The Virginia International Tattoo brings a precision display of NATO's 28 nations with booming music, tight choreography and flashy uniforms.
Getting 850 people from all over the world moving together is an enormous challenge, said Tattoo producer and director Scott Jackson, one that takes months of preparation.

By Yana G. Samberg
NORFOLK
Think of it as historical salsa swing.
That may be the most apt way to describe the romantic, horn-and-bongo-driven sound of Septeto Nacional Ignacio Piñeiro de Cuba. The group, which began visiting the United States two years ago after an eight-decade hiatus, will perform in Norfolk on Wednesday as part of the Virginia Arts Festival.

NORFOLK Ricky Ian Gordon was in a panic. A wide-eyed, hands-fidgeting, deep-breathing panic. Early Monday afternoon, he tried to down a salad. But the world premiere in Norfolk of the new music-theater piece he composed, called "Rappahannock County," was set for Tuesday, a little more than a week away. And things weren't going as he had hoped.  

NORFOLK Rob Fisher is the matchmaker of "Rappahannock County." Nearly four years ago, he and Rob Cross, director of the Virginia Arts Festival, got together following a Virginia Symphony concert Fisher had conducted. Broadway star Kelli O'Hara was with them, too. She had just performed.

In covering the waterfront, the Virginia Arts Festival has thrown its net wide. Really wide. To England, Spain, Cuba.

“Rappahannock County,” a new music theater piece about life during the Civil War. 8 p.m. Tuesday (world premiere),
8 p.m. April 16, 2:30 p.m. April 17, Harrison Opera House, Norfolk. $75 Gold Circle (no discount); $60, $45, $25 (no discounts on opening night)

Septeto Nacional de Ignacio Piñeiro, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Norfolk Academy. $35

American String Quartet with Andre-Michel Schub, piano, 7 p.m. May 1, Great Bridge Presbyterian Church, Chesapeake. $30, $10 students under 25

American String Quartet: A Coffee Concert Event, 10:30 a.m. May 3, Miller Studio Theater, Sandler Center for the Performing Arts, Virginia Beach. $20

Masterworks in the Making: Premieres by Fellows of The John Duffy Composers Institute, 2 p.m. June 12, Chandler Hall, Diehn Fine and Performing Arts Center, Old Dominion University, Norfolk. Free

Mormon Tabernacle Choir with the Orchestra at Temple Square, 7:30 p.m. June 20, Scope, Norfolk. $85 Gold Circle (no discounts); $60, $40, $20

Website: Virginia Arts Festival, official site

NORFOLK The Birmingham Royal Ballet, last seen here in 2007, is performing today through Sunday at Chrysler Hall as part of its 20th anniversary celebrations. They're coming all that way just for us. No stops in New York or Chicago. No side trips to the West Coast. Just Birmingham to Norfolk and back again, tons of scenery and light-and-lithe dancers in tow.

Robert Szabo strikes up the band this weekend in a big way.
A wave of his baton will awaken a cast of almost 900 performers including military bands, color guards, a choir, Highland dancers, drill teams and bagpipers at the Virginia International Tattoo.