About the Atlanta Virtuosi

Mission Statement

The Atlanta Virtuosi Foundation was founded in 1977 as a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization with these defined goals: educating young people and the general community through its varied music programs and outreach partnerships with several educational institutions and public schools. The Atlanta Virtuosi Foundation, under the leadership of its Founder and Artistic Director, Juan R. Ramírez, serves the cultural needs of our constant growing metro Atlanta community.

The mission of the Atlanta Virtuosi Foundation, Inc. is to make available a whole musical education that presents opportunities for professional musicians and young music students to participate in orchestral instrumental arts and to create an environment that is nurturing and stimulating through an artistically literate education. Our continued objective is to provide more in-depth traditional, classical and cultural music experiences for our diverse metro Atlanta area. This enriched music performance organization is designed to meet the increased demand for a professionally supervised youth orchestra which provides a variety of opportunities for growing numbers of students and creates an environment for young musicians to enhance their technical skills in musical instrumental instruction.

About the AV

The Atlanta Virtuosi Foundation, Inc. was incorporated in November 1977 under Georgia code 501 (c) (3) as a non-profit organization. The foundation has adopted and organized goals exclusively for educational, cultural and civic purposes. Since its inception, the foundation has received continuous support from both public and private sources including the City of Atlanta Bureau of Cultural Affairs, the Fulton County Arts Council, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Georgia Council for the Arts, DeKalb Council for the Arts, Bell South, the Coca-Cola Foundation, the William C. Wardlaw Foundation, the John and Mary Franklin Foundation, Inc, Paul Newman Foundation, the Buckhead Coalition and numerous individuals gifts.

The performing arm of the foundation is the Atlanta Virtuosi, which has distinguished itself as a chamber ensemble of the highest caliber in the United States and abroad. Hailed by the late Henryk Szeryng as being “among the finest chamber groups of today, the Atlanta Virtuosi possess an enviable level of instrumental command and artistic integrity.” Noted for the diversity of its programs, the Atlanta Virtuosi perform a wide variety of both traditional and contemporary compositions, and have featured such world-class artists as Joseph Silverstein, Milan Turkovic, Frank Glazer, Janos Starker, Pepe Romero and Henryk Szeryng. The Virtuosi has been the recipient of two consecutive consortium awards from the National Endowment for the Arts for the commissioning and world premiere performances of new chamber works by internationally renowned composers Gunther Schuller, Karel Husa, Elliot Schwartz, Stanislaw Skrowaczewski, Leonardo Balada, Werner Torkanowsky, Armando Lavalle and Juan Ramírez.

The Atlanta Virtuosi has received critical acclaim for its extended tours of Mexico and its first European tour to Austria, Germany and Switzerland in 1986. In March of 1988, the Atlanta Virtuosi returned for their second European tour, playing to capacity audiences in the cultural centers of Spain and Italy. In 1986, 1987 and 1988, the Atlanta Virtuosi established a summer chamber music residency at Bates College in Lewiston, Maine. In 1990, the Atlanta Virtuosi founded the popular Hispanic Festival for the Arts/Festival Latino in Atlanta and Mexico. Now in its 18th season, these annual festivals were established to celebrate the rich cultural and artistic contributions of the Hispanic heritage.

In 1993, the Atlanta Virtuosi was selected as winner of the “Regional Designation Award in the Arts” by the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games (ACOG) Cultural Olympiad. The award was developed to honor excellence and innovation in artistic and cultural programs throughout the Southeast.

Most recently, at the invitation of the Governor of the State of Veracruz, the Atlanta Virtuosi returned from Mexico after a successful performance at the annual National Festival “Expo Feria, Huapango Pánuco 2008, performing Mr. Ramírez’ composition “Suite Huasteca”. This performance was promoted and televised nationally throughout Mexico.

In June 2008, the Atlanta Virtuosi presented “MUSIC OF THE OLD AND NEW WORLDS” in Barcelona and at the Costa Brava International Music Festival.

Board of Directors