University and Immaculata University, graduating with honors. She studied with regionally acclaimed soprano Elizabeth Curtis, Clarity James of the New York Opera, as well as renowned New York and Philadelphia-based vocal coach Diana Borgia-Petro. Favorited concert performances as featured soloist include Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana, Francis Poulenc’s Gloria, John Rutter’s Gloria, Henry Purcell’s Dido and Aenaes, CamilleSaint-Saëns' Oratorio de Noël, and Songs from the End of the World, by John Mackey. Her featured work as soprano soloist with Symphonicity has been heard on WHRO radio broadcasts with Raymond Jones.