The Shenandoah Valley Lyceum is funded in part by the VMRC Shenandoah Valley Lyceum Endowment to enhance the cultural and intellectual life of residents living at VMRC and people of Harrisonburg and Rockingham County. 

Upcoming Lyceum Events for the 2018-2019 Season

Evening of Classical Art Songs and Arias
January 11, 2019 | 7 p.m.

Soprano Sarah Grace Fitzsimmons will be performing classical arts songs and arias by Mozart, Bellini, Puccini, Schubert, Debussy, Aaron Copland, Richard Hundley and Dominick Argento. Sarah Grace is a student at George Mason University studying Opera under the instruction of Patricia Miller, director of Vocal Studies.

While at George Mason, Sarah Grace was in the title role of Amahl in Menotti’s Amahl and The Night Visitors, Fleta in Gilbert and Sullivan’s Iolanthe, and the title role of Hansel in Engelbert Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel. Sarah Grace traveled to Italy in 2017 for a young artist program in which she performed the roles of Osmina and Conversa in Puccini’s Suor Angelica. She has placed second overall in her category in the past two years at The National Association of Teachers of Singing competition.

Renovating the Mansion at Monticello
March 29, 2019 | 7 p.m.

Diane Ehrenpreis oversaw the research and reinstallation of the entire second and third floors of the Mansion at Monticello as associate curator of Decorative Arts at Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello. As an art historian, she strives to tell the story of private life at Monticello which Jefferson sought and the contested reality of those who experienced it. She recently completed the reinstallation of Jefferson’s private suite including the library, greenhouse, cabinet and bedroom. Her extensive background in American and European decorative art enable her to situate the material culture at Monticello within a broader context of social, cultural and political history. 

Diane has lectured and published on a variety of topics related to Monticello and the arts. She has an M.A. in Art History from Boston University and a B.A. from the University of Illinois at Chicago.

All events are held at 7 p.m. in Detwiler Auditorium, 1501 Virginia Ave., Harrisonburg, Va.

Ticket Information 

Single Tickets: $8 in advance; $10 at the door
Season Tickets: $25 for all four events in single season
Lifetime Pass: $100

Payments can be made with cash, check or credit card by calling the VMRC Wellness Center, 540-574-3850, or in person at the VMRC Wellness Center, 1481 Virginia Ave., Harrisonburg.

To make a gift in support of these events, please make checks payable to the VMRC Foundation. Gifts to the Endowment will increase VMRC’s capacity to pay honorariums, travel costs and other direct program expenses.